Going back to how great I think Blade's designs are at conveyance, it's worth pointing out again that Leangle's armor is already gold, implying his raw strength is already on par with the Jack Forms. Of course, winning fights is also a matter of skill...

Inoue actually wrote two more episodes of Blade later on, so it appears your true final encounter with him happened without you realizing it. A misunderstanding, if you will. How appropriate!

It's not quite that underused, but Die definitely shouldn't be expecting everyone to only be using their powerup forms from now on. Although I always thought it was simultaneously neat/weird that the Rouse Absorbers, like the Faiz Accel before them, just are on the Riders' wrists once they get them. Like every figure made of Blade or Garren that doesn't include those is technically very specifically representing the first half of the series.

Also, while we're still on this subject, I definitely side a bit more with Die in this case. I don't dislike Garren's Jack Form, but Blade's is a lot more immediately striking in a good way, I find. I have a real soft spot for it, even though it doesn't seem to have a lot of post-series popularity.

Still really looking forward to the Kiva thread!

I'm looking for ways to disable notifications specifically for it! Might chip in for the first episode or two, but... I've been making a joke about my disdain for it, but in reality, my bigger problems with the show are things that are not fun to discuss. You want any payoff Fish, you're gonna have to PM me for it!

First Blade Opening is good and looks cool, you guys are just uncultured

Oh there is absolutely no Blade OP 1 hate comin' from this house. That thing is beautifully stupid, confusing and wonderful in a way that can only be described as Quintessentially Blade, hence why it's an amazing opening!

All I am gonna say is Bandai owes us a plethora of Ryo the Taiyaki Master merch. I'm talking figuarts, figure-rise standard, SHODO and SO-DO figures, t-shirts, a CSM taiyaki cooking mold, replica uniforms of both taiyaki and takoyaki houses, etc. If they can give us ONE AB of a muscular comedian robot why not Taiyaki Master. :lolol

It has Mutsuki in his evil hat, that's how you know it's good!

SO-DO Chronicle Ondul Set, featuring Taiyaki Master, a wall for Tachibana, and a guide on how to do your own Ondul.

Thanks! And yes! If I ever come off as being firmly against anyone else's opinion, please know that it's a joke. It in no way bothers me if people like something like Cosmic States, even if I don't get it. This is all art, even the suit designs (sometimes especially the suit designs), and that's never something I want to be confrontational about. Sometimes there are jokes, though!

Internally, I think the show implied that the Snake Undead's venom might've caused Hajime's amnesia. Or maybe I just inferred that?

I'm not sure I'm getting your question right, but I think you're asking why I was down more on the second part, despite the Ryou stuff working as well as it did in the first part? I'm always going to be a little more lenient on first parts than on second parts. The first part of a story, it's all possibilities. By the time the second part is over, it's more clear what some choices meant or what got left out. Basically, it leads to me loving a first part maybe more than I should, and criticizing a second part maybe more than I should.

Like, think of it as me giving the first part an A, and the second part a B-, so both episodes together would maybe get a B or a B+.

It is almost exactly like Kusaka delivering the upgrade to Takumi, except not nearly as fun. Faiz treated it like a huge imposition, with Kusaka flinging it at Takumi, never even getting off of his bike. Blade plays it fairly straight, with Tachibana being weirdly honored by this dumb thing that came in a box that Hirose just hands to him. Tachibana's so proud of it, and it's... I mean, it's not not funny, but it's still not that funny.

And, yeah, Kenzaki gets handed his as well, but there's at least a minor subplot about him needing to make himself worthy of it before Shima hands it over. If this show is suggesting that Tachibana is more innately heroic than Kenzaki... no. No way.

I'm not even sure what the ceiling is on what I'd pay for a Taiyaki Master SO-DO. I'm even imagining a switch-out front plate for Turbo Form. Oh, to dream!

If nothing else, he's the hero of this thread!

And so ends the last episode of Blade that I truly enjoyed until one very later on. Rest in peace, Early Blade. You will be missed.

Also included, those sound effect standees like that Ex-Aid FINAL STAGE set had, except it's just six copies of "TACHIBANA-SAN!"