This review may contain spoilers
WATCH ME! WATCH ME!
Kamen Rider Gavv is an inherently silly concept. A guy with a stomach on his mouth eats candy to gain superpowers. It has funny little mascots that make silly noises and emote and bounce around the screen - like the Kivat from Kiva, except there's at times like literally 100 of them on the screen. Characters are based on gummy candy, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, and pudding. And yet, through these characters, through these concepts, Gavv tells a great story of familial trauma, overcoming pain, self-improvement, and human connection.
Kamen Rider Gavv is, at time of me writing this review, my favorite Kamen Rider, full stop. Within, it contains some of the best character writing I have seen from the franchise. Characters are written intelligently, interestingly, with fun gimmicks and dynamics that make the story fun to watch unfold. Shouma is a really great protagonist - he's a bit naive to start, but his growth through that into a more knowledgeable person throughout the story is really fun to watch. His trust in others, his desire to make other people smile, is quite charming. The secondary characters are where Gavv goes from writing a fun protagonist to writing an incredibly solid and fantastic cast. Sachika, Lakia, Hanto, they interact with each other in incredibly fun ways. The ways they grow throughout, learn to trust one another, learn to care about one another, speak candidly to each other and support one another, is, like, sickeningly sweet. The way Lakia transitions from a lone-wolf type who wants nothing to do with others to an out-and-out supporter is so fun to watch unfold. The way Sachika, the resident support character, never feels out of place or unnecessary, unlike so many in other Rider shows I've seen. Hanto's just constant growth through his desire for vengeance, his understanding of how it clouds him, his desire to change and see change in others, even those that could have harmed him, is phenomenal. Gavv's deuteragonists are incredibly well-written and very fun. The comedy in the show is also really great and varied! There's some great banter between characters, some fun meta humor from time to time, it never feels predictable and that makes these moments all the more charming.
The villains are also really great! I think the way they are fleshed out is incredibly solid and fun to watch grow and change. So many of these Kamen Rider shows have characters who are more than willing to just sit back and watch all their little goons and goobers die while they twist their Snively mustaches and state all is going according to plan, and that's all we get from them until the last like 3 episodes of the show. And while Gavv does have one or two resident Doctor Claw-esque villains who rarely do things of their own accord - and once they do they get merc'd - but the character writing between villain interactions is really smartly done in my opinion. The dynamic of them being Shoma's family brings about some fun, interesting interactions as well. I will say I wish Jeebh had eventually heelturned into a protagonist character, just because I'm biased and love seeing my boy. I honestly cut out a whole like section of this review that was just about Jeebh, I really like Jeebh.
I also have to say I adore the suits in this show. I think a majority of them look really great - the protagonist suit designs are all incredibly solid to me (save one or two of Shouma's tertiary forms), and the monsters with their mouth-body aesthetic was super cool and unique and led to some cool and at times kinda spooky designs. And while we're on the subject of the suits and the actors, the stunts and fight choreography in this show are at an incredibly high level. I think that this series has some of the most satisfying choreo I've seen in any Kamen Rider.
Overall, Kamen Rider Gavv is ridiculously good, in my opinion. I think pretty much every character is written fantastically, I think the story progresses in interesting ways that never truly feel like they're stalling like some of these other shows do. The fights are all incredibly fun to watch, with some incredible moments - I haven't even mentioned how much I love the soundtrack to this series. Probably the first Kamen Rider since OOO where I'm considering buying the CDs with the soundtrack and character songs on it. Also the fashion in this show, I forgot to mention that, holy. The fashion in this show goes crazy. Every time Sachika is on screen she's got that shit on. Every time I'm about to end this review I feel like I have another thing I wanna compliment about Gavv. So, I'll just say, it's fantastic. Easily my current favorite Kamen Rider.
Kamen Rider Gavv is, at time of me writing this review, my favorite Kamen Rider, full stop. Within, it contains some of the best character writing I have seen from the franchise. Characters are written intelligently, interestingly, with fun gimmicks and dynamics that make the story fun to watch unfold. Shouma is a really great protagonist - he's a bit naive to start, but his growth through that into a more knowledgeable person throughout the story is really fun to watch. His trust in others, his desire to make other people smile, is quite charming. The secondary characters are where Gavv goes from writing a fun protagonist to writing an incredibly solid and fantastic cast. Sachika, Lakia, Hanto, they interact with each other in incredibly fun ways. The ways they grow throughout, learn to trust one another, learn to care about one another, speak candidly to each other and support one another, is, like, sickeningly sweet. The way Lakia transitions from a lone-wolf type who wants nothing to do with others to an out-and-out supporter is so fun to watch unfold. The way Sachika, the resident support character, never feels out of place or unnecessary, unlike so many in other Rider shows I've seen. Hanto's just constant growth through his desire for vengeance, his understanding of how it clouds him, his desire to change and see change in others, even those that could have harmed him, is phenomenal. Gavv's deuteragonists are incredibly well-written and very fun. The comedy in the show is also really great and varied! There's some great banter between characters, some fun meta humor from time to time, it never feels predictable and that makes these moments all the more charming.
The villains are also really great! I think the way they are fleshed out is incredibly solid and fun to watch grow and change. So many of these Kamen Rider shows have characters who are more than willing to just sit back and watch all their little goons and goobers die while they twist their Snively mustaches and state all is going according to plan, and that's all we get from them until the last like 3 episodes of the show. And while Gavv does have one or two resident Doctor Claw-esque villains who rarely do things of their own accord - and once they do they get merc'd - but the character writing between villain interactions is really smartly done in my opinion. The dynamic of them being Shoma's family brings about some fun, interesting interactions as well. I will say I wish Jeebh had eventually heelturned into a protagonist character, just because I'm biased and love seeing my boy. I honestly cut out a whole like section of this review that was just about Jeebh, I really like Jeebh.
I also have to say I adore the suits in this show. I think a majority of them look really great - the protagonist suit designs are all incredibly solid to me (save one or two of Shouma's tertiary forms), and the monsters with their mouth-body aesthetic was super cool and unique and led to some cool and at times kinda spooky designs. And while we're on the subject of the suits and the actors, the stunts and fight choreography in this show are at an incredibly high level. I think that this series has some of the most satisfying choreo I've seen in any Kamen Rider.
Overall, Kamen Rider Gavv is ridiculously good, in my opinion. I think pretty much every character is written fantastically, I think the story progresses in interesting ways that never truly feel like they're stalling like some of these other shows do. The fights are all incredibly fun to watch, with some incredible moments - I haven't even mentioned how much I love the soundtrack to this series. Probably the first Kamen Rider since OOO where I'm considering buying the CDs with the soundtrack and character songs on it. Also the fashion in this show, I forgot to mention that, holy. The fashion in this show goes crazy. Every time Sachika is on screen she's got that shit on. Every time I'm about to end this review I feel like I have another thing I wanna compliment about Gavv. So, I'll just say, it's fantastic. Easily my current favorite Kamen Rider.
Was this review helpful to you?
