Nightmare Fuel / Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

"I AM GOD!!!"

You think this series was going to get Lighter and Softer after Kamen Rider Ghost? Well... you made a fatal mistake. GAME OVER.

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TV Series

Episode 1: I'm A Kamen Rider!

• A dose of how scary the Bugster Virus is: Anyone can get infected and once you are, it'll fester inside you until it gathers enough power to hijack your body and turn it into a huge amorphous monster. And even then it can only be removed from the afflicted person if the Bugster monster is destroyed.
• Bugsters are basically this year's Phantoms. Anybody can suddenly come down with a cold or other illness and anything stressful can trigger the transformation into a massive monster before another monster pops out of your body when you turn back to normal. Said monster will then do everything in its power to make your life a living hell just to increase your stress. Soon, you'll start disappearing with the monster growing in strength until it's complete and you disappear from reality. What makes them worse than the Phantoms is the fact that unlike a Gate's inner Phantom, they don't need other Bugsters' help to hasten their completion, they can just go and strengthen the stress themselves by making their host sick. You're somewhat safe from the Phantoms if you're not a Gate (unless you're the Gate's source of hope...), but for the Bugsters, you can be infected anytime without even knowing about it. Bugsters don't even have to work on guessing what will stress out their victims either. Graphite confirms that the Bugster and its host are connected in a way that would allow them to know exactly what they need to do in order to complete themselves and kill their hosts.
• The end of episode is a minor case. The screen glitches and turn to static before cutting to a black screen with pink "See you Next Game." It gets a bit more ominous considering Parado's comments near the beginning of the episode about how the world would be theirs to "play with". This might be less ominous to some when you realize the Ominous Visual Glitch is actually a shout-out to the end of Super Metroid. To quote the Kamen Rider Wikia:

  "The closing screen stating "See you next game" is a nod to the Metroid series from the phrase "See you next mission" once finishing the game. The latter phrase is first used at the end of Super Metroid followed by an evaluation of the player's item collection rate, and would later be used in subsequent Metroid games like the Prime series."

Episode 2: Another Prodigy With A No Thank You?

• Amidst the awesome opening, we get a part where Emu suddenly disintegrates into data, although two parts later, he almost seems to be fading back in. It is far more terrifying when it is later revealed to be what happens to a Rider when their gauge hits zero and it's Game Over for them.
• The last scene of the episode, with Kuroto selling the Gamer Driver and Bang Bang Shooting Gashat to Taiga. The scene itself is not scary, but the implication that he would sell a dangerous device like that to anyone with enough money is a terrifying thought. What if the one who bought it was a criminal?
  • The fact that Taiga is a former CR doctor raises more questions - does Kuroto know that something's up and they'll need all the help they can get, even if it was from someone whose license got revoked? Or did he just want someone else in the Game?
  • Taiga suggests his money will go towards the development of another game. What game requires so much funding that Genm doesn't already possess? And how much power will it unleash?
    • It really is that bad.

Episode 3: BANG, That Jerk Is Coming!

• Near the climax, we discover that the health bars on the Riders' chest aren't just for show in an ominous way: If the Rider's health is depleted, they don't lose their transformation. They die.

Episode 5: Everyone Gathers For A Clashing Crash!

• Genm talking in a voice that sounded like it's straight from a horror movie. Maybe he should've stayed silent.
• Graphite's transformation is nothing short of terrifying due to it coming out of absolutely nowhere, not helped at all by the Bugvisor's positively demonic growling voice. It gets worse when you consider that the Bugvisor is used to spread the Bugster virus, and that in episode 2 Brave and Ex-Aid both received a direct hit... though that seems to be from the orange cloud it releases. Brave and Ex-Aid just got shot.
  INFECTION! Let's Game! Bad Game! Dead Game! Whatcha Name?! THE BUGSTERS!
• Taiga's reaction to just seeing Graphite is kind of scary considering he goes from smug and collected to frothing at the mouth rage, abandoning tactics in favor of a brute force assault. It gets worse due to the next episode preview hinting that Graphite was responsible for the death of the patient that got Taiga's licence revoked.
• Emu's Psychotic Smirk before transforming. It came completely out of nowhere. This episode might be a hint that "M" isn't really a good thing. Emu cares about people, but "M" seems to be just as Ax-Crazy as Genm, if not moreso! Not helped at all when we get to see Genm's Rider Gauge is almost empty after he escapes. Emu almost killed another human being.
• Kuroto's Slasher Smile in the same episode is really terrifying, showing us that he's not really all there. On the other hand, as time went on his tendency to do this would actually cross the line into fandom adored Fountain of Memes. There's an extra level of horror to knowing that the guy who supplies the Riders with their equipment and power-ups is working with the Bugsters.

Episode 6: A Hollow Beating In The Heart!!

• We actually get to see what happens to the patient if the Game Disease completes it's infection, they completely disappear without any trace. Try to imagine someone you care about dying of a disease that, according to the general population, doesn't exist. And to really rub salt in the wound, there's nothing left to bury. Poor Hiiro.

Episode 8: Men, Fly High!

