Nuevo Mazinger! Zeta episodio vientitres

The first 19 minutes of this episode are atrocious. Nothing noteworthy to screencap. Much time is wasted developing Kouji and Sayaka's fledgling romance, only sparingly covered in previous episodes. For one, the romance should've been dropped, period. It saps momentum from the rest of the show. Also, the way it's been done is too damn jarring. Sporadic hints to hot tub declaration of love is too damn abrupt--
But I digress. The last minute is heart-stopping. Screw spoilers, just thinking about that final bit gets me so amped that I can't keep my mouth shut. Earlier in the episode, Kouji gets an invitation from Dr. Hell to have a duel with Baron Ashura and its fugly mechanical beast, Baron Ashura. The winner would then gain or maintain control of the Atami Photon Power-whatever. Kouji initially declines. But then has a change of heart. Because ultimate, he is a man, and men are not supposed to turn away from challenges, even if they know full well that they are about to walk into a trap. I promptly ran for three miles for the first time in months after finishing the episode, feeling that my man-ness had become inadequate.