Recap episode.

What? Were you maybe expecting something different with the title that this episode has?

Sure, it's pretty standard in terms of clipshow episodes for its format, but there is the fun twist/gag that Akira is literally dying in the foreground as everyone else is busy reminiscing.

Plus, it does serves as an in universe way of catching Rui up to speed since she's been absent for half the show. And the way it all ends, with the bickering between Akira and Hayami, well, what other way would you want your average Changerion episode to end, really?

So, yeah. This episode is simple and straightforward, but in a fun way.

This one was not for me.

Hayami and a DarkZide monster fall in love. Misunderstandings happen. Akira has to kill the monster at the end. Sound familiar?

Yeah, this is basically the Jiro episode but very slightly edited. And in that regard, I guess this one is better than the older episode, but really not by a whole lot. Akira trying to help his friend out was nice, atleast.

So... yeah. It's an episode that did nothing for me and thus I don't really have anything to say on it, sorry.

Incredibly unfunny.

Do I really gotta say any more than that? It's an episode whose entire premise is built upon two running gags that I never found funny, resulting in more unfunny.

If you want the actual plot, it's that Rui's' tiresome running gag of spending way too much money(seriously, she should've long since learned her lesson by now), puts Akira in debt and under threat of being sued by the bank.

However, lucky for him, his next case involves the buried treasure of some rich old guy. So the plan is to go undercover and try to get the dying old man to tell them where the treasure is buried. What results is very unfunny Entitled Old Man jokes and a wild goose chase of fake buried treasures.

It'd be one thing if the ridiculousness of the scenario were on par with previous episodes, or if the character humor were executed really well, but I'll be honest, I only ever got one decent laugh out of the whole thing(and it's thanks to Akira's' on point selfishness), and that's really bad for what is very blatantly meant to be a comedy focused episode.

Changerion has really been losing steam with these last few episodes, and I'm really hoping that Inoue either amps up the crazy or the character development sometime soon, given how much I'd been enjoying things up until the most recent string of episodes.

While not perfect, this was a surprising step up from the last few episodes.

It's a premise we've all seen in a ton of shows, aimed at kids or otherwise. The hero is put to trial in an obviously corrupt court run by the villains.

And sure, most of the events that transpire in the episode itself are very standard for this sort of episode too. However, there are a few key details that actually help this episode stand on its own two legs.

First is the actually pretty funny gag that the two bankers are literally named Banker A and Banker B, with no one even bothering to question it. Next is the various callbacks to previous episodes without this becoming another clip show episode like many other shows would do.

And last... it was just kinda fun to see play out, ya know? The only major flaw of the whole thing was that Akira acknowledges that it's a DarkZide court right at the start, and yet is somehow surprised later to find that the judge is a monster. I would've also liked to have seen Eri or whoever list actual good deeds that Akira has done at the end, given that he has done alot. But oh well.

The episode itself is all about farces anyway; from the court itself, to whether Gauzer is actually as smart as he claims, it's the sort of thing that at the very least kept me interested all throughout, even if I've seen Kangaroo Court episodes that I've liked more in other shows. And hey, apparently this was part two of a three parter, and with a new boss monster apparently on the horizon, it makes me very curious as to the direction that Changerion is headed.

Interesting, but not exactly great, per say.

The episode certainly has a cool enough premise, which is to recycle the "monster falls in love" scripts of previous episodes, only for things to take a dark turn.

And unfortunately, the premise is kind of all this episode has got. There's still humor, but none of it lands, especially given it's usually during scenes where the darker aspects should be played up more.

There's also some very confusing bits of decision making on the part of the characters, mainly in the climax. Most notably, there was no reason for Akira to have let Zapphire live at the end, both due to all he'd gone through as well as his experiences from past episodes.

I know it's played for a joke, but I also didn't like how no lesson was learned at the end either. The episode could've served as a cool cautionary tale about how Akira's' usual antics realistically only lead to trouble, but I guess maybe they felt that'd go against the usual tone of the show. Which only in turn makes me wonder why this episode even exists to begin with.

So, yeah. An interesting watch, but not exactly a fulfilling one.

This might be the straightest that Changerion has ever played itself.

And to serve as proof that certain stories and tropes really are timeless, this is an episode that I ended up really liking.

It's the classic tale of our hero falling in love with a thief ala Catwoman or Black Cat. Only this time it's with Akira and the title thief of the episode. And what can I say? I'm a sucker for thief characters.

It helps that her actress brings alot of charisma to the role, and the dynamic between her and Akira actually has a surprising amount of heart to it. The transition from rivalry to love is pulled off at the best pace it possibly could within a single episode's' time span, I feel.

There were also a good amount of genuine laughs to be had here too, mostly in terms of character humor and how everyone played off eachother. Heck, even outside the two leads, Hayami's' daydreaming getting a callback actually got a really solid laugh out of me. Yeah the aspect itself is fun but it's totally sold by the way Akira reacts to it.

I really hope that our Butterfly Thief isn't just some one off character, as that'd be a total waste.

It's all politics, and thus is easily the worst episode.

Even putting that aside, the only things established outside of Gauzer becoming Governor of Japan is that Eri for some dumb reason is still in love with him.

Yeah, no. This episode is every bit as boring as it is frustrating, and I didn't like it. That's all I got.

So this thread will most likely be going on a short hiatus. Why? Well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEeCBqulX0A

My favorite MMO just dropped a major update, and I kinda wanna grind out the current events as quick as possible. Sorry!

And so do I!

Now, I have no doubt that my two and a half week long break from Changerion did me some good on refreshing myself to the show.

However, I think that I'd still have a good time with this episode despite that because I felt that overall, this one was rather well done! I had alot of fun when watching this episode!

The most impressive aspect to me was just how cleanly this episode was able to transition between various different moods without every feeling like tonal whiplash, and all while doing every one of them well, too, with each one only serving to enhance the central core of the story: Akemi and Rui's' rivalry.

There's the good character humor between the cast as always, but then there's the more haunting stuff with how the DarkZide monster goes about claiming its victims, as well as the action actually being a bit more dynamic than normal, with a big chunk of it taking place inside of the boiler room of a hospital. The twist of who the monster actually is was something I felt was handled well too.

Really appreciated how everything ended too, as not only is it a fun parody on the classic rival duel you see in these kinds of stories, but it's essentially Inoue saying "It's fun to revisit old times, but we're passed that point now." Which in turn doesn't reset status quo and keeps the character development that the cast has had up to now mostly intact. Sure, one final word from Akira would've been nice, but I think the episode mostly wrapped up clean.

Overall, it's an episode that has fun with a beloved character temporarily returning to the show while reinforcing the story decisions that have been made up to this point, and I can't really fault it for that.

Welcome back!