KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 20

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Hajime can't tell his secrets to Haruka and Amane! Mutsuki wants to be a Rider but Garren says no! Kotaro has a meet-cute that's destined to end poorly for a variety of independent reasons! And Kenzaki squares off with Lazer But He's On Blade!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade20a.png

There's something that cracks me up, the last few episodes of Blade. The opening credit sequence has all four Riders racing across a beach together, four champions of justice, working to protect people. Except that's completely not this show? Ever? The best team-up percentage the show has ever had was 75%, and that was when Blade, Garren, and Chalice all fought Leangle. Usually, they're between 50% and 66%, depending on the amount of active Riders. All four of them together?! What show is that opening supposed to be attached to?! It sure as hell isn't Blade!

Case in point, Leangle. He's sending monsters after Blade in the cold open, and then he's trying to fight Garren directly after the credits. The rest of the story is Mutsuki trying to figure out if the belt hates him or what, and that lack of being able to actively harm our heroes is the only reason he's trying to work with Garren at the conclusion.

I like where they've got Tachibana in this story, trying to be a mentor to Mutsuki. Team Blade is pretty boned as far as taking back the Leangle belt goes, since it can just run away when their backs are turned. (Maybe if Kenzaki actually slept with it this time?) That means that they're better off trying to control Mutsuki, and that's something Tachibana feels equipped to do. He's using his shame over, uh, basically the first 15 episodes of this show to reach out to Mutsuki, try and get him to see that power, that personal satisfaction, it's not worth harming others to obtain it. Not super clear if it's a lesson that's going to land with Mutsuki!

He's in a weird Not An Antagonist, Not Yet A Protagonist zone, Mutsuki. He wants to be a Rider, but he doesn't want to do anything with it, really. He fights Blade and Garren because they want to take it away from him, but then he tries to get Tachibana to bring him along on the fight against the Undead. He sort-of vaguely wants to fight monsters, that's maybe his preference, but he's got the same view of power that the corrupted version of Kiryuu had: having power is more important than using power. He doesn't seem to care too much what he's using Leangle's power for or against.

So he goes with Tachibana, claiming that he feels guilty about releasing the Undead that's currently terrorizing people, and... I don't really see it? I'm sort-of putting a pin in it, for now, since I'm not sure if Mutsuki's lying to Tachibana, lying to himself, or if this new motivation has come totally out of nowhere due to bad writing. (Feel like it's the third one, but I really hope it's not.) Nothing about Mutsuki has said Feels Guilt For His Actions As Leangle occupies a lot of space in his decision-making, but we'll see where it goes.

I mean, where it's probably going to go is a big ol' fight with Chalice, since that's who Tachibana (whom Chalice remembers as almost murdering him a little while back) and Mutsuki (who, through Leangle, called him a coward and also almost murdered him) run into at the end.

Hajime's story is a kind-of parallel to Mutsuki's, in that they're both about men who have secrets, and the women who want to help them. Hajime hasn't told Haruka and Amane that he's an Undead/Rider, and while they want to give him space to have secrets, it's causing a lot of unspoken friction. Not least of which because Kotaro does know, and wants explanations, and it's escalating the discomfort. Nozomi's going through the same thing with Mutsuki, where she knows he's hiding something, knows it's causing him problems, but all she can do is gently remind him that she's there for him.

It's a neat idea to explore, the consequences of trying to let people keep their secrets. It's easy to say, in the moment, that you value someone's friendship more than you worry about their secrets, but it's never that simple. Once you know someone's hiding something from you, you can't just not think about it. You're biting your tongue around them, wondering why they won't share with you, and meanwhile everyone's uncomfortable. Hajime and Mutsuki are reaching the limits of their friends' patience, and something has to change.

And change has arrived for Kotaro, and it's wearing a dress! The stuff with Kotaro and Meet-Cute is fine, some slow-burn Undead stuff that loops in Lazer But He's On Blade, the new cool-guy rockstar Undead. It's a series of possible fake-outs and red herrings (maybe she's an Undead!), but it's fun to see a story that puts Kotaro in a little bit more of the focus. Also, it gives Hirose and Kenzaki a chance to do some supporting-role comedy stuff, which kills. The part where Kotaro calls them freeloaders, and they're a little offended, but then they're both like Oh Shit We Totally Are, loved it. Great timing, funny joke.