• At the end, we have Graphite using the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat by stabbing it into his chest. The evil laugh he does as the Gashat starts empowering made the scene even more terrifying. It's creepy seeing him stab a Gashat into himself, but the ultimate creepiness is his terrifying laugh echoing, then fading into the already-unnerving See You Next Game.
• Snipe gets, what is arguably, the most powerful Level 3 Rider Gashat: Jet Combat. It allows him to fly, use gattling guns and fire missiles. Yes, all that power in the hands of an egoistical amoral jerk.
• Parado's talk with Kuroto, where he tells him the Prototype Gashats will ruin his body through continued use. Worse, even using the regular Gashats seems to have serious side effects, as Taiga hints near the end of the episode. Not to mention that in order to be a Rider, you had to be operated on to use the drivers. While it's meant for foreshadowing on Emu's backstory, it has rather dark implications towards the other Riders and gives nod to the original Kamen Rider.
• The next episode lightens it a bit by revealing that the operation is simply introducing a small amount of the Bugster Virus to the subject to create an immunity to it, similar to a vaccine. This opens a new can of worms however, as Emu hasn't had said operation. This begs the question, "Then how can he use the Driver?"

Episode 9: Beat Up The Dragon!

• Parado aying his catchphrase, only this time, he said it in a disturbing, psychotically cheery tone. Even worse, he addressed it directly to Emu.
• Emu gets his hands on the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat and uses its full power.
  • Similar to OOO PuToTyra, Emu is overwhelmed by the power of the Level 5 Gashat and proceeds to flail around, attacking anybody in his vicinity while having spasms of energy shooting off randomly around him before being forcibly unmorphed by the sheer power of the Gashat.
  • The similarities to PuToTyra only increase as the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat seems to have been corrupting Emu until Brave, Snipe and Lazer team-up and damage the dragon.
  • The whole thing is creepy. Seeing Emu, who was described as a clear crystal just episodes ago, being readily willing to attack and hurt people is just... unsettling.

Episode 12: Christmas Special: Targeting The Silver Xmas!

• Boy, where do we start with Zombie Gamer? As expected of a form based of Survival Horror, it doesn't disappoint. Here's some examples:
  • Let's start with the fact that this form is Level 10. A full five levels higher than the riders can currently reach.
  • Just activating the Gashat generates a Game Area that's populated not by power up items, but by Bugster Grunts acting like zombies. Genm's practically a Bugster himself now.
  • Usually a belt jingle can defuse a bit of the horror of an evil rider. Not in this case, and not helped by the fact that it's punctuated by the Buggle Driver roaring like a zombie at points.
  Genm Level X: Buggle Up! Danger! Danger! (Genocide!) Death the Crisis! Dangerous Zombie! (SKRAAAAAAAA!!!!!!)
  • His transformation sequence alone is scary enough, unlike other Riders where they are enveloped by a screen containing their Rider form, Genm breaks through his when becoming Zombie Gamer leaving black smoke around him as a result.
  • His Rider Gauge is cracked and starts at zero showing that he isn't properly alive anymore and leaves the question of how can he be beaten when he doesn't even have any more health to lose. The worst thing about fighting an undead enemy like Zombie Gamer might be his ability to No-Sell everything thrown his way. He tanks Lazer's Critical Finish like just standing there and taking it isn't a big deal. Even worse is the possibility that he's got a Healing Factor that lets him recover from the attack faster than he can take damage or even nullify the attack entirely. Watching as a powerful attack fades into dust when it hits Genm, one has to wonder how any of the Riders can defeat him in the first place without using a form at a higher Level?
  • After transforming, he makes some really unnatural laggy spasming movements similar to that of the usual portrayal of Zombies. Despite his appearance, Kuroto isn't human anymore. Even worse is the fact said laggy movements and visual glitches aren't effects for the audience: Kuroto generates those in this form, meaning his enemies see them too.
  • His Critical End, unlike other Critical moves, doesn't have the cartoony effects that shows the name of the attack appearing on screen. Instead, it includes a lot of black mist and dark aura appearing around him. The creepy music playing while he does it doesn't help either. His Critical Dead is truly a culmination of just how nightmarish Zombie Gamer really is. Using it spreads black mist over the field, out of which shadowy, human-like masses emerge to converge upon the target. Had Brave not tackle Ex-Aid out of the way, one could be forgiven for thinking that they would've dragged Ex-Aid down into the underworld.
  • The fact that he killed Kiriya, who was using Level 3, without breaking a sweat. Even Lazer's Critical Finish couldn't put a dent on him. Right now, Genm is pretty much the strongest Rider.
  • By the way, you see that "white hair" on his head? That's a device called the Deadly Jammer, which prevents Gamer Drivers from automatically ejecting Gashats to preserve the life of their users and traps them within the Game Area.
  • The reason Kuroto's sticking with using Dangerous Zombie despite it showing signs of being outclassed and demonstrating that he can make Level 50 Gashats is because the X in Level X has two meanings; the Roman Numeral for 10 and the Unknown Variable X, and as of episode 21, he's achieved it.
• We finally see how someone dies from a Game Over, they begin to pixelate and fade away a lot like a Bugster infected patient and short of using the Dangerous Zombie Gashat there is no way to stop it. Oh yeah, and if you're thinking you've seen it somewhere before, you're right. It's what happens to Emu during the opening credits. Also, those who have watched Kamen Rider Dragon Knight probably know how it is similar to being vented.

