Kamen Rider 01 Episode 18 - Divided Loyalties Anyone?

Well, it looks like I do need to really plan more ahead about my Kamen Rider 01 updates. Well, I decided that I might actually be a little more careful about doing the episode/s review. I usually prefer to do it whenever an arc ends. Now, it's time to grant the conclusion of the flower arrangement arc. Right now, there are some interesting plots and maybe some really predictable plots.

It's no secret (at least to the audience) that Gai Amatsu is a charmer. Yua is now confused with her loyalties. It's interesting to see how Isamu himself gets into a clash with his partner Yua. The big question is does Yua even know that Gai Amatsu is really a villain? I do find the naming of Gai Amatsu to be kind of intentional - there was the smug rich boy Kamen Rider Gai from Kamen Rider Ryuki. He also shows signs of being able to deceive his opponents and make it look like he's not doing anything. Gai is also very much good at hiding his true intentions by simply having a rematch.

It turns out that the ZAIA Specs are actually some kind of mind control device. Rentaro ends up going crazy under the ZAIA Specs. He ends up becoming the Crushing Buffalo Raider as a result. I'm amazed at how Kamen Rider Thouser manage to defeat Crushing Buffalo Raider without otherwise killing Rentaro. Suspend disbelief? Didn't Kamen Rider W and Kamen Rider Fourze defeat monsters that would merely revert back to their human forms? I really do wish that it'd be fully explained. Thouser reverts back to being Gai which really makes me cringe.


Yua vows to find who handed over the Crushing Buffalo key to Rentaro. I wonder just who's the mysterious hooded figure that haunts Isamu? Could it be that person who handed over the key?

Meanwhile, a rematch happens. This time Rentaro defeats Sakuyo fair and square. One can always think that God-given intellect gives more satisfaction in doing something great than automatic greatness. I think that the whole problem of the ZAIA Specs is that it seeks to turn humans into machines. Sakuyo acknowledges the power of human emotions - something that would probably set HumaGears apart. Right now, I'm just reminded of the Bioman plot where Dr. Shibata (Dr. Shiro) created the conscience circuit to make Mecha Humans have a conscience. The long-running plot of this series may evolve around that idea.