[Enchilada645]

And so we get to the end of the Road Arc, honestly a pretty fun conclusion. While I don't mind 3D Animation for Tokusatsu-related anime (since I feel 3D animation can be done decently well nowadays) it is nice to see some hand drawn 2D action.

Luna Joker being one of the first form changes we see was real clever. In live action it was fairly floppy and kind of janky. Here they're able to animate it with cool fluid and dynamic movements. Cyclone Joker actually incorporating the cyclone effect more consistently is honestly the best. And to cap it all off we get a sequel to the original's OP Theme as an Insert Song set to a real cool chase.

Honestly though the most shocking revelation to me is still that Shotaro owns an apartment. Especially after W hit us with such wonderful lines as "he's got nowhere to go but here" in regards to Shotaro. I do love that he's got it decked out all noir-like though. That big nerd.

The three-parter formula also basically allows us to have a heavier and longer ending to the arcs, letting us decompress for a bit longer compared to usual since we're able to stretch things out a bit longer.

As for Manga differences... there's actually a decent few.

-While the anime did add a few nuances to the fight, the major added part was the actual bike chase. W goes straight for a memory break after they enter the Shadow Futo.

-While the anime was very up front about confronting Chuuta from minute one of cutting to the detective agency, the manga did it a bit differently. The way it's framed is like the ending of a usual W Episode with Shotaro at his desk, Chuuta comes in to collect his bag and then notices something's wrong and Shotaro hits him with the "We know you're a Gaia Memory user" while revealing he had the Toadstool Memory before Chuuta arrived. A few actions are rearranged differently but oddly enough, Terui makes an appearance with Makura and Jinno here unlike in the anime where he's absent.

-So the ending fight of Heat Metal was actually cut rather short (likely due to them extending the Road Fight) but there are some fun things here. The Dopant being fought against was Cockroach Dopant which was stealing jewels. It's mentioned that the Memory is one of the easier ones to mass produce. And instead of a sudden cut from the sky to a park, W has to use Luna Metal to save the guy from falling.