*Waiting for someone to reply "Them's fighting words"* :lolol

A very underappreciated thing about Blade is the aesthetic of it all. Outside of combining fantasy warriors with a tech-heavy spin, I think that the directors had an overall vision of the show that other entries need to bring back.

Lots of early episodes are shot at night time and in strange areas like abandoned laboratories, boutique stores. It makes the city feel very alive, because it's not the same mountainous area or scrapyard, or random street.

Garren fighting in a shipyard, Chalice on docks with boat rafts, the whole sequence of Garren escaping Isaka, etc. These are all present in the first ten episodes, and man, does it deliver. Everything feels pretty fresh from Blade, and I'd also say it definitely has one of the most visually striking openings.

Blade to me would definitely be the first Heisei 1.0 series I'd recommend to someone because it's style personified, and I think the beginning mystery is really intruiging.

Maybe I'm a sucker for unconventional fighting grounds or night scenes, but I'd pay to see them appear more often. Speaking of sets, we really need to bring back snow. It's only been utilized in a few shows; it's expensive, no doubt, but it's iconic.

I'm definitely not one to object to this, because I agree. But I must say that the misunderstanding between the characters at the beginning of Blade resembles either an awkward imitation or a deliberate parody of Faiz. Fortunately, it didn't last long.

That's exactly what happened to me!
Speaking of locations, does anyone know why Toei no longer films on the very distinctive set with its many giant pipe segments? It's been used since the late '70s, and many memorable, original battles were filmed there. Were the pipes used for construction, destroying the set, or was filming there banned for some reason?

Faiz was my first kamen rider series and what got me into watching toku online.

But I was there at the beginning of Blade, theorizing online and reading whatever information was given prior to the start of that series. Garren was the first belt I bought off ebay. lol

They both hold a special place in my heart. And I really should go back to re-watch Blade.

(sneezes suddenly)

The final battle between Garren and Isaka on the beach was iconic for sure!

And the opposite of what happened to me!

I didn't have much of a choice in that regard. Blade, Kiva, and Decade were the only Heisei Phase 1 shows available with subs in my native language at the time. Faiz also had a translation, but it was subscription-only, so I wasn't in a rush to watch it.

You certainly will get no objection out of me. I honestly find the show to be much more enjoyable to watch than Faiz.

stream tokusatsu
 

You?re gonna love how intense Blade gets later on! The emotional buildup is crazy.
For anyone who missed older Rider or Sentai stuff, you can stream tokusatsu shows for free here ? tokuplay.app
. Really hand

Unironically, Kamen Rider X has my favorite first episode in Rider since Blade.

Holy crap what a trip.