[Fish Sandwich]

Hey turns out I was so busy ranting I forgot to mention two other things I really liked about the episode:

- This episode title is another one that loses meaning in a translation due Japanese having so many words for "I". It's either past-Gai speaking to Dog Thouser, or possibly Dog Thouser itself talking. I'm not totally sure, but either way, it's another title I like a lot.

- Aruto talking about how he plans to stay with Hiden Manufacturing! How did I forget that! I guess it's not the most amazing thing in the world, but it was a moment where it really felt to me like Aruto has matured and grown over the course of being Zero-One. Taking pride in his accomplishments and the work he's doing like that, I don't know, it just felt a world away from the guy in the premiere who seemed borderline self-deluded about how amusing people actually find his standup comedy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshToku

With the track record Zero One has had so far, I have a feeling that it's going to follow the same trend as all the previous power-ups and just have either Gai or Izu come in and go 'hey, here's your new toy, go get em'.

I'll be extremely upset if Aruto doesn't actively play a role in his final upgrade, too. Even in a simple capacity like somebody saying "there's no way Zero-One can defeat the Ark!" , and him later brainstorming like "...then maybe Zero-One doesn't have to!" It could be that cheesy and I would be satisfied. Although ideas this lame probably prove that Yuuya Takahashi is at least a better writer for this show than me.

Still, I'm honestly pretty optimistic? Zero-One himself has had two major upgrades (which is to say, I don't count the Assault Grip), and both of them did a great job having thematic weight in my opinion. Shining Hopper through Wazu, and especially Metal Cluster Hopper via the Progrise Blade were both pretty direct products of Aruto's faith in HumaGears, and I loved that angle. For the next one though, given what it is, I'd much prefer it if they took elements like him starting his own company and turned that into a nice unified point with the theme from The First Generation that Aruto is nobody's successor, even if the movie isn't directly referenced.