Yeah, but that's the whole point of this story, so it's not like he needs to act that way in the beginning. 48 and 49 are about getting Kenzaki in a place to form the right plan.

Maybe? It's a scene more about how Hajime is ready to die, but Kenzaki isn't ready to kill him.

I guess I just don't think she's so bad. She seems to (generally!) be a good helper at the restaurant. For Missing Ace, I think her change there had more to do with losing another father-figure under mysterious circumstances. Closure matters! When she got it at the end of the movie, she was a lot happier!

Houjou refuses to attend Team G3's pizza party, dismissing it as low-class, but you can see him looking on jealously through the window of the pizza parlor.

Gonna have to correct you there. It's Another Agito. "Another" is right there in the name! Hence, second.

I always thought Putotyrra was meant to be OOO's final form

Well for my last word on the thread, I’ll say that if you thought Hirose wasn’t that great of a female lead, then I’m sure our next one will be better.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20200328010446

I don't know who that is, but I do know that Hirose was great. She treated this show better than this show treated her!

heck until Giam I don't think there was a rider series that had more than 2 riders who were consistently important to the plot of the show and we pretty much other than arguably Ghost (There are several streaks Specter/Necrom aren't important to the overall plot also note the guy who becomes Necrom debuts in episode 1 but he doesn't become Necrom until later on and Specter doesn't debut for a few episodes period) I define secondary rider as the second most prominent one

so I thought
Agito: G3
Ryuki: Knight
Faiz: Kaixa
Blade: Chalice (until daddy TOEI said it was Garren)
Hibki: Ibuki (TBF none of the riders not named Hibiki are too important to the show like they have their mini arcs but they don't span the whole show)
Kabuto: Gattack(Despite the fact he debuts much later than several other riders)
Den-O Zeronoes (kinda easy when there's only 2 riders)
Kiva: Ixa
Decade: Diend
W: Accel
OOO: Birth tbf the question is which Birth user cause Gotoh is much more plot relevant than Akira but Gotoh doesn't become Birth until MUCH Later in the story like right before the final arc
Fourze: Meteor
Wizard: Beast
Gaim: Baron
Drive: Mach
Ghost: Specter
Ex-Aid: Brave
Build: Cross-Z
Zi-O: Geiz
Zero-One: Vulcan

It’s a figurine of Hibiki’s female lead, from the Girls in Uniform line of figurines which was mostly Super Sentai, but still had two lines devoted to Kamen Rider.

Also I’ll say this now. As much as I rag on about Blade’s low toy sales, I’ve discovered that Hibiki actually has the WORST toy sales in Kamen Rider’s history. (I’m not sure how much, since I only have figures fro Heisei phase 2, where the worst sales belonged to Drive).

Saving the world in the cast's hand of course would mean to save every life existing there (though their own life isn't guaranteed)... so it's mutual. Though for darker character, there are those that save the world as, literally only saving the planet, but doesn't care about its inhabitants, especially if they're damaging it (like humans). Refusing easy solution of violence prevails here, but I'd like to see the tips of carrying non-violent solution, what's shown is Kenzaki successfully attempts this on Hajime, but Tachibana unsuccessfully attempted this on Trial B.

It's up to him, resisting Joker's control. Joker is meant to end the world, but it seems by plot mechanic, Hajime got a taste of what it feels to be human, via likely, the human Undead. When you only live for combat, it can seem empty after you win, when you have nothing left to do with no more adversary, lonely at the top. This probably should be used as a lesson, either in-universe to reason with someone that only thought about that (them being stubborn or not depends), or real life, those that crave for violence and thinks humans should/are supposed to embody that.

If Kenzaki's going to be sealed, then it defeats the point of saving Hajime's humanity and the world, it'd be the same, totally wasted effort/chance, in fact, Hajime still the last Undead standing. Kenzaki lets himself become Undead so that there's more than 1 Undead currently exist, preventing Hajime becoming winner. The solution to keep Hajime's humanity alive after it's too late to try either Mutsuki (unseal Shima, and probably Tiger) or Tachibana's (unseal Human Undead) plan.

