Heartwarming / Kamen Rider Gotchard

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Main series

Episode 1: Gotcha! Hopper1!

• Houtaro loves his mother so much that he promises to come back after school to help with her restaurant.
• The fact that despite having absolutely no idea what's going on, Houtarou still pushes forward whenever someone looks like they're in trouble, earning him the respect of both Hopper1 and Steamliner.
  • Houtaro's first action after meeting Hopper1? Offer it his leftover bento.
• Despite her uneasiness towards Houtarou, Rinne still decides to help him in his first battle, using her alchemy to turn a bunch of rubble into paper airplanes.

Episode 2: Pursuit, Alchemy, Skebows!

• Skebow before it comes into contact with a robber's malice. It not only possesses a skateboard and just has fun, but it also lets one of the kids playing nearby ride him.
• Houtaro's dream of living freely with Chemies. He sees them not as his transformation trinkets, but rather as his allies.
• With Rinne holding the Malgam back, Skebows tries pleading for help and Hottaro reassures the Chemy that he will be saved. Little wonder that the Chemy is happy to see him after being re-sealed into a card.
• Odorippa and Kamantis actually agreeing to Hottaro's ridiculous demands to alter their weight for the challenge. They have no reason to and, yet, they do so anyway.
• While Rinne doesn't view Hottaro as a proper alchemist, she warms up to his way of doing things, smiling at him and calling him a "Poet".
• When Hottaro comes home, he is ready to prepare some food with his mother. His mother notices a grass stain on his shirt and suggests that he changes first. They then proceed to have a talk about Hottaro's father, and Tamami is proud that her son now has a dream to follow.

Episode 3: Bushido, Found.

• While Houtaro hums a song while preparing lunch, Hopper1 joyfully sings along while doing a little dance, showing how comfortable he's become with Houtarou and the Ichinose restaurant. The two regulars also are happy to see Houtaro finding his "Gotcha".
• Houtarou defending Hopper-1 from Spanner saying Chemies are not tools but friends is what causes him to get Apparebushido's approval.
  • Before that, Hopper-1 quickly attacks Spanner after he knocks down its human partner and declares that Chemies are tools. It not only protects Houtarou, but also the Chemies' honor.
• Houtarou giving Hopper-1 an affection finger stroke on the back at the end of the episode, showing their bond and how they wish to live in harmony.

Episode 4: Antrooper Labyrinth

• Supana may be contemptuous of Houtaro's philosophy of befriending Chemies, but he allows Houtaro to use Madwheel to take Rinne to safety. He even hands Rinne the Submariner Chemy without any strings attached.
• Ryo tells Houtaro about Gotchard, completely unaware that Houtaro is Gotchard, and says that he's "very, very cool". Houtaro is over the moon at his friend's praise.
• Houtarou sincerely thanks Supana for lending him Madwheel, despite the fact that Supana has been nothing but an absolute jerk to him (and still continues to be).
• After the dark truth about her father's fate is revealed, Houtaro does his best to help comfort her and even manages to help her get over her resentment of her father. Afterwards, Rinne gladly accepts Houtaro's offer to stay at his place for a meal. The best part? His mother takes it all in stride and doesn't have anything remotely negative to say, happily welcoming Rinne with open arms.
  • Earlier, Houtaro stated that he wanted to work with his mother because he wants to see her smile. This gives Rinne a flashback to her father smiling at how proud he was of seeing her be an alchemist.
    Rinne: I remember it now...How my father smiled...I loved seeing him smile.

Episode 5: Burn! Fight! Wrestler G!

