Recap / Kamen Rider Geats Ep 15 Scheme VI Right To Be A Kamen Rider

Scheme VI: Right to Be a Kamen Rider

Original Airdate: December 18, 2022
Written by: Yuya Takahashi
Directed by: Koichi Sakamoto

Summary

All of us are living in a corrupted society.
Eveyone is hiding feelings and anxieties.

Tsumuri: The current season of the Desire Grand Prix is approaching its end.
Tycoon, Na-Go, and Buffa reclaimed their Drivers and advanced to the final round.
PunkJack, however, was hacked by the Game Master.
Even more surprisingly, our reigning champion, Geats — Ace Ukiyo — was eliminated!
Just how will this game meet its conclusion...?

In a shocking twist, the DGP's leading champion has been eliminated! With four Riders now remaining, the final mission commences: a game of Battleship, where the player with the highest score is declared the winner and the new Desashin.

While Michinaga charges headlong into the fray, Keiwa and Neon — already plagued with self-doubt — find themselves struggling with the absence of Geats, barely managing to hold on against the last boss and the relentless Jyamato hordes.

But Ace and the DGP aren't done with each other just yet; with his memories of being a Rider erased, the now simple celebrity finds himself in the middle of the final round, this time as a civilian...

Tropes

• 10-Minute Retirement: Despite being eliminated and having his memories wiped, Ace took measures that would have him return to the DGP.
• All Your Powers Combined: Geats uses almost every Buckle available to take on the final boss and the Jyamato army, both his and the other active Riders' Buckles, even Michinaga's Zombie.
• Call-Back: The episode is very much a mirror to Dawn F, with three Riders left against the giant Final Boss, one of whom is killed in action, Geats arriving to save the day on the Boostriker and running into Keiwa and Neon, as well as several Meaningful Echoes.
• Cliffhanger: Despite Ace soloing the mission by himself, Girori doesn't call the game finished and gives Keiwa and Neon one more chance to become the Desashin.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Geats demolishes a group of Jyamato that defeated Michinaga outright and almost defeated all three active Riders.
• Crazy-Prepared: Ace had anticipated that he would somehow get eliminated due to external circumstances, so he secretly left clues in his room so that he'd remember sooner.
• Didn't Think This Through: Girori's plan to eliminate Ace from the DGP ends up being All for Nothing, as Tsumuri points out that Ace's very first wish was to continue participating in the DGP as long as he lived, and after gaining his memories back, Ace immediately demands to be let back in, which they naturally have to comply.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: As Michinaga dies in Ace's arms, he gives his equipment to the latter, which all of it but the Zombie Buckle disappears.
• Fatal Flaw: Ultimately, Michinaga's sole driven drive to win and Irrational Hatred to other Riders even to those who'd be ready to aid him like Keiwa and Neon is why he dies.
• Fighting Your Friend: The next game invokes this as Keiwa or Neon have to fight Ace this time to make their respective wishes come true, instead of the Jyamatos.
• Foreshadowing: Setting up the below loophole, Girori and Tsumuri are still Ace's family, indicating that it was only his unfulfilled wish that was negated.
• Gone Horribly Right: Due to Girori's sabotage in the previous episode, Tycoon and Na-Go come close to elimination and Buffa is eliminated, which would, if it wasn't for Ace's plan, have resulted in a complete failure.
• Heroic BSoD: Keiwa's growing horror after realizing the connection between the fallen Kamen Riders and the Jyamotos, and Neon's own shock at learning that her family has been linked to the DGP all along hobble their respective performances during this final round.
• Horrible Judge of Character: With Ace out of the picture, Girori believes Michinaga will become the next Desashin, due to his greater experience. Michinaga, however, gets mortally wounded by the Fortress Jyamato soon after due to his own recklessness, much to his disappointment.
• Internal Reveal: With Ace having his memories restored, everyone eventually breaks the ice about the information they know such as Girori's identity, the Jyamato's link to the Riders, and the Kurama Zaibatsu being a sponsor to the DGP.
• It Only Works Once: Michinaga tries to use the same strategy Ace did in the Dawn F game by going inside the Boss Jyamato and weakening him from the inside. It fails because this one is more powerful than the previous one and it costs Michinaga his life (it also probably didn't help that he didn't have the power-enhancing Boost Buckle like Ace did when trying this tactic). When Ace fights the Boss Jyamato later in the episode, he uses the more powerful Command Raise Buckles to weaken it on the outside before finishing it off.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Faced with self-doubts, due to their failure against the final boss and Neon's failure against the previous ones, as well as the shock from Michinaga's death and some revelations, Keiwa leaves the fighting to Ace once more, and Neon now seemingly does the same. Though Neon insists that they aren't strong enough yet for now, indicating that they'd try to improve themselves so they can take on the final boss in the future.
• Loophole Abuse: When Girori forbids Ace from participating again, Tsumuri points out one of Ace's previous wishes was that he'd be able to participate in the DGP until his death, and they have to honor it.
• Memory Gambit: Ace had planned for the eventuality that he could be eliminated from the DGP, and thus set up his room to provide him with a set of instructions that would lead to his memory being restored and eventually gain re-entry into the DGP.
• Non-Indicative Name: The mission's name, Battleship, does not involve warships of any kind nor does it resemble the eponymous board game's gameplay.
• Once More, with Clarity: Ace's first scene show him waking up in his room to indicate that he's no longer a Rider and lost his memories. The episode eventually flashes back to this scene showing how Crazy-Prepared Ace is, leading up to the moment he regains his Kamen Rider status.
• One-Man Army: Geats manages to defeat all the group of Jyamatos as well as the final boss completely by himself.
• Only I Can Kill Him: Though the three active Riders are all strong, they stand no chance against the Final Boss. Geats is so far the only Rider that can take on the final boss.
• Out of Focus: Likely due to no longer being needed after Ace's elimination, Win does not appear in this episode in any capacity.
• Right Under Their Noses: Ace had left several clues in his own room that led to a Note to Self on the underside of one of his posters, something that Girori, currently posing his father, did not notice at all despite living under the same roof.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Giroli suffers from the backlash of this twice, both from Tsumuri.
  • The first time has her point out that his elimination of Ace was a breach of the rules, which he brushes off.
  • The second time is when she points out that Ace's first wish allows Tsumuri to restore his entry, because nothing short of his outright death can eliminate him entirely.
  • He does it once more this episode, initiating an unauthorised Intermission Round of hunting Geats despite the goal of this game breaking the general rule that Riders are forbidden from fighting each other.
• Title Drop: When Ace declares that he will protect the world.
  Girori: (laughs derisively) You cannot! You no longer have the right to be a Kamen Rider.
• Wham Episode: The episode not only sees Michinaga being killed off, but also has Ace reveal all the information relating to Girori's identity, the Jyamato's link to the Riders, and the Kurama Zaibatsu sponsoring the DGP. And to top it all off, despite Ace's victory in the supposed Final Mission, Girori decides to add one more game targeting Ace instead of declaring the DGP season over.

---

Final Mission — Battleship
Winner

Ace Ukiyo/Geats (returning player)

Active Players

Keiwa Sakurai/Tycoon
Neon Kurama/Na-Go

Eliminated

Michinaga Azuma/Buffa

Unknown Status

Win Hareruya/PunkJack (under mind control)

*Game extended into an Intermission Round as per Game Master's request

---

DGP Rule #15

The game cannot be finished without the Game Master's acknowledgment.