Beyond Your Identity

is the twenty-eighth episode of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. It features Poppy Pipopapo's defection from the Bugsters, thus returning to CR.
==Synopsis==
Emu managed to notice Poppy smiling after the Rider's battle against Lovelica. With her sudden change of heart, Emu believes that she was suddenly swept up in all the commotion. Although he was attacked by Kamen Rider Poppy, Emu does not believe she is a bad Bugster. When Kamen Rider Chronicle starts up once again, Poppy Pipopapo is summoned. When Emu confronts her, he shouts "You aren't like this!" to her, just as she appears to deliver the final attack at the Riders who violated the game...
==Plot==
After Lovelica's defeat, Parado heads out to handle things himself. In CR, Emu tells Hiiro about seeing Poppy smile earlier, knowing it had to mean she was still in there. They get a call and head out, Taiga and Nico meanwhile following a lead on new Salty and Aranbura appearances. Para-DX Puzzle Gamer Level 50 is using a Speeding-Up Energy Item to terrorize a lone Ride-Player when Emu and Hiiro arrive, transforming into Ex-Aid Maximum Gamer Level 99 and Brave Beat Quest Gamer Level 3. Ex-Aid grabs Para-DX as Brave runs to the Ride-Player, but as he tells them to flee, red lights and sirens blare. Poppy arrives to reiterate that Riders aren't allowed to help Players, transforming to Poppy Toki Meki Crisis Gamer Level X and zapping Hiiro out of his armor with the Gashacon Bugvisor II Beamgun Mode. The Ride-Player rages at being ignored and attacks Poppy, but is slashed by the Bugvisor's Chainsaw Mode and knocked out of his transformation, Poppy saying that being DoReMiFa Beat's Bugster, she can also attack players. Ex-Aid pushes Para-DX aside and reminds Poppy that she once said not all Bugsters are bad; Para-DX uses Speeding-Up and Muscular Energy Items to attack him, but his strikes are ignored. Poppy shoots Ex-Aid over, Para-DX telling Ex-Aid to fight him, but he is knocked aside as Ex-Aid uses Maximum Mighty Critical Finish to overpower the Bugvisor's beam and hit Poppy out of her transformation. Emu walks over, explaining that he used his Reprogramming ability to return Poppy to her old self, and welcoming her back. Parado, however, insists that as a Bugster she's on his side, grabbing and leaving with her.
Back at CR, the Ride-Player, Ken Samejima, is diagnosed with Poppy's infection, saying that he started Kamen Rider Chronicle because he loves survival games and is eager to defeat Poppy to cure himself, accusing Emu of siding with his illness when he insists Poppy is a good Bugster. Hiiro, meanwhile, is pondering why Parado seems so obsessed with fighting Emu and Emu alone. After Emu reports the situation, Hiiro easily concludes that defeating Poppy is the way to save the patient; Emu wants to save her too, but Hiiro reminds Emu that, as a complete Bugster, Poppy already overtook someone's body in the past. At the Bugster hideout, Poppy awakens from a dream of a woman in a hospital bed disappearing from the Buster virus, Graphite confirming that complete Bugsters keep the memories, the "save data", from the humans whose bodies they took over; Poppy runs out. Sitting at her game cabinet that night, Emu thinks over what Parado and Hiiro said about Poppy. Parado finds Poppy on a roof, saying humans hate her for existing and she should be happy to kill them, holding her half over the side of the building when she tries saying she doesn't want to fight.
The next morning, Nico admires the Mighty Action X and Taddle Quest Gashatrophies she easily acquired yesterday, finding someone's spotted Poppy before she and Taiga head off to get one step closer to clearing Kamen Rider Chronicle; Hiiro also hears, calling in Emu. Poppy is sitting despondently and watching street dancers from afar before two Ride-Players attack the "monster", Poppy reluctantly transforming to Level X. Ride-Player Nico and Snipe Simulation Gamer Level 50 quickly arrive, Nico attacking Poppy and Snipe scaring away the other Players before joining Nico. Emu and Hiiro arrive and take Ex-Aid Level 99 and Brave Level 3 as Parado takes Para-DX Fighter Gamer Level 50, Brave leaving Ex-Aid to face Para-DX as he attacks Poppy as well. Poppy is being beaten by her opponents as Ex-Aid notices she's not fighting back, Snipe shooting her out of her transformation. Brave, Snipe, and Nico close in to finish Poppy, but Ex-Aid grabs Para-DX and ejects from the Maximum Gamer, leaping over and knocking the others aside, standing to protect Poppy. As they argue, Poppy breaks down crying; she came to life by taking another, and Bugsters are humanity's enemy, she doesn't deserve to be helped. Emu untransforms and tells her to fight him if that's true, putting the Bugvisor in her hand and pressing the Beamgun to his chest, but she can't bring herself to fire; she doesn't want to hurt people, but to have fun playing DoReMiFa Beat with them. Emu agrees that they'll do this, and as she cries on his shoulder, the game is cleared, curing the patient; Parado watches angrily.
