[Fish Sandwich]

This episode is a real microcosm of where Ryusoulger is at right now, for better and for worse. It's entertaining, fun, in a lot of ways quite clever, and also kind of unrefined and not entirely well thought out.

One of the big topics here, which, in stark contrast to all the problems this show had at the start that it's been ironing out since, is something that's only recently become a major issue, is Ryusoulger's continued bizarre flirting with the excessive shilling of Red and Gold. I say "bizarre flirting" because, like always, there's a very obvious, conscious effort to have everybody contributing something in spite of where all the A-plots and new toys seem to be going lately. Melto especially pulls some serious weight as the team's designated strategist, as reliably as ever.

This is perhaps both one of the show's strengths and its weaknesses. There's a sort of "language" to Sentai that Ryusoulger often seems blissfully ignorant of. It's great as emphasizing the individual members of the team for their unique qualities, but at the same time, it massively underestimates the value in things like simply showing the entire team joining in on the robot fights on a regular basis. Seeing Kishiryu-Oh Five Knights again probably shouldn't feel like this big a deal.

Similarly, if you want to do a plot about the team going after some legendary sword where the resolution is them deciding their friendship comes first, it probably would've been better to write it in a way where everyone gets to draw the magic sword from the stone rather than just Koh and Canalo. The whole plot here felt extremely underbaked. There are so many moments that progress the story so rapidly I was left scratching my head. It's totally unclear to me why Koh and Canalo in particular are the only ones who get beamed up by this temple to begin with. Their little trials don't amount to much in the way of interesting character development or exploration. They didn't even remember to show us Canalo apparently choosing duty over his comrades, which is even more upsetting than it already would be on account of it making me remember that I don't think it was ever properly explained how he got the Kurayami Soul back when that was similarly glossed over. Him and Koh decide they must fight, and then promptly decide to stop fighting after a minute or two without any particular reason for them suddenly changing their minds.

It's all very odd. The fact that I actually do like all these characters now keeps it anchored, and it's a Sakamoto-directed episode, with all that entails, so I don't want to make it sound like I had a bad time, which is emphatically not the case, but it was rockier than the show has been lately, and a reminder that, as fun as it is, I still really wish Ryusoulger could get its act together on a permanent basis.