Episode 13: Defined Destiny

• Whatever the blank Mighty Brothers XX Gashat did to Emu before his natural Bugster Immunity kicked in... and even then we're not sure if that actually happened. Remember that his eyes still glow red, a usual sign of a Bugster coming out. From what we can see, the blank Gashat seemed to flood Emu's body with Bugster viruses that then makes contact with his immune system. Our hero in pink isn't the same anymore.
• We finally get to see Zombie Gamer's Resurrective Immortality ability, complete with the creepy "resurrection" stand-up movement, just drives home on the undead aspect. his empty-by-default Rider Gauge was spoken of lightly by fans until this episode: he's zombie-based, so he has no Hit Points because zombies are dead! Ha, cute little suit design touch there. Kudos, TOEI. But then he starts taking the full brunt of Super Mode attacks, even once getting the Monster of the Week Defeat Means Explosion treatment... and then instantly getting back up with undead-like motions with his full strength intact, talking about having transcended death when for the first time an actual character notes the empty gauge. Turns out... he has no life points because zombies are dead. No, he's not still just another guy in a suit who will go down if he's hit hard enough. He's become something else that doesn't work that way. You can kill him, and have, but he's no longer the sort of creature that stops when it dies, and there's no Plan B for that. And his CRITICAL DEAD attack involves summoning a bunch of digital zombies that are glowing red indicating that they're about to blow up, and they stockpile on you!

Episode 14: We're Kamen Riders!

• Starting with this one, the updated credits sequence has shocked many a fan, since Kiriya was practically erased from the opening. It's particularly jarring to see that the shot of him holding up his gashat is now just a plain background and some static.
  • The way that his segment has been edited is so seamless, it really makes you afraid for the other Doctor Riders. After all, Kuroto's already stated that every last one of them is now a loose end.
  • Worse? In the four-way Rider fight, Ex-Aid, Snipe and Brave all transform, with a hologram of Lazer Lv.1 looking on, motionless. It really drives home the fact that his game data might still exist, but the man himself no longer does.
• Using the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat causes Emu to suffer headaches and followed by loss of consciousness for a while. Now, let's look back, almost if not everytime a power up caused a side effect for the Rider, it will never end well for said Rider.
• The Wham Line delivered at the end by Taiga, "Ex-Aid, you have the Game Disease."

Episode 15: A New Challenger Appears!

• Several terrifying new developments:
  • Nico shows us what happens if you don't have the Compatibility Surgery operation and try to use the Driver... you get the Bugster Virus. Enough said.
  • Kamen Rider Para-DX's first appearance and abilities at Level 50, showing just how far the Bugsters still outclasses the Riders.
    • Not only that, but Kuroto states that the Gashat Gear Dual is nothing but practice for Parado in preparation for Kamen Rider Chronicle which is even stronger.]]
  • We see why a compatibility surgery is needed to use the Gashats when Nico tries to use Bang Bang Shooting to eliminate Emu herself, not only does it simply not work for her, but it caused a Bugster infection immediately.
  • Taiga and Hiiro learn what Kiriya discovered and was killed for knowing, Emu is Patient Zero for the Bugster Virus. A fact that raises several more alarms:
    • During the flashback when the operation on Emu six years ago failed, the doctors became infected with the Bugster Virus but instead of showing symptoms and disappearing slowly like other patients, they disappear on the spot with no Bugsters shown spawning. Emu's Game Disease is so virulent that it kills instantly and not even the deaths of several people can cause the Bugster to spawn, imagine how powerful it will be when it finally does.
  • Taiga realizes that telling Emu this fact with stress him out severely and can risk causing the virus to become active and warns Hiiro of this, both Riders come to the conclusion that Emu must be eliminated.]]
  • What we previously thought to be side effects of using the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat are now manifesting when Emu uses normal Gashats and possibly in his normal work as a doctor in the form of an "anemic attack", the headaches are not side effects, they're signs of the Game Disease manifesting after stress.

Episode 16: The Paradox Of Defeating M

• We finally got to see how Parado is when he's angry. When the Revol Bugster shoot him in the back while he's having "fun" with Ex-Aids XX L and XX R, Parado is LIVID. He proceed to destroy Revol easily while in a extremely unnerving Tranquil Fury state. Again, he does this against a Bugster who is supposed to be his ally. It's now very clear that Parado is really not right in the head. Whoever it is, if they interrupt his "fun", he will destroy them, whether it's his allies or enemies. Let's also remember that this guy is easily one of the strongest Rider in the series....

Episode 17: A Nonstandard BURGSTER?

• In after what was a generally fun and lighthearted episode, ends in Kuroto killing Burgermon, showing how unsafe it is with him and Parado around. And the reasoning behind Kuroto killing Burgermon? He was from a game Kuroto didn't make. It shows that just like Parado, if his allies rub him the wrong way, he'll murder them without a second thought. Unlike Parado however, who at least makes sure the destroyed Bugster's data can still be stored in the Gashacon Bugvisor so it can be used again someday. He chose to go against someone who wasn't willing to fight and posed no threat whatsoever. It didn't further his plans in any way; he just wanted satisfaction from killing an innocent being who just happened to irritate him without doing anything.

Episode 18: The Truth Exposed

• The smile Kuroto scares Nico Saiba with. It's Played for Laughs mostly, but the ominous musical accompanyment and grayscaled screen highlight someone that has done cartwheels off of the cliff of sanity.
• We see Emu finally succumbing to his disease. It doesn't look pretty. He screams as yellow light covers him while his body fades into pixels and his face looks like it's tearing apart.

Episode 19: A Sudden Fantasy!?

• The debut of Brave Taddle Fantasy Gamer Level 50. Sounds awesome, right? Well, it is...except there's a catch. In order to access Level 50, Hiiro has to infect himself with a large amount of Bugster Virus. And unlike Emu, who had a lot of antibodies, Hiiro just went through a normal procedure. He pulls through, but imagine if he didn't...
• Gatton, this episode's Bugster. It's not separated from patient, It's Level 30, and it can turn itself into data and use CR's computer systems to escape quarantine. Now imagine if the patient's source of stress is somewhere outside of Japan like, say, America, Europe, or the International Space Station? and even without it, imagine Genm uses a Bugster to disturb or destroy CR's system from the inside.

