[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 5 -- "The Final Match of the Contest"

Despite the setback, Haruto is totally prepared to set aside fancy tricks and get the job done with nothing but a sword, only for the real gravity of the situation to quickly become apparent once he runs out of juice entirely, undoing his transformation and leaving him at the mercy of Cat Sidhe. Fortunately for Haruto, he's only at the mercy at Cat Sidhe, who, true to form, simply takes the opportunity to run away and slack off somewhere.

So the stakes for Wizard would be the mana for its Rider user, where if Haruto runs out from it he'd revert back to human form. He can't henshin forever.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

She tries to walk off in a huff, telling Haruto that it's not worth putting his life on the line for Takagi, but before Haruto can say anything to try and calm her down, he collapses outright.

Seems coincidental for my viewing that the recent OOO episode also talks about if the victim is worth saving. Sorry, but I guess this'd be the bigger dick move for Koyomi to tell Haruto to abandon a victim. Virtuous characters of superhero shows tend to run on how there's no life not worth saving, though Eiji was the one that said it in ep. 4 that it's not his place to decide someone's worth, but it's also a good tips that should be widespread, that one should be able to divide time against those who are worth spending your on, and cut off those who aren't otherwise, for their own well-being. I know it's often brought up about how heroes should be self-sacrificial, but I don't want suffering to be glorified, while not encouraging basing treatment on what they deserve or not.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Those feelings have manifested in some pretty ugly ways throughout these episodes, but put in light of that fear of being abnormal -- of not being good enough -- it's a lot harder to criticize her for that.

It can be generally easier to sympathize in watching a fictional story (though generally this applies more to cool morally grey or villainous fighter characters), as by following a character, we get to know them better in detail, learn about why they act the way they do that helps one emphatize with them better, but for real life, one likely wouldn't know the ones who behave in a poor way better, giving little motivation to sympathize, and many'd (including me at times...) just write off these kind of people as pure monsters, but in actuality perhaps anyone can have their own struggles and reasons to act like that, which makes me wonder what'd be actually deserving of criticism given anyone'd have reasons... outside of actual villains. Of which obviously, Haruto's the one to strive for in how he understands Takagi.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

With Haruto's earlier words as the hint, Koyomi realizes that Takagi is terrified of facing failure tomorrow because he's trying to cling to the success of his past. This too, has value far beyond just these two episodes. Pleasant memories can be a source of hope, and something that drives you forward in life, but with Takagi, we're seeing how it's just as possible for those feelings to become twisted into a much more unhealthy longing to go back, and you'd better believe the line between cherishing a memory and obsessing over it is a topic we'll be revisiting throughout the show.

Dunno what caused Takagi's slump, but a common case of this would be perhaps nostalgia goggles, as it's done through universal experience of life, where I just see it anywhere of people longing for the pleasant memories in their past, making them bitter of the present and lashing out at anything in the present. This to me, causes many double standard judgments to praise something of the past while bashing on something of the present, for the same reasons. I do try to not have this cloud my judgments, and call out these double standards, but as this can be the hot take, I might be the one in the wrong for doing this and by above, not understanding others about nostalgia (being a hell of a drug).

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Knowing all that also makes it very clear how much it must mean to her that Haruto promised to be her hope that day, in spite of her trying to push him away, and that *also* ties together *so* much. Not only the parallel between Koyomi and Takagi, but what Haruto told Rinko earlier about accepting everything about Koyomi, and why she trusts him in particular. In that moment, Koyomi couldn't think of herself as anything but a monster, and yet Haruto treated her with kindness, and gave her a reason to face the uncertainty of the future.

I do understand about being singled out for being abnormal, which is something common in real life that doesn't need something inhuman like a doll to happen, but dunno if at this point, Koyomi had actually suffered due to her abnormal traits, or that her fear was all in the head. I understand having a fear of negative scenarios in the head, I have that all the time. Koyomi processing her abnormal nature this early may give her more time to develop from that, and it gives clear meaning of what Haruto means of accepting everything about her, though often conflicts like this are done in having a character who's prejudiced against other species as a test.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

With Cat Sidhe defeated, there's nothing to get in Takagi's way at the contest... not that it helps him come out on top. No, instead, Takagi wins a more personal victory today, by taking his loss in stride, telling everyone of his intent to get a fresh start studying overseas, and thanking Koyomi for giving him the wake-up call he needed. And as for Koyomi herself? Well, she even finds herself smiling along at Shunpei's usual antics, so it definitely seems she's gained something from all of this too.