Obviously, heroism is about your personality, being strong/powerful only makes them superhero. Moreover, not only Sealing Stone being eternal, Undeads are also the same, both Hajime and Kenzaki will eternally live as an Undead. You mean Kenzaki's heroism here is giving up himself for the sake of the world (usual noble sacrificing), he doesn't mind to turn into Undead if it means to save both Hajime and the world (he can save the world just by sealing Hajime, but he gives up himself, his humanity), and his happiness overall to be separated from others (but others have to be in grief for losing Kenzaki).

More than just friends, it probably enters the... uhh... shipping territory, especially with the content of their song. All the hard way the cast went through, especially for the last episodes, came from Kenzaki's emotional ties with Hajime, trying hard to keep him alive (or live as Hajime) while saving the world.

It's not a happy ending for sure. It's bittersweet. Hajime is allowed to live on as a human, but the Sealing Stone still exists which means Kenzaki must keep as far away from Hajime as possible. It probably even can qualify as a bad ending, for the cast's circle.

Yeah generally a good helper at the restaurant, but that can be said for the likes of Ren in Ryuki too (and not talking about his waiter skills only). And what I'm saying previously also was how brattiness as a child it might not seem that bad, but it can escalate growing up and manifest in a various way. And for losing another father-figure, like topic before it's an explanation for the change, but doesn't excuse the bad behaviors. There's many characters went outright villainous, coming from the loss of a beloved.

I think the key was, as always, Hajime wanted to be saved. I'm not sure he'd express it in those terms, as him wanting something, but Kenzaki knew that he wanted that peaceful life with Amane and Haruka. U.N.D.A.D., he was doing what he was programmed to do. I don't think he was something that could be saved, you know? Not programmed to value his own feelings or desires.

Sure! A lot of Hajime's story is about finding more in life than just fighting. As for why he's in that mindset, I don't know if I'd call it "plot mechanic". That makes it sound forced, or sudden, and it never really felt that way to me? There's a very deliberate process, like erosion, that gets Hajime from a killing machine in the snowy flashbacks to the person whose happiness Kenzaki would sacrifice his own for. It took them 49 episodes to make that decision work.

Yeah. It... I love how the conclusion of the show is Kenzaki seeing the weight of what Hajime has to deal with, the burden of it, and he decides to help carry that weight for him. Just as they can never see each other again, they're bound together in a way literally no one else on Earth will experience. It's an ending that's all about how sharing experiences is valuable, and I like that a lot.

Maybe for some fans, but for me? Nah. There's nothing romantic in Hajime and Kenzaki's chemistry. Some other shows, yeah, absolutely. (Takumi and Yuuji from Faiz!) Here, they're just close friends. Maybe even soulmates, but not in a romantic context.

Agito: G3 YES
Ryuki: Knight YES
Faiz: Kaixa YES
Blade: Chalice (until daddy TOEI said it was Garren) GARREN, cause if it's smack dab on Geiz Majesty Ride Watch, then so be it for now I guess
Hibki: Ibuki (TBF none of the riders not named Hibiki are too important to the show like they have their mini arcs but they don't span the whole show)YES
Kabuto: Gattack(Despite the fact he debuts much later than several other riders)YES because he was the second rider with a belt
Den-O Zeronoes (kinda easy when there's only 2 riders)YES
Kiva: IxaYES
Decade: DiendYES
W: AccelYES
OOO: Birth I'd say It's a 2-for-1 deal
Fourze: MeteorYES
Wizard: BeastYES
Gaim: BaronYES
Drive: MachYES
Ghost: SpecterYES
Ex-Aid: BraveYES
Build: Cross-ZYES
Zi-O: GeizYES
Zero-One: VulcanYES

Hey, so, one of the many things I stumbled upon watching random YouTube videos about Blade – for the memes, you see – was a comment saying that, apparently, there's a special little fact about those flowers Hajime is holding when he sees Kenzaki on The Bench at the end.

https://i.imgur.com/uSds5by.png

Now, flowers are far from an area of expertise for me, so maybe someone more knowledgeable can confirm or debunk this (all I can say is a quick Google search got me some images of flowers that matched the ones in the screencap well enough), but those red ones are a variety of the Gladiolus flower, the name of which is derived from the Latin word gladius... which means "blade". They're also commonly known as sword lilies.

