I knew I wasn't alone! :D

I'll be excited to see how they make the Henshin work.

I know I am one of three people who liked Wizard, but GOD DAMN was Haruto's Henshin shit. You'd have these huge dramatic sequences and then SHABADOOBIE. So far they've embraced the insane transformations for how insane they are here, but I'm not sure if that'll work for someone who has been introduced as 'shit gets real'.

I think Kaito is going to have that problem. There's just something hilarious about the word "banana."

They made it work by having his team react to how nuts it was, so they could keep Kaito straight faced and make the henshin work, and be fun, without detracting from the badass too much.

But Zangetsu is pure straight, unlike Kaito, and I can't imagine the same effect will work for him.

Thing is, Takatora has "Melon" which, especially how it's pronounced in Gaim, sounds a lot less silly than "banana" which is practically the go-to fruit for when you want to sound silly.

Plus, this show is pretty good at putting different spins on the Hensins. There's plenty instances even so far of the "fruit as armour thing" barely factoring in when the show wants. Hell, Mango has to transform out of fruit mode before attaching.

It's pretty clear, if they wanted, dramatic, serious transformations are totally possible. It's all about being clever.

Another great episode.

I think getting rid of the two-episode story arcs was a very smart move for Gaim. A new form or smaller plot twists, like this episode, don't need to be spread out over two episodes. It's keeping the story moving along at a brisk pace while allowing extra focus to be given to the overall story arc.

Yes, the show doesn't feel like it drags. Watching the first parter of the two-episode format was sometimes really dull because you kind of knew what to expect. I occasionally skipped the first part until both episodes were out.

With the kind of story they wanted to do, doing the two episode story arch would've hurt the series pacing wise.

And I think taking the Ryuki route was definitely a good idea. The Invess showing up this episode really did feel like a bigger threat.

Great episode. Managed to do a lot of things right, some good reveals and character interactions, humor was spot on, nice revelations, especially with the characters realizing just what they were treating as a game.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/8029e974...049uo1_500.gif
https://24.media.tumblr.com/c0cb0d52...049uo2_500.gif
https://31.media.tumblr.com/a9ed1fa9...049uo3_500.gif
https://24.media.tumblr.com/ff41daa6...049uo4_500.gif

One of my favorite parts of the whole episode. Love it when they weaponize henshins. :D