Whilst studying abroad in England, Rinne Kudo’s classmate Nayuto is suddenly attacked by Yoko Minato. Although Sophia appears to help protect them, the two Riders are unsuccessful in preventing Nayuto from being kidnapped by Kamen Rider Marika.
Following these events, Sophia takes Rinne back to Japan where she meets other members of the newly reformed Girls Remix – Akiko Narumi, Hana Natsuki and Reika Shindai. They explain that numerous women have been kidnapped, and the group have been asked to investigate. With further help from Nozomi Takai and Sawa Takigawa, Girls Remix work together to solve the case – clashing with Marika once more as they uncover a brand-new threat.
Though the first Girls Remix special caught the attention of fans because it was a (long overdue) crossover between the heroines of the Kamen Rider series, at its core it was a story that focused on the two most recent females Riders at the time and their relationship. With years having past since Kamen Rider Revice it makes sense to now move things along and put the spotlight on Kamen Rider Majade, however in comparison Rinne struggles a little more as the lead. Not necessarily because she's a weaker character, but with no other Gotchard characters present in the story everything needs to be built from the ground up. Both her relationships with the returning cast members, and the new characters that she attends university with. However as the franchise's first female Rider officially recognised as her show's secondary Rider, it's good to see her get something she can be the main focus of after she was passed over in Graduations in favour of Spanner/Valvarad. Unfortunately though this is a much more low-key affair, both when compared to Graduations and the previous Girls Remix. Whereas the last one was a three-part miniseries, this is a (mostly) self-contained special around the average time of your typical Kamen Rider episode.
Sadly the smaller scale of this sequel means only a fraction of the characters from the previous Girls Remix make a return, but that isn't to say it doesn't make those legacy characters count. Hana without Saya by her side isn't something we get to see often, but an attempt to make her stand out a bit more on her own (whilst also referencing her close relationship to Saya) is something she could benefit from in these specials. It's a chance to develop the whole Blue Bird aspect which came out of the very end of Revice, as well as place her as a leader character of sorts as far as the group's actual Riders are concerned. This notion of making the character stand out on their own can also be applied to Reika, who tends to shine a lot more when not attached at the hip to her brother. Aguilera and Sabela might be the only two returning Riders, but it wouldn't be Girls Remix without two of its founding members - Akiko and Sawa. Though they may not be Riders themselves, both have skills that make them integral parts of the team. Sawa's investigative skills speak for themselves, but with Akiko it's more just the joy she brings to the group and how she brings them together as a unit. Even if it feels like she does less than the other characters (despite being their de-facto leader and the detective that brings them their cases), it's hard to imagine the group without her.
But as fun as it is to see both Rinne and the returning Girls Remix cast again, it's the new additions to the roster that really turn it into something special. Even over a decade later death clearly still isn't slowing down Yoko Minato, who arguably makes even more of an impression here out of suit as she does as Kamen Rider Marika. Gaim's peach-flavoured Rider has always proved a hit thanks to Minami Tsukui's stunt work both in and out of suit, and in Girls Remix we get to see her return to an antagonistic role whilst in-keeping with the character's code of moral ambiguity. With Marika proving such a tough opponent even before she's even donned her Genesis Driver, Girls Remix needed their own heavy hitter - and they certainly found that in Kanon Miyahara making a surprise return as Kamen Rider Amazons' Nozomi Takai. Just how the world of Amazons has bled into the mainline Kamen Rider universe is anyone's guess (and ultimately doesn't feel like it really matters for a special like this), but bringing the character back proves to be an inspired choice for a number of reasons. For starters she proves to be the perfect match to Minato, and seeing the two characters go at it using only their combat skills is undoubtedly the highlight of the entire thing. Kamen Riders are great and all, but showing what these characters are capable of without powers really makes it feel like it's celebrating the women of Kamen Rider (especially when it's the actors themselves doing the stunts). The second reason is that, due to Kanon Miyahara portraying both Nozomi and Clotho, it also has some fun implications for Gotchard as well. Rinne thinking she's Clotho would have been funny enough, but going one step further and speculating Nozomi might have been the template for Clotho is a fun little theory that ties the two shows together. As is the comparison of Rinne's relationship with Atropos to Nozomi's with Mamoru. Majade with Girls Remix also brings Saber's Sophia and Gavv's Sachika into the fold - albeit it in more limited roles. Sophia appears very briefly at the beginning (even transforming into Kamen Rider Calibur) to fight off Marika, but is sadly absent for the majority of the story and the main battle. While it is a shame, it's nice that she appears nonetheless as it often feels that Sophia has been forgotten since Saber in favour of Reika. Meanwhile Sachika appears right at the end in more of a cameo than anything substantial, so it would be nice if she properly joined the group in any future offerings.
Onscreen appearances aren't everything either, as the special also features some surprise references to other women in Kamen Rider. Rinne for example is studying in the University of West London and refers to "Professor Ozawa's class" - who is of course Sumiko Ozawa from Kamen Rider Agito, who left the police force to teach at the University of West London at the end of the series. Perhaps even more surprising is Akiko's reference to a new assistant at her detective agency, which would be none other than Tokime from Fuuto PI. Even if Tokime herself never appears in a Girls Remix special, simply getting a Fuuto PI reference in live-action feels like a big moment. Finally the appearance of a certain magic circle at the very end hints to another familiar face from Kamen Rider Wizard. That said the special also features homages and cameos from beyond the Kamen Rider universe as well - Cloud's cyborg soldiers are a visual reference to Shotaro Ishinomori manga (and early Kamen Rider prototype) Skullman, while their mysterious leader Sumire is played by tokusatsu veteran Arisa Komiya (best known as Yoko Usami/Yellow Buster in Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters). Seeing these different actors brought together is often just as fun as seeing the characters themselves interact, and this is something the Girls Remix specials continues to capitalise on well.
However as always, being truncated down into an all too brief 26 minutes means the story does take a bit of a hit. Whereas the previous Girls Remix had the benefit of just building on existing things through the use of Black Satan and Tackle, this one tries to create something new with all-new evil organisation Cloud. And with much of the runtime dedicated to the girls interacting and the fight sequences themselves (both of which are justifiably the priority), there's barely any time left to establish them - let alone develop them. There isn't even new forms or transformation trinkets to show off in this one - just the tease of a new Rider that's snatched away as quickly as it's revealed. It's disappointing that this couldn't have been a little more substantial, but to its credit it does at least seem like Girls Remix is actually building towards something bigger. Between the aforementioned magic circle, the notion that Sumire's plans aren't quite through yet and the vague tease at the end of the special, there's definitely hints that more story is being planned. Which would be great if this could become a series of annual specials with an alternating roster (and particular focus on the most recent female Rider). Admittedly post-credits teases aren't always a guarantee of more, but with plenty more characters that could be introduced in future instalments we live in hope.
While this one might have had a smaller cast and much less time to develop the story than its predecessor, once again Kamen Rider Majade with Girls Remix proves to be among the top tier of Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club specials. Despite having less characters both in and out of suit, it still manages to do a fantastic job of tying all these different series together through the wonderful women that populate it them - be it through little character moments or the kind of match ups you wouldn't expect to see onscreen. And as sad as the shorter running time may be, at the very least it suggests that this isn't the last we've seen of Girls Remix. If something like Kamen Rider Outsiders can get a multi-part story spanning several years, then there's no reason this can't as well.
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