This show had a really good finale.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25c.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/faiz/faiz25d.png

Unreal. Thank you for finding that out! What an insanely deep reference for the show to make! Next you're going to tell me the bench Hajime sees Kenzaki sitting on was made from heartwood...

TIL the bench scene in Blade is one of the deepest and most intricate scenes in all of Kamen Rider.

Actually, Inoue's stuff can play out like where it plays off negativity as the norm that characters bounce off of on a regular basis, it's not treating positivity as something we should strive for and share, and pushing it to the side to let grayness take center stage. At least to others, when comparing his work to other work where there's much negativity, in this case, Ryuki to Faiz.

The movie acts as an Alternate Universe of the main series as well. Wait wtf, a base form Blade beating Joker? What is this inconsistency? And with everyone being a disaster, I've said before that I don't want for the existing non-asshole characters to be turned into assholes as well, like claiming that it's the only realistic or interesting way, or simply because people don't like that they aren't assholes, or even "not villainous". Other than the double standard treatment, it's also what can occur in different, multiple writers, especially from Inoue. You already know the Yuji turning evil part. I feel like Kenzaki is a bit of more asshole-ish here, I know he was a lashing out broken man at the beginning, but him here now demanding prestige as a heroic Kamen Rider (the new Riders are jerks, but still for him)? Mutsuki wants to live out a normal life actually, and was upset when he's told that Undeads will return. Hirose's demeanor seems contrating her guilt over her father releasing Undeads here, before the very end.

Name's Kamen Rider Glaive for Junichi Shimura (real villain), Larc for Natsumi Miwa (the girl), and Lance for Shin Magaki (the other male). There's a red herring where Larc would be the movie's villain, but the actual villain is Glaive. Rider wise, Glaive's arsenal was based on Blade's, while his Undead form is a stronger variation of the Joker. And yeah, truly stronger as Albino Joker (negative color swap of Joker and bodies are opposite); He can shoot energy beams from his hand, assume his own human disguise like Royal Club (and a human-wide Joker to disguise as various allies here), unseal Undead, and generate his own army of Darkroach. However because he was in shadows most of the time, he's not as skilled of a fighter, Hajime was weakened due to being recently unsealed when they fought. He's the plot twist villain which hides true nature type by doing fundrising to children, pretending to be one of the Rider allies (if acting as complete d-bag), before revealing his irredeemable true nature. I just wonder what are Natsumi and Shin's goals, they seem to be totally hostile personality-wise, and berates the former Riders as old-timers. Even Tachibana instructs them to work together. Assholes =/= villains though, so Glaive's true nature is still drastically different; and he's one of the most evil being in the whole franchise as well.

As a product of different writer (Inoue did write a few in the main, but not a primary writer), it happens and in no small scale. First, Blade didn't become an Undead, so if Kenzaki sealed Hajime, the Albino Joker would've won due to the nature of the Sealing Stone, as well as the fact that he would've been the last remaining Undead by default? Second, Spider Undead is sealed in the same manner that lead to the creation of the "improperly sealed" card, yet Leagle is never possessed by said Undead. Third, Shima?? He acts more like regular monster, also Girafa (Kanai) as well, acting like regular monster instead of a higher up.

Though the one in movie, it's actually unhealthy coping mechanisms (in this case, projecting their issues to others, escapism, becoming actual criminal and delinquent) to cope with problems when the problem become too difficult for them to handle alone. There are quite many cases of jerkasses and/or anti-heroes resorting to unhealthy coping mechanisms when they meet with a challenge too huge to overcome. Unhealthy coping mechanism is not to be ignored and treat as if it’s perfectly okay. It should be acknowledged that those characters made a mistake in using those coping mechanisms, and at the same time, extend some understanding to them. Kenzaki points out that as an adult, you should be mindful of the other's feelings. You know you actually had one of your stores looted last night.

Sure, Trial B is a robot, but it's obvious that there's a bunch of ineffective refusing violence as easy solutions, other than Trial B which are actual living beings like Riders in Ryuki or Sawada in Faiz, and that participating in that is seen as naive.

