I'm no forum-poster-rider-liveblog-critic (because such a thing doesn't exist!), but all your posts are good as usual!?

It's a shame Blade turned out to just be a rotten, no-good criminal though. No wonder the show tried so hard to sideline him at the beginning!

In a world with one Rider who's a prehistoric monster-killer/killer-monster, and one Rider who's a fighting-adverse recovering addict who has assaulted his last two bosses, Kenzaki is absolutely right to assume that he'll tarnish the good name of Kamen Rider by being accused of stealing two sodas. Thank goodness the Rider who is possessed by an immortal evil spirit was there to bail him out!

For the other thing, thanks. Sometimes... it's like baseball, where sometimes you really get ahold of one, and sometimes you think Man I Really Did Not Get Ahold Of That One. Nothing for it but to take another swing, I guess.

Amazing, and significant!

Learning Ondul the Easy WEEEEEEI! (#9)

https://i.imgur.com/gTNNmz3l.png

In today's lesson, the Strongest Rider finally makes his debut, and he... doesn't actually speak in Ondul. Like, ever. Even when literally every other main character on the show does. Mutsuki's a real oddity for a lot of reasons, but Leangle does still properly have his own emoticon with (0H0), and, thanks to one overly enthusiastic lady at a supermarket telling him to chase down a thief (okkakten mutsuki! -> oppeketenmukki-!), he even gets his own corrupted nickname just like Kenjaki and Dadi do. Don't be surprised if you see me referring to him as Mukki more than by his actual name.

Well he does still have a meme catchphrase.

And now, the Undead Information Kiosk is once more open for business.

Tackle Boar.

One of Blade’s Undead, which was released by Leangle. He has incredible charging power.

* Suit: Spade
* Category: 4
* Effect Name: TACKLE
* Card Name: Tackle Boar (タックル・ボア Takkuru Boa)
* Consumption Points: FP 800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121110111057

And as a bonus, all the Rouse Cards Leangle already has in his starter deck (since I can guarantee that most of these won’t be appearing outside of an art book, if at all).

Stab Bee.

An Undead with potent stabbing attacks.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 2
* Effect Name: STAB
* Card Name: Stan Bee (スタッブ・ビー Sutabbu Bī)
* Consumption Points: FP 400

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063620

Rush Rhinoceros

An Undead with powerful tackles and enhanced speed.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 4
* Effect Name: RUSH
* Card Name: Rush Rhinoceros (ラッシュ・ライノセラス Rasshu Rainoserasu
* Consumption Points: FP 800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063528

Bite Cobra

An Undead with greater leg strength and strong scissor kicks.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 6
* Effect Name: BITE
* Card Name: Bite Cobra (バイト・コブラ Baito Kobura)
* Consumption Points: FP 1200

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063126

Blizzard Polar

An Undead with freezing attacks.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 6
* Effect Name: BLIZZARD
* Card Name: Blizzard Polar (ブリザード・ポーラー Burizādo Pōrā)
* Consumption Points: FP 1200

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063203

Poison Scorpion

An Undead that secretes a deadly poison.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 8
* Effect Name: POISON
* Card Name: Poison Scorpion (ポイズン・スコーピオン Poizun Sukōpion)
* Consumption Points: FP 1800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063312

Remote Tapir

An Undead that can break the seal on other Undead.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 10
* Effect Name: REMOTE
* Card Name: Remote Tapir (リモート・テイピア Rimōto Teipia)
* Consumption Points: FP 2200


https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063512

Absolutely not, it was great. Your opinions and takeaways are always enjoyable :D Part of the reason I like reading how people react to media is that other points of view help me look critically at things that I like and why I think they do or don't work. You specifically talk about how elements of Kamen Rider fit together in a way that gives me a broader perspective. Seriously, whole new appreciation for 555 after your thread on it. Even when elements (or even large swathes) of a series don't work for you. :)

:lol There's a lot of hilarity in this episode, particularly with the shoplifting gag (AMAZING), but one of the things that has always stuck with me is Tachibana and Kenzaki harassing a bunch of high school students looking for "Mutsuki" and just - how does no one bat an eyelash at two grown-ass men stalking a teenager??? (That and Mutsuki trying to climb on Kenzaki's finally-working bike and Kenzaki literally kicking him off.)

I'm 110% sure we are supposed to find that Very Dramatic and feel Some Kind Of Way about Kiryuu harshly meting out Justice, as Judge, Jury, and Executioner :lol I felt like Kiryuu's actor sold it, but, uh. The little box, not so much. It looks v Showa to me, tbh.

Funny (?) story - around the time Mutsuki showed up when I was watching this during the original broadcast, I started to feel like I was getting a better handle on listening comprehension :lol (not actually true, as I know NOW, but at the time it was a motivational confidence booster. I will always have a bit of a soft spot for Mutsuki for speaking clearly enough that I could actually look up what he was saying)

These recent posts remind me that I need to look up a specific episode again so I can rant about why I think Mutsuki is the worst written character in the show once Die gets to it. And then Fish will reply and inform me about some context I'm missing and that'll be cool.

At least he's not bad during these early episodes though.

Finally Leangle. :rock:

Karasuma is the exposition guy though? I want to know, again, what makes this 180 degree turnabout regarding him? Also, I really wondered what's up with Karasuma in previous episode, but the answer was quick one, and a rather easy way too for him to do that and gives vague impressions regarding his morality, the second time (he was accused of unsealing the Undead before, now the story plays out like him actually aiding Isaka), that he was mind controlled. Not shown how he got freed of it though. As you said below, it's all Leangle related, so Karasuma returns for a good reason here, as he's the one who created it. And in that part, the part where Hirose jumps up to see Kotaro wandering outside makes me go "oof!", because of Hirose not taking away her slipper jumping on Kenzaki. Well at least it's indoors slipper so it won't get dirty by walking outside right... (but those are taken off when going to bed btw...).

