A Sudden Fantasy!? (Fantasyは突然に!?, Fantajī wa Totsuzen ni!?) is the nineteenth episode of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. It features the debut of Brave Fantasy Gamer Level 50.
Synopsis[]
Emu finally learns of the horrifying truth that he has the game illness. The Bugster virus in him acts up and he collapses to the ground, though for some reason no Bugster has appeared...
Emu later wakes up in CR with his personality completely changed to that of "Genius Gamer M". When a new Level 30 Bugster emerges, Emu transforms into Ex-Aid with delight, and fights as if he were playing a game while no longer concerning himself with the patient. Just what has happened to Emu?
Plot[]
Kuroto reveals to Emu that he was the first Bugster virus patient in the world, causing his infection to flare into a massive orange eruption of digitization; Parado tosses a laughing Kuroto to the ground and disappears.
Emu wakes up in CR's patient bed with a headache; Taiga and Hiiro separately wonder why no Bugster appeared from Emu. While Hiiro, Poppy, and Director Kagami discuss the situation upstairs, Emu appears and says he's fine, but is in full "Genius Gamer M" personality despite not playing any games. At his hideout, Kuroto is frustrated that Emu's game illness flaring didn't erase him, but focuses on gathering the data of the remaining 6 Gashat games' Bugsters to complete Kamen Rider Chronicle.
At the Takinoryuu School of Buyou Dancing, Mai Yamato is having a poor practice session, but a Bugster infection flares within her, the Bugster taking control of her body without breaking out, making her dance the Robot. Meanwhile, "M" is playing Poppy's DoReMiFa Beat arcade machine, controlling Poppy herself as the dancing character much to her annoyance; Hiiro suspects Emu's total personality change is a result of a Bugster's control. A game illness alert sounds, and "M" excitedly goes to respond, calling fighting the Bugsters "a game"; Hiiro and Poppy-turned-Asuna race after him. They find Mai under a roadway bridge, the Game Scope showing a full-body image of the Bugster inside her instead of just an icon. Seeing them, the Bugster overtakes Mai's body with its own form as the Level 30 Gatton Bugster; "M" recognizes Gatton as the final boss of Gekitotsu Robots and transforms to Ex-Aid Robot Action Gamer Level 3, his eyes flashing red in the process. The power difference between Levels 3 and 30 is readily apparent, but Ex-Aid uses both Iron-Body and Muscular Energy Items to beat Gatton back. Gatton enters sleep mode and retreats back into Mai, but Ex-Aid wants to keep fighting; Asuna has to cancel his transformation to make him settle down.
Back at CR, Hiiro tries to diagnose Emu's infection, but the Game Scope's readout only glitches his image. "M" plays a gamepad, brushing off caring for the patient when there's no Bugster to fight. Hiiro grabs his collar and tells him to return to normal, causing him to collapse with a headache. Sidelining Emu for his condition and taking the Mighty Action X Gashat, Hiiro goes to copy Emu's normal actions by talking to the patient, saying he can do anything "the intern" can. At Taiga's clinic, Nico ponders if she only lost to Emu's Bugster, while Taiga explains he's after all the Gashats so he can destroy all the Bugsters alone. As "M" continues controlling Poppy in DoReMiFa Beat, Mai explains that she was stressed by being unsure she was worthy as the face of the Takinoryuu School for a buyou dance performance tomorrow; Hiiro says that worthy or not, her resolve is weak, and she must overcome her stress herself. However, Gatton resurfaces and teleports out of CR.
Hiiro catches up with the Bugster outside the performance hall and prepares to use Mighty Action X, but "M" snatches it back from him and transforms to Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2, attacking with the Gashacon Breaker. Genm Zombie Gamer Level X quickly joins, and Ex-Aid loses his weapon. Genm uses the Gashat Gear Dual β to summon the Fantasy Gamer, but Hiiro jumps in and snatches Mighty Action X back again out of Ex-Aid's Driver to draw Genm's attention; the Fantasy Gamer chases Hiiro to get the Gashat, but Hiiro tricks it into running into a Confusion Energy Item, making it attack Genm, disappearing as he drops the Gashat Gear Dual β. Hiiro grabs the Gear Dual β and, despite Genm's warning that Level 50 is too much for him to handle, transforms into Brave Fantasy Gamer Level 50. Taddle Fantasy's Demon King's power takes control of Brave, and he summons a swarm of Bugster Virus monks to attack Ex-Aid and Asuna; however, Hiiro fights back, using his resolve to fulfill his duty and be the world's best doctor, fit to save everyone, to overcome the game's influence. His speech causes Emu's game illness to subside, and he untransforms and reverts to his normal personality. Brave turns his Virus monks against Gatton and Genm, and uses the Demon Lord's telekinesis to toss Gatton around. Genm summons the Gashacon Sparrow and Gashacon Sword, but Brave uses energy shields and pulses, teleportation, turning his cape into a drill, and firing Virus monks from a portal to fight his opponents back. Genm uses Taddle Quest in the Sword and Drago Knight Hunter Z in the Sparrow to summon a flaming Hunter Gamer Bugster Union for a Taddle Drago Knight Critical Finish, but Brave counters with Taddle Critical Slash, destroying the Hunter Union and hitting Genm and Gatton; Genm drops Taddle Quest and Drago Knight Hunter Z, and Gatton is destroyed, freeing and curing Mai. Brave retrieves the dropped Gashats as Genm collects Gatton's debris with the Gashacon Bugvisor, retreating. Hiiro untransforms and hides a pain in his chest, but a watching Taiga notices; Mai has been inspired by Hiiro's strength and invites him to her performance, but he reiterates he stays uninvolved with patients' lives, walking away as his chest pains him again. Emu apologizes and is returned Mighty Action X; from a distance, Parado welcomes him back.
