Kamen Rider Drive: Episode 2 – Overview

This episode starts with a dream, a memory of Mr. Belt just before he transferred his consciousness into his belt. It shows a Roidmude at the head of an attack on his house, which is engulfed in flames, he transforms into the mysterious bad guy we saw in episode 1.

Mr. Belt’s house on fire

Mr. Belt as a human

After Mr. belt wakes up he esquires to Kiriko after Shinnosuke, who just happens to be lounging about in the cafeteria, thinking about his recent fight with the Roidmudes. With the help of a Shift Car, Kiriko is able to “arrest” Shinnosuke and bring him back to the secret hideout.

Kiriko arrests Shinnosuke

Then we see the mysterious bad guy from episode 1 stealing a car from a couple of men. He’s looking for the soul, or core, of one of the Roidmudes he calls his friend.

Back to the hideout, Shinnosuke, Kiriko and Mr. Belt are talking about the Roidmudes and how Shinnosuke is the only one who can become Kamen Rider Drive. Mr. Belt explains a little more on the Roidmudes, but Shinnosuke believes that Mr. Belt has a history with them and shirks the responsibility of becoming Kamen Rider Drive.

Mr. Belt, Kiriko and Shinnosuke talk about being a Kamen Rider

At a restaurant, another man in green is enjoying some tea when the mysterious bad guy from episode 1 appears. We now know him as Heart, and the new man as Brain. brain activates his special power by touching his glasses and makes a nearby person’s ipad show the location of Roidmude 029, the one who received a new body.

Brain and Heart meet

As this is going on, Shinnosuke is visiting his partner Hayase who is recovering from his injuries from six months ago. He’s in a wheelchair and tries to walk with a brace on his leg. Discouraged as he falls, he comments on how he’s doing poorly in his mind on recovering. Shinnosuke reflects on his father being a police man and blames himself for Hayase’s injuries. Hayase tries to convince him to stop blaming himself and protect people in his stead, that’s when Hayase drops a pill cartridge. it all snaps together for Shinnosuke at that point. The pieces of paper belonged to pill cartridges. They head back to the Special Crimes Unit and work out that the Roidmude was after those in peak physical shape. Conducting a search, Kiriko goes with Shinnosuke and Mr. Belt to search for the Roidmude responsible for the pink turning individuals. They find him in an amusement park along with many victims tied to one of the rides.

The Roidmude evolves and attacks the group along with two new Roidmudes who joined him. A chase ensues and Shinnosuke is able to defeat all three with the help of a new Shift Car, Justice.

Roidmude 029 evolves

Heart and Brain are devastated at the realization that Roidmude 029 was defeated, and we’re introduced to a new bad guy, in purple, Chase.

Chase meets up with Heart and Brain

Back at the office poor Otta is having trouble filing the report of the missing persons retrieved and Shinnosuke is referred to as Kamen Rider Drive for the first time.

Then we get a teaser into the next episode, where “ghosts” of people are floating around in the street and Roidmude is seen “trapping” them!

“Ghosts” appear in the city

That’s it for this episode!

You can find the review for this episode here: Episode 2 – Review

Kamen Rider Drive: Episode 1 – Overview

The episode starts off with the world going under an attack called Global Freeze, when the Roidmudes try to take over the world. They cause a density shift, which makes people feel heavy, and slow down time as their signature move when they begin to attack. The world is in chaos, with explosions and attacks happening everywhere. Only one is fighting to save them, the first Kamen Rider Drive, who is disappears mysteriously during the fight. He uses shift cars which build roads and attack the Roidmudes while driving down them, using special powers, he also uses them to transform and use their powers to fight the Roidmudes off.

Mysterious Kamen Rider Drive

During this time Shinnosuke was fighting a criminal with his partner, Hayase, during which a density shift happens and causes him to miss aim when he fires his gun, causing the power unit to explode and throws his partner off the ledge he was standing on and debris to fall on him from the building. Shinnosuke is devastated, the criminal got away and his partner is hospitalized.

