History Series / KamenRiderGotchard

In a world where the art of {{UsefulNotes/Alchemy}} is practiced, the secret Alchemists' Academy has been successful in creating 101 artificial living creatures, known as Chemies. While normally sealed in [[CardsOfPower Ride Chemy Cards]], an incident involving OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Houtaro Ichinose ends up unleashing all of these Chemies to the world. Entrusted with the [=GotcharDriver=] belt and the cards of two Chemies that synchronise with him, [=Hopper1=] and Steamliner, Hotaro fuses with them to transform into Kamen Rider Gotchard, embarking on a quest to recapture all 101 Chemies before they can fuse with malicious humans to become Malgam monsters and wreak havoc.

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the 80's Showa (excluding ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlack BLACK]]'') and early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the ''other'' hand, it also explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction while retaining some of the lightheartedness despite the appearance of the show's resident KnightOfCerebus.

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the 80's Showa (excluding ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlack BLACK]]'') and early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the ''other'' hand, it also explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction while retaining some of the lightheartedness despite the appearance of the show's BigBad.

''"The Chemistry accelerates!"'']]\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_gotchard_poster_2.jpg]]

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[[quoteright:799:[[labelnote:Click here to see the 1st key visual.]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gotcha_poster.jpg]]

* ''The Three Dark Sisters Present: Kamen Rider Gotchard Unfinished Plan'', radio plays featuring the villains breaking the fourth wall to discuss the events of the show. So far there have been two episodes, both associated with holidays (New Year's Day and Valentine's Day).

** Kamen Rider Majade uses the [=AlchemisDriver=] with the Fantastic/Cosmic card combos and the High Alchemis Ring.

* RingOfPower: Alchemists perform their alchemy using special rings. Rinne has a special one that [[spoiler:interacts with her TransformationTrinket]].

* XMakesAnythingCool: The Rank 10 Chemies all have noticeable [=Xes=] in their names and character designs ([=BeetlX=], Exceedfighter, X Wizard, Lixion, X Fortress, Xeggdrasil, UFO-X, and X-Rex -- Dragonalos, Gaiard, Tenliner, and Crosshopper have them in the designs but not names). The card backs also have a giant X in place of the normal design, and Gotchard can use their power with an X-shaped add-on to his Driver.

** Fuga's card pairing as Wind being a [Series/KamenRiderBuild dragon and a black hole] sound....familiar.

* WolverinePublicity: Gotchard Daybreak and Legend are prominently shown on the poster promoting the second act, yet the former only appears for two episodes before he is PutOnABus and the latter hasn't made an appearance at all as of #24.

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlackRX BLACK RX]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction while retaining some of the lightheartedness despite the appearance of the show's BigBad.

* AlchemyIsMagic: The show portrays alchemy and the Alchemists' Academy as very magical in nature; more of a mystic art than a science. Hotaru even calls it magic at first, before Rinne sets him straight.

*** '''Jobs:''' 1: Odorippa (dancer), 2: Dokkirimajin (magician), 3: Doctorkozo (doctor), 4: Pilets (pirate), 5: Wrestler G (professional wrestler), 6: Sasukemaru (ninja), 7: Bulletbaang (cowboy), 8: Apparebushido (samurai), 9: Karyudos (viking), 10: X Wizard (wizard)

* RingsOfPower: Alchemists perform their alchemy using special rings. Rinne has a special one that [[spoiler:interacts with her TransformationTrinket]].

* SupernaturalPhone: A smartphone-based Chemy named [[ADogNamedDog Smaphone]]. Once Hotaro acquires it, he's seen using it like a normal phone, but it can also act on its own.

* XMakesAnythingCool: The Rank 10 Chemies all have noticeable [=Xes=] in their names and character designs ([=BeetlX=], Exceedfighter, X Wizard, Lixion, X Fortress, Xeggdrasil, UFO-X, and X-Rex -- Dragonalos, Gaiard, Tenliner, and Crosshopper have them in the designs but not names). The card backs also have a giant X in place of the normal design, and Gotchard can use their power with an X-shaped add-on to his Driver.

* ''Three Dark Sisters Presents: Kamen Rider Gotchard Unfinished Plan'', a {{Filler}} episode starring the villains that takes the place of the regular show for the New Year's Eve airing.