Taiga concludes that making Poppy smile cleared the game, Hiiro and Poppy both apologizing for their recent behaviors. Nico, on the other hand, warns her not to turn on them again, chasing her when Poppy calls her "scary". The group follows them until they run into Parado again, frustrated at how Emu will play with Poppy but not fight him; they are destined to fight. Parado then says to Emu, "You…are me," turning into red and blue dust and jumping into Emu, his eyes glowing red as he challenges the Riders to fight him.
==Cast==
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===Guest Cast===
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===Suit Actors===
*Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level 2, Level 99: 
*Kamen Rider Brave Level 3: 
*Kamen Rider Snipe Level 50: 
*Kamen Rider Para-DX: 
*Kamen Rider Poppy: 
*Ride-Player Nico: 
*Ride-Players: , 
==Rider Gashat==
*Gashat Used:
**Ex-Aid
***Maximum Mighty X
**Brave
***Taddle Quest, DoReMiFa Beat
**Snipe
***Gashat Gear Dual β (Bang Bang Simulations)
**Para-DX
***Gashat Gear Dual
****Perfect Puzzle, Knock Out Fighter
**Poppy
***Toki Meki Crisis
**Ride-Player Nico
***Kamen Rider Chronicle
*Level Used:
**Ex-Aid
***Maximum Gamer Level 99, Action Gamer Level 2
**Brave
***Beat Quest Gamer Level 3
**Snipe
***Simulation Gamer Level 50
**Para-DX
***Puzzle Gamer Level 50, Fighter Gamer Level 50
**Poppy
***Toki Meki Crisis Gamer Level X
==Energy Items==
*Energy Items Used:
**Para-DX
***Speeding-Up (2x), Muscular
**Unused
***Instigate, High-Jump, Recover, Invisible, Confusion, Iron-Body
==Errors==
*As is a common mistake, all selection arrays during Rider transformations this episode are missing the Ex-Aid Double Action Gamer Level X option.
*After the Riders untransform from the first battle and the Game Area disappears, an Iron-Body Energy Item is still visible in a reflection as Emu talks to Poppy.
*When Parado transform into Fighter Gamer, his Gashat Gear Dual shows the Perfect Puzzle side instead, when usually he showcases the side he's transforming into.
**In addition to that, if one notices carefully, Parado didn't spin the knob all the way through - the "dent" on top/bottom of the knob wasn't aligned with the Gashat.
==Notes==
*As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside episode 11, .
*Viewership: 3.6%
*Closing Screen:
**Text Color: Pink
*Count at episode end
**Gashats in Ex-Aid's possession: None (possessed by Parado, transferring ownership)
**Gashats in Brave's possession: Taddle Quest, DoReMiFa Beat, Drago Knight Hunter Z
**Gashats in Snipe's possession: Bang Bang Shooting, Jet Combat, Gashat Gear Dual β
**Gashats in Para-DX's possession: Gashat Gear Dual, Dangerous Zombie, Mighty Action X, Gekitotsu Robots, Shakariki Sports, Bakusou Bike, Giri Giri Chambara, Mighty Brothers XX, Maximum Mighty X
**Gashats in Poppy's possession: Toki Meki Crisis
**Gashats in Ride-Player Nico's Possession: Kamen Rider Chronicle
**Gashats in the Ministry of Health's possession: Proto Mighty Action X, Proto Taddle Quest, Proto Bang Bang Shooting, Proto Bakusou Bike, Proto Gekitotsu Robots, Proto DoReMiFa Beat, Proto Giri Giri Chambara, Proto Jet Combat, Proto Shakariki Sports, Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z
**Gashats in unknown possession: Ju Ju Burger
**Gashatrophies in Ride-Player Nico's possession: Bang Bang Shooting, Mighty Action X, Taddle Quest
*Video Game References in this episode:
**When facing him as a Ride-Player, the patient remarks on Para-DX being overpowered, referring to opponents that seem to be too strong to be defeated at the player's current level.
**The way Snipe scared the other Ride-Player, it refers to strong experience player scaring beginners of a multiplayer game.
*This marks the return of Brave Beat Quest Gamer Level 3 since episode 13.
*This is the first time Hiiro transforms directly into Brave Beat Quest Gamer Level 3.
*This episode marks the first time Parado transforms directly into Fighter Gamer Level 50 without assuming Puzzle Gamer onscreen first. Parado technically turned into Fighter Gamer directly in an earlier episode, but his transformation was offscreen.
*Final appearance of Brave Beat Quest Gamer Level 3.
*The line "You...are me" is a reference to the Level XX transformation phrase said by the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat.
==DVD/Blu-ray releases==
*Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 7 features episodes 25-28: Start the New Game!, Players Who Bet on Survival, Love & Peace for the Winner! and Beyond Your Identity.
*Blu-ray Collection 3 comes with 12 episodes.
Ex-Aid Vol 7.jpg|Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 7, DVD
81OSoTyJZ4L SL1184 .jpg|Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Collection 3, Blu-ray
==External Links==
*TV Asahi's official episode guide for Identityを超えて
*Toei TV's official episode guide for Identityを超えて
==References==