People chatting about Graphite like he wouldn't be the perfect "Shadow the Hedgehog" equivalent. Can't you just imagine him saying "Hnnnnng, where's that damn fifth Gashat?" Classic.

And here's where I discuss the plot! Yeah, this one was a weird one, especially after the high stakes of the last few episodes, but it's nice to have breather and just go back to basics of forcing Kenzaki to suffer. He hasn't done that in almost... an episode! Umi is alright, maybe a little too antagonistic at first, but it all works out. Twomi, who it took me too long to remember her actual identity because I forgot she was introduced this early, is great, and I love her.


And here's where I put that I prefer normal Blade to King Blade so no-one will read it and I get to live another day. Joker does look cool though.

Women as characters not having agency or arcs of their own or stories that don't relate to men is, as others have noted, a systemic issue with Kamen Rider (and Super Sentai, and tokusatsu in general). At the risk of stating the obvious, it's also an issue with media overall; Japanese dramas, American television, etc. Ongoing. For a long time. Male-as-default is the (Not Awesome) status quo, which is a way bigger conversation than will fit on these boards, lol

If Blade had women (or a woman! just one!) in a lead role, Umi and Twomi wouldn't stand out as potentially problematic (Hirose and Amane are great, but their stories also revolve around the Riders, which is what secondary and supporting characters are supposed to do!), but we don't. Because all our leads are men. The stories being told are all about men. Women are only in this story to further the narratives of the men at the center of it, and by this point in the show I feel like we're kind of used to it? Then these two women showing up simultaneously shakes up that male-as-default bit and we suddenly think, HEY HOLD UP HERE IS THIS A PROBLEM. And it IS a problem; it's just not a problem specifically with the two of them as characters. They're the symptom, not the disease, so to speak.

Which, incidentally, is why Kiryu doesn't make you (or me) twitchy in his existing only in how he relates to and reflects Tachibana; the show doesn't need MORE male representation, it has plenty.

I'm glad I can toss in a few things you agree with, just to confuse you. Otherwise, you'll just get predictably angry when you see me (rarely) talk about suit designs, and no one wants that. Gotta keep things fresh! You're welcome!

Yeah, there's at least one person in this episode who was an Undead without either explicitly confirming it or showing off their powers. Thanks for keeping it in reserve!

It's weird that people keep talking about this episode like some huge, possibly-disconcerting shift in story momentum, because I don't think I found it that way? King was defeated, Kenzaki got King Form... like you said, good place for a breather. And, stakes-wise, Hirose's dad and Joker are still out there. Tachibana's still making incredibly bad decisions. (He didn't think I Stole Your Genetic Material While You Were Sleeping was a dealbreaker! And, for Hirose's dad, why in the world would you design a robot that you need to follow orders... around Tachibana's psychology? Have you not paid attention to his recent work history?) Even Hirose's comedic anger at Kenzaki is continuity-based, down to her giving him a big Come Home pep talk and then thinking he's blowing them off for some girl.

I guess I didn't think the Umi plot was so disconnected to what was going on before, thematically? Kenzaki had planted a pretty big flag of being For The People last episode, and, well, people got a lot of different feelings about heroes in their midst. Tonally that plot is shift from Kenzaki thinking everyone he loves is in danger because of him, but thematically it's still about the fragility of life and what we do with our grief and all of those other Very Blade ideas.

Just keep your amount of unpopular suit opinions below my startlingly high level and you'll be pretty well hidden.

Yeah, those are all good points. I think that's a good explanation of my discomfort. Thanks!

I think it's really a top-down problem of making all the Riders men, which means structurally you're only making space for stories about men. The story would have to shift and alter to make room for a woman's story, and the show isn't really built to accommodate that beyond, like, inference and grace notes. It's a bit of a bummer!

Which comes from how Kenzaki did the same to her, the moment they talked about here. And coincidenally, what Hirose said is always what I think regarding Rider compared to civilians from the beginning (I've said what she said here really, likely more than once, though probably that got neglected), that, being a Rider, he's one of the few that can fend off the monsters, in this case Undeads. Even if a Rider could put others on danger (which are the monster's choices of course, them employing dirty tactics against heroes), they're the only one that mitigate the damages the monsters can cause to others, without the Riders like Kenzaki, the civilians he want to protect can fare in a significantly worse shape without any resistance!

Moreso of this in the Showa era, and the reduction of the value of empathy in the world of violence in later Heiseis (more anti-heroic Riders who does good but leans more to fighting monsters part, or outright villainous Riders starting from Ryuki), although that can tell a more interesting story, it can get a flak for straying away from the Rider formula. And actually for Tachibana here, it's about plot mechanics (not explained yet) on how Kenzaki should stop being a Rider. BTW what do you mean for Kenzaki's empathy being used against him for this case? Even for Tachibana, his recklessness is also the thing that get him used by others (Isaka).

Wow... keep remembering what you said here, hold it until the end of the series. Also there's quite the irony here where now, Kenzaki is the one dismissing and throwing tantrums to Tachibana and his other friends who tries to help him, where Tachibana's belt problems are inherited on Kenzaki too here. "Kamen Rider fights"... well as the previous series taught, it depends on what's the Rider's morality as a human... though I guess here, it would mean a true Kamen Rider ("Kamen Rider sensibility") is the one that cares for people. For someone like Kenzaki, more power gives more responsibility, but for others, more power can give more insanity....

Yami Mutsuki was switching a bit between normal Mutsuki with him being in shock at Nozomi's condition, before the Yami side takes over again. Yami Mutsuki thinks he'll be more powerful by not caring about anyone, likely because of the dirty tactics your adversaries use like for Kenzaki or Hajime, hunting their loved ones for Hajime, or just any person for Kenzaki, so that they're likely to be distraught by grief when they lose either, allowing them to become an easy target. For Hajime gaining strength through thoughts about people he cares... I guess he wants to survive to always be there for them, so he had to win the fight and is more determined in doing so? A̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶H̶a̶j̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶s̶t̶e̶r̶.̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶l̶o̶l̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶H̶a̶j̶i̶m̶e̶"̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶J̶o̶k̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶U̶n̶d̶e̶a̶d̶.̶ The one that is driving the plot of Hajime losing his humanity, is King who confiscated the cards, but about him...

