[DreamSword]

Episode 27: Akemi Returns!

And so do I!

Now, I have no doubt that my two and a half week long break from Changerion did me some good on refreshing myself to the show.

However, I think that I'd still have a good time with this episode despite that because I felt that overall, this one was rather well done! I had alot of fun when watching this episode!

The most impressive aspect to me was just how cleanly this episode was able to transition between various different moods without every feeling like tonal whiplash, and all while doing every one of them well, too, with each one only serving to enhance the central core of the story: Akemi and Rui's' rivalry.

There's the good character humor between the cast as always, but then there's the more haunting stuff with how the DarkZide monster goes about claiming its victims, as well as the action actually being a bit more dynamic than normal, with a big chunk of it taking place inside of the boiler room of a hospital. The twist of who the monster actually is was something I felt was handled well too.

Really appreciated how everything ended too, as not only is it a fun parody on the classic rival duel you see in these kinds of stories, but it's essentially Inoue saying "It's fun to revisit old times, but we're passed that point now." Which in turn doesn't reset status quo and keeps the character development that the cast has had up to now mostly intact. Sure, one final word from Akira would've been nice, but I think the episode mostly wrapped up clean.

Overall, it's an episode that has fun with a beloved character temporarily returning to the show while reinforcing the story decisions that have been made up to this point, and I can't really fault it for that.