Recap / Kamen Rider Para-DX with Poppy

As the second part of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Trilogy: Another Ending, all spoilers for Kamen Rider Brave & Snipe are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

Written By: Yuya Takahashi

In the last film, Kuroto was able to walk away with one of the few copies of Kamen Rider Chronicle that isn't held by CR or the Ministry of Health. Now in this film, what are Kuroto and Saiko's intentions for using Parado and Poppy?

This Direct to DVD Movie provides tropes of:

• Back from the Dead: The real purpose of the Bugster raising game is to help revive Kuroto Dan using the genetic data from both his mother and his father taken from their Bugsters. To do this, he needed to revive Masamune Dan to get data from his infection and Bugster. Except when Kuroto reappears at the end, he says he abandoned the plan to revive as a human, and absorbs Black Parado so that he could not only have powers from being the ultimate game creator, but also the abilities of being the genius gamer. As for Saiko, she was going along with Kuroto’s plan because if it was successful, she would be able to revive her father Michihiko Zaizen, who she dearly misses.
• Blatant Lies: After Kuroto assures Poppy that she would not be killed, he denies feeling worried about her when Saiko voices that he sounds concerned.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Black Parado shoots Emu in the shoulder with the Bugvisor II, causing a huge blood spill and incapacitating him for the rest of this movie and most of the next.
• Brick Joke: Tsukuru has made a game version of his proposal, Monk of Terror, even calling it his Magnum Opus.
• Call-Back: When Kiriya reveals Saiko’s real name and identity to Emu, he mentions her father’s alter ego Dr. Pac-Man from the first Heisei Generations movie. His monster form Genomes is later summoned by Saiko to fight Poppy.
• The Cameo: Graphite briefly appears via the game character he was based on when Emu & Black Parado play Drago Knight Hunter Z during the experiment.
• Downer Ending: Though Parado and Poppy are successful in defeating Black Parado, their efforts are rendered All for Nothing as the latter is captured by a hidden Kuroto in the Bugvisor II, who uses the genius gamer data cultivated by Black Parado to achieve even greater power, leading into the events of the next film.
• Expy: Another Parado effectively is this since he is the Bugster born from Masamune infecting himself with the same virus that Kuroto also infected Emu with. However, he becomes an intentional version of this trope when Saiko makes him play with Emu to become another genius gamer, which Kuroto then absorbs into himself to gain the prowess of the genius gamer.
• Fanservice: Naked People Are Funny aside, Kuroto’s creation of God Maximum Mighty X has him buck naked in the wilderness for no apparent reason, giving the viewer a clear sight of male model Tetsuya Iwanaga’s bare ass.
• Fantastic Racism: Dr. Yaotome in no uncertain terms believes that Bugsters are inferior to humans and have no right to be treated equally by them.
• Heel Realization: Saiko briefly considers the idea of Parado trying to help her, before dismissing them to fuel her "Needs of the Few" mentality where only the geniuses are worthy of receiving help. Even after being tossed aside by Kuroto and having her two Bugsters defeated by Parado and Poppy, she is still left conflicted but not as dismissive of the notion as she was before.
• I Lied: Once he has Black Parado in his Bugvisor, Kuroto makes it clear he had no intention of helping Saiko resurrect her father like he promised.
• In Medias Res: This movie starts with Poppy restrained and Parado facing down his doppelgänger, but then jumps back to some time before to show what lead up to that situation.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Poppy briefly mentions capturing the viewer’s heart every Sunday morning while going through various costume changes. Saiko however is confused at the statement.
• Naked People Are Funny: Kuroto is inexplicably nude when he creates God Maximum Mighty X at the end of the movie.
• Past-Life Memories: Poppy has flashbacks to a couple of her memories as Sakurako Dan, and Saiko says that this is an intentional side-effect to help revive Sakurako.
• Power Nullifier: Saiko uses the Level 0 data from Kuroto’s Proto Mighty Action X Origin Gashat to create cables capable of suppressing Bugster powers, and restrains Parado, Poppy, and Masamune with them.
• Psychic Link: As was explained in #29, Emu and Parado are both synchronized to one another’s emotions, and Parado utilizes his bond with Emu to also activate his imprinted human genetics to break free from the Level 0 chains.
• Scenery Censor: Kuroto is just standing out on top of a waterfall completely naked (with obvious bits either being obscured by camera angles or streams of light). Could also be Naked People Are Funny if it weren’t for the fact that Kuroto was encapsulating his powers into his empty dual Gashat cartridge to materialize what would become God Maximum Mighty X.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Parado rebukes the below claim late into the movie, saying that what drives him to become better and fight harder is knowing that he is doing so for someone else’s smile from the bottom of his heart.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Another Parado firmly believes this, saying Parado lost his touch and that beings of the game world like they are would have already died and lost trying to treat one another with kindness and respect.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: As Kuroto’s plan involved reviving Masamune, he also takes this opportunity to gloat at his father about how successful he is at being a game master and make his father submit to his genius. When Masamune instead says that he regrets being part of Kuroto’s birth, Kuroto, who was already pissed off when he learned that his father was manipulating his genius to take Kamen Rider Chronicle and Genm Corp. back for himself, takes this really badly.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Averted as the other Parado does just that to Emu, shooting him with the Bugvisor before he can transform. He doesn't die, but it leaves him crippled for the duration of the special, preventing him from just running in and using Muteki Gamer to save the day.