Episode 21: Chasing The Mystery!

• The Bugster Virus was created by the Y2K Crisis and was first discovered by Kuroto. Then, on Zero Day, he purposefully infected countless people with the Bugster Virus, killing thousands, and placed the blame on his father. All to create a monstrous game where people have to fight monsters in real life to survive.
  • Especially creepy is that young Kuroto is not only adorable, but at that point he seems to have an actually good relationship with his father. Something must have happened to twist that teenager into the monster who released the virus.
• So everybody knows that when Genm got hit by a Critical Finish, he just jerks himself back up? We finally get an explanation for it: Kuroto has been dying and reviving all this time! Looks like the gashat isn't finished recording death at all after #11. But after this episode, Kuroto has recorded enough of his own deaths to achieve Level X! Now the riders are going to be facing against a true undead Rider.
• Kamen Rider Chronicle. We finally have an idea of what it is. It is Kuroto's endgame that will transform the entire world into a literal battlefield where anyone can transform into a Ride-Player and fight forever, with him as the game master. Basically, a horrific mix of Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider Gaim, Danganronpa, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and ESPECIALLY Sword Art Online.

Episode 22: Engineered History!

• Genm showing off his "Level X" powers and wrecking Emu's Gamer Driver at the end of their fight, which is chilling to the core. Nevermind that Emu has a spare Gamer Driver ready in the next episode, but still... Not to mention it ends with him taking back the executive chair, proudly telling himself that Kamen Rider Chronicle is almost finished.
• The Reveal that Emu got infected by the Game Disease by Kuroto. Let that sink in. A little boy in the hospital sent Kuroto fan mail detailing his idea for a game and some character designs and was rewarded with a game laced with the Bugster Virus that laid dormant in him for ten years. There's It's All About Me levels of narcissism and then there's just flat out psychosis.
  • A bit of Fridge Horror might be in play here. As the young Kuroto becomes furious with how good Emu's ideas are, a familiar static effect appears on-screen. Considering he found the Bugster Virus to begin with, could this be a sign that something really did happen, like being influenced by it, that led to him becoming the Corrupt Corporate Executive he is now?

Episode 23: To The Max, Dead Or Alive!

• Kuroto's Sanity Slippage during the episode. At first he seems okay, approaching the police in an unusually calm manner. Then once he starts fighting, he's moving in an unusually jerky and erratic manner. And once he's lost his immortality, he goes completely off the rails. He infects a large group of people out of anger, and once the riders show up, he's reduced to just going nuts even when he hits the riders, eventually just flailing his arms to try and hurt something.
  • Also there's the aforementioned infection of a large group. Kuroto's stumbling around, beaten and bloodied, when he stumbles across a park full of people that he proceeds to infect out of desperation to find the last two required Bugsters. Just imagine being one of those poor unsuspecting people when a maniac starts flailing around a device that's spewing a horribly lethal disease indiscriminately
  • Also, his death. Like Kiriya's death, but worse. And Parado smiles through the whole scene, obviously happy with how things turned out.
    • Just to clarify, Emu tries to spare Kuroto but Parado decides that the loser needs to have a bad ending. To this end, he takes the Buggle Driver and Dangerous Zombie and uses them to pump Kuroto full of the Bugster Virus as he screams in pain and terror and begs for his life. All Parado does however is smile and calmly tell Kuroto that he'll be taking Kamen Rider Chronicle. Kuroto's last moments are those of absolute INSANITY as he screams that he's God and that his ambitions will live forever before he finally gets a "Game Over". MOTHER OF GOD.
    Parado: Thanks for your hard work, Game Master. I'm taking Kamen Rider Chronicle.
    • Making matters worse is the fact that Dangerous Zombie's strain of the Bugster Virus was strong enough to cripple someone who was immunized against said virus. Kuroto got hit with an extra-strong dose of the game disease, with no immunity to buffer out the damage dealt, and so must've died in excruciating pain.
• So simple, yet somehow so creepy—Parado somehow mucking up the scene's colour saturation when he tries to talk Emu into killing Kuroto.

Episode 25: Start The New Game!

• Parado kills six people. All of them were playing Chronicle with no knowledge of what happens when you lose, and they all died on the spot. We get to watch their initial confusion as the deleting effect begins, panic as they learn what's happening to them from "Poppy" (and the Poppy avatar doesn't lose one bit of her bouncy cheerfulness as she tells the doomed players that "Game Over" means you disappear from existence) and finally hear them begging and screaming in terror as they are deleted, including one Adorkable newbie Emu had watched being given the tutorial near the beginning. All Emu could do is watch as the poor guy faded into nothing, screaming the whole time.
  • The music playing when Poppy explains that is just creepy, due to it being an up-beat tune slowed down.
• It gets better: Kamen Rider Chronicle is rated A (the Japanese equivalent of "Rated E for Everyone.") Somewhere, even little kids are suffering this fate.
  • Alternatively Nightmare Retardant or another level worse: Because CERO's ratings are issued through a playtest in real life, it implies that some game assessor played the game and used their life as a credit just to give the game a rating. It's a bit of a shock that they somehow didn't find any violence, but also likely came down with Bugster shortly after submitting their review.
• And on a more sinister note, the Ride Player activation call is a case of Hiding in Plain Sight for the Bugsters' end goal and how those foolish enough to fall for their trap are riding towards their own extinction.
  Enter the Game! Ri-Riding the End!
• Parado reveals the true nature of the way Chronicle works under the control of the Bugsters:

  Parado: Kamen Rider Chronicle isn't a game where humans defeat Bugsters. It's a game where Bugsters defeat humans. A game to destroy humanity.

