[SPLIT LIP]

This show's biggest downfall, easily, is how good it is. When it is good, it is damn good, to the point of being frustrating.

I REALLY want to see this subbed, and I REALLY can't wait for next week. Almost every episode bar a select few has felt meaningful and integral to the overall story in such a way that it genuinely feels incomplete when you finish a new episode and have to wait a week for what's next. I mean that's great, but it's also torment. I'm so used to toku being, realistically at best, an amusing distraction with a story I can only appreciate over viewing of multiple episodes at a time. But Gaim just keeps on coming. The developments felt in 22 minutes outshine those in series where I marathon three to four episodes at a time. It's unreal.

Bravo is incredible. I now REALLY want his AC figure. Zangetsu's finally developing, Micchy got his shit wrecked and scurried away like a scared dog, and the Overlords continue to grow enigmatic and intriguing. Honestly, saving them until now was BRILLIANT. They were rouge elements just long enough to get the point, and now they're moving on and becoming more understood by the audience. Imagine if these guys showed up ten or more episodes ago, and how weird it would be if they just NOW were revealed to have a boss? These types of monster generals can easily feel misdirected when you take them from rouge elements operating for so long independantly, to underlings working under some kind of command.

My biggest complaint is that Jinba is still around. Motherfucker you have a literal TANK LOCKSEED. Why this bulky, half-hearted excuse for a power up keeps getting let out of the basement when Kachidoki is everything it should be and more, I don't understand. Aesthetically it's no contest. Most rider upgrades tend to go for over-the-top flare. Kachidoki manages amazing flare and yet a sense of utility, without resorting to typical profiles and proportions. Hell, with Kachidoki, Jinba literally serves no purpose. If it's meant to be weaker, why not just have Kouta default to the still-awesome-looking Orange? If it's meant to be a power up for tougher fights, why not use Kachidoki since it's effectively a "fuck you" button? Kachidoki is all-purpose, too, thanks to the coolness of the DJ gun. (though I wish they didn't HANG on it's use for so long during fights. It's really designed so that it's different firing modes can be achieved with the flick of a switch, yet it always takes over a second to switch modes, and eternity during a fight scene.) Hell, both narratively and from a toy-selling point of view, the mere existence of Jinba at this point is an oxymoron. It's an outdated power, and an outdated toy.

Hopefully when that gorgeous piece of rubber and foam that is "Triumphant" Arms returns, (such a cool name) the DJ gun is less flow-breaky, more face-breaky. Ugh, I hate when my favourite suits get shoved to the back-burner for a boring one. (the sonic arrow is SO boring)