[DreamSword]

Episode 18: Even More Rivals

I'm honestly starting to question whether Inoue is a genius or just crazy.

Yeah, as you might expect from the title, this episode does continue the joke established in the previous one, with a fourth monster coming in.

But despite both that and some other humorous elements here and there, the episode as a whole is played almost entirely straight; Not unlike something you'd see out of another Tokusatsu's' "mid-season upgrade" episode.

...That is, until the very end.

And given the thumbnail I chose for the episode, I'm sure you might be able to guess what I'm getting at: The big twist is that a stray dog ends up eating Changerion's' power-up item before Akira is able to acquire it, and is thus denied any sort of new power.

That alone is enough to make the average viewer(or atleast me) cry out "Who does that!?" but then... it actually ends up leading to solid character development, ontop of tying in with the plot points brought up in the previous two episodes?? Heck, it ties in with the current plot by reinforcing that Gauzer is infact Changerion's' rival!

Because something to note about nearly every fight that Changerion has been in up to now: If he doesn't win with ease, then he usually has one of the three robo knights there to bail him now. He's never really had to try super hard in order to take out the DarkZide monsters up to now, right? However, seeing DarkZide stomp all over the feelings of an innocent girl is enough to give him the drive to get serious for once, and he shows that he doesn't need any power up.

Said girl also ends up becoming Akira's' new secretary, and yeah, the joke about her cooking at the end is to be expecting, but really, it's such a minor thing that I really can't complain. This entire episode had a surprising amount of thought and heart put into it, and all under the guise of being completely bonkers to boot. And that's also what's made Changerion as a show so fun to watch so far. It somehow has yet to bottom out! I have no idea how long it can maintain this momentum, but I'm still impressed!

This was a great one, absolutely.