* HenshinHero: Hotaro transforms into Kamen Rider Gotchard by fusing with any two sealed Chemies. You also have Supana turning into a "masked warrior", Valvarad.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: A regular trope for the franchise, but stronger than usual here: while the Chemies are described as disruptions to the natural order, they're generally peaceful; the catalyst that forms Malgams is ''human'' malice causing chemies to fuse with them. Hotaro wants to protect everyone, but he tends to emphasize protecting the Chemies from evil humans as opposed to the other way around.

** Played straight with Gotchard's transformation mechanism, which turns Houtarou into a chimera-like being called the Ride Chemy Doll. The only other use of the word "doll" in a meaningful context is in reference to the homunculi-like figures used to create Golden Malgams and which the Dark Sisters may or may not be made from, indicating this trope.

* AllThereInTheManual: Production has said that a number of Gotchard's forms will only be portrayed as CGI Wild forms, but the backs of the cards have images of the helmet he ''would'' have in humanoid form, so we have at least some idea of what those forms look like. Concept art versions of the actual forms themselves also appear in a tie-in mobile app.

* CentralTheme: Going off with the themes of human malice from ''[[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne Zero-One]]'' and ''[[Series/KamenRiderOutsiders Outsiders]]'', humanity is always capable of evil -- by choice or against their will; no matter how hard they try to suppress them, especially when absolute power corrupts absolutely. ''Outsiders'' deals with an [[TheComputerIsYourFriend A.I.]] trying to cull down malice [[HobbesWasRight through totalitarian methods]], this series has the villains preying on the malice of people to turn them into monsters.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Like ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'', Gotchard combines items with random themes together. Some of the various combinations are steam train/grasshopper, samurai/skateboard, mushroom/submarine, ant/wrestler, pepper/gorilla, cactus/hawk, magician/excavator, fire engine/rose, motorcycle/crab, and battery/jungle. (And those are just the major ones that get physical suits, there are more as CGI Wild forms).

* FusionDance: Hotaro merges with two Chemies at a time to become Gotchard. Similarly, Chemies can fuse with malicious humans to turn them into Malgam monsters.

* PowerAtAPrice: Episode 12 introduces the concept of forbidden alchemy, which can do things that normal alchemy can't like ThinkingUpPortals, but has horrible consequences for the alchemist.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Gotchard and Dread each wear a waist-length white scarf in most of their forms, making them the first Riders to wear physical scarves in their primary forms since the Showa era[[note]]Other Riders such as Double and Geats have worn a strip of cloth hanging off the back of their collar to evoke the appearance of a scarf, but not a real one worn around the neck. The only previous Rider form in the Heisei or Reiwa eras to have worn a true scarf is Geats Feverslot[[/note]].
* ShoutOut: The production notes for #13 state that the Union of Alchemists is one to the Ministry of Magic from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', being the governing body of a hidden society.

* XMakesAnythingCool: The Rank 10 Chemies all have noticeable [=Xes=] in their names and character designs ([=BeetlX=], Exceedfighter, X Wizard, Lixion, X Fortress, Xeggdrasil, UFO-X, and X-Rex). The card backs also have a giant X in place of the normal design, and Gotchard can use their power with an X-shaped add-on to his Driver.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 17: [[spoiler: Due to the events of the crossover movie and their lack of process, Minato announces that the union is dismantling the Alchemist Academy and the Chemy retrieval will be now be handled by the Dark Sisters. Before any of the students can protest, Minato transforms into Dread and steal Supana's Chemy cards, intending to do the same with the rest of the students' cards and rings.]]
* WolverinePublicity: Gotchard Daybreak and Legend are prominently shown on the poster promoting the second act, yet the former only appears for two episodes before he is PutOnABus and the latter hasn't made an appearance at all as of #22.

** The two-parter leading into the debut of Kamen Rider Valvarad serves as this for the recurring Reiwa trend of a good guy making a FaceHeelTurn. Normally, when such a Kamen Rider is faced with a devastating loss like [[spoiler:seeing their loved ones die in front of them]], they immediately fold and [[DespairEventHorizon fall to the dark side]], adopting a DarkerAndEdgier power set and antagonizing the protagonists for about a tenth of the show's runtime while the protagonists are either too busy doing focusing on their own problems or helping others to try and get said dark Rider to stop. However, with Valvarad, both Houtaro and Rinne immediately help Supana not only snap out of [[spoiler:his Malgam form]], but also help in making the tool needed for him to fully become a Kamen Rider, turning his villain arc into more of a VictimOfTheWeek scenario.

