[DreamSword]

Episode 12: Nice Buddy

DS: You have no idea how many times this fight had me going "Bruh." Just like the first season's' final battle.

En-chan: Well of course.

It's Dogengers after all, expecting a straightforward final battle would be silly.

DS: There was alot of fun stuff going on in this one. And not just in terms of comedy either. It's the sort of thing though where like, I wouldn't really even know how to go about talking about it without doing a play-by-play, ya know?

En-chan: Yeah, it'd get a bit repetitive given every character gets their own little moments and gags. Whether its by themselves or as a team with their buddy.

DS: Speaking of the buddy system, I did really love how Riku's' buddy ended up being his dad. So cool how they utilized Great-Z's' final drone!

En-chan: Yep, Great-Z ends up upgrading into the much sleeker Great-2.

I found it cute how they utilized A to Z to form a 2 during the process.

DS: Makes me wonder what successors will be like in-universe. Will the next guy be Great-3 and so on?

Regardless, Great-2 is not only a cool moment in and of itself, but I did like how his suit was a sort of inbetween of both the regular Great-Z suit and the stage show one. Very nice.

En-chan: It really shows the bond between father and son in full force.

I also like how his finisher turned from Kamen Rider-like in which he's fidgeting with gadgets, and instead more like an Ultraman finisher where he does similar motions instead.

DS: And in the end, he gets to be partners with that one hero who cameo'd in like episode 4 or whatever. I have no idea who that is, but that was a nice little callback.

En-chan: Luckily I am on the case for that, since I do find it a bit of a shame we didn't really get a name drop even if he was a cameo.

His name's Koujin Ex.

DS: Not the name I was expecting, but okay!

What were some other stand out highlights for you during the skirmish?

En-chan: On the cool side, that gun duel between Rookie and Yabai Kamen was some sick stuff.

On the more comedic end, the last ditch Ohga Rock-Paper-Scissors Ohgaman had to pull out after he realized his weapon was still destroyed.

DS: Haha, yeah, that was great. For me on both of those points, I love me a good Sentai roll call. El Brave accidentally elbowing KitaQman in the gut got me good, hahaha!

En-chan: On that note, I find it amusing how KitaQMan has branded smoke grenades.

DS: A very Hercule move of him. Speaking of, I did also like how it was all the villains who got new forms this time, with the heroes sticking to their guns. The only exception being Great-2. Made for a nice inverse of the final battle of the first season.

En-chan: For sure.

Helped make things a bit more unique this time around, plus helped the heroes lean into the team aspect a lot more when it came to their fights instead of relying on fancy new forms.

DS: And on the note of subversions, I did like the callback they did to the wonderful Dogengers Logo Explosion from the first season. Ohgaman has certainly become quite the troll in Nice Buddy.

En-chan: Oh absolutely.

He does spend out of pocket after all, so he's gotta have a bit of fun from time to time.

DS: Last thing I can think to note is that Yabai Kamen never disappoints. My man not only had that cool shoot out with Rookie, but he managed to lift that giant blade one-handed this time around! Was surprised to see that the new suit didn't fade after the fight was over, either.

En-chan: Yep.

I'm assuming on a more meta level, the more permanent upgrades we end up seeing are also irl updates and they're just getting special treatment to show off how cool they are to the kids watching at home.

DS: I can see that. Which reminds me, with how integral Pizza Cooc is to Riku in general, I wonder if Great-Z/2 is co-owned by Hanagata SFX and Pizza Cooc, or something. Like, Great-2's' catchphrase during the roll call is very much a food service line.

En-chan: I'd say probably yeah.

DS: Well either way, the story of Great-Z was a fun one to experience, and while I wouldn't call the ending perfect, given that the show just kinda... stops, I did overall enjoy the episode as a whole. Was there anything else you wanted to note about it?

En-chan: I think the funniest bit to come out of this is that...

The Dogengers literally know none of what actually happened with Great-Z. Like they just still assume Riku's been Great-Z the entire time. So it ends up making their scene at the end with his dad very nice to witness since they have no idea he was the actual guy they were beefing with for the entire season.

DS: Huh, yeah that's a good point actually. Makes KitaQman demanding an apology about his car even better, really.

(EDITOR'S' NOTE: This is up for debate, since it depends on whether the viewer interprets the Dogengers believing their entire bout with Great-Z during the night to actually be a dream or not. Something fun to think about!)

Well with that, stayed tuned for our final thoughts tomorrow. And if you're good, I might include a special surprise!

En-chan: Ooh, I love surprises!