Drive is on break this week but we still have plenty to talk about.  Around a month ago a little movie called Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Drive and Gaim Movie Taisen Full Throttle came out in theaters and attendees got access to a DVD that contained episode zero of Drive.  This was a small prequel story to the series and billed as the first look at the mysterious Proto-Drive.  So how what did we find out, let's take a look and see how things go.

          Tomari gives us a quick introduction which is framed as a dream for him. Hayase and Tomari are after Neo-Shade, a criminal who is responsible for a multitude of bombings.  We cut to the Roidmudes in the process of planning the Global Freeze event.  005 has taken an interest in Neo-Shade and has plans for him.  We cut once more to a video message from a kidnapped report as she is forced to deliver the threat of another bomb.  Our detectives take notice of the demand being five billion yen and his normal motives being political.  Tomari notices something in the video which leads the two to his hideout and reveals his true identity The Copycat Pirate.

          Hayase is the first to confront the criminal but he is unflinching in the face of the police.  With some great teamwork the duo manage to get the drop on him.  A quick scuffle occurs which results in the copycat revealed as Nishihori Kouya, a criminal psychologist and frequenter of variety shows.  They attempt to arrest him but 005 intervenes and allows him to escape.  Hayase stays behind to look after the reporter while Tomari gives chase.  005 begins a Slowdown and takes on Kouya identity while an observing Midnight Shadow quickly reports the incident to Proto-Drive.  005 drops Kouya from a large height but P.D. makes the save and puts him down nearby where can rest after passing out half-way down.  He engages the Roidmude and while he is not as strong as Drive proper he holds his own and with some help from the Proto-Speed Shift Car takes out the Roidmude body with a Rider Kick.  The core gets away but leaves behind a damaged Viral Core. P.D. heads off before Tomari arrives to arrest the pirate and bring him in.

          Back at the Pit P.D. and Buckle attempt to use the Viral Core and fail to do so.  We cut quickly to the Roidmudes plotting some more before we see P.D. with the repaired Viral Core.  They find out about the Global Freeze event and make plans to intercept them with the help off all the Shift Cars.  We get one final scene of Tomari and Kiriko going to the locations that we know they were at during the event.  The two pass one another momentarily and we end with one last scene of P.D. mirroring the beginning of the first episode along with a montage of Drive from said episode.

          This episode was fun even though it was very short.  The stuff with P.D. confirms what we already know by having Chase do the voice work for the mysterious Rider.  The P.D. suit looked great and really captured the idea of this being the Prototype for Tomari's suit later in the show.  It also helps that a black, purple, and white deco is hard to do wrong.  I foresee this suit being made into a S.H. Figuarts and will defiantly be sought after when that happens. This was the main draw but it was great to see Hayase and Tomari working a case together and I do hope that happens again at some point in the series.  Kiriko gets at beast a cameo along with Heart who appears in his pre-evolved form but we do not see his number.  Overall a nice mini-episode that helps confirm current ideas about Chase but does make one continue to wonder just how did he become Chase.

          We have got a bit more to talk about as I wanted to give the movie some love since there is a full summary that has been released.  I will not talk about the whole movie as I would like to save that for when it comes out state side though the fan sub groups.  First up is the Gaim portion of the movie and I will say it holds true to the ending of the show and lets Takatora and Micchy be the main stars for a majority of it.  Kouta does appear but only for parts of it due to the events that happen.  This portion reads really well and makes me feel really confident in the movie.  The Drive portion plays out very much like one could expect.  This portion does have one issue and that is with Kiriko's role.  She plays a bit of the damsel due to being impersonated by Lupin through a good bit of this portion.  While not mentioned I believe she will have a better role in the last part that makes up for it.  Still I hope Kiriko has a better role in future films to come.  The most interesting part is how Heart, Brain, and Chase come to Drive's aid during this film since Lupin and later Megahex use a Roidmude's body for their own needs.  This is cool and great to see the show villains not automatically team up with the movie villains because they both do not like the hero.  The final portion is what we all expect due to the number of scenes we have seen.  Kaito is revived, Type Orange and Drive Arms appear, and big CGI battle happens.  Kaito's revival is handled well since it is not permanent but Kaito does get the chance to atone for what he did at the end of the series.  I think that is a smart decision considering the recent trend of Rider with a major character dying at the end of the series only to be revived at some point later.

          The final scene is a call back to the final episode of Gaim except the remaining Riders do get to say goodbye to Kouta properly this time and Drive has a funny moment between Tomari and Kiriko.  One final thing to note is Mach appearing at certain points in the movie instead of having a cameo after the credits. This is a good break from the norm and reminds me of Meteor's cameo from Megamax.  Overall this reads as a great movie and I cannot wait to see it for myself.  This may be able to beat Megamax for best Movie Taisen movie for me but I will leave that for when the time comes.

          One final thing to talk about is looking forward since we have a good bit of information about things to come.  First we have an idea of when new forms will be debuting thanks to a retailer calendar being leaked.  We can expect Type Deadheat for Mach and Drive to come at some point in February, Type Formula for Drive in March, and finally a new form for Chase at some point in April.  This final part has me wondering quite a bit about Chase's story from here on out since we know he will be teaming up with Mach at some point due to other scans we have seen.  What makes this even more curious is the sounds found in the DX Break Gunner, Chase's personal Weapon.  As far as I can find no other form has been found in the device but there has been sounds found for three systems.  Drive, Next, and Advance system was found but what is important is how these affects are activated.  Drive System is started by inserting Shift Cars that bestow new forms like Speed and Wild.  Next System comes from inserting any Signal Bike which is what Mach uses.  Advance System is unknown for now on how it is started but I have a theory.  I think Chase will receive a new transformation device in April and whatever it uses will be what activates the Advance System sounds in the Break Gunner.  How all this comes about I am unsure but I believe Rinna will be responsible for this and a lot more to come. To put a close on this very long article I am very excited for the future of Kamen Rider Drive and I think this show has a bright future.  Kamen Rider Taisen GP on the other hand I think will crash and burn much like its previous films and I will only watch it so I can accurately give an opinion on it.  Next week we start back into the show proper as we find out just what does Chase's number means and Mach fights it out with Drive. 

          If you want to see the show for yourself check out Over-Time or TV-Nihon for subbed episodes every week or check out http://taima.tv/r/TokuNMecha for Super Hero Time, Ressha Sentai Toqger and Kamen Rider Drive, live at 6:30 p.m. EST on Saturday.  Join the discussion either in the comments or on the forums on the site and check out TGSR Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. EST as we discuss the show further.