[Fish Sandwich]

Episode 2 of Blazar is the one that introduces most of the elements of the show that really had me excited about it, and it introduces them flawlessly. The idea of Gento as a protagonist in that middle-management position especially, where he'll have to struggle as both a leader and a subordinate, that's rich with a lot of fun storytelling potential, and it also ties back into that whole "communication" theme that strikes me as a super interesting idea to spend a series tackling.

And really, that's the secret to why this episode is great -- just about everything contributes to that theme. In the opening alone, you've got the cast introduced through paperwork, followed by all different kinds of media framing much of the imagery throughout the chorus. The plot has several instances of information getting mixed up, and constantly highlights all these awkward bits of interaction between the cast, like getting a simple signature being surprisingly not simple. It's genuinely brilliant, I think, because the script is so full of sharp intent all the way through, and it uses that theme to very naturally breathe life into the characters and humor into the drama, so simply on a surface level, before even thinking about the broader picture, there's a huge benefit to the tight focus. Little things like Anri clearly being confused if "wilco" is like some official affirmative phrase for SKaRD or not for a split second before just going with a simple "roger" instead, they worked wonders to endear me to this cast after only one real episode with most of them.

And this is all before even talking about the part where Ultraman goes fishing for a monster, so like, the episode's not hurting for creative and engaging giant action either, if that side of the show was in doubt for some reason. Honestly, calling this episode "great" might still be selling it short? This humble little story is kind of staggeringly well-constructed no matter what angle you're looking at it from, and if this is just what normal looks like for Blazar as a series... pretty exciting times might be ahead!