[Paladin]

Baku's latest dream takes him to an art collector and a strange painting that may hold more secrets...

[Fish Sandwich]

It slightly frustrates and confuses me that Baku reacts with surprise at a new Capsem coming out of those machines even though we've never seen anything besides new Capsems come out of those machines.

Fortunately, that's about the *only* thing in this episode I found frustrating and confusing? Honestly, part of what makes it frustrating is that otherwise, I do really appreciate the effort to finally elaborate on some of this stuff in that scene? I wish it were more explicit whether or not Capsems are one of a kind or not, because if they were, that would make the stakes of Baku losing one even more clear and palplable, but that's mostly specific to this current plot thread with Recovery. In general, even just establishing that kind of loosey-goosey rule that the machines don't work entirely at Baku's convenience is really all the logic I was asking for, so long as more plot threads don't pop up that make me want to ask more questions, anyway.

But really, I think this one was rock solid otherwise. The mystery of it all is set up in a neat way where I can already vaguely see the shape of how some of those clues are gonna play out while still having enough details up in the air to be excited about. Plus, the episodic plot pushes the overall story forward with a really nice balance. I kind of thought it might be strange that Nox's real name came up in dialogue before anyone called him Nox, but that ended up making for a slick little cliffhanger that gives him a great excuse to say more cool guy edgy rival character dialogue. It's really played up as some earth-shattering revelation in a way that works even without actually revealing that much more yet. I especially like how it follows the general trend of the midpoint cliffhangers, with Baku thinking he's starting to solve the puzzle only to realize he didn't even have all the pieces yet.

Plus, the direction in this one is pretty great? I've really learned to love Shibasaki's work over the years, and even though it seems like next week is the one where he's really going to go nuts, even here, I think there are plenty of great touches you might not have gotten from somebody else. It's fun seeing how every director approaches the concepts a little differently, and I liked this version of Baku going to sleep, for example.

[Switchblade]

Okay, so I do not know ton about Japanese culture. Is there some kind of thing about cowlicks? We got the same thing with Sento on Build and I figure there has to be some kind of underlying concept behind it, like that whole thing about people sneezing when someone is talking about them.

Nem's shoes were very distracting. Girl is going to fall off of those things and break her neck.

[Frontier]

Nothing more superspy than doing a parajump into a location! Though Baku's actual undercover gig is more domestic in nature...as a housekeeper to a wealthy art connoisseur.

Gothic Lolita Nem is perfection, but she deserves better than being a mannequin. No surprise she pretty quickly quit that.

Dang, Nox straight up shooting them with his gunblade. He even woke Baku up! He's getting a lot more serious now.

On the plus side, finally another Black Case where something weird is going on and they have evidence of it happening, even if they can't explain why.

I love how Fujimi is like so pumped whenever they make progress in an investigation.

So Zero can give Baku an invitation into anything...though Baku with that fake mustache and artist cosplay was all him.

Hmm...so Kensei Odakka donated the paintings that are being stolen? And Atsumi Taro is obsessed with them to the point of dreaming of having them? What's this about a national secret though?

How many episodes of Minami noticing her brother doing weird stuff before she finally starts asking major questions?

The return of the window roll!

Fujimi definitely acting more unsettled now that he knows his old partner is involved.

Form lore! Does Baku's intentions effect what Capsem's he gets? And he can only roll for so many? Could he actually get Recovery again?

THEY DID THE BIKE REV NOISE TO SIGNAL KAMEN RIDER COMING! HE RODE THE BIKE THROUGH A WINDOW!

The Moss Nightmare? Is it a reference to Gotchard or Den-O?

Espirim Barrier! With a double shield! And much cooler than Recovery!

So Nox has written off his human identity. And he used to be an agent?

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Okay, so I do not know ton about Japanese culture. Is there some kind of thing about cowlicks? We got the same thing with Sento on Build and I figure there has to be some kind of underlying concept behind it, like that whole thing about people sneezing when someone is talking about them.

In Japan, the cowlick, or ahoge in Japanese (pronounced ah-ho-geh,written in Japanese as アホ毛), is one of those visual elements used typically in manga and anime on characters that are considered air-headed, comic relief, quirky, or have a carefree personality. I want to emphasize the word "typically" though, because some artists may add them for characters that don't embody the traits I just mentioned, and have them for personal artistic preferences instead.

As for the sneezing cliche, there is this piece of article I found out of curiosity.
https://asia-archive.si.edu/the-big-...%20loves%20you.