I'm thinking on how Hajime is trying hard not to return into Joker form, where it's seen that if he returned he goes back into Joker's primal tendencies. I'm thinking that becoming Human Undead (a.k.a Hajime) or probably others gives Hajime different demeanor, cooling him down.

Yeah, it's probably a good thing that they didn't show us the beginning of this fight, since it makes it easier to headcanon some insane fight with Blade, Garren and Leangle all contributing to stop the Joker, leaving Kenzaki to finish it off. Or maybe a big rock fell on Hajime? No wrong answers to this one!

I feel like their goals are just to troll the Classic Riders, and they are achieving their goals.

For sure! I think the show establishes the Human Undead card as being the primary thing that keeps the Joker from being a relentless killing machine.

OK, sorry for this, but can you address my other replies regarding the movie, like the coping or the plot continuities?

The fact is Blade actually names all the characters (monster of the weeks are written on the card). If you chose to be ignorant about it, then it's not the show's fault. And for phase 1 and phase 2, how good/bad probably shouldn't be measured solely by comedy alone. Or that, about being less light-hearted, addressing darker themes at times can be good, evoking feelings in a sense of despair, grittiness, realism. And obviously, either (anything obviously, which is why not judging by lack of an aspect alone) works only if used right, and no unnecessary utilization. Like for some, comedy can feel, trivializing or downgrading the emotional content (it still depends on context, if it's the audience or the series' mistake in this take). And even then, well, you did say that it doesn't mean phase 1 isn't funny, but comedy isn't necessarily about over the top stuff like phase 2 has, like there characters are extremely exaggerated and openly animated in traits, where phase 1 is more grounded, like the "headquarters" such as Kotaro's house compared to CR.

They already exist before they met the classic Riders, and that's what I ask, what are they striving for as Riders (time without classic Riders). They're being a dick to classic Riders, but classic Riders existing or not, they became Riders.

Can you remind me of what you said? I must've missed it.

Posting in the credits... that's completely not the same as having characters in a show say it. That's making the viewer have to do more work just to be able to talk about what's going on in the show. It's not great storytelling! As a million other TV shows demonstrated, you can have characters say a new character's name once or twice in an episode without ruining the flow. And, man, they had two different characters on this show that they spent a half-dozen episodes as only "Hirose"! That's a problem!

Wasn't a value judgment on the shows, just citing an element I enjoyed that doesn't feel as prominent. And, yeah, I would never feel comfortable judging a superhero program solely by comedy. But it's nice when it's there! For me!

I think they were just doing a job. The New Generation specials painted them as frustrated and unemployed, so getting paid to pummel monsters seems like an end in and of itself.

Fun fact, the whole Kamen Rider as a job approach was inspired by Odoru Daisousasen/Bayside Shakedown, a famous cop drama series/movie franchise in Japan. Apparently they drew inspiration from Bayside Shakedown's way of portraying Aoyama the protagonist(played by Yuji Oda) and the other police officers as not a band of superheroes but as regular people.

Neat! Did not know that. Thanks!

I think Blade, as a show, had a really fun thread about how what starts as obligation (Kenzaki trying to save people after losing his parents; Hajime protecting Amane and Haruka) can grow into a deeper, more fulfilling motivation over time. Can't get that unless you start with it being a job, though!

Gotta be long then..

Not them being posted in credits, but actual name calling in the show, everything gets this treatment on Blade at least iirc. Hirose for both Shiori and Yoshito is a problem yeah (and I joked about that before), but the others that you still relegated with nicknames are all already called by name (well, for fun of this thread it's your call, but gotta correct saying they aren't refered by names though). Like Isaka, SAYOKOOOOO (this one..), Trial B, Kaimioka, etc.

Ah, my other point was also written there: comedy isn't necessarily about over the top stuff like phase 2 has, like there characters are extremely exaggerated and openly animated in traits, where phase 1 is more grounded, like the "headquarters" such as Kotaro's house compared to CR.

So, for the plot issues between the movie and the show, I guess I didn't think too hard about them? The movie is very much its own thing (in so many ways!), so comparing the two didn't make much sense to me. Also, I watched the movie way before I watched the show's ending, and at that point I just wasn't thinking too much about what Inoue came up with to end the story.