Karma right there for King, his demented take of amusement by messing with others bites him back when the same method was used against him in front of a crowd. Though Blade's way of winning here, is commonly considered as the worst way for a fighter to suddenly turn the fight around just because "you have faith in others or something", The Power Of Friendship trope. It's considered as laziest reasons for plot armor and makes the show little bit more shallow, and would rather see them overcoming adversities by more effort and doing something logical; doing things that are fight-related. (though probably the reason for the complaint was about it being overused). And the punch from King form, that's a random nameless move, but it's used as one of the special attacks in Battride War.

I don't know that that's been my experience with Heisei Riders! The anti-heroic Riders actually help enforce the necessity of empathy, where the distance they keep from humanity becomes an flaw they need to overcome in order to defeat the villains. If the Riders seem less empathetic, I think it's just down to their journey being longer.

Hirose's dad and Tachibana are able to neutralize Kenzaki by making him feel guilty for fighting as a Rider, making him feel irresponsible. It's only successful because Kenzaki cares more about people than he does defeating monsters. His empathy becomes something the villains can exploit.

I think some of it's that, but some of it's Hajime realizing the value of them being there for him. It's less about him protecting them now, and more about him understanding the mutual benefit of having people in your life. It's a bit like Kenzaki's evolution from Duty to Compassion. Hajime isn't just fighting to keep them safe, he's fighting to keep himself in their lives.

I mean, people can look down on that Blade ending for not being logical enough, but I think they're creating a false dichotomy. To suggest that logical fights are inherently better than emotional or thematic fights, it just feels like people are asking for stories to be half as good? There are great fights that are all about fighters outthinking their opponent, and this was a great fight that was all about a fighter triumphing over his own self-doubt. Both can be valid choices!

It's also maybe worth noting that Blade does win the fight against King using a bit of strategy? All the punches do is get him to stop toying with Kenzaki. It's right after that, when Kenzaki thinks to grab King's own sword and smash that seemingly invincible shield with it, that he gains the upper hand. It's all reflexes and quick, intuitive thinking on Kenzaki's part. He fights better because his head is clearer, and his head is clearer because he's focused on his mission. I wouldn't exactly call that illogical. Things can be emotional and also make sense at the same time!

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 36

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kenzaki gives an all-time classic But Why Heroism speech! A bunch of other stuff happens! I literally only care about the Kenzaki and Umi stuff, though!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade36a.png

The stuff with Hajime and Mutsuki, it's fine, it's whatever. Tense scenes that are mostly about incremental movement, pushing the characters a little closer to collapse. It's entertaining, and it's all getting somewhere, but holy shit that Kenzaki speech. Holy shit.

It's so good. I'm just going to start by reprinting it:

U.N.D.E.A.D. Mk II is holding Umi hostage, firing grazing rounds at Kenzaki

UMI: "No one would protect someone like me. Heroes don't exist!"

KENZAKI: "They do."

UMI: "Then why did no one save Mom or Dad or my brother?!"

KENZAKI: "They do exist..."

Kenzaki's shot once more, and falls to the ground.

UMI: "See? No hero is coming to save us. Kenzaki, you idiot..."

KENZAKI: "Maybe you're right. Maybe no hero will come, no matter how long we wait. That's why... I decided I'd be the one to protect everyone!"

UMI: "Kenzaki!"

KENZAKI: "If nothing else, I won't give up on keeping you safe! I don't want to lose to fate!"

It's such a perfect sentiment for Kenzaki. It bundles together his sense of duty, his guilt, his compassion, his tenacity, his stubbornness, and it distills it all into a beautiful idea: heroism isn't a state, it's a decision. Heroes aren't created, or recognized. Heroes are the result of people choosing to help others, to not give into fear, to care more about the world around them than they do about their own safety or happiness. Umi's family died, and that's a tragedy. Kenzaki's family died, and that's a tragedy, too. But just because no one was around to help them, doesn't mean they can't help others. Heroism isn't about powers or a perfect record, it's about doing as much as you can for the people around you, whether that's taking down an(other) U.N.D.E.A.D. robot, or giving someone a piggyback ride when you think they're hurt. It's about recognizing how you can help other people, and then deciding to do it.

It's not even about the result of your actions on others, which is another great Kenzaki point from earlier in the episode. Kenzaki wants to save everyone. Umi points out that it's not possible to save everyone. Which gives us this other perfect Kenzaki thought:

KENZAKI: "Thinking about the impossible is a waste of time. It being ?€˜impossible' won't make me give up."

I love that moral so much. Kenzaki doesn't look at his actions and determine afterwards if they were worth doing. It's not about the raw number of lives saved, or monsters defeated. It's that he acted. The heroism is in doing anything to make the world safer, to make the world better.

Umi's flaw in the story is her cynicism, her defeatism. She thinks of the world as a terrible place, and she tries to drag Kenzaki down to her level. Heroes have never saved her, so anyone claiming to be a hero is deluding themselves and lying to her. Heroes don't exist.

But Kenzaki's point is, if you don't think heroes exist, if you don't see heroes in the world, then be that hero. If heroism is required, it can come from you. There's nothing stopping Umi from being the hero, from saving herself. It's a message that feels like the second part of Hirose's speech to Kenzaki from a couple episodes back, where she was telling Kenzaki that he's fighting for all the people who can't. Here, it's Kenzaki saying that those people fight through him because they're heroes, too. Heroism isn't just the province of masked riders with magical trading cards. It's a decision every one of us can make at any time. It's nothing innate or ordained; it's a choice, and we all get to make it.

I really love that idea.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade36b.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: King Form is a big problem! Hajime gets an upgrade! And Hirose's dad rolls out U.N.D.E.A.D. Mk III because we're still doing this plot for some reason!

And like many annoying people on YouTube, I can say I’m the first to comment. But I’m not that type of person, so I won’t. Anyway, on with the RIC

Change Mantis


Given the name "Chalice the Legendary", the Mantis Undead (マンティスアンデッド Mantisu Andeddo) is the best fighter of all the Undead. As such, Hajime Aikawa uses the Undead's form and assumes the identity of "Kamen Rider Chalice" while suppressing his Joker nature. The form of this Undead is how Chalice' Rider form appears, save for an Undead belt in place of the Chalice Rouzer and card holster, as noted by the Eagle Undead before Kamen Rider Blade sealed him. Its abilities match those when used by Kamen Rider Chalice, save for any abilities related to the Rouse Cards.