• Parado's entire motivation is kind of horrifying when you think about it. A sentient game character spends his entire life getting beaten over and over by humans until he decides he wants to make them feel what it's like to suffer defeat. And then he escapes his game into the real world because a madman wants to make a Deadly Game where humanity fights to the death for survival and sees his opportunity to fulfill his dream. Parado is The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You incarnate.
• There is no escape from the game once you start it, because it infects you with Game Disease and you can only cure yourself by destroying the Bugster. Keep in mind that Chronicle is based on Survival Sandbox games and Poppy's avatar in the tutorial not only tells the players that Kamen Riders have better equipment than them, but actively encourages the players to hunt them for said equipment, just like every player in a Survival Sandbox and the horrible things they usually do. Now the Riders have a second enemy that they can't even kill hunting them just to survive.
• The new opening now has Asuna switching places with her Bugster Form, with a terrified Asuna now trapped inside a television while Poppy is out.

Episode 26: Players Who Bet On Survival

• We finally get to see the Bugvisor II in action and it's worse than the first one, with the voice being even deeper and more sinister. While the first Bugvisor's voice was meant to sound like a growling zombie, the Bugvisor II's voice sounds calm, cool and collected. It's gone from a rampaging monster to an intelligent and confident villain.

Episode 27: Love & Peace For The Winner

• We finally get to see Ren's eccentricity and Manipulative Bastard qualities in a terrifying light. He reveals that beating Kamen Rider Chronicle will revive everyone who was killed in the game if beaten, manipulating people into playing the game despite the danger, and when two Genm Corp. employees try to resign over Ren making and distributing a game that literally kills its players, he tears up their resignation letters, making it very clear that he won't let them leave.
• Also, Taiga's speech can be interpreted as that he doesn't see himself as having any future. What he will do once the Bugster virus is eradicated? Is he going to live long enough to see that? Does he even want that? Apparently, Nico is his only hope for a future. Oh, he is doomed.

Episode 28: Beyond Your Identity

• Parado's OOC moment comes in full circle. He's not amused at Emu's reprogramming of Poppy and is even shown threateningly choking her.
  • The scariest part about the above is that as Poppy starts to voice that she doesn't want to fight humans, Parado turns around incredibly fast and grabs her by the throat before pushing her back and holding her by her neck as he pushes her towards the edge of the roof they were conversing on as a Scare Chord goes off, in no uncertain terms threatening her to stay the course. It shows the viewer exactly the kind of person Parado is.
    Parado: You'd better enjoy the game more.
• Parado's Demonic Possession of Emu and, as of the episode 29 preview, getting access to Level 99.

Episode 29: We're Me!?

• More of Parado possessing Emu. Thanks to the excellent acting by both Shouma Kai and Hiroki Iijima, it's just freaking disturbing.
  • On top of that, there's the implication that Parado has been in control of Ex-Aid Level XX R this entire time.
• Parado's evolution into Perfect Knock Out Gamer, his Level 99 form. Remember how earlier Taiga and Hiiro were able to match Parado in combat? They're both effortlessly downed by this new form.
• Parado's twisted sense of You Can't Fight Fate towards Emu. Every time Parado has aided Emu; giving him the Gashat to create Mighty Brothers XX in episode 10, preventing him from disappearing in Episode 19 was out of the idea that Emu's fate is his to control so he can have his battle with Emu.
  • When you take him seeing Emu as a "friend" into account, it gets rather Squicky. You now have a Psychopathic Manchild trying to make you happy by forcing you to become unhappy so that you'll fight him, all the while wondering why you're unhappy with him. It paints Parado as an incredibly eldritch Stalker without a Crush.

Episode 30: Strongest VS Strongest!

• A nice dose of Paranoia Fuel: After being kidnapped by Parado, Emu somehow escapes, approaching the gang as they finish a battle. He assures them he is OK, but slips on pronouns, using the confident ore instead of the more boyish boku that he usually uses. It turns out he was being possessed by Parado, who somehow managed to nail his usual mannerism. Were it not for the aforementioned Freudian Slip, nobody would have figured it out. Thinking about everything Parado could have done in Emu's body is just creepy.
  • Parado!Emu breaking into a psychotic Evil Laugh after exposing himself goes from just plain disturbing to serious Nightmare Fuel very easily. Kuroto's Large Ham tendencies and his own evil laugh would become darkly comedic over time (at least to some viewers), but this is more disturbing every time it happens.
• The fact that both times Parado and Emu fought in their Level 99 forms, Parado won. As close as the second battle may have been, this only spells out bad news for the Doctor Riders.
• Had Hiiro, Taiga and Nico not shown up when they did, Emu would've died from decapitation.

Episode 31: The Forbidden Continue!?

• The further showcasing of the return of Kuroto Dan.... as a Bugster. CR now has an unpredictablely Ax-Crazy narcissistic Serial Killer prone to violent outbursts with computerized teleportation powers occupying their workplace with only the loosest of safeguards keeping him contained.

Episode 32: Judgement Received!

