Kamen Rider Drive Episode 33 – Synopsis, Review, Poll, and Discussion

It’s finally here – the debut episode for the final form for Kamen Rider Drive – and we’ve got an episode synopsis with review (and pictures!) for you to enjoy. This episode features the debut of Kamen Rider Drive Type Tridoron, which as previously stated is the final power up form for Kamen Rider Drive. And as is the case for most final forms, the build-up for this form spanned two episodes and was heavy on the drama.

Linked to this story is our Episode Poll and Discussion – simply click the link, or click here, or the “Discuss” link at the bottom of the story to go straight to the discussion and to vote on the episode. Beware – this post contains major spoilers – so if you’re not ready to know what happens, avoid reading now!

For our synopsis and review, we used subtitles from Overtime Subs. To download their HD or SD version of this episode with subtitles, just click here. A special thanks to CometComics on DeviantArt for some of the graphics used in this story – be sure to check out their awesome Flash Belts for Kamen Rider Drive, Kamen Rider Gaim, and Kamen Rider Den-O!

Click “Read More” for the synopsis and review! And remember – All you need is Drive!

Synopsis

This episode is full of reveals as well as twists to the overall plot. Tomari Shinnosuke is believed to be dead – killed in action by Roidmude 001, the Roidmude responsible for the death of Tomari Shinnosuke‘s father years earlier. With this tragic turn of events, Team Drive begins to fall apart as each member begins the process of moving on or giving in to overwhelming grief at the realization that their friend, and best hope to stop the Roidmudes, is gone.

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Kamen Rider Chaser is determined to get Gou back from Brain and 001 and plans to use the remedy to 001‘s mind control on Gou. Before he can use it he is stopped and easily defeated by Kamen Rider Mach. But at the last second, Kamen Rider Mach turns on Brain and steals a data pad, withdrawing with Kamen Rider Chaser. We are then told by Gou that he was never under any type of mind control and that he must be resistant to it like Tomari Shinnosuke was, and that he was simply pretending so he could get the data pad which holds information on every single Roidmude. He expresses incredible grief over the death of Shinnosuke and that he wasn’t able to react fast enough to save him. We have a brief, touching scene where Chase tells Gou that he now knows that Gou truly is a Kamen Rider, as he’s doing whatever it takes to keep people safe and make them happy. Gou eventually gets over the fact that he did not do anything to save Tomari Shinnosuke and interacts with the data pad, retrieving information that he then gives to Kiriko in a heartfelt apology.

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We discover that Shinnosuke and Krim seem to be bonded – they cannot remove Krim from the body of Tomari Shinnosuke. We then also discover that Shinnosuke is still alive – that being bonded to Krim has simply kept him in a suspended state and that they have to restart Krim in order to revive Tomari Shinnosuke. Kiriko emerges with a formula that Gou gave to her – a formula that, when put in use, will allow them to use all the Shift Cars along with Tridoron to restart Krim and thus save Tomari Shinnosuke! During that time the audience is also led to believe that Mr. X, the mysterious individual who had helped Tomari Shinnosuke through E-mails, was actually Gou all this time.

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The group gathers at an abandoned area to get Tridoron to a speed of 200KPH in order to restart Krim. Kiriko takes the wheel as Tomari Shinnosuke is her partner and she feels obligated to do so. As she begins to speed up, 001 appears in his evolved form and begins to attack. Kamen Rider Chaser attempts to stop him but is easily defeated – followed by 001 shooting a blast at Tridoron and blowing it up. As he stands triumphantly, Tridoron appears undamaged as the passenger side door opens to reveal a revived Tomari Shinnosuke. We also discover that Krim is alive and well – bonded to Tomari Shinnosuke as he speaks through Tomari. He then uses the Shift Car Tridoron to turn in to Kamen Rider Drive Type Tridoron and, using the power of all the Shift Cars, defeats 001.

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The end of the episode however leaves the audience on another cliffhanger – 001 laughs at Tomari claiming he finds it amusing that he feels accomplished in his avenging his deceased father and hopes he chokes on the truth when it is revealed to him.

Episode Review

The very first thing I thought of when I finished this episode was – I’ve seen this before! And if you’ve been watching Kamen Rider over the last three to four years you probably had the same reaction. Without going in to a lot of detail – this felt like a carbon copy of Kamen Rider Fourze and the reveal of the final form the Cosmic States – both featured a secondary rider turning evil and playing a part in the death in the main rider, only to then switch sides and end up helping by the end of the episode. We also have the main ally who was usually at odds with the main rider assisting in bringing the rider back from the dead. And of course, another page turn in the overall plot at the end of the episode.

Let’s talk about Kamen Rider Mach aka Gou. I truly felt that having him pretend to be evil all this time was a bit of a cop out for the character. We had all this build up with him having doubts about his ability to feeling replaced by Chase to looking for a way to become even stronger. And the conclusion to all of that is to say he was pretending to be evil the whole time to grab this data pad? It felt lacking in depth and, as previously stated, more of a cop out – a way to get the character back on the good side without spending too much time focusing on him because TOYS TO SELL! I also don’t believe that Gou is Mr. X – it would be yet another plot point that was quickly removed when it too had potential for something cool later down the road.

As for Kamen Rider Drive Type Tridoron – I love it! I love the combination of Krim and Tomari Shinnosuke sharing a power up form together and the subtle differences in body language when one is in control of the body versus the other. Krim seems to be more of a fluid, controlled fighter while Tomari Shinnosuke reminds me more of a wild card street fighter who will fling a punch as opposed to the typical police officer take down that Krim uses. The attacks are awesome and the combination tire using three of the previous Shift Cars was slick as well – here’s to hoping we get that in a S.H. Figuarts release in the future! We are also treated to a the new Kamen Rider Girls single which works as the theme for Type Tridoron – sadly you couldn’t hear much because of the action but what I heard sounded pretty good and not of their usual sound. A little more poppy than usual but also very melodic.

Overall this episode receives four Tridoron Badges out of five.

I wanted to give it five, I did, but I felt a little cheated on the resolution of Gou and his evil streak. I also felt Kamen Rider Chaser took a major step back in the badass department when it comes to fighting – he got knocked around all episode and didn’t put up hardly a fight at all. Really made him feel like he was weaker than Kamen Rider Mach – even though he wiped the floor with Mach in their last few fights. We’ll see where the story goes from here but the previews in the next episode didn’t seem to answer many questions that were raised at the end of this episode – felt more like another story that will slowly progress what we learned this episode in the background over the next handful of episodes.

What did you think? Join in our discussion by clicking here! Don’t forget to vote on the episode and let us know what you thought of it! See you next week for another review of Kamen Rider Drive!