#i have an appointment and i was at school | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lovieku · 2 hours ago

Text

TRUE LOVE ⋆ 정국

when you and jeon jeongguk's paths cross again, you question if having a crush on the school's emo and alternative boy was really just a phase, or if it was true love after all.

⋆⁺₊❅. 5/6 from christmas & chill

pairing tattoo artist!jk x fem reader

genre fluff, smut, grumpy & sunshine, somewhat f2l

warnings jk 24 | oc 24, jk thinks he’s too cool for love, oc suffers from a chronic case of “i can fix him”, she eventually does, oc simps HARDDD and jk only pretends to be unaffected, yea he’s a bit of a dick sometimes but he’s also Very funny, brief description of panic attacks, male masturbation, kissing, idk what else to add i just rly rly love them and will think of them for the entirety of xmas season

word count 10.2k

author’s note hi lovies 🩷 it’s my last time with c&c 🙁 i’m kinda emotional omg… it’s been such a fun, warm and lovely week, and i love each one of you for showing endless support to this project <33 i’ll keep trying to not disappoint… please tell me if you like this!!! thank u always and always 🩷 luv u <3

banner by the gorgeous @awrkive ⊹₊⟡⋆

On the first day of December, your path crosses with thee Jeon Jeongguk’s after enough years for your brain to trip slightly before recognising him. But it would have been impossible not to—there’s likely a whole, well-preserved section of your thinking organ dedicated to that mortifying phase of high school, when your hormones turned life into an endless internal tug-of-war.

The moment your eyes widen at having him stand in front of you, you’re yanked unceremoniously into the past, brought back to buried, locked and left to gather dust feelings that have your teenage self’s screams echoing within you in a chorus of delight and cringe.

Jeongguk, on the other hand, is simply following his duties as a tattoo artist. When he catches sight of you next to his appointed client on such a breezy day, the cold December air starting to find its space even in the confines of his studio, he only nods his chin upward at you in slow recognition.

It’s awkward, at first. Only because you make it.

You’d volunteered to accompany Eunbi, your best friend, to get her first tattoo as an early Christmas self-gift. Your mission was clear: support her, hold her hand if the pain became unbearable (though you’re probably the least dependable person when it comes to making clarity in situations of panic, as seen right now), and be the first to bask in her excitement as she finally sees what she’s always pictured to be inked on the skin of her forearm. A blue whale tattoo, large enough to make you wince just thinking about the needlework.

You’d never go through something like that. Never.

And that’s exactly what’s showing on your face when you’re met with Jeongguk’s full sleeve of tattoos, leaving you rooted to the spot.

You’d always known him to be the different kid, the quiet one with forced sharp eyes that canonically listened to alternative rock and glared at anyone who dared approach, whether to tease him or befriend him. He’d convinced himself that no one could ever understand him.

See, you’d instead fooled yourself into thinking you were the exception. That you did understand him.

Fourteen-year-old you had gone through some weird phases, and the one that resurfaces now at the vision of his adult self is the one centered entirely around him. You unashamedly had the biggest crush on Jeongguk. To you, he was mysterious and edgy—in an effortlessly cool way.

You’d tried everything. Offered him your lunch more times than you were left with any for yourself. Even cut your bangs to have them fall over your eyes to mimic his fringe, dyed a strand in blue, overhauled your wardrobe to align with his back-and-grey one. None of it worked. He never noticed.

But, thinking of it now, there’s no way he didn't. He definitely did. How could any boy turn a blind eye to a lovesick girl’s heartfelt Valentine’s letter, a hopeless romantic girl who almost cried on the spot when she got rejected? Jeongguk just chose to willingly ignore it.

These are all valid reasons as to why your functions seem to slow down in his unexpected presence. And you’re not going to deny nor fake that his calm, almost detached demeanor doesn’t flow through your body and right to your left eye, making it twitch with a slight tremor.

Yet, you must also admit that your teenage self was onto something. Jeongguk has changed drastically but he’s also stayed the same. You think fourteen-year-old him would be proud of where he is right now. Two piercings on his lower lip and one on his eyebrow, intricate ink tracing up his muscled arm, his… muscled arms. Wow. And then, his studio. His own studio, a place for him and his passion, one that he made into his job. That’s undeniably cool.

Maybe just not cool enough for you to be gaping like an idiot as he moves with purpose, adjusting your friend’s arm to position the stencil he had prepared, perfectly fitting in the space she had chosen. His muscles flex with every shift, and it’s impossible for you to go past that with the way the black beater he’s wearing is loose on his torso, but still clinging on his chest.

Eunbi notices, of course. You don’t have time to feel embarrassed and in return she doesn’t even try to hide her amusement when your usual chatter dries up entirely, only gulping obnoxiously noisily and alternating that with nervous silences. Jeongguk, too, catches on.

He’d always known you as obnoxious and noisy. In, huh, a good way. Or whatever.

Jeongguk just agrees that you were (and probably still are, if the pastel yellow skirt softly flowing down your legs paired with a cozy cream sweater and the full toothed grin you shoot at your friend are any indicators) the pinpoint embodiment of his opposite. You’ve always been talkative, smiley, and friendly, eager to help and to receive help, not in the slightest ever turning down the opportunity to blabber on, and on, and on.

Honestly, Jeongguk doesn’t think he ever truly listened to a single word of your rambling back in the day, especially during those times when you’d bounce up to him and launch into enthusiastic rants about obscure alternative bands he himself hadn’t even heard of. He respected the hustle, though. He’d always wondered where you found the time and energy to immerse yourself in music like that.

He much preferred when you were less trying so hard to be him and mirror his tastes, more when you gave up on impressing him and simply stayed true to yourself, the girl whose heart belonged to Justin Bieber and One Direction. Truthfully, he fucked with them. Not that he’d ever admit it, of course. His quiet, brooding image wouldn’t survive that revelation.

What he respected the most was your resilience. After all the times he rejected you and your awkward blurts of confessions, you still didn’t think it was enough of a reason for your villain origin story to take off, and instead remained the same frustratingly positive ray of sunshine you’d always been.

Now, as Jeongguk works on the tattoo in front of him, the very design that caused all these long-buried memories to rise back, his dark eyes flick toward you sitting on a stool in a near corner every now and then, a hint of confusion in his expression each time you take more than five seconds to reply to his small talk.

It’s just, you’re a bit taken aback. Since when does he do small talk? The foreign smoothness with which Jeongguk handles interactions is so far removed from the sullen boy you used to know. You’re not prepared for this version of him. It’s disarming, to say the least.

Enough time has passed for you to settle into the odd scenario, your current best friend and your long-standing high school crush in the same room. Slowly but surely, your curiosity sparkles again, and the signature tendency to let thoughts tumble out of your mouth unchecked returns to you naturally.

“Ouch, that looks painful.”

Jeongguk snorts, eyes trained on Eunbi’s arm as he glides the tattoo needle with precise strokes that have his brows pinching and the tip of his tongue peeking out from the corner of his lips, a habit you remember from the past but one you’ve never found quite so distracting before.

Still, he multitasks and responds without missing a beat, “Wanna try?”

Wow. This is, like, the longest conversation you’ve ever had with him. It spurs you on to do anything it takes to hear more of his voice, the sound of it definitely deeper than the shy tones you struggled to coax out of him ten years ago.

That is probably why you literally lie, “Hm. Maybe. I was thinking of getting one actually. In the future.”

Eunbi chokes on her spit, her chest coughing with the sudden, blatantly fake revelation, and Jeongguk promptly pauses, lifting the needle from her skin as his tattooist reflexes kick in. While your friend apologizes between a clearing of her throat and sinks back into the chair, she doesn’t keep from glaring at you, her expression screaming What the hell are you doing?

You deadpan. You’ll explain everything later and it’ll all make sense. And you know this will inevitably end up being added to the list of the many embarrassing facts she knows about you and threatens you with when she wants to go clubbing and you don’t.

Jeongguk uses the brief interruption to glance up at where you’re perched in the corner of his peripheral vision, just to square you up and down with a skeptical arch of his brow, “Really?”

You scoff, smoothing out the creases on your skirt as if the fabric is somehow responsible for the lie you just told, “Is that shocking?”

He hums, returning to his work with the buzz of the needle filling the studio again, his voice padded the more he gets closer to Eunbi’s forearm, “I just find it hard to believe such a princess like you could handle any pain.”

You gulp.

What you’re getting from this conversation is that Jeongguk has always had an idea of who you are in his mind all along. That he’s always perceived you in some way. As much as your inner fourteen-year-old is swooning at the attention, gobbling up each of the tiny crumbles he’s giving you, it doesn’t sit right with you. What exactly does he think of you?

“Test me.”

He shrugs, eyes fixated on the shade he’s perfectioning with black ink, “Busy now.”

“I’ll go pay for mine. I saw you have one last free spot today,” you announce, the words tumbling out with more confidence than you feel. You’re already on your feet before the sentence is fully formed, betraying the fact that your nosy tendencies had gotten the better of you earlier. You’d discreetly glanced at his appointment book when Jeongguk and Eunbi were finalizing her tattoo details and negotiating the final price at the desk.

He hums, head tilting slightly, “And I wanted to spend it bumming around.”

“Too bad. You’ll have to postpone that.”

You walked into this studio swearing you’d never let a needle even brush you.

Now you’re stretched out on a leather bench, Jeongguk leaning over you with a stencil in hand, gloved fingers moving with careful precision.

The design you’d chosen came from his portfolio—a delicate illustration of two butterflies in motion, their soft threads intertwining. You’d flipped through countless pages of bold skulls and intricate linework before settling on this.

The spot you’d chosen for the tattoo was the flat, firm plane between your breasts. It wasn’t a conscious decision, just a place you’d always liked. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that nature hadn’t exactly blessed you in the cleavage department. Subconsciously, perhaps, you thought that adding something there might give the illusion of more.

“Tehe,” you can’t stop the breathy giggle that escapes as the cool paper brushes against your skin. Your hand is pressed to your bra, holding it in place as best you can, though the situation feels so surreal it’s hard to focus on anything but the ridiculousness of it all.

Jeongguk glances up at you with a glare that’s more exasperated than angry before returning to the delicate task at hand, “What’s funny?”

Your voice wobbles, “I just— I tend to laugh during serious moments.”

“Oh. Weird.”

“Sorry.”

With a small sigh, he smooths the stencil, and once it’s transferred he hands you a square mirror, waiting for your approval. You nod, the butterflies now perfectly poised in their eternal dance, and Jeongguk doesn’t waste a moment.

The buzz of the needle fills the room as he leans closer, one gloved hand resting on the upper part of your chest to steady himself. He’s mere seconds from beginning the inking process when another laugh bubbles out of you.

Jeongguk sits back abruptly, dropping his pen onto the metal tray with an audible clink. Tilting his head, he levels you with a look of thinly veiled irritation. “I really can’t work if your chest keeps moving.”

“Sorry,” you blurt again, turning your head to face the wall. You clamp your lips together tightly, mentally scrolling through every sad memory you can conjure. Think of something awful. Your childhood dog dying. Okay, maybe not that sad—

“You haven’t changed a bit since high school. Always smiling like you live surrounded by flowers and rainbows,” Jeongguk’s mutter vibrates against your chest, warm breath fanning over the cold skin, distracting you from your no-giggling mission.

The unexpected observation has your brows furrowing in a mildly offended frown, and banter is ready on your tongue. “You’re just the same too, Gguk. The emo boy who thinks he’s too cool for a smile.”

“I’m not an emo boy. The fuck,” he scoffs, kissing his teeth and murmuring more of his indignation under his breath.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. I can teach you.”

The whirring needle glides across your skin with a slightly firmer touch, making you hiss softly under your breath. He seems unbothered by the reaction, and instead bothered by your words, “Teach me what.”

“How to smile a bit more,” you reply, your voice laced with mockery as you keep your gaze firmly fixed on the wall. The smirk playing on your lips is triumphant; he walked right into your little jab, hehe.

Your mind is already racing, piecing together the beginning of a sarcastic rant about how his perpetual scowl probably contributed to his mysterious high school persona. For the sake of his ego, you won’t add how it worked in his favor, how more than one girl (your own self) found his untouchable vibe completely irresistible.

Even though, thinking back, he looked ridiculous. His big, round, slightly scared-of-the-world eyes truly didn’t belong with the heavy black eyeliner.

But before you can get a single word out, Jeongguk straightens his posture, pulling away from your chest. With a practiced motion, he tosses one of his gloves onto the counter behind him, his expression cool and indifferent. “It’s done.”

“Done?!” you exclaim, tilting your chin down to look at your chest. You go slightly cross-eyed trying to catch a glimpse of the design now inked onto your skin. Forever.

“Yes.”

“I didn’t even feel it.”

Jeongguk seems equally done with small talk, transitioning into a professional explanation of the tattoo’s aftercare step. His tone is calm but clipped, and you can’t tell if it’s his usual demeanor or just reserved for you. He also hands you a small tube of cream of which you’re not sure the use of, too enthralled by the vision of his colored sleeve this up close.

And still laying on the leather bed, you almost reach to trace one of the many lines with your finger before he interrupts, “You can pay with Yoongi at the entrance.”

Clearing your throat, you sit up, brushing imaginary dust off your skirt as Jeongguk turns his back to you, his focus already back on cleaning his tools. You still are not over, “Thank you, Jeongguk. Can I— huh. Can I get your number?”

He pauses mid-motion, just long enough for the silence to stretch thin and taut. Turning around to study your features, he stares you up and down with knitted brows and a hostile kind of confusion painting his expression. “… For what exactly?”

“In case anything happens with the tattoo.”

Jeongguk stills for a second, eyes narrowing slightly, then turns back to what’s keeping him so occupied with a noncommittal grunt, “Huh. Sure. Yoongi has my business cards at the desk. You can ask him. Have a good day.”

With Eunbi practically dragging you out of the room, you don’t have the chance to say anything more, though your chest burns with indignation. It’s not that you expect him to fall over himself at the chance to catch up, but the sheer indifference is maddening.

Should you pretend you don’t care either? You could. But really, who are you fooling? You still have those old diaries buried somewhere in your closet, their pages crammed with his name written in looping, lovesick cursive. That little girl in you never truly died.

On the fourth day of December, you finally text him. It’s about your tattoo, of course. There’s not much else to say to him, but when his only reply to your picture of the healing process is a yellow thumbs up, you find your fingers hovering over the keyboard. Words start forming before you’ve fully processed them, and before you know it, you hit send.

You [3:39 p.m]: btw u still friends with kim tae?

jeongguk [3:42 p.m.]: Yes

jeongguk [3:42 p.m.]: He’s my best friend

You [3:43 p.m.]: ohhh, cool

jeongguk [3:45 p.m.]: You want his number?

You [3:46 p.m.]: no… i’m good with yours ☺️

You can’t help but giggle at how his typing bubbles appear and then fade for a whole minute, biting your lower lip with a sheepish grin, savoring the silent victory. You’re doing this for your fourteen-year-old self, who would’ve squealed at the thought of making Jeon Jeongguk flustered. But you’re a different girl now. You’ve changed. No man could ever reject—

jeongguk [3:48 p.m.]: If there’s nothing else about the tattoo then 👋

“Hmph,” your frown is so pronounced that you feel your chin aching and your wrinkles prematurely deepening. Well, this is not the first time you come face first with his sour antics. Only now, you’re prepared.

You [3:48 p.m.]: yall hanging out soon? let me join

jeongguk [3:49 p.m.]: Why lol

jeongguk [3:49 p.m.]: He barely even remembers you probs

You [3:50 p.m.]: who would not remember me

jeongguk [3:50 p.m.]: The only thing i’m now remembering about you is how I couldn’t stand your ass

You gasp, hand coming up to brush against your parted lips. With a huff, you hastily click at your keyboard, “Mean. Sent. Ugh.”

On the sixth day of December, your persistence pays off, and you find yourself at a random bar you’d never been to before, seated with both Jeongguk and Taehyung.

Between Jeongguk’s cigarette breaks—forcing the three of you to brave the cold outside—and brief moments in corners of the cramped place where the music feels muffled against the walls, you manage to catch up with Taehyung. The rest of the time though, the noise inside is so deafening that it makes any kind of meaningful conversation impossible.

Even more when a random girl slides into the booth next to him, capturing his attention entirely, leaving you and Jeongguk in paradoxical silence.

The tattoo artist has been glued to his phone with his head down for the last 20 minutes, and now you alternate between observing his side profile, roughened by the piercings and a more defined jawline, and analysing the weird dynamic that is beginning to form between Taehyung and the girl, sitting in front of you.

Alone with your thoughts and, well, the pulsating music, you feel yourself getting unreasonably closer to symptoms you know all too well, that threaten to have you spiraling. You shake your head, forcing it to stop. There’s no reason for anxiety to visit you at such an inconvenient time.

But of course, the little voice in your head starts listing all the totally valid motives why this is indeed the perfect time for it to visit you.

