Headscratchers / Kamen Rider Geats

• The Desire Grand Prix has been going on for more than 2,000 years, given how Ace has been a player for at least that long and he refers to rounds before he joined the game. If so, then why does it seem like the DGP has been using its Buckles and Desire Drivers from the beginning?
  • Who knows what sort of technology or magic this world has? It's entirely possible they have been using the Driver since the beginning and it's more mystical then we previously guessed. And of course given how the game's abilities can literally tell the normal rules of reality to go do something else for awhile, it's likely that what is high technology would be seen as magic by the ancient participants.
  • An additional layer to this is that the round where the Riders failed (which Ace explicitly states happened before he started competing) showed clearly modern scenery and Participant outfits. Assuming this isn't a Special Effects Failure, there may be more to Ace's claims than we know.
    • We also haven't seen how the earlier Desire Grand Prix rounds were played, so it's entirely possible that the Rider technology evolved over the years.
  • With #23, it's high likely that the technology has always been from the future, they just send it to the past depending on the era chosen.
• Michinaga's wish to destroy all Kamen Riders. What exactly are his intentions for this? No more DGP participants to decide the fate of the world? No more needless sacrifices to the Jyamato just for one sole person's desires? Or is this just his extreme method of grieving for his friend that died during the game?
  • It's grieving to be sure, but given his ideal world, there's no DGP, and no Riders at all. Which is noble...until you realize that he intends to personally kill every other Rider.
    • And rather petty since Geats saved him first time they met.
• Why is Ace so appalled by Kanato and Morio's actions when he's just as guilty of screwing over other players to get ahead in the game? Morio outright stole the Boost Buckle from Keiwa, so why is Ace acting like he's any better when he also conned Keiwa out of the buckle in an earlier episode?
  • I believe the difference comes down to the methods and feelings behind them. Ace uses guile to push people towards an outcome he wants, but doesn't do so for malicious reasons. Even if he's winning the game, he's not actively seeking to harm someone else. And yes while Keiwa needed to get his ass beat to unlock Ninja, you get the sense that Ace would've acted differently if he could, and he DID immediately ensure no further harm would come to him. Morio on the other hand is the type to sell his own mother if it'd buy him even temporary benefit. For people like him, even others dying is no big deal. There's a good reason to feel disgust for one over the other.
  • Meanwhile Kanato was flat out breaking rules left and right and wished for the end of humanity out of spite.
  • Yes, and he got eliminated for said actions. He wasn't a long-term threat, unlike Morio who could keep himself covert in his actions.
  • But at the end of the day, Ace is still manipulating others to get what he wants, so what makes him any better than Kanato or Morio? Why is he portrayed as a good guy (even by the standards of an Anti-Hero) when he's just as dirty and selfish of a player as Kanato and Morio are?
    • I think the biggest difference is that Morio stole the Boost without Keiwa's knowledge while Ace talked him into giving it up. Keiwa could have said no and kept the buckle.
    • Yes, at the end of the day, Ace always gives people the option to "help" him or not. Morio just plain stole Boost, and Kanato is homicidal. Again, while he might be willing to put people into a risky situation, Ace has also shown himself to go to lengths to ensure people's safety, even when doing so actually wouldn't benefit him. He's focused on his goal of finding his mother, but he's also got a noble side to him also. THAT'S why he's an Anti-Hero
  • Also worth noting that when given the Command Twin Buckle, Ace asked to borrow Keiwa's Desire Driver and promised to return it once he was done, and surprisingly to some or otherwise, he did keep his promise and returned the driver once he was done with the Jyamato Rider.
    • But it was later revealed to be part of one of his schemes, so we don't know if he was being genuine or not, just like the last two times our "hero" tried to get Keiwa to trust him.
    • Given recent episodes I think we can safely say Ace has a Heroic Spirit, as he's not only done things that bring him no benefit or any closer to his goal, but upon being given the chance to do as a Kamen Rider would and help civilians he immediately joins Neon and Keiwa in doing so. His first priority is his desire, but Ace is no less noble than any of his fellow Riders.