Cast[]
- Emu Hojo (宝生 永夢, Hōjō Emu): Hiroki Iijima (飯島 寛騎, Iijima Hiroki)
- Hiiro Kagami (鏡 飛彩, Kagami Hiiro): Toshiki Seto (瀬戸 利樹, Seto Toshiki)
- Taiga Hanaya (花家 大我, Hanaya Taiga): Ukyo Matsumoto (松本 享恭, Matsumoto Ukyō)
- Asuna Karino (仮野 明日那, Karino Asuna): Ruka Matsuda (松田 るか, Matsuda Ruka)
- Kuroto Dan (檀 黎斗, Dan Kuroto): Tetsuya Iwanaga (岩永 徹也, Iwanaga Tetsuya)
- Parado (パラド): Shoma Kai (甲斐 翔真, Kai Shōma)
- Nico Saiba (西馬 ニコ, Saiba Niko): Reina Kurosaki (黒崎 レイナ, Kurosaki Reina)
- Haima Kagami (鏡 灰馬, Kagami Haima): Hanamaru Hakata (博多 華丸, Hakata Hanamaru)
- Rider Gashat (ライダーガシャット, Raidā Gashatto, Voice): Hironobu Kageyama (影山 ヒロノブ, Kageyama Hironobu)
Guest Cast[]
- Mai Yamato (山戸 舞, Yamato Mai): Nozomi Yagi (八木 のぞみ, Yagi Nozomi)
- Odori Teacher: Shima Narai (奈良井 志摩, Narai Shima)
- Gatton Bugster (ガットンバグスター, Gaton Bagusutā, Voice): Yūichi Iguchi (井口 祐一, Iguchi Yūichi)
Suit Actors[]
- Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level 2, Level 3: Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二, Takaiwa Seiji)
- Kamen Rider Brave Level 50: Jun Watanabe (渡辺 淳, Watanabe Jun)
- Kamen Rider Genm Level X: Yuya Nawata (縄田 雄哉, Nawata Yūya)
- Gatton Bugster: Hajime Kanzaki (神前 元, Kanzaki Hajime)
Rider Gashat[]
- Gashat Used:
- Ex-Aid
- Mighty Action X, Gekitotsu Robots
- Brave
- Mighty Action X (attempted), Gashat Gear Dual β (Taddle Fantasy)
- Genm
- Buggle Driver
- Dangerous Zombie
- Gashat Gear Dual β (Taddle Fantasy (used to summon Fantasy Gamer)), Taddle Quest (in Gashacon Sword), Drago Knight Hunter Z (in Gashacon Sparrow)
- Buggle Driver
- Ex-Aid
- Level Used:
- Ex-Aid
- Robot Action Gamer Level 3, Action Gamer Level 2
- Brave
- Fantasy Gamer Level 50
- Genm
- Zombie Gamer Level X
- Ex-Aid
Energy Items[]
- Energy Items Used:
- Ex-Aid
- Iron-Body, Muscular
- Fantasy Gamer
- Confusion
- Unused
- Speeding-Up, Instigate, High-Jump, Shrink, Stretch, Invisible, Recover, Giant, Emission, Liquefaction, Separation
- Ex-Aid
Errors[]
- Both when Emu first transformed and when Hiiro transformed with the Gashat Gear Dual β, Double Action Gamer Level X's profile didn't appear as a selectable character.
- When Emu turned back into his civilian form, the Gamer Driver announced the Gashat removal sound "Gashun!", though the Gashat had already been removed by Hiiro.
- While Kuroto Dan is using his desktop computer, it doesn't have a power cable plugged in.
- When Kuroto used the Taddle Drago Knight Critical Finish, he activated Taddle Quest Gashat before inserting it into the Gashacon Sword. While him activating the Drago Knight Hunter Z is necessary, as he wants the Hunter Gamer to buy him some time, Taddle Quest doesn't summon any Gamer, so it was not necessary to activate it beforehand.
Where is Double Action Gamer Level X?
Same thing happened while Brave transform.
