The irony that the one time, and on the one person, that Aruto's comedy could actually succeed with...and he doesn't.

Well, dem's the breaks.

Honestly a very humorous one-off short. If there's something the show is good at, it's comedy with Fuwa as a character. Also I think this was the time where we learned that our gut buster friend was getting the P-Bandai treatment... in that they were selling pieces of his abs on P-Bandai...

Potentially a better usage of money than the P-Bandai ZAIA Spec, I'll at least say that.

Also here, have this picture of Fuwa just stanced up and concerned. Prime reaction image material.

http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...1&d=1659066842

Aruto's used to striving for an impossible dream, and there's nothing more impossible than Fuwa admitting that he's driven by something other than rage and confusion.

It's a clever gag gift (I think this special aired right before April Fool's Day?), but I can't say I'd want a robot ab in my home. But I appreciate Bandai having fun with the premise!

Well, it’s time I show one of these (not sure how I’ll go about sharing the other 6 that exist, but whatever)

Progrise: I make people happy by laughter. Comedian: Fukkinhoukai Taro.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UkNTAW7Clhs

Anyway, this was a fun little special, even if the gags were a bit too manzai for my taste.

It's strange to have a comedic special right after a very serious episode, but that's how Kamen Rider goes. I do like these comedic specials though, not that there's much I can really say about this little 10 minute special, but it was enjoyable.

I haven't watched Gag Battle yet, but I just RealEyezed that Tarou is an anagram of Aruto. That's clever!

"I know that I'll find a dream someday, something I define for myself. Until then, I'll keep fighting. (manly screaming) And I'll do it however the hell I want!"

Isamu's a master of epic speeches, but this is my favorite epic speech from the whole show, followed by my favorite fight scene from the whole show, from my favorite episode of the whole show. Not only is the Job Competition finally over, but the resolution is exactly what I was hoping for, my reward for crossing that desert and making it back to civilization. It was never about Aruto and Gai, but the people caught in the middle of their conflict, the normal people just trying to make the best out of their lives.

Autonomy. That's more important than any company or career. Isamu's way too hotheaded to be a normal person, but he wants to live authentically and he wants that for others as well, whether they're human or HumaGear, friend or enemy. He pities Yua for accepting her existence as Gai's tool and wants her to snap out of it. The only time Isamu has interfered in the competition was when a man's freedom was at stake, but otherwise, he doesn't care. He knows it's a sham, a publicity stunt and he's totally right. Gai winning isn't going to stop Aruto from fighting for his dream and nothing is ever going to stop a man as strong-willed as Isamu from doing whatever the hell he wants either!

I mean, couldn't you have just reviewed Jackal in Episode 28, if there was nothing else you wanted to talk about?

Rampage Vulcan is one of those suits where I thought it looked bad in the magazine, but turned out to be much better in action and ended up becoming my favorite Vulcan suit. I love how it utilizes all those Rider Models, with Shooting Wolf as the pack leader.

That's not a fair comparison, Switchblade. There was way too much furniture in the selling houses round of the competition. :p

Anyway, time for more of my critical analysis of the Job Competition arc. I appreciate that Gai won. After all that frivolity, there needed to be a change in the status quo to make it matter even a little. It's also his consolation prize for his recent losing streak in fights.

However, it does make the fireman round completely pointless. I get that Ohmori mandated the Job Competition arc, but it's on Takahashi for making it a best out of 5 and stretching it to all 5. I like the moral about conceding victory, it's important for self-improvement, which Gai lacks. But it wasn't Homura's victory to concede, he was acting on behalf of Gai, so his concession shouldn't have been legally acknowledged. All he did was drag out the competition for another fortnight. It's not like the lawyer round, where the stakes demanded that Aruto win for the sake of justice. Aruto winning the fireman round does nothing for the narrative.

Oh well, at least it's over. Zero One can only go up from here-

(sees 6 week hiatus)

For a few episodes anyway.

I think Fuwa's interest in the Job Battle arc has always been as a bystander, literally during one pivotal scene in 29. What Hiden and ZAIA are doing are real Above His Paygrade stuff, but there's a fascination with Aruto's commitment to his principles, and how that gives solace even during failure. Fuwa's entire psychology has been built around Rage and Results, so it's helpful for him to see a path where things like Hope and Self-Respect could enter into it.

??? I don't recall this series having an Episode 28?

Ah so we're doing the sasword gag again I see.

As this isn't an episode discussion, sorry but for the missed break reply, do you have thoughts on this?

I sort of vaguely remember the episodes you're talking about (the firefighter ones, and I guess Jin's return?), but I don't think I have any specific responses to those thoughts. If I did, I'd've probably mentioned them way back when! Jin's views on humanity are still evolving enough that I'm mostly just waiting for the show to give him more dialogue, while the idea of moderating heroism with self-preservation is, I think, a fairly self-evident concept that this story wasn't really trying to explore. It's more just one of my pet peeves in superheroic storytelling.