It's way up there, for sure! Just to be clear to people who don't remember this or haven't seen the show for whatever reason, the theme song is literally starting to play as Blade is getting shot. I think between this and Mukkoro after the opening, this episode makes it a lot easier to understand why exactly Kenzaki was so thrilled when he realized Kotarou actually wanted to be his friend. Dude just doesn't have much luck in that department.

Hajime just needs a haircut real bad. Or, a trim, styling, product, something. It honestly makes me upset to see it. Plus, no one ever seems to get a haircut once a Rider series starts, so I am not looking forward to how messy and unkempt that head of hair is going to be if Hajime survives into the 40s.

(Thanks as always for the info! If you stopped me from sealing an Undead I'd totally forgive you! At least one time, anyway!)

Yeah, it was such a Tachibana-only factor on this show that I honestly forgot that it might be something Kenzaki should be more into resolving? It's a very clever resolution to the plot, though, having it be all about Tachibana's psychotic fear of death. Just way more to dig into if it's a psychological problem rather than a plot problem. The former makes for the better stories, if I get to pick.

Also, holy shit, he's still trying to patch things up with Tachibana after he gets shot for trying to help a faking Tachibana. Kenzaki is a very sweet boy! He is definitely not cut out for this world of lunatics!

You have no idea how much this paragraph makes me excited for your inevitable run through Decade.

Ten years of men with awful hair.

I think it's safe enough to mention now that there is, to this day, a debate as to whether Chalice or Garren is the Secondary Rider. And I don't mean slight confusion, I mean I have seen outright argument with people calling each other out as mentioning the "wrong" one as the "true" secondary rider and getting outrage if people don't agree. It's the only rider show I know of where this has happened.

We shall see which side of it you come down on.

I think he is, and mostly for all of the reasons you've mentioned. He's a complete and total disaster of a person, but he's an endearing disaster. Despite all the terrible ways he's treating people right now, he's such a pathetic guy that it's impossible to dislike him and in fact he becomes likable specifically because of his crazy behavior since it becomes so over the top.

it's also kind of crazy to think how fast this is all moving for him. In a lot of other shows, this development would take place over a more extended period of time, but so far this is only six episodes in! It always seems strange to me that a common complaint about Blade is that it has a slow start, because I feel like it moves at a pretty rapid pace.

Garren is the tertiary Rider. Blade is Chalice's secondary Rider.

Yeah, I think this is basically a long weekend for Tachibana?! He's gone from blowing up his job, to kidnapping his boss, to getting yelled at by the new kid, to having his boss pull the ol' Hologram And Magnesium Switcheroo (a classic), to kicking the new kid's ass, to finding out that his dreams of a painful death are just dreams and his crippling pain is basically psychosomatic.

(Also somewhere in there he may or may not have eaten a puzzle piece because he thought the puzzle symbolized his inevitable demise.)

Imagine the guy at BOARD who took a couple days off to go to Tokyo DisneyLand and comes back to that story from whoever is now working at BOARD because everyone else was killed by a biblical plague that Garren accidentally let loose.

He's just the best.

In terms of how the story is flowing and his presence, understandable. But technically no as proven by Decade and Zi-O merch which I will not go into details to avoid spoilers in case you did not watch those shows.

Well, I’ve got nothing new monster wise, so I’ll simply share the meme stuff and talk trivia afterwards.

Tell me, was it you? You're that Rider from before...and you have the antibody for Amane."
"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"
"Why do you hide the fact that you're a Rider--No--What is your purpose?"
"I don't know. I really don't know anything at all."
"Well, I'll tell her! I'll tell Amane that you're a Rider, and the number of times we've fought!"
"Try to tell her that...and I'm going to kill you!"
―The full dialogue of the meme

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20180212084827

In episode 6, Hajime's warning to Kenzaki "I will kill you!" (俺は貴様をぶっ殺す！ Ore wa kisama wo bukkorosu!) was popularly spread across the Internet due to his humorous facial expression, labeled as "Mukkorosu" (ムッコロス) by the Japanese community due to Hajime's slurring of the line making it sound like Ore~a, kusamuwomukkorosu! (ｵﾚｧ､ｸｻﾑｦﾑｯｺﾛｽ!). This is also acknowledged as part of the Ondul family meme that was spawned by Kazuma Kenzaki in the original series.

