[Switchblade]

Yeah, this one was definitely weird. I liked it, but it feels really out of place. The show just went in hard on its lore in the last few episodes with the Natives, the Red Shoe System, and some big reveals about Hiyori. And the follow up is something that feels like a complete throwaway Monster of the Fortnight story. There are some attempts at nodding to the larger story, but it feels like a major halt in the show's momentum. Even the first appearance of Hyper Kabuto's sword doesn't feel like a big event since it just appears out of nowhere with no explanation, Kiva style.

It is really fun, though. In some ways it feels very Showa with the whole school haunted by monsters and the Riders investigating it. There are some really nice shots that help build the horror element, including that great bit at the beginning with the baseball team. Keiko's a really engaging guest character, too, and I like how the show develops her character.

It's a really funny episode, too. Tsurugi's presence is incredibly forced and nonsensical, even by his own standards, but goddamn if he doesn't continue to be hilarious. I'm not sure what part I liked the most: the running gag of Jiiya getting dragged out of the classroom, the absurd response to the math question, or Tsurugi's delightful misinterpretation of his punishment as some kind of reward. So many good comedic bits in this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I mean, it’s not unique to Kabuto to have the kids in crisis be teens. Fourze made their bones on teens in trouble

So, small piece of trivia I discovered when looking up the cast for this episode: Keiko's actress also appeared on Fourze as one of its teens in trouble, too. She was the photographer who didn't want to graduate because she liked high school so much.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Even the first appearance of Hyper Kabuto's sword doesn't feel like a big event since it just appears out of nowhere with no explanation, Kiva style.

No joke, I legitimately LOVED how Hyper Kabuto's sword shows up. The Worm Widowettes are mocking Kabuto for needing Hyper Clock Up to win fights, so Kabuto's just like Eff You Here's A Sword From The Sun Now What Are You Gonna Say. It's like he uses his new toyetic weapon as a comeback to shut up some heckling adversaries, and I love that? That feels like an intensely Tendou move.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

It's a really funny episode, too. Tsurugi's presence is incredibly forced and nonsensical, even by his own standards, but goddamn if he doesn't continue to be hilarious. I'm not sure what part I liked the most: the running gag of Jiiya getting dragged out of the classroom, the absurd response to the math question, or Tsurugi's delightful misinterpretation of his punishment as some kind of reward. So many good comedic bits in this one.

One of the small choices the episode makes is to not dwell on Tsurugi's crush/obsession with Misaki during the school scenes, and I am incredibly grateful for that. That part of Tsurugi's character was the most (only?) cringe-inducing part, so I'm totally okay with the show letting it stay relatively unaddressed in the future. Him being all flirty for one second and her shutting him down with a look, and that only happening every six episodes, that's my limit.

Otherwise, yeah, A+ episode for Tsurugi insanity. You will hate me for saying this, but it reminded me a ton of the first appearance of Kiriya on Hibiki, and that made me happy.

[Androzani84]

I won’t have much to say about this storyline until you get to the concluding part.

And like Switchblade said, Keiko’s actress, Kasumi Suzuki, did go on to appear as the Coma Zodiarts in Fourze (the one where, if you ask me, they weren’t even trying to make their identity a mystery). But prior to that, she portrayed the villainess Rije in “that claw-footed Sentai you can’t remember the name of”.