It's a pretty solid episode of Blade! Very much the first chapter in a story, with some question marks over some plots, but I had a good time with it. Doesn't maybe feel so much like the show is nailing down what Mutsuki is all about, but we're getting there. (Really liked his phone call with Nozomi.) It's a building phase, I guess. I'm okay with it!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade20b.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kotaro in danger! Kenzaki enraged! And Chalice fights at least Leangle, if not Garren, so a 75% team-up percentage remains the score to beat!

That was good, yeah. The biggest laugh I got out of the episode, though, was Mutsuki opening up his window after the call with Nozomi and bam! There's Tachibana, just standing outside glaring at him. Probably not meant to be funny, but it absolutely cracked me up.

But anyway, on to the big guest star. Kotaro's new love interest, Meet-Cute, is played by model/actress Mika Hijii. About a year after this point she would turn up on Garo as that show's female lead/secondary protagonist Kaoru. She's a major part of the Saejima family branch of the Garo franchise and has reappeared in that role many times, as recently as last year. She is great on that show and has always been one of my favorite parts of it. I watched Blade long before Garo, so I didn't realize she was on both shows until my second time through Blade, which was a huge "Hey, it's that guy!" moment for me.

Today at the Unded Information Kiosk, we have something rare. Two of the same rank

Absorb Orchid


A cunning Undead, using others to get what she wants. She can summon vines to bind victims and fire a mist from the face on the back of her head.

* Suit and Category: https://powerrangers.fandom.com/wiki/Karen_Mizuki
* Effect name: ABSORB
* Card name: Absorb Orchid (アブソーブ・オーキッド Abusōbu ōkiddo)
* Consumption points: EP +2000

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121110144739

Absorb Capricorn.

The Category Queen for the Spade Undead. He possesses a high pitch scream that can obliterate anything and the ability to drive a car.

* Suit: Spade (♠)
* Category: Queen (Q)
* Effect name: ABSORB
* Card name: Absorb Capricorn (アブソーブ・カプリコーン Abusōbu Kapurikōn)
* Consumption points: EP +2000

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121110113733

Discussions about what constitutes freeloading and Tachibana creeping outside a teenager's window are funny and all, but I'd say the real comedy gold lies elsewhere in this episode.

Learning Ondul the Easy WEEEEEEI! (#10)

https://i.imgur.com/ZCHyZ4ul.png

The Capricorn Undead left quite the impression on a lot of viewers for his rather eccentric personality, but what really secured him a place as one of the true legends of Ondul was his habit of screaming in such an over-the-top manner, it gets written like this:

ﾌｫ━━(0∀0)━━ｳｩ!!

Yes, with an emoticon right in the middle. I guess to "translate" it, it'd be something like "FOOOOOO(0∀0)OOOOHHHH!!" That's still not really why he's so popular though. You see, Yazawa having such a uniquely wonderful set of pipes means clips of him shouting are a mainstay of fanmade Blade remixes. He's so prolific it took me basically no time at all to find the perfect example video. Consider it my gift to everyone working hard right now to understand the insane, and often inane, world of Blade memes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Nbh3xTabA

It's a very funny moment, yes! What made it for me was this surprised look Tachibana gets on his face when Mutsuki spots him outside. It's like he genuinely thought Mutsuki wouldn't see him down there, twenty feet from his house, in broad daylight, next to his motorcycle. I guess when you're hunting timeless monsters who've been freed from trading cards, they don't teach you stealth?

Thanks for the info! I probably would've rather heard about that Absorb Orchid card after, uh, the next episode, but I still appreciate the details!

Agreed! Hajime sensing Lazer But He's On Blade outside the restaurant, running upstairs, looking out the back door and being like He's Nowhere To Be Found probably was the funniest thing in the episode. Why did he think the only place an Undead could be was the back yard? Why not even look out the front door? Was Leangle wrong to say that Chalice had become a coward, when he's clearly just become enormously lazy?

(As always, thanks for the memes!)

To be honest, it’s been months since I watched this show (or indeed, any Rider series.) I’ve only recently got back in the game, by watching Hibiki, Agito and Black, with plans to start Build tomorrow. So some details about this show might be misremembered.

