[Fish Sandwich]

Ryuki 13-14:

This show is kicking into gear at this point, if it wasn't before. With all the groundwork laid down, the show is free to start moving forward, which means Riders, Riders, and at least one more Rider. Even now, I don't think any other multi-Rider show quite captures the same feeling of excitement as whenever a Rider makes his debut in Ryuki. Kabuto probably comes closest with some of its earlier introductions like TheBee, but in Ryuki, you really get this feeling that all of these guys have a chance to be on the same "level", so to speak. Sure, they might end up being a Scissors who barely hangs in there for one arc, but they might also end up hanging around for the rest of the show, effectively becoming a main character. You can't tell until it happens, and that's the suspense of it all.

And if you're really cool, you end up being Raia. I love this guy so much, and even seeing just his first couple episodes is a lightning bolt reminder why. He's purpose-built to maximize the potential of the lead characters. I'm pretty sure no one's even said his name yet and he's already had more effect on Ren than anybody in the show not named Kanzaki. Heck, he hasn't even met Shinji yet, but he's a little preoccupied anyway thanks to Kitaoka deliberately tricking him into thinking he killed Zolda. The development for Shinji here is really great, and you get to see firsthand how much this utterly breaks him. It's the kind of very human writing that Kobayashi excels at, and his reaction when the ruse is revealed is one of the most memorable moments of the show for me. Ren also shows some growth, illustrated wonderfully by two bookending scenes of everyone having dinner together. Not that he's any less frosty, mind you.

Den-O 13-14:

Yeah, Ryutaros definitely makes this show for me. Among other things, but still, these episodes are without a doubt some of the strongest of the show to this point. They actually touch on the overarching plot a little, the pacing is tight, and the formula gets some twists here or there to keep things feeling fresh. Namely that Gun Form shows up right there in the first half, robbing Sword Form of an appearance for a second episode in a row (which the show is more than happy to work into the humor), and also perfectly fitting Ryutaros' personality. Like, I don't think the one who's essentially a 7-year-old on a permanent sugar high has the patience to wait that extra week. Nor does he have any sense of self-control whatsoever. Or a functional moral compass. But hey, at least he likes puppies.

That's exactly what's so great about him though. The Taros are all perfectly geared to play off one another, so I guess thinking about it, it's only natural this would be the point where the show takes off. The slow buildup definitely wasn't a mistake, though. Despite arguably throwing off the pacing, I think without those single arcs in-between each Imagin's debut, it wouldn't actually feel like there was a status quo being shaken up when the next one shows debuts. As a good example of the benefits of this, there's a scene towards the end here where Momotaros, Urataros, and Kintaros all agree to put aside their differences to try and kick Ryutaros out of Ryoutarou, even though they all kind of hate each other. As you'd expect from Den-O, it's pretty hilarious, but if Kintaros had only joined the crew a week ago, it simply wouldn't land the same way.

Oh, and as a minor aside, there's a part in 14 where Takeru Satoh goes to pick up a dog and it jumps out of the way of his arms with such perfect timing that's it actually funnier than any of the actual gags in the episode.

OOO 13-14:

Firstly, this episode continues Gotou's gradually journey to learning humility while also contrasting his excessive pride against Ankh's excessive temper. I probably don't even need to tell you at this point the episodes are good. Gotou's arc is a highlight of the series for how it subverts expectations (back in 2010 being having a huge chip on your shoulder and a grudge against the main character was a surefire way to get yourself a Rider belt by the halfway mark), and Ankh similarly gets to remind everyone he legitimately is a villain working with the good guys only because it's convenient for him, with an attitude problem that goes well beyond simply frowning a lot.

Secondly, there's some impressive suit acting all over Kamen Rider, but the amount of personality Ankh conveys through his body language when he's literally an arm is seriously impressive.

Thirdly, Candroids are the bomb. I still haven't pinpointed exactly why they feel so much better than comparable merchandising ploys in other shows from around the same time, but something about the way they're used to help move the plots along feels so natural when it really shouldn't at all.