[DreamSword]

Episode 38: Rescue the SHOT Base!

This felt like the script to a Ryukendo videogame that got retooled into an episode.

The flow of the plot, the fact that it's an escort mission, the waves of enemies blocking progress, and it all ending in a boss fight? Classic game logic.

Don't take that as any sort of negative though, as I still had fun with this one. Baron Bloody's' plan to create a dummy key is actually rather smart, and the way various aspects of the episode build off it are nice to see.

Ichiko being able to get in on the action was a nice surprise, and I loved the attention to detail on how Ryujinoh's' powers still work due to his system being independent from SHOT's'. Plus, we got to see that Tsukaima can drive, but only barely. Putties are superior in this regard.

And while it's kinda weird that the latter half of the episode seems to frame things as if Koichi was the main character, I'm not really gonna complain. Because I again wanna note how much better he is as a side character than a main one. I actually kinda liked him in this one, and it wasn't like his personality was changed at all in order to compensate.

If Ryukendo ever were adapted into a PS2 action game, I think this episode serves as a sort of proof of concept, and I think I'd have fun with it.