It's a fun thread :D Also we continue the Very Creepy subplot in which our heroes stalk a teenager and nobody in universe finds this odd. This will bother no one but me, forever :lol Tachibana lurking outside the window was definitely a moment of hilarity tho


Mutsuki strikes me as a really good depiction of a teenager, honestly; he knows he wants things but not why or what to do with them. I like it.

Hahahahaaaa, so much fun, this bit. Tachibana and his GPS finding the Undead after Something Mysterious has happened to Team Blade's equipment also made me laugh.

Hajime actively offering information to Kenzaki felt like a positive thing for Hajime, incidentally, even if he had to frame it as not wanting Kenzaki to interfere in Chalice chasing the specific Undead he has decided he is going to re-seal. Also potentially a positive thing for Kenzaki's social circle, haha.

Yeah, good point. He's a kid, so he's not going to think about things like consequences or goals or anything. He just wants to feel good about himself right this second.

I liked how Hajime is clearly trying to protect Kotaro through Kenzaki, by giving Kenzaki the warning, but he's also sort-of being an asshole about not wanting to say he's trying to protect Kotaro. That smile he gives Kenzaki afterwards, though, it's completely the smile you give someone when you're teasing them. Hajime cares! He really cares!

She's in this episode, but the show hasn't definitively revealed that she's an Undead yet.

Well, it's not that Mutsuki being stubborn and takes the belt that time (not talking about the one in episode, but the one before the team's lecture). Leangle belt returns to him. Shame no one knows about this. And for Nozomi, she likes that the usual clumsy Mutsuki returns here, while previously she likes Mutsuki's flawless play on basket? Yeah, for him sitting down moping, it's already seen in his previous fallout with Nozomi, that his explanation is too outlandish to be believed....

So, Kiryuu is actually not as rotten as this in past time. Hirose and Tachibana knew him well (as Tachibana convinces her to forget the past him), but I wonder what's Kenzaki doing against him back in the BOARD days (he gets introduced to Tachibana that time so...). Then I still wonder what actually makes Kiryuu fell from grace at the present time here, his acts are done before Leangle chose him. Previously he seems envious that Tachibana is chosen to be Garren instead of him, and mocks him while he can. Then it's revealed that Kiryuu actually pleads for Tachibana to fight in his place (something that finally made Tachibana return!). And what Kiryuu thinks is only his take, not a factual description about justice and power.

What differentiates this death scene, compared to death scenes like Sawada? That both of them has done nothing to redeem their vile acts but is being mourned by the heroes. I wonder what made Mutsuki lash up to his parents, and ouright talk about the belt even if nobody knows about it, Leangle influencing him outside Rider form? And Mutsuki getting the belt back is about Leangle choosing Mutsuki again, abandoning Kiryuu. And with Tachibana being able to beat Isaka, I've always wondered how'll he fare against the ordinary ones. Well this episode finally showed it. Now Blade and Garren can beat a horde of Undeads (no fodders like Guardian in Build in early Heisei and those Undeads aren't).

Well yeah, as you said, different things they do, but just because the different thing doesn't let you find something beneath the surface easily, doesn't mean they are worse. Like I said, don't force shaping other Rider series with one like your preference either, or only limiting the good and bad based on it.What you said of "it doesn't have the thematic depth that Faiz had" seems like an undisputable objective statement based on fact, when that's actually opinion. And even if he did a good job like this one, I don't want for Inoue as a person to be glorified tbh. Actually I was only half-truthing about only the wild, over the top, and weird way, there's more of that. I didn't talk about it because it would be spoiler-y. Inoue still had some form of restraint on TV series, and it's shown in form of the wacky melodrama parts. But outside of that, he outright went into taboo territory. He normalizes things that are too taboo for its own good, and I'm bringing him up upon that community, where it legitimately made someone truly uncomfortable, partly because they're a victim of that taboo thing Inoue wrote, seeing that in media just normalizes it, and it sickens them, and they're a writing major. To the point that the community pleads (in a non-hostile way) to not bring up about Inoue. I hope that you can understand about this part, I'm afraid with you writing about this, you can probably went into the "Fourze Cosmic States vs Magnet States" regarding Inoue, that can come off as disturbing even if probably intended as a joke (especially that, seems that nowadays people aren't allowed to be offended about any joke).