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Writer's pictureZachary Moran

Play/Toku review Gaim Gaiden Part 2: Zangetsu Gaiden and Bravo and Gridon

I don't think any hesei phase 2 season has had as long a post series life as Gaim, their was of course the gaiden duology the following year after the series wrapped, Kouta had appearances in the heisei generations, both a fake shemp using recording and cameo appearence in the first and second respectively, some of the cast returned for their zi-o arc, in a way Gaim had become sort of an equivalent to Den-o in showing up each year. But in terms of a continuation of the story there was really nothing, I mean it had been 5 years since anything major, That would change in 2019 as the continuation of the gaim's story was on stage, literally, the next gaiden story was a live theatre production that saw Yuki Kubota return to the head Yggdrasil. But that was not it, the following year in 2020, the 'best' year in recent memories. Saw another gaiden story focused on everyone's favorite comedic duo of Oren and Hideyasu after cameoing in an episode of Saber. yeah their hasn't been anything in the past two years but their was a small reseurgance of gaim material, and was it enough to sait people's appetite for fruit warriors.

 

ZANGETSU GAIDEN



Takatora has traveled to the Torkia republic, a nation in central asia with ties to yggdrasil's lockseed development, after dealing with some troops, a mysterious force knocks him out and sends him down a hole to the most dangerous portion of the republic. Using prototype drivers and lockseeds as they battle to defend themselves, also on the fall Takatora loses his memory and finds himself in the protection of team orange ride and their leader Aym. And through this Takatora and the viewers an abridged version of Gaim's narrative.


That is sort of half the play, we get half the play dedicated to this retelling of gaim's, with many characters taking the place of a character, aym is clearly Kouta, Glasya (Played by future Twokaizer Atsuki Masahiko,) takes after Kaito, We get a flamboyant mercenary who is hired by the big bad organization who becomes bravo in Yukimura, and a younger brother who has compeltely lost all sanity in Kagemasa, the big difference is in Foras who is an expy of both Ryoji and Hideyasu, in that he becomes Bravo's bitch and also becoems an inves that changes Gaim's views upon their death. While each of the new characters do have personalities, there's really no way to avoid the obvious comparison to their tv counterparts, granted this is a two hour play compared to a series that aired 50 episodes. But then we get to the end where Glasya who shares Kaito's social darwinism, but even though there are far more important things going on with the climax, demands to fight Aym to prove his ideals are true, at a point in the story where the focus is more on the other half of this play just feels like its ending the gaim reabridgment the play started with.


Takatora watching a recreation of his first fight with Gaim, but here its black undersuit instead of blue.


Meanwhile the other half of the play is focused on the torkia republic and the Shizumiya family and by extension the relation to Takatora, though like the rest of the cast, the personalities are not the great, Kagemasa is again just an abridged Mitchy, know he starts crazy before is face turn, Kagimomi is the eviil leader of the Torkia elite who intends to ascend beyond humanity and inves, and while Masahito could be an interesting take on a shadow with him becoming zangetsu and being an inverse of him, he is mostly absent and just stands as just generic, I am god villain number 300. Even Takatora himself feels like he comes out having not changed much, I mean it is shown in how he is trying to help these guy's grow, but he does have initial hesitations that he isn't up for it... until Kouta posesses Aym gives him a pep speech and a Kachidoki lockseed just in time for the final conclusion, got to love having god around for the deus ex machina's don't you Takatora. Overall it's not the worst special, but its dragged down by having to include the gaim 2 hour cut, which I am saying could work, it just either had to be that or more exploration of Takatora's past and by extension yggdrasil and its own machinations, trying to do both leaves a lot to be desired.

 

GRIDON VS. BRAVO



Hideyasu is now a premier pastry chef while Oren has returned to mercenary work now they have seemingly gone their own way, but they are brought back togoether in not the nicest terms when Takatora has sent Oren after Hideyasu on suspicion of using helheim fruits in his desserts. Upon meeting with him a helheim vine grabs Oren and gives him a new form and uncontrollable. Takatora shows up with a driver a new donguri lockseed and has him try to bring Oren back to his senses while he deals with the actually threat.

Let's get the obvious thing about this out of the way. Gridon Vs. Bravo is pure fluff and it knows that it is pure fluff with it's combined 24 minute run time between the two episodes and it very clearly knows it, after the set up we are thrown into the fight scenes between Gridon and the berserk Bravo and in the background Zangetsu vs the main new character introduced for this Masako (played by Kamen Rider girl Tomomi Jiena Sumi, who also was the represenative for gaim when they represented riders and not by color.) Though really she is not much of a character, we learn little of how she did all of this and she just transforms into a new rider sylphi and Takatora busts out kachidoki zangetsu to fight her, how she has gained acess to helheim or got the driver is never built on but really its not the focus of the special here.


So, do you know how many people your suits been with?


Speaking of the duo and by extension Takatora, all three actors slip nicely back into their roles and especially Hideyasu growth into a more confident man but able to swap back to his more timid and lack of confidence old self, Oren still is about the same as ever and still simping over Takatora and then theirs takatora having taken up the mantle as main protector, though his entire plan does reek of... slightly less ridiculous Taisen b.s 4d chess it does make sense in context. Honestly the best part is just seeing these guy's after so many years and in Hideyasu and oren, we would see them a little more into Revice.

But the big thing is not the return of characters people have come to love, rather it's the idea of selling more toys as we get three new suits, sylphi is your now standard mars kitbash, but unlike a lot of the previous mars reuses, I think sylphi does just enough to stand out against previous versions, I am especially fond of that purple, Bravo's new King durian black repaint and addition of cape give off a good evil rider while Lychee, not only following a good moment from the spirit of gaim allumni has a much more substantial upgrade in making Gridon look more viking esque and giving him Baron's overlord sword feels impactful. Yes much of this is very much shilling for new collectibles for people to buy, but I do like these introductions than what was done before hand, heck even Zangetsu's kachidoki form get's some fun in on it too when he fights sylphi.

 

CONCLUSION

While Zangetsu gaiden has some of the same issues in that it introduces some cool things but does not much to improve on them and focuses on something that people don't care about. Gridon vs Bravo is a much more fun kind of journey that knows that it isn't doing much for the lore and just for a fun time in a year that was lacking in fun. Though it is not a must watch, it is good popcorn fun.

FINAL GRADE: C- and C

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