• In episode 5, Geats used Boost and Magnum that he traded with Zombie Raise Buckle. Boost can only be used once in a battle so how did Ace still hold one to be given to Keiwa in the episode 6.
  • Because Ace didn’t use the Boost Time finisher. That’s what makes Boost fly away, so if a rider avoids using it, they can use Boost multiple times.
• By all indications, the only people who can die permanently in a Desire Grand Prix (assuming that all Riders don't die as shown in episode 7) are the Riders themselves... until episode 8 reveals that Keiwa and Sara's parents were killed by Jyamoto in a previous DGP. Since they didn't appear to be Riders themselves, how could this have happened?
  • Something tells me this will be a important plot point later, because by all rights they should have been revived with a world change. The only two reasons I can see is if A) That was one of the "All the Riders died" rounds, or B) When the winner won and wished for their new world, they explicitly said "Oh and remove anyone that died in the last game."
  • The way they refer to the results of the wishes as the "World of choice of the Desire Deity." implies that this is what it is happening: rather than reviving everyone, they just send everyone to a new world where those who died may still be alive, and fuse their memories to cover up for the Jyamato.
  • This most likely varies by game. Some of the games in the earlier episodes revert all the damage done by the Jyamato, but the Time Bomb game in the Divergence season makes it clear that casualties involved will kill them off permanently.
• Why the hell is Keiwa in the wrong for suggesting an alliance in #8 when lives are in danger? As a matter of fact, why is Ace, someone who has screwed over Keiwa twice to get ahead in the game so he can win, acting like he isn't the entitled one?
  • Noble reasons aside, he's still effectively asking others to give up their wishes/dreams for him. A selfish action for a good cause is still selfish.
    • Not quite, he suggested a strategy where someone has to bait the Last Boss while the others deal with the can. And as he has proven, if no one is willing to become the bait nor cooperate with his plan, he might as well become the bait himself. In other words: he once again became the bait, but this time willingly.
    • Yes, but why did he do so? Because he was trying to save his sister, first and foremost. Yes he'd have given up his victory to someone else, but his wish at that point was saving Sara. So he's still asking everyone else to risk their lives to help him save his sister. Again, a noble goal, but still selfish.
  • Keiwa also firmly believes they should all work together because they are all Kamen Riders, specially since the rule setup in DGP encourages both heroism and co-operation.
  • Counterpoint, Lopo willing to give up her place and wish (affecting her family livelihood) out of gratitude made Neon and co. out as massive douches unwilling to help save endangered civilians lives because of the risk of possible lost even though their lives are already endangered anyway since they're fighting against the last boss.
• Assuming that Ace wasn't lying about how old he is, wouldn't his mother be dead at this point? Shouldn't he wish to revive her instead of reuniting her?
  • Presumably something's up with her to where that's unimportant. Either some scene we've not seen yet, or knowledge that Ace holds, but we do not.
    • #14 shows that Ace doesn't really know his mother as the only substantial info he knew about her at that time is her name. #17 even brings up a possibility that Ace could be lying about his whole quest.
  • That would be implied by his wish. DGP doesn't seem to do Monkey's Paw wish granting.
• Would Ace’s wishes from past victories go away if he’s ever eliminated from the game? Keep in mind that he’s undefeated meaning that he’s likely been secretly shaping the world for at least 2000 years. How much of the world’s current state of being is only possible due of these wishes?
  • It's likely that we're going to find out soon enough, given that Ace is currently on his way to disqualification due to Girori's manipulations.
  • Previews of #15, which happen after Ace's elimination in #14, show the changes made from his previous wishes are still intact since his celebrity status and new family remained the same as it was since #10.
    • The episode itself eventually show that his "world where [he] can participate in the DGP until [he dies]" wish would make it near impossible to eliminate him via retirement. This means the only ways to make him definitively lose is to either have him dead or have another Rider beat the final mission before him.
    • That another Rider also have to wish for Ace to not participate anymore. Otherwise, he'll just participate again in the next DGP and reclaim everything.
