After the shocking conclusion to last week's episode how will Kouta bounce back.  Let's find out with episode twenty-three of Kamen Rider Gaim "Take the Field! Kachidoki Arms!"  We start this week with Kaito searching for the red Inves from last week.  We are informed about how this Inves is sapient since it has created a weapon and has been dubbed as the Overlord Inves. Kaito is tasked with finding it to explore the possibility of a third option to save the world. 

          After the opening we see Takatora and Sid talk about how Takatora let Kouta go again since he is nothing more than a husk because of the information about Yuuya he got from last week.  We cut to Sengoku and Micchy as Sengoku talks about recent events and  talk about how Takatora has a bad habit of trusting the wrong people the most.  We cut to Kouta as he visits the location of the portal from episode one and is absolutely heart broken. Mai arrives to look and just before Kouta can tell Mai about Yuuya, Micchy interrupts to prevent Kouta from telling the truth.  The two go on to have a heated argument about the truth about Yuuya.  Kouta is absolutely filled with guilt but Micchy tries help by saying it isn't his fault and Yuuya wasn't that Inves anymore.  Kouta doesn't buy it and Micchy goes on further to say that "Truth" is a weapon to be used. 

          We cut to Helheim as the Overlord Inves finds one of the packages left by Kaito which is revealed to be a dictionary and some type of engraving.  Kaito then finds the Overlord Inves who is speaking his own language and is not too pleased with whatever his is talking about as he rips the dictionary in half and begins to fight Kaito.  Kaito is having a hard time against the Overlord and we cut to Kouta as he is at Drupers contemplating Micchy's words from earlier along with everything in general.  We also see that beforehand that Red-Eye visited him in Team Gaim HQ to tell him to come to terms with his past and retreat.  Kouta awakens to find himself in a empty Drupers with Sagara.  Sagara questions his resolve and his choice to do nothing at the moment.  Kouta is conflicted since he is doing the exact same thing that Yggdrasill is doing.  Sagara shows that Kouta is fighting the rule that hope demands sacrifice and he should fight to destroy that rule and change the world from there.  He goes even further to say that Yggdrasill is weak and Kaito is stronger than all of them since he refuses to accept weakness.  He also says that Kaito will either fail or gain extremely dangerous power.  Sagara goes on to explain to Kouta that the Inves are human like Inves who control the forest at will and are the rulers of the forest as well.  The Overlords also don't care about humanity and are lazy rulers who have let the forest do whatever it wants.  He also says that somebody is keeping this secret from the rest of the company, Sengoku, and is manipulating Kaito.  While this is happening we see Sagara turn a ordinary orange into a mechanical version of a orange and then finally into the Kachidoki Lockseed.  He leaves the Lockseed for Kouta and says the Overlord may be the answer but that is for the two of them to decide.  He also leaves a Dandeliner and all of a sudden Kouta is back in a populated Drupers. While this is happening we see Kaito lose his fight against the Overlord Inves. He rushes off to Yggdrasill tower and even pays this time. 

          He transforms and rides the Dandeliner to the top of the tower.  Takatora sees this and is shocked to see him back.  Kouta is then shot out of the sky but he transforms into Kachidoki Arms mid air and lands facing a army of Kurokage troops on Dandeliners.  Kouta takes their fire almost without flinching and uses the DJ Gun to wipe the floor with the troops.  He switches between a rapid-fire and charge shot to knock them all out of the sky.  We cut in with Sengoku and Micchy as both are shocked by this event with Sengoku not recognizing the Lockseed and Micchy very pissed that Kouta just won't follow his lead.  After all of the troops are knocked out of the sky Kouta proceeds to take out several on the ground around him with the two flags he has on his back.  As the fight rages on we see Red-Eye, revealed to be the "woman at the start of it all", and Sagara are having a conversation about Kouta.  Red-Eye wonders why he pushed him back into the fight.  Sagara says he can't see the future but knows that being chosen by her is very important and he also wants to see who will grasp the forbidden fruit.   Back with Kouta he is attacked by Takatora and the two proceed to exchange blows.  The two exchange words about why Kouta is back and eventually it seems like Takatora is still too powerful for Kouta.  That turns out to not be the case as after a shot from Takatora that sends Kouta flying he lands on his Dandeliner and proceeds to exclaim that he will fight the world that demands sacrifice for hope.  Kouta then destroys the Scalar System and tells him to try harder at protecting the city.  Sengoku demands that Micchy investigate Kouta and find out who is helping him.  We end our episode on that note.

          This episode was a revealing episode as we find out about the Overlord Inves and some more hints to Sengoku's plot.  Kouta bounces back harder than ever and with Kachidoki at his side I believe the days are numbered for Takatora's undefeated streak in this show.  Micchy continues to be manipulate Kouta but this time he does not get his way with Kouta and this might be the first big step towards a confrontation between these two characters.  Kaito does his best this week but serves the purpose of showing how powerful the Overlord is and nothing more.  Sagara adds a whole new mystery with his character with his power to create a Lockseed and actually knowing who Red-Eye is.  Takatora and Sengoku both show that they have underestimated Kouta in different ways and how this will come back to bite them will come in the following episodes.  Kachidoki is a absolutely cool form and I can't wait to see it in action more.  Overall this was a fantastic episode and a great marker for both past and future episodes.  This will be a episode to come back to once we learn more about Sagara and Red-Eye and just to see that Kachidoki debut one more time.  Next week I will be taking a break due to the Gaim Toquger gattai special and I will not be doing an R&R on that at this time.  The week after although I will pick back up with more Gaim talk when Kouta continues he fight with Jinba Peach. 

          If you want to see the show for yourself check out Aesir Subs or TV-Nihon for subbed episodes every week or check out http://taima.tv/r/TokuNMecha for Super Hero Time, Ressha Sentai Toquger and Kamen Rider Gaim, live at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.  Join the discussion either in the comments or on the forums on the site and check out TGSR Saturdays at 9 for both me and my co host Rampant Epsilon as we discuss the show further.