The bar feels suffocating on your skin.

Your dress clings too tightly.

The couple facing you is shamelessly close to making out.

Jeongguk sighs in visible boredom.

You shouldn’t have come. Hell, you shouldn't have suggested it in the first place. A smarter version of yourself would have brought Eunbi for balance, for comfort. But in your foolishness, you thought this could be an opportunity for you and Jeongguk to catch up. Instead, you feel foreign to him, foreign to this pub booth, and the air begins to feel foreign to your lungs. You’ve never liked bars, clubs, or places with loud music.

You sniffle, looking down at your lap. Then up at the ceiling. Then around the room. It keeps spinning and booming with volume that only adds to the feeling of helplessness. Quick, quick, quick.

What are five things that you can see?

Five. Your gaze falls on Taehyung and the girl, their lips and tongues clumsily entangled as they laugh between sloppy kisses. No help there. The air catches harder in your throat.

Four. Your empty glass, its smudged rim a reminder of the single drink you had, now sitting uncomfortably in your stomach.

Three. Your scuffed heels, their tips worn to the nub despite your best efforts to hide it with a marker.

Two. The swirling lights above the bar, dizzying as they flash brighter and brighter.

One. Jeongguk’s tattooed hand on your thigh.

His fingers dig into the skin, shaking you alarmedly, with a force you’ve never known from him, not even when it came to stopping your shaking stomach as you were laying on the studio’s leather bed.

Head snapping up to face him, you’re met with a perfect resemblance of how you must look right now. Wide eyes, knitted brows, nose flaring and exhaling, and you try to follow the movements of his mouth, but they jumble together annoyingly in your brain. You lean closer, narrowed orbs still fixated on his lips to try and read them. Are… you… ok—

“___, you’re scaring me. Hey, hello? Are you okay?”

Jeongguk moves from your thigh to your shoulders, jolting you gently but firmly from the fog that is threatening to cloud up your brain. The sudden clarity hits you, but you still stumble forward, your weight toppling over his chest. With it, your head dips rapidly, hurtling toward the sharp edge of the table, and before Jeongguk knows it his instinct snaps and he catches you promptly.

The next steps blur together. You vaguely register the boy next to you standing up and pulling you along with him, his broad shoulders supporting one of your arms while his inked one secures around the small of your waist, holding you firmly against him.

Then, it’s nothing but brief flashes. Jeongguk pressing a water bottle to your lips. Sitting you down on the stairs outside the pub. Holding your hair back as you double over, emptying the contents of your stomach onto the pavement. Cracking a smile to make you laugh, showing off his tattoos in exaggerated detail like it’s the grandest tour of your life. Opening the door to his car and gently easing you into the passenger seat, ensuring the seatbelt clicks into place.

Inside his car, you slowly feel your senses come back to you.

At a redlight that you recognise as the one near your apartment complex, you muster a small and hoarse thank you. Jeongguk only hums low, eyes fixated on the road and fingers drumming lightly on the steering wheel.

Before a sheepish smile can make its way on your lips and spread across your face, your head twitches back as your brows furrow. Your thoughts suddenly catch up with you, “Hey, how do you know the way to my flat?”

His gaze briefly flicks toward you in annoyance, then back to the road. “You literally just told me.”

“Oh.” A beat passes before you giggle softly. “Don’t remember.”

Jeongguk mutters something intelligible under his breath, and next thing you know he’s turning down your street and slowing in front of the building that matches the number you gave him. Given your current state, he begins to question if that is even the right one.

“This one!” You point at the tall front gate with an almost childlike excitement, back shifting slightly from the seat as your grin stretches wide. Jeongguk grimaces. Why the fuck do you look like you’ve been reuinted with your home after years apart, as if you weren’t there just a couple hours ago?

“Right. Huh, you good with going back on your own?”

“Yes. I’d hate to bother you further. I’m sorry for this, I… was getting better, I guess.”

The sad confession doesn’t land with the weight it should, softened by the smile painted on your lips and the chuckle you let out as if it were nothing. Jeongguk’s eyelid twitches, unsettled by the unnecessary happiness that always seems to drip from you, even when it doesn’t belong.

“‘S okay. Have a good night,” he awkwardly bows his head, waiting for you to exit the car. When you stay still, he clears his throat, adding just to fill the silence, and perhaps because he means it, “Huh, and make sure to rest a lot.”

You take a moment, maybe longer than you should, to study his features up this close. You particularly fixate on the way his eyes dart everywhere but never land on yours. Then, with your signature toothy grin, you bow back and open the car door, leaving with a string of thank yous, and get home safe, and I’ll text you, and please, reply to me, and bye.

Jeongguk has to fight a smile of his own.

On the tenth day of December, you realise you want him. Even more badly than your fourteen-year-old self ever did. Which is frankly insane.

You don’t know if it was the natural way he looked after you during your episode, or his dry sarcasm as he actually started replying to your random updates throughout the day.

But no, it was definitely the selfie he sent you after what he said was a long day. Messy hair, tired eyes, a hint of a smile. You’d struggled to even gulp down your saliva when the picture popped up in your chat, and maniacally stared at it with eyes glued to the bright screen before sending one of your own. He had replied with Cute. followed by Your hair pin is cute.

That is why you find yourself facing… Yoongi? If you remember correctly. The guy at the front desk of Jeongguk’s studio.

You beam at him, and what you’re met with instead is a confused stare. You inhale, “Hi. Is Jeongguk in?”

Yoongi scratches his head, muttering, “He’s busy with a client.”

“Oh. It’s okay,” you wave off his concern. “Can I wait here?”

The boy hesitates, looks unsure the more your interaction develops, and he glances between you and the empty waiting area. He relents with furrowed brows, “Sure… Huh, It’s a back tattoo, so it’ll take him a while.”

You shrug and plop yourself onto the leather sofa, seemingly unfazed, “I like waiting.”

Crossing your legs, you take in the studio’s atmosphere, eyes drifting to the dark walls lined with framed artwork and certificates. You spot Jeongguk’s name on many of those.

For the next fifteen minutes, you try distracting yourself by flipping through the stack of tattoo magazines on the coffee table. You wince at inked heads, faces, butts, and even… more private parts. Deciding this world is definitely not for you, you slam the book shut.

By the time an hour passes, you’re fighting a battle with your lack of sleep. The third yawn you manage to stifle, but the fourth escapes before you can stop it. Yoongi, seated at the desk, doesn’t bother hiding his unimpressed stare. Still, he’s polite enough to offer you a glass of water, a coffee, or even a chance to join him for a cigarette break.

You decline all of it, though your throat does feel dry.

Maybe you should have planned this with a bit of rationality. Or at least gotten more sleep. Now, your every blink is slower, eyelids batting to shut and taking longer to flutter open again. Hm, this feels nice. You’ll just let them rest for a bit longer. And longer. And a bit more.

The next time you open your eyes, Jeongguk’s face is inches away, his warm hand resting firmly on your arm. You jolt upright with a startled yelp.

“Jeongguk.”

He raises an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an unmistakably mocking smirk. “Hey. You don’t have a bed?”

You sit up, forcing Jeongguk to step back and straighten to his full height. Your neck cranes upward to glare at him, brows furrowed in what you hope is an intimidating glare, though you sport a pout that is all but menacing, “Shut up.”

He clicks his tongue, turning back to round the desk and fiddle with the appointment book, clearly unbothered. You take the moment to rub your eyes—only to remember, too late, that you’d worn makeup. A quick glance around reveals how much has changed since you last let your eyelids flutter open. The lights in the studio are dim, the hallway is dark, and every door is shut. Yoongi is nowhere in sight. It’s just the two of you in the deathly quiet space.

You gasp, pressing a hand to your parted lips, “Did I fall asleep? I'm so sorry. I was probably really tired from yesterday.”

Jeongguk hums, focus still locked on the book in front of him, eyes narrowed. He doesn’t look up, doesn’t ask why you came here in the first place, and doesn’t acknowledge your apology. Ugh. This is humiliating.

Before you can stand, you feel something heavy draped over your body. It’s a jacket. Definitely not yours, since you never took it off. At least not consciously. No, this is a worn black leather one on which his scent lingers. You tug it closer, puzzled, and then look up at him, holding it out. “Did I steal this in my sleep?”

Jeongguk scrunches his nose, “Ew, are you a sleepwalker?” Locking the till, he strolls over to you and plucks the jacket from you, casually slipping it on. “No, I put it on you. Wanted to see how long someone could feel safe enough to pass out in my studio. Thinking of turning this place into a daycare. I’ll have you play in the morning, get some lunch, nap time...”

There’s a beat of silence in which his sarcasm lingers in the air, and you stare at him, unamused. He shrugs, smirk unwavering.

You huff, “I regret coming here.”

“Yeah, why did you come here?”

Smoothing down your pink wool sweater, you stand up to stretch with zero shame. Then, fluttering your lashes at him, you assert with a smile, “You’re coming with me to the Christmas markets. This Sunday.”

Jeongguk groans like the idea physically pains him, “Oh, I would fucking hate that.”

Ignoring him, you zip up your puffer jacket and rock on your toes, “Pick me up at seven, okay?”

He glares, unimpressed at your excitement, before heading toward the entrance and pulling a hefty set of keys from his pocket, “I don’t even remember where you live.”

You hurry after him, following him outside and shuffling closer in your coat at the cold air hitting you. Watching as he locks the door and pulls down the rolling shutter with its red-and-black skull graffiti, you chirp, “You’ll have to text me for that.”

Jeongguk rises up again, giving you a slow once-over. He seems distracted by your hair before snorting, “You’re talking like I’m the one who spent their afternoon napping in my studio just to drop this bomb and leave. Couldn’t you just text me this?”

You shrug innocently. He sighs, reaching out for you, “Do you need a ride hom—”

“Bye!”

You spin on your heel and skip off in the opposite direction before he can let his own greeting out, waving a gloved hand behind you. Jeongguk stays where he is, arm still held out.

Do you even have a car? He hopes so—it’s freezing out.

With another sigh, he shakes his head and tugs his jacket tighter around himself. Why are you so fucking weird?

On the fourteenth day of December, your arm is looped tightly through Jeongguk’s as you stroll through the Christmas markets, burying your face further in your scarf to shield against the icy air, and with each few step you gasp at things that the boy next to you finds utterly unimpressive.

You stop at nearly every stand, eyes glowing with the warm Christmas fairy lights strung all around, effortlessly picking up conversations with the vendors and melting even the most stoic faces with the scrunching of your nose at every grin and the exaggerated nods following descriptions of their crafts.

Through all of it, Jeongguk remains put at your side, his arm linked with yours and a subtle pout on his lips. When you tease him about it, he simply shrugs, and you figure it’s just his natural expression. You find that oddly endearing.

He still humors your enthusiasm, offering low hums or murmured praise whenever you exclaim you’ve finally found what you’ve been searching for everywhere, and he offers to pay every time, the gesture so casual that he doesn’t seem bothered by it in the slightest.

When you bow to the nth seller, clutching yet another bag of sweet treats tightly to your chest, Jeongguk exhales and resumes slow walking beside you, “I don't like these places.”

You glance up at him, fluffy hat almost slipping off before he promptly secures it back on your head with a gesture so smooth you hardly notice it. You instead wonder, “Then why are we here now?”

He slips his hand into his pocket, “Because you threatened me.”

“With a really good time.”

“If this is your version of a good time, you might as well kick me in the balls. That probably feels better.”

You gasp, halting in your tracks to glare at him. When he lets a small chuckle topple out of him, you think you might forgive him. No, you’re more than sure with the way his smile lingers. You sheepishly look away, muttering, “Don’t tempt me, emo boy.”

“I’m not—”

“Oh yes, you are,” you interrupt, snapping your face back to his. Clearing your throat, you prepare your best imitation of him, exaggerating a frown and lowering your voice, “I’m so different, I hate Christmas.”

Jeongguk scoffs, pulling you tighter to him when a scooter unexpectedly zips past you. You yelp, instinctively shuffling closer to his arm. He continues the conversation casually, unaffected, “That’s the worst impression of me I’ve ever heard. And also, I never said that.”

Releasing the breath you held for a moment too long, you uncertainly keep your slow stroll going, only narrowing your orbs at him, “It’s written all over your face.”

“I love Christmas.”

The admission is small, his voice soft and almost reluctant, like it pains him to reveal something so simple and obvious as loving Christmas. When you lean your chin on the puffed arm of his jacket, he doesn’t look down at you, his gaze fixed ahead, guiding the two of you through the chaos of the busy street.

You chirp, your steps stumbling, “Really?

Only then he shifts his attention to you, steadying you with his other arm wrapping around your figure in what seems like a hug, before he lifts you up by the neck of your coat and retreats just enough to face you. His lips press into a straight line as he nods, a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes the more he stares in yours, “Yeah, really. I just don’t like… crowded spaces.”

You can’t help but think back to what happened just a week ago. The exact reason why the spirals in your brain wouldn’t stop twisting and tangling is now slipping from his lips in a voice that quietens as he seems to grasp the delicacy of his own confession.

He doesn’t like the way you’re looking at him. Drawn-up brows over wide and sparkling eyes—the only part of your face visible beneath your scarf—stare at him with something too tender, too focused, that makes him uneasy. He turns his head to the side, the tips of his ears red not only from the cold, and pulls you along toward another stand, an almost nervous distraction.

It’s your turn to frown. Maybe the one that’s permanently plastered on his face tonight isn’t just a reflection of his usual sullen demeanor. With a knot tightening in your chest, you can’t help but feel like you dragged him into something he truly hated, and that he wasn’t just pretending to.

What if this isn’t just your evil inner voice talking? What if this isn’t just overthinking, but the factual truth of your current reality? He’s hating every second of this but still enduring it because— you catch your breath with a long and strained inhale, because—

“Hey, dimples. You okay?”

Jeongguk moves to stand in front of you, his hands settling gently on your shoulders, a stance eerily reminiscent of that night you were just thinking back to. He nods at you, “Breathe with me, hm?”

You find yourself quickly adjusting to his comforting aura, drawn in by the reassurance in his eyes trained on you, never wavering, watching closely as you begin to mirror the measured rise and fall of his chest, your breathing gradually syncing with his until the tightness in your chest starts to ease.

When you feel your feet touching the ground again, you offer a small, apologetic smile. “I’m okay. Sorry. Just…” You quickly scan your surroundings, eyes landing on a colorful stand, “Wait here a second, okay?”

Jeongguk lets you slip away, fingers twitching slightly at his sides. He takes a few hesitant steps closer, careful not to crowd you but unable to tear his eyes away from your next actions, how your grin comes back on your lips with unpracticed ease, lighting up your face as easy talk flows between you and the seller. A few coins trade hands, and soon you’re holding two churros, their chocolate-dipped ends threatening to drip onto the ground.

You don’t hesitate, biting into one of them before it has the chance to make a mess, and with a quick nod of your head you motion for Jeongguk to follow. He does so, only after taking the churros from your hands, and letting you seek his warmth again with an arm snaking under his. He’s only letting you do this because it’s fucking cold, no other reason.

You walk, and walk, guiding him along until you find a quieter corner, away from the bustle, where you two stand isolated from the rest. The dim lighting casts a softer glow, and the distant hum of chatter and music fades into a gentle background noise.

Glancing up at him, you flash a playful smile before leaning in to bite another chunk of the churro he’s holding, your laughter spilling out as he grimaces in exaggerated disgust and pulls the sweet out of your reach. You settle onto a nearby bench, patting the empty spot beside you invitingly.

Jeongguk is unsure of what this means. He takes slow steps towards you, handing you your churro—which you take eagerly, already chewing on it—before tilting his head back in mild confusion, “But… you wanted to visit the markets.”

You shake your head, your bug eyes meeting his as you speak around a mouthful of sugar and chocolate, “There’s no point if you’re not going to enjoy it.”

The look you’re giving him is one he’s seen countless times before—familiar, and annoyingly reminiscent of ten years ago. It’s the same look that, he’s convinced, is solely responsible for making his knees weak and his fingers jittery, no longer something he can blame on the cold. You’re unbelievably frustrating.

He clicks his tongue, looking away, “You’re fucking weird.”

You giggle, humming, “If weird is a synonym for whipped, then sure.”

He has to fight the twitch of his lips. Fakes a gag instead. You chuckle louder. Only then, he hints at a smile, “C’mon. Let’s go check out some other stuff.”

“But—”

He interrupts, pulling you up by your forearm, “I’m hungry.”

The next hour you spend wandering around is made of Jeongguk’s small, imperceptible ways of cracking: his pout less prominent, more replaced by lips pulled into a tight line or in a mildly pursued scowl as you ask him which beanie looks better—the pink or purple one; his so evident sarcasm as he comments on how the old vendor was totally flirting with you, or when he mockingly adds to your over-the-top excitement every time you spot a dog. All in all, he’s more relaxed. More himself.

