HBVs are always fun, and Blade's' is no exception.

It's not this one, unfortunately. The final Tachibana/Mutsuki gag in this one is them both arguing about whose borrowed cards most contributed to Blade's victory. There's some funny Very Broad Physical Acting in the background of one shot by Tachibana, as he's trying to one-up a teenager.

They are fun! I wouldn't put this one on the level of, say, Faiz, but it's still an enjoyable ten minutes.

Oh whoops! I now remember what I was actually thinking of, my bad. Perhaps... I was actually the fake Blade all along.

I knew it! Still, that's a nice scarf.

Gonna spoil it for you.










I'm sorry Die, but no HBV is on the level of Faiz. It's just too good.

The Wizard and Fourze ones come pretty close, though. My memory is nowhere, so there could be some great ones I don't recall, but I think those three are probably going to be at that God Tier for me.

Also as we're approaching the endgame of the show I feel like I have to give a semi fair warning Blade's ending is BY FAR the most divisive ending the franchise has put out you either love it or hate it and there's no in between tonally speaking I woukldn't say it's a downer ending though I can see why people would view it as such, (it's sorta like Ex-Aid's ending in the sense that s--t has consequences big time)but don't go in expecting a happy ending for everyone. I like how the ending actually has consequences and doesn't just reset everything to give everyone a happy ending(glaring right at Ryuki, Build, and Zi-O here) also I would have posted this on the penultimate episode but I don't think I can do it without making what happens obvious and there's no segway episode from one arc to the next it's literally 1 arc ends and another begins that same episode. TLDR the 2 things Blade is the most famous/infamous for is having the memes and the most divisive (closest to depressing) ending in the franchise

EDIT This is criticizing Build but AT LEAST Ryuki and Zi-O had narrative reasons for resetting everything beyond just giving everyone a happy ending (Ryuki was pointless violence/fighting/death are pointless each, and in Zi-O I'm told it's that we choose our futures)

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 43

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: It's the Hyper Battle Video, but played straight! A scheme by Tennouji forces Rider to fight Rider! And, uh, "forces", I guess, because we're talking about the cast of this show!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade43a.png

hi i'm writing this very late at night slash early in the morning so let's see how much sense this makes

I thought this worked pretty well as an epilogue for Mutsuki's redemption, but it still has its flaws. Very enjoyable, overall, though.

Crafting a story where Mutsuki wonders if he's strong enough to fight as a Kamen Rider after all of his weakness, and making the dilemma that (by all appearances) Kenzaki and Tachibana have been poisoned by Titan and are being ruled by the urges