[Fish Sandwich]

So in the spirit of the season I rewatched episode 16 of Wizard like I have basically every year since it aired, and yes, I really am that fond of Wizard.

First off, it's one of the rare standalone episode from that period of Rider. I think it has something to do with episode 1 also being standalone, like they needed to even things out for some reason, but I don't know. The point is it makes it a convenient thing to watch.

It's probably not the best episode of the show or anything but I think it's pretty representative of Wizards strengths. Especially with how they've been largely background noise in Ex-Aid, I really appreciate the way Wizard did its Victim of the Week plots. Yes, they're quite formulaic in terms of structure, but I feel like they generally did a great job of making the Victim feel like an actual character and telling an interesting story around them. I've never had a problem with episodic shows, and I think explicitly focusing on that element allowed Wizard to do it a little better than Rider shows that went for more of a healthy mix between plots and Plot.

Specific to this episode, the story is about some seemingly kind of thuggish guy who's actually trying to bring some hope to some orphans on Christmas. Like Wizard in general, it's simple but it works. It's enjoyable seeing it play out, and despite the repetitive "mid-episode fight, end-episode fight" formula, Wizard's action scenes and really flashy and fun. I'm also extremely fond of the blatant deus ex machina that saves the day at the end. It's the perfect kind of nonsensically saccharine thing for the holiday (the episode is even called "A Christmas Miracle"), to the point where it's kind of missing the point to complain about it.

The main characters are also fun, as usual. Haruto is always entertaining, and they even get that brief little bit of character building in there with him noting to himself that the VotW's backstory mirrors his own, Rinko's poor luck with work is always funny, and Shunpei... is barely in this one and doesn't do anything physically wacky, which I know is a big plus for a lot of people. And of course, Phoenix is a delightful villain. He's just so dang passionate about violently destroying everything in sight you're almost rooting for him.

So yeah, there's not actually that much going on with the episode, but it's a good time. Wizard in general is a good time, as far as I'm concerned. I should really get around to rewatching it in full like I said I would...