Recap / Kamen Rider Geats Ep 22 Divergence VI Pursuit Catch The Chirami Oni

Divergence VI: Pursuit! Catch the Chirami Oni!

Original Airdate: February 12, 2023
Written by: Yuya Takahashi
Directed by: Shojiro Nakazawa

Summary

"Come... Steal it, if you can!"

"So, Sae Ganaha wasn't the Desastar."
Keiwa: We all voted for Sae, thinking it was her... but we thought wrong. That leaves only Ace or Neon... as the traitor.
"Are you raring to go?"
Keiwa: Honestly? I'm still hesitating. I told myself I was ready for this, but... distrusting others, dragging them down... it just doesn't sit right with me.

It's time for the fourth and final round to commence, but in an unexpected twist, the Jyamato fail to appear! This sends Chirami into a panic, as nothing like this has ever happened before in the DGP's history, and he fears the negative reception and ratings plunge that will undoubtedly ensue.

As an improvisation, a game of Tag (onigokko) is set up, with the players as "It"/the Oni; the objective is for them to catch Chirami before the two-hour limit is up. It won't be easy, however, as Chirami sics his own GM Riders on them.

Meanwhile, Beroba, Michinaga and Daichi are gathered at the Jyamar Garden, plotting their latest scheme...

Tropes

• Batman Gambit: Turns out Archimedel purposely withheld the Jyamato from being sent for the next game under Daichi's scheming, in order to force the game Off the Rails and have Chirami Take a Third Option as the target of the next game himself, bringing him out into the open for his Vision Driver to be stolen by Beroba.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Kamen Rider Glare returns after an six-episode long absence... albeit in a slightly different custom officially named Kamen Rider Glare2.
  • The DGP's staff/GM Riders also make a comeback.
  • Daichi transforms into Kamen Rider Nadge-Sparrow three episodes after his elimination in episode 19.
• Call-Back: As Keiwa and Neon argue, Ace remarks that they're Like an Old Married Couple, causing them to stand up in unison and vehemently deny it.
• Death or Glory Attack: The Desastar role turns out to be this; while they can win regardless of the popularity votes if they're unmasked until the end of the game, not only that they are forced to perform Griefing missions, there are mission cards which failure would mean they lose their wish permanently.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • After being warned that she would lose her wish permanently, Neon begins acting more desperate to fulfill her current mission and eventually accuses Ace of being the Desastar. All this does is put more suspicion on her and Keiwa realizes she has to be the Desastar.
  • Neon's being a sheltered Ojou means that she isn't used how people think of her and isn't good enough to hide her emotions. This became her downfall as Neon isn't subtle enough to hide her plans and agenda carefully; Keiwa himself knew that she was the Desastar based on her actions alone.
  • Chirami not doing his job as an overseer bit him greatly since he was in the field instead of supervising the game, Chirami is susceptible to ambushes and will be late to alarm the higher ups as there is no one to overseeing it since that was his supposed role in the first place.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Midway through Ziin's henshin, look at his Raise Riser Card when he's retrieving the Laser Raise Riser from his belt. Just briefly, you'll see what seems to be Geats' symbol on the underside of it.
• "Get Back Here!" Boss: The game in this episode is tag, with the Riders chasing after Chirami as Kamen Rider Glare to win.
• History Repeats: In a sheer case of Irony, Once again, a vision-based Rider Overseer is outsmarted by not having enough foresight due to enacting their own agenda, instead of doing their supposed role.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Neon is supportive of the notion that Keiwa isn't the Desastar in the season's run, at least starting from #19, even pinning her entire suspicion on Ace in this round instead of giving him an equal amount of doubt. But as Keiwa notices and points out, this extreme certainty is partly due to her already knowing who the actual Desastar is — herself.
• Nobody's That Dumb: Neon’s attempt to convince Keiwa that Ace is the Desastar through a Wounded Gazelle Gambit doesn’t fool him for a second.
• Off the Rails: The DGP initially suffers one due to Archimedel refusing to send out Jyamato for the next round under Daichi's gambit, resulting in Chirami himself substituting for the Jyamato's role. Then it was taken further a second time when Chirami gets ambushed by the Jyamato team, with his Vision Driver stolen and the game being forced to a timeout until they can retrieve it.
• Oh, Crap!: Upon seeing the sheer size of Beroba's Rider form, Chirami quickly calls the GM Riders back to him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As the next Desastar card warns that she will lose her wish permanently if she gets unmasked, she slowly becomes more antagonistic to Ace and Keiwa. The two eventually notice this unusual behavior and outs her status in response.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Neon gets called out by the unnamed DGP Sponsor, at least according to his impression of her, for her selfishness in running away from home and imposing her suspicions onto others.
• The Reveal:
  • The Game Master's Vision Driver is the key to accessing the Goddess of Creation.
  • The latest Desastar mission card states that failure (as in being unmasked) would mean not only will the Desastar be eliminated, but their wish will also never come true.
• Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: Neon’s DGP sponsor makes it clear that while he watches her channel and supports her, he doesn’t actually like her.
• Taking the Bullet: Invoked in this case. Neon literally jumps into Ace's line of sight when he's shooting at a GM Rider, and uses that to claim he's the Desastar. It doesn't work.
• Taught by Experience: Since Keiwa was always the Chew Toy and Butt-Monkey for Geats's plans, it means he is now getting used to Ace's shenanigans and thought patterns. This comes in handy when Neon tried to accuse of Ace, Keiwa immediately calls her out as he personally know from experience that Ace is meticulous in his plans and isn't that careless to shoot her directly.
• The Unreveal: Beroba uses her Driver, but all we see is Chirami's horrified reaction, and she's already unmorphed by the time we cut back to him being defeated. The Sinister Silhouette, however, suggests her Rider form is huge.
• Wham Episode: Ace and Keiwa figure out Neon is the Desastar, and Beroba fully puts her plan in motion for the Goddess of Creation by showing off a belt and presumably her Rider form (implied to be a massive beast from the size of its Sinister Silhouettes), successfully stealing the Vision Driver off Chirami... only for Ziin to intervene, revealing he has a belt as well and then becoming a Kamen Rider.
• Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Ace is this technically this round; Ace didn't resort to any direct tricks or cunning manipulation to Keiwa or anyone and just played as a normal player would through the whole game. Had the game not been interrupted by Beroba's ambush, Ace would've still won by majority vote.
• The Worf Effect: Beroba shows off her power by effortlessly defeating Chirami almost entirely offscreen, allowing her to take his Vision Driver. Keep in mind that Kamen Rider Glare easily manhandled two Riders during its debut.

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Final Mission — Tag
CURRENT STANDINGS (On Hold)

Game Master Chirami/Glare2 (Untagged)

Popularity Rankings

Ace Ukiyo/Geats (49% popularity)
Neon Kurama/Na-Go (25% popularity, Desastar)
Keiwa Sakurai/Tycoon (19% popularity)
Michinaga Azuma/Buffa (7% popularity)

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DGP Rule #22

The Desire Grand Prix's systems are managed via the Game Master's Driver.