[Mesnick]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

He's still imba, but yeah Ace's perfection doesn't seem to outright reach Tendou's level (neither did Tsukasa). It's already shown in Ace's failed flirtings, but here Ace loses his cool a bit when his egg didn't hatch for a long time, or anything regarding his mom. I wonder if egg is something new to Ace? As previously he always knows how to get through the game in unexpected ways both in and out of universe before he explains it. Though of course, when the egg hatches, it's the Monster Buckle that can one-punched the Knight Jamato and gave Ace the win (the word not the Rider) in anticlimatic way.

For me, the main difference is that I understand why Ace wins and it doesn't feel like plot cheating. Even here, it's not so much the Buckle Monster, but the fact that he knew in advance where to hit. If Michinaga or Neon had taken care of that, one of them would have won before Ace showed up. So as long as he's cool in that way, that's fine with me.
Also, the entire final round was unsuccessful for Ace. In the seventh episode, he missed the victory by knocking the can right into the hands of the monster. In the eighth, the Ninja buckle escaped from him and he again incorrectly knocked out the can (in fairness, this time Michinaga interfered with him). Well, in this he would not have won without inadvertent help from the main rival. I think all this happened to show how important it is his experience in the DGP for Ace's victories. It is clear that in the new conditions he will not be completely helpless and still remains the best, but he will no longer be able to win easily.

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Otherwise, yeah it's good that they didn't sideline Neon's growth in ep. 4 to be one-time only, but they're consistent with it, continuing that with her keeping up with Ace at Concentration, kicking the can, and making use of the Raise Propeller and Knight Jamato's attacks to wipe out the Pawn Jamatos; she survived (unlike her supposed last stream) not by being passive, but by performing at least as good as Buffa against the final boss. I'

I think when comparing Nago and Buffa, you need to take into account that Neon has not yet received the buckle intended for her. So in the next DGP, she has every chance to move Michinaga from second place. Although I think both of them will be pushed by PunkJack.
And I think the memories linger, because Buffa was called a veteran in the second episode and he knew that water was a weak buckle.