[Den-O]

SPOILERS BELOW

First off let's just say that the new opening does a number on this show. After last weeks episode I sensed that Toei was turning things around and I think this new opening makes that even more apparent. It's much more upbeat, there are a ton of really great group shots of all the Busters and Buddys (which were severely lacking in the old opening) and some newly filmed action shots that really set it off. If Toei is trying to change the tone then this is a step in the right direction.

Another good move is the great fight coreography. It seems they've really stepped that up and made the fights alot more fun and energetic. Last week's opening battle sans Beet and the Ryuuji/Enter fight were both fantastic. The Sprayroid, while painful to look at, is a pretty good villain. Loved that he was supposed to put the team into disarray and just went crazy with making duplicates. And water as the cure? Brilliant.

Now the plan to fake out the Sprayroid was also pretty brilliant. I expected the real Hiromu to rush him while Nick (as red Buster) attacked. I liked what they did here instead. The Gock and Magock connection to Esacpe was also very interesting. And I knew the seed was being planted last episode about Messiahs' evolution so it was very pleasant to see that coming to fruition so soon in this episode. I mean we'll actually come face to face with Messiah Cell next week! And I guess it's nice to have an actual reason why Hiromu is afraid of chickens, even as silly as it is. We keep getting a great amount of plot in pretty rapid succession.

I think Toei has finally recognized just how boring and terrible this show was up to this point. If the bad toys sales weren't enough then I'd say the fact that this is the lowest rated Sentai ever may have gotten their attention. It seems some creative changes both behind and on screen are doing this show many favors. If this continues we could actually get a reverse Hibiki treatment for this series. If you're like me and have barely been able to keep interest up til now then I think we are in for some more very unexpected, but pleasant, surprises.