[Fish Sandwich]

Alright, I know I'm supposed to be focused on all the exciting new characters in this shot, but how can you seriously expect me to care about them when Magine is over in the corner doing the world's most adorable Kamen Rider Garren impression?

I joke, but... well, first of all, I'm not really joking, but also, I'm using my obsession with Magine to make a legitimate point about how much I continue to love this show's rich direction! I think it's been a while since I've really called out the sheer amount of visual information densely packed into like every scene, with every character in this whole ensemble always doing something appropriate for their personality, and, perhaps due to how much larger that ensemble just got, I felt it especially strongly this week. It's not even just in the visuals either – the constant overlapping dialogue is yet one more reason it kinda feels like episodes of this show are made to be watched several times over. Zyuran especially is always hanging lampshades on the absurdity going on around him, and it's hilarious. The established cast is as great as usual here.

Still, though, exciting new characters! Should probably talk about them a little! I'm liking Zox a fair bit so far, although his siblings haven't immediately won me over. Not that there's anything wrong with them; it's just that they haven't made much of an impression yet. And you know, that's only natural, because the episode is obviously focused of Zox himself, doing the usual additional hero debut routine of finding a new status quo to settle into. It's rather well-executed, with a lot of immediate backstory, a fun clash between Twokaiser and Zenkaiser, and the obligatory hint towards Zox's hidden heart of gold. I'm not sure if I think it was an exceptional debut, but I should also point out that I've long equated a lack of interest in a Sixth Ranger showing up to the show simply being plenty interesting beforehand. I wasn't watching this episode feeling like Zox just NEEDS to be around, basically.

That being said, he's proving to be plenty of fun to have around. I rather liked that Kamen Rider Zangetsu stage play, so having the discount Baron from that now starring as a discount Captain Marvelous in a Sentai I'm similarly fond of immediately holds a certain novelty for me. Koumura's writing helps a ton with bringing out that Gokaiger flavor, and the clash between that sort of character dynamic with how the Zenkaigers behave is great. He's a completely different kind of hero, and at the same time, very familiar. This is especially apparent when he's fighting as Twokaiser, because his suit actor has some solid body language going on. Looking him up, it seems Shigeki Itou has only been getting major roles very recently, being the previous two years' Reds, and then Lupin/Patren X before that. Twokaiser is pulling from a bunch of different sources that aren't anything like those guys and yet still makes them all feel natural. I was especially pleased to see Shinken Form doing Takeru's cool behind-the-back block thing, but I suppose when the show's action director was literally Shinken Red, it shouldn't be surprising to see that, huh?

Really, the more I think about this guy, the more I'm already starting to like him? A few more particularly good episodes for Zox is probably all it will take for me to truly start loving Twokaiser, but for now, this is already a promising start.