It's refreshing to not have Takagi actually win, but still having him losing, continuing his struggle with before, as the lesson is about how he deals with his current predicament. Though obviously he has shown unhealthy coping mechanisms to it before that he grew out from, to some people, telling one to get over it (though both Haruto and Koyomi doesn't do it in an insensitive way) can feel offensive to them, where they don't understand on how it's human to have negative reactions like sadness and disappointment, and that said advice feels like telling them to repress negative feelings, which'd be toxic positivity.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It's quite the heartwarming resolution, and as usual, there's a lot of smaller things going on that make it all that much more impactful. It's not just that Koyomi is smiling; it's also that Haruto is there to notice she is, just like he took note when Wajima told him that morning that Koyomi had been spending the night with Rinko and Shunpei, feeling happy that she's finally making friends. And of course, Haruto gets to communicate all that to the audience without having to say anything directly, which I think contributes a lot of the nuance that helps it all land exactly how it needs to.

Though it's expected that the cast's bond will get stronger in a show like this, I feel that, at this point, Koyomi's just more indifferent rather than hostile against Rinko and Shunpei, which is still a baby step rather than full-on friends. Like, maybe driving away Rinko and Shunpei wouldn't produce as much results, so she stops forcing them what to do. As she said, suit yourself, if they join, then they join, but if they don't, then she wouldn't fret about it.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Koyomi may look sweet and innocent, even with the mischief behind her smile, but yeah, giving Rinko the cold shoulder like that shows how the team's sudden expansion has caused Koyomi's insecurity to manifest in spitefulness and that needs to be resolved quickly. It's not like her, but that's the whole point. It's good that we get to see her dark side now, so then we can get the healthy version of Koyomi we all know and love.

About looking sweet and innocent.... dunno if this just applies to anyone conventionally attractive (there are exceptions but still), of which this phenomenon is refered as 'halo effect', psychological bias in perceiving attractive people more positively - which may relate on how attractive people'd look sweet and innocent.

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

So the stakes for Wizard would be the mana for its Rider user, where if Haruto runs out from it he'd revert back to human form. He can't henshin forever.

Granted, the inherently vague nature of exactly how much energy Haruto has at any given moment means it's not actually something the show regularly relies on for dramatic reasons. It's only even a major factor in this story mostly because of how useful it is to build Koyomi as a character in that specific moment.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It's refreshing to not have Takagi actually win, but still having him losing, continuing his struggle with before, as the lesson is about how he deals with his current predicament.

Definitely! It's a story that, for both Koyomi and Takagi, is kind of all about being comfortable with the person you are, so not having Takagi suddenly manage a surprise win at the competition is critical for getting that across.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though it's expected that the cast's bond will get stronger in a show like this, I feel that, at this point, Koyomi's just more indifferent rather than hostile against Rinko and Shunpei, which is still a baby step rather than full-on friends.

Which is probably the right choice for only the fifth episode. There's already a difference in the tone of that second "suit yourself", but the show still leaves lots of room for the dynamic to grow, rather than having Koyomi pull a total 180 literally overnight.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 6 -- "To a Beautiful Flower"

This is Manami Kawasaki, who will probably be pretty important to this story, judging by that introduction. She's meeting with one Mr. Kouichi Yamagata, a fairly timid looking dude who's one huge bundle of nerves on this date, as though he himself can't believe his luck. It seems quite a few people are meeting someone nice, as a matter of fact. Wajima's got someone he's so head over heels for he's planning to give her a newly made magic ring as a present, despite Koyomi's protests. Shunpei is gleefully pursuing the aforementioned sudden interest in foreign languages at the recommendation of a woman who was even kind enough to sell him a ton of crash course educational books on the subject... even though Koyomi immediately sees something off about that. Heck, even the donut shop employee has fallen in love, which has Haruto musing that he wouldn't mind meeting someone new himself.

