Another absolutely great arc as this is probably my favorite arc so far for the series. I know the Phoenix arc was amazing, but for me personally I like this somewhat more. First is Shunpei and he is not useless! I hate hearing this from other reviewers about characters. There is never such a thing as a useless character it's just they can be used in the wrong way and only seem like that (example the Hoppers from Kabuto). Shunpei is being used correctly and this episode gives him great shining moments. He helped someone find hope and even though he didn't know what was happening he helped out at the best time. He is a character that will jump to conclusions, but he is learning when to actually help now. It's just like what Rinko said he needs to become reliable. Overall Shunpei is not a useless character as he adds good comic relief and can be very helpful and thanks to this episode I hope people can see that.
Now onto the biggest reason why I love this arc the most. Matsui and Tetsuya are near perfect characters as they have a close relationship of filling the roles of a teacher and the student. I always like these types of characters like Gotou and Date or Zanki and Todoroki. Matsui is the boss people want he can be strict, but he is very kind person who knows how to teach someone properly. He works hard for his student who will keep his legacy running in the future. Another thing about him is that he is played by Suwa Tarou who does constant Toku roles with his most familiar ones being in Abaranger and Den-o. He really brought out this character and I can't wait to see him again. Tetsuya the other good character who wants to become a chef and learns under a great teacher. He wasn't seeing any hope, but thanks to Shunpei he aims for something at least. He wanted to make a Manju to see if he has progressed in his skills. These two alone really make this arc very watchable as it's a very different kind of working relationship I usually never see on television.The Phantoms were on their strong points as well with Medusa now giving aid like last time with Gargoyle. Personally I think she is getting ticked off as well. Not as much as Phoenix, but she can't stand constant failures either. She wasn't aiming to fight Wizard, but she ended up having to. We got to see more of Medusa's powers now as we see her use of snakes when she drain Koyomi of her magic. We also got to see her type of magic which is probably stone because the creature Medusa can turn people into stone. Now Valkyrie didn't get much screen time like last time, but I bet Medusa told him to hold back until they find out how to get the Gate into despair. He then went on his own to kill Tetsuya and it's kinda funny that he actually attacked him originally for his first plan. Just shows ya that even smart villains can't see everything. So again this is good use of the Phantoms as the higher ups are getting tired of failing.
The character interaction was much more than usual as well since Shunpei was a big character in this arc. There was also Rinko who helped Shunpei to see that he needed to be more reliable and Koyomi tagged along for the most part. Along with how Tetsuya and Matsui were being everything ran perfectly. I even liked how Haruto learned something which is nice for the main hero. Haruto is usually the person who make people realize something to gain hope. Even though this wasn't for hope, Haruto learned that he is holding onto a dream. With that he knows how to treat Shunpei now and he can be a handful he sees that he is being helpful. Wizard just keeps what is making this series fun to watch and the character use shows that well. Even the action does this as well.
Action had some nice moments with the Medusa fight showing another strong foe. As I said before Medusa probably has stone magic since she summoned a giant stone to attack Wizard. The snakes drain magic which I thought was going to give Haruto a big handicap to fight with. He got out with the Liquid Ring, but still got his ass kicked afterwards. Then onto the last fight with Valkyrie, it's great. I loved how it began with how Valkyrie tries to get Wizard away. Then onto Wizard trying to fight, but also protecting Tetsuya and the Manju. The last part was the best since we got to see Wizard fly with wings thanks to the Special Ring used in Hurricane Dragon Styles. The Small Ring also got used again which shows great potential for the series as most of the rings are not being forgotten. The finisher was very over the top and it was awesome! Wizard is really flashy with some of his finishers like the Kick Strike with Dragon. The Thunder finisher was ten times better here with a thunder cloud being summoned to strike down the foe with multiple lighting bolts. We can also see Valkyrie's shadow at that point which was a nice touch. Overall the action is not fading out yet as the series is pulling off even more flashier finales.
A+!!!!!!! There is no doubt that this episode deserves this rating. Everything from the last arc was kept expect for comedy, but it makes sense for the the second part. Heck I still got some laughs mostly when Wizard used Small and Valkyrie just ran into the building. The series is on a great streak right now and people need to watch it. I really recommend this series for people who love magic themes. Kamen Rider Wizard is bringing back the franchise a whole lot even though the last two series were still good, just not amazing like this!
Next Time: Wiseman!
Are you talkin' smack about OOO? Oooo boi you bettah be able to finish what you're starting!
ReplyDeleteWizard has some great action and smart baddies, but it ain't got nothin' on Ankh!
I'm not saying OOO is bad. I give it a B+ and right now Wizard is having "A's" So compare and contrast. I remember the first couple of episodes of OOO were amazing, but it started to slow down and Wizard could hit that point... hopefully not though.
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