[Fish Sandwich]

I keep having nothing to say about these Tete Inoue episodes, and I'm starting to feel like it's my fault! Like I'm doing something wrong, because I want to come in here and say nice things about Kiramager like I always do, but the words don't want to come to me, regardless of how I even felt about the episode.

This is one I liked, for sure, but, at the risk of contributing to the overload of dental puns this week, it's another episode I felt could've benefitted from more to sink my teeth into, narratively speaking.

It gets really close with the concept, and I'm eager to give it credit for that much. This whole idea is fantastic, with Takamichi seeing these weird illusions of ol' Uncle Garza that send him on some imaginary sidequest that can serve as a problem for the team to solve while simultaneously delving further into Takamichi's no doubt complex feelings about someone who was once family now being a mortal enemy. I think where that aspect of the plot stumbles a bit is in really revealing some new layer to either Takamichi, Garza, or just the relationship between them in general. It never quite coalesces into a story that can deliver some big emotional punch or surprising and clever twist, and by the time the episode ends, it comes off more like it just decided to stop. There's nothing about this side of the plot that's bad or wrong, and it packs in some nice moments, but it left me with a nagging feeling it should be more of a grand event than it was.

But then there's a hilariously wacky plot about a cavity monster on the side here, and it's kinda pulling a lot of the weight. It's got that typically great Kiramager energy, and I can't help but love a plot that works in legitimate health tips as a gag. Remember to brush your teeth, kids; not even your heroes can withstand the pain of poor dental health! It's not anything surprising either, but it's a solid Monster of the Week plot that gives everyone on the team something to do. I was worried for a second that Tametomo, Sena, and Sayo were going to get left out after the initial fight, but to my delight, not only were they back in action by the halfway mark, the show is even still remembering to have Sena be the first one to hop in on the action. I'm legitimately super happy to still be seeing that attention to detail this late in the show.

You know, I guess I actually did end up with a decent amount to say this time. Kind of unexpected, but I'll take it! Oh, and speaking of unexpected – no robot fight anywhere in this one; what's up with that, right?