It's... the lore exists to support the direction of a writer's story, and we're talking about two different writers. The movie has a version of the lore that fits the story the movie is trying to tell, while the TV series has a version of the lore that fits the story the TV series is trying to tell. Comparing the two... I don't have big thoughts about it, and certainly not a sense of which is 'right' or 'better'. It's very Apples and Oranges, you know?

For the poor coping mechanisms, it's really only Amane we're talking about here. The rest of the cast become assholes, but mostly as a joke. They all sign back up to fight monsters from eternity without too much arm-twisting. Amane's the one who takes longer to come around, and that either works for you or it doesn't.

It works for me! I don't think the movie is excusing or rewarding her behavior, but it is trying to give it context. She's a troubled young girl who never got to properly grieve for someone who was like a father to her, and she doesn't know where to put that pain and anger. As long as she's kept outside of the story, she's going to suffer. It's a movie that heavily features the idea that there are invisible casualties to these stories of heroism. Part of that is that the damages these people sustain, it's breaking them in ways that make healing almost impossible. Amane is suffering.

But, like, she's also hurting the people around her, and the movie definitely acknowledges that. Haruka and Kotaro (is this show Keitaro or Kotaro? I've already forgotten) are clearly not feeling super great about how Amane is growing up, and Kenzaki is right there with them.

The thing is, and this is where Your Mileage May Vary, I think the movie is trying to create nuance beyond Amane Is A Brat. I think they're giving us the whole cast as assholes so that we treat Amane as just another asshole, and then spends the rest of the story drilling into why she's that way, and how she's not the only one responsible for her attitude. She's acting out, but that acting out comes from somewhere. If you don't think she expresses enough contrition for that at the end of the story, okay, but I don't think she needs to be chided or punished for how she behaved. The story is pretty critical of her actions, but it's more concerned with how she got to this point. If you think she's given too much sympathy by the story, then we have a different appreciation for what Amane's story is here.

Which is fine!

I mean, sure, some are jokes, but they never once called Tiger Queen or Scissors Undead by any name I can remember, and those were major, multi-episode characters. This show had some problems with naming characters inside of the text!

I know this movie is an alternate take, but (please no bias for this one, like for Faiz, it's Inoue's main writing, so different) I'd take the main writer's take for the story because they're the one that shapes the story in the first place (this movie is only alternate of the ending, another extension of that); this is what can happen when casting Inoue with other writer, not as main writer. My main point especially about Albino Joker, when Joker was sealed, he wins, and actually, that can't be good for the world (wish, destruction, etc.), but this movie ignores that disastrous consequence for example.... inconsistency, and that one's on similar level as asspulls.

And yeah, the coping mechanism was directed to Amane by me (other casts didn't), and my point wasn't about how it works or not, but about correcting what you said previously that "We adjust to it, no matter how hard it is, because the alternative is to be crushed. It’s a defense mechanism, and it’s healthy.", which is actually the opposite of it not being healthy (you said it yourself the movie acknowledges that). And I know already about the suffering story, because many, many, many characters from various media (it's not exclusive to her, it's incredibly common) are made to undergo suffering to turn them bad or outright villainous, for example in Toku world, Ransik in Power Rangers Time Force. There's already phenomenon for too much sympathy (by fandom, even making saints out of them; tbh, these are kind of messed up people) for these kinds of characters, which is Draco In Leather Pants.

Though yeah, failure isn't the end of anything, depending on the situation, there's also another important theme (not featured in the show) that may depressingly crush that; which is "there's no second chance". By that, it's encouraged not to create failures, as there's probably you won't be able to get a moment to fix it, or something. Blade's ending is obviously not that though, after being too late to try Tachibana or Mutsuki's plan of unsealing non-malicious Undeads, there's 2 last chance which is sealing Joker (Hajime loss) or turn Kenzaki into Undead. Power without morality is explored in other series as what'd you be, if given powers; powers will enhance what can you do depending on your morality (contribute more to society for heroes, becoming walking disaster for villains). For mortality, there's people seeking immortality, but for the already immortal Undeads, especially for Kenzaki and Hajime, it's explored... outside the series (post-appearences). IIRC it hasn't addressed the pros and especially cons of being immortal yet though, which is what the humans seek.