Somehow, it's only Manami who manages to easily attract various males, but other pretty actresses like Koyomi or Rinko didn't do the same, though it's probably also Manami directly interacting with people to ask them out that charms them, not merely her looks.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Speaking of Haruto, he gets looped into the plot in a particularly fun fashion. The familiars are built into the series in large part as a way to take shortcuts with that part of a script, but Koumura rises above the temptation here. Instead, a civilian fleeing from Gnome bumps into Haruto, crushing his latest bag of donuts before he gets a chance to take a bite. It's a nicely comedic scene for the guy on a few levels. The situation itself is pretty amusing, with Haruto basically retreating to the comfort of junk food to distract himself from how lonely and/or bored he's feeling, and his actual reaction is priceless. There's such excessively raw anguish in his voice and on his face, like no tragedy in the world could ever be greater than that of a donut going to waste. It's hilarious in the moment, but it also helps build Haruto into a more rounded character. There have been scenes that break his cool guy image for comedic value since the premiere, but I feel this one demonstrates how he can downright excel in that kind of scenario in a way that hasn't been as obvious up to this point.

At least the donuts are still inside the pack, so it can still be eaten technically, just that it's flatter.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

After entrusting Unicorn with the task of tracking down Gnome, Haruto turns his attention back to Manami and Yamagata, as they all head to Yamagata's lavish estate to discuss what's going on. This is another occasion where, even though the show definitely doesn't expect the viewer to be surprised, the narrative technically keeps it ambiguous who the Gate is, since Haruto himself is initially uncertain. It's mostly a scene to get the plot moving, highlighting Yamagata's wealth, establishing Manami's discomfort with the police as Haruto brings in Rinko to help, and splitting the group into pairs as Manami insists on heading back out, with Haruto coming along as Rinko stays behind with Yamagata. That being said, Koumura's dialogue keeps it from actively feeling mechanical, making room for a bit of banter between Haruto and Rinko, and also going all in on embarrassing Haruto for comedy when it turns out he's not even *slightly* above falling for Manami's charms.

As seemingly a pretty woman asks out Shigeru, which seems too good to be true, I thought Yamagata was nothing, like a nerdy loser or such, but turns out he's rich here. Manami being uncomfortable with cops is the start of her being suspicious.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

He probably thinks he's still playing it cool in his head, but Haruto treats walking along with Manami less like he's there as a bodyguard and more like he just landed a date, even bragging about his awesome wizard powers when asked. To be fair to Haruto, Manami is clearly actively encouraging all this... right up until Haruto mentions he can't use magic to make money, at which point Manami deliberately drops a scarf on the ground so she can slip away while Haruto picks it back up. This is around the point where the meaning of the episode title becomes clear.

The scarf thing is brought up again by Komura in Gavv ep. 17-18, this time, the woman is actually the MOTW in disguise.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It doesn't really come across in translation, but the title of this one is the sort where the viewer is meant to finish a phrase in light of the full context of the narrative. In this case, a Japanese equivalent to the idiom "every rose has its thorn". In contrast to her outward beauty, it turns out Manami is a con artist who has been leading several men along in order to turn a profit. This of course includes Yamagata, who has been tricked into buying a mountain of presumably sketchy health products. On top of being a dramatic twist, this revelation also leads to the big punchline of the whole episode, as it turns out, naturally, that *everyone* who met a nice woman lately actually just met Manami, as her schemes start to crumble around her.

Dunno if this is intentional for the show, but it can seem that Manami is a MOTW Phantom by this, in how it'd be a sound method to drive someone to despair, by thinking that a pretty woman asks them out, only to turn out that it was all fake, which can drain someone's hope. Otherwise, seems con artist tactics are more effective if it's done not in person, but in for example, phone numbers where they can just discard them after their use against one person is done.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The natural greens get traded in for a cold industrial vibe, accented beautifully by the "natural" light shining in from the implied hole above in the form of a spotlight on the star of this performance. Interestingly, the way the show chooses to portray the Land-ness of Land Style in the fight here is not through any magic it uses, but instead in the fact that it's tough enough to let Wizard take on all these Ghouls with nothing but his bare hands. Which he could do in any form if he wanted, but the way it's shot, especially with the liberal use of slow-motion, sells what the scene is going for. It's extremely forceful, and also more steady than normal, without coming off sluggish.