• Before Houtaro leaves for the morning, he and his mom exchange words over how he has new friends. Houtaro then sees Hopper1 hopping down the stairs in excitement.
• Sabimaru is so shocked and happy over Houtaro calling him "sempai" he decides that he and Renge are going to give Houtaro some Chemy lessons for free (Renge was originally going to charge 10,000 yen). Sabimaru is even smiling and skipping in joy out of the academy!
• Houtaro endures a ton of physical punishment in this episode, but no matter how many times he gets knocked down, he gets right back up with "One more try please!" He's more than shown the guts needed to be a Kamen Rider in this adventure.
• Doubles as a moment of awesome, but when Houtaro overcomes the Windmill Back Breaker in his revenge match with Gouriki, Asahi is more than likely prouder than a stallion out to stud seeing his newest student overcome the move which crippled his previous rising star.
• By defeating Gouriki, Houtarou not only saves Gorillasensei, but also avenges the honor of Asahi's gym.
• Rinne shows her caring side at all the punishment Houtarou takes in this episode, showing visible concern for his wellbeing after Gouriki hits him with the Whirlwind Back-Breaker.
• Renge and Sabi, who just met Houtarou a few days ago, don't hesitate to stand up to Supana for his and Asahi's sake when he tries to take Wrestler G from them.
  • Rinne, who found Houtaro's straightforwardness annoying at first, also stands up to Supana along with them, prompting the ace alchemist to back off.
• Rinne quietly cheering Houtaro on during his training with Asahi and Wrestler G to overcome the Whirlwind Back-Breaker.

  Rinne: You can do it...I know you can..!

• Wrestler G responds to Asahi's heartfelt wish to help Houtarou by fusing with him, giving him the strength and ability to return to the ring one last time. For a man who thought he would never be able to participate in the sport he loved again, this was nothing short of a miracle.
  • Asahi G's existence proves that just as Malice forces a Malgam, positive emotions that resonate with a Chemy can bring about a true fusion. This is further proof that Chemies and Humans can live in harmony!
• Doubles with Tear Jerker, but as Asahi yells at Wrestler G to stay back, he also tells him that thanks to him he was able to relive his dream once more, likely reigniting his purpose for the future.

Episode 6: Super A-class ☆ Warped Star

• Supana has a heart as he tells a woman who was dumped by her lover that revenge is not something to pursue, and the best thing she can do is just move forward.
• Rinne's interactions with Houtarou have become noticeably kinder than how they started out in the first episode.
  • When Houtarou tries to cover up the fact that he feels jealous of Supana's hypercompetency, she simply smiles and jokes that he's easy to read rather than scold him for it.
  • Despite the fact that both Houtarou and Supana came to rescue her from Boruto, when she sees Houtarou she cracks a big smile while saying his name.
• Hopper1 is still being an adorable little cinnamon roll.
• Houtaro eventually gives in and eats some of Supanna's cooking and admits it's delicious. While things are still frosty between the two, he's willing to change his minds.
  • While it is hilarious that Supana cooked just to show off his superiority to Houtaro, the fact he actually finished Houtaro's meal shows that he respects Houtaro on some level.

Episode 7: Goodbye, Saboneedle

• In addition to Houtaro bonding with Riku over Saboneedle, we have the main girls having a day out together at a cafe.

Episode 8: Great Bond

• After the Dragonfly Malgam's defeat, Houtaro is proven right once again; despite how he appeared, Riku's father really did care for him, as he is openly regretful for how he treated his son beforehand.
• Houtaro promising Saboneedle there'll be a day where he can always play with Riku with Riku pocketing a flower blooming from Saboneedle before Minato erased their memories.

Episode 9: Dash to Kyoto! Field Trip!

• Ryo sleeping over at Houtaro's house the night before the trip and the two of them squee over a UFO sighting. Even though Houtaro has his duties as a Kamen Rider, he still maintains his bond with his friend.
• Rinne actually chews out Houtaro for not thinking of bringing Hopper1 in card form even when it really wanted to go. Guess she's getting a soft spot for Chemies after all.
• Houtaro and Hopper1's bond is so strong, that they feel guilty in not being able to visit Kyoto with one another. It gets to the point Hopper1 actually withstands being stuffed in a backpack just to be with Houtaro!
• Rinne having fun with Houtaro and Ryo in Kyoto. Given how she doesn't have friends at school, and trying to move on from her father's death, it's nice to see her warming up a little. Houtaro and Ryo even invite her to join their research group so she isn't left out.
• Ryo bonds with another girl because they both wrote letters about their supernatural experiences in the same magazine.

