[TokuChris]

I loved this episode but not for the reasons any of you did, or for any of the reasons you hated it.

Pure and simple, this was Micchy's swan song episode. No matter what happens to him the rest of the series, this episode is his. From his incredibly emotional speech to Mai, stressing that he can't even remember what he was fighting for, to his inner conscious dialogue in the form of his dead brother Takatora, everything about this episode was basically a "Micchy has feels" episode to set up his finale, which is the next episode.

The entire arch of Micchy started from the very first episode of when he got the belt to impress Mai, and has led him all the way to this point, where he's willing to die in order to protect her (even if his idea of protection is perverted with his own narcissism).

There's even some subplot with Kaito - him realizing that he's dying and there's nothing he can do. So either he will die without seeing his dream come true, or he will make his dream come true before he dies.

Polar opposites.

Micchy is going to die from his own actions.
Kaito is going to die from actions of another.

And this episode showcased both of their own dialogues realizing such a thing. But previews for next episode, translated, make it seem like Micchy is overwhelmed with emotion when Kouta forgives him as he rips the Yomi Lock Seed from his Sengoku Driver. And you can't forget that in the final episode image leaks that Ryugen is seen standing next to Jam.

And FWIW ... Going to say Ryouma is Jam and the Lock Seed is Sagura. Gaim will have to destroy the embodiment of Helheim being used by the one person who wants the power to recreate the world in his image.

Serious shit!