I'd think magic use would make the fight cooler, albeit it makes sense to have Land being a mighty glacier, stat-wise. Wonder if other forms may get this treatment too, about the difference of their stats.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

What I think this plot really accomplishes for the overall series, and why I'm glad it comes this early, is that Manami lets the show make Haruto's style of heroism that much more defined. I like that he still wants to save her, of course, but that's the obvious part. What I think is more specific to what draws me to Wizard is that saving Manami is the only thing Haruto wants in this moment. I love how small the stakes seem, and what that says about how big they actually are. Wizard isn't fighting to save the world, or the city, or the school, or some crowd of people being terrorized -- he's putting everything on the line to save just a single person. In this case, a person who might not be considered "worth" saving, which is the key thing that highlights the beauty of that. There's a nobility to Haruto as Wizard that stands out to me even in a franchise full of noble heroes. The raw visual, as usual, sells this as much as the dialogue. One hand gripping a blade to strike at evil, the other hand placed reassuringly on the shoulder of those who evil would dare harm -- it's like my primordial notion of a hero, embodied by this one character.

I still don't understand here about the claim of Haruto being a standout compared to other noble heroes here, as yes, they'd save unlikable people too, to some people's dismay like them not giving the deserving fate to horrible villains. This isn't something I'd support, but likely people'd not hold it against Haruto or other similar kind of noble heroes if they leave Manami to die, because there's nothing wrong to have a baddie being killed, just like detonating MOTW, so that they won't harm anyone again.

[DreamSword]

So just I tried a plain sugar doughnut for the first time.

And I won't lie, I totally get why Haruto loves these. Surprisingly good!

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

At least the donuts are still inside the pack, so it can still be eaten technically, just that it's flatter.

I suppose that's one way of accepting the present! (Also, there's a lot of cute little touches in Haruto's performance I like in the scene after the fight where everyone heads to Yamagata's house, but now I'm imagining how amusing it would've been if Haruto spent the entire scene eating crushed donut chunks out of that bag the whole time, just to add yet another layer to that gag.)

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I still don't understand here about the claim of Haruto being a standout compared to other noble heroes here, as yes, they'd save unlikable people too

It's a nuance I'm probably going to spend the entire thread struggling to articulate clearly, but part of what I'm getting at in that paragraph is how all that stuff is implicit in Wizard's formula in a way I don't think is necessarily true of most other Rider shows. Most if not all of them also do stories where the hero is shown to help people in ways that go beyond fighting, or extend even to people who less morally upstanding characters (or viewers, I guess!) might write off -- and I love that kind of thing in every Rider show -- but the whole Phantom/Gate dynamic inherently means Wizard stories tend to actively be about that, all the way through, rather than having it be a single narrative thread that may or may not even connect directly to the monster action. So I feel that showing how much Haruto cares about Manami helps emphasize how much he cares about all the Gates he protects, and the overall simple structure of the two-parter in turn helps to emphasize how a Wizard plot, when reduced to its absolute most fundamental elements, comes down to how much worth even a single person's life has.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

So just I tried a plain sugar doughnut for the first time.

And I won't lie, I totally get why Haruto loves these. Surprisingly good!

So, I can't imagine I'm ever going to get a chance to mention this within one of the actual episode posts, but, even though I might be projecting here, my impression of Haruto's refusal to eat any donut from Hungry that isn't plain sugar has always been that it's a sign how much he respects their craft, rather than the apathy it might look like at first glance?

Like, it's easy to slather enough toppings on a pizza or frosting on a cake and make it seem appetizing, but you know you're dealing with someone truly skilled at what they do when they've perfected the bare essentials so finely that any additional gimmickry seems like a distraction rather than a complement.

...Or maybe Haruto is just a picky eater! Either way, this reminds me that, in spite of everything I just said, I've never actually had a plain sugar donut before. Maybe I should reward myself when I get to the end of the thread or something.

[DreadBringer]

My following replies here can sound killjoy-ish... but I do want to get explanations by this

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Most if not all of them also do stories where the hero is shown to help people in ways that go beyond fighting, or extend even to people who less morally upstanding characters (or viewers, I guess!) might write off -- and I love that kind of thing in every Rider show -- but the whole Phantom/Gate dynamic inherently means Wizard stories tend to actively be about that, all the way through, rather than having it be a single narrative thread that may or may not even connect directly to the monster action.

To people, writing off those kinds of people isn't being less morally upstanding (can be actually more morally upstanding to them), but about being more mentally healthy. Guess to sum up this is about more dealing/helping unlikable victim of the weeks compared to other Rider shows, but dunno if OOO can fit this too (tbh, this is my first time watching both shows), with Yummy being about the extreme version of their desires, that the victim of the weeks tend to be people who can't control their desires, rather greedy and unlikable and at least to Ankh, they're not worth saving.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Episode 7 -- "Buying Memories"

Back at Omokagedo, Shunpei, Wajima, and the donut shop employee are taking the truth particularly poorly, wallowing together in their sadness to the sound of equally melodramatic music, all as Rinko and Koyomi look on with little sympathy.

