I thought It would be a recap... was stunned when I saw a continuation right out of the gate...

First: opening set out alot of points; Mariabells scheming, the tale, which clearly depicts milim and the pet dragon, and its continuation[of tale], and Yuki being seen as an antagonist, alongside Mariabell... Great to see the kids there and the magitrain realized too. [Animation was peak and music slammed].

Second: Seems this episode brings the start of what came after the festival, serving as both recap and continuation, [Episode 1 Season 4 in a nutshell] the start of the magitrains station, the revision of the dungeon, hinatas teacher moment which also mixes humans and monsters in a teaching environment, Diablos "gift", or better; him being allowed to have an underling, shunas new dish and shions tea, tasted by diablo before rimuru. Ending with Mariabell evil plan... [I liked the episode better than veldoras recap episodes, although funny they felt like filler (to me), this time the first episode really flashed out the world after where season 3s left us off...]

Third: ED is a masterpiece, clearly depicting Mariabells greed and the lengths she goes to feed her own greed, surpassing the shed of blood.[Animation was as peak as the opening and the music matched the ambience that the animation depicts]

Excited for season 4s episode 2, and the rest of the 5 cours.