Acknowledgment: Actor Ryoji Morimoto has re-enacted this line during his appearances in public events.

Tamotsu Shinohara, one of the designer of Another Riders in Kamen Rider Zi-O, adapted this scene into the face design of Another Blade.

<img src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/kamenrider/images/7/70/Another_Blade_Profile.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/180?cb=20200311142549" alt="Another Blade Profile" class="thumbimage " data-image-key="Another_Blade_Profile.png" data-image-name="Another Blade Profile.png" width="180" height="101" >

And now, general trivia. This one of two Kamen Rider episodes to air on February 29th (the other being an episode of Kamen Rider (1979)). And his show is the only to,usatsu credit for one Shoji Imai, who was head writer for the first half of the show. As a result, we have no real idea how he would’ve ended the series (especially since Phase 1 shows other than Kuuga and Hibiki weren’t planned in any detail beforehand, instead having ideas suggested at points the writers wanted to implement them).

Early series Blade is worth watching for Tachibana alone. It's his show, the other characters are just living in it.

This entire decade was The Time Of The Mullet in Japan :lol It will not improve before Decade, either, not even a little

Advocates for the other side will straight up say the merch got it wrong. That's how fanatic people are about this argument.

Yeah, the merch says Garren is the secondary; but it also says other dumb things like Putotyra being the final form, or Genius being a thing that happened, or Kiva existing. I forfeit that reality and substitute my own!

Obsessing over labels serves little purpose. Kamen Rider didn't even start the Heisei era until a decade after Japan did. Why argue such meaningless semantics when they distract from the grander point that Garren and Chalice are both such wonderful characters? Insisting there needs to be a rigid hierarchy is usually what the villains in these shows do.

*Resets 'Days without the same argument over Blade's secondary' to zero*

Speaking of, shouldn't this show just be titled Kamen Rider Garren? He is Rider 1 after all. :lolol

We actually did pick the perfect time to have this argument, given that the next episode's title is "The Captured #2" , which, of course, refers to... Kenzaki. So obviously Bandai and Toei have just been getting it wrong for years. Garren must be the primary because he's Rider System #1, Blade is the secondary because he's Rider System #2, and then Chalice is... he's, uh...

Oh man, this is never going to end, is it?

Honestly, though, I don't care. I love them all. They're all great, and they're all primary Riders in my heart. I sometimes feel like the "We Rate Dogs" Twitter account, but for Kamen Riders.

AGITO: 13/10 very zen, does a great downward dog *wink emoji*
FAIZ: 12/10, he's a little feral but a lot adorable
BLADE: 14/10 pupper needs a buddy

And just like, forever in that vein. They're Good Riders, Brent.

Well, at least we can all agree on who is definitely not the secondary a Rider.

KAIZA: 9/10 a little bitey if you try to take his stuffed doll but othrwise good!
GARREN: 12/10, enjoys staring at you from corners
KUUGA: 2000/10 thumbs up

DELTA: 13/10 he's trying so hard you guys
EX-AID + PARA-DX: 20/20 perfect co-op (co-opuperative play)
GAIM: 12/10 orange you glad he's so cute

BUILD: 13/10, v smart doggo, maybe too smart
ROGUE: 10/10 fantastic style, very chic
BRAVE: 14/10, likes desert too much, a round and chomby boi

GREASE: 11/10 gets lost easy, but always comes home to his favorite pillow
DRIVE: 13/10 cuteness is in top gear
CHALICE: 12/10 solo doggo, but loves kids

GHOST: 16/10 infinite potential for friends
EVOLT: 12/10 enjoys chewing cushions, toys, furniture, etcetera
LAZER: The highest gear of cuteness

