I can't help but wonder if the cold opening left any kids confused at first. The tone was so strikingly different from the rest of the show that a child might think they tuned into some drama instead of their usual superhero show.
As for the rest of this episode, it was rather... crowded. The Kiva related parts were intriguing enough on their own, but then you've got the introduction of Ginga out of nowhere. Also, are the Arm Monsters just mindless puppets now? They just gladly follow anyone that remotely looks like Kiva, or is this about following whoever has his powers? The next episode had better make up for this.
At least Jiro/Garulu's original actor reprised his roll. I don't ask for much, just seeing at least one member of the original cast is enough for me.
And the legacy continues, as one of the shows that Zi-O broadcasts against is GeGeGe no Kitaro, and apparently one of the writers on that show is Toshiki's daughter, Akiko Inoue. I wonder if they were keen to see which got the better ratings lol?
I think the cafe scene was the best of this one. It doesn't look the same as the one from Kiva, but the wood paneling etc was close enough to evoke the same atmosphere. I hope Ginga gets a bit more to do next episode. He was a bit robotic in this.
That's some tough competition! I've heard Kitaro's been covering some pretty hard-hitting social commentary in their episodes lately. The franchise has come a long way.
As for the cafe, I could have sworn it was the exact same location, just with a big change in the decor. Am I wrong?