[Fish Sandwich]

Don't really have much to add about the episode besides "it was really good" (I feel like I've been having this problem for a bit now?), but I'm more than happy to stick up for Shining Assault Hopper. I was never outright opposed to it to begin with, but I remember seeing some gallery of promotional shots for the Figuart when that was coming out or something, and for whatever reason, that made me really start to appreciate the design? I honestly think it looks gorgeous, and while vanilla Shining used to be my favorite on the strength of its debut story, nowadays I like the completed version at least as much.

And yes, apparently Shining Assault's design was actually finalized first, with them working backwards to make Shining, which explains how weird Shining looks. That's kinda what I like about that form, because it's a really fresh idea for a new era and all that, but Shining Assault Hopper takes a very traditional approach to being a power-up form. Zero-One with a silver jaw and bulky shoulder pads is a lot more normal looking, for sure, but all those details just make the suit pop. I love how the dark blue still lets the neon yellow stand out as the dominant color, and the way the lines of those colors wrap around each other without really combining, which helps communicate that each of them is coming from a different source. Ark and Zea are intertwined, but also fundamentally opposed, and they somehow managed to convey that just through the color layout. As usual for Zero-One, there's an impressive level of intent to the design. Plus, it brings back the antennae that went away with vanilla Shining, so just on that level, this suit feels more right. What's a grasshopper without his feelers!?

Oh, and while Shining Assault Hopper's debut may not have the entire story building up to it the way its incomplete version did, I do love the detail that the sun rises right after Aruto transforms. Darkness literally faded when he Shined... just in time for the Key to drop that amazing phrase. You see now why I kinda wished they saved some of those great ideas from Shining Hopper's debut?