Ah, you said once Tachibana shouldn't change, and you claim that's hyperbole, so this means that it truly is? With his antics actually testing patience?

Unfortunately, Kotaro, as he himself noted, is only a normal person that can't give much help (Hirose is about the Undead Scanner). This is a given on a tokusatsu shows; super power (ex: Riders) or super intelligence (ex: scientists) would be the main players. And they aren't Kenzaki's only 2 friends. It's emphasized only at later, but Tachibana obviously is (the most cooperative between main and secondary Riders so far between the franchise at that time), and Hajime too.

I think it's more that, as an alternate version of the story, "winning" means a completely different thing than in the TV series. On the show, it's the Sealing Stone spitting out an army of monsters, but in the movie it's turning into a giant CGI summon from Final Fantasy. The movie and the show, they're playing by different (although similar!) rules. I'm not sure it's fair to criticize the movie for not adhering to the lore of the TV series, especially when that lore hadn't been established on the show at the time of the movie's release.

I don't remember things I said more than a day in the past, let alone comments from almost a month ago, so I'm going to try to remember what I meant from that quote.

I mean, I don't think I was trying to say that Amane was acting in a healthy way? Putting aside the negative consequences of her actions on her family (Haruka seems pretty stressed out!), Amane just 100% is spiralling downward. This is a girl who can't find closure and she's ruining her life.

I think what I meant by that quote wasn't specific to Amane's situation (I was maybe more talking about how the Riders seemed desperate to get back to the life of danger that defined them, i.e. everything going with Mutsuki in this movie), so much as it it's how we as people find a way to sustain ourselves emotionally during times of crisis. If the alternative is a mental breakdown, or worse, finding some way to keep going is admirable. The problem is when we find ourselves adjusted to crisis in a way that makes us crave crisis, and that's something the movie spends a little bit of time exploring.

Yeah, I think that's intentional. Blade's a show about how there are always second chances, ways to redeem yourself or help others or be a hero or support your friends or or or. It's a show about how you are going to fail someday, so be prepared to accept it and do better the next time.

It's just, doing Tachibana Fails, followed by Mutsuki Fails, followed by/concurrent with Tachibana Fails Again... it's just a lot. It is a lot of one theme, in a way that's hard to want more of.

Not always, though? Kuuga, for one, is a show that is almost defined by the non-superpowered folk in it. Ryuki managed a bunch of good parts for non-Riders. And Faiz had Keitaro and Mari in multiple crucial storylines. Here, you basically didn't need Kotaro or Hirose at all for the final quarter.

Sure, that's why I prefixed it with "at one time". He's got a whole bunch of friends by the end of the series! He's a very sweet boy!

Still to this day the choice of color palette for the suits interest me, specifically Blade, Garren, and Leangle. The way they are partially desaturated and feel a bit grimy gives the suit some weight to it I think. For example if Garren's undersuit was fiery red I dont think the suit would work for me. Or if Leangle was lime green or Blade a funky bright blue color.

Yeah, I think they really sell the workman-like nature of the Riders, how Chalice is clearly some superpowered monster from eternity (he has the coolest suit) and the other three are just punching a clock with their duller colors.

sorry for the necropost but spent the whole discussion looking for this video (and some other ones I might post they're the same joke but with a few changes) only for it to be taken down and ofc i find out someone reuploaded it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24eD...83%89%E3%83%AB

Rewatching Kamen Rider OOO, it's nice to see that Kotarou's legacy lives on!

https://i.imgur.com/pVD03s9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wi0pO5V.png

Starting my own Blade watch today. I've seen the memes, I've read the secondary Rider debates, I've heard of the legendary bench... but throughout it all I've managed to remain pretty unspoiled about Blades actual plot, and the ending people speak so highly of. I'm very excited to finally experience the show myself

Huh, that means you and I are both watching Blade for the first time, like how Kurona and I were rewatching Ghost at the same time a few months ago! I'm up to Episode 15 right now which is my favorite so far. I hope you enjoy it.

