[Fish Sandwich]

Part of me was expecting Yuuya Takahashi to simply move this series' big tragic moment over from Christmas to New Years, but it seems we're simply continuing the slow but inevitable downward slope we've been on since Gai started poking around (although the preview for next episode is a bit worrying).

So how was the episode? Well, for my complaints:

- If Shining Hopper was going to be used in the climax anyway, then for f***'s sake, have Zero-One's first transformation of the year be Rising Hopper

- I can't show a picture of one of Thouser's finishers to talk about how cool it is without violating ZAIA's copyright

That's about it! And as unfortunate as it is, I kind of expected from how Takahashi handled powerups in Ex-Aid that the first thing was going to become an issue. It's just that it really, really bites more than usual here. I've been making due with the single shot appearances it's been squeezing in, but to have no presence whatsoever for the "main" form of the face of a "new" era of Kamen Rider in any episode is going to rub me the wrong way. They just don't make 'em like they did in 2000, I guess.

Mind you, the story here is as excellent as ever. This is probably one of the stronger debuts for a new Rider out there, even. I'm totally sold on Gai as a character at this point. He is just the most perfect possible conceited pile of crap to go up against Aruto. He's so arrogant, his Driver has to announce his company's name. He's so proud, he makes his Progrise Key open itself. He's so presumptuous, he probably went with the five horns thing just so it would look like a crown. And that's not even mentioning how Thouser's transformation jingle might as well be the narration to a movie trailer. Don't believe me? Just imagine the words "This summer..." in front of it and watch how much it fits.

So naturally it's easy to empathize with Aruto's frustration at losing to this guy, and I look forward to the arc with him playing out over however long it takes. Will Gai be consumed by his own hubris in the end? Will he gracefully admit defeat one day, perhaps even becoming an ally to Zero-One? Who knows, but what's for sure is that he ain't gonna be on top for long.

Honestly, if you ask me, Aruto already beat him with the "So it's not 1000%?" line at the start of the episode. When Aruto of all people can roast you for having an embarrassing catchphrase, you know you've taken your shtick way too far.