You then find yourself standing in front of the churros stall from earlier, the warm scent tugging you closer. Without hesitation, you ask the lady behind the counter for another four churros—this time with extra sugar. You add two thank yous.

To fill the waiting, you pick up casual conversation with the woman, until she pauses mid-sentence, wrinkled hand coming to rest over her heart as her gaze flits between you and Jeongguk, her crinkled eyes lighting with a sudden fondness and a quiet, content smile finds its space on her chapped lips, “You two look perfect together.”

Jeongguk snorts, “Oh, we’re not—”

“Thank you, auntie!” You chirp, and your grin is so wide it squeezes your eyes into crescents. You accept the first churro she hands over, biting into it and talking through it, “These are delicious. Is the recipe a secret or can you share it with me?”

The woman laughs, clearly flustered by your energy, and leans in with a conspiratorial expression, though she gives in pretty soon, “It is a secret, but… Oh, c’mon. A pretty lady like you deserves to know.”

You burst into chuckles, joined by auntie’s own rolling and carrying a contrasting warmth to the cold air. Jeongguk, for his part, stands slightly to the side, observing. You still cling to his arm, even as the vendor reaches over to gently smooth her fingers through your curls, complimenting the way they frame your face. You roll your eyes, feigning exasperation, but there’s a dimpled smile stretching on your cheeks that gives you away.

Before you leave, the lady points to Jeongguk, voice growing earnest, “You, handsome. I can see you’re a good guy, so you probably don’t need my advice. But treat her right, yes?”

Jeongguk stills for a second and stumbles over an awkward nod, managing to force a smile that has you stifling a laugh under your scarf. You tug him away with a cheerful wave to your new friend, promising her you’ll come visit again before Christmas.

Once you’re at a safe distance, he mutters, “Why did you not tell her that we’re not together?”

You tilt your head considering his question, “It’s not like she knows us. She looked like she adored you. I didn’t want to ruin that for her. Maybe seeing a young couple like us really means a lot to her.”

Jeongguk observes how the more you explain, the more you’re convincing yourself as much as him, eventually solidifying your reasoning as you nod, muttering some more under your breath. He scoffs, looking away to hide his lips twitching.

When he turns back he’s frowning, though it doesn’t quite match the way he lets you hook arms again, your pastel pink bag hanging from his shoulders. Still, he sulks as though the mere thought of your observation has him shivering, and not with the cold, “We’re not a couple.”

Jeongguk barely gets to let his unnecessarily petty comment out before you drag him with an unusual strength over to another stand, his voice not even touching your ears, “Oh, let’s go over there, Gguk!”

On the twenty-first day or December, you send him a picture of your tattoo.

You had been talking non-stop ever since your… date? Or was it just a hangout? Whatever it was, it’s been a week, and Jeongguk finds himself smiling at a fucking screen too many times a day for his linking. It’s irritating. Even brings his phone with him to the bathroom in case you text him. Not because he cares. No, it’s practical. What if you ever had an emergency and he was the only one who could help?

Most of the time it’s just you sending TikToks, but he clicks on the links with the same urgency he’d reply to a genuine plea for help. He doesn’t really want to think of the reason why.

Now, this picture—it catches Jeongguk off guard.

It doesn’t even look like it’s about the tattoo. Not really. It feels like an excuse, a flimsy pretext for you to show yourself to him. The tattoo—the one he himself inked—is there, yes. But it’s not at all the main focus of the photo that tightens his grip on his phone.

You’re wearing a thin, pink tank top with delicate lace trim, the straps barely clinging to your shoulders. Your fingers hook under the neckline, tugging it down just enough to expose the tattoo nestled between the soft curve of your breasts. The angle of the shot is deliberate, he can tell. Your back arches slightly off what he assumes is your bed, and your face is cropped out, save for your glossed lips, full and slightly parted, catching the dim light.

Jeongguk blinks, hard. Then again. His throat bobs as he swallows thickly, the low light of his phone screen doing little to soften the image burning itself into his mind. His eyes dart upward, scanning his surroundings, just to make sure everything is in place. The shop is empty, the door is closed, the hum of quiet settles over the space.

Looking down, the picture still stares back at him paired with a single message.

Annoying [11:39 p.m.]: do you think it’s healed? idk about this stuff, need your help 🥺

He’s not stupid. He knows exactly what this is. He alternates between the photo and your words, jaw ticking and tightening more with the seconds flowing.

It’s almost cruel, the way you’re testing him like this. He tries to push the feeling down, to reject the buzz of heat pooling low in his stomach. You know him well enough to be aware that he won’t reply to something like this. A stupid, unnecessary message. The tattoo is healed—he told you that a week ago, clear as day. There’s no reason for you to ask again.

What’s the purpose of this?

He gets a distorted idea when he shifts uncomfortably in place, the dull ache tightening his pants almost unbearable now.

Jeongguk groans and locks his phone, tossing it onto the counter as if that will put an end to this. He tries to refocus on his tasks, the last ones before he clocks off. Cleaning needles, tossing used stencils.

But his heavy balls keep sending desperate, silent prayers to his brain, to please let them have this. Just this once.

It’s been a bad day. Two of his appointments canceled last minute, leaving him to sit around bored. The last client showed up drunk and wouldn’t stop trying to flirt with him. His coworkers were loud and distracting, and to top it all off, the heater broke, leaving the studio freezing cold.

It’s been such a bad day.

So, would there be any harm? It’s not like anyone will know. Not you, not his friends. He’s the only one that will. And he’s far more willing to live with this dirty secret rather than with his hard dick straining achingly in its confines.

Jeongguk abruptly snatches up his phone again, unlocking it to the same picture that caused him to brush the device aside just minutes ago. He lets out a shaky breath, thumb hovering over the screen. You won’t get no reply to him. But if you knew what he was up to right now, you would probably geek. Tease him, with your warm smile that digs dimples in your cheek, hopping on your toes to poke at his chest playfully, with those perfectly manicured hands of yours.

“Shit,” his free hand is already pushing the jeans down along with his boxers, and he drops his weight onto the nearest stool as he grips at the base of his thick cock, eyes devouring the image of you in the empty chat.

He doesn’t zoom in. That would feel too shameless. But he finds it oddly better like this. Is it weird that your text, so innocently worded, is turning him on? That the simple idea of you needing his help is enough to have his hips jerking?

What could you possibly need his help for? Fuck. The different ideas that pool his mind have him squeezing harder at his stinging tip.

Jeongguk focuses on your dainty hand, slim pointer finger snaking under the collar of your flimsy shirt to show yourself to him, and your small boobs spill from the sides with a delicious, soft swell. He hisses when he pictures that same hand working on him instead, his warm mouth stuffed with your stiff nipples, visible through the sheer material.

He can’t help the loud groan leaving his lips, wrist flickering up and down in a motion that feels sloppy way too soon, hips jutting up to fuck into his tight fist. Throwing his head back, he sees you even behind closed eyelids.

He pictures your delicate figure sprawled on his bed, long lashes batting up at him as you sheepishly hide with your cheek to your shoulder. Can clearly make out how you’d sit on his lap instead, unsteady breath fanning over his lips, using his long shaft to make yourself cum. The whole time, he sees the tattoo on your chest, the one that is forever on you, eternally a reminder of him.

When he lets his head topple forward again, his bright screen still stares at him, only because a new message pops up in the chat. He startles, and his cock throbs in his hand.

Annoying [11:52 p.m.]: oh, and i miss you.

“Oh, fuck,” the curse is strained through a loud whine, and only followed by more of his full moans filling the room. His brows knit as his hand moves rapidly, palm collecting the precum spreading embarrassingly fast on his tip and rolling it down his length.

He focuses on your parted lips, the soft curve of your breast, your hard nipples begging to be sucked and spit on. Your last text has flashes of your bug-like eyes staring up at him seizing his mind.

That’s what undoes him. He’s delirious as he lets out his every sound, freely, unchecked, not caring about how loud he is, whimpering as he gets closer to his climax. When he thinks of those eyes locking with his, kneeling before him, eager and willing to swallow his every drop, he cums. Hard.

Jeongguk pumps everything he can out of him, and it’s messy—spilling over his hand, staining his clothes, pooling on the floor. His chest heaves with the effort, and the sensation of abandon he feels is so pleasurable, energy drained but leaving him with a lightness that threatens to make his cock hard again.

Fuck. He can’t afford that happening if you’re not the one attending his needs. This won’t be enough, not until it’s you. He’s insatiable.

Jeongguk needs to hear your voice.

It’s an instinct, and he bends to it. He’s careful, making sure not to tap on the FaceTime option, because if you were to see him right now it’d be glaringly obvious.

When he looks to the side, he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the long mirror, and he visibly grimaces at the way his cheeks are flushed, the pearls of sweat coating his forehead causing his bangs to stick uncomfortably to the skin.

Guilty doesn’t even begin to cover it.

With the phone to his ear beeping to eternity, he hesitates, contemplates ending the call before you can answer. But just then, you do.

“Jeongguk! Is everything okay?”

Your voice is familiarly soft, but there’s a trace of concern. Blinking, he brings the device closer again and gulps thickly when he can make out your panting breaths. He clears his throat and puts on his best nonchalant act, “Huh— Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know… You just never call. Or text first. This is weird. You sure you’re okay?”

Oh. Is that really what it is like?

Jeongguk never realized this was how he came across—so detached that a simple phone call feels out of character. Your naive honesty hits him square in the chest. God, he needs to get better at this. The irony stings: he just fucking jerked off to your picture and the simple thought of you, while you’re on the other side thinking he’s just a careless piece of shit who doesn’t even know how to call.

The long stretch of silence registers in his brain, and he coughs to buy time, “Yes, I’m sure. I— huh,” he thinks of stuff you usually ask to keep the conversation flowing. Not out of courtesy, but out of genuine interest, the curiosity that makes people want to open up. He’s still not used to that. Still finds it weird.

“How… How was your day?”

It must be equally weird for you because it takes you a longer beat to reply. In that quiet moment, he clenches his eyes shut and feels his jaw tick with shame. And embarrassment. And this icky feeling that makes him feel too mushy for his liking. Hell, what is he doing? He’s never been like this, he’s not supposed to be like this.

But you recover quickly, as you always do, and you smooth over the moment. Fix it all for him like you were born to be just that. Make him feel like he fits in ways that have him exhaling shakily.

Jeongguk senses a foreign drumming in his stomach, and it’s warm but odd, and he loves it but he doesn’t want to.

On the twenty-fifth day of December, cheekily under a mistletoe, Jeongguk realizes he wants you. There’s parts of him that probably knew way sooner. But the parts of him that didn’t, fighting tooth and nail to suppress the mere thought, are just now finally surrendering.

Jeongguk has always found you admirable, back in high school. You had this determination to you. Not only when it came to him. It shone particularly when you catered to others, always finding ways to help, to mend, to offer yourself with nothing less than a fully toothed smile.

But he’s also always thought you two were—and still are—too different to work. He can’t be what you want, let alone what you deserve: someone who can match your enthusiasm and unwavering smiles, your frustrating positivity; someone who sees the world the way you do. No black, no grey, no shades in between. Just bright, hopeful white. Blinding white.

It’s the white making him dizzy, shifting his perspective, having him believing the opposite of what he’s always known. Pushing to be a little more egoistical, deceiving himself that he’s right for you. Because he wants to be. He oh, so selfishly wants people to know he’s the one who finally gets to have you, the one gifted with such a light, unfairly deserving of all the love you carry into every room you walk into.

Just a few days ago, during another one of your increasingly frequent phone calls, you asked him what he was doing for Christmas. He could have lied, come up with something on the spot.

But with how you so easily, and always coax the truth out of him, he let it slip. He told you he’d be alone, words subtly heavy. But they didn’t have the chance to even drop their weight before you were already inviting him to your friend’s party, insisting that he would be the most welcome.

And he’s here, and he sits beside you, and every time you laugh you lean your weight over him, and the room vibrates with the energy you fill it with, and each one of your friends is so enamoured with you, and for reasons he can’t fully understand it fills him with a sense of pride that shouldn’t belong to him. But it does, and it comes with so many other feelings.

You don’t push him to talk. You never force him into the spotlight when he takes a step back, quietly observing, choosing to stay in the background. Because you read him like it’s in your nature to do so, your soul seems to intuitively melt with his, and it intertwines in such a tight knot that he feels it constrict his throat. He knows he’s still alive because his heart is beating, just a little faster with each time you flash your dimples at him.

“Dimples. What are you doing, hm?”

Now, he’s in front of you, a small smile on his lips as you stand on your tiptoes, trying to dangle the mistletoe over both your heads. You’re struggling just a little, your hand unable to reach high enough, and the fake plant awkwardly brushes his hair, the tickling sensation causing his nose to scrunch. You laugh.

Looking up at your swinging movements, you lose your balance for the slightest second. Jeongguk’s hands move instinctively, catching you promptly by the waist to steady your body. But even after that, he doesn’t shift, his warm palms stilling. And when you face him, he’s closer and his chest brushes against yours. From this proximity, he witnesses the Christmas lights painting a galaxy of their own in your orbs.

You beam, “What does it look like? We have to kiss now.”

Jeongguk stares in your expectant eyes, brows wiggling and all. The more his mouth keeps in a straight line, the more the wiggling slows. You eventually come down from your tiptoes, letting the mistletoe fall to the side, tilting your head.

He snorts, looking away briefly to hide an embarrassingly wide grin behind his hand. When he turns back to you, your pout is enough to have him scrambling to meet your gaze.

“On one condition, though.”

You chirp, “Yeah?”

He licks his teeth, reserving you with a smug look, “Admit that you were scared to get your tattoo.”

Your smile vanishes in an instant, your expression falling into mock offense. With a dramatic roll of your eyes, you turn on your heel, pretending to walk away from him. Pretending, only because you know he won’t let you. And you’re proven right when his fingers wrap around your arm, tugging you back with enough force to spin you into him. Suddenly, you’re pressed so close you can feel the heat radiating from him. Your chin nearly touches his chest as you glare up at him, narrowed eyes meeting the mischievous glint in his.

He bites a smile, lips twitching, “C’mon, princess. You wanted to act all tough and shit, but I could feel you shaking.”

Your scoff is loud and incredulous, “You’re such a bitch.”

He only shrugs, “You want my kiss, no?”

“Oh my god,” groaning, it’s your turn to face the side to hide a grin, “Are you always this cocky?”

His chin tilts upward slightly, and you can tell he’s enjoying this, “Say it.”

You whip back around to meet him with a seriousness he hardly ever sees on you, and you even clear your throat, channeling every ounce of the determination he knows you for, every drop of resolve that makes you you. “Yes. I was scared shitless, Jeongguk.”

Foreign excitement brims out of him, not before his eyes widen just a fraction, and his nose scrunches the more he leans closer to you, inches from you, swinging side to side with exaggerated mockery and a grin splitting his face, “See! I knew—hmph.”

There’s no other second to waste.

The condition has been met, and now all the requirements for you to claim what you were promised, your reward, are there. Even more when kissing him means catching him mid-taunt and silencing whatever teasing remark he had ready.

Your lips touch his in effortless ease, breaking the air as they press together. It’s tentative at first, almost uncertain as you feel Jeongguk remain still.

But it doesn’t take him longer to move, mouth molding against yours in a sickeningly sweet hug, tasting each other with quiet curiosity, taking your time to adjust and melt, instructing your bodies to imitate the dance.

Your arms lock around his neck, his stronger and tattooed ones circle your waist, and the way you click together feels so right, almost too perfect, so perfect it scares you. When you arch yourself further into him, even the non-existent space between you unbearable, he accompanies the motion with his wide palms gliding along your back, squeezing you into him, feeling the curve of your hips.

The soft whine that scratches your throat and vibrates against his lips betrays you, along with the useless effort to contain the intensity of what you’re feeling. The emotion disarms you, the sound gasping in your chest, but in Jeongguk’s arms it feels safe to let go.

On Christmas day, you crown a youthful fantasy, the kind you’ll look back to even when you’re older. Jeongguk feels like he’d be the right person to stand by you to do so.

When he reluctantly detaches from you, his face keeps at a safe distance that’d allow him to go back and taste you, not before resting his forehead on yours and whispering, “Merry Christmas.”

You giggle. “Merry Christmas, Gguk.”

