Season Analysis

Kamen Rider

Season 35 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

The looming threat of monsters. Granutes, monsters from another world. Humans have no idea they are secretly coming to their world. Humans have no idea their kind are being hunted. One young man steps up to protect humanity. Shoma is a young man who loves to eat. By eating treats, he can create beings known as the Gochizo that become his companions and his main source of power as Kamen Rider Gavv. The story of Shoma, who fights to protect people's happiness from the Granute, begins now!

Season Review

Kamen Rider Gavv focuses on Shoma, a young man from another world, who becomes Kamen Rider Gavv to protect humanity's happiness from the Granutes, a monstrous, corporation-like alien race who exploit humans via 'Dark Treats,' which is an allegory for substance abuse. The series' main dramatic arc centers on themes of acceptance and overcoming prejudice, particularly through the character Hanto, who initially harbors deep-seated 'racial' hatred for the Granutes after his mother was kidnapped by one. Shoma's struggle to keep his own half-Granute identity a secret from his friends is a core conflict. The narrative promotes a message of finding new family, forgiveness, and fighting for the intrinsic happiness of people. However, critics note the female characters, including the main heroine Sachika, are often supportive roles, and some villainesses are killed quickly, sometimes to further the development of male characters. The show uses Shoma's dual-identity and the Granute-Human dynamic as a direct allegory for marginalized groups and the 'coming out' process.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The plot centers on an intense conflict between 'races' (Humans and Granutes), with a main character (Shoma) of mixed heritage and a supporting character (Hanto) having a major arc where he must overcome his prejudice against Shoma's alien 'race' and the Granutes in general. This narrative structure directly employs the intersectional lens of systemic oppression and overcoming bigotry against an 'othered' group, framing Hanto as having to conquer his 'racism.'

Oikophobia1/10

The central conflict is a heroic defense of the human world and its culture of 'happiness' against an invading, monstrous alien corporation, 'The Stomach Family.' There is no theme of civilizational self-hatred, demonization of ancestors, or framing the home culture as fundamentally corrupt or racist. The narrative respects the institutions of friendship and the human way of life.

Feminism4/10

Female characters are frequently sidelined, used as 'moral support' for the male leads, or die quickly as plot points to fuel male character development. Sachika is a charismatic moral center, but she is the only main female character and is not a Rider, lacking the agency of a 'Girl Boss.' The male leads are emotionally complex and have non-traditional interests (sweets, cooking). This does not push a high 'Girl Boss' score, but critics interpret the female sacrifices as a critique of a 'system' that robs women of agency, which is a subtle progressive framing.

LGBTQ+9/10

The show is explicitly read by commentators through a 'queer lens,' with the protagonist Shoma's arc of hiding his Granute origin and being 'outed' framed as a direct allegory for a sexual minority's 'coming out' and finding a new family of acceptance. The villains include a pair of twins (Siita and Jiip) noted for their 'masculine woman and a very feminine man' presentations, and the Granute reproductive cycle is noted to create room for reading the main character as 'gender-non-conforming.' The central theme of finding acceptance for 'being different' is heavily aligned with this ideology.

Anti-Theism4/10

The core morality revolves around objective concepts like 'happiness,' 'forgiveness,' 'acceptance,' and 'redemption,' suggesting a belief in transcendent moral law. The villains are a commercial, corporate-driven evil force exploiting addiction, not a religious entity or traditional faith. There is no evidence of hostility toward religion or framing Christian characters as villains or bigots.