[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But the training montage itself just feels like it’s killing time, and trying to provide an amount of Suit Action that the plot more or less is not equipped to provide, at least in a configuration that would move the plot along. It’s visually pleasing, in a stunt show -slash- Taisen conclusion way – explosions and wirework at Kamen Rider Quarry – but it feels like not the sort of thing this show needs right this second. (It doesn’t help that Training To Not Need Friendships feels like a non-starter for Gentarou, even if he’s reluctant to ask his friends to endanger themselves to defeat the Horoscopes. Like, this is not a good plan thematically!) It’s slightly goofy, just after Yuuki’s stark terror and Miu’s gritted sacrifice, and I don’t… it sort of feels weird here? Without the show acknowledging how weird it is?

I will say, my memory of this episode is definitely disproportionately dominated by Tachibana Flies Around On A Goofy Jetpack, at the expense of most of the drama that gets us to that point.

I will also say, I think part of that comes from how appropriately endgame-y it feels, while still being something that lightens the overall mood back down to usual Fourze levels? Fundamentally, it was just kinda weird to see Tachibana doing *anything* that isn't floating up in space, so even just that disruption to the status quo comes off as an event. To then top that off with the extra layer to the Virgo identity reveal was likewise pretty killer. I remember people guessing Emoto was Virgo the second he showed up, presumably having noticed the joke of his name, but I wonder if him being Tachibana on top of that was also on everybody's Fourze bingo cards at the time? Sort of hard to recall, at this point.

Oh, and the other big thing from this episode I remember is how exceedingly polite it was of the show to wait until Mega Max was released on video to bring in Rocket States for a guest appearance. It felt pretty nice to still have the full context even as an overseas fan who had only seen the movie like, man, probably only a month prior at most?