• So... what became of Girori after he was fired as Game Master? Assuming he was "retired" like previous contestants and that Ace's previous wish of "A world where DGP Staff are my family" is still in effect, does that just mean he lost his memory of the DGP and now fully believes himself to be Ace's father?
  • Presumably, yes. And rather obviously his biometric link to the Vision Driver would also have been removed. Basically he should just be a normal guy. However with all that said, we've seen that the rules function a bit differently for staff so until something is said officially, we've no way of knowing.
  • Since Ace's wish was to be family with the DGP staff and Girori is no longer part of staff, presumably Girori is no longer part of Ace's family either.
• If the people behind the DGP are from the future, why can't they just travel back in time to make sure the Jyamato never steal the Vision Driver and screw up the game?
  • Because they’re trying to avoid intervening heavily with history. If they prevented the theft they went back in time to prevent, a paradox would ensue.
  • Plus the Jyamato could just travel back in time to stop them.
• Why does the Vision Driver need a thumbprint scan for the user to transform, but not to do things like warp reality and control the Desire Grand Prix?
  • Presumably they never foresaw someone being capable of stealing the thing. Unfortunately Chirami is incompetent, and Beroba is psychotic.
    • So why include the thumbprint scan in the first place if they didn't think it would be stolen?
    • Mishandling things can really happen by accident. Presumably, this would be a measure to prevent accidental usage.
  • To authorize transform activation and perhaps log usage.
• What was the point of Ace wishing to be "the Star of the Star of the Stars" in episode 1? Considering he's been reincarnated and looks far different than he did originally, how would Mitsume even recognize him if she saw him?
  • Maybe it was some weird hope that Mitsume would somehow recognize him by instinct? I think it is a thing in fiction that people will always recognize their loved ones regardless of what state they are in
• How did Ace hold onto the Julius Caesar coin his mother gave him if he's been reincarnated? Shouldn't the coin be with the body of his past life?
  • He could have retrieved it in a later life, and always left it in a spot where he would be able to recover it later on presumably as a reminder of his past and goals.
    • Yeah, given his meticulous planning that we've seen thus far and the fact that his memories seem to carry over for each life, I'd wager his earliest incarnation retrieved it along with anything else of note and he likely keeps said item(s) somewhere where they can be retrieved should he pass.
  • It somehow always find its way back into his hands in every reincarnation because fate or something.
• Why did Kousei Kurama wish for Neon to be created instead of wishing for Akari to be brought back to life? Or wish for the kidnapping that led to her death never happening?
  • It’s Likely he didn’t want to erase the event. He just wanted his daughter back as he remembered her, and the memory cheats.
    • That doesn't explain why he wouldn't wish for either of those things. Making it so the event never happened or wishing her back to life would bring his actual daughter back.
    • According to him, he couldn't bear to see her again after knowing he couldn't protect her in the first place, hence he wished for a "replacement" daughter to better cope with his pain.
• Why doesn't Neon use her Desire Card for Akari to revived?
  • Why would she? Neon is facing an existential crisis and reviving Akari wouldn't really benefit her.
    • It would benefit Akari. Poor girl...
• I know this is probably because we wouldn't have a story if it were the case, but how has it taken over 2,000 years for Ace to find his mother if he's done nothing but win round after round of the DGP? We know that his initial wish to see his mom was rejected, but why did he wait until 2022 to attempt to get closer with the DGP staff by making a wish involving that? Aside from the wishes made to help him focus on staying in the DGP without needing to worry about anything else, just how many wishes did Ace make that weren't directly related to furthering his goal?
  • It's unknown for now for his other lives, but at least all the onscreen wishes he's shown to be gotten are all related to finding his mom, regardless of success or not (but the attempt is there). His wish for popularity was to get his mother track his location easier as a famous star whose activities are always presented in news, so she can reach him out if she wants. His wish to make the DGP staff his "family" was done so that Ace can gather with the DGP staff more to pump them for info about the DGP, and he steps up after this to become the Game Master (from his new wish to become DGP staff), after Win tells him that the Game Master knows more than mere staff.
  • It's less about waiting for that long and more about Ace in 2022/2023 is the closest he's even been to achieve that goal. Especially since a few of those past lives doesn't have him involved with the DGP whatsoever, meaning those attempts failed because they didn't have a place to start with.