Episode 10: Kyoto on Fire! ~Tragic Love: The Chemy Thunder Affair~

• Kajiki and Hijiri end up getting a few of them. They get to spend half an hour together before the foregone memory wipe, and despite that they manage to once again run into each other and bond over the occult magazine.
  • It's Kajiki who ends up vital in saving Hijiri after becoming a Malgam as he convinces her to come to her senses via walking towards her with his magazine in hand to read the letter she wrote for it. He has no idea what's going on, but he'll be damned if he doesn't try to help.
• Thanks to Houtaro talking about Tsurugi being part of Hijiri's family, the runaway convict has a change of heart, and before he is taken back to prison he goes back on his word and reaffirms that he did see the will-o-wisps, giving hope to Hijiri's belief in the occult.
• While Minato won't budget on erasing Kajiki and Hijiri's memories he also them an extra thirty minutes together. Crossing into tearjerker territory but still a nice Pet The Dog Moment from him.
• It's revealed UFO-X was the cause of the UFO sighting from #9. While it is unfortunately captured at the episode's end, the promotional material for chapter 2 makes a big deal out of it representing the reason Kajiki and Hijiri met at all, and adds an extra layer of heartwarming to #9's scene by adding the same undertones to his friendship with Houtarou. It shows that no matter how many times the Academy has to wipe people's memories, Houtarou's dream for the future is already starting to come true.

Episode 11: Catch! A Spy-der!? Unfit to Be a Rider!

• Houtaro, Rinne, Sabimaru, and Renge are having fun catching StagVine with nets before they show off the collection of Chemies they caught in two weeks, acting like a bunch of friends having fun. They also are happy to see Hopper1 enjoying itself at getting new Chemies, with the grasshopper Chemy pouncing on Houtaro like a housecat.
• Upon seeing UFO-X flying in the sky, Kajiki immediately races off to find Hijiri.
• Sabimaru is excited to have Houtaro supporting his dreams to see UFO-X.

Episode 13: Take It Back! Friendship x Forever!

• Mineto gets between a battling Valvarad and Dread, insisting he give Houtaro and the others a chance to save Sabimaru declaring he has faith in his students. Supana reluctently complies.
• Sabimaru is freed from Dread, reunited with his friends and even gets to meet UFO-X as he always wished.

Episode 14: A Man-eating Rex!? Dangerous X!!

• At the start of the episode, Houtaro is busy decorating a Christmas tree for the restaurant's upcoming Christmas party. While he's humming "Jingle Bells" to himself, Hopper1 is happily singing along, ready to join in on the Holiday spirit.
• Houtaro and his mother are throwing their Christmas party a week early so their regulars can go spend the actual holidays with their families. Houtaro says he's inviting Sabimaru and Renge to celebrate and asks Rinne to join, to which she accepts.
• Rinne confesses to Houtaro that she feels like she's at fault for what happened to Sabimaru. Houtaro immediately tells her that she's not at fault and vows to be more supportive of her.
• Rinne isn't horrified or scared that Houtaro was just eaten by X-Rex. She tells Sawa that Houtaro will return safe and sound.
• The comment Houtaro made in seeing Hopper1 back in the first episode of having a "warm, fuzzy feeling" turns out to be a residual memory from when they first met years ago. This makes Hopper1 choosing Houtaro as Gotchard much more meaningful; they wanted to reunite with their friend.

Episode 15: Catch Happy! Shine Gotchacalibur!

• Houtarou manages to finally rescue Happyclover, Bambamboo, and Buglesia from the Dark Sisters. Based on their reaction, they're elated that someone has finally come to rescue them.
• Kitchen Ichinose celebrates their advance Christmas party successfully, with both the restaurant regulars and Houtarou's friends in Rinne, Ryo, Renge, and Sabimaru all participating happily. The end has Houtaro and Rinne singing karaoke together.
• At the party Kajiki and Sabimaru bond over their mutual interest in aliens and later they and Renge sing karaoke.
• The Manabes have a wonderful Christmas to themselves as well. Sawa gives her father Yuzuru a picture she took of X-Rex as a reminder of his dream to see and write about dinosaurs, while on Yuzuru's side he shows his daughter a shirt from Chojo Wakusei, saying that he got hired by the magazine to write stories for them. It's implied that like with Riku being allowed to keep flower bud from Saboneedle as a memento, Minato allowed Sawa to keep the picture of X-Rex for their sake.
• A minor one for the villains has Lachesis worried for her sister if Clotho continued to use the DreadDriver. Yes, even the Dark Sisters can show bonds for one another.
• Minato stating how proud he is for Houtaro's growth and his love for the Chemies.
• Supana, in a show of begrudging respect, nods at Houtaro to help unleash the finishing blow on Clotho.