101 notes · View notes

mirai-e-jump · 19 hours ago

Text

Figure King No.322 2024 Making Report of Kamen Rider Gotchard (pages and translation below, VERY LONG POST)

Publication: November 27, 2024

ft. Chief Producer Minato Yosuke (Toei), Heads of Documents & Literature Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi (Ishimori Productions), Character Designer Kita Tojun (PLEX), and Producer of Toy Development Terakawa Ryo (Bandai)

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 1: The Combination of Rider and Youth

-Expanding on "touch points" and card demand-

"Fall of 2022…The broadcast of the TV series "Kamen Rider Geats" begins, where within the show, multiple people become Kamen Riders and take part in the survival game called the "Desire Grand Prix." Toei's Minato Yosuke was preoccupied as a Sub Producer, trying to establish the project of the new show "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger," which would start in March of the following year. In October, the "Virtual Production Division" was established at Toei Tokyo Studios. King-Ohger was an ambitious show that implemented new filming techniques through the use of LED walls. Minato was pushing forward with his work while getting a feel for these new techniques, but was forced to leave the project halfway through. This was because he had been appointed "Chief Producer" of the new Kamen Rider production that would begin in 2023. After working as a production assistant at anime studio Madhouse, in 2019, Minato joined Toei as a "full time tokusatsu Producer." Since then, Minato's been involved as an Assistant Producer on "Kamen Rider Zero-One" (2019), "Kamen Rider Saber" (2020), and "Avataro Sentai Donbrothers" (2022), but this was his first major role as Chief Producer. Likely due to the fact that he was appointed Chief within a few years of changing careers from the animation industry, he said he received a great deal of support when launching the project."

Minato: Shirakura Shinichiro from the Character Strategy Division and Tsukada Hideaki from the Drama Division participated and looked out for me in the form of advisers. As you're well aware, Shirakura's writing style and Tsukada's writing style are the complete opposite. Shirakura's the type of person who moves the story along through human relationships. I think Tsukada's characterized by his mystery drama format, where the build up of events lead to incidents being resolved. I refer to them as "the dragon and the tiger" (laughs), but they're such opposites, that I felt as if I had been worked twice as hard in such a short period of time due to their intense criticisms.

"Shirakura's the Producer behind many Kamen Rider productions, including "Agito" (2001) and "Den-O" (2007), and he was the driving force behind the branding of the Heisei Kamen Rider series. Meanwhile, Tsukada's produced hits in the Kamen Rider series, such as "W" (2009) and "Fourze" (2011), as well as many other TV dramas. Both also have experience as Chiefs of Super Sentai productions, and are indispensable figures in the history of Toei's tokusatsu productions."

Minato: Because of the way things unfolded, the idea of using cards as transformation items had already been proposed by the time I joined the project. I was told that it could change, but since I was super into "Magic the Gathering" during my entire school life, I thought I was lucky that we were going with the concept of card Riders.

"Joining the planning team as the head of toys was Bandai's Terakawa Ryo. After working in Gunpla promotion for many years up to that point, he became a developer in charge of Digimon and other figures."

Terakawa: We also felt that the environment for "having interest in watching these shows" had changed significantly. The company had been conducting their own surveys and found that the recognition of Kamen Rider had been declining year after year since the start of the covid pandemic. Given this situation, we at Bandai thought that what we could do was to increase the number of "touch points" through the toys. This would lead to greater visibility of the characters, and that the more people knew about the show, the more interest there would be in the toys. At the time, when we thought, "What's the easiest item to give to children who have never heard of Kamen Rider?," we decided that cards were the way to go. Cards can be produced at a low unit price, so along with them being easy for children to hold onto, they can be handed out for free at various places. We thought that if we could distribute them at events, in stores, and even put up "peel off posters" at places like large train stations and participating stores, that interested people would peel them off and take them home with them. If they had an actual card in their hand, they may become interested in Kamen Rider and be encouraged to watch the show. We couldn't just give out transformation belts (laughs), but cards are easy to distribute to a large number of people. That was the main reason that made us focus on cards.

"The cards are the ideal "size" to get children to recognize the Kamen Rider characters."

Terakawa: So far, Kamen Riders that have used cards were "Ryuki" (2002), "Blade" (2004), and "Decade" (2009), but it's been over 10 years since they've been used as "linked" items. That's when I felt like, "In that sense, wouldn't this be like a new experience for children?" For starters, cards are items that the Showa generation of Rider fans have a high affinity for. Calbee also released products with cards in them to line up with the release of the film "Shin Kamen Rider" (2023).

"The reason behind the implementation of cards was partly due to the rising marketplace for trading card games."

Terakawa: Even now, the market for card games is quite heated. The trading card games of various companies, including Bandai's own "One Piece Card Game" and "Battle Spirits" series have become so popular, that domestic card printing plants are operating at full capacity and are unable to keep up with production. The user base for purchasing third party games is expanding across all generations, and that excitement is also being passed onto children. Cards take up alot of floor space in toy departments and are easy to sell in convenience stores. As an example, it's pretty difficult to sell a 2,000 yen buckle, but a 200 yen card pack can be found at any convenience store. If it's a card, it can be sold with candy at an affordable price. It can also be sold with children's clothing, or as a bonus in magazines and other items.

-Reiwa Rider's Card Battle-

"The project was started in response to the enthusiasm of the card game market, but developing a transformation belt with a card based gimmick was extremely difficult. Minato, who at this point was in charge of the entire production, says that Ryuki was the first thing that came to mind when he started planning the card Rider project."

Minato: It was one of the shows that led me to becoming an otaku (laughs). I was in my second year of middle school at the time, and I was so absorbed in this show, that I even sent in a call to "Telegong" (a service where viewers voted by phone to decide on how the show would unfold).

"Kamen Rider Ryuki was the third entry in the Heisei Rider series, which ran for a year starting in February 2002. It's a shocking show where 13 Kamen Riders are pitted against one another in a Rider Battle, fighting by using the power of monsters called "Mirror Monsters," and its tagline being, "Those who don't fight won't survive!" Its "death game" style, in which only the last one standing can make their wish come true, caused it to gain alot of attention, making it a highly successful and legendary show. Minato's superior, Shirakura, who was present at the planning meeting, was also the Chief Producer of Ryuki. In planning the card Rider, Minato was handed materials by Shirakura that served as a template during Ryuki's proposal."

Minato: When I read it, a section with a discussion of how to incorporate card battles into a Rider production caught my eye. For example, in the case of "Pokemon," Pikachu plushies and figures are popular, but merch that features the main trainer Satoshi isn't as popular. In the case of Kamen Rider, the Riders are the main characters, so it's the Riders that you want to portray in an appealing way. If he were to summon Dragreder (a Mirror Monster) and have Dragreder fight for him, the Rider wouldn't be as appealing. If the Rider himself doesn't fight, he'd just exist to summon Dragreder. That being the case, the Rider summons a Mirror Monster in order to borrow their power. They can use sheer strength to unleash a special attack from the weapons they hold in their hands, or perform kicks themselves. In short, it's structured in such a way that the Riders themselves become the main part of the battle. The Mirror Monsters don't speak, and are depicted as enemy monsters, but there's a reason for this. Within the materials, there was something written like, "We want children to like the Kamen Rider, not Dragreder."

"There hadn't been a Rider production with cards as the main item since Decade in 2009. Furthermore, there was no concept of "linked items" at the time, and cards for multiple transformations and cards for form changes weren't developed in a very particular way. The cards used by the Riders were included "one at a time" with the toys (although there were 10 included in the main transformation belt), and weren't designed with the assumption that people would collect a complete set. Some of them were commercialized in the Data Carddass game "Kamen Rider Battle Ganbaride" (trading card arcade game), but the difficulty of obtaining them was high because the cards were ejected one at a time, causing collectors to cry. More than 10 years have already passed since Decade. It can be said that the development of cards unique to the Reiwa era would inevitably happen."

Minato: Bandai wanted to sell the cards as if they were part of a trading card game (in packs), rather than in a way where the contents of the cards are known. In other words, it was designed so that you wouldn't know what cards were inside. Selling them like that, you're bound to get duplicate cards, no? We had to think of ways to use those duplicate cards, so we first thought of a way to fight in a deck building style. As an example, I had to create a situation in the drama where you could put multiple copies of the same card in a deck. Then, I wondered about energy cards. For instance, there's always an energy card in a pack, and you have to consume three energy cards to get a powerful attack. I thought it'd be difficult to sell a large number of cards without doing something like that. The act of building a deck may seem abit difficult, but I thought it'd be better to have a gimmick like that, since it could broaden the age range of the audience.

"Younger children would enjoy the flashy card battles, while the older ones would also enjoy “tactics at its finest” when combining decks. It's an ambitious concept that would certainly captivate not only young children and elementary school students, but also the older generation."

Minato: At first, we thought of dividing the cards into multiple categories, including transformation cards, attack cards, special skill cards, monster cards, and so on. I tried to explain that things like skill cards can be used in the development of the show's story or battles, and that each card has value because interesting things could happen when they're combined, but it was hard for people to understand.

"The design team was led by Kita Tojun of PLEX. He's a key Designer who's worked on the Kamen Rider series since "Build" (2017), as well as "Mashin Sentai Kiramager" (2020), and as Chief Designer on "Ultraman Blazar" (2023)."

Kita: Among the countless ideas, there was one to combine 3 cards. The idea was to create a deck with three types of cards, that being, "Material + Shape + Movement," and then perform a move. Being more specific, it'd be something like, "Iron + Triangle + Rotation = Drill." In theory, it's easy to understand, but it'd be difficult for a child. Then there were talks of, "How about a simple "drill" or "bike" card, and then combining the two to make a "Drill Bike"?" From here, we felt that it'd be alittle sad to just use the word "drill," so we decided to turn the drill and bike into a character. In "Kamen Rider OOO" there were the mechs called "Candroids" that would help out, and I thought it'd be a good idea to make it a character with that kind of vibe. Riders are known for their compound eyes, so we came up with the idea of giving every character "bug like eyes."

Minato: When I saw the illustrations of the drill and bike with compound eyes, I thought that what was depicted on those cards looked like small animals. And the fact that all of them are alive……it made me think that they were like Pokemon (laughs). In that sense, the illustrations on the cards were all monsters…… it started to seem like a good idea with the ways things turned out.

"This idea became the prototype for the "Chemies," but at this point, he said they hadn't reached a definitive decision. It was like wandering in a long tunnel with no end in sight. The steam locomotive that would lead them to the exit hadn't arrived yet. The planning team's struggles continued as they hoped for a breakthrough in ideas……"

-Transform with alchemy by shaking the cards-

"In addition to the cards and structure of the transformation belt, meetings were underway in regards to the concept of the main Rider. This was because the concept of the Riders and items were linked to the worldview of the entire show."

Minato: Shirakura would constantly ask me, "What kind of program will people watch each week?" A Kamen Rider engaging in card battles wouldn't leave much of an impact. That's because there's already been so many. If you were to say an "Office President Rider," the audience's imaginations would run wild. A novelist Rider, a devil Rider……your imagination starts to overflow, doesn't it? That's where the word "magic" was brought up. If you were to give some meaning to the cards, then in some way or another, the magical elements would fit. Magical cards are easy to visualize, aren't they? For argument's sake, if you have materials "A" and "B" and then combine them, you can create something new. This is something that came up at a meeting with Tsukada. However, it didn't feel right that there was no logic behind the magic. With that being the situation I chose "alchemy," as it felt like there were more rules.

"So that's why the concept was an "Alchemist Rider." With the word "alchemy" being agreed upon, various elements started to connect to one another."

Minato: I remembered that something called a homunculus existed in alchemy. Then, I wondered if the compound eyed monsters depicted on the card illustrations could be homunculi. I thought it (artificial life forms) would be compatible with alchemy. From here, when responding to Shirakura's question, "What's so entertaining about this program?" my answer was, "Alchemy." Despite that, Shirakura would say, "Alchemy can't be a theme." He also said the words, "It's fine to use alchemy as a gimmick, but use something else as the theme." Trying to find the theme……I was at my limit, and yet, I remembered the conversation about how the illustrations on the cards were like Pokemon. This is where I finally landed on the word "collect."

"The cards depict monsters, and the idea was to create a story about collecting those monsters. At the same time, the word "alchemy" helped speed up the development of the transformation belt."

Kita: We talked about how to present the act of "mixing" multiple cards as a gimmick for the belt. One example, put three monster cards in the case and shake them. It'd be like a drink shaker. What we had in mind was when you pour them into a flask shaped belt, you'd transform through the power of the three monsters fusing.

"A wide variety of opinions were exchanged, among them, the idea of a transformation gimmick, in which the face of the Rider is completed by matching the patterns on the cards, was also conceived."

Kita: However, it was difficult from a design standpoint (making a flask shaped belt). Flasks have a protruding tip, so it'd be hard to fuse the square shaped cards with that design. Because of that, we decided to only keep the gimmick of shaking multiple cards and to make both the belt and the card holder in a square shape.

"A majority of people also said that the transformation action was lacking in excitement."

Kita: They said that simply shaking the card case and putting it in the buckle was weak as a transformation action. For the Build Driver (Build's transformation belt), there were the items called Full Bottles, but at the time, you had to shake the Full Bottles, put them in the belt, and then perform an additional action (turning the handle). It was pointed out that there was no action to that effect this time.

"At the same time, the number of cards were discussed, and it was decided that the total amount would be as large as 100 types."

Minato: That meant that there'd be 100 different linked items this time. I was pretty nervous because there were so many (laughs), but I decided to go along with it because it'd be a new perspective for me, and also because as cards, it might be worth collecting them.

"If three cards make one form, then you need more than 30 different forms, and if two cards make one form, then you need 50 different forms."

Kita: With that many forms, you'll want to swap cards from one to the next and play around with them. Some people voiced how it might be alittle hard to play with, and when we thought about it, the process of removing the holder from the belt, changing the cards, and putting it back on the belt again wasn't a good idea. So we talked about it with, "Instead of increasing the number of actions, wouldn't it be better to reduce them?" In the end, the card case was removed, and we decided to go in a simpler direction.

Terakawa: It took alot of trial and error, but if you want them to play with the intuition that you pair up the cards with the belt, just insert two cards into the belt and combine them together. I thought that was the simplest way to go. There's minimal belt action, since all you do is push and pull the buckle, but being that there'd be 50, possibly more, different forms, we decided that it'd be better to keep the actions as simple as possible. Each form also makes a distinctive sound effect. In addition, it can identify all 100 monster names and says them audibly, so just as a toy, we thought it'd be pretty fun.

"And so, with its colorful, neon like lights emanating, the transformation belt was completed. When two cards are inserted and the lever is pulled, the Rider's face appears. A truly mysterious gimmick was born."

-A Rider's failed transformation?!-

"Let's bring the conversation back to the time when the transformation system was being devised. At the beginning of the project, the idea was to just "insert a card pack directly into the buckle and transform!"

Minato: This was an idea from the design team. The concept was to make the packs structured like a storage box, where you could open and close them repeatedly, and then to "take out the real pack of cards inside and use them to transform!" The concept was to make even the act of opening a pack of cards part of the fun. This is where the drama comes in, as the question of "how do you deal with random cards?" came to mind. Opening a pack would be like a battle, where it's like, "So these are the five cards I got this time. Alright, how should I use them?" Then I was thinking that depending on the specs of the cards, it might be a less powerful form that it transforms into. That's the direction I had in mind for the drama.

"The main character fights by randomly transforming into different forms, taking advantage of the unique properties of his cards, which makes it impossible to know what will appear. Imagining a Rider surviving battles through wisdom and courage really gets your heart racing, don't you think? This led to the concept of a Rider who, depending on the cards he held, could transform into a "grotesque," non human form."

Minato: I imagined the main character as a young man who tries without giving up, even if he makes mistake after mistake. So I thought, "Why not visualize this attitude through his transformation?" Alchemy has a history of failures, so you could assume that the concept reflects that. In response to Shirakura's "what makes this program so entertaining to watch every week?" question, I thought, "what about a program that entertains the audience with its failed transformations?" Using various cards, trying again and again until finally achieving success, it made me think, "Isn't that kind of method abit like alchemy?"

"A failed transformation form that visualizes the act of repeated trial and error. The concept of capturing the form change from a different angle makes the new generation's sense of style shine through. However……"

Minato: When I tried to write the script using this format, it took way too long to reach victory. The sequence of a successful transformation from a failed one simply took too much time. Because of that, instead of repeating failed transformations, many people voiced their opinion that it'd be better to focus more on monster collecting.

"Thinking from a child's point of view, wouldn't it be more fun to have 10 successful transformation forms than to have 10 failed ones? After the planning team's feedback, it seemed like the failed transformation forms would be scrapped, and yet……"

Minato: There's a novel called "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, and in it, the main character turns into a "poisonous bug." I felt that the failed transformation form had a similar kind of impact. On the other hand, one of the design proposals had a strange form based on the concept of a non human "steam locomotive grasshopper,” which I thought was kind of interesting. I also thought of the main character as a person who would be guided towards "C" in his search for answers, rather than choosing between "A" or "B," so I felt that a bizarre form would fit well with him.

"Both Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi of Ishimori Productions are responsible for world building and repair within the Kamen Rider series. So far, they've been behind the scene figures that have caused many Rider productions to succeed."

Yamabe: It's alchemy, so failures can happen. You may end up with a form that's different from what you wanted, or, on the other hand, you could get a tremendous amount of power specifically for combat. A rough and wild form that causes him to abandon his human form. I think it's because we weren't concerned with the human form, that we could express that kind of excessive power. When I was a child, I used to enjoy thinking and fantasizing about things like, "What would happen if "A" and "B" combined?" So, even though we couldn't show all the forms, I thought it might be a good idea to set the rules as they are, and to let people imagine what it would look like if they put "this one" and "that one" together.