* Suit: Heart
* Category: Ace
* Ability Name: CHANGE
* Card Name: Change Mantis (チェンジ・マンティス Chenji Mantisu)
* Consumption Points: +3

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20200603052258

And now a look at the Undead Hajime already sealed offscreen.

Chop Head

An Undead with powerful karate chops

* Suit: Heart
* Category: 3
* Ability Name: CHOP
* Card Name: Chop Head (チョップ・ヘッド Choppu Heddo)
* Consumption Points: FP 600


Tornado Hawk

The ancestor of the hawk who has wind-based abilities. Categorised as the Six of Hearts

* Suit: Heart
* Category: 6
* Ability Name: TORNADO
* Card Name: Tornado Hawk (トルネード・ホーク Torunēdo Hōku)
* Consumption Points: FP 1400

Recover Camel

An Undead with healing abilities.

* Suit: Heart
* Category: 9
* Ability Name: RECOVER
* Card Name: Recover Camel (リカバー・キャメル Rikabā Kyameru)
* Consumption Points: FP 2000

And since I missed this part on the last episode, data on Trial E’s basis.


Century King Shadow Moon is Nobuhiko's alter-ego after being brainwashed by Gorgom. Shadow Moon has roughly the same amount of power and strength as Kamen Rider Black. His primary techniques are the Shadow Punch and the Shadow Kick.

Obviously not, the state of Heisei Riders now would be benefical to grown-ups like people here with the world not merely being black and white. But Kamen Rider was, well, touted as a children's show, where it's usually simplistic black and white in that kind of media.

King's Form still had the same usual Blade face, though it's true that for others, many likes King Form's look. And it seems that for once, the finisher just destroys the monster like it happened in tokus, instead of opening Undead's belt to seal (well, not like Trial D can be sealed anyway, or probably any man-made Undeads are destroyed by that). King form is similar to the neo-Heisei final form ones, where it's the combination of every single gimmick (Undead cards here), but it seems that it only enhances his strength (I don't know if the fused cards can be used like Drive Type Tridoron).

I've said this before, but I'm afraid that Kenzaki's way of being morally upright; confiding and caring about other people will be looked down here by people with how Kenzaki is taken advantage by Umi. Some people declare goodness as weakness that should be ditched (and turn into more mean person), with them claiming that anyone that has goodness will always be taken advantage like Kenzaki here (but I want to let it be known that goodness =/= doormat, Kenzaki is unfortunately seems to be one, but don't make anyone good seen as a doormat). And I'm being like water and oil compared to girls, is again displayed here with how overbearing and insufferable the girls are, like her as example (as I dealt with these kinds in school, obviously it'll be teenage girls, and I hope you won't guilt-trip me on this one!).... at least you admit that here she's very antagonistic instead of exalting that trait as right ones (which I don't want, especially with the trend of women being treated as more innocent or even never wrong at all, giving excuses to justify everything they do mainly blaming every men and gives them free passes). Though one of the requirement to conform into standard Kamen Rider sensibility is that, "punching a clock to protect people", you have to do that genuinely, without expecting any rewards.... and Umi is unfit to define what a hero is, if what she takes is about Kenzaki being full on slave who will do anything for her (but ignoring or even antagonizing others like her demanding to fight others to get what she wants), probably later she would learn it; which is about someone who had actions that positively benefits the environment (which means any person, not just Umi-centered).

Even with a joke name, won't approve of lumping the new one with "-mi" just because of them debuting at the same time or both of them being female (it seems ironic of you, after the "political" talk about women)! Yeah, you didn't have a better name for her here. Just informing, it's Hikaru Jo a.k.a the Tiger Undead. And oh, for Jo, as seen in the episode, she seems to have walked in some rugged environment and even wet ones under her sneakers, then... she bashed Mutsuki repeatedly in the face with said sneakers, and also trampling him at the end! It's... another thing I always thought for fighter kicking, any dirty stuff under their footwear will be implanted on the victim. Other than that, I wonder if being a Rider here would enhance the wielder's human physical prowess, Mutsuki seems to be enough to dominate in a basketball, but dunno if he approaches superhuman territory (or dunno if other Riders are, Tachibana can somersault and fend off monsters occassionally, but it could be only peak human) like all Undeads have like Jo here.

Undead is never an acronym btw, it's the name of the monsters but the organization has no correlation with it. And it seems you're partially right here with Tachibana still having problems like being jealous of Kenzaki, though it's still Yoshito's assumption. Blade should, and is known for the contrast for previous 2 series, the primary and secondary Rider had the only sense of teamwork.

Kenzaki's classification of heroism as a choice and the act of making that choice is one of the traits I love most about him. His emotional journey hasn't always been front and center of this series, but damn. It's so good.

I also really enjoy the screws tightening around Hajime and Mutsuki, which would have been the highlight of almost any other episode we've been through so far.

What kills me about the current Tachibana thing, incidentally, is that he's not wrong about Joker winning the battle royale being a bad thing; we the audience know that it would be the end of Life On Earth through Hajime's nightmare. That Tachibana does not have access to this information and is still absolutely convinced that Hirose Sr. is telling the truth didn't ping for me initially and then I thought about it and was so pissed off at him :lol

OH SHIT Hajime pulled a Legendary?!

They actually raised up the sides of the helmet a bit, to give it a crowned look. He's so much more regal now!

Yeah, Umi. Across both episodes, I think she becomes a three-dimensional character, where her struggle is given some definition and her arc has weight to it. In the first part, though, she's very rough on Kenzaki, and he's very frustrated. It's largely played for laughs, and it's all there for easons the next episode will make clear (she does not think much of people who'd call themselves heroes!), but I get it if she's too abrasive in the first part.

Look, if someone makes a robot Undead, its name is going to have to be U.N.D.E.A.D., that's just how superhero fiction works. The writer forgot about this, and I am here to remind him.

It's so good! It even gets at Kenzaki's inability to think of himself as special! If he can be a hero, he thinks, anyone can be a hero. There's something very sweet and sad about that!

Yeah, boy, felt a little bad blowing off the Hajime and Mutsuki scenes for that episode, 'cause they were good! The shot of Hajime seeing the restaurant in the distance, seeing his home, and realizing he can't get any closer than that... heartbreaking! All the stuff with Mutsuki and Twomi, with her saying that she finds the Riders' interference in her culture insulting... really interesting idea and motivation! Definitely stuff that'd be intriguing in any other episode, but that Kenzaki arc just expanded in my brain, pushing out all the other story beats.

