[Fish Sandwich]

The second I saw the preview for this one making it look like it would be some absurdist romp where Shiguru and Tametomo arbitrarily decide they're now turbo bros and have a big adventure, I immediately thought "yeah, this is gonna be a Kaori Kaneko episode."

I was right about who wrote it, but my impression of the tone was mistaken. Granted, it's still hilarious in places, because this is Kiramager and there's bound to be some good laughs somewhere in there, but this is a fairly serious episode despite not going to quite the same extremes as the last two.

I've mentioned on numerous occasions at this point how much I love Kiramager episodes that perfectly execute a basic standalone narrative with a clear arc/theme and great pacing, and this is exactly that. It's the type of plot I think this show does best, and I was pretty ecstatic to see one pairing up my de facto favorite character with the one part of me will always want to be my favorite.

Tametomo and Shiguru have excellent chemistry in this episode despite not being a particularly established combo beforehand, and the story draws on some of the best aspects of both of their personalities. Shiguru's stubborn refusal to look uncool is in full effect, as is Tametomo's status as the strategic leader of the team. Both of them get to show the merits of those traits, and both of them have to accept when it's becoming a weakness, with Tametomo getting told to stop pressuring himself so much, and Shiguru getting called out yet again on his tough guy act not helping anything. It's nothing super deep, but it's good bonding for the two of them, and they save the day in the end by using a trick learned at the beginning. Again, perfect structure; I can't hate an episode for being basic when it knows the basics so well.

Although of course, while all this is going down, Garza gets up to yet more trouble, which made an already good episode even better. I love everything about this. I love Garza finally feeling threatening again; I love King Express getting a second lease on life despite being old product; I love that Tametomo and Shiguru's victory in the A-plot allows him to exit the B one with a logical excuse that doesn't undercut his newfound power; and I loved that they end on a tasteful hint of the show's final(?) boss, because after all was said and done, it seemed like a great place for that. Things are getting so hairy that even just the regular "filler" episodes of the show have main villains achieving near-victories now. It's great that all those promises the bad guys have been making of stepping up their game aren't proving hollow already. Now the show just has to keep up this momentum for a while longer.