[Fish Sandwich]

Hot dang this was awesome. I didn't expect it to suck or anything but man, I wasn't expecting something this thoroughly entertaining.

I'm not quite sure where to start. This was like they took what could've been a somewhat limp two-parter and trimmed the fat off, leaving us with a single episode that doesn't go more than 5 seconds between interesting things happening. Props to Arakawa, the script here was impeccably tight, and he was clearly having fun with the premise. There's so much to talk about I actually get to bust out the bullet points for Kyuranger again:

- Having Naga hang out with Lucky so that you have a sort of matching pair with Gavan Type G and Deka Red is actually kind of genius.

- Naga was bringing his A game with the comic relief here.

- Although the よっしゃラッキー！ count was the highest it's been in a long while, I really appreciated both here and especially last episode how Lucky says it specifically in bad scenarios to show he's looking on the bright side. Considering Kyuranger is all about optimism, I'm surprised he doesn't use it that way more often. It's like, the perfect use of that catchphrase.

- Having the Kyurangers straight up not understand the concept of police is another stroke of genius. I think this show has been pretty good about showing how oppressed people in its universe are, and while ultimately it's just an excuse for exposition, the depressing implications there are great.

- They got in pretty much all the "hey wouldn't it be neat if" stuff you could ask for. CG-enabled mecha team-ups! Double dragons! Double dogs! Geki quoting his (predecessor's) theme song! All very satisfying to see.

- Speaking of which, having the Gavan theme song adds a +1 bonus to this episode's cool factor.

- Having the Dekaranger theme song multiplies it by two.

- While I can't be nostalgic for Dekaranger, not having seen it yet, it's always nice to see Geki again. Despite making his introduction by trying to ruin Go-Busters for two episodes I find him a super likable character and maintain I would watch a soft reboot new Metal Hero TV show starring him in a heartbeat. You know you want to make it, Toei!