Though these guys are comic relief characters who the show'd generally treat with contempt, generally yeah, the victims of con artists would get little sympathy from others, because the victim actually does directly take action, so to others, they should've known better, so stupid to fall for obvious bait, their own undoings for their greed/lust/etc. Thus, it's best for con artist victims to never bring up about their conned experience to anyone, as they'd just be looked down upon.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Haruto breaks the news to Yamagata, who isn't all that surprised to find out that Manami was interested in a guy like him for his wealth. Yamagata starts to turn the story towards the "why" of Manami being a con artist, suggesting she has some particular reason she needs the money, and calling attention to the fact she went out of her way to help him when Gnome first attacked, when she could've easily just worried about saving herself.

It's also unknown if the con who deceived Manami's dad would also have similar particular reason to want money though... Yamagata sees the best in Manami here, which is proven right in the end, but, this can be viewed as just him coping and not accepting the fact that Manami is a fake suitor to him. And that, Manami may try to save him as he's the wealthier one so she'd gain more benefit from conning him compared to other average joes.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

An extremely sentimental story about the happier times she had as a child living in that house with her family, how their family lost it all after her father was (rather ironically) deceived by a con, how they promised to live in that house again one day, only for Manami to eventually be left without even a family, and how, in spite of all that, the thought of that house has kept her going amidst the turmoil of her life all this time.

It wasn't brought up in story (at least directly) that now Manami is turning similar into the person who ruined her family's life....

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

When Haruto says he still can't overlook what she's doing, Manami tries to claim that Haruto can't understand the pain of losing your family.

Manami claiming that Haruto can't understand the pain of losing your family is something widespread that is used by many people too to deflect blame and responsibility of their actions and get viewed as being right. Commonly many people do seem to think that tragedy (if not, then it's not bad enough) always, automatically breaks people and they cannot be blamed for it, those who do only haven't been put in similar situation where they'd become bad too. Haruto obviously is about not letting tragedy corrupt him as the role model, but this doesn't seem to be widely acknowledged in fanbase (not only for series like Wizard but also more well-received series as well) that they still only justify villains who turned that way due to tragic events.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And, you know, if that's too subtle, the next thing he says is a big declaration that he's going to protect Manami's hope, followed by transforming into Water Style, dousing the flames and flushing Gnome right out of the building like common waste.

Though dunno how much Manami wants her house intact (it got burned, but the building's still standing), this'd be a no big deal for Haruto as he has Water Style that can extinguish those fire the Gnome sets. I thought this is her house being demolished, but it makes sense that Gnome would do this to drive a Gate to despair.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Gnome can track your scent? Slip the Smell Ring on him and that's no problem! The stench *is* a problem though, so maybe adorably cover your nose with your robe! (Takaiwa's idea, by the way.)

I've been thinking that the Smell Ring would be important when Gnome resorts to hiding underground and talking about Wizard's scent, but turns out the Smell Ring gives problems for Wizard himself too.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

A sort of Rider Rock Drill Kick, if you will. (I'm sure Fourze would approve!)

I like this drill kick better than Fourze, where the kick actually feels different to basic attacks unlike Fourze just driving the existing drill to opponent but from air, and have it being closer to Faiz's type of drill kick. This also makes the kick feel flashier than Flame Style's Rider Kick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Now knowing the reason she needed money, a sympathetic Yamagata says he's buying the house, not to just give to her (he's not doing this because he's a pushover or anything), but to keep it safe so she can return one day and buy it back properly this time.

I do like that Yamagata being rich plays a more important role here that Yamagata is the one that can solve Manami's problem by having him getting enough money to buy the house from those that want to demolish it.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

And Yamagata's kindness shows Manami that not all rich people are uncaring opportunists who take advantage of the poor. So Manami has learned a lot of important wisdom by the end of this arc, which she can put to good use after she's atoned for her crimes.

It'd still be viewed as something small compared to the damages he has done (even indirectly) by being rich that he denied many others a chance of a fulfilling live by holding the money that could've been crucial to those people that needed it much more if it goes to them instead rather than to someone that doesn't really need it and has more than enough, so one comparatively small good deed is far from enough to pay for the unfair creation that he has created (unintentionally).

