[Switchblade]

So we're officially in the post-Hiyori phase of the show (as a physical presence; she's still a major part of the plot, of course) and you can definitely feel the show starting to change.

The first big change is that we have Renge added to the cast. She'll be around for the rest of the series and she definitely feels like someone thought that the show needed to meet a cute girl quota. I remember very little about her except that she has a garrote and a nice hat. She's not quite Mihara levels of forgettable, but I don't think she ever contributes much to the show.

The second change is Tendou's confiscating of the tertiary Zecters. I never liked this development. It makes sense in terms of both the plot and some merchandising elements that will become obvious in the near future, but it also feels a little unfortunate to see these powers get shelved (I may be forgetting something, but I'm pretty sure we've seen the last of one Rider suit now).

As a related side note, I do love this episode spends so much time just relentlessly dunking on Kageyama. It's both entirely warranted and a clear starting point for the next phase of his story.

Finally, we have the return of Yaguruma. This is quite possibly my favorite scene in the entire series. Everything from him scraping his spur across the ground on is so good. I love his ridiculous goth outfit and attitude. I love how he takes on the Worms while doing his big reintroduction speech, very pointedly using only kicks to denote his new identity. I love the arrival of a new Rider who's both really cool looking and a massive new wrench in Tendou's plans. Such a good scene and easily the most vivid memory I've had from Kabuto over the years (although something Tsurugi does in the next episode is a pretty close second).