Very cool! I was going to be all I'm Sorry The Formatting Makes This Thread Impossible To Follow, but, the formatting's all fine? It looks normal when I went back to the first page, which is a pleasant surprise!

I hope this thread can be some sort of resource for you both! People had some very fun ideas about this show, and there's a lot of great meme explanations. Let us all know how Blade treats you! WEHAVEN'TBETRAYEDYOU!

I think that's one of the most Blade things possible to just inexplicably be the one thing left unscarred. Of COURSE Blade is the exception that doesn't get effected by anything else, why wouldn't it be?

I feel like a thread that doesn't have to confront its own failure makes this the least Blade thing to happen to the Blade thread.

Okay, looking back through the thread for a bit for a few reasons (it's very funny to me btw to see my declaration of Blade as a series I think is "good but I couldn't tell you why" when it's now one of my top 5 Rider shows for a lot of reasons), and I found that there's a point where the text crumbles like the other threads: Episode 2. The one you liked and where you're turning around on Blade.

Just... WOW. Man. That is absolutely tragic but I couldn't hold back a smile at that, I'm so sorry. Blade, man!

ha ha ha ha

YES.

God, what a bizarre first episode. I cannot wait to see where things go from here. I'd always heard that Blade's episode 1 felt more like you started watching a show halfway through, I never expected just how true that was. Which makes it even more bizarre that Kenzaki's kind of a dweeb. I'm used to stuff like Wizard or Build, where when the main's a Rider already, he's already a badass, and Kenzaki most certainly isn't.

Very excited by Hajime's introduction though, he's one of the parts of Blade I hear spoken of the highest, and though I know some spoilers about him, I'm very curious to learn the full story, and what sort of person he is.

Sorry for the double post, but I decided to watch a couple more episodes tonight. The first episode was kind of a mess, but episode 2 really turned things around. Hajime is proving a very interesting character! From the vague spoilers I've heard, I'm very excited to have my heart break for him. Like I just know I'll be thinking about this line and sobbing 40 episodes from now.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/07c8ca1a...1d2ccbb330.png

Kenkazi grew on me a lot in episode 2. He's still kind of a dweeb, but it's clear he has layers! He's trying his best, and I appreciate that. Tachibana-San on the other hand has yet to get much focus. All I know is that he hates BOARD because something they did to him is gonna turn him into green slime and give him the classic dramatic cough of mysterious unspecified illness. Oh well, it's only episode 3, there's plenty of time for more focus.

Oh, and what the fuck was with the Deer Undead wearing bandage gear?

Yeah, 1 and 2 for Blade... very tricky to get into!

The first episode has this weird structure where they spend twenty minutes introducing you to overzealous Kenzaki and taciturn Tachibana and some old guy boss and a Girl In The Chair and BOARD and infrastructure and paychecks and corporate superheroes... and then spends the last two minutes going Okay All Of That Is On Fire Now. It's a ton of time spent introducing you to a status quo it immediately explodes. Literally.

The second episode is, like, the pilot for the Actual Series. It's way more fun, thankfully!

(Also, a thing you might hear from other fans who've finished the series is that the first episode sort of works better in retrospect. I don't know that I agree with this structurally -- it's incredibly frustrating to watch, and I don't know if any later gains are worth that decision -- but I do agree with it thematically. The decision to start the show this way is sort of defensible once you start to see the story that's being told. Still, not a great premiere!)

Blade's' first episode hooked me immediately. It's a first episode that's structured like a second episode, and all of the craziness in it legit made me wanna immediately see what happened next.

It also features Garren staring at Blade from behind a wall, which will never not be funny.

Watched some more Blade last night, up to episode 8. After Tachibana-San's iconic cartoonish scream and ridiculous face, I went from finding him entertainingly pathetic, to lovably pathetic. Absolute poor little meow meow of a man. This is such a good show

Tachibana is the best part of the show right now. I mentioned recently in my Q1 review in the KR Watch thread that I relate to Kenzaki the most for his desire to be useful manifesting from his backstory, but for pure entertainment and that "dude why you do that" feeling, Tachibana is always a delight to watch. Were you also surprised to hear he allegedly ate a jigsaw piece?