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

It's probably due to subs, but the way Manami ends up having to go to jail, one could easily interpret it not as her turning herself in, but that Rinko was going to arrest her despite everything anyway. And even ignoring that, Haruto doesn't bother to tell Manami that there's no need for that, given that Manami has clearly learned her lesson in all this.

And that's not even getting into the real world context of how society tends to treat convicts, reformed or not. But again, not here to dive into morality and whatnot. So like, please don't.

Dunno if I can reply like this to this part, but though I rather agree of no need for punishment to someone that has learned their lesson, I've seen far more complaints that are about the opposite, where they feel the show doesn't punish the convicts enough and let them get away scot-free (what people'd describe scenarios like Manami not going to jail) because of the "doesn't need to be punished because they've learned the lesson" you bring up here, for reformed convicts. If this is done, then to them, the show doesn't treat the crimes with appropriate weight and is being distasteful in how they handle crimes. The ostracizing part of convicts, though can be cruel and that I disagree with it, can seem necessary for the public's safety and prepare for worst case scenarios like them faking being reformed or the only reliable way to discourage other people to commit crimes.

[Annuga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

So, I can't imagine I'm ever going to get a chance to mention this within one of the actual episode posts, but, even though I might be projecting here, my impression of Haruto's refusal to eat any donut from Hungry that isn't plain sugar has always been that it's a sign how much he respects their craft, rather than the apathy it might look like at first glance?

Like, it's easy to slather enough toppings on a pizza or frosting on a cake and make it seem appetizing, but you know you're dealing with someone truly skilled at what they do when they've perfected the bare essentials so finely that any additional gimmickry seems like a distraction rather than a complement.

...Or maybe Haruto is just a picky eater! Either way, this reminds me that, in spite of everything I just said, I've never actually had a plain sugar donut before. Maybe I should reward myself when I get to the end of the thread or something.

It's probably me being cynical but I wonder if it's a reminder of happier times for Haruto. A lot of people when upset can also feel better after eating to varying degrees, so for Haruto, it could also be a comfort food. While he always looks cool, who knows, maybe the stress of handling Gates requires he indulge himself every now and then and the pleasant memories associated with eating the plain sugar doughnuts also serve as a reminder of why he does this? Idk, I might be reading too much into this

[DreamSword]

Y'all have certainly thought alot more about Haruto's' eating habits than I have, that's for sure.

[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It wasn't brought up in story (at least directly) that now Manami is turning similar into the person who ruined her family's life....

Even though the story doesn't call any attention to that particular detail afterwards, I think the irony is 100% intentional, considering how light that flashback otherwise is on concrete details.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I like this drill kick better than Fourze, where the kick actually feels different to basic attacks unlike Fourze just driving the existing drill to opponent but from air, and have it being closer to Faiz's type of drill kick. This also makes the kick feel flashier than Flame Style's Rider Kick.

I don't know if I'd put it above Fourze, but admittedly, the actual kick part of the Rider Kick in the premiere was definitely the least interesting thing about it, so the version in this episode does a good job spicing that up without being able to bring the Dragon into the mix.

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Originally Posted by Annuga

It's probably me being cynical but I wonder if it's a reminder of happier times for Haruto. A lot of people when upset can also feel better after eating to varying degrees, so for Haruto, it could also be a comfort food. While he always looks cool, who knows, maybe the stress of handling Gates requires he indulge himself every now and then and the pleasant memories associated with eating the plain sugar doughnuts also serve as a reminder of why he does this? Idk, I might be reading too much into this

This thread is exactly the right place to be putting too much thought into Wizard, so thank you for also sharing your headcanon about why Haruto loves his donuts so much.

I think your idea squares with the facts pretty well? "Eating donuts" is basically the guy's default behavior when he's not fighting Phantoms, so I'd say it's definitely something Haruto finds relaxing. Tying that to pleasant memories from there would be right in the thematic wheelhouse of this show, so even though it's not an idea the show ever establishes, it is very much in line with all the ones it does, and I don't believe anything in Wizard actively contradicts it either? It's got more basis in what's actually on screen than my theory does, at least!

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Y'all have certainly thought alot more about Haruto's' eating habits than I have, that's for sure.

These things happen when a show lives in your head for over a decade!