Recap / Kamen Rider Gotchard Ep 16 Xmas Crisis Orochi Incident

Xmas Crisis! Orochi Incident

Original Airdate: December 24, 2023
Written by: Hiroki Uchida
Directed by: Takayuki Shibasaki

Summary

As you are now thinking of that star, so remote.
You're dozing off to be sleeping through with a thought.
And the future you decide, the way you want to stride.
Wherever you choose to set off to go,
Together, I'll be there by you.

Narrator: Previously on… Kamen Rider Gotchard!
In order to protect the Manabe family, Houtaro and Rinne "Gotchank-ot" to fight the Three Dark Sisters!
Despite being in dire straits, Houtaro remained valiant with the support and power of his friends!
Now, with the Level-10 Chemies in hand, Houtaro continues to keep going strong!
However, a new threat is quickly approaching...

With all of the recent battles taking their toil on his trusty Valvarusher, Supana returns to his mentor to repair it. Upon arrival, he sees a set of plans involving the invention of a new weapon he can use.

Meanwhile, Christmas is around the corner, and the Alchemists are ready to have a peaceful time of gift exchanges, merry making, and more. However, something attacks the city, forcing Houtaro to become Gotchard again to confront the threat. Unfortunately, this threat is not like any of the Malgams or the Dark Sisters could ever be, and the young alchemist may not only be forced to fight for his life like never before, but also learn a very dark revelation of the one behind the attack...

Tropes

• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Gotchard Daybreak saves Houtaro in the nick of time.
  • Gotchard saves Valvarad from being petrified.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Geryon introduces himself by taking over Lachesis to have her transform into the Orochi Malgam.
• Chekhov's Gun: Hotaro hands a little boy a sticker while at Kitchen Ichinose. That same sticker is handed to him by Rinne, revealing that the kid was one of the casualties.
• Dare to Be Badass: Gotchard Daybreak gives Houtaro a choice after saving him: either let the former deal with the Malgam himself, or grab the reins himself and do his own part in saving the world. Houtaro chooses the latter.
• Deus ex Machina: Gotchard Daybreak is introduced by saving the de-transformed Houtaro from being petrified by the Orochi Malgam.
• Deus Exit Machina: Though Rinne is now able to become a Kamen Rider since the events of the movie, she used up so much Alchemy power that she’s unable to do so again at the moment.
• Didn't See That Coming: None of the Dark Sisters expected Gotchard Daybreak's arrival.
• Dwindling Party: Orochi Malgam takes out Renge and Sabimaru, and then Supana and Rinne. Were it not for Gotchard Daybreak, Hotaro would've been next.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Houtaro realizes that the Malgam he's dealing with has multiple heads after noticing that the second head he fought didn't lose his bell, juxtaposing it with Santa's reindeer.
• Foreshadowing: Isaac briefly shows the Occult Chemies together at the start of the episode, with Jyamatanoorochi being shown in particular. Surely enough, the Orochi Malgam serves as the Monster of the Week.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Geryon tells the Dark Sisters that the real fun will start the following year; the next episode starts off Gotchard's 2024 airing.
• Insistent Terminology: Kyōka insists on being referred to as “Professor Kyōka”.
• It's Personal: Hotaro takes the fight seriously when he learns one of the Malgam's victims was a little boy who he gave a sticker to, to the point he makes Supana shut up and go support Rinne.
• The Reveal:
  • Master Geryon debuts in this episode, after being only alluded to for most of the series.
  • A Freeze-Frame Bonus reveals the Academy knows about parallel worlds besides the Ouroboros Realm, as Ninetail is noted as having the ability to travel between them.
• Saving Christmas: The episode takes place around Christmas, and of course the heroes have to save the day as people celebrate the holiday. A distinction the episode has from most Kamen Rider Christmas episodes is that the celebration is important to the story rather than just taking place around the same time.
• Taken for Granite: Anyone attacked by Orochi gets turned into stone.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Rinne starts panicking after realizing she's gonna help Houtaro by default at Kitchen Ichinose.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted. Just as Houtaro is about to get his Heroic Second Wind, Geryon decides that he's gotten all he could from their battle and attempts to blast him before he can use his belt again. If not for Daybreak's arrival, he would've succeeded in killing him.
• Wham Episode: In true Kamen Rider fashion, the Christmas episode serves a huge wallop to the face in that, with the introduction of the Sisters' boss, Houtaro and his friends would have totally lost had it not been for the intervention of a mysterious yet fiery version of Gotchard.
• Wham Shot: The reveal of Houtaro's savior being a red version of Gotchard. Shortly afterwards, this Gotchard shortly reveals that he has all 100 Chemies, albeit fiery variants.

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Titular Chemy: Jyamatanoorochi

Chemies recovered:

Gotchard: Jyamatanoorochi