[Fish Sandwich]

This one was pretty much perfect, right? Like I seriously can't even reach for things to complain about. They totally nailed it.

It's an episode of Zero-One that I actually feel touched on every little corner of the show in a positive way. We finally get some clarification on what exactly Gai's situation is, with him finally being removed from his position. From context we can also make some assumptions about how ZAIA as a whole views his actions through new guy, who makes it pretty clear the only reason they're upset with him is because he lost control of his mess. Plus, new guy is also pretty much certainly the one who brought back Jin, finally explaining why the Slashriser is ZAIA-branded, and Gai's remark from way back where he said his return was 100% within his expectations, i.e., he did not expect it at all. We also get to see Valkyrie again, and even Shooting Wolf for no reason!

While Naki and Ikazuchi stay totally out of the picture for a bit, it's an all around fantastic episode when it comes to giving all the Riders their due (and some great action), and that's only all the more true for Horobi, who gets a ton of fantastic character moments, as you'd expect out of an episode with such a heavy focus on him. His development right now is the more gradual kind of redemption (?) I wish Gai could've had.

Meanwhile, the other character the episode foucses on, Izu, acts as a natural parallel to all his growth, and, again, it all just clicks. Izu is at her absolute best here, and I love the way they really push how human she's become, with her starting the episode with a bad dream, and then consciously lying to Aruto out of concern for his safety. She's extremely active in this plot, and it's very easy to root for her as she attempts to keep the situation from escalating all on her own.

Which makes it a real punch to the gut when it doesn't work out that way.

The big emotional moment of this episode completely landed for me. The show's this close to the end, so it's probably way past time for me to finally mention how utterly beautiful Gou Sakabe's soundtrack for Zero-One is. There is no doubt in my mind that it surpasses his work on Ghost, which was already one of the best sets of BGM in the franchise. The music in Zero-One is so intensely emotional it can sell even a scene that isn't working anywhere near as hard on the writing front, so when everything IS working on that same level, oh man, it's just *magical*. Tasaki's direction throughout the whole episode and especially in that scene is similarly on-point, and gives it the weight the moment deserves. It felt like the biggest deal ever, just as it ought to.

This was a real A+ episode of Zero-One, with some genuinely shocking turns that felt considered and smart, and I can't wait to see where it goes in these last few weeks, especially if it means giving Fumiya Takahashi more chances to prove what I've been saying this whole year about how good his acting as Aruto is, because man did he kill it in this one.