Kaneko: We thought that by removing the human form, the transformations could become more unexpected. I wondered if we could slightly deviate from the parts that the viewers would be expecting. We just needed to decide on the combinations, then we could consider using props instead of suits or CG to depict them. The idea was to keep viewers from getting bored and to give the program a sense of variety.

Minato: Although it was a good idea to sell this series with the fact that there are nearly 50 different forms (through the combination of 100 cards), we didn't have the time to depict those 50 forms (within the drama), and it would've taken a large budget to produce that many suits. So I thought, "Why not use the forms I was considering as failed transformation forms?"

"A strange creature that looks like a fusion between a grasshopper and a steam locomotive…These forms eventually came to be known as "Wild Mode." The naming embodies the "roughness of becoming wild." When the design is humanoid, there are limits to how the action can be depicted. By doing as they pleased with how they designed its appearance, it became possible to break away from those limits. This is how the new Kamen Rider of 2023 acquired its unique identity."

-A young Rider who crushes the old-

"The main character in 2023s Kamen Rider was a high school student. Why did you choose an overly straightforward youth, someone who was more than a boy but not quite a young man, to play the leading role?"

Minato: The opening of the drama is that the main character opens a secret door and finds himself in the world of alchemy, but at its roots, the story has an urban, legendary like worldview. There's a mysterious organization, similar to that of the Illuminati or Freemasons, that have already taken control of the world. The Alchemys Union gives off an image similar to a "dark government." Because of all this, you don't know the full picture. During a planning meeting, we asked ourselves who the Rider would fight against. The word "gerontocracy" came up. Usually, Shirakura and Tsukada are polar opposites, but on this one occasion, they both found it amusing (laughs). Because of their reaction, I thought it'd be interesting to have a story about a group of young people crushing leaders who hate change and only talk about things based on their own past achievements. However, I thought that "crushing the old" was too negative of a theme, but then the word "Gotcha" came up at a naming meeting. It's not a made up word, as it means "to obtain" in English. "To obtain" means to encounter something new that you don't have, in other words, that's what I believe the old have already stopped doing. The only thing the young can do to surpass the old is to "Gotcha." That was one of the reasons why I made the main character and his friends students.

"What the new Kamen Rider needed was "youth to fight off the old." The fact that the main Rider repeatedly changes into 50 different forms can be seen as a symbol of his youth."

Yamabe: The main character is a young and naive high school student. He's an amateur at alchemy, so he's not too specific about things, and he's not afraid to try out different things. I feel that the kind of "irresponsibility of youth" he possesses is reflected in the many form changes he makes.

"The design of the main Rider was done alongside his characterization."

Minato: Our initial plan was to use three or more cards. Since W and Build transformed by combining two elements together, we thought about whether we could create a gimmick that increased the number of cards so that there'd be no overlapping. We tried a variety of things, but considering the structure of the belt, the only way to read the barcodes printed on the cards was to scan them one at a time. After taking into account the transformation action and various other circumstances, in the end, we decided to proceed with just two cards.

"W's design is divided into two parts down the center, while Build combines two elements in a spiral shape. What would the next Rider look like?"

Kita: At first, I imagined him in a lightweight suit, as I thought it'd be a nice change from tradition. The style would be similar to "Riderman" and "Ride Kamens," where their faces are visible and armor is kept to a minimum. With this as the base, the direction was to strengthen him through the use of the cards. I tried to draw lines that made the most of the flat surface of a card, and to also add a flask motif to give off the image of alchemy, but I couldn't decide on the direction to take. It was pretty difficult.

Minato: There were tons of strange designs like that. However, since he's a card Rider, and since "people cards" were something that only Decade did, I wondered if there was a different direction to go in. We asked for an alchemy motif, but we couldn't come up with any words that would give him any hints for the design. During this, "plating" became the one thing we attached ourselves to. Alchemy is the secret art of manufacturing precious metals (like gold and silver) from base metals (like iron, lead and copper), so it gives off the image of something shiny. However, that was also just about the subject matter, not the actual design…..In the end, we decided that instead of combining the visuals of "A + B = AB," we would create a completely different form, that being "C." We wanted to proceed with a completely mixed design, a form where two elements were fused together through alchemy.

"Soon after, the motifs for the two cards were decided to be a grasshopper and steam locomotive."

Minato: A grasshopper wasn't exactly what I wanted. Or rather, there's a grasshopper (GodHopper) in King-Ohger, which I was apart of until just before this, so I was wondering……if this would be alright? (laughs). In the end, I thought that it wasn't a hero motif (in King-Ohger), and that this is Kamen Rider, so there was no issue.

"Grasshoppers are a well known motif going back to the first Kamen Rider, and it fits well with the bounciness of the main character's youth. The steam locomotive on the other hand was a suggestion by Minato."

Minato: When I met my nephew during New Years, he had a toy train. It made me think that children still love trains. I also watched the anime "Goldran" when I was a child, which had a steam locomotive transforming into a robot, and so I thought that a steam locomotive might end up being good. So, I went to a mass retailer near the office and bought a steam locomotive toy, brought it to a planning meeting, and presented it, saying, "Steam locomotives are pretty cool, huh?" (laughs). Grasshoppers and steam locomotives are opposites, one being biological and the other mechanical, but I had the idea of combining them together with the alchemy image in mind, so I thought they'd be a good match. "Jump and Power," that being the jumping power of a grasshopper and the charging power of a steam locomotive, it fit the image of a Rider's kick, so we decided to go ahead with this.

"The color of the armor that covers the new Rider entirely is "blue"…The color evokes a clear blue sky, and at the same time, evokes a sense of youthfulness. The blue shine is further enhanced by the dazzling plating. The motif is a grasshopper and steam locomotive. Its stylish silhouette is bold, it combines a grasshopper, which has been used frequently since Kamen Rider 1, with a steam locomotive, which is the first time it's been used as a main Rider's motif. The new hero would rise up, and his name was "Kamen Rider Gotchard"! The broadcast began on September 3, 2023. In the midst of this era's chaos, the dazzling blue hero jumps forward with ease!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 2: The Combination of Isolation and Gorgeous

-Alchemy of a local factory-

"Standing in the main character's way is Kurogane Spanner, a cool, super A class rank alchemist. He's a rival character who calls himself "Valvarad," and who wears a strengthened suit (alchemist armor) which he created himself for use against Malgams."

Minato: At the beginning of planning, among some of our options was the idea of "Agito 2." I brought it up partially because I like Agito (laughs), but personally, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I had no intention of it being a true part 2, rather, I wanted to create a show that would mirror its structure. This is because as I look back on the most recent productions, it feels like there are way too many Kamen Riders. Because of that, I wanted to bring it back down to three, just like in Agito. Furthermore, each of them comes from a different background, which is why each of them use distinctly different transformation belts. In addition, the structure is set up so that those three meet in the same place. The main character is pure and can't remember anything, the secondary is someone who's inherited some sort of knowledge from the past, and the tertiary is an outsider. I was wondering if it'd be possible to depict that kind of structure, where the three of them aren't very close with each other. I wanted to reject the traditional, rule based world. The secondary is Rinne, while the tertiary is Spanner. The structure isn't exactly the same, and there are some parts where multiple elements are mixed together, but I used that as a basis for the structure of the character arrangement.

"For 120 long years, no one has been able to attain that lost technology - alchemy for a Kamen Rider. In order to get as close as possible to this power, Spanner conducted his own research and developed "Valvarad's armor" as a system different from that of a Riders."

Minato: There were requests for more allies on the hero side to join the main Rider, but I had decided from the start to go with just Gotchard during the very beginning. Gotchard's diverse form changes were his selling point, so I wanted to focus on that first. I had decided from the beginning that we would have three Riders, but that there'd still only be one by the end of the year. That's when I decided to come up with a rival hero, and so a non Rider hero was born.

"Spanner dons his Valvarad "armor" not by shouting "Henshin!," but "Tekko!" instead. While Riders bodies are strengthened through transformation, Valvarad's an unorthodox warrior who fights with armor simply worn over his body."

Kaneko: Valvarad dons his armor using only one card. Only Kamen Riders can transform using two cards. This was a way to differentiate him from the others and to explain that this was the alchemy of this world.

"An outsider with a different background from the Kamen Rider. He could be considered the tertiary in the Agito inspired character arrangement that Minato originally had in mind."

Minato: He may be an alchemist warrior, but he's still an imperfect being, so we decided to make the rival rust. This is in contrast to the plated and sparkling Gotchard. The toy team voiced how they wanted car cards to appear, so we created a visual of a car covered in oil and being repaired with tools. He's like a warrior born from the alchemy of a local factory, if you will.

"These so called transformation items were also well thought out ideas (in terms of steel items)."

Kita: There were many ideas, including one based on scissors and another on a helicopter styled weapon, but the tool idea was selected from among them.

"Given his setting as a non Rider hero, some interesting ideas were exchanged on transformation and form changes."

Kita: I thought it'd be funny if he put the end of the Valvarusher (the wrench part) around his head and transformed by tightening screws on his head. Both of his shoulders have parts that look like hex bolts, but during the design stage, I imagined that the Valvarusher would be used by him to remove these bolts, and then to attach additional parts to the shoulders. Instead of transforming, he'd be a hero who tunes up his armor like a mechanical engineer.

"Equipping the armor and weapons with his own hands. That's quite an original idea, don't you think?! As a result, the method of changing his appearance instantaneously was used in the footage, but we can't help but hope that this kind of production technique will one day become more popular."

-The conception of a Rider Taisen Universe?!-

"A high school alchemist Rider finds himself in a different dimension. There, he witnessed a gorgeous, golden warrior who used the cards of past Riders to defeat his enemies in every direction. His name is Kamen Rider Legend!"

Minato: The cards sold in packs had "Chemies" printed on them, but at first, customers were still unfamiliar with the monsters. One of the roles of the show was to make the monsters more appealing, but we weren't sure how popular the Chemies would turn out during the planning stages. On the other hand, the lineup also included cards with Legend Riders printed on them. We thought this would be one of the motivations for customers to buy cards during the very early stages of the show. The toy team still raised their concerns with, "How can we make the cards more appealing?"

Terakawa: Card items are also targeted at adults, and the Card Division's view was that cards of past Riders would be particularly popular with them. If that was the case, then I wanted to highlight the Legend cards more. We consulted with Ishimori Productions and Toei about what steps we could take to achieve this.

Yamabe: Items related to past Riders, or "Legend merch" as they're called, have quite a few fans. We had the option of not adding them in the show, but I also understood what the toy team was thinking. We agreed that it'd be fun to have a hero who uses the cards of past Riders, and that we might as well give it a try with this series. However, if this character were to appear in the main story, it would affect the worldview, so that was something we had to think about for abit.

Terakawa: For example, we thought about things like someone who makes cards, who also makes Chemy cards, and who also makes cards of past Riders. A variety of opinions were exchanged, such as, "How about making a character who's a card shop owner, or a handyman who deals with Chemy cards and explains what a Chemy is?"

"Legend cards were difficult to work with. If Gotchard uses the Legend cards, that would give him unlimited power, which weakens the purpose of using the other Chemy cards. On the other hand, if a completely new and distinct character were to use them……"

Minato: A hero who uses Legend cards is by all accounts the most powerful character in the show, so wouldn't having him around solve everything? I wondered how it would affect the show if things ended up going in that direction. So, I decided to make him a Rider from a different world than the one in the TV series, and thought about developing it as a spin off. In this way, I thought we could fulfill both our goals of bringing Legend cards into the story, and to keep a Legend card using hero outside of Gotchard's narrative world.

"The platform chosen was Youtube. As the name suggests, "Toei Tokusatsu Youtube Official" is an official video site for Toei's tokusatsu productions, and has distributed spin offs of TV series, such as "Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders Souls!" (2016)."

Minato: If I depicted how he got the Legend Rider cards, I wouldn't be able to show his abilities in the limited time we had, so I decided to make him someone who had alot of cards right from the start. Initially, I was thinking of a setting where he was some incredible day trader. A successful businessman who's very rich. I even came up with a line like, "I'm a modern day alchemist" (laughs). However, I thought that was alittle too realistic for his occupation……so I changed his setting.

"Needless to say, the concept of "gorgeous" was born as a result of this process. But his appearance……?"

Kita: I had alot of ideas, such as looking like a businessman with a suit arrangement, or like a motorcycle riding police officer who cracks down on Riders from all over the world. Since Gotchard has a concept with arrows, I tried to draw a design with arrows all over his body, but in the end, a design based on the concept of "Rider No. 3 from Decade's world" was chosen.

"One way of describing his appearance would be……the Golden Decade!"

Minato: Gotchard aired on TV every week. A large number of toys were released. It's a production that finally took shape after months of working on the setting and designs. When you throw a new Rider with a completely different setting into the mix, it's only natural that he'd look inferior to Gotchard. That being the case, I thought it'd be better to just have him be a character like Decade.

"From here, they wanted him to borrow Decade's powers. One being his "visuals." The other being his "ability" to copy all past Riders."

Minato: The fact that he looks similar to Decade I thought could be cleared up by using the same logic as Twokaizer (laughs).

"Twokaizer is the additional fighter that appeared in "Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger" (2021), and his visuals are very similar to the Gokaigers (laughs). This isn't surprising. The reason for this is pretty simple, the character Flint, who went to the world of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, copied the appearance of the Gokaigers (laughs). However, the overall coloring and appearance of various parts aren't exactly the same as those on the Gokaigers. The plan was to use a similar approach."

Yamabe: A world where using Riders from other worlds as cards and using their abilities is an established technique. That's the world that Legend exists in. The resemblance in appearance is due out of respect for Decade. That's how I interpret it.

"The enemy that Legend fights against is a mysterious organization called "Hundred." Under their command is Kasshine, an enemy from Zi-O."

Yamabe: I've always thought that there's a world line between Decade and Zi-O, and that there are battles that take place in a different dimension from the Rider battles that we do every year. That's why we used the Aurora Curtain again and had a scene where Kasshine appears. Ishimori Productions wanted to unite the world views of Decade and Zi-O into one.

Kaneko: Legend also had the role of introducing Kamen Rider to the new generation who were unfamiliar with Riders, as well as to people overseas who had never seen a Rider broadcast before. It'd be difficult to ask the new generation of fans to watch all past Rider productions during that time, so we picked out and introduced only the most characteristic and interesting parts of every past Rider. This was the role that had been entrusted to this character.

"Even though the grand plan was unexpectedly surprising, the character of Kaguya-sama is amazing in that he seems to be able to handle his role without any difficulty. Although, Legend would eventually interfere with the world of Gotchard……"

-Cards and Riders, a deceptive duet-

"The very beginning of the program depicts a lively battle between Houtaro and his friends to capture Chemies. It was an unusual journey, going from west to east in pursuit of Chemies."

Minato: The concept of this production was a "story of collecting Chemies." There are friends and rivals, but it's not a battle, what's depicted is a "race" to catch the Chemies. This is because initially, I was going to use a basic storyline pattern……in which human criminals and a Chemy combine to become a Malgam. This is imagery seen in the story of episode 2. A hero who saves helpless Chemies from being trapped by evil people is a new concept, don't you think? However, that'd mean the very first episode wouldn't unravel properly. I thought it'd be fine to go without an enemy organization, but TV Asahi's Producer Inoue Chihiro-san advised me that it'd be better to have an enemy. And so, the "Three Dark Sisters" were born.

"If you ask me, the flow of Houtaro receiving the belt from Kudo Fuga in the first episode wouldn't have been possible without the Three Dark Sisters. The unexpected circumstances of their creation are surprising, but the Three Dark Sisters studied the Chemy cards and succeeded in developing the DreaDriver. It's an evil device that transforms a person into the form of a demon by consuming Repli Chemy cards."

Yamabe: The DreaDriver is a "sacrificial belt." It's a belt that disposes of the Chemy cards. If an enemy that used it were to appear, the Chemy loving main character would no doubt hate them immensely. At the time of planning, the details of the story hadn't been decided yet, so we introduced it with that intention in mind.

Kaneko: At the time of planning, we were thinking of a development in which Chemy cards would be taken by the enemy and then recovered. However, as the project progressed, it was decided that there'd be only one of each Chemy card, so we needed to do something else. Considering the importance that Houtaro places on his Chemy cards, he wouldn't simply hand them over to the enemy. That's when we came up with the idea of "Repli Chemy cards." Things would progress from the enemy feeling threatened by Gotchard, to them creating a card of their own and transforming.

"With a thunderous roar, a human who puts on the DreaDriver transforms into Kamen Rider Dread. The one manipulated by Atropos and forced to transform was……Sabimaru."