• The sheer power of Cronus aka Masamune Dan is utterly terrifying;
  • With his mastery of time he easily swats the Riders & Bugsters aside as if they were nothing. He even went as far as to give Lovelica a PERMANENT "Game Over." Anyone killed by Cronus will stay dead.
  • What's worse about Cronus is that unlike Kuroto, whose descent into insanity with his flailing and yelling could be somewhat entertaining to watch, Masamune never raises his voice or moves faster than a calm pace. And why would he need to? All it takes is a push of a button or two, and they're already dead.
  • There's the wording Masamune uses to describe what he did to Lovelica. It makes it sound less like he killed him and more like he trapped him in the absolute worst And I Must Scream situation.

    Cronus: There are no continues for those who die frozen in time. He is trapped in the moment of death... permanently.

  • Remember how terrifying it was that Genm's Level X form had a drained Rider Gauge? Cronus doesn't even have a Rider Gauge.
• We also got the first glimpse of the Final Boss Bugster: Its name is Gamedeus and Kuroto calls him the ultimate god. Considering how powerful Cronus already is, one could only imagine just how the hell is anyone going to defeat Gamedeus if he is even more powerful than Cronus. Even better, the key to defeat Gamedeus is Cronus' powers. It seems the situation isn't going to get any better for the Riders or Bugsters.

Episode 33: Company Reform!

• To show Emu and Asuna how much power he has, Masamune deletes Salty with just a keyboard command. Even worse, Salty was just talking with Parado and Graphite when this happened.
  • Also, there was no real reason Masamune did it. He just wanted to remind the Bugsters he owns them, and poor Salty was a cruel reminder to either follow the rules, or face the consequences.

Episode 34: Accomplished Rebirth!

• Saki returns... but her data is incomplete and she can only repeat her last words over and over.
• Gamedeus' virus appears and the bugsters want to use it to overcome Cronus. Graphite allowed himself to be the carrier of Gamedeus' virus. Even though it was only a small portion of Gamedeus' power, it managed to cause him, a level 99 Bugster, to experience enormous pain. Whatever Gamedeus is, he's bad news indeed.

Episode 35: Rescue The Partner!

• Kiriya returns complete and yet is not the same anymore. He sees Emu as a Broken Pedestal for failing to fulfill his last wish and now, willingly works for Masamune.
• Gamedeus virus seems to start overwhelming Graphite.
• Whatever Kiriya whispered to Emu, it pushed the intern off the deep end immediately.
  • Nico, of all people, says this is so unlike him.
  • Worst of all, when asked what exactly Kiriya whispered to him, Emu pauses...then solemnly states that You Do Not Want To Know. Even ignoring for a moment that this scene is juxtaposed with Kiriya in the rain, looking at the spot where he was killed...then sporting a Slasher Smile / Kubrick Stare combo(which itself also counts as Nightmare Fuel), the fact that Emu is so shaken that he prefers to keep it secret just makes it worse]].
  • The reveal in the next episode that Kirya was Good All Along dumps a TON of Nightmare Retardant on this scene. Emu was playing along the whole time. And the reason he said You Do Not Want To Know? He didn't want to blow the charade. On the other hand, maybe the mystery was supposed to be more terrifying than the answer, by keeping the viewers guessing for the moment what would really happen.
  • Emu's Rage Breaking Point is also terrifying to some degree, even without Parado influencing him. That, or his acting for the sake of Kirya's Fake Defector act. Even then, he made it pretty convincing.

Episode 37: Resolution Of The White Knight!

• The sadistic choice Masamune presents Hiiro with. Kill Emu or lose Saki. He manages to wiggle out of it by targeting Parado, but still, if Masamune wants Emu dead, he won't give up that easily.
• The aftermath of Taiga losing a fight against Graphite. He is so battered and bleeding that it looks almost like an early Heisei-era series (think Rider death in Ryuki ). Emu, Kiriya and Poppy are frantically working to stabilize him before an ambulance arrives, while he writhes in pain. The situation has reduced Nico into a panicking wreck as she pleads with him to not die. Hiiro watches in horror before turning around and running away.

Episode 38: Period With Tears

• Masamune continues down the Sanity Slippage. The way he laughs (madly) as he beats Emu up and proclaims his control over Hiiro's life definitely prove that he lost his marbles (if earlier events were not enough of an indication).
  • His plan to spoil CR crew's Hope Spot by making Hiiro kill Taiga is just Paranoia Fuel. CR crew wouldn't even know that if he didn't tell, thinking he has Hiiro under control. Their horrified reactions upon getting to know that count too.

Episode 39: Goodbye Me!

