This is probably as good a time as any for me to gush some more about how much I love everything about Blade's aesthetics and gimmicks. I cannot describe the level to which year after recent year of everyone having a million different finishing moves has made me grateful that Blade valued the idea of Riders actually Kicking things so much, even when the main character is literally named after his weapon. Like the prominence of the bikes, and being only the second one to use the name in dialogue, it's one of those things that shows Blade was a lot more openly proud of being a Kamen Rider show than its early Heisei contemporaries, which might be harder to appreciate now.

Faiz had quite the variety of ways to finish off monsters, which was fun too, but in Blade, it's this really consistent routine I just find never gets old. Kenzaki fanning out those trading cards, doing that cool thing where he slams the sword into the ground, the simple little somersault in mid-air. It's all super visually interesting to me, as is the whole idea of throwing trading cards at the monsters with the most satisfying whooshing sound ever instead of them just exploding, which subtly helps give the show a distinct identity.

Indeed. And while Kamen Rider was more of an inclusive term in Ryuki amongst those with the decks, it was definitely more used in Blade as a common jargon for card-flicking armored vigilante/urban legends who fight anthropomorhic zombies and then seal them away.

I love it! And I love all of the info! You've really got your work cut out for you, since we're now getting so many Undead each episode.

The card thing is very cool. I like the idea of a monster having more to offer the narrative than just blowing up real good. Being able to weave the monster's abilities back into the fight scenes at a later date, I really dig that. It's economical, you know? It's using every part of the monster.

The Rider Kick is extra cool because the show takes time to construct it using the tools they've already defined. Blade doesn't just suddenly having a flaming kick that detonates monsters, he uses two cards that give him a flaming kick that detonates monsters. It's built up in the language of the show, and I think that's awesome.

That said! A little mystifying that Blade's finish isn't sword-based? Not saying it'd be better, but... he's a sword guy? And he doesn't use his sword to finish off monsters? Surprising decision for the show to make, is all I'm saying.

Yeah, we've reached the point where If You Wear A Mask And Rider, You Are A Kamen Rider. I think I said earlier in this thread, but I really like how much of a public utility Kamen Riders are treated as on this show. Jin's just like Oh A Kamen Rider, no debilitating confusion or anything.

Kenzaki complaining about how little BOARD pays him for his job of killing monsters and saving the human race is the epitome of this, and will never not be funny to me.

Look, I swear Tachibana forgets he has a gun half the time, so for Kenzaki to actually use his sword is good Rider-ing.

He has to swipe a card to load his gun, which feels like a poor design choice. But, maybe it's more of an operator flaw? (I mean: Tachibana. Yes, of course it's an operator flaw.) He swipes the card only when he's being rushed by a monster, not when he leaps into combat. I'm not sure why you'd only want to load your weapon directly before firing it?

Correction - the gun doesn't need to be swiped to be loaded, which Tachibana only remembers when against his primary opponent - Kenzaki.

Which is what my point was, don't make the good guy winning a foregone conclusion. That sparks ire from many, many audiences all over the internet. Obviously they should figure out a way to defeat them, smart plans etc. (show that competency doesn't always belong to bad guys, I want for audience to realize that memes aside, good guy isn't always masked in plot armor), and that it should surprise. And that time with Tachibana fight, there seem to be no logical way for any Riders to beat Isaka! This part hasn't even reached the Rider's mid season upgrade form yet!

The Kuuga one is Kanzaki! Don't be confused lol, and with the Ryuki ones too (I've seen cases where the ones from Ryuki gets misspelled as Kenzaki). It's understandable though with the main character named that and one word difference. For Jin's dad, he seems to be a parent that forces his kids to follow what he wants, possibly to give himself prestige in community (which would mean being abusive to his child like Jin claims), or that he genuinely thinks what's best for his child, but does so in a tiger parenting method, the "education papa" type. And it's implied that his ways of parenting, or something, kills Jin's brother. Obviously, as a contrast of his role in Kuuga.

Hmm... you say that a humanity and friendship wins Hajime over... but it's revealed here, Jin's inner dark side (possibly from his upbringing), that he's also a misantrophe whose dream is wanting to be independent and away from mankind on the boat he worked hard to get and ready, where Chalice is very into killing Undead. And their dark side (hidden for Jin) was what eventually bonds them over. Though now for Chalice, falling into friendships too easy... but it seems that it's not set in stone, he can reject people that are soft to him like Kenzaki (at first for him).

Hmm.... as the discussion previously was about how Blade's got a sidekick role to Garren, what differentiates in this episode? That you said, Blade needs to stop him and is an active participant in Garren's story, and that Garren's act drives Blade to prominence here to stop him (well, to be fair you also said an opposite possibility, with Garren being a participant in Blade's story now). And for Tachibana... he seems to (understandably) made a terrible decision for himself here. He's told multiple times that his problems are psychological, and it can be solved by conquering his fear. Then he decides he should probably just call it quits as a Rider, but he still can't stick to that.

I don't know if I'd describe Jin as having a dark side, though? I think the joke is how Jin is misinterpreting Hajime's declarations. Like, Hajime says, "I want to destroy everything I see," and Jin's response is, "Yeah! We should tear down systems that don't work, and people should be allowed to follow their dreams with no interference!" Jin thinks Hajime is speaking figuratively, when he he is actually speaking very very literally.

Jin's story right now is that he wants independence from his dad, not from all of society. He wants to perform for people, sing his songs, entertain. Jin is a good guy!

I was trying to phrase it in a way where I'd reconsidered which Rider was supporting which story. It's definitely more of a Blade story this time, since Garren is treated as more of an adversary than before. Previously, he was on his own, confused, defensive. Now he's fighting Blade on behalf of Trenchcoat Mastermind. It's a more clear-cut Hero/Villain delineation than they've used on Tachibana so far.

Yeah, about that. I was expecting a bit more awe and surprise when he says that considering the notion that riders are urban legends within this world. I mean he is witnessing something in the line of chupacabra vs sasquatch and that is all they get? :lolol

I guess it depends on where you are in the city? Like, that rooftop is a Kamen Rider hotspot. Jin's unlucky in that he only saw one Kamen Rider fight in the few minutes he was up there. Maybe Jin's busking is right down the block from Kamen Rider Stadium? Or his boat is parked near that one bridge?