  • Mind you this is all speculation, but I imagine after the failure of the wish to be reunited with her, he likely searched on his own, potentially using a wish or two we're not aware of to aid him. His lack of success is what pushed his wishes we've seen in-show.
• So is Michinaga still part Jyamato after he won the JGP? He doesn't use the Jyamato buckle anymore, but did the new reality make him human again?
  • Becoming the Jyamashin seems to have cured it.
• Is there a reason Girori couldn't have just held up a Desire Card to the Goddess of Creation that read "Ace will lose all interest in finding his mother and stop participating in the Desire Grand Prix"?
  • Considering how he's presented at a surface level and how the DGP is portrayed during his tenure, it would be out of character for him to go for his own selfish wish instead of valuing the wishes of others. Another thing to note is that this whole thing only works if Girori knows that Ace is trying to find his mother in the first place, which he never found out by the time he's fired.
  • Alternatively, considering there are limitations to wishes and some desires are said to be stronger than others, the wish wouldn't work considering Ace's conviction and/or the amount of power that would be needed to grant such a wish.
• Where and how did Buffa get Command in 42? It's sorta implied buckles reset with every game, but because it's not blatantly stated, I can reluctantly let it slide. However, this is particularly head scratching because in 41 they state they don't have any buckles to give out, bar the Drivers and their respective Buckles. To make matters worse, the Grand End occurred (albeit partially to my understanding) which should've also revoked Command from him.
• Why did Ace stop Keiwa from killing Daichi at the last moment? It would make far more sense if Ace were a squeaky clean, Thou Shalt Not Kill main Rider in the vein of Gentaro, but this is the same Ace who just a few episodes before was perfectly willing to aid and abet Michinaga's killing of Chirami and Archimedel (both of whom deserved it, but not to the same extent as Daichi). At best it makes Ace a bit of a hypocrite, at worst it makes him a guy who'll save a bad guy for his own purposes.
  • Likely they'll need Daichi to undo the Parasite Jyamato, as well as just having his knowledge be useful, both in terms of the Jyamato as well as relating to Beroba. I'd prefer him dead too, but there's good reason to keep around for the moment that Keiwa isn't in a position to see. This is eventually proven right by the show, as Ace resets the world and convinces Daichi to reverse Sara's "death", allowing Keiwa to get back to the light and for Daichi to start working towards his redemption.
  • Also, these types of shows tend to preach that Revenge Is Not Justice and that it ultimately doesn’t make things better. It’s also common to depict a character committing murder, no matter how justified, as a Moral Event Horizon. Michinaga had already made it his goal to crush all Kamen Riders, and with the DGP having ended up on his enemies list, Ace wasn’t in the mood to stop him.
• When Na-Go received the Fantasy Buckle, what's stopping her from using it together with Beat? Wouldn't using two buckles be better than one?
  • Maybe as a late Rider in Ace's DGP, Fantasy was the only Buckle she had. When Fantasy got erased, Ace provides her a new Desire Driver along with Beat Buckle.
• How come Win never got his Driver and Buckle back after Ace reset the world? Unlike with Neon and Sara, we never saw Michinaga break his ID Core during the Desire Royale Arc, and we clearly saw Keiwa and Michinaga got to keep their signature buckles after the Grand End, so did Win lose his powers off-screen or something?
  • Win's status as a DGP staff member and PunkJack is mainly forced onto him due to his debt and he was just following orders since then. Ace is nice enough that he gives him the choice to re-equip himself or not, which Win chooses not to. He's still considered a Rider either way since he's affected by Kekera's wish in #47.
  • The boring, and unfortunate depending who you ask, real life reason is likely because his helmet was repainted back into Da Paan. Though, given it's all orange I imagine it's not that hard to convert it back, so it's perplexing. Probably a mix of the production team not wanting to go through the trouble of repainting it, and the writing team focusing on other characters. Though Da Paan's role was also relatively small, though not entirely "pointless", making it more complicated. Above answer is a sufficient in-universe answer though.