• Masamune infected Nico with Gamedeus Game Disease off-screen, causing the events of this and following episodes. How did he even do that?!
• Emu mocking Parado's attitude during their final battle. The way he does it makes it seem like he's actually enjoying the thought of killing the guy.
  • In fact, the entire 'duel' (And we're using the term very loosely here) between Parado and Emu does what no series has managed to do since OOO, and arguably does it better than OOO ever did: Make a Final Form... scary. The garish and very over-the-top Muteki Gamer becomes genuinely very creepy when there's no fanfare, no high-flying moves, and it's presented from Parado's perspective. One of the most heroic-looking and even silly Final Forms in recent times gains an unnerving dissonance as Emu simply MAULS Parado without mercy, walking through all of Parado's attacks and making it clear how outclassed his would-be rival really is. All combined with Emu's vicious taunting and cold determination, it feels more like watching a villain at work than our hero in his ultimate form.
  • One moment in particular stands out: Parado attempts a Villain: Exit, Stage Left, saying that he'll win next time, only for Emu to Flash Step in, grab him by the collar, stop his teleport, and then growl at Parado that there isn't going to be a next time and that he has to get the ending he deserves. The moment in question gets scarier when Emu's Flash Step collar grab gets accompanied not with triumphant and heroic music like one would expect, but with this season's signature Scare Chord.
  • The very reason that made Emu to do all of these? Nico is infected with Gamedeus' Game Disease, and the Sadistic Choice that Cronus forced Emu to choose.
  • It turns out Emu was actually invoking this trope: he wanted to make Parado fear for his life as much as possible to finally make him realize what death actually was.
• Throughout the episode, it's shown that Parado is slowly getting more and more scared of actually dying. Whenever this is shown, it's interspersed with some lovely footage of Parado drowning in an endless ocean. In next episode, Emu says that his and Parado's hearts were connected. That basically means that Emu LITERALLY felt everything he caused Parado to feel, and he CHOSE to kill him, while feeling like he's the one dying once again. All so that Nico can be saved. Hardcore doctor to the boot.
• In a way, the sadistic choice Masamune gives in this episode to Emu is to save his patient, or save his creation which he does seem to start to care about lately, as him ignoring Parado's requests of battle usually boils down to "patient first" not "Patient is the only one I care about, you get lost monster" like before (optionally, save the current patient, or save the countless patients you could've saved, had you had Ex-Aid's power). It's as if creator of Ju Ju Burger was told to choose between Burgermon and his coworkers.
• Poppy's reaction to watching Emu finish Parado off. She remembers how Emu saved her and Burgermon, so seeing him not pick that option with Parado is just frightening to her. Exactly the supposed audience reaction. Sure it wasn't permanent, but she didn't know that.

Episode 40: Destiny Reboot!

• Taiga seeing Nico suffer may had reminded him of Saki...
• Masamune gaining the power to reset time and erase Hyper Muteki, the only Gashat that could defeat him, from existence.

Episode 42: God Arrives!

• What Gamedeus caused definitely looks like what Zero Day probably did.
• Creating a cure for the spreading Gamedeus Game Disease, Kuroto gained the ability to cure it which he displays on Kiriya. Fortunately, he didn't show the other side of the ability - infection. Yup, that's right, the resident second worst psychopath now has the strongest strain of the Game Disease at his disposal.
• Worse, the resident absolutely worst psychopath now has too. Masamune Dan saved Gamedeus data after his defeat and injected them into himself, becoming a Bugster. Still worse, Masamune's following smile is the runner up for best Slasher Smile in the history of Kamen Rider. Assuming that is still Masamune...
  • The entire scene where Masamune merges with Gamedeus. After he kills Gamedeus, the Level Clear screen pops up with fireworks going off... then he absorbs Gamedeus's data into the Bugvisor and injects it into himself, causing the screen to glitch out and finally crash. This is followed by Masamune going Laughing Mad as the fusion happens, ending with the "Game Over" announcement... only nothing happens. Masamune doesn't vanish... he just raises his head with the Tainted Veins Graphite showed and declares That Man Is Dead, implying the Game Over was indeed true... and what's standing there has stopped being Masamune.
    Gamedeus Cronus: The human known as Masamune Dan has ceased to exist. I am an existence with the powers of both Cronus and Gamedeus. The overseer of Kamen Rider Chronicle... and the True Final Boss.

Episode 43: White Coat License

• After getting beaten down, Masamune reveals that Gamedeus' strength isn't the only thing he's gained as Gamedeus Cronus. He demonstrates that he's also a living pandemic, infecting countless people and turning them into Bugsters the second that they're infected. The virus can even spread by touch from those infected and cause side effects immediately. Even with all his power, Masamune's still willing to doom countless people to put them under his control. It's just this time, he's doing it all himself.
• Super Gamedeus is pretty dang terrifying, being a gigantic beast with two dragon-like heads instead of arms and freaking covered in eyes. However, it loses some of it's menace when you realize it's a glorified Bugster Union that can be defeated rather easily by five Level 1 riders.

Episode 45: Endless Game

• Masamune, not wanting to receive judgement from the Ministry of Health, decides to commmit suicide by stabbing the Kamen Rider Chronicle master Gashat onto his chest. By doing so, green electric volts come shocking at him as Masamune screams in severe pain, then dissolving into green particles, thus also depriving the Riders of the chance to save the Bugster Virus victims.

Movies & Specials

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Virtual Operations

• The Lazer episode is truly terrifying. Kuroto sneaks into the hospital room where Kiriya is being treated. While Kiriya is unconcious, Kuroto uses the Bakusou Bike Gashat and VR system to torture Kiriya psychologically and threatens him not to reveal Kuroto's identity as Genm. Seriously, the episode plays out like a Horror or Thriller movie.

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man VS Ex-Aid & Ghost With Legend Riders

• Michihiko Zaizen manages to knock Emu out of Rider form and inserts both Mighty Action X and Proto Mighty Action X Gashats into his Driver, making purple cracks appear on his body. This is even scarier for people who watched Kamen Rider Wizard, as purple cracks on a person is always a bad thing.