Fast forward 6 months, and we see Shinnosuke resting in a park, his brain is slow and he’s lazing about during work hours. It isn’t long before Kiriko finds him and promptly “arrests” him, handcuffs and all, to bring him back into work where he finds out that his unit, the Metro Police Special Crimes Unit, will be investigating the attempted murder cases involving Density Shift activity. They will also be receiving the help of Lieutenant Otta as their liaison for the investigation, he appears regularly from here on out as a vital team member.

Resting in his car,  Shinnosuke is surprised by Mr. Belt talking to him, asking him to become a warrior to fight the Roidmudes. He doesn’t realize that he’s the belt in the dash of his tricked out car, which Mr. Belt had given him to get him prepared for battle, until searching, and when he does, pulling him out of his dock, Mr. Belt takes over and promptly attaches himself to  Shinnosuke’s waist, then takes control of the car and drives him to the scene of a Density Shift attempted murder site that Kiriko tells Shinnosuke about, after Shinnoskuke said he wouldn’t go until he got off of him.

Mr. Belt tries to convince Shinnosuke to become a warrior

When at the scene, Shinnosuke and Kiriko wear Density Shift detecting gear that looks a little silly, which is commented on by Otta, Shinnosuke agrees. They find a man unconscious and completely pink in colour, yet still alive. Shinnosuke finds a piece of paper by the dropped popcorn that the victim had been holding and saves it as evidence, then, the criminal appears causing a Density Shift that makes their gear go haywire. The criminal transforms into a Roidmude, and starts attacking Shinnosuke. With the help of Mr. Belt and his Shift Cars, they’re able to chase away the Roidmude.

Shift Cars rescue Shinnosuke from a Roidmude

After the attack, Shinnosuke, Kiriko and Otta go back to the office, while Otta won’t believe what he saw, Shinnosuke does and completes a face search of the human the Roidmude was posing as, his brain is in top gear and it shows with the tightening of his tie. He goes after the Roidmude in his own territory, by a local gym. That’s when the Roidmude strikes again, attacking a gym attendee who goes for a jog. Shinnosuke is quick to help. At first he’s affected by the Density Shift, but Mr. Belt calls a Shift Car to attach to him and help Shinnosuke move even faster than normal during it. That’s when two more Roidmudes appear! They try to take out Shinnosuke, but Kiriko arrives just in time with his car, bullets blazing, to protect him and explain to him to use Mr. Belt to transform into Kamen Rider Drive. After Mr. Belt explains to him what the Shift Cars do, Shinnosuke finally transforms! He gains a suit of armour with a wheel that enables him to move at super speed. Throughout the fight, he uses different Shift Cars to use different attacks against the three Roidmudes and defeats them all, destroying the cores of two of them!

Kamen Rider Drive uses speed to defeat his enemies

With the Roidmudes defeated, the man attacked goes back to his regular colour and is saved! That’s when Shinnosuke finds a piece of paper at the scene again. He feels the two are connected to the case somehow. Kiriko then shows Shinnosuke the secret hideout that Mr. Belt and her had been keeping secret. Shinnosuke is impressed.

It’s not over yet, the final core, of the Roidmude who was causing the attempted murders makes it back to a man, we have no idea who he is yet, but he gives the Roidmude a new body.

New mysterious bad guy gives Roidmude 029 a new body

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed it!

You can find the review to this episode here: Episode 1 – Review

Kamen Rider Drive

Kamen Rider Drive is the best season by far of the Kamen Rider series. It has a great story line with just the right amount of humour and realism. The three main characters are Shinnosuke

Shinnosuke

Kiriko

Kiriko

And Chase

Chase

The story focuses on a robotic race called Roidmudes that plan to take over the world, created by Mr.Belt and his partner. His partner abused their creations, which can take on the emotions of their victims, and copy their identity.

The main villains are Hart, Medic and Brain, and for a short time even Chase, who later joins the heroes in defeating the Roidmudes after remembering his past as a Kamen Rider himself.

“I’ve got it together. My brain cells are in Top Gear!“~Shinnosuke