I do like how the Husky suits try to incorporate and exaggerate elements of the Zecters. ShootHopper has that one hose that connects to his arm, pulling from the visual of the dragonfly's tail; and now SwordHopper (I genuinely have no idea who this dude is, I have never seen that suit before) has all those little hoses coming out from different parts, pulling from the visual of the scorpion's many legs. I definitely prefer the designs on the Husky Forms, lately.

Tsurugi and Kagami don't really share any dialogue, but Kagami and Hiyori are the audience for all of the Tendou/Tsurugi sports combat.

Otherwise, yes to breakfast, always yes to breakfast, I'd eat it for every meal if that weren't sometimes difficult.

Yeah breakfast is important, and delicious wheh you put in the energy.

Also new rider is sasword which is a wonderful pun. Also I love Saswords rider form mostly because of the scorpion going up his body. The shoulders are the claws, the torso is the main body and the tail spirals around the left(?) leg.

Now here's an episode I've been looking forward to. Tsurugi is one of my favorite characters on the show, too. I always found that kind of weird, given how I don't care much for his shtick here. Tendou is already such a force of nature that it feels weird to give him an equal rival. Granted it leads to a fun montage and some great reactions from Hiyori, but I didn't think a lot of him at first. That changes pretty quickly, though, once we get more into what his specific deal is. Some of my favorite moments from the show are going to involve Tsurugi and I'm excited to see them again.

Also, can I just say how much I love Tendou volunteering to play soccer only if he can be the entire team. This is the version of cocky Tendou that I love.

Tsurugi's house, by the way, is a popular filming location for tokusatsu. I always think of it as the Garo house because it was featured prominently in a fight scene from one of the Garo series (I want to say Makai Senki).

I love how gaudy his Masked Form looks. It's always felt like some long lost piece from a short-lived 90s action figure line. Hoses? Check. Visor? Check. Neon orange that doesn't mesh with any other color on it? Check.

When Hiyori, Kabuto's most relatable character (YMMV), declares your new rivalry to be a joke that's gone on way too long, you might have a script problem! One solution is to try and hang a lantern on it, but perhaps reconceiving the premise might be a more successful alteration?

It's just... the joke/tension would normally be Unstoppable Force meets Immovable Object: Tendou has to deal with someone who's the opposite of him, story occurs. Here, it's Unstoppable Force meets Unstoppable Force, and it's like... what? There's no moves to it, no serious conflict; if anything, I don't think I've ever seen Tendou so easily fall into the rhythms of another character? Weird. Very weird setup for this new dynamic!

Honestly this episode doesn't do too great in endearing me to the new guy, because all I was thinking about is how the show has already done 'introduce new character to rival Tendou in being absurdly great at things' twice. So not only is this the third time they're doing it, there's even less of a twist or anything interesting compared to Daisuke or Yagaruma.

The new rider's Masked Form is really stupid-looking but I think I've grown to be pretty endeared by it over the years?! 80s cyberpunk-looking dork.

Also it's important to have a good hearty meal after you've woken up, no matter what time it is!

I can’t say the new guy homages anyone. Sorry.

As far as I can tell, he was intended to be the “Dark Rider” of the show, given how often he appears in that role in later Dark Rider gathering (Drive and Ex-Aid spring to mind). I’ll let you see how that plays out.

Interesting fact: Although scorpions may look and act like insects, they are not in fact, insects. They are arachnids.

The only time I eat breakfast is whenever a good buddy of mine comes down to visit once a year. He loves going out to breakfast, although his idea of breakfast food tends to be rather questionable. Last time he was down he had a burger and fries for both days he'd visited.

When I wake up early enough for breakfast, it's good old cereal time. Unless it's a special occasion, then it's pancake time.

Also I still have no Kabuto opinions other than purple+scorpion is a winning combo. So great, they did it twice, and it worked both times!

Maybe it's because I've grown to appreciate Yaguruma more in his absence (his arc feels pretty unfinished), but Tsurugi just isn't saying a lot to me yet? The differences between him and Tendou feel almost imperceptibly minor at this point, so I'm not feeling that New Character enthusiasm I probably should. A second Tendou is not what I wanted for Christmas!

And, like, I don't know that I love how overt all of the Tendou Plus Or Minus the other Riders are? It's a fun concept in theory, to make all of the Riders some aspect of Tendou's personality but slightly off. I'd say most non-primary Riders are a twist on the star, but usually it's not so explicit. Here it is, and I feel like Tsurugi's intro is an example of the limits of that approach? There's less character to talk about, and more Tendouisms. It just feels weirdly limited to me, suffocating. It's maybe narratively-appropriate that every character is just a way to talk more about Tendou, but as a viewer it's... I'm just not feeling some of these other Riders as their own characters?

Neat! Thanks!

You only eat breakfast once a year?!

This is going to sound almost idiotic, considering my advancing age, but I took the opportunity during the lockdown to finally get into cereal. Never really part of my diet before (we didn't do cereal in my home growing up), but it was something I could stock up on cheaply and eat constantly. 2020 really became the year of Reese's Puffs and Froot Loops.

Jup! Makes it alot more special that way.

French Toast Crunch is god-tier cereal, just so you know.