[Xtreme RX]

Best tribute by a long-shot. This was PERFECT.

Starting the episode off with us seeing Agito using Storm and Flame forms was just the tip of the iceberg.

Overall: What a phenomenal episode. Shoichi is with us the entire time. He interacts meaningfully with the Kujidoji crew. The scene where he tries Junichiro's cooking and critiques it is great comedy. When he consoles Tsukuyomi with his cooking at the restaurant by making parallels between her and his former self, that's just great writing. Hearing the name "Tetsuya Sawaki", acknowledging the power of Agito as a way to awaken other humans with the potential to evolve - all of this shows a considerable amount of respect to the established lore and story of the show it is paying tribute to. It even justifies the reuse of the og Another Agito suit because it's essentially creating more variations of Agito, which Kaoru's Rider form was originally supposed to depict. I loved seeing Shoichi donning the G3 suit again. The Time Jacker's using the RideWatch to turn Another Agito into an evil KR Agito was an interesting deviation from what they have been doing thus far and shows great potential for future tribute plots. They did a lot of this great stuff in the Blade tribute but it's perfected here.

I think it's quite interesting what is happening with Tsukuyomi. Thanks to Shoichi, she accepts that who she was in the past isn't necessarily reflective of who she is now - but Woz has caught on. His conversation with Schwarz helped add layers to the mystery. He says she comes from the same place as him - where did he get his powers?

They did not skimp out on special effects this episode. Holy. You can tell they only had two or three Another Agito suits but the way they used a mix of close-ups, look-a-likes and compositing was nothing short of effective. When you see the Rider trio and Agito fighting the horde of them in the town plaza, it's hard to believe the production photo that show the place almost completely empty. While there are some moments where the effect isn't quite so tight, it's mostly seamless and a result of smart filmmaking.

Not only that, but the special attacks and CG used were unexpectedly bombastic too. Geiz and Woz's speed battle resulted in some badass-looking finishers. Zi-O Trinity's sword finisher was super dope. And Zi-O and Agito Trinity's double Rider Kick: HOLY CRAP.

Speaking of the Trinity x Trinity battle, THIS IS HOW YOU DO A TRIBUTE FIGHT SEQUENCE. When I heard the intro lick to "Believe Yourself" I nearly exploded with excitement. My hope for the series was at least a return of leitmotifs and I have been let down until now. But this gives me some hope. If they can utilize a legacy insert song as well as they did here in future tributes, I will instantly forgive all the mediocrity of Zi-O's first quarter. That was simply one of the hypest moments I have experienced in Rider. It's amazing what a little music can do.

Favourite part of the episode was when Woz was giving his speech and then saw Agito turn into Trinity as well. When Zi-O's "Woz" arm does that excited little flail - that's hilarious and simply fantastic character acting.

I think it's really cool how they did the passing of the torch this time around. Agito could keep his power, but instead gives it to Sougo respectfully. There's no stealing happening here. And like the Blade tribute before it, he remembers everything that happened while he was a Rider. I wish all the tributes were like this. That being said, it's nice that they responded to the complaints about the show and learned from mistakes. What we are getting now are some of the best tribute episodes I have seen from any Toku show.

Next up, Hibiki! They have picked some interesting people for the returning cast but thanks to these recent episodes, I am more than positive that they can think up a great story that respects the original show's roots. And Kuuga Armor is making it's TV debut!