[Xtreme RX]

The episode was kind of a mixed bag if I am to be critical but as a Kabuto fan I have to say this was extremely enjoyable to watch.

The Tsukuyomi reveal just seemed to lack impact. The scene where they reveal her young self just doesn't have enough build-up. I find it odd that Schwarz didn't recognize her as his sister from before despite wearing the exact same outfit lol. But it does seem she has some kind of special power that will undoubtedly play a big role during the endgame. I did like how they remembered Tsukasa's costume-changing gimmick.

The Meteor sub-plot was fun; Woz's illustrated plans made me chuckle and I liked Sougo's reactions to Ginga Finally Taiyou form burning him. The form itself looks fantastic and I love the special effects work but it's also kind of a weird situation to debut it in. Ooh, and we get another insert theme too!

...At the expense of having Full Force or Lord of the Speed play, but hey, they played some really iconic Kabuto OST themes instead and I am perfectly fine with that. I loved all the callbacks they had, from Kagami thinking back to when the Kabuto Zector rejected him through flashbacks, Yaguruma and Kageyama moping while having cupped noodles, to Kagami comparing Sougo's oddness to Tendou. It's also good that we have solid confirmation that Kabuto's timeline is completely separate from Zi-O's and that they have merged.

The fight scene was incredible. The six-way henshin was shot and edited so flawlessly. The way it circled around them as they all transformed will make for a memorable scene in the franchise's history. Gattack and Kickhopper lost too quickly IMO but that's nitpicking. I think the Kabuto Zector choosing Kagami is well-earned looking back at the events of the original show and man, was it satisfying to see him turn into Kabuto for the first time. Epic battle and I'll never get tired of that Rider kick.

Honestly though, felt so bad for Yaguruma. All he wanted was to be with his bro again. The last scene where he asks the Worm to call him "aniki" one last time, only for the Worm to deny him and crumble into dust is heartbreaking. Knowing everything they went through, it just adds more tragedy to an already pitiful story. But I guess it's true to their characters and I'm impressed that they addressed such an ambiguous scene from the original show.

Next up is Den-O! I can't wait to see Yuuto and Deneb return. Oh, and Zi-O Grand?! Wait what?