[DreamSword]

Episode 5: Provocation

It's a beach episode! As such, expect alot of fanservice. Most of it on Akane.

And while I definitely could've gone without that, this episode does have alot more to offer. Like even more fog!

Pictured Above: An actual still of me and my friends when we get stuck on a long public ride together.

Speaking of friends, I do like the character interactions in this one! The episode really does show the Gridman Alliance starting to act like actual friends, such as Yuta making fun of Sho's' weight. Lots of nice little moments here. Also, I personally find it both funny and adorable that Yuta is the only one who needs a life jacket for this trip.

Something else to note about this field trip is that Akane moans that the entire thing is just gonna result in "even more work for her." Odd. Guess the Gridman stuff is really getting to her.

In preparation for this, she creates a brand new Kaiju that, well, let's just say that after tradition and stealth didn't work, she kinda went "screw it" and just made one that's literally a mountainside. A mountainside that has giant teeth and shoots fireballs.

Problem though. Yuta needs JUNK in order to Access Flash, so the only solution is to have the Neon Genesis Squad bring it to the mountain. This is actually a callback to the (infamous) final episode of Syber-Squad, where Tanker and Sydney brought the computer on their field trip incase of a virus beast, which did end up showing up. Oh and uh, speaking of Sydney Forrester, her spirit lives on in Buster Gridman.

Yeah, the drill tank Borr is already a machine from SSSS, and its two variants of missiles are references to its pilot, the aforementioned Sydney Forrester. Sadly, unlike Max Gridman, the design itself doesn't have a direct reference to Team Samurai in its design. It would've been incredibly silly, but I would've loved if they'd somehow made a reference to the sunflower hat that Sydney wore all the time in that show.

On the topic of returning characters with questionable fashion sense...

Yeah, Anti is back, and yet again, I love this guy. I love that his copy ability actually morphs various parts of his body, and in terms of just his character, his brief interaction with Akane said alot; Showing that even though she treats him like dirt, he's still trying to care for his creator and fulfill the mission that she gave him. Also he smells bad, meaning that he probably doesn't bathe. Makes alot of sense for a guy who's a walking explosion that does nothing but eat and hunt for Gridman. His final appearance also seems to indicate that he suspects the kids of being connected to Gridman in some way, but it's hard to say.

Overall, this episode is another nice one. Can't complain.