My Thoughts On "Gavan Infinity" Overall As A Possible Kickstarter For Project RED (Spoilers)

Gavan Infinity has just concluded in 23 episodes. This reminds me of the time when Toei Ltd. released some old-school Toku shows that didn't last a year. Kamen Rider Amazon was cut short by 24 episodes, probably due to the violence. Several Kamen Rider shows didn't last a year during the Showa era. Dengitai JAKQ only lasted 35 episodes. Gavan Infinity ended this year -- the same year that Kenji Ohba died. It seems that Toei had planned the whole episode count of 23, and not because of my speculation that Ohba's death this year caused the cut.

How does Gavan Infinity hold up? Honestly, I want to call it an experiment of sorts. The whole story separates itself from Uchu Keiji Gavan (thankfully) despite carrying the same title. The story tends to mix elements from previous works, such as:

• Monsters of the week are humans who use Emorgear, the same way that Dopants in Kamen Rider W and Zodiarts in Kamen Rider Fourze get defeated and revert back to human form instead.
• The use of serialized storytelling from TV drama is used. Kamen Rider is an entire year of serialized storytelling. However, Gavan Infinity's short length reminds me how J-Dramas were never meant for an entire year run. I've been watching a lot of shows on Netflix, and it seemed Gavan Infinity wanted to mimic that format. So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Kamen Rider would soon go from a year-long thing to finally becoming "A J-Drama worth 20+ episodes with much tighter storytelling" instead of "The show with multiple tight arcs" to meet a year's demand.
• There's no central mafia, but the problem of negative feelings resulting from Emorgear Use. The Dark Gavan plot is also linked to the concept of Azaloth, a supernatural darkness that plagues the Multiverse.

The recurring antagonist examined

The closest thing to a main villain was Tenshin Mikage aka Death Gavan. I remember how Gokaiger vs. Gavan made fun of the world bootleg by creating Gavan Bootleg. In form and substance, Gavan Bootleg was an ILLEGAL REPRODUCTION in the story text. In this case, Death Gavan was legitimately a Gavan who went rogue after discovering the overarching antagonist Azazorth. Azazorth is practically a malevolent force that can never be defeated. This guy was distributing the Negative Emorgears around the Multiverse. This guy kinda reminds me of the Rescue Police Trilogy villains more than the typical super-powered villains. In this case, Tenshin reminds me of Ryuichi Takaoka in Tokyu Shirei Solbrain. 

However, I also felt Tenshin lacked the complexity that Takaoka had in Solbrain. I mean, I seriously wished this guy just committed suicide like when Takaoka drank poison before he could be arrested! I believe my wish became impossible due to changes in censorship. I mean, think of how the 1990s Toku atmosphere had a higher tolerance for violence. However, Japan's new censorship laws probably caused Death Gavan to be killed in a CGI way rather than him ending his own life. It would've been poetic, but I thought that censorship didn't allow it.

The ending mimics a traditional police drama

The ending doesn't have the "happily ever after" trope. Instead, it shows that EVIL NEVER SLEEPS. We have talks about Azazoth followers, an official revealed to have the mark of Azazoth on his wrist, and the fact that human negative emotions would never go away. The Gavans of the Multiverse know that their work had JUST BEGUN. Defeating Death Gavan wasn't the end but the beginning of a new career. In Super Sentai, the team usually disbands because the extraordinary threats are gone and leave the ordinary threats to the ordinary defense force. However, in Gavan Infinity, the extraordinary threat of the Emorgear and the like are ordinary threats in a world where the policemen used superweapons and space travel is life. 

It somehow mimics many crime dramas. Sure, a crime drama could end to prevent narrative stagnation. However, many of them often give that "open-ended feel". A criminal is caught? Good. However, we also get the impression that evil never sleeps. Gavan Infinity is choosing to end at 23 episodes, and the heroes doing their jobs does that.