Kaneko: We wanted to create an evil Rider, one who would completely change the cheerful mood, but we had a hard time deciding who would transform. At first, we were thinking of the three tiered system, with Clotho using Type One, Lachesis using Type Two, and Atropos using Type Three. We wanted to make it seem like the opponent who used Chemies to create Malgams would then transform into a Rider and stand in the way as powerful enemies, but as of episode 11, I felt that the Three Dark Sisters just hadn't developed as characters yet. Even when they transformed, it was lacking in impact……

Minato: For example, I thought about having Clotho transform and then leave the show, but Screenwriter Hasegawa-san didn't want Clotho to make her exit just yet. Therefore, we decided that it'd be best to leave Dread as a sort of puppet like existence for the time being. With all that being the case, who would do the most damage to Houtaro? From this perspective, I chose Sabimaru as the one to transform. The reason was that up to that point, Houtaro's main motivation for taking action was the Chemies, he wasn't a Kamen Rider who protected humans. However, when his senior and important friend Sabimaru is taken away from him, he has a change in attitude to save both Chemies and humans.

Kaneko: I think we were able to depict Houtaro's consideration for human life and his determination to fight. However, to begin with, Sabimaru's character isn't suited for that kind of role. That's why Dread didn't feel like a formidable opponent. It didn't look like a threat was approaching. Instead, the feeling of pity for Sabimaru was what came out more strongly, which was quite different from what we were aiming for.

Minato: Personally, I didn't want to call Dread a "Kamen Rider." In this world, Kamen Riders are rare individuals who transform by combining two Chemy cards. The Repli Chemy cards are fakes, and Type Zero isn't a Rider, as you transform with just one card. Therefore, we made it possible for anyone to transform, although what they become is quite different from a Kamen Rider. We decided that we'd have Atropos be the one saying, "I'm Kamen Rider Dread."

"Dread would eventually mutate its forms one by one, from Type One to Three, and even altering the person that transforms, causing torment to Houtaro and his friends."

-Power up with the Legendary Chemies-

"Ride Chemy cards are sealed with Chemies, artificial life forms created by alchemy. Each card is assigned a 10 level number based on their attribute, from "level 1" to "level 10." A Level 10 is the strongest Chemy in each attribute. They're special beings with extraordinary power."

Minato: Simply put, the Level 10's are "Legendary Pokemon" (laughs). They're absurdly strong Chemies, so it's difficult to catch them. Houtaro, as well as Gotchard, become stronger when the Level 10s approve of him. I was careful when depicting this sequence, as I didn't want to portray him as becoming stronger just because he acquired a strong asset. So, the process I followed was that as a result of becoming stronger mentally, he gained new powers. I intended on sticking to this concept throughout the show.

"Gotchard's system was to use two Chemy cards to transform, but there was a rule that the sum of the numbers of the two cards that were paired had to equal 10. Like how Hopper1 is a Level 1 and Steamliner is a Level 9. So, 1+9=10, and there can be a transformation. Other forms basically followed this rule, but what about Level 10 cards?"

Terakawa: The basic concept was that you were allowed to power up with three cards. So by adding a Level 10 card to Steamhopper (which requires two cards), you can create a new form.

"There are no cards that can be paired with a Level 10, so instead, the idea was to "add on" to a standard form to increase its power."

Kita: In the beginning, we were thinking of removing the card holder like part from the new weapon and setting it on the belt, but the card holder was small in size. Adding this to the Gotchard Driver didn't change the appearance of the belt much. So, we decided to change our direction of transforming the weapon itself into an additional buckle.

"Transforming with a Level 10 Chemy required a new weapon (Exgotchalibur), which could change shape into a buckle. The main point was that the overall appearance of the belt could be changed by adding additional parts to it. He was told, "you shouldn't control a Level 10," as they're the most challenging of Chemies, but Houtaro becomes friends with these Level 10s thanks to his kindness and battle spirit. His unconventional ideas and drive allowed him to easily overcome the old teachings passed down at the Alchemys Union, and gradually, he began to change the hearts of those around him!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 3: The Combination of Past and Future

-Daybreak Incident-

"One after another, people were turned to stone by the super giant Orochi Malgam. The crowded Christmas town was in chaos as everyone was turned to stone, including his best friends, allies, and rivals. Would the panicking Houtaro also become a victim?! At that moment, a daybreak colored shadow appeared with a dazzling light. It was another Gotchard!!"

Minato: The toy sale report for the first month of the show's broadcast became available, and while card sales were strong, Driver sales weren't, and the adult fan base seemed to be shrinking. That was just the info I was given. So, I decided that it might be a good idea to prepare some kind of major development for the story.

Yamabe: I had abit of a bad feeling about this……In the last episode of the year (episode 16), the development we planned was to have Houtaro power up into Fire Gotchard. Gotchard would be defeated for a moment, but then complete his powered up transformation at the very end, and then the story would continue in the next episode. That's the process we were thinking of, but after hearing about the toys, I had a feeling that the story would take a turn for the worse if we did that.

Minato: Geats, the previous series, was said to be very popular with adults, while on the opposite end, the response from young children wasn't so good. That's why we had talked about making a show that would attract more children this time, and that it would be aimed more towards preschool aged children. Rider is a long running series that has many adult fans, so I thought I had to try and strike a balance in order to reach that generation, but then I wasn't sure what to do.

"If the primary target was younger children, then it's possible that middle and high school students, as well as the older generation, may not judge it positively. And, what if you didn't get support from those vital young children?"

Yamabe: We understand that it's cool when the main character loses for a brief moment and then gets back up. However, given the situation we were currently going down, we thought it wouldn't be appealing to anyone, regardless of whether they were a child or an adult.

Kaneko: It was probably because of our own lack in ability, but in any case, we hadn't been able to convey the appeal of Gotchard. Tons of Chemy cards were released, tons of form changes appeared, Dread appeared, the Exgotchalibur appeared and turned him into Super Gotchard, and soon, there'd be Fire Gotchard. Shortly after that, Valvarad's power up was scheduled. Taking all that into account, it makes it impossible to create an interesting story, and even if new items were released, viewers wouldn't want to buy those toys, as there'd be no excitement in them. At any rate, we were in a standstill.

Minato: I don't remember much about the meeting because I felt completely drained, but it was decided right then and there that a new character would suddenly appear. "But who'll be transforming?," we couldn't come to a decision. There was a strong divide between choosing either Fuga or Houtaro's father, but I thought that'd be too predictable and simply not interesting enough. This could make it look as if Houtaro, the main character, was having his role downsized and that a new main character was appearing. That would be a betrayal to the viewers, so I absolutely wanted to avoid that. During all this, the words "the hero's future appearance" came out of Yamabe-san, and I was like, "That's it!"

Yamabe: A character who would be known as a "skilled Gotchard," who can handle all kinds of weapons, appears. He also fights brilliantly, using red Chemy cards that no one's ever seen before. So, unlike the Gotchard that Houtaro transforms into, this guy would be showing off his professional fighting skills. Within the show is a picture book, which refers to the story "Alchemist of Daybreak," so we decided to make the character associated with those words. And so, that's how Daybreak was born.

"Following this meeting, Minato immediately set out to negotiate with the toy team."

Minato: Episode 16 would be the last episode to air at the end of the year. Gotcharigniter toys were scheduled to be available in stores by the end of that week. So, at the time of planning, they were thinking of making Kamen Rider Valvarad appear during that episode. The Gotcharigniter was set up to be an item that allowed them to become Fire Gotchard or Kamen Rider Valvarad respectively. However, Gotchard became UFO-X in episode 13 and XRex in episode 14, and when episode 15 was being aired, Majade was making her debut in movie theaters. I couldn't set up such an absurd storyline where Valvarad would power up next time during episode 16. It'd be easy to force something like that out, but as a creator, I didn't want to do it. In Gotchard's story, I can't give power ups to people who haven't "Gotcha!" (obtained) something. So, I asked to let Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad make their appearance after the New Year. As a work around, I explained that we'd be attaching the Gotcharigniter to the new character, Daybreak.

"It's highly unusual for these kinds of series, which are based on linking the show and the toys, to delay the release of characters and items that are set to be sold during the holiday shopping season. This must've been an unexpected situation for the toy team."

Minato: I was expecting them to not agree so easily……but it was still pretty rough. After much discussion, I managed to get them to agree that before the sales launch of the Igniter, Daybreak would appear in episode 16 and use the Igniter to become Fire Gotchard Daybreak, and that only the visuals of the new Riders would be released. That's how we ended up releasing the new visuals at the end of the year for the coming year, unveiling Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad. We had already decided in advance that another artist would participate in the theme song (FLOW in addition to BACK-ON), so we decided to release it at the same time. I was so nervous, that I approached things with the feeling that a new show was set to start in January of the coming year.

"The act of explaining the situation to all concerned parties and getting people to understand the intentions of the planning team must've been an indescribable task behind the scenes. On the other hand, this decision broke away from the conventional mindset of the Rider series and "Gotcha" (obtained) something new, which would no doubt give a big boost to future stories!"

-Time Travel Fire-

"After some difficult negotiations, Daybreak's emergency entry was granted. The appearance of two characters were delayed because of this. Let's talk about one of them, we'll start with Fire Gotchard."

Minato: No one knew the reason behind why Houtaro liked the Chemies. Still, from the very beginning, I heard many opinions. The reason is simply that he just met a Chemy randomly and suddenly started saying, "Chemies are great!" To support this, I decided to have a setting where Houtaro meets Chemies in the past. Houtaro doesn't remember this because his memories were erased (by an alchemist), but the Chemies remember. There's still something like a fragment of "cherished memories" in Houtaro's heart. So, I tried to "combine" Houtaro's past and what leads him to becoming Fire Gotchard. I decided on the details later, but Houtaro travels into the past due to Daybreak. I wondered if I could create that sequence of events……where by remembering his childhood memories that had been erased, that would make him more aware than ever that he must protect people and Chemies, and that he must become a stronger person.

"Daybreak speaks with Houtaro. He says, "A power that gives hope to the future. Use this…" Houtaro refuses Daybreak's offer to accept the Gotcharigniter, and declares that he'll try to produce the power up item with his own hands. Daybreak tells him that in order to do so, he needs to travel into the past. Using the power of Timelord, Houtaro travels to the past, where he learns various revelations. As a child, Houtaro was friends with the Chemies, and despite being young, he was skilled in alchemy……Eventually, Houtaro obtains the "one and only treasure in this world" that his childhood self had made through alchemy, and returns to the present, where he succeeds in refining the Gotcharigniter. He obtains the power of Fire Gotchard!"

Kaneko: It's a speed form with a booster on his back, but if it's just about gaining speed, we've seen so many different patterns up until now that viewers are getting tired of seeing, so we decided to make it alittle different. Ultimately, we decided that when on standby, his body is fixed in place with chains, and when he gains speed, he can only move in a straight line. Combined with Director Tasaki's direction, I think the form turned out really unique and cool.

"Upon seeing Gotchard's new appearance, Daybreak mutters, "That form…..so you're headed into the new future, huh?"…"

Kaneko: Daybreak also uses the Gotcharigniter, but Houtaro's Fire Gotchard has a different appearance. That's where the timeline changed (Daybreak's timeline and the present split).

"Seeing Houtaro in a form different from his own despite using the same item, Daybreak feels relieved and returns to the future. This story……is unexpectedly connected to the Summer film!"

-The girl who was supposed to become Gotchard-

"Kamen Rider Majade made her first appearance in the Winter Film. She's the first female fighter in the history of the series to become the secondary Rider. As the daughter of a renowned alchemist, Kudo Rinne has always been bound by rules and lived by them. Her friends refer to her as "honor student" and "rule follower," and her enemy Atropos teased her by calling her "Serious-chan." A girl who's lived her whole life hiding her own will decides to "make her own rules," and grows from becoming a Kamen Rider!"

Minato: I think Rinne was originally supposed to become Gotchard. Since she's the daughter of Kudo Fuga, an important alchemist, she receives a gifted education to also become a renowned alchemist, and she herself has been making efforts with that intention in mind. And yet, her own alchemy doesn't work against Malgams. However, Gotchard (Houtaro) suddenly appears and defeats the Malgams. This is why she's always wanted to become a Kamen Rider, she didn't want to be beside the hero as the heroine, which is the usual tradition. She may look like a cute girl, but within her heart, she's frustrated and impatient with herself for not being able to transform into a Kamen Rider. And so, by Gotcha (obtaining) her resolve to fight, she was finally able to become her true self (a Kamen Rider).

"The New Year's episodes were a rapid fire of events, with each week bringing a series of dramatic developments. Daybreak's intrusion, Houtaro's past, the truth about Kudo Fuga, the power up into Fire Gotchard, Glion's resurrection, and Majade's appearance gave off the impression that there were multiple surprises packed into a single episode. Additionally, the Alchemy Academy was taken over by Glion, and even Minato, whom she admires, switches to Glion's side!"

Yamabe: We wanted to create a situation where Houtaro and his friends had to figure things out on their own. The situation came to a point where Houtaro could no longer be naive, and he had to finally face himself.

"Minato, who has surrendered to Glion's side, uses the DreaDriver to change his appearance and attack Houtaro and his friends. Houtaro and his friends, who called themselves the "Kitchen ICHINOSE Union," were united in their resolve, but more challenges were coming for them. That would be the rampage of their precious friend Spanner…….and the appearance of Wheel Malgam!"

-Digging deeper into the ridiculous jokes-

"Kurogane Spanner is a lone, super A class rank alchemist, who wears the Valvarad armor he developed with his own hands. He's also a man who was previously promised he'd become a Kamen Rider."

Minato: I decided from the beginning that there would be three Riders starting from the beginning of the New Year. My own concept was to do "Kuuga" during the first year, and then after the New Year, the show would become "Agito."

"Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000) was the first Heisei Rider production. It features only one Kamen Rider. The story is about a lone fighter named Kuuga who fights with the help of the police. The next production was Kamen Rider Agito. This is an interwoven drama about three Kamen Riders (Agito, G3, Gills). Minato had reworked the Rider shows that fascinated him as a boy and incorporated them into Gotchard."

Kaneko: The toy team had requested that Houtaro and Spanner share the Gotcharigniter.

"It had already been decided that Spanner would become a Kamen Rider using the Gotcharigniter."

Kaneko: With such a setup, Spanner would need to use the Gotchard Driver. However, the Gotchard Driver has meaning, as it's one of a kind, but I wondered what would happen if there were more of them. If they lent or borrowed it from each other, there would be situations where neither Houtaro nor Spanner could transform, and in that regard, I thought the idea of lending and borrowing was a bad idea. As a result, we changed it so that Valvarad's enhanced belt was a reference to the Gotcharigniter.

"And so, they decided to have Houtaro's Gotcharigniter be an attachment, but for Spanner to have it appear in the show as a completely new belt, known as the Valvaradriver."

Minato: The timing of Kamen Rider Valvarad's appearance was later than expected, but I approached Director Sugihara when it came to making his first appearance (episodes 20 and 21). At that time, the first thing the Director said to me was, "I understand that you want to depict his first transformation in a cool way, but Spanner as he is now is unappealing. I don't think the Rider transformation will come off as well as you think it should unless you do something about Spanner." The planning team was aware of this, so we decided to rethink what kind of person Spanner was when it came time for his first transformation.

"Edami Kyoka was created to better paint Spanner's background…. She's a brilliant female alchemist, who also develops transformation drivers."

Kaneko: Kyoka's the only person that Spanner can open up to and be honest with. She's the one who accepts Spanner with full affirmation. She's also a mentor who supports Spanner more than anyone else.

"Kyoka is Spanner's emotional support. However, their relationship of trust is shattered by the appearance of Angel Malgam. Spanner's parents show up in front of him for the first time in 10 years. Soon after, they're both killed by Glion! Seeing this scene before his eyes, Spanner recalls memories from 10 years ago. And that's when he realizes what happened…His parents had already been killed by Glion 10 years ago, and the people in front of him were only temporarily revived through Angel Malgam's power. At the same time, he learns that his memory of that tragedy had been erased by someone…He's shocked to discover that the one who had performed the memory erasing technique on him was Edami Kyoka, his mentor, mother figure, sister figure, and woman he admired. Spanner feels his existence crumble beneath his feet as he's overcome with despair. And then, Spanner forms a bond. With help from the Chemy Madwell, who was a "tool," he became Valvarad……!"

Minato: 10 years ago, Spanner was a 14 year old boy who went to live with the 24 year old Kyoka-san, and with that happening, he would definitely fall in love with her, don't you think? (laughs). But since she's like a family member to him, they continue to live together while he keeps his feelings bottled up. That's why he became such a cool character. With the appearance of Kyoka, that background becomes clearer. Because of his cool and stylish position, Spanner had been holding back his performance up until then, but the explosive power he had the moment he let it all out was amazing.