Episode 16: Xmas Crisis! Orochi Incident

• Houtaro cheerfully gives a sticker to a young boy.
• Rinne has done a full 180 since the first episode, happily working at Kitchen Ichinose, stating how her new ring is a gift from her father, and telling Houtaro that she won't be a helpless princess anymore.
• The end of the episode has Houtaro give his present to his mom, a small flower brooch, while Rinne and Hopper1 look on.

Episode 18: Run Through! Evolutionary Fire Lord!

• Houtaro travels back to the past, where he sees his younger self playing not just with Hopper1, but also with Steamliner and a few other Chemies too. A bit later both past and present Houtaro are seen playing with the Chemies together.
• The end of the episode has Houtaro find new resolve to stop Geryon by creating what he calls the Kitchen Alliance.

Episode 19: Rinne's Dawn! Henshin Majade!

• Rinne getting her arm chomped by the Cerberus Malgam while protecting Atropos, because she understood how Atropos and she are similar. Atropos snarks back at how Rinne is the daughter of a Traitor to break the laws to save the enemy. Rinne doesn't care nor seem to show any regret when Atropos warns her after saving her.
  Rinne: I'll make...my own rules!
• Once Atropos returns after the Cerberus Malgam's defeat, Geryon appears from the entrance. Unlike his previous abuse from many episodes, he expresses his gladness over seeing she's okay, sincerely admitting he never intended for the Malgam to hurt her.
• For a brief moment, Minato smiles at Rinne's resolve to fight by her own standards.

Episode 20: Smiling Angel (Angel), Serious Truth (Joke)

• When Madwheel sees Spanner becoming overwhelmed by all of the negative emotions, he ends up forcing an Emergency Transformation in a desperate bid to save him. For all of Spanner's disdain for the Chemys, it's shown that Madwheel more than cares enough to try to save him. Pity it unwittingly backfired on them, but the thought absolutely counts.
• The fact that Supana is smiling at seeing his parents again. Throughout the entire series thus far, Supana's only emotions are "aloof" and "angry", so seeing him happy is a sight to behold.
• Kyoka took Supana in as her son, doing her best to help him channel his anger and desire for vengeance into chess, so that the virtues he learned there would become his armor. Even as Supana decides to become a Malgam to seek vengeance, she promises to wait for him so that he can truly transform into a Kamen Rider.
• Despite Supana being an ass towards him, Houtaro vows to save Supana from the black flames torturing him.

Episode 21: Mad Warrior! Black Flame Valvarad!

• The Angel Malgam once again summons copies of Supana's parents before whacking Supana/Wheel Malgam again. One screw is blown loose and rolls towards the senior Kuroganes, who ultimately decide they've had enough of the Angel Malgam's twisted shenanigans and use the thing to access alchemy once again to make themselves vanish for good, leaving behind their rings which Supana takes into his possession. Copies or not, Supana's parents' love for their son transcends the grave.
• While held at sword point by Minato, Supana gains one more vision from the past. This vision shows his parents giving their final wishes to their son before their deaths, telling him to stick to his beliefs and grow stronger from there. With that, Supana lets go of his desire for vengeance, represented by his Malgam form shattering as Madwheel breaks free, and resolves to save the future and grow stronger with everything he has. Madwheel gets touched by his buddy's new resolve and transforms himself into Machwheel to help him wipe the floor with Minato/Dread. Even Gekiocopter, Daiohni, and Gutsshovel are impressed by Supana's will, complementing him upon getting recovered.
• Despite claiming he fights alone, Supana returns to his surrogate mother when the night falls, offering to play another game of chess with her. Kyoka happily accepts, though she tells him to make dinner beforehand, doing a small embrace on her student. Supana is then shown sporting a small smile.
• Minato risks his life in an all-or-nothing gambit to bring Supana back to his senses and acting as a final test to see if he had what he needed to become a Kamen Rider proper, and part of this test had him claim he killed Kyoka just to make Supana's anger and sorrow reach its limit.
  • In turn, Supana noticed his lie in time and did not land a killing blow on him, deliberately missing his vitals and only killing off the suit.
• Angelead is so happy to be free from the Malgam that the first thing he does for Supana is briefly summon his parents, who both smile at him proudly.

