Recap / Kamen Rider Geats, Ep 1: Dawn F: Invitation to Be a Rider

Dawn F: Invitation to Be a Rider

Original Airdate: September 4, 2022
Written by: Yuya Takahashi
Directed by: Shojiro Nakazawa

Summary

Dear Mr. Genius Rider, unmatched!
(You're my savior. You're my saving grace.)

Job-hunting university graduate Keiwa Sakurai fails another interview. As his older sister, Sara, treats him to tanuki soba to cheer him up, they are suddenly separated by something. All of a sudden, Keiwa is saved by a fox-themed guy fighting some mysterious monsters, setting the stage for a boss battle. But what is truly going on?

Tropes

• Armor-Piercing Question: When Keiwa is at his job interview, Takahito asks him about his aim in life, upon which the young man summarizes his accomplishments. Takahito asks the question again, emphasizing that he wants to know what Keiwa wants in life, not what he's done so far. Keiwa is left scrambling, only managing to say "world peace" which causes him to flunk the interview.
• Big Damn Heroes: Twice:
  • First off is Takeshi/Shirowe appearing and saving Keiwa and Neon from Jyamato.
  • Second is Ace driving in on the Boostriker, rescuing Neon just as she falls from a building.
• Break the Cutie: While Keiwa is far from a straight example of Wide-Eyed Idealist, the Jyamato's carnage, imminent end of the world and the threat of an impeding violent death do him in and he loses hope in better future even after Ace tells him that world can be changed.
• Burp of Finality: The Shiro Jyamato gives one when it swallows Geats in the first episode. Of course, Geats proceeds to tear through it from the inside and ultimately destroy it.
• The Cameo: Suit actors Hajime Kanzaki and Nana Hayashimoto appear respectively as an office worker and a high school student who get invited by Tsumuri to the new DGP at the end of the episode.
• Character Death: Takeshi bites it after taking an attack head-on from a Fortress.
• Contrived Coincidence: Little does Sara know that Neon was livestreaming close by, which allowed Keiwa to run into Neon later in the episode.
• Delayed Reaction: It takes both Sara and Keiwa a moment to gather their bearings after their noodles suddenly blow up, even though Keiwa got hit with hot broth and noodles right to the face.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • The Desire Grand Prix scoreboard lists the names of several eliminated Kamen Riders from the ongoing round, which also notably shows that a lot of them share the same Animal Motif icon but in different colors, highly implying that Palette Swapping (such as between Shirowe and Da•Paan) is quite prevalent here.
  • When Ace transforms into Geats, the CG bullets used for the transformation have the phrases "Game is Over" and "Ye not Guilty" etched on them.
• Gory Discretion Shot: The motion and the following wet crunch are the only indicators that a Jyamato has impaled a man with its spear because the camera is focusing on its face.
• In Medias Res: The episode, and the show, opens at the Final Battle of the previous Desire Grand Prix, with Ace/Geats emerging victorious the world resetting for the next one.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory:
  • It's implied that Ace has this, as the beginning shows him readily accepting the invitation to the Desire Grand Prix while telling Tsumuri he is already aware of what's to come, despite the Reset Button that happens at the end of every round.
  • Keiwa regains his memories of the episode's events at the end of the episode when he accepts the invitation to the DGP.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Ace assumes Keiwa and Neon are an item after rescuing them, which both vehemently deny.
• Shout-Out: One of the phrases seen in the Freeze-Frame Bonus is a reference to The Big O.
• Tempting Fate: Sara asks her brother what would he want to eat if the world was going to end today. Keiwa gets caught up in the actual end of the world only a little later.
• Title-Only Opening: As per usual with first episodes.
• Translation Train Wreck: The DGP scoreboard has "Score" spelt as "Scoa".
• Wham Shot: The ending has Keiwa go about his day, thinking the episode's events were All Just a Dream, and confirms it with the soba shop owner who was supposed to have been fatally injured... until Tsumuri approaches him and various others with an invitation to the next Desire Grand Prix. The next scene then reveals that Ace had already restarted the world as the winner of the last round.
  Ace: Welcome... to my world.

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Final Mission — Save the City
GAME RESULT
Winner:

Ace Ukiyo/Geats (2,644,000 points)

Lose:

Michinaga Azuma/Buffa (runner-up; 864,000 points)
Takeshi Goutokuji/Shirowe (eliminated; 722,000 points)

Notable Past Participants:

Amane Amau/Meleo (120,000 points)
Ayumu Asie/Taria (77,000 points)
Takeshi Motimoto/Okemarupi (63,200 points)
Koto Yuihama/Yaiva (51,500 points)
Shizuka Imamati/Nippo (6,900 points)
Fumi Somamoto/Antch (0 points)

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DGP Rule #1

The moment you receive a Driver and I.D. Core, it's a one-way trip to becoming a Kamen Rider.
There is no turning back.