Kamen Rider Majade with Girls Remix

Whilst studying abroad in England, Rinne Kudo’s classmate Nayuto is suddenly attacked by Yoko Minato. Although Sophia appears to help protect them, the two Riders are unsuccessful in preventing Nayuto from being kidnapped by Kamen Rider Marika. 

Following these events, Sophia takes Rinne back to Japan where she meets other members of the newly reformed Girls Remix – Akiko Narumi, Hana Natsuki and Reika Shindai. They explain that numerous women have been kidnapped, and the group have been asked to investigate. With further help from Nozomi Takai and Sawa Takigawa, Girls Remix work together to solve the case – clashing with Marika once more as they uncover a brand-new threat.

Though the first Girls Remix special caught the attention of fans because it was a (long overdue) crossover between the heroines of the Kamen Rider series, at its core it was a story that focused on the two most recent females Riders at the time and their relationship. With years having past since Kamen Rider Revice it makes sense to now move things along and put the spotlight on Kamen Rider Majade, however in comparison Rinne struggles a little more as the lead. Not necessarily because she’s a weaker character, but with no other Gotchard characters present in the story everything needs to be built from the ground up. Both her relationships with the returning cast members, and the new characters that she attends university with. However as the franchise’s first female Rider officially recognised as her show’s secondary Rider, it’s good to see her get something she can be the main focus of after she was passed over in Graduations in favour of Spanner/Valvarad. Unfortunately though this is a much more low-key affair, both when compared to Graduations and the previous Girls Remix. Whereas the last one was a three-part miniseries, this is a (mostly) self-contained special around the average time of your typical Kamen Rider episode.

Sadly the smaller scale of this sequel means only a fraction of the characters from the previous Girls Remix make a return, but that isn’t to say it doesn’t make those legacy characters count. Hana without Sakura by her side isn’t something we get to see often, but an attempt to make her stand out a bit more on her own (whilst also referencing her close relationship to Sakura) is something she could benefit from in these specials. It’s a chance to develop the whole Blue Bird aspect which came out of the very end of Revice, as well as place her as a leader character of sorts as far as the group’s actual Riders are concerned. This notion of making the character stand out on their own can also be applied to Reika, who tends to shine a lot more when not attached at the hip to her brother. Aguilera and Sabela might be the only two returning Riders, but it wouldn’t be Girls Remix without two of its founding members – Akiko and Sawa. Though they may not be Riders themselves, both have skills that make them integral parts of the team. Sawa’s investigative skills speak for themselves, but with Akiko it’s more just the joy she brings to the group and how she brings them together as a unit. Even if it feels like she does less than the other characters (despite being their de-facto leader and the detective that brings them their cases), it’s hard to imagine the group without her.

However as always, being truncated down into an all too brief 26 minutes means the story does take a bit of a hit. Whereas the previous Girls Remix had the benefit of just building on existing things through the use of Black Satan and Tackle, this one tries to create something new with all-new evil organisation Cloud. And with much of the runtime dedicated to the girls interacting and the fight sequences themselves (both of which are justifiably the priority), there’s barely any time left to establish them – let alone develop them. There isn’t even new forms or transformation trinkets to show off in this one – just the tease of a new Rider that’s snatched away as quickly as it’s revealed. It’s disappointing that this couldn’t have been a little more substantial, but to its credit it does at least seem like Girls Remix is actually building towards something bigger. Between the aforementioned magic circle, the notion that Sumire’s plans aren’t quite through yet and the vague tease at the end of the special, there’s definitely hints that more story is being planned. Which would be great if this could become a series of annual specials with an alternating roster (and particular focus on the most recent female Rider). Admittedly post-credits teases aren’t always a guarantee of more, but with plenty more characters that could be introduced in future instalments we live in hope.