Episode 22: Love Is A Blade (Saber)! Suddenly Chemy Story

• Supana was bringing a bouquet to his parents' graves, and he even thanks Kyouka for taking care of it.

Episode 23: Zukyun Always in My Heart

• Zukyumpire's reasoning for his Zukyun is that he wishes to make everyone happy. He honestly had no idea that he was draining life energy from others when he enacted this scheme.
  • As for why he was doing this? He heard Yua crying by a river after being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend (the editor from #14). He comforts her that she didn't need to cry anymore because "She was born to be happy", even giving her a small flower.
• Zukyumpire's advice sticks with Yua at the end of the episode as she gets the nerve to tell her ex-boyfriend to shove it. She even kept the flower Zukyumpire gave her and turned it into a bookmark. Even better is that since there's no Minato to swoop in to erase her memories, she won't forget him!

Episode 24: Sud-Ten Turn! Forbidden Steel Rider!

• Houtarou willingly putting his life on the line by using a forbidden technique to transform, all to save the Chemies he befriended. Just as heartwarming is that Steamliner is willing to go through with it, while Kyoka, Renge and Sabimaru (through Isaac) try to dissuade him out of concern for his own health.
• Hopper1 and Steamliner comes out of their cards to stop Houtarou from trying to enter Warptera Malgam's warp holes, as they knew it was hazardous to humans and wanted to protect him.

Episode 25: Young Sensei's Mistake

• Rinne reuniting with and hugging her father Fuga after seeing him alive and tearing up a bit in the embrace. Unfortunately ruined with The Reveal of the next episode, though, but it still means there’s a chance for them to be reunited for real.
  Rinne: You big jerk. I hate you. *Shedding some tears*

Episode 26: Habam Away the Malice, the Pitch-Black Wind

• Even if the Simulacrum of Fuga dying is a tearjerker, he promises to meet them again soon. And once the Simulacrum dies they realize it was not the real Fuga, which brings some hope that he is indeed alive.
• As Lachesis begs Minato to seek out his former students' help, she eventually begs that if he is not willing to fight Geryon, they should at least run away together.
• Clothos, the Blood Knight of the sisters, hesitates to even attempt to attack Lachesis, showing that they do have a strong bond going.

Episode 27: Gotcha! Cross Hopper!

• Minato is brought out of his guilt and comes to the heroes in the nick of time to save Houtatoru from losing his head to Geryon.
  • Even better? It is revealed Kyoka and Lachesis both played their part in bringing him to the heroes' side, with Kyoka giving the talk and Lachesis helping him reach the Ouroboros World.
• Houtarou sees the Chemies suffering and sounds genuinely hurt too, before giving them the motivation they much needed to pull through the darkness muddling their thoughts and reassuring their limitless potential.
  • Isaac channels Hopper1's thoughts to Houtarou, showing that they are still in there and reaching out to him.
• All Level 10 Chemies and X Wizard specially helps Hopper1 evolve into CrossHopper by sharing their power.
• All Chemies are reunited at last with the academy's students, and they are all clearly happy to be together.

Episode 28: Strange Licking Mystery! Renge's Homecoming

• The very first scene after the Previously on… segment sees Renge returning to her grandmother, who is all too happy to see her again. Despite Renge telling her she's grown up now, her grandmother still protects her from a mosquito and offers to carry her into town. Generational gap or not, both Renge and her grandmother love each other.
• Houtaro, Supana, Rinne, and Minato are back in the Alchemists' Academy. Minato is left somberly wondering if he really deserves to be their teacher again with everything he did against them, but the three are all willing to welcome him back as their guide, teacher, and friend, and let bygones be bygones. To err, regardless of its magnitude, is human, but to forgive, though hard, is divine.
• When the Union of Alchemists' head honchos contact Minato again, against Houtaro's expectations of hostility, they praise him and his band for surpassing their expectations and getting lots of Chemies, including all ten Level 10 Chemies, a 180 from their dismissive attitude to their lessers. Sure, Minato and Supana think it's half-baked, but still.

