But before talking about on how they coped up with that loss, let's talk about the lead up to that loss. To put it simply, everything that happened in this episode takes place immediately after the end of the previous episode wherein Takeru figured out why he got the ability to peak into people's memories. But before he can say that, a Ganmaizer appear and thanks to some exposition, we learned that not only they are immortal, but they grow stronger with every defeat.
The episode wasn't clear on how the Ore Eyecon was destroyed. Was it because of the pressure of being the only Eyecon left or was it because all of Takeru's Eyecons were sucked in some wormhole and that the Ore Eyecon got some damage from it? Either way, the episode was so unclear on that part that Takeru's death didn't have any impact on me. Like there is no proper build up leading to this scene, no foreshadowing of the Ore Eyecon cracking and eventually, exploding, and more importantly, the novelty of Takeru dying before the episode ends has lost its novelty.
Because he is dead for real this time, Team Ghost tries to find ways to cope up with his death, Makoto and Alain continued their job of destroying Gates, Akari tries to find ways on how to revive Takeru, and as for the rest, they still think that there is still a chance for Takeru to come back. Because there are no signs of Takeru's return and it seems pointless to try and find ways to bring him back, they all came to a realization; it is time to move on because this is not what Takeru wanted. It's a really touching realization... only to stop caring about it when you realized you don't have enough time to at least feel Takeru's death.
Thanks to the wish, we learned that just like the Dragon Balls, these Eyecons will separate, restarting the search from the beginning. This is when we saw Javert get two of the Eyecons, making it impossible to revive Takeru for the time being. The next episode focused on the fallout of that event, we saw Team Ghost search for the missing Eyecons and saw them at their most desperate. We also saw Takeru readily accepting his fate that this might be the last time he will saw his friends. What we got is a montage of Takeru's last moments, leading up to his supposed farewell and the debut of Toucon Boost Damashii.
With them realizing that Takeru doesn't want this, and a scene wherein Grandma Fumi's granddaughter made Makoto and Alain realize that something of that person still lives in all of us, Team Ghost came with the conclusion that they should stop sulking and find a way to beat the immortal Ganmaizer. What we got is a montage of them preparing for their big plan to fight the Ganmaizer, which involves Akari studying the potential use of the plasma that she got from the previous episode into the entire mix. I liked that they tied it in with the previous episode, adding more impact to the show's overall narrative.
With this defeat, they start to remember their favorite moment with Takeru, which made them realize that if Takeru is in their situation, he will still fight back. Team Ghost stands up, and the Ore Eyecon starts to shine. Their feelings for Takeru have resonated with Takeru's soul, which was in limbo for most of the episode. So yeah, I didn't care that Takeru returned before the episode ends. The episode made me care less about his death; the episode didn't make me care about his return. On paper, the idea that Takeru's friends is what made his soul return to our world sounds great, but the way they executed it and the barebones build up to it made me care less about it. What happens next is something the Toucon Boost Damashii debut executed better.