Now for the episode itself, it was enjoyable. Though this episode has its goofy moment in the form of the Copycat Pirate, overall it feels like I am watching a serious cop drama. I mean, we got the two cops and them staking out, the short yet good detective work they did on figuring out the true culprit, and of course, it is exciting. For at least half of the episode, this is the main focus of the 16-minute DVD special and boy; they managed to tell us everything we need to know in that limited time. It tells how the two work and why is Shinnosuke that somber after he failed to save him.
After they are done confronting the criminal, he managed to escape thanks to the enemy Roidmude creating a flash of light to distract Shinnosuke and his partner. This is when Proto-Drive comes in the story. While the detective story is happening, I was wondering why he isn't around for at least half the episode, turns out that he is the star of at least half of it. Giving him this limited exposure adds more mystique to the character's origins. I mean, I was expected that episode 0 will tell us the origins of Proto-Drive but nope, this episode implied that they are doing this for quite some time now.
We also got a look at the Garage before Shinnosuke, Kiriko, and Rinna started occupying it. There's nothing much to say about the place aside that it adds more mystery to the already mysterious Proto-Drive. What's worth noting about this scene is that we learned that Proto-Drive can scan Viral Cores (aka the Roidmude bodies) using his Drive Brace. This scene pretty much gives us an idea on how Krim was involved with the development of the Roidmudes and the Shift Cars, but it doesn't give us the answers we need on Krim's involvement with the Roidmudes.
Originally posted on Orends: Range last February 13, 2015.