Episode 29: Night Tale of The Crying Village

• Renge's grandmother is shown in a flashback to "dispatch a ghost" that scared little Renge and promising to protect her.
  • And when Rinne, Renge and her grandmother are trapped in a globe of darkness with a ghost haunting them, Renge's grandmother tries to intimidate the ghost away. It fails, but the thought counts and it's then Renge's turn to step up and cast away her fears to save her grandmother.
  • At the end of the episode, it's Renge's turn to ask her grandmother if she wants to be carried, returning the same kind of love.
• The Kyubi Malgam was, at its worst, very mischievous. But never intended to actually harm anyone, at worst just scaring them, because its end goal was to help its village prosper by guiding Gotchard's attack through the Malgam body and into the stone wall to uncover a hot spring, and then it is revealed that the Malgam was just the village's guardian deity inside the fox statue that was trying to help.
  • A very interesting contrast with not only Malgams in general but also with Yummies made from inanimate objects, in that it had good intentions all along and was willing to sacrifice itself for a good cause in the end.
• When Rinne confronts Atropos on whether or not she's involved with the villagers (she isn't), Atropos tries to ask Rinne about her reason to live. Rinne calmly answers that she wants to give Atropos a normal life, showing sympathy towards the enemy. Atropos, as usual, just spits out that she despises Rinne.

Episode 30: A Rival Sol-journs!? Gotcha and Juliet

• Kyoka lets Lachesis be her assistant despite Lachesis having fought her surrogate son multiple times. Even Minato wishes to thank her for her help.
• Clotho pops in and begs Lachesis to come back but the latter stalwartly refuses because she knows Atropos will kill her despite Clotho claiming she asked Atropos to forgive her. This shows just how big the sisterly love between Clotho and Lachesis that she really wants her younger sister back unlike Atropos.
• Then just as Supana was about to finish off Clotho, Lachesis steps in showing that she still cares about her sister despite being on different sides now. Minato uses this opportunity to teleport himself, Kyoka, Supana, and Lachesis away.

Episode 31: Krackin' Duo In The Dark, Believe In Each Other

• After witnessing Hotaro as Gotchard and Rinne as Majade in action against the Kraken Malgam, Seina realizes how much of a bond the two have for each other and compliments how unbeatable it is. Rinne then throws the compliment back at Seina saying she is unbeatable herself before vowing to work hard more.
  • It appears that it was Minato's doing that allowed her to make this decision, as he did erase her memories but recalls having seen them have a synergy, and that ended up bein why Seina insisted Rinne should be Juliet in the end.

Movies and spinoffs

Kamen Rider Gotchard VS Kamen Rider Legend

Part 2

• After calling Houtarou either by his Rider name or kisama throughout the special, Kaguya finally calls him by name.
• Kaguya's main reason to become a rider and "shine brightly" is to have all evil focus on him and only him so that no one else would get hurt, and minimize collateral damage involving civilians.

Kamen Rider Gotchard × Geats — The Strongest Chemy ☆ Gotcha Grand Operation

• The true identity of the Geats Chemy: Ace's pet dog Konstantine, who's spirit lingered on after death. As it turns out, Houtaro also grew up in the same neighborhood and also witnessed the accident firsthand, and once he realizes that it was Ace who was the poor dog owner back then he immediately steps in to help.
  • Before Kon leaves, he shares one final moment with Ace thanking him for filling his life with happiness. Ace’s final scene then shows him passing by his old house, looking at Kon’s old dog house with a smile.
  • Kon is revealed to have been the one to protect Ace from turning into a Chemy. Even beyond life and death, he would still protect his friend.
• Rinne becoming a Kamen Rider thanks to her father, as she forgives him for his actions. And it is worth noting that this is while Rinne was trapped in the Wizard Malgam's nightmare spell, which somehow became a dream that helped her realized her desire.
• A backstage picture shown by Fubuki in her livestream has Ace sleeping with Geats Chemy, a scene as ridiculously adorable as it sounds.