FOURZE: 14/10 will make friends with every pupper
WIZARD: 12/10 best collar, v ornate, all the sparkles
CHASE: 13/10 might be an aibo but who cares when he's that cute

(Will no one stop this?!)

please never EVER stop :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

AMAZON: 18/10 growls loudly at strangers but is really the sweetest boy
BLACK RX: 14/10 likes to spend lots of time in the sun, very excitable
SHIN: 10/10 is cute but kind of scared to pet him

(There you go Die! Now that someone's mentioned the Showa era, you can feel free to lose all interest in this gag!) :p

GILLS: 15/10 someone's ready for a swimming adventure
BEAST: 11/10 lock up the mayo from this fluffy pup. well, maybe a little mayo for a good boy
OOO: 13/10 most dogs don't wear underwear but he makes it work

They're Good Riders, Fesh.

X: 12/10 Enjoys swimming, snorkelling, and diving
J: 20/10 very big boy, lots of love
G: 13/10 wine o'clock time, stay hydrated good boy

#1: 16/10 original boy
#2: 15/10 very good boy
#3: 10/10 who's that boy

Honestly I wasn't intending to bring the argument here; I was just pointing out it is a thing. I don't really care that much myself. Notice I have never taken a side at all here, not have I mentioned my opinion in the matter. I have one, but it isn't that strong and I don't think it really matters.

Maybe I'm misreading the room, but I don't think there's a lot of argument? People have their favorites, and their theories, but it's all just a discussion. Everyone's been pretty civil, I think! Either way, I like seeing what different people think about this show and its characters. I mean, I'd like to hear how you rank the Blade Riders, if you want.

attached find my vote for Number One Rider, in proper resolution for the time period in which Blade aired :D

The Secondary Rider of Blade is Leangle because anything involving him is secondary to literally everything else in the show.

Chaco: 555/10, impossibly incredible boy

https://66.media.tumblr.com/df3e3385...4igo1_1280.png

I mean, if we're doing actual Kamen Rider dogs now...

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...countzero1.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...countzero2.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...countzero3.png

COUNT ZERO: 15/10 friend to fishes and mans and fishmans

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 07

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kenzaki, held captive and subjected to brutal combat! Hajime, torn between his human emotions and his Undead Or Whatever urges! Tachibana, enlisted to be the savior of Team Blade, a group that really should know better!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade07a.png

Not to be a broken record, but: Tachibana!

The big lure for this episode is Team Blade trying to get Tachibana to help them find and rescue Kenzaki, which goes precisely as well as you'd think it would, if you've watched literally any other episode of Blade.

In the aftermath of Karasuma's admission to Dr Ladyfriend, that every Garren problem is all in Tachibana's head, Tachibana decides to change absolutely nothing about his approach or goals. He's still worried only about himself, still trying to track down Karasuma. I guess he just flat-out doesn't believe what he's been told? It's totally in-character, considering the way Dr Ladyfriend was very clear that every test she ran came up negative and Tachibana threw a full-on tantrum. Still, it's maybe too stubborn, even for Garren? It's one thing if he's imagining it, it's another if he's imagining it and he won't stop telling people he isn't imagining it. Maybe more frustrating than funny?

Bit of a moot point, because Team Blade decides to take a random Tachibana phone call (you know, just checking to see if Karasuma mentioned anything to them about saving Tachibana's life, what've you been up to besides that) as a lifeline, and get him to contribute just one goddamn time.

It's here that we have both the moral center to the episode, and also something that is so guaranteed to fail that I couldn't keep from laughing during it.

Hirose immediately pegs Tachibana's sweaty selfishness as being about fear, and Tachibana tries to deny it. Kotaro attempts to bring Tachibana into the group by explaining that fear doesn't have to be a big deal, really. Everyone gets scared. It's part of life, and it doesn't have to limit what you're capable of. More than that, everyone has to fight against their anxiety and fear, so maybe stop thinking only of yourself this one goddamn time? (The last part was merely implied.)