True! Another thing about it, and I can't remember if I talked about this, is how quickly Tachibana is effectively giving up on Kenzaki. Like, Kenzaki fought for so long to help Tachibana redeem himself, and now (for reasons, but still!) Tachibana is working with a secretive asshole and a jealousy-powered murder robot to keep Kenzaki from being a Kamen Rider. It's incredibly Tachibana for him to end up having zero faith in his friends while telling himself that he's trying to help, but it makes for character turn that's a bit of a slog to get through.

Tachibana throwing in with Hirose's da... actually, first, can I just take a second to mention how frustrating it is both of these characters are referred to largely by their family name? Like I'm pretty sure the first time around I didn't even remember Hirose's name was Shiori by this point. It's like, imagine if Kenzaki's brother showed up, and everyone just also called him Kenzaki. Total madness!

Anyway, I think Tachibana throwing in so readily with Hirose's dad is really just a testament to both how deeply he secretly craves an authority figure to work under, and how fear is the easiest way to motivate him to do anything. Despite the unfortunate tendency to assault his bosses (the one time Karasuma refused to immediately leave a room!), it's pretty obvious to me he kind of can't help but be tempted by the idea of having someone to do all that pesky decision-making for him. His whole life is basically one big quest for a sense of normalcy and structure, and Hirose's dad dangled two pretty big carrots in front of him (Kenzaki is in danger/the literal end of the world) to take advantage of that. Uncertain futures are scary! The status quo is good! Tachibana needs to protect the status quo from the scary future! He's basically the original Ryugen, I'm realizing as I write this! (!)

What's that? I should just start calling him Undad? Good idea! Thanks!

Yet another thing about Tachibana that's pitiable is that he craves structure, and then inherently chafes under and destroys that structure. He'll work for, clearly, anyone with a plan, no matter how sketchy they act and clearly are. (I joke about no one vetting Tachibana before they offer him a job, but will someone please show Tachibana how to set up an account on Glassdoor!) But, like, Tachibana is only anywhere between one and five episodes from getting so massively disillusioned with the hierarchy and goals of an organization that he commits numerous felonies. For a dude who wants to be told what to do, he sure doesn't like being told what to do!

Well at least Tachibana never became an incel, so he's doing better than other gunslinging secon/tertiary riders.

My head was going between "are they talking about Kusaka or Michi" for a bit before realising the answer is yes

Hey! Rude! I would not call Kusaka a gunslinger!

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 37

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kenzaki risks it all to save Hajime! Mutsuki executes the world’s most tense card trade! And Tachibana steals from his employer because Tachibana!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade37a.png

Last time I ignored everything in the episode to talk about one thread that I loved. This time, let’s see how many random things I can address!

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Right away, there’s something where I was like I Don’t Know How I’ll Fit This Into A Larger Discussion, which is almost entirely the reason for this format. Tachibana and Undad are watching footage of Kenzaki powering up into King Form… but the footage they’re watching is from, like, an episode of Kamen Rider Blade. Are they… is this Spaceballs? Are they watching this week’s episode to try and glean clues from it? If not, what camera team do they have at the site of the battle that’s capable of these very quick and accomplished edits? Honestly, it’s a little thing, but it’s so uninterested in anything approaching verisimilitude (for a value of verisimilitude that is appropriate for a crazy man who voluntarily works with Tachibana to defeat monsters from eternity) that I needed to talk about it.

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Also, hey, Undad is here to tell us that Kenzaki’s numbers are going up! FINALLY someone on this show has their head on straight. Sure, Kenzaki has a glorious new suit, and sure, he can now obliterate foes with awe-inspiring displays of force, and sure, Hajime has indicated that this is a fearsome new power Kenzaki wields, and sure, Undad has told us the same… but that was all horsehit and conjecture because WHAT ABOUT HIS NUMBERS, SHOW?! ARE THEY GOING UP?! I need hard data in my superhero program about handsome men who use magical trading cards to do battle with monsters from eternity!

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That Blade/Joker fight is a blast, though. I love that Kenzaki lets loose his most powerful form just so that he can withstand Hajime’s animalistic rage. It’s all defense from Blade, with him just trying to tire Joker out enough to reach the man inside. It’s not the Power vs Power blowout that another show would do, since Kenzaki really doesn’t think Hajime’s gone for good. He wants to give him every chance to come back. That’s such a fun idea.

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Oh, man, how great is that golden-hued flashback Kenzaki has when he’s deciding whether or not to seal Hajime? I like that it’s one mean thing (backhanding Kenzaki), one nice thing (letting Kenzaki care for him?), and then Kenzaki telling Tachibana he’ll put Hajime down if he goes rabid. It, uh, it definitely paints a picture of their “friendship”! The music is very sweet, though, and it sells the weight of Kenzaki’s indecision.

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I just… I find Undad impossibly dull. Every plan is just Here’s A New U.N.D.E.A.D. Every interaction with Tachibana is Tachibana trying to make a case for calm discussion and Undad being detached and horrible. It’s… there’s no way in to Undad, as a viewer. There’s no part of his character that I can relate to or understand. He’s all smooth surfaces, with no purchase. He’s just a void where an antagonist should be, and I don’t find him intriguing or mysterious like I’m probably supposed to. He’s bland, and he’s completely not working for me.

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On the one hand, I really like that it’s Kenzaki who figures out that Hajime just needs more cards to get his shit together. I like when that sort of solution can generate from within the core cast, through discussion and problem-solving. It’s not a given! But, man, an email from Karasuma is maybe not great writing to kick off that discussion. He’s only really giving them info that exists in the story that they weren’t privy to (Kenzaki fusing with 13 Undead is not supposed to be possible, even for very sweet boys), but it’s still so dumb that I did an out-loud Oh Come On when Hirose mentioned it. Karasuma’s narratively-variable usefulness is not something that got better with a new writer!

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I absolutely love how the show pushes the idea of destroying the rampaging monster, the one that could end the world, as moral weakness. Tachibana and Mutsuki are both quick to disregard any plan other than defeating the Joker, while Kenzaki would risk anything to help him. Kenzaki has the strength of his convictions, while Tachibana and Mutsuki resign themselves to cowardice and easy outs. It’s that core concept of the franchise, that empathy is a Kamen Rider’s greatest power, and I’m always a fan of it.