My impression of Mutsuki is quite strange here... I feel that his introduction wasn't done in a grand way, or emphasizing way, and by that I thought he's going to be merely a minor character to advance the plot. Turns out that he's the 4th primary Rider. I thought with him being curt to his mom, it's all Nozomi related, probably also the belt part to prove the surreal moment surrounding him that ordinary people hard to understand. And for Leangle Driver, an inanimate device with will and presence, that's what I've known much in various medias, outside KR series, the "artifact of power" phlebotinum type.

He did, Tachibana is clueless until he returns from sealing the Category Ace and losing against Isaka. If he hadn't been fighting, he might have made it to Sayoko in time like, to call ambulance. If he had listened to her, or trusted her, or letting anyone else know, or trusted anybody, or not backhanding the others' reassurement when they find out, he would have been able to protect her, probably she wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place. Also here's the thing in this episode; so Kenzaki seems to still put Tachibana higher in pedestal than Kotaro, the person he claimed to be his "first friend" in episode 4 (with also a friendly introduction flashback shown here). When Kotaro talks about replacing Tachibana, he lashes out at him.

Uhh... I know, Amane is there to be Hajime's morality pet, his care for her humanizes him. But Amane's thing to Hajime is already on an obsessive crush, which could make it a creepy reverse-pedo stuff, with the addition of her being completely clingy about him with little space given and... she's not merely lightened up around Hajime, by that she mistreats anyone that isn't Hajime, partly because to make Hajime look better compared to them.

The difference of the hero approach between Chalice and Blade here, for the former, as an anti-hero he's more concerned of finishing the enemy with little regard of others, while for the latter, he knows full well that it's meant to protect others, killing monster is a form of doing that, and thus, citizen's safety is the priority. Also, with you talking about previous places/settings here, do you also realize that, the beach where Emu and Kiriya got reuinted again also gets re-used? As well as the place where (Hajime) Nakamura got killed by Tiger in Ryuki.

I'm sorry, Fish, but this is a serious thread where we always call characters by their actual, real names. The production team (alongside the actors) work so hard to bring them to life, and I won't have you disrespecting their craftsmanship. Have you learned nothing from the dramatic, memorable demises of Dr Ladyfriend and Trenchcoat Mastermind? Consider this your only warning!

I don't know if this is a Spoiler question or not, so feel free to ignore it if it is, but: where do the starter cards come from? Do they generate when Leangle first Henshins? Were they presealed? Like, these are all Undead monsters, right?

I also did a really great job cleaning my tub last week, and no one even mentioned it!

(Also, thanks. I wasn't really fishing for praise or anything, with that poor appraisal of my recent posts. It's just, I don't know. Felt like I left a lot of meat on the bones of that episode. Not like it was an all-time winner of a Blade, but... I don't know. Sometimes I feel good about these. Most times they're fire-and-forget, just a way to spark discussion. But sometimes it's like Eesh, Shanked It.)

Well, Kenzaki looks like a teenager and Tachibana looks like a principal, so they probably blended right in!

Thank you! I was going to dismiss it as Showa Jank, but as someone whose exposure to Showa is almost entirely through a quiz show featuring the cast of Fourze, I felt like I was leaving myself open for some criticism. Now, I can just agree with you, and then let you soak up any umbrage from Showa fans. Thanks again!

Heroism takes many different forms. Like, I mentioned my clean tub, right?

He's homaging the better of the two Teen Wolf movies, at the very least.

I really liked his Henshin, what little of it there was. I'm watching it, waiting for some elaborate arm movement or something, and he just... stands there. And then it's OPEN UP and he turns into Leangle. It's a neat way to play with tension, to have this long beat of anticipation and then RIDER.

This is the second time Karasuma has been rescued by Team Blade, and the second time he just bails on them midway through an episode. The show can't really have him around for too long, since he knows way more about what's going on than you'd want to impart to the other characters at this point in the series. They've got to both have him around to fill in blanks, and then shove him off of the stage as quickly as possible. It's a very funny routine they've created, most likely unintentionally.

My read on the mind control was that as soon as Trenchcoat Mastermind was sealed by Garren, everyone under his control was freed. That's why the various soldiers just ran away from the truck at the same time Karasuma came to his senses. They just all came back to normal.

Well, there's friendship, which is what Kenzaki has with Kotaro; and then there's respect, which is what Kenzaki has for Tachibana. (Literally no one on the show respects Kotaro right now.) Kenzaki is very much a follower, and he's always tried to defer to Tachibana. His hope is that the Tachibana he's always respected will take back up the Garren belt, join the team, and lead them to success against the Undead. Kotaro suggesting that'll never happen is definitely not what Kenzaki wants to hear. It's a typically blunt assessment from Kotaro, who is pretty terrible at not saying the first thing that comes into his head. It's weirdly one of the reasons he and Kenzaki get along so well?

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd characterize their relationship that way? I think she's using Hajime as a surrogate dad, which feeds into his protectiveness and guilt, since he's partially responsible (?) for her dad's death.

For Amane mistreating other men... I think she's just got a really low tolerance for weak men? She doesn't find much to admire in men like Kotaro, and she's got no filter when it comes to telling them. They're a very no-filter family!

Like most of the starter cards that Garren and Chalice had, Leangle’s starter deck are all Undead that were sealed offscreen or were never unsealed in the first place.
And because the show has to keep to a budget we aren’t going to see all of the Undead but we do see most of them and of the handfull never seen in Blade some have full designs for side story’s or at least a sketch of their head