[Fish Sandwich]

Hey everyone, guess what time it is!



Well, hopefully it won't be time for Sougo to spend an entire minute just transforming from here on. Still, I can't deny that looked pretty cool.

This episode is great, but it's definitely getting by on the fun factor more than anything. There's not a lot of substance to the plot here, and Yuuto deciding to cut Sougo some slack seemingly just because he saw him talking nicely to a guy once feels pretty weak, honestly. Zi-O II is still the form debut to beat, but this one goes in a different enough direction that it's still cool.

The upside of the Zi-O elements being underwhelming is that the Den-O characters really get to shine here. Momotaros' personality especially is spot on throughout, and it's extra impressive that they even found time to get in bits like Deneb's habit of wearing terrible disguises. The stylistic touches throughout the arc like using Den-O's format of showing the dates instead of Zi-O's were also cool to see.

Grand Zi-O is clearly the thing to talk about with this one, though. Just like Trinity, the show did a great job selling me on a redundant design. The ability to use any Heisei Rider's powers seemingly any way Sougo wants, be it summoning them for a finishing attack or using their weapons, feels appropriately, well, grand. It's a straightforward but fitting idea for the final Heisei Rider's final form, and it's positively loaded with potential for great fanservice. I was a little blown away when he plucked a dejected Den-O right out of the climax of episode 18 of his own series. It's a hilariously specific choice to make, and the whole reason he's doing it is a clever workaround to get Den-O in on the fight without breaking the rules Zi-O has set for itself.

Although I have to ask, is Zi-O on his own forehead literally the first time he's even done that clock hands pose with his fingers he's always doing in promotional images in the actual show? Toei wants us to believe that's his signature gesture or something, but I can't recall a single instance where he's done it until now.