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I give Tachibana a lot shit (deservedly!), but I love seeing him back with Team Blade, even if it’s just a cameo. Kotaro puts his dukes up to defend Kenzaki from him, and Tachibana just very gently pushes them down to say You Are Adorable But I Would Murder You. Hirose passive-aggressively calls him out for his lack of faith in other people, and you can tell her judgment gets to him. But he still tries to make a case for why he’s doing these things, and it becomes sort-of easy to see why he’s not been cancelled by them. Some of it is that he is a disaster, and they’re all pretty used to that by now, but some of it is that he is sort-of desperate to prove himself right in a way that is very, very sad. He’s once again put all of his chips in on just the worst person, and you can see how much he wants to salvage things. Every new bad decision is just him trying to get the old bad decisions to finally pay off. If the Sunk Cost Fallacy were a person, it’d be Tachibana.

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Great conclusion, with Kenzaki giving up his powerful upgrades and Rider Belt to be able to give Hajime a chance at regaining his humanity. I just love that it’s him as a man, going to his friend. We saw the Blade Versus Joker version at the start of the episode, and now we get to Kenzaki Plus Hajime. It’s not conflict, it’s cooperation. Very into that.

---

Not as into the new Chalice King Form, though. It’s got a lot of the same problems that Garren’s Jack Form has, where the red/gold/green palette is too much, visually. I like it better than Garren Jack Form, but not as much as Chalice’s base suit or any of Blade’s suits.

---

Huh! I think that write-up went okay! Was not sure how it was going to work out (I wrote it as I watched, instead of waiting until afterwards), but I didn’t hate doing it this way.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade37b.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Mutsuki needs a Queen! Undad is having problems with his body! And Chalice is probably going to have something to say about Garren’s recruitment strategy!

I know, her backstory or struggle gives an explanation on how it turned that way, but explanation =/= justification of the actions; if it's bad actions, it's still bad actions. Neither does it being played for laugh is, like deciding that the other people's feelings don't matter as much as the comedic or entertainment value in those behaviours. And again, admitting that she's too abrasive doesn't mean bashing her character, real fans are the one that would admit that, so feel free (and this should be encouraged) to label those as being abrasive, unlike those who defend aimlessly, and cutting off any of their bad traits. And I mainly said that, refering to you saying "Although, teenage girls are no joke! I’d probably give them the edge over any superhero you can name!" as if the abrasiveness is something that should be normalized and given a free pass. I don't want any meanness to be given leeway.

Well, Hajime preventing himself from turning himself to Joker, so the real reasons are revealed here. Joker isn't only scary in looks, but it also sends him into an uncontrollable state to destroy anything, as Joker makes no distinction of destroying Undeads or humans. And also it's the mechanic of his body; when there are more Undeads gathering around, it accelerates his Joker's control, regardless of him using Chalice or that human Undead. And as Chalice can be summoned by Mutsuki like other Undeads... somehow that Undead is the only one recognized as... Kamen Rider? There's also Tachibana pleading for Yoshito not to involve any innocent people, he didn't know yet about Yoshito's methods of saving Kenzaki until he saw it in action with Trial D causing havoc, and thus, the next Trial man-made Undeads.

True, heroes aren't, well, omnipotent, their powers are limited to solve the world's disaster. Kenzaki, obviously, won't explain the definition of hero because that takes off the points of his heroism to shape the definition of the hero, but that should be made clear on Umi, heroes can't be everywhere at once. By default, saving any number of people at any given time means even more people aren't being saved. Heroes can't save everybody because reality forbids it. And yes as Rider series also made it clear, heroism is your act, your personality, what you do in your actions, but how you can contribute depends on your powers: A heroic normal human would accomplish, well, way less than any Kamen Rider should, they don't have ability to quickly travel somewhere, fend off powerful threats, etc, but it doesn't diminish your acts, heroism is about that. Rider protagonists having a chance to be a Rider is a golden chance to contribute more ("with great power comes great responsibility", after all) with increased power to save others, but they're still not omnipotent.

If a hero isn't one just because of them not focusing on themselves only (like Umi where a hero should contribute solely to her), frankly, it means that they're textbook definition of being self-centered, and has no place on talking or preaching about morality; they should learn to improve themselves first before having a talk about morality; they have to know which is objectively right or wrong first. And from Hirose's speech to Kenzaki, people like Umi are also those that only look at the result, not the fact on how heroes are about the act regardless of the results (especially if those comes from normal humans who can't do anything!). Though well, in the internet such as Google, those general sites can define heroes as "a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities", which would likely take results into account by that... And heroism being "the province of masked riders with magical trading cards", that's also the wrong definition people, likely youngsters take from watching action-hero shows like Kamen Riders. Hero is about the people, having rider form and magical trading cards just make you a superhero. Sure, the true heroes may feel guilty of not being able to save those, but the fact is, there are other humans or <insert living being here> other than them, and they also, need saving. Priority and compromise have to be made.

I mostly meant that teenage girls generally have an inner strength that makes them formidable, to a degree that may be daunting for most superheroes. Sometimes it's used for good, sometimes for evil. I'm just noting their inherent qualities, not ascribing a value to them. I don't think being a Mean Girl is something to emulate! One cutting remark from a snotty teenager can and will stay with you for decades! Decades!

I think Umi gets that intellectually, but it's hard for her to accept emotionally. From a detached viewpoint, we know that sometimes tragedies happen. It's sad, but there was nothing anyone could've done to save her family. But, emotionally, it's impossible for her to accept. If her family couldn't be saved, then there's no such thing as heroes, otherwise her family would've been saved. Kenzaki does the smart thing here by not just telling her to grow up, or make her peace with a bad situation. Her tells that, okay, maybe there aren't heroes, so maybe you should be one. It allows her to feel her grief, to treat her sense of loss as valid, while asking her to do something productive with it. It's that early-Blade thematic stuff getting reexamined, and I love it.

