Summary: Agent Kizaki continues his dogged mission to protect Naoki, while still resisting interference from Haruto. Elsewhere, the restored Phoenix and Medusa plot how to drag the boy into despair.

Dragonzigg’s Thoughts: I had some rough words for Wizard last week, but fortunately this episode makes good on practically all of the problems I had with the previous episode. Central to this is a much more engaging characterisation of Agent Kizaki, who comes across as human, concerned and even likeable in this part, aided by some decent acting. His motivation becomes a little easier to understand, especially when the manner of Naoki’s father’s death comes out. Yes, the whole ‘He died protecting you’ plotline is as old as the hills, but it’s still a good ‘un and it lends gravity to the responses of both Naoki and Kizaki. It also helps that this time round the kid character is old enough to both act and actually have a believable presence in the show.

If there’s a weakness this episode it’s actually in the surprisingly by-the-numbers action, which is a little uninspiring to my tastes. Yes, we get some neat dual wielding and the first Wizar Dragon fight in a while, but it seems a tad dull, and the fact I’ve already tired of Flame Dragon Style should tell you something about its effectiveness as a powerup.  In fact, the best action scene in this episode might be from Kizaki and his agents, as they get painfully whaled on by Ghouls. Bonus points for the double instances of people flailing about with metal poles, and the impressively rough looking blood makeup.

Elsewhere, it’s fun to see Phoenix back to his cocky old self, kicking ass and providing some much needed threat. His continued arrogance towards Haruto suggests to me he’ll be a much tougher takedown in the future,  and I really hope he continues to be a big presence, given his effectiveness as a villain. After some time out of the limelight, I’m hoping that haruto’s ‘gang’ return to prominence in the following episodes – they’ve been sidelined a bit too heavily for my like, and it does look as though we’ll be getting a Shunpei themed episode next week. Yay?

Random Observations

• Gotta admit, I totally fell for the old switcheroo.
• Very cool to see Wizard’s little robo-animals combine
• Lucky Haruto carries a spare bike helmet with him everywhere, no?
• What’s with the hilariously rubbish barriers the NSA are using to block the warehouse? And are those guys employed just to push them backwards and forwards?