Well, put it this way. The focus on dancing makes perfect sense in a story telling way. No only is this what they care about, not only does it have hints of the theme of "the people standing up for themselves in the face of adversity", its the perfect joyous moment to make the bad shit seem all the worse when it inevitably start hitting the fan in the next few episodes.

And if anyone thinks they aren't setting Mai and the Beat Riders up for a fall then I disagree. It's the Butcher, you just know with all those episodes to go that this is a high point to make the lows seem extra low.

It's a stark contrast to the rest of the story, yes, but that really doesn't diminish anything in my opinion. Only highlights certain important things like... I don't know... Micchi saying he'll betray anyone or anything if it means he can stay happy?!

Ignoring everything else going on under the surface (like Jounouchi's flat out attacking the very people who are supposed to be his peeps), That's some dark stuff right there. It's just more hidden than usual is all.

Now, I will say this was a weaker episode than most, but only because the writers set themselves up for a fall by going all out so damn soon.

I foresee bad things happening to Mai if she keeps holding on to the sad dream of dancing saving everyone. With the Energy Riders, Invess and the constant threat of death or infection she's starting to stick out rather badly in Gaim's fleshed out world.

While I understand wanting to hold onto better memories at one point she's going to have to face reality. Didn't anything Red Eye tell her get though her head or is she so in love with Bravo that the suffering of the people she claims to love not really registering anymore?

It's as if all common sense has been drained from her character once poop hit the fan.

Nothing yet has shown me this is a failing in the writing though. It's definitely a part of her character. After all she always has a sour face on. It's not like she doesn't realise whats going on around her. It's like Bravo said. The Beat Riders and Gaim are being pretty naive.

Of course, anything that cheers the public up is probably a good thing right now.

Let's not be too cynical about this ;) haha

It doesn't make any sense that the Beat Riders dancing would cheer up the public, though. For the last handful of episodes they've become an object of fear, even terror to the masses. Look at how the citizens flee from Gaim at the beginning of the same episode. Now, suddenly, the public is changing their minds because the dancers put on a show? The sudden turnaround on the part of the city's populace strains credulity. That abrupt change is a failure on the part of the writing. If it had been stretched out a bit, it wouldn't be such a glaring problem.

Given how fickle the opinions of the Internet populace are, I don't see this as unlikely. A decisive smear campaign could easily drop them back into the bottom spot in the next episode.

Plus, these are only the opinions of people who watch the Beat Riders on the Internet. Basically YouTube commenters. They do not accurately reflect the opinions of the citizens of Zawame city, the majority of whom have been shown to not bother about the Riders until they are seen as a threat. Would all those people be watching Sagara's livestream in the first place, let alone comment?

Now that I can agree with.

The only explanation I could possibly give for that is the Butcher is going for a "society is fickle so only an elite few have the ability to protect them" message... but yeah, little bit of a disappointment there.

Still you can see what was intended.

I'm going to say it now, next few episodes we find out that not everyone is won over to the Beat Riders still. Mai did say we'll have to start from the beginning. Then again there is Sagara and his hype machine, they'll probably focus more on than if the preview is anything to go by.

It'll hopefully make perfect sense as a whole rather than in isolation like it is now. Hopefully.

It's possible, but it still seems like they spent too long building up the 'Beat Riders are bad' for how quickly the resolution seems to have been. In my opinion, it's been the first real misstep from the writing so far. But, as I said, it's just the way I feel.

I hope this ends up being the case as it all looks to have been handled too easily as of now.

Ah, but the question is, is this the resolution? Characters like Mai and Micchy hinge almost entirely on their Beat Rider lifestyle, I don't think the series will resolve this so happily and so soon.

One thing I will say that I like a lot, is how Kouta and now Kaito are distancing themselves from their Beat Rider days. Kouta hasn't been wearing his Beat Rider outfit for a few episodes now, and Kaito himself has quit. It gives them a sense of gravity and respectability, I feel.

I did say as the resolution seems to have been. But I don't think Micchy is into the dancing for the same reason Mai is. It's just something uncomplicated for him at this point, a link to a time before his loyalties became so clouded. Mai, honestly, feels like she is almost doing her best to hold the story back. Beat Riding was a good introduction to the tale but seems to only be a distraction these days. Of the major characters in the story so far, Mai seems to be the only one incapable of showing character growth. She's like a child that won't let go. I know I'm in the minority here as a lot of people around here seem to love her, but I find Mai is just getting more obnoxious/selfish/whiny as the series progresses.

I think we are all spoiled by Gaim's breakneck speed of storytelling and no fillers until now. Not saying this ep is a filler but it definitely feel slower than the past eps. Kaito leaving was a bit of a surprise but fit his character perfectly, since he's never cared for the dancing.

As for me, I like the dancing aspect because let's face it, this show can't possibly be just about the forest and Yggdrasil corp. Dancing helps break up the constant fighting some, and while I wouldn't be sad if this is the last we see of the dancers, I am ok if they continue this storyline in the background so Mai can have something to do.

Knockles looks great and I hope he'll be the new regular of the show.