Kamen Rider Brave: ~Let's Survive! Revival Of The Beast Rider Squad!~

• The premise may have one for some people. Takeshi Asakura/Kamen Rider Ouja is back to terrorize the Doctor Riders, even when he's looking surprisingly old.
• The special goes a bit further in terms of violence thanks to one man: Takeshi Asakura. From killing a policeman to brutally beating up one of Hiro's assistants to bashing Emu with a metal pipe, it's safe to say that Ouja's back in all his glory.
  • To note: the first thing he does upon being resurrected is try to beat his own partners up with said pipe, and when he gets his powers back does so without a second thought. Further more, the other Riders on his team are duplicates and don't seem to actually have any personality to them (hence why Beast is a bad guy). Not Asakura. He's pretty much only in this because he's a sadistic monster who gets his kicks out of senseless cruelty and murder.
• And who should be behind Asakura and the Beast Rider Squad? No, not King Dark. After being absent from the franchise since Fourze, Foundation X is back. That is, if they ever left.
• Really the violence and blood and outright terror Asakura brings to the special almost completely changes the genre, to the point where it seems to have turned into some kind of slasher horror movie at one point when Asakura beats Emu bloody before he can even transform and proceeds to stalk Hiro's nurse through the area, even appearing Freddy/Jason style out of nowhere when it seems like she lost him and is seems like he's actively about to either murder her or have his way with her violently. It's only when Hiro returns that it shifts back into the usual Rider fantasy violence again.

Kamen Sentai Gorider

• The special has this in the form of Blade stabbing Ex-Aid in the gut in a sudden act of apparent betrayal. Yes, you read this right: a veteran protagonist Rider savagely betrays one of his successors. The look on Kenzaki's face is psychotic ecstasy as he sarcastically thanks Emu for bringing hope to the four dead Riders all so that he can break it himself and and have them wallow in despair and tells him that he's playing a game with no continues. It all sounds like how Kuroto would act, right? As it turns out, it's no coincidence - Kuroto has been posing as Kenzaki the entire time. Still, this is a shockingly sadistic performance from Takayuki Tsubaki, Kenzaki's actor.]]

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: True Ending

• The trailer shows us Gamedeus in his complete form, and he is absolutely terrifying. There's his Big Red Devil appearance, his screaming "I AM GOD!!!!!" in a very terrifying voice and the fact it look like he killed almost all of the riders when they all teamed up to fight him. When Kuroto said that Gamedeus is the ultimate Bugster, he wasn't kidding.
• Parado pointing the Parabragun at untransformed Nagumo, Johnny Maxima's The Dragon. The fact that it's only to keep him from trying something fishy doesn't exactly help.
• Madoka alone with Johnny Makishima/Gamedeus Machina in the collapsed Game World.
• Gamedeus Machina is not any less scary than the previous version and boosts it up with Evil Laugh worthy of Blood Stalk.

Kamen Rider Snipe: Episode Zero

• The miniseries is even worse than the main series in several ways. The Bugster virus is there, but the Doctor Riders, the only people who could stop it, are not. Yet. And the prototype Bang Bang Shooting Gashat, by then presumably the only piece of equipment able to combat the virus with, nearly kills both of its first users. Taiga eventually gets a grip on it, but he still fails to change the situation in any significant way. And then his best friend gets killed by the Gashat's side effect. Even worse, it happened right in the middle of their fight as Taiga is getting obsessed with the Gashat. And we all already know it won't be the only death Taiga will have to suffer through.
• The third part starts with Asuna finding Taiga repeating 'bugster virus' as Madness Mantra after Maki vanished.
• It also reveals that Kuroto infected Saki with a heavy dose of Bugster virus while she was in CR, making Graphite manifest into reality. Her death has never been Taiga's or Hiiro's fault and they won't get to know.
• Kuroto observing Saki being overtaken after he stressed her out is a great reminder just how much of a bastard he is.
• The end shows Taiga wandering the city, nothing more than a walking corpse now, before the screen goes into Interface Screw, he looks up and sees that his reflection has been replaced by the man who lost everything. The scene's horror is nearly palpable even after it cuts into the See You Next Game screen.
  • Just think about Taiga for a moment. He repeatedly states in the main series that he had lost everything; the prequel reveals that this was because of Genm's machinations, turning him from a nice and compassionate doctor into a bitter, aloof, angry shell of his former self as a result. The past wasn't kind to him.

Kamen Rider Brave & Snipe

• Saki is revived, but as mindless puppet of Ren Amagasaki, who declares her his girlfriend. That's just eww.
• Nico leaves the clinic for the night and returns next morning only to find Taiga bleeding on the floor after he purposefully infected himself with all types of Game Disease at once so he could complete his immunity and use Cronicle gashat to become Cronus.
• Taiga attempts to transform into Cronus using Bugvisor Zwei. His previous attempt with the Game Driver looked really bad and really painful, but this one has him scream and writhe in pain.

Kamen Rider Para-DX with Poppy

• Saito Yaotome kidnapping Parado. It comes out of nowhere. He is just lazing around on the roof of Seito University Hospital, but then she comes in and sucks him into the Bugvisor.
• The reveal that Saiko Yaotome is no better than her Mad Scientist father, Michihiko Zaizen. She replaces Parado with Another Parado, an Evil Twin under her control.
• Just Another Parado. He is a smug jerkass Social Darwinist, who makes Parado look like a sweet kid at any point of time. He beats Parado up and calls him a failure for having heart and compassion.
• When Another Parado shoots Emu with Bugvisor Zwei, Emu falls down and lays completely still with eyes open.
• Poppy, Parado and Saiko Yaotome watch Kuroto bite on Bugvisor Zwei he used to collect the data of Another Parado.

Kamen Rider Genm VS Lazer

• The Zombie Chronicle spawns the Level X Dangerous Zombie clones everywhere and starts yet another Zombie Apocalypse.

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