[SPLIT LIP]

I have to say, as cringe as I find idol stuff in Japan to be, the fact that the mobile game actually looked like something a popular mobile game would look like was pretty impressive. Too many times in non-game media do fake games look really phony, but I actually wondered if they were actually shilling a real game until I remembered that the manga came out years ago and there's no way it could be.

Otherwise the episode is real good. Reminds me why I loved W. Character banter and interesting plot setups that lead to disastrous hi-jinks. I still appreciate how the manga/anime format allows for the typical W story beats to be given a harder edge, like Shotaro's wounds being more obviously serious than if it was live-action with fake blood. I also like how they haven't abandoned things like the Memory Gadgets and assisted Maximum Drives just because they're no longer pushing a toyline. Those are still elements of the world and story so it's nice to see them be treated with the same... I dunno, respect sounds lofty, but you know what I mean. They're there and I'm glad.

Also I didn't realize how much the manga kind of subtly hyped Terui up. To newcomers who are only experiencing the anime I can only imagine how it seems like they keep teasing/alluding to him. Of course when Accel does show up he's a badass so it makes perfect sense. One of my favourite parts of any post-series W story is Terui, due to how it really shows his maturity and mellowed, supportive personality now that he's no longer driven by revenge and is in fact a loving and supporting husband.