I think this is the point in a Rider series airing that they start announcing details for the next series, so I’ll just share this video of their theme song here, with a brief cameo by the guy who’ll be playing the next protagonist. https://youtu.be/vBw4AatH9OU

Anyway, no new Undead this time (I’d talk about the King card Kenzaki gave to Hajime, but I’m under a rule not to talk about these things until they appear on screen, or if they don’t, at the first good opportunity. Just know that unlike Hajime’s other transformations, Wild Chalice is not the Heart King. It’s the Mantis Undead with the power of the other 12 Hearts grafted on. The real king looks totally different). So I’ll talk about Trial F’s basis.

The Shocker Riders (ショッカーライダー Shokkā Raidā, 91-94) are Gel Shocker's versions of the Kamen Riders, composed of six members with yellow gloves and boots, and different colored scarfs. In addition to the standard abilities of Kamen Rider 1, they also had micro missile launchers installed in their fingers. They are all destroyed alongside each other when they crashed into each other while trying to attack the Double Riders in mid air after Riders 1 & 2 perform the Rider Wheel technique. And yet, the HBV with the fake Blade uses Trial E

While episode 34 had the most adrenaline-pumping scenes in the show for me, episode 37 is when the emotional aspects peaked for me, what with it being the moment that Kenzaki saves Hajime after wanting what's best for him for so long. I too really liked the flashback sequence that really does nicely summarises their whole thing in just three quick scenes. Do you think Kenzaki thought about being smacked aside with nostalgia?

The moment that sticks out to me most though, is when Kenzaki goes to meet Hajime in that forest. The Joker comes out and is looking terrifying as ever, but that melancholic music that plays as soon as he appears put me in exactly the same mood that Kenzaki probably was in, just being sad for Hajime's terrible circumstances and wanting him to get his life as a human back. Kenzaki's tussle with Joker is maybe one of the best examples I can think of how tokusatsu delivers emotional climaxes through people wrestling with rubber suits. I was just super into it all around.

Oh yeah and Chalice gets a new form! Wild Chalice, I think? I don't know if I ever actually bothered to learn the name until just now, but I like it enough. At a glance, it's really not any drastically different from regular Chalice, but I guess they had their fill with 'loud' upgrades after King Form.

Right, the music! That track gets used during a boatload of memorable moments in this show. So much they use it again during this same episode at the end when Kenzaki goes to give Hajime his new card. It's a pretty nice track! And unlike the last time you brought the BGM up, I actually found this one pretty easily.

And speaking of Kenzaki doing heroic stuff in this episode, him forking over that Rouze Absorber the second Mukki asks for it is another one of the defining Kenzaki moments to me. The fact that he takes exactly no time at all to mull over that decision is just so wonderfully him, you know?

Hirose Senior never properly worked for me as a villain, but it's about this time Tachibana's turn withh him clicked for me. Tachibana is a pro at making bad snap decisions for close to the right reasons, especially since it came off to me not just as "Kill Joker Joker bad", but also "Kenzaki tried to help me, so I need to stop him killing himself". Of course, he goes about it in the worst way possible, because seriously Tachibana, this guy is making Undead Undeads, you shouldn't be in on that, but at least his intentions are good. Hell, even 'saving humanity' is a pretty noble goal; it's just a shame our anti-christ here doesn't want to die OR destroy humanity.

Also, Wild Chalice! I like it!

Cameo List so far(Leaving out those who have not appeared yet)
Junichi Haruta as Hirose's father
(notable toku roles)
Kanpei Kuroda/Goggle Black in Dai Sentai Goggle V
Ryu Hoshikawa/Dyna Black in Kagaku Sentai Dynaman
Engine Shishinoshin in Engine Sentai Go-Onger summer movie
Kyoryu Green/Souji's dad in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger
Dr. Prospect in Kamen Rider Eternal origin movie

Takashi Inoue as Jin the musician's father
(notable toku roles)
Godai's teacher Kanzaki in Kamen Rider Kuuga

Mika Hijii as Miyuki/Orchid Undead
(notable toku roles)
Kaoru Mitsuki in the GARO series

Masashi Kagami as Shinmei/Wolf Undead
(notable toku roles)
Geildon/Mizuho in Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger

Kazunari Aizawa as Shima/Tarantula Undead
(notable toku roles)
The Blader/Katsuhiko Hayami in Choukou Senshi Changerion

Touko Fujita as Rei Kamioka
(notable toku roles)
Sumire Ozawa in Kamen Rider Agito

Mio Fukuzumi as Azumi/Serpent Undead
(notable toku roles)
Manami aka girlfriend of Ryo/Kamen Rider Gills in Kamen Rider Agito
Wendinu in Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger

Taro Suwa as Ryo the Taiyaki Master's father
(notable toku roles)
Ramen Vendor in Kamen Rider Agito
Kyoryu Curry regular Yokota in Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger
Pianist in Kamen Rider Den-O

Makoto Kamijo as King/Caucasus Undead
(notable toku roles)
Amui in Ultraman Tiga Gaiden

WILD Chalice. Got it! Would not have ever in a million years guessed it was called that because nothing on this show is called Wild anything!

I mean, if I want to be charitable, I could say that Kenzaki's remembering that slap as evidence of Hajime's desire to protect Amane, that there's something in him that's more powerful than his Joker aspect.

But, no, I think Kenzaki is so used to the people he respects beating the shit out of him that he's internalized getting hit by Hajime as Hajime Noticed Me!

The tone for all of the Hajime/Kenzaki stuff in this one... it's all a very A Boy And His Dog, in the way Kenzaki has a bunch of people telling him to put that animal down and he's still risking his life to save it. Or how it's all screams and growls from Joker while Kenzaki is all Hey Boy Do You Remember Me. I think that's a smart move, narratively, because it bypasses a lot of critical faculties in favor of raw emotion. It's not Complicated Hajime that's trying to be saved, it's this suffering beast. I don't know. I really liked it!

It's extra great because you can tell that Mutsuki's like Ha Ha This Is Going To Torture Him and Kenzaki's already presenting it before Mutsuki can finish asking for it. It's of a piece with the Tachibana stuff, where Kenzaki's absolute dedication to saving Hajime gets reactions that start with condescension, turn into frustration, and then resolve into a newfound (if grudging) respect for Kenzaki. He leads by example, you know? That's why he's the star.

Yeah, there's this sweetness to how bad Tachibana's decisions are. His heart is generally in the right place, but his head is nowhere.