In a world where the art of {{UsefulNotes/Alchemy}} is practiced, the secret Alchemists' Academy has been successful in creating 101 artificial living creatures, known as Chemies. While normally sealed in [[CardsOfPower Ride Chemy Cards]], an incident involving OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Hotaro Ichinose ends up unleashing all of these Chemies to the world. Entrusted with the [=GotcharDriver=] belt and the cards of two Chemies that synchronise with him, [=Hopper1=] and Steamliner, Hotaro fuses with them to transform into Kamen Rider Gotchard, embarking on a quest to recapture all 101 Chemies before they can fuse with malicious humans to become Malgam monsters and wreak havoc.

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlackRX BLACK RX]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction a bit while retaining some of the lighthearted moments despite the appearance of the show's BigBad.

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlackRX BLACK RX]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction a bit while retaining some of the the lightheartedness..

* LighterAndSofter: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is much lighter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderBlackRX BLACK RX]]'', ''Series/KamenRiderHibiki Hibiki]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a DarkerAndEdgier direction a bit while retaining some of the the lightheartedness..

* DarkerAndEdgier: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is LighterAndSofter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as its overall tone is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: {{Zigzagged}}. On one hand, the show is LighterAndSofter than [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the other three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats entries]], as the tone of the show is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, it ''also'' explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: {{Zigzagged}}. [[LighterAndSofter On one hand]], the show was made as a stark contrast to [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats era]] entries in the franchise, as the tone of the show is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand, the series explores the concept of human malice and how power corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: {{Zigzagged}}. [[LighterAndSofter On one hand]], the show was made as a stark contrast to [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats era]] entries in the franchise, as the tone of the show is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. On the other hand. the series explores the concept of human malice and how it corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts [[RealismInducedHorror that are similar to those in real life,]] even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: Downplayed: While it's still light-hearted compared to ''Geats'', the series explores the concept of human malice and how it corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts that are similar to those in real life, even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].

* LighterAndSofter: This show was made as a stark contrast to [[Series/KamenRiderZeroOne the three]] [[Series/KamenRiderRevice Reiwa]] [[Series/KamenRiderGeats era]] entries in the franchise, as the tone of the show is more in line with the early Phase 2 Heisei entries as well as ''[[Series/KamenRiderSkyrider Skyrider]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderSuper1 Super-1]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O]]'', ''[[Series/KamenRiderGhost Ghost]]'', and ''[[Series/KamenRiderSaber Saber]]''. However, as episode 2 shows, just because it's more bright and upbeat doesn't mean it's exempt from real life horrors.

** To ''Series/KamenRiderBlade''. As both series' plot involves collecting monsters and sealing them in cards to invoke transformation and abilities by the Riders. While the Undeads are a genuine threat to humanity that needs to be sealed by the Riders, although some are altruistic in their nature, the Chemies were mostly innocent creatures that can be fused with a malice-filled human to turn into a Malgam with the Riders need to defeat the monsters before sealing the Chemies inside the cards.

* SpiritualAntithesis: To the concurrently airing ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders''. As both series have the underlying theme of dealing with human malice. ''Outsiders'' deals with an [[TheComputerIsYourFriend artificial intelligence]] bent on culling down human malice through totalitarian methods like stoking fear and paranoia through mass surveillance and propaganda, extreme use of violence against the villains and dissidents over perceived insubordination, and even ''genocide''. This series, on the other hand, has the villains preying on the worst impulses of humans and forcibly fusing them with Chemies to turn them into Malgams.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Dwnplayed: While it's still light-hearted compared to ''Geats'', the series explores the concept of human malice and how it corrupts people, as the majority of the villains are seen willing to commit horrible acts that are similar to those in real life, even if some of them are not inherently evil. Once the third arc kicks in, the story takes on a much darker turn and gets [[FromBadToWorse even worse from there]].