"In order to protect the heart of the young Spanner, Kyoka erased those haunting memories, taught him alchemy, and showed him affection as they lived together. This eventually became Kyoka's reason for living. She also taught Spanner how to play chess, as it's a game that requires you to always calmly think ahead without being swayed by your emotions. Spanner possesses dangerous powers that make him easily susceptible to the power of darkness, so she tried to protect him by putting him in "armor" known as the "aesthetics of battle." When Spanner realized her wishes and feelings, he recognized that he wasn't alone. At the same time, memories of the deep love he received from his parents come back to him, and Spanner gains new powers. His name is Kamen Rider Valvarad!"

Minato: Gotchard and Majade transform through traditional alchemy, but Valvarad's transformation is alittle different. He transforms using alchemy that's been applied to modern industrial technology, or other words, alchemy from a local factory, so his appearance is purposely different from the other two. When I think, "What's the alchemy in this show?," I have a pretty good idea of what it is, but his still feels alittle more industrial. I have the impression that Kyoka's alchemy is the latest alchemy (the alchemy related items in Kyoka's lab are different from those in Fuga's room). Valvarad has a reinforced suit, but it's set up so that when he becomes a Rider, his body physically changes. Still, the pointed part on the left side of his mask (the silver part) is the only part that's armor. The design of Kamen Rider Valvarad was completed by combining physical changes (due to legitimate alchemy) with the alchemy techniques of a local factory.

"Spanner became more appealing as a character, and grew into an indispensable and reliable presence in the story."

-The Chemies become transformation items-

"Gotchard evolves with different concepts, including a 3 card transformation (Super Gotchard), transforming with a special card that combines 5 cards (Star Gotchard), and a transformation with an additional buckle (Fire Gotchard). What style would the next power be?"

Minato: Since we had finally reached the point where we had all 100 Chemy cards available for sale, the subject of coming up with a battle style using those 100 cards came up.

Kita: As part of the design team, I was looking for a different approach. Along with the idea of transforming with all cards of the same attribute, there were many other ideas…….but the best response we got was from the concept of a power up transformation for Hopper1 and Steamliner. There'd be a plate buckle (in the shape of a card case) that featured Hopper1 and Steamliner's forms, and he'd transform by inserting new cards into it one by one. I was thinking of a three phase transformation system with slots on the left and right sides, with Hopper1 for the enhanced form, Steamliner for the second enhanced form, and both Hopper1 and Steamliner for the third enhanced form.

Terakawa: After consulting with the design team, we found that there'd be some difficulties with the mechanics. Because of this, instead of a card case, we'd insert a solid item into it, and the three phase transformation became a two phased one. As a toy, the concept was a figure, and it'd be a transformation item that looked like Hopper1 and Steamliner's powered up forms.

"At the time, the new lineup of card products to be released would include ones with the attributes "Cosmic" and "Ancient," so they decided to combine those elements into the power ups for Hopper1 and Steamliner."

Minato: The concept was a two phase transformation, using two different Chemy shaped items. It's standard to start with a "rampaging" form, then a form that overcomes it, but I wondered what we could do to avoid going in that direction. So, I went back to the idea of the single and double card transformations.

"First, Steamliner (in its powered up form) transforms by itself, then adds Hopper1 (also in its powered up form) for a combined transformation! Although its appearance is of a Chemy, the logic is the same as to whether one or two cards are used to transform."

Minato: It's just like Valvarad, he transforms by incorporating the power of one Chemy that resides inside a human. Valvarad uses items so he doesn't have to become Malgam. I wondered if we could think of it in the same way. We had a request for an ancient element in connection with the cards, so I came up with the concept of the "Ancient Forbidden Arts," which used a similar method as alchemy.

Yamabe: At the time of planning, I thought that an enemy boss would appear during this time, and that we could go on to explain about the origins of alchemy. This is why I was thinking that it wouldn't be out of place if there were ancient designs.

"The general concept of the transformation system had been decided upon, but discussions were also held on how the Rider using it would transform, and in particular, how they would differentiate between the two forms."

Minato: The concept was that the first form would be heavily based off an ancient Egyptian styled design and specialize in punching, while the second form would be light due to its heavy armor being removed and specialize in kicking. Still, it had been determined that Gotchard would finish things with a kick in any form, so specializing in kicks makes it difficult to differentiate from the other forms. So, we started to think about a different way of presenting it.

"The result was the ability to activate the power of two scanned Chemy cards as his own technique. Its name, "Platina Shoot Fever"! It has a variety of techniques, including striking attacks from its spiked arms (Saboneedle + Wrestler G), dodging enemy attacks while moving at high speed and firing needle bullets at high speed from its legs (Kaiserbee + Mechanichani), and electric attacks while binding enemies with reinforced webs (Raidenji + Catchula). The more you know about the Chemies, the more excited you become, and their diverse attack styles have captured the hearts of children and won't let go. A new form was born, one that shines with the concept of fighting alongside the Chemies."

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha Final: The Combination of Hope and Challenge

-Arrow Transformation using the Kaiju Chemy!-

"What were known as the "strongest forms" became a staple during the last half of the show. What was the strongest form that the cheerful and positive high school student Gotcha (obtained)?"

Minato: Since we had Crosshopper and Tenliner, I thought it was possible that the power up item could be a Chemy. Still, I debated until the very last minute on whether or not I should make it the 101st Chemy. This was because at the time of planning, I hadn't decided on what the Summer film would be about yet……Personally, I wanted to save the 101st Chemy for the story in the Summer film. To use Pokemon movies as an example, I was thinking about a story in which the legendary Chemy appears in a similar fashion to "Mewtwo Strikes Back" or "Revelation Lugia." Originally, I was under the impression that the strongest form would likely appear about 40 episodes in. That's when I wondered if it would even be okay to collect all 101 of them. I thought that if it was done in that way, the show would practically be over, right? At the time, there were many parts of the setting that hadn't been decided on. "What should this program do after they're done collecting Chemies?," I hadn't fully figured that out yet. To begin with, 101 is the number that Shirakura advised me to prepare. The idea was to have an extra one in case of any problems, so that we could have more flexibility. That's why we left anything in relation to the 101st Chemy as a mystery. Was it really okay to use it as the final power up? This caused me alot of distress.

Kita: Minato-san wanted something different with the 101st Chemy, so we proceeded to work on the items and forms based on the concept of "all 100 Chemies included."

"He says that this direction was immediately "paused." The reason was that if all the Chemies combined, Gotchard's strongest form wouldn't be able to stand alongside Majade and Valvarad."

Kita: Would something other than the Chemies be better? I tried to design something with the image of a gadget based on "arrows," which had become synonymous with Gotchard, or a gadget that lets you put in all the cards you've collected and use the power of 100 cards, but they were all no good.

Minato: This was just around the time that I came up with the idea of a setting for Daybreak. I thought if I could make the Summer film into a Daybreak story, we could make it work. So, using that process, I decided to put the 101st one on TV. Although, the result was that the last two Chemies caught in the show were Pakuraptor and Ojilacanth (laughs).

"The decision was made to make the 101st Chemy a transformation item, and out of countless concepts, a Kaiju Chemy was chosen. It's appearance looks alot like Gotchard……"

Minato: Its design inherited elements of Gotchard, which reflects the setup that it was born from the Gotchard Driver. It also gives off a special feel when compared to the other Chemies. If it was raised as an egg inside the Gotchard Driver while watching Houtaro's actions, it'd be natural for it to have alot of trust in Houtaro, and it'd be easier to explain in many ways. So, I came up with the idea that Fuga had already placed the 101st inside the Gotchard Driver.

"The Kaiju Chemy is born from the egg thanks to Houtaro's ideals! Transformed by its power, Gotchard's strongest form is……arrows?!"

Kita: The words that came up in our discussions were along the lines of Houtaro's positivity and straightforwardness. So I drew the mask with arrows, Gotchard's symbol, meeting in the middle. Although I got the OK, I wasn't sure if it would actually work as a physical shape, so I decided to do a test by printing it out using a 3D printer.

Minato: I was surprised when I saw the 3D model of the mask. This was because I realized that such a mysterious design was actually possible to produce. I liked the design instantly because it seemed to be a direct expression of Houtaro's positive attitude.

Yamabe: Houtaro has experienced many things since becoming a Rider, so it was as if he had decided on his direction. That's why the arrow is so pronounced in the design. I love that face, because it gives the impression that a beautiful rainbow has formed at the end of the arrows.

Kaneko: The 101st Chemy contains some of the Philosopher's Stone, which explains why the strongest form is in fact the strongest, and I think we got it just right. There's backstory that the perfect form of alchemy is a "rainbow," and I thought the way this was expressed visually was a fantastic design.

"The strongest form, which received great support from the planning team, is called "Rainbow Gotchard"! The dynamic mask structure, which looks different from different angles, is the most energetic and explosive design in the history of Rider designs."

-The Daybreak Alchemist and the Secrets of the Picture Book-

"While it was a traditional Summer film, the decision to have the two Houtaros as the main characters was made very early on."

Minato: When we were in the process of asking DAIGO-san to voice Daybreak in the TV series, I knew that I wanted the next Summer film to focus on Daybreak. I wanted DAIGO-san to appear in the film and show his face. We had just finished filming the Winter film, but we got internal approval early on.

"The Winter film was "Gotchard & Geats." Apparently, deciding on the Summer film's cast before the New Year is unusually fast for a Sunday morning Rider."

Minato: Sometime after the New Year, I had a meeting with the Film Promotion Division and planning team. We were told that the box office revenue of the Winter film was almost the same as the previous film (Geats x Revice). However, looking closer at the details showed that the percentage of attendance for children's tickets had increased. With that being the case, we decided that the Summer film should be a fun, easy to understand movie that families can enjoy together. For the Winter film, we decided to promote the Chemies and put more focus on the Voice Actors. We tried to go in a direction that would appeal to Voice Actor fans who like anime, but it seemed like that wasn't enough, and TV Asahi wanted to supplement that with the guest cast. Based on all these things, we wanted to create an exciting tokusatsu hero action film. We didn't want to create a cluttered and complicated story, but rather, a single theme that would run through the entire film without stopping.

"The meeting also ordered that Gotchard and Daybreak appear in a film only form. In addition, there were even more requests……"

Minato: The Advertising Division asked us if we could bring in someone from the "Legendary cast" in order to appeal to the fan base that had continued to love Kamen Rider. It'd be something similar to the sequence in the Geats Winter film, where the Ryuki cast appeared. We agreed that if we could incorporate Decade, which was the basis for Kamen Rider Legend, into this project, it would be a good idea. That's how we decided on the appearance of Kadoya Tsukasa (Inoue Masahiro).

"The script was entrusted to Hasegawa Keiichi, who also worked on the TV series."

Minato: As for Hasegawa-san, he wanted to make a film that would make people cry. At the time, "Godzilla Minus One" was a huge hit. Hasegawa-san's analysis was that, "Japanese people who were forced to live in hardship after the war rose to their feet, and those kinds of dramas win the hearts of the audience." So I thought, "Let's also do a hero who rises from the ashes."

"The story follows Houtaro as he struggles in the Future World. The world has been taken over by Glion, and his precious friends are already dead. Unsurprisingly, Spanner and Minato are now under Glion's control. They're fake forms, masked with evil. A trap to mentally drain Houtaro……20 years later, the world has become a literal "living hell" for Houtaro. On Christmas Day, when Daybreak showed up to save him, Houtaro was supposed to have been defeated by Glion. To stop that tragedy, Daybreak had come from the future Even though he knew it was futile……."

Minato: I'd been thinking of connecting the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book with Daybreak, but nothing concrete had been decided at the time of episodes 16 to 18. As I was working on the script for the film, it was Kaneko-san of Ishimori Productions who recommended, "It'd be better to connect it to the past lore, with Daybreak crossing over into the past to become the Alchemist of Daybreak at the end."

"Originally, the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book is wearing a red hood. However, the picture book that appeared at the end of the film depicted "Shining Daybreak" defeating the Dark King……."

Minato: Strictly speaking, the illustrations of the picture book shouldn't have changed from the "Alchemist of Daybreak" to "Shining Daybreak" in the last part. If Future Houtaro was wearing a red hood, it would cause an unclear outline in the story……The reason why I did it that way is because if he goes back in time and "seals" the Dark King, it wouldn't feel like Daybreak had won. If the story unfolded that way, the history of Houtaro being defeated by Glion and suffering in despair would be repeated all over again. I wanted to put an end to that if possible. This was something that Hasegawa-san suggested. He said that unless I made it something like, "In the end, the Dark King was defeated, and they lived happily ever after," it'd be difficult to convey Daybreak's victory. If it came to that, the foreshadowing in the TV show of the picture book couldn't be resolved, but I thought people would understand that the story, which had been repeating itself, had entered a "new step," so we decided to just go with it.

"In the final scene, the Dark King, defeated by the two Houtaros, travels to a "past without Kamen Riders" to rule the world once more. Daybreak also follows him and travels back to the past. The film ends there……It's a very sharp and brilliant ending."

Minato: It was Hasegawa-san's wish that we didn't depict the battle between Daybreak and the Dark King in the past world. At the time, Matsuura asked Hasegawa-san a question. "It's fine as long as it's depicted that he goes back in time and becomes the Alchemist of Daybreak. But after that, would it be okay for Future Houtaro to return to the future and live with Atropos and Clotho and all the others in a world where the threat has disappeared?" Hasegawa-san said that it would be abit of a stretch to depict what happens after that. He said that it's a beautiful story because it ends with the picture book explaining Daybreak's victory by going back to the past. He said something along the lines of, "This film has many characters, but it's a story about two people, Houtaro and Rinne, so wouldn't it be a wonderful, happy ending if they went to the past together (even though Rinne had passed), defeated the enemy, and lived happily in that world?" I think the quality of the film was enhanced because of that decision. I'm extremely grateful to Hasegawa-san.

"This film is excellent in that it's the "final episode" of the story starring Future Houtaro, but what's even more remarkable is that this film is an important piece that ties the story of Gotchard together. Has there ever been a Kamen Rider film that's so completely linked to the TV series? "Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore, Tanjou!" (2007) was in a similar position, but it didn't leave such a deep impact on the overall story. Of course, there's a reason for this. The theory has always been that a film of a TV series should be considered "outside content." This is because it was believed that the content needed to be understandable to first time audience members who went to the theaters. However, in the age where the streaming environment has improved to the point where people can access old and new content as soon as they're interested, can this still be called a "theory" today? This truly "Gotcha" film attempts to break away from conventional thinking, and is also a "challenge" that presents a new form of Kamen Rider films in the age of distribution."

-Arrogant Gods and Homunculi Deception-

"As he works towards becoming a great alchemist, and to live in harmony with the Chemies, an enemy stands in Houtaro's way…was it the three Dark Kings? Or perhaps, Glion?"

Minato: At first, I thought of the Alchemys Union as the final boss. The reason why I didn't set up an enemy during the early stages of planning was because the enemy that the main character's were expected to fight were the higher ups of the organization. In a Rider's sence, it's "The Dark Society Gorgom." It's an evil that's skillfully infiltrated our society.

"The Dark Society Gorgom is an enemy organization that appears in Kamen Rider Black (1987). Their setup is that powerful political and business leaders and scientists were controlling the world of its members from behind the scenes."

Minato: The higher ups of the Alchemys Union have taken over the world from behind the scenes. That's why all they want is for the world to continue as it is. They don't want change. I had envisioned "the old" as the enemy and theme of the show, which is why I was thinking of such a structure. However, with the creation of the characters I called the Three Dark Sisters, the Alchemys Union was no longer the distinct enemy of the main characters. Instead, Glion and the Dark Kings were created. They were, as one would say, the founders of the Alchemys Union. In other words, they are the symbols of gerontocracy. They're like the ancestors of the old, desperate to preserve their own self interests.

Kaneko: Houtaro and the other youths are trying to move into the future through repeated trial and error. On the flip side, the Dark Kings don't want to think about the future, nor do they feel there's any need to. They're fine with the way things currently are. They believe that things will come to an end gracefully. That's why they're seeking "unending stillness." Glion was simply following those words. His "Golden Paradise" was just a simple way of saying that, but it may have been difficult for viewers to understand, in part due to our lack of explanation.

Yamabe: The Dark Kings were the ones that created Glion. They were originally human, so even though they said that as an analogy when they created Glion, with him being a homunculus, he was honestly trying to make it a realization.

"In other words, Glion, who was created by the Dark Kings, couldn't go beyond being their puppet, even though he saw the Dark Kings as his enemy."

Minato: Eventually, the younger generation who suffer from the burdens of the old won't be able to retort, and will just accept things as they are. As they grow older, they'll eventually find themselves in a similar position, becoming a burden on others, although it might be hard for them to notice.

"Glion's existence is also placed in this chain of events. Meanwhile, Glion's creators the three Dark Kings, or in other words, the ancestors of the old, also have a profound position."

Minato: Gigist likes to act like he "understands everything about humans." This is a metaphor for "thinking you know everything." Gaelijah says to "leave things to fate," which also means to "avoid your responsibilities." As Germain's "I love you" expression suggests, he thinks of himself as a "superior being" to humans. They all think that they're of a higher class compared to everyone else. Each and every one of them are "old."