My favorite thing about Tachibana in this phase, and it's at the core of what's poignant and hilarious about the scene he has with Team Blade, is that for a guy who has failed and let people down with a consistency that borders on admirable, he still takes the moral high ground with Hirose and Kotaro! He still tries to come off as an authority! He has gallons of self-doubt, but not an ounce of self-awareness! There's not a single moment of him telling Hirose that he knows what he's doing where he laughs and goes Yeah I Heard It Too, and that's insane to me.

Tachibana needs to approach every critical juncture with a WWAOTMD self-analysis: What Would Anyone Other Than Me Do?

Everyone's in everything! I love it! Thank you!

Right?? Going with this naming scheme is such a wildcard!

I see what you did there. Thank you.

Oh my gosh I don't think I ever put together that's why it's called that. It's such an obvious double-meaning what with the Joker thing and also him being kinda beastly yet it never even occurred to me...

This is why we pay Kurona the big bucks*!

*: "Big bucks" are what I call the candies and gums that are included in SO-DO boxes.

Still waiting on that shipment...

I'm doing a box a day, so you should have what you're owed... let's say September? 2021-ish?

And exactly, the bolded stuff there is me. Obviously it's not something to emulate, plus, "teenage girl having inner strength" to me, seems to trace into gender's society status where females are treated as innocent and male as savage, of which females' bad behavior are excused, forgiven, or blame-shifted into males, giving them more leeway and allowing them to do as they want freely (it's... dirty social tricks they employ! As a form of... power). but bringing that up because, many people in the fandom (on relief, not those on Rider fandom so far), downplays or cuts off morally ambiguous or downright villainous character's bad traits. A common example is if they had bad backstory (which is what Umi has), everything bad they do is excused by "do you know what they're going through?", "they only had bad upbringing, they aren't evil just misunderstood", etc. as if it somehow gives excuse to behave as any way you like.

Yeah like above, for her being hard to accept emotionally, from it being impossible, it comes from tragedies and it explains how she turned that way, but having a tragic past doesn't make wrong behaviors right. Kenzaki was being humble that his failures haunt him and made him beat himself up by saying there aren't heroes (though he continued with trying to be a hero), which well, as I said before with the heroes being not omnipotent or omnipresent, they can't save everyone, they can't be anywhere at once, but heroes are also more likely to feel guilty over that like Kenzaki did.

Lol, breaking fourth wall joke?? Who knows if it's just Yoshito and Tachibana actually being one of the audiences, watching Blade together and discussing what happens in the episode they watch! Or it could be Kotaro secretly achieves more than writing in the show, to directing, creating the same Kamen Rider Blade show in-universe for others to watch, and for Yoshito and Tachibana to gain clues! Besides, yeah, the previous footages of anything happened in the past in-universe like Tachibana "kidnapping" Karasuma was recorded from CCTV footage.

This is something to make an Ultimate Form more compelling story-wise; they had to have drawbacks. A reason to not use it. Otherwise, there was no reason to not use it over their base form, which some Rider series can suffer. It gives the high stakes part to keep things interesting. And when the hero gets access to a powerful new ability that has no drawbacks, the normal form becomes obsolete. It also gives an actual logical reason for the producers to keep the earlier suits around as a way of pimping toy sales.

Jo has stated it herself though, King is someone on par with Joker, which is shown in the fight that Kenzaki has to use King Form to match him, really cementing Joker as the ultimate Undead, one that threatens the world, and being feared by other Undeads. Though he had no choice to finally use the finisher at the end. Blade King Form's finisher so far, has only been used on Trial Undeads, which completely destroyed them (and them being unable to be sealed). I do wonder what will happen if an Undead is just hit by finisher, but left out and not being sealed, would they eventually wake up like a human being KOed, or their body going limp? Dunno if Joker is probably different one as he's special within an Undead, transforming to other Undeads, and it seems that being defeated reverts him to Hajime form, but Kenzaki did hand out a card, which probably means Joker probably can be sealed that time, thus, with Joker waking up later... Undeads are truly immortal then, they truly cannot die and had to be sealed. Well, there's one-sided friendship, and Kenzaki with Hajime can be that.

Hmph. "Undad". If only I could talk about this further with your nicknames that it is a spoiler. Kenzaki at this moment had Rider related problems, just like Tachibana up to ep. 15. Kenzaki's approach to him is obviously, gently processing his grief though that is constantly dismissed. While Yoshito's approach is sending monsters after Kenzaki to prevent him becoming a Rider. With both times Tachibana working for BOARD masterminds (Yoshito is part of BOARD still), Isaka at his arc and Yoshito at Kenzaki's arc. And well... Kenzaki at Tachibana's arc can feel relegated in story for you, and your comment regarding Yoshito is like this.... I guess, other solution can be better if Yoshito listens to Tachibana and, if Tachibana has a plan, work on that?

For Blade yeah, Joker situation at this time is not totally hopeless, so a plausible solution can be found (solution founding is also depending on the writing, other than email, it can't be a total turnover from nowhere that it ends up as an asspull even if internally generated). Mutsuki is corrupted, so Spider Undead would, concludingly, beat other Undead, especially if they're Joker. And finally? The "just kill the threat" approach that most audience find to be the most logical and reasonable approach, something they want heroes to turn brutal like that (turning them into anti-heroes) because of the "just kill the threat" way turning them into more "effective" hero, is portrayed as weakness here? Most audience would label Kenzaki's approach to risk helping someone perceived as a threat as a weakness unfortunately, which just make them hate and bash on traditional hero character types like Rider leads with their compassion (which they read as weakness), but it can be unfair as, actually, this choice of "kill or let the bad guys go" creates dramatic tension, which makes the story/show interesting thought-provoking to read or watch. Audiences are left thinking "if I am the hero, should I kill or risk letting the bad guys escape?" Good stories make you think and ponder over such questions. Also, in some stories, it often requires clever, tactical and/or skilled application of those powers to make a non-lethal stopping possible. It's indeed hard to argue against "sparing bad guys when bad guys has 0.001% chance of repentance, and after being spared they will cause even more destruction".

Oof, some traces of Tachibana's self pre-episode 15 is resurfacing, him just dead set declaring about killing Joker and Kenzaki being foolish. Him being tactless to just drink Kotaro's milk. With Hirose on Kenzaki's side of not killing Joker, I wonder what Kotaro (who hates him, and also chastises Kenzaki for caring too much for him) thought to Hirose regarding that. And him trying to prove himself right in a very sad way... that by default isn't genuine, and can negate anything good about that action, as it's egocentric.