On the one hand, it's a nicely delivered Kotaro speech. It's very warm, very generous, very empathetic. It's full of funny details, like how he's scared of steamed buns, and a brilliant physical performance. It's a very cute scene.

It's also a ridiculous thing to have to tell a grown man. Kotaro has to tell Tachibana, essentially, that people other than him exist and have feelings. He has to tell Tachibana that being afraid doesn't mean you have to stop living your life. These are... Tachibana is a grown-ass man and he needs to be told this? I know we like to joke about Tachibana being a garbage human being, but this is a pretty startling look into how much of a screw-up he is!

Of course, the speech doesn't work. Tachibana stomps off, selfish as ever. But then, as he remembers Kotaro's speech word for word, he realizes that he needs to overcome his fear and try to save Kenzaki. I mean, he doesn't say that out loud. He goes back and tells Kotaro that his speech was dumb but that he'll look for Kenzaki only because Karasuma might be there. It's hilariously petty, where Tachibana can't even for a second concede that he may have been acting irrationally/like a goddamn baby, so he creates this excuse to soothe his ego. It's transparent and stupid, but... Tachibana.

Meanwhile, Blade and Chalice are in the secondary plot where... I don't know, man. It's a lot of Gathering Data, which is my least favorite Kamen Rider trope. I don't give a shit about numbers going up or scientists looking at monitors. Whatever.

The good stuff in the plot is all Chalice, and I feel a little bad saying that. Blade's really been pushed to the background these last couple three episodes, and I don't love that idea. He didn't get that much time in the spotlight so far this series, and now he's basically sidelined. What he's got here is him screaming at guards and thrashing around, followed by a fight where his numbers go up due to his anger at Chalice. God! Even what little Blade stuff is in this episode largely works due to his proximity to Chalice!

But, yeah, Chalice. His weird history with Trenchcoat Mastermind has some interesting angles, with the threats and attempts at teamwork. There's a sense of safety the two of them have around each other, a way of honoring their millennia of rivalry (?) by letting the hard work of killing each other wait just a minute. I mean, that's mostly on Trenchcoat's end. Chalice pretty much needs to have Amane threatened with a bomb before he'll hang out and watch numbers go up. There are so many numbers, though! And they go up so high!

But not all of them go up, and I think you can guess whose. Garren bursts onto the scene to save Blade, declares that he's mastered his fear, and then immediately gets his ass kicked because he's perpetually terrified. It leads to a cowardly Tachibana freakout and failure that... I mean, words could never do it justice. Look upon his works, ye mighty, and rejoice:

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade07b.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade07c.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade07d.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Blade's first Rider Kick! Chalice versus Blade! And Tachibana goes suit shopping?!?!?!

Toku has a lot of moments like these, and at pretty much every one where it feels weird I stop and remember "... oh, right, kids' show". This is very basic stuff to be telling a grown man, yeah, but it's also basic stuff that the show is telling the kids at home and is one of the lessons it wants to impart. It looks weird but that's just naturally how it's gonna be, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way!

... though, that said; in life it definitely feels like there's a surprising number of adults who really, REALLY have to be told that insecurity and vulnerability is just a part of life and being human and that at some point you have to accept that. And said surprising number of fully-grown adults end up failing to accept that... so, heck, maybe this is one of the most realistic scenes in all of Kamen Rider :lol

I agree with this. There are so many adults in the world who are as bad as Tachibana here or worse, I've known some of them. We often think it's something people should have learned as kids, but for those who didn't, it becomes much harder for them to learn it as adults. They're usually thoroughly unpleasant people who exhibit a lot of the same characteristics as Tachibana does except without being nearly as amusing as he is.

And speaking of Tachibana being amusing...I've been waiting for you to get to this moment, one of Blade's most signature infamous scenes. Just an incredible reaction from him, the expressions are great enough but combined with his strange Tarzan yell it becomes transcendental.