[Fish Sandwich]

Yeah, this one didn't disappoint me!

There's just no way it could've, really. First of all, it's another example of that Kamen Rider Faiz flavor coming to the forefront. The relationship between Tarou and Sonoi is great, of course, but any time the other Nouto get involved outside of the fighting, it tends to be pretty great too. It's not quite the Faiz thing of basically having two sets of protagonists, because we don't follow the Nouto to that extent, but they've very much come to be characterized as three people living their own lives, staying true to their own sense of justice (they barely feel like true villains anymore), and the way that lets them be a part of more relaxed stories like this, hanging out with their own sworn enemies, will always make for an entertaining dynamic. There's never a spot in this episode where Haruka is worried about the truth being revealed or whatever, nor are we as viewers ever made to feel some sort of tension about her being around Sonoza. It's just a cute little plotline where he gets really into her comics, and she tries to use the power of artistic expression to bridge a gap between cultures.

And of course, that's the other big thing I love here. It's an episode that's all about Haruka rediscovering her passion for her craft, and I'd love that story even if it didn't center around my favorite character, so the fact that it does just propels it that much further. Actually, I kind of have a new appreciation for Haruka's egotism after this one, because put in the context of her being an artist, it just sort of feels natural? Like, on some level, if you're putting something out into the world with the intent that people will enjoy it or even be moved by it, a certain level of self-confidence is maybe necessary? She takes it a bit far sometimes, but if she didn't have the personality she did, would Haruka have managed a hit manga series before she's even out of high school? Something to think about, I guess. I mean, I don't know, this whole idea came to me as I was writing it, so maybe it's less interesting than I'm imagining.

Which brings me to what makes the meat and potatoes of this episode so much fun -- the way it explores the whole creative process. Sonoza turns out to be a shockingly adept editor, providing a lot of entirely reasonable criticisms regarding how distinctly unrefined the ideas Haruka is putting to the page right now are, and watching Haruka realize she's in a slump is... just really true to life, I guess? If I may point out the obvious, this episode was written by a writer, so I have to imagine Inoue was able to let a fair amount of his own experiences inform this plot. There's a sense of honesty to the story I adored.

What's pretty crazy is that in spite of how much I'd expect that to be the thing dominating the plot, I thought this one also did a lot of the more "typical" kind of writing Donbrothers often seems uninterested in. It's already a major advancement for Haruka's character, renewing her original goal and cementing a new rival character for her, but there's also all these little things with Jirou, right down to him mentioning his desire for a Robotaro form of his own. I repeat -- they actually set up a piece of merch a little. It's not every day Donbrothers does that! So yeah, between the way it moves other pieces around the board beyond the one it's focused on, and the added detail of stuff like matching shots up perfectly with all those comic panels, I think this week has a ton going for it. The foundation is already insanely strong, and the stuff built up around it is nothing to sneeze at either.