[Fish Sandwich]

I didn't expect to kick off the new year with a rare complaint about Gavv's usage of suits, but I can't help but note how much it bothers me that Valen only uses Bushel in this one?

I'm willing to anyway because it also gives me the chance to highlight something I've been enjoying about the overall series that I think has escaped my mention until now. There have been several instances so far (5 and 8 come to mind) that actively have Gavv switching back to PoppinGummy for no discernable in-universe practical reason, presumably entirely because the staff felt the base form -- the face of the show, the form that's just a little *more* Gavv than all the rest -- should be the one in those scenes. There are plenty of times it happens for clear enough in-universe reasons as well, but it's those couple of occasions in particular that I think best demonstrate the unusually high level of etiquette the show applies to the costume choices in any given scene.

All this is to say it was a bit surprising to me that in the episode where the third Rider debuts, in a scene where all three Riders are on screen together right away, exactly one of them isn't wearing their main suit. It's not exactly a problem, especially when Valen having that axe is relevant to the fight choreography (and in very cool and fun ways, at that!), but... I mean, I'm honestly not sure how to properly convey why I think this stuff matters to anybody who doesn't already kinda get it. I guess the most important part here is that this is all like whatever the opposite of a backhanded compliment is? I'm "complaining" about Gavv mostly to point out how high a standard I can hold it to. I feel like this show would think it'd be better to have everyone in their base forms at the end because it's the kind of show smart enough to realize a fully Granute Rider's first transformation should probably happen from his monster form to immediately stress what makes him unique.

Oh yeah, and Vram is pretty great so far, by the way! The design has grown on me rather quickly, as tends to be the case with this show. Between the scowling bad guy face and the yellow/orange giving each Rider an immediately distinct overall color scheme, it's doing a lot right on those slightly more quantifiable objective levels. Stuff like the spoon headphones, on the other hand, I like that mostly because I just do?

Lage Nine is also proving to be an extremely interesting presence very quickly, and the fact that Eitoku is the suit actor who gets to bring that across in-costume makes me extremely happy. He's long had exceptional talent when it comes to bringing out the character in the characters he plays, and the slim Rider suit lets him do that easier than the bulkier jellyfish getup does. (And even then he manages to tilt his head just right to get that unenthused attitude across.) I'm excited to see how this guy continues to move the plot from here on, and I'm also just excited to see this guy from here on, so I'd definitely call this a successful debut.