[Xtreme RX]

Well snap. I can't tell if this was a brilliant self-parody of Inoue's own work or just a bad episode. Probably a bit of both.

It's self-aware enough to use visual comedy but perhaps not enough to save it from some cringe-worthy dialogue. The use of the man-hole cover as both a murder weapon and a shield powerful enough to block a blast from Ginga made me laugh out loud. And then, just when you think it's over, she crashes the wedding with it too! Obviously the staff were very aware of how ridiculous the script was.

The romance between Sougo and Yuko is soooooooo bad. Her character sure is fun though. Just completely over-the-top.

Ginga had some cool moves with a great use of special effects, but man did he feel rushed and pointless. He got beaten way too easily as well. And like, it's not like they used the power of the sun to their advantage after finding out his weakness. They simply just Rider-kicked him.

The only good part about Ginga's arrival was that we got to see the Time Jacker's team up with the Riders, but even that was short-lived and felt superficial.

Ginga Finally looks great and the VFX used for the Rider kick looked phenomenal. But Woz really didn't have much to do in this episode, so it really doesn't feel earned or bombastic enough as a debut for his final form. Liked his abridged "Iwae" though.

Kiva elements had me wanting more. Jiro's fight as Garulu was cool (as was his mentioning of being a guard of Kiva's) but too brief. Yuri wasn't even actually Yuri, and her cameo lasted less than a minute. This is the first time that the returning legends don't actually play their original role. Despite all this, Takahashi Yu and Tomokazu Sugita are credited as Yuri Aso and Kivat respectively on the website. I guess it was more of a special guest thing rather than a full-on cameo. Don't know how I feel about Jiro just up and vanishing after giving the Kiva RideWatch too, leaving Dogga and Bassha as toys. Speaking of which, that Kiva Armor tease, man.

I dunno. All this stupidity actually makes me realize that this was a pretty faithful tribute to Kiva in terms of writing and concepts. But man. I think I prefer what we had going on with Agito and Hibiki instead. At least those felt exciting.

Kabuto's next and thankfully, it does appear to be going back in that direction.