First Impressions: Kamen Rider Gavv

Among the many faucets of Kamen Rider merchandising there's one that often goes under appreciated, despite being a consistent element since 2011 and being beloved by the fandom for its memorable advertising. But it seems 2024 is the year that the "Kamen Rider Gummi" finally gets its due, as gummy sweets, snacks and all kinds of confectionary take centre stage in the 39th entry in the franchise - Kamen Rider Gavv (pronounced "Kamen Rider Gavu"). The sixth series in the Reiwa era takes over from Kamen Rider Gotchard and joins Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger in the current Super Hero Time lineup, with Junko Komura (head writer for Super Sentai series Zyuohger, Lupinranger vs Patranger and Zenkaiger, as well as having previously written episodes for both Kamen Rider Wizard and Kamen Rider Ghost) on board as writer.

As a man named Shoma is chased through a strange world, he falls through a door and ends up in our world - remarking that this must be where his mother came from. He's later found collapsed by a young boy named Hajime, who helps him by offering him snacks. Much to the boy's surprise though, Shoma reveals he has a mouth on his stomach - and eating these delicious sweets causes small creatures to emerge from it!

Unfortunately he isn't the only one of his kind on Earth, with assuming monster forms and actively hunting humans. When one targets Hajime, Shoma uses the power of his newfound minions to change into a new gummy-based form - becoming Kamen Rider Gavv!

If there's one thing that the premiere episode of Kamen Rider Gavv does well its set up mystery. Rather than have this be a proper introduction to both our main hero and the supporting cast of the show the format of the episode feels almost more monster-of-the-week, dropping the audience straight in with Shoma's arrival on Earth and very little context surrounding his first transformation into Gavv. The episode is so vague on the details that we don't even find out Shoma's name until the credits are rolling! But despite this lack of context the episode remains easy enough to follow, particularly as much of what happens is just as much to Shoma's confusion as it is the viewer's.

At the heart of all this mystery is Shoma, who already stands out from the majority of Kamen Rider protagonists simply by being an alien. Despite his humanoid appearance this is something that's been given a physical attribute too, with the "Henshin Belt Gavv" being an actual part of his body rather than an external piece of technology. With the show's villains being the same race and having similar (albeit more demonic) mouths protruding from their stomach, in the eyes of a human there's very little difference between Shoma and the monsters he's trying to protect them from. Shoma even acknowledges this in a fashion very similar to that of the early Showa Riders, going so far as to call himself a monster yet nevertheless continue to do the right thing. It's a quality we haven't seen from a lead Kamen Rider in some time, and a quality that immediately makes Shoma stand out. Even before realising his abilities Shoma shows a strong desire to protect those around him, and with physical strength far beyond that of a normal human has the resilience to try as well. But despite somewhat returning to the "tortured hero" aspect of the original Kamen Rider Shoma certainly isn't defined as potentially being seen as a monster nor does he let it bother him too much, having the same sillier and upbeat qualities seen in some of the more modern leads.

Though the focus may be on Shoma that isn't to say that the episode is completely devoid of supporting cast introductions, the most significant of which is Hanto Karakida - a freelance writer investigating the appearance of monsters and whether it has anything to do with people going missing. Even if I didn't know any better, Hanto is a character that has "secondary Rider" written all over him - currently following his own line of investigation that will bring him in contact with Shoma. While he doesn't get very far with it here, it's going to be interesting to see how that element of the story continues to develop. The last few seconds of the episode also briefly introduce Sachika Amane, who will be another recurring character going forwards.

As far as the villains are concerned things are left similarly vague, with the focus being on a singular "Granute" and only hints at a wider evil scheme. As we hear from Hanto's investigation humans are going missing, with the Granute in question delivering a batch (shrunken down and neatly gift-wrapped) to a higher power in exchange for some sort of food source. There's quite a lot to unpack here too, with both the fate of these humans not only being the same as that of Shoma's mother (as seen in a quick flashback), but also the drug addiction connotations of the substance the Granute was presented with. He claims that it "isn't enough", but is also told to "gather more if you want more". It's another darker element to the narrative that definitely doesn't go unnoticed, and with food clearly being more than just a visual theme for the show how this aspect of it is going to develop seems just as intriguing.

But as tends to be the case for a brand new Kamen Rider series, the big talking point is going to be the theme/gimmick - and there certainly isn't any doubt Bandai haven't fully embraced their concept this year. Even if you haven't seen Gavv's various other snack-themed forms revealed prior to the show starting, this first episode gives you a pretty solid crash course in his base "Poppingummy" form and the powers of the Gochizo monsters. Much like the story it doesn't give very much away in terms of what they are or they're origins, but visually their cartoony appearance and antics feels almost like a deliberate juxtaposition to some of the darker elements of the story. We've had some pretty weird motifs in Kamen Rider over the years but this definitely feels like one of the strangest yet. Nevertheless, again the visuals really lean into the theme which results in a particularly memorable debut fight sequence. As if the semi-translucent colouring of Gavv's gummy armour wasn't enough to give him a strong visual identity, then the rather brilliant touch of having said armour break apart during battle (and then regenerate through further consumption of the Gochizo) certainly does. Compared to some of Gavv's later forms we've already seen Poppingummy is perhaps a little more reserved in its design, but does a good job of conveying that distinct Kamen Rider silhouette in a similar way to Zero-One. With some moments of the fight clearly built in for laughs it isn't completely about spectacle in the same way most Kamen Rider debuts are, but overall the presentation suggests very clear direction even if you might not be completely sold on the theme/aesthetic yet.

The first episode of Kamen Rider Gavv sure is an interesting one. The cartoonish nature of the suits, gimmick and overall theme of the show might not be to everyone's tastes, but between the strong mystery elements the episode sets up and the suggestive body horror elements of the Granutes Gavv already gives off strong vibes of hiding a darker story behind a colourful exterior. Shoma hits the ground running as a very strong protagonist (both figuratively and literally), and with plenty of hints of things to come there's enough traction here to want to keep watching. There's a lot of potential here, and whatever happens it's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.