I thought this was another good episode. I’m liking the pacing so far, it’s moving pretty quick and we’re getting some big revelations already. Soichi being part of Faust makes a lot of sense now considering his resources and why he has access to all of the stuff he has under the café. I’m interested in learning more about what his role within the organization is/was and what his current relationship with it is, considering he’s assisting Sento currently and straight up admitted to him that he’s part of it. On top of that though there’s still an even bigger mystery about him, considering what we saw him do with the tablet, and how his daughter has unusual abilities too. There’s a lot going on with this guy and I suspect the Faust revelation is only scratching the surface of who he actually is.

Ryuga had a lot of good material this week too, I thought he was really the star of this episode. While it was Build that actually physically saved Nabeshima, all of the emotional weight of the storyline was carried by Ryuga. After his reflections on his motives and feelings last week, this was a great way to show that he’s really putting that into action and starting to put others before himself, really becoming a hero. He starts out wanting to save Nabeshima just for his own benefit, but through exposure to his family and seeing what they’re going through, ends up trying to help them just for the sake of it being the right thing to do. I’m really liking Ryuga’s story so far and can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

To me it feels very similar to how they handled Genm at the start of Ex-Aid. It's pretty clear that he's someone familiar to the audience because of the voice modulator, otherwise there's no need for that (Other than making the character sound particularly sinister, but in Genm's case the modulation was dropped after the reveal, indicating it was just for disguise). I think most people suspected he was Kuroto from the start, due to the aforementioned voice modulation hinting he's someone already known, and Kuroto's inherent suspiciousness as the president of the company responsible for the games that are the source of the virus. Similarly, Night Rogue has the voice modulator, and Gentoku is the director of the organization studying Pandora's Box. It's a very similar situation, so unless it's a deliberate misdirect, it seems safe to say Gentoku = Night Rogue and they're handling it like Genm, where the reveal will likely be pretty early and intended as more of a surprise for the characters than for the audience, to whom it's already pretty clear.

I really like what they're doing with Ryuuga, too. The combination of a cocky Main Rider who knows what he's doing from the start and a Secondary Rider that has to earn his role is refreshing (and reminiscent of shows like Kabuto).

Also echoing everyone who said that the little girl was a sweetheart! (Take notes, insufferable brats of Toku.) My cold heart melted when Sento explained the memory thing to her. I was surprised how well he handled that situation.

Blood Stark has my antihero sense tingling, I can see him going rogue and betraying Bat Man.

This episode sold me - the perfect balance of tones that make Rider work. Some action, some sci-fi, some mystery, some comedy and some drama. Off to a great start, Build!

Okay, so the panels hold Full Bottles, meaning there are two more to be obtained, likely of a different color representing different abilities, I'm gonna guess. What is underneath? OHBOY

I'm still not even mildly disappointed with the show. Sento and Ryuga both feel essential, and I'm loving them both. I haven't yet detected filler; plot and character are still moving forward. The show has charm to spare. The in-suit fight sequences are enjoyable, but they're not my favorite part of the show, and that's a really promising sign.