[cosmicrescend0]

If siblings can't settle a fight between themselves, what do you do? You bring in Dad, of course.....

That was...pretty solid, honestly? Let's get into it:

-Akaishi takes a hard backseat in this episode, and honestly good. It's real fun to see him lash out and squirm like a headless chicken, trying to cope with his eventual demise. He can't even find solace in his creepy little "family" roleplay with Daiji, who's clearly Had Enough of the old man.

-I've been critical of Weekend in how passive/purely reactive their planning can be, but honestly good on Masumi for his scheme this episode? Giving the weakened and desperate Vail a chance for new powe/final gambit for revenge, which is actually a covert containment scheme? It's good. (Oh hey, another Kuuga reference for this family in that their special symbol was a thumbs up, lol)

-Oh, Yukimi......I love her bits in this episode? She and Genta are so cute. I was thrown a loop when she said "He's already transformed three times in the past" only for the flashblacks to start playing and a smile curled up on my face. She really is the Igarashis' anchor.

-It's time for the main event. Somehow, it feels really....back to basics, in a way. Good ol fashioned grudge match, its in the quarry, there's a little body of water. Let the insert play, and the fists to fly. It's a damn good fight too, with Genta and Vail being nearly evenly matched. Literally started bouncing around in my seat once they started showing Genta punching Vail in the fiery ruins of the bathhouse.

-Vail's been acting out of spite and envy for his partner scorning him all the time, so for his arc to end with Genta taking him back, *forgiving* him, and telling him to rest up? It's an solid conclusion, far more interesting than letting him die or just shoving him back into a Driver. It's not certain when or even if Vail will ever wake up again, but if he does, I hope he'll learn to accept the rest of the family.

-I like Destream quite a bit, actually? I haven't been a fan of recent Revice suits lately, but I adore Destream's colors, aesethics, etc. Good suit!

-And now its time for: I Think This Is A Really Solid Way For Daiji To Exit His Joker Arc, Personally. Let's dissect all the pieces, shall we?

1) We all know the obvious parallels between Daiji and Akaishi, right? The show even stating that Akaishi sees himself in Daiji n shit, iirc. Well, I'm pretty sure Daiji is aware of that too, which makes what Akaishi goes through that much more interesting. Daiji gets to witness Akaishi's downfall up close, the way his convictions are greeted by nothing but scorn and the growing shadow of death. I'm sure that'll get the gears in Daiji's brain turning about what he's been doing now.

2) Dude's been hurting inside for a good while now. He's made some bad mistakes in the past and couldn't get the results he wanted following his ideals, so he's essientally in a state of licking his own wounds. The sheer hatred he has for Ikki in these recent eps, how he screams his actions will only get people hurt and killed, hm.....I want to say just a tiny smidge of that is (unconciously) directed toward his past self, he can't forgive himself. And that's what propels himself forward on this dark path. The loss of Kagerou also adds in, their dynamic inherently centered about suppression. You can't simply supress or "earse" all things about yourself you're not fond of, sometimes you gotta face them and then start moving forward. Destream vs Vail perfectly symbolizes this for him.

3) The simple language of "Holy shit, we've actually got a chance?" always tends to work. Yeah sure even if Daiji purposely ignored Ultimate Revice deflecting a direct shot from Giff back, he can't possibly ignore both Akaishi and Vail going down in succession. The stance Daiji is taken is partially done out of desperation from impossible odds of beating Gifu, but if the "impossible" turns to "possible", well........

-While we're not fully out of it yet, I think this episode did well in creating a prime scenario for Daiji to reflect on, and maybe finally come back to his family in the next episode?

-I've been praising this episode quite a bit, but there are undoubtedly some hiccups in it here and there. Most notably, the emotions for the main fight might not come across properly to some viewers. Perfectly understandable, as 90% of their backstory is in Revice Legacy (I didn't even finish it...) and they've rarely had time to share the screen together. It worked well enough for me, but I am aware it can come across as a little weak to others.