Yeah... Blade and Garren's mid season upgrade are named Jack Forms... but for Chalice... in a subversion, not named the same way. As already mentioned above, it's Wild Chalice. Other than that, it fits Hajime figuratively too, Hajime is a Wild Card character. Aside from nobody knowing his motives at the beginning of the series and switching on and off between being a normal hero/anti-hero, he's the Joker Undead (which is the card usually called the wild card).

Uh, I think we are wading into some waters here, stuff that is probably outside the scope of discussing Kamen Rider Blade, so I'll just mention a couple three things in the hope of each of us having said our piece and putting a pin in this part:

-Teenage girls can say hurtful things, but I can vividly recall something a teenage boy said to me years ago that still gives me anxiety. All teenagers are capable of saying hurtful things. No gender has a monopoly on it.

-If you think teenage girls having inner strength is somehow connected to people (not just one gender!) being awful, that's a bummer.

-I don't think anyone's excusing what Umi's doing when she acts poorly, but we can all try and understand or address why she's doing that. It's not in the best interests of appreciating a story if we're going to look at troubled characters as complicit in their own flaws 100% of the time. Sometimes folks got motivations, sometimes folks only have justifications. Talking about them and trying to understand their perspective isn't an endorsement.

It's nice that they can get together when a new episode airs. I've been very critical of that plot, but it's good to see them share interests.

Good question! I assumed that, when the belt breaks open, that puts them in Weakened state, so they can be sealed. If they don't get sealed, they can probably get up and escape, but they'll be stuck in that Weakened state until they're sealed. I don't think the belt can get fixed!

I just don't know what Undad wants, or, if I do know, I'm not sure why he wants it. The show seems to have decided on portraying him as Aloof And Mysterious, but it leaves me with a villain who does the same thing, every week, and nothing fun in the performance to paper over it. He's just repetitive and boring, so I would've liked it better if one of those things was different. Either give him more fun schemes, or make him a more entertaining character. Boring Guy Does Same Thing Every Week is... I don't know if that's the choice I'd make if I was writing this!

And, I mean, that's why I love it: it makes things harder for the heroes. Stories where dudes fight every threat they encounter leads to uninspired storytelling. Having a solution where the hero has to put themselves at risk for something that know could backfire but believe it's still worth it... Yes. Every time, yes.

I think Kotaro has come around on Hajime. Or, at least, he's willing to defer to Kenzaki and Amane, since they want to save Hajime more than Kotaro's wary of Hajime. I think he'd be described as Agree To Disagree for the whole idea of welcoming Hajime. Like, sure, if everyone would be happier with Hajime back, that's great. But he's going to feel a little relieved if that doesn't happen, even though he might be mad at himself for feeling that way. It's complicated!

Less complicated is Tachibana's need to prove himself, which, yeah, mostly egocentric. It's always his story that everyone else is participating in, after all.

Finally got power back, so I’m going to try to catch back up with the thread. Not having internet or TV yet actually helps here.

I'm surprised I've not seen you mention much of Mutsuki's super cool new hang-out. Presumably he spends all his free time now no-one cares about his plot just hanging around and preparing to enjoy the greatest movie of all time, Spider-Man 3.

Oh my gosh, welcome back! Sorry to hear that it's taken this long to even get your power restored. I can't imagine what that's like in the summer during a pandemic. Glad to see you back on the boards, hope you're hanging in there okay.

As for the thread, yeah, looking forward to your thoughts!

It's really appropriate that, when he embraces his villainy, he does it in the most ridiculous and cartoonish way possible. He definitely practices his various card-fans in the mirror to decide which looks the coolest. He learned all of his Cool Guy Who Is Dangerous aesthetic from David Blaine, which is why no one cares about his plot anymore.

EDIT: Real question, though. Did he buy all of that spider furniture, or did he hunt for a spider-themed club to take over?

Eleven days. That’s like the entire lifespan of the average kobold. At least I can use my phone without having to charge it off my car now. This thing has the battery life of a Sega Nomad.

So, I’m caught up to episode 32 (skipped the movie because backlog). I’m firmly entrenched in the new era of Blade, which I will freely admit is my preferred part of the series. After what seems like a hundred Mutsuki focus episodes we have a main plot again (finally?). I love how the show just kicks into high gear at this point and almost every episode has some kind of major plot reveal or twist. The show really doesn’t slow down much from this point and it becomes really engrossing on a level it never quite reached before.

The other thing I really love is how much of the early plot points suddenly come back into focus. Remember how Hirose had a dad and he’s the guy that unsealed the Undead? Yeah, here he is, being all villain-y. Here, have a Sayoko reference for good measure. The part that really impressed me is how this is all with a new writer. You can tell that Aikawa really took a long look at the show and its lore before taking over, then carefully worked as much of it into the story’s resolution as he could. That is not something that you’ll see with the other two shows that lost their writer.

The plot is definitely in full swing, and there's a much more consistent hierarchy of characters. Before, you'd get a bunch of Mutsuki episodes, or a bunch of Tachibana episodes, or a bunch of Hajime episodes. Now, it's Kenzaki's show, and his reactions to what those other characters are doing is the core of the storytelling. It's way more about How Is Kenzaki Going To Deal With whatever, instead of the previous era's nearly anthology format. It's definitely a more consistent, plot-oriented effort than before.

Yeah, and, weirdly, there's not really anything he threw away? It's not like the new era started and Kotaro and Mutsuki were gone and there was a brand-new team dad or whatever. (Well, Undad, but he's only the team dad of Team Tachibana, the world's first self-negating team.) It's just a slight reorganization, largely invisible. Like, I don't know that I'd've picked up on there being a new writer if no one had told me? Quality-wise, I don't find it noticeably better or worse. It's got strengths and flaws, and they're different strengths and flaws from before, but it's still an imperfect show. And I think that's actually nice for the cohesion of the series? It doesn't feel I'm watching Aikawa's Kamen Rider Blade, but I'm watching Kamen Rider Blade by Aikawa, if that makes any sense.

I do love how his possession and fall to evil are the running plot for like a good 12 episodes, and then once it happens big drama starts going down with Hajime and Undad and he just has nothing to do but brood and occasionally try to prove how strong he is. I can't tell if I joke love him or seriously love him because of this stretch, but Emo!Mustuki is great.