[DreamSword]

Up through episode 22 of Build. Here are some off-the-cuff cliffnotes on how I felt during this little section of the show.

Really not a fan of the constant gaslighting here. So many characters, even Sento himself, insist that Sento is the one responsible for the war, when that's not even remotely true, and arguably even worse than that, when Hazard Trigger comes around and it's time for the final bout with Grease, Sento proceeds to gaslight Misora into thinking that she's just as responsible as he is for everything going on. Stand up guy.

Speaking of that final bout, it really should've been Grease vs Cross-Z Charge, considering that both the suits and the characters in them have a very blatant duality thing going on between them. But no, it instead goes to Build, because Hazard Trigger I guess.

Heck, as much fame among fans as the Hazard Trigger debut episode has, I felt incredibly let down by it. The form itself really doesn't do much to stand out from other Berserk forms I've seen in Rider, and the sequence itself goes by really quick. Not helping is how easily the form is beaten both in the episode itself as well as in the "Raising the Hazard Level" specials, which only proceeds to undermine its supposed power more.

That said, the main reason I was let down by that episode was the death of Aoba. Because see, I ended up feeling way more for Grease and the Three Crows than I did any other character so far. They group have a fun dynamic together, their character moments are very strong by comparison, and their friendship as a group actually feels genuine. Heck, there's a scene where they're all just kinda hanging out and having fun together, something that Sento and Banjo, the supposed "best match" have yet to have. I was actually legit let down that Grease ended up losing to Build in the end, and that scene with Grease reflecting on his fallen friend got way more out of me than the leads have. So, yeah, when Aoba died, rather than "Oh my god, Sento's gone off the deep end!" all I could think was "Wow, I was just starting to like these characters and now one of them is dead. Great."

Outside of those highlights, it's basically just been more of the same so far in terms of how I'm interpreting what the show is presenting me. It has a few moments here and there, but it's still nothing great for me.