Notes[]
- Closing Screen:
- Text Color: Pink
- Count at episode end
- Gashats in Ex-Aid's possession: Mighty Action X, Gekitotsu Robots, Shakariki Sports, Bakusou Bike, Mighty Brothers XX
- Gashats in Brave's possession: Taddle Quest, Drago Knight Hunter Z, Gashat Gear Dual β
- Gashats in Snipe's possession: None
- Gashats in Genm's possession: Proto Mighty Action X, Proto Taddle Quest, Proto Bang Bang Shooting, Proto Bakusou Bike, Proto Gekitotsu Robots, Proto DoReMiFa Beat, Proto Giri Giri Chambara, Proto Jet Combat, Proto Shakariki Sports, Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z, Dangerous Zombie, Giri Giri Chambara, DoReMiFa Beat, Ju Ju Burger, Bang Bang Shooting, Jet Combat
- Gashats in Para-DX's possession: Gashat Gear Dual
- Video Game References in this episode:
- An instrumental song playing while Brave Level 50 was battling Genm and the Gatton Bugster sounded similar in style to a song from the Castlevania series.
- Hiiro's new abilities while in Brave Level 50 could be a reference to abilities that a boss could use against a player.
- When Haima Kagami tries to play the DoReMiFa Beat arcade cabinet in the CR after everyone leaves, the cabinet tells him to insert ¥100 to play. Many coin operated arcade games remind players they have to pay a certain amount of money or tokens to play on screen when not in use or after a Game Over.
- When fighting the Gatton Bugster, Emu complains that the "level gap" is unfair. A level gap is a term used by players when they are facing an opponent in certain types of games who is way higher in level than they are.
- Emu is seen wearing a shirt that has the pixelated numbers "01" on it. If this refers to a date, then it would be 2001, which was a famous year in gaming for the release of the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo Gamecube and the first Microsoft Xbox console. The shirt also has hidden video game references in its design: a pixelated UFO on it which resembles the one from the classic arcade game Space Invaders, a block which resembles the square projectile from Breakout and the pixels that form the outline of the "01" resemble Tetris blocks. He wore the same shirt in episode 13.
- Emu's attitude after his change is how some stereotypically perceive the worst in gamers: Unmotivated to do real work, driven only by gaming, aggressively competitive and totally apathetic to the world around them.
- When the Fantasy Gamer gets affected by the Confusion Energy Item, it inflicts damage on itself by moving wildly and bumping into things. This is a common trait associated with confusion status in RPG games, especially the Pokémon franchise as confusion status has a chance of causing the player's monster to hurt itself rather than attack the opposing party.
- Due to Taiga losing all his Gashats in the previous episode, he cannot and does not transform into Kamen Rider Snipe in this episode.
- This is the first appearance of Ex-AId Robot Action Gamer Level 3 since Episode 11.
- This is the first time, since his debut, that Parado doesn't transform into Kamen Rider Para-DX.
- This is the first episode where Genm wields the Gashacon Sword.
- This is the first time Emu transforms directly into Ex-Aid Robot Action Gamer Level 3.
- This is the first full episode in which Brave unleashed a Finisher in a form of a Rider Kick, though he used one for Taddle Critical Strike in the VR simulation during the Brave Chapter of Vitrual Operatons.
- This is the first time Ex-Aid uses Energy Items as Robot Action Gamer Level 3.
- It is also the first time a Gamer (Fantasy Gamer) uses an Energy Item.
- It is also the first time since its debut that the Dark Energy Item wasn't seen sitting or floating in the background of a Game Area, though every other debuted Energy Item was.
- This is the first time that the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat gets used for a Critical Finish, which in this case, in the Gashacon Sparrow.
- This is the first time Emu gets a headache while transformed into Ex-Aid, having only gotten them after untransforming before.
- This is the first time in the series Hiiro activated a Gashat (Mighty Action X) other than Taddle Quest, DoReMiFa Beat, or a virtual Drago Knight Hunter Z copy, although he didn't get to transform with it.
- One of Brave's abilities in Level 50 is to turn his cape into an extendable drill. This is a reference to his fellow Knight-themed Rider, Kamen Rider Knight, whose finishing Rider Kick involved him combining with Darkwing to form a cape then spinning to turn the cape into a drill for the finishing blow.
- When Genm used the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat in the Gashacon Sparrow, the Dragon Bugster Union could be briefly seen making an appearance as Genm prepared a finisher with both Drago Knight Hunter Z and Taddle Quest at the same time.
DVD/Blu-ray releases[]
- Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 5 features episodes 17-20: A Nonstandard BURGSTER?, The Truth Exposed, A Sudden Fantasy!? and Take Off Against the Direction of the Wind!.
- Blu-ray Collection 2 comes with 12 episodes.
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 5, DVD
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Collection 2, Blu-ray
External links[]
- TV Asahi's official episode guide for Fantasyは突然に!?
- Toei TV's official episode guide for Fantasyは突然に!?