[Actar]

Very interesting episode. We got the backstory behind several of the characters and some additional insight into their true natures and motivations. Really like how Tycoon seems to be more focused on gaining points through rescuing people over fighting and got appropriately rewarded for it. Neon looks to have wished for freedom as opposed to true love like she said, and I like how they lampshaded Kanato not just wishing to be able to play basketball again as opposed to killing everyone. Lol.

Kind of weird how there are these weird variations of Jyamato with different abilities that just so happen to thematically fit into different genres of games. The obvious twist is that the entire thing's being set up by the DGP, perhaps to fulfill a higher nefarious purpose, but we'll see.

Something I did feel was a little weird was how Da Paan/Na-Go was considered a zombie but still allowed to play, as opposed to being disqualified. And they aren't considered players when they're attacked? Hm... We did at least get to see the UI from the Riders' perspective and how each armor has a durability meter that can be worn down.

Action-wise, it was good, though the CGI was a little bit iffy and goofy at times, especially when Geats used the Revolve On to dodge the shot. But I really liked how the Buckles seem to be constantly swapping hands and changing the power dynamic on the fly.

However, I did feel that the pacing and editing were a little bit messy this episode. They're really trying to cram in a ton of stuff, and it looks like another Rider (or two?) will be biting the dust in the next episode. At this rate, I definitely think we'll be seeing multiple cycles of the DGP, like some have already stated.