All spoilers for Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Para-DX are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
- Written By: Yuya Takahashi
It's been two years since the end of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid with everyone having moved on from their lives since Masamune Dan's death at the end of the series. However, with the sudden return of Saki Momose and Ren Amagasaki, aka the Lovelica Bugster, it seems that some ghosts from the past have come back to haunt our protagonists.
This Direct to DVD Movie provides tropes of:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Luke chased Nico to Japan because he's in love with her. Nico on the other hand didn't reciprocate. It was close to veering into Dying Declaration of Love until Nico decided to say that she would return with Luke to America if he could bear with the Bugster virus slightly longer and not die on her.
- Back from the Dead: Saki and Lovelica are revived, thanks to the efforts of Kuroto Dan after escaping from his prison. However, Saki's revival is only temporary and was due to end midnight of that same day. As for Lovelica, his revival was for a favor to do something for Kuroto, lest he be destroyed after midnight as well. The very end of the movie reveals that the whole incident was a Batman Gambit by Kuroto to steal the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat and revive Masamune from within it.
- Batman Gambit: Kuroto revived Lovelica knowing that Taiga would respond to it by using the strongest weapon he had against Lovelica, the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat, to work around Lovelica’s unusual mechanics. He needed it so that he could fashion it into a new Master Gashat.
- But Now I Must Go: Nico leaves Japan to fulfill her promise with Luke to go back to America with him if he survived his Bugster infection.
- Charm Person: A reminder that as Lovelica is a Bugster of a romance game, normal attacks won't work against him and keeping Saki enthralled was a simple task for him. This is exactly why when Ren resurfaces, Taiga tries to develop his Bugster virus resistances with a copy of Kamen Rider Chronicle he still had with him so that he could become Cronus, because Cronus' powers allowed Masamune Dan to kill off Lovelica before.
- Exact Words: Taiga keeps trying to get Nico away from him for a good portion of the movie, even saying to her and Hiiro that she is no longer his patient, which means he now has nothing left to lose. This is likely a case of trying to get Nico away from him in case Taiga ever dies, and was hastened by the introduction of Luke Kidman, who was suffering from Lovelica’s Bugster infection and revealed to be someone Nico knows.
- Evil All Along: Saiko Yaotome turns out to have been in cahoots with Kuroto at the end of the movie.
- Gotta Have It, Gonna Steal It: With time running out and Taiga getting more desperate, he requests Asuna to meet him alone in a parking lot with her Bugvisor II. When she refuses to comply before knowing what he intended to use it for, he takes it from her by force.
- It's Personal: The events of this movie are deeply tied to Hiiro and Taiga and both refuse to get other people involved (especially each other) since they see themselves as the only one capable of dealing with this threat. For Hiiro, his involvement is obvious since he still cares about Saki, but for Taiga, it is a combination of personal pride being Saki's original doctor that was tasked with her Game Disease and the fact that he feels indebted to Hiiro for saving his life by operating on him even if it meant losing Saki again.
- Last Words: After Lovelica has been dealt with, Taiga gives Hiiro a moment with Saki, especially since they only had six minutes until midnight and she doesn't have much time left.
- Meet Cute: Saki and Hiiro first bonded over her asking to sit at the table with him to eat in medical school.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Hiiro and Taiga initially chalked up Kuroto's escape as due to a third party. However, Emu admits that he and Parado were tricked into accidentally releasing him from his prison when Kuroto convinced them into playing a puzzle game.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: Saiko Yaotome was trying to ask for a dinner date with Hiiro early into the movie, but Hiiro politely turns her down and Kiriya explains that he is still fixated on his dead girlfriend (and tries to subtly hint for a date with him instead).
- Not Himself: Luke accuses Nico of not acting like herself since she returned to Japan before he got the chance to challenge her to another game and finally win a date from her. To say nothing about how this reflects on Luke, he mostly says this because he wasn't there for the thirty-odd episodes in Ex-Aid where Nico matured from just being a competitive gamer.
- Pet the Dog: A few examples:
- When Luke was on the verge of dying to Lovelica’s virus, Nico tells him that she will return to America so that he could keep challenging her to try to motivate him to stay alive. At the end of the movie, she has already packed her things and was going to depart with Luke back to America.
- When Taiga and Nico were having one last exchange before she left for America, he tells her to call him if she needs anything, since he’s still her doctor no matter where she goes.
- The Power of Love: After Taiga manages to dispel Lovelica's mind control over Saki, Saki's trust and love for Hiiro allows him to destroy Lovelica for good while using Taddle Legacy.
- Wham Shot: At the very end of the movie, Kuroto requests Saiko’s help to operate on Masamune Dan, whose restored body lies on an operation table in a Next Genome Institute facility.
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Once it hits midnight that day, Saki was going to die again. Kuroto also encouraged Lovelica to become a complete being once more or else he would share the same fate come midnight.