"Although the Dark Kings expressions are pleasant and sound humble, they all have a hint of arrogance behind them."

Minato: The ones they must stand up to are those who have created the ruling structure of this world. By overlapping this with the Dark Kings, I wanted to depict a confrontation between youths and adults, between change and stagnation, and other issues like that throughout the story. However, the main focus isn't on battles, but on "Gotcha" (obtaining). I tried to keep that in mind as I worked on the story.

"A story of young confronting the old…….It's an unexpected theme, but from that perspective, the final battle between Glion and Houtaro can be seen as the culmination of all of this. Glion, who's turned the city and its people into gold, finally uses his golden technique on Houtaro, but for some reason, Houtaro can still move while in this golden form……"

Kaneko: Glion's gold making technique was actually just making things gold plated. It's simply a deception. The story goes that Glion can't make real gold. Glion is confronted by Houtaro with the truth. That his alchemy isn't perfect. Glion thought he was perfect. He had all the materials and knew how to do it. But when he tried, it was gold plated. He thought he had everything ready, but just about everything was missing.

"Come to think of it, Glion was always imperfect. Kamen Rider Eld appeared before Houtaro. Kamen Rider Dorado controlled the future world. Both were the transformed forms of two Glion's from different timelines, but the former could only produce fake gold plating, while the latter was merely a puppet for the Dark Kings. I guess that means the road to "El Dorado (Golden Paradise)" that Glion was looking for was just a fleeting illusion……"

-Houtaro's father and the adults who entrust-

"This production is also a story about young people breaking away from stereotypes and what's accepted to be common sense."

Yamabe: Alchemy has a history going back to ancient times, right? Its rules seem to be very strict, and we initially thought of a development where an amateur like Houtaro would come along and cause reforment with sound arguments like, "Isn't this what it's all about?" The fact that the people in the Alchemys Union shifted their blame and ran away from the situation was included as a way of portraying the old.

Kaneko: The Alchemys Union isn't an organization that gathers in a specific place and works on things collectively. They're scattered all over the world, each having their own profession and doing alchemy behind the scenes. They're what we'd call a "secret society." It's also because of that kind of set up that it's hard to see the full picture. They're the people at the top of the world's hierarchy, those who'll forever cling onto their status and reputation. In many ways, they're "people who have stopped growing up" and "people who undermine the youth." Those at the top don't take any responsibility, but they won't hesitate to say things like, "I don't know. You'll have to handle it on set" (bitter smile). They also don't take charge. They're positioned as people who seem to possess authority, but no one knows why they have it. Houtaro doesn't care about people like that. He doesn't pay attention to them, almost as if to say, "Huh, so there are people like that." Minato Sensei and Kyoka-san would have displeased looks on their faces as he resolved the situation at hand, but he would only wonder why they were making those faces. That's the kind of hero I was looking for in Houtaro.

"Houtaro's an easygoing high school student that can be found just about anywhere, but he's quite unusual for the main character of a hero production."

Minato: In the very beginning of the show, Spanner was working under Kyoka's directions, but initially, I hadn't made any decisions regarding who would become this character. There was even a time when I was thinking of making Glion the person giving instructions to Spanner. His superior's a bad guy, so Spanner would express hostility towards him. There'd be a development where he abandons his previous beliefs that he was on the side of the organization and becomes a Kamen Rider. I once thought, "What if Spanner's true identity was that he's a homunculus?" Learning such a fact would bother him like, "What has my life been up to this point?" But then again, a Chemy is a homunculus, isn't it? Since Houtaro's a Chemy loving character, it wouldn't shock him if Spanner were a homunculus. He'd be like, "I'm totally okay with that!" (laughs). He wouldn't mind. That's when I felt that it'd be better to go ahead with Spanner being human. That's how it happened.

"Houtaro's appeal lies in his generosity and tolerance caused by his carefree personality. It's strange how amazing it is that Houtaro's able to do something like that."

Minato: When the program first started, some people said they didn't understand why a young man named Houtaro wanted to pursue something called "Gotcha." What I was considering here was the presence of Houtaro's father. His father is an adventurer, and despite being an adult, he's a man who still travels the world in search of "Gotcha" (obtaining). That's why he never comes home (laughs). However, the son would grow up to be a boy who aspires to Gotcha just like his father. That's how I thought of it. Maybe I could've let Houtaro and his mother explain that alittle more.

Yamabe: Why did Houtaro go to the Ouroboros Realm to play as a child? It's not depicted, but I've always wondered if his father made a hole that led there. I think we could've tried to do a story where he's acquainted with Fuga……but we put it off because it would've been the start of yet another story. If we wanted to do it in a V-Cinext or through Youtube, we could, but to be honest, we just left things as they were.

"While the father isn't fully explored, his character as an adult seeking to Gotcha is pretty fresh in the context of this production."

Minato: The reason I didn't have the father appear, or rather, hesitated to include him, is because Gotchard is a show about fighting against the old. In other words, I didn't want to show the existence of adults who had "obtained." I wanted to depict all adults as old as much as I could. If the father who continued to Gotcha appeared, the theme of the program would be affected.

"Still, there are some reliable adults that appear throughout the show. There's Fuga, Kyoka, and Minato. Houtaro's mother (Ichinose Tamami) is also one of them."

Minato: This is because they're "adults who have entrusted themselves to the youth." They think that adults who decide to concede to the youth are good adults.

"Ichinose Tamami to Houtaro, Fuga to Rinne, and Kyoka to Spanner, each and every one of them is an "adult" who entrusts themselves to them. To entrust is to believe. This is why they're portrayed as good people for the youth."

Minato: The reason why Minato Sensei surrendered to Glion's forces and went to the enemy's side was because he felt that he "couldn't entrust" himself to Houtaro and the other youths. The incident 10 years ago made him make that decision. Minato chose the "safe side." He advised them to stay away from him because it was dangerous. There's an adult's logic to that. However, after everything that's happened, he got over that trauma and decided to trust Houtaro and the others, so he left the Alchemys Union and returned to the youths.

Yamabe: In that regard, Spanner was on the old's side at first. His elite mindset also contributed to him rejecting Houtaro, even though he's young. But, he eventually changed, trusted Houtaro and the others, and became his friend.

"This means that Future Houtaro, who appeared in the Summer film, was also considered old."

Yamabe: Having lost many friends and living in despair, Future Houtaro was looking for a place to die. Then, present day Houtaro appears and gives him angry encouragement. Seeing his younger self genuinely pushing forward strengthens his decision to fight together. He's determined to fight alongside him. He Gotcha (obtained) all over again.

"As Future Houtaro crosses over into the past, a new world line is created for present day Houtaro. Although the events took place in a different timeline, there's a world where his friends who should've died are still alive and well. This new world, which he had seized through his own decisions and actions……is what gave hope to Future Houtaro. Freed from the nightmare that happened 20 years prior, Future Houtaro forgives himself and was finally saved. The harm caused by the old isn't something that comes only from age or position. It's the refusal to accept new ideas, being bound by past experiences. It's about not taking a new step forward. Challenge is the key to the future, and only progress can be the light that leads us to what's beyond."

-Kamen Rider from a Business Perspective-

"Houtaro saves the world from Glion's plan, and even creates another Earth through alchemy for the Chemies to live on. The story ended with Houtaro showing us a glimpse of being a great alchemist……The days with Gotchard were now told……"I wanted to make a program that would convey the excitement I felt when I watched Agito during my first year of middle school." This was what Toei's Minato Yosuke, the Chief Producer responsible for the project, had said."

Minato: I feel that the Kamen Rider series, especially those produced during the Heisei era, have their own "strengths and weaknesses." The appeal of the series is that each year's unique worldview isn't connected, but on the other hand, I think the fact that the series ends after only one year reveals its character's weaknesses. At first I thought, "What is this?," but after five years of continuous production, the program "Paw Patrol" has become overwhelmingly popular among preschool aged children. I think one of the reasons is that it's been running for five years. If Gotchard continued for another five years, it could possibly surpass Paw Patrol in recognition. Because it's something that children can enjoy for a long time, their parents feel that it won't hurt to buy products related to the show for them. I can understand why parents would think it'd be a waste if they knew that another new program would start next year. I think times are changing in that way. I was also thinking about the question, "Should the character change every year?" When Heisei Rider started, it was probably nice to have a format where the characters changed every year, but I wonder if it's a good fit currently. Along with streaming services and Youtube becoming more normalized, the viewing environment is changing. I feel that our past successes are holding us back, or that we're not adapting to these changes. The strategy is to start a new program every September and have people buy a new transformation belt in time for Christmas. In an age where there's so much content available, is this really a good mindset to have? I've been thinking about that for alittle over a year.

"Bandai's Terakawa Ryo, who was involved in the development of the toys, weighs in on the importance of Kamen Rider's content."

Terakawa: When overlooking the toys, while the adult fans of Geats were excited, there was a point where the popularity among children stagnated. Currently, there are many products of the Kamen Rider characters that are aimed at adults. CSM and S.H.Figuarts are typical examples, but I think this business is only possible because the people who buy these products were exposed to these shows in their childhood and still love the characters. The Legend Chemy cards and Kamen Rider Legend were aimed at those adult fans. In order to increase the number of similar customers who'll continue to love Kamen Rider for a long time, I have a desire to help make the project more exciting for today's children. This production made me think more than ever about making shows and toys that children will love.

"Kamen Rider, a program aired on Sunday mornings, is an important "touch point" between today's children and the Kamen Rider IP. In the current age of streaming, the archive of Kamen Rider, including its past shows, is huge, but there are many rival shows. How to attract attention and increase popularity among them is a long term challenge for the future."

-Gotcha all around the World!-

"Although this production aimed to regain popularity among children, its style was too child oriented, which resulted in the alienation of the adult generation of fans. As discussed in Gotcha 3's "Daybreak Incident," the impact was so great, that they had to quickly introduce a new character. Yamabe Koichi of Ishimori Productions, who has overseen the setting of the Rider series for many years, opened his remarks with deep emotion."

Yamabe: This is well known among fans of the Showa era, but in the first "Kamen Rider" (1971), the lead actor Fujioka Hiroshi-san was injured during filming, which resulted in him being unable to perform. Normally, there would've been two choices. Either the show would end or another actor would take over the role, but the staff at that time came up with a new character, that being Kamen Rider No. 2. Amazingly, the program became even more popular. I believe that the Kamen Rider series was founded on the spirit of doing something in a pinch. Just like with Daybreak in this show, it gave me a strange sensation, like there was some kind of invisible force at work

Minato: This was my first time as Chief, but when making a program, there are times when you have to take risks. After all, everyone wants to be happy. That's why I think I learned that if you can make your "opponent" happy, you can win. Any proposal that makes the other person unhappy will only result in a "battle" and both sides "covered in blood." Even if my demands were met, I'd be unhappy too. I thought that in order to meet my own demands, I also need to be mindful of meeting the other's demands. If you think about it, it's the same thing that Shirakura's been doing up to now. "The show was a hit, don't you think?," and then it all works out peacefully. I'd have talks with Bandai, TV stations, and other relevant entities to explain my vision to them, saying, "I think this development will definitely be more interesting and will make the show more exciting, so I'll try to make it happen!" In someway or another, I managed to convince them, and I'm glad that it all worked out in the end. I'm grateful to all the staff members who came up with this type of arrangement, and to all the companies involved for accepting my plans.

"Kaneko Shinichi participated in the project as Ishimori Production's Literary Director. "It's become a lovable production," he said with a smile."

Kaneko: Many of them are young, including the three Producers Minato-san, Matsuura-san, and Harashima-san, as well as the Screenwriters. I think it was a year in which I learned alot about their new ways of thinking. For example, when you build a house, the theory is that you first lay down the foundation and then construct the exterior walls, right? Instead, it felt like we started with the roof and then raised up the pillars (laughs). And, it's really unstable, crap, we have to lay a foundation. So, we laid down a foundation, but it started to lean because we still didn't build any walls. I hope I conveyed that right (laughs). I've never done it that way before. But it was a really good experience. Should I have just said that the way it's put together was different…..? It may sound odd to say, but I think that nothing more may happen in the future. Including myself, there were parts that were too much and parts that we were unfamiliar with, so I think it's important to strike a good balance. I think this was a production that really left a strong impression on me. The pains of creating, and the joys of creating, things like that came in waves. And, it happened every episode (laughs). I've never experienced that before. For example, I had my own interpretation of what things Houtaro would say, and we talked about it during meetings, but then someone else would say, "Well, I'm sure someone Houtaro's age wouldn't think too much about that." I thought, "I see." When I was his age, I used to think about things deeply, or take it in a twisted way, but children today are different. I think Motojima-kun's character is one of them, but there were many things that made sense to me, things which were definitely typical of Houtaro. I found that really strange. Of course, there are differences among the younger generation, the way they approach things and the way they respond to things is different. I think that happened within Gotchard many times. It was a show that allowed me to experience things I had never experienced before, and I personally learned alot from it.

"PLEX's Kita Tojun, the design team leader for this production, said that the amount of designs had his eyes spinning."

Kita: This time, I designed many different types of Chemies, and there were 101 of them. Of course there were the designs, but the process of drawing each of them for the cards was also enormous. The Rider's mask was displayed on the back of the card, so the mask had to be designed at the same time. First of all, this was for 50 of them. We got through it with the help of Designers who weren't apart of the Rider team. In addition, I was also asked to design the illustrations and Chemies for the Legend Rider version of cards that were added to the collection. It was completed in part to having the company help put on the finishing touches. They then needed me to draw additional illustrations for the rare parallel cards……I was in a situation where I couldn't finish no matter how many drawings I did. It was really challenging. And it didn't end there, as I had to create full body designs for all the forms used in the app…..There were about 50 of those……I designed and illustrated so many Chemies, that I thought it would never end.

Terakawa: First off, I'd like to thank the design team at PLEX. This production allowed me to experience firsthand how a show progressed and developed. The process of bringing the "Chemies," who were at first mysterious illustrations, to life and gain popularity within the show was an exciting experience. Dozens, even hundreds of people do their very best to make Rider items, right? It was such a big project, that I was afraid to talk about it alone, and because of my inexperience, I spent alot of time wondering and worrying about it. The number of cards was quite large, and the management, as well as debugging work, was enormous, but everyone on the team worked hard together. Despite the difficulties we faced as creators, it was a memorable work that we all overcame together.

"For Chief Producer Minato, Gotchard wasn't only a show for the Japanese market, but for the international market as well."

Minato: Gotchard was designed to be an easy to understand and enjoyable show for children to watch every week. I made this show with the vision of making it understandable to children all over the world. This had something to do with the fact that the items are inexpensive cards that can be picked up by anyone and are linked to each other. I think that if a child gets even one Chemy card, it could be the beginning of their love for Kamen Rider. I hope that the number of people who watch Kamen Rider will grow on a global scale through the increase of experiences like that. I made Gotchard with that kind of spirit, as I wanted it to take on that kind of responsibility. So, I personally believe that the true assessment of Gotchard hasn't been made yet. Its outcome will be seen further ahead in the future. That's what I'm thinking. There's a show called "Voltes V Legacy" that was made in the Philippines, and it was made due to the passionate love for the original TV anime "Chodenji Machine Voltes V" (1977). The love of the fans brought the show back to life in the modern age. Learning about the Filipino Director's thoughts and feelings made me want to cry. That's why, let's say 20 years from now, if a foreigner said to me, "I loved Gotchard when I was younger," I might cry (laughs).

"The fact that the main character uses the English phrase "Gotcha!" was also done in anticipation of this kind of international expansion. I want you to imagine. Imagine that when children all over the world become adults, Gotchard items for adults will be on sale everywhere around the world, and they'll be playing with them. The future where children from all over the world will be shouting "Gotcha!" will be here soon enough."

-Gotchard Hymn-

Houtaro uses alchemy to create another Earth in order to move the Chemies there. Although the ending is absurd, it can be said that it's a typical characteristic of this show.

I won't say that it was a flawless show. It had its faults and shortcomings.

It had many weak points.

However, even after removing these complaints, there's still a sense of exhilaration that remains……That's what Gotchard definitely had. There are things that can only come from challenges. It was Gotchard that taught me that.

"Ichinose!" "Kudo!"

Two high school students who never called each other by their first names. A precious time, like a jewel box containing the brilliance of youth. The Kamen Rider born in the year 2023 depicts young people who never gave up and continued to challenge themselves despite their failures. Their never ending search for answers and their constant drive brought a bright light to these uncertain times.

This show was a story about the Chemy cards. There have been so many Rider productions, and they must've left a mark on the viewers hearts and minds. If each of these stories were sealed onto cards, what would they say?

What would be written on Gotchard's card?

"I'm Ichinose Houtaro! I'm a great alchemist who'll build the future world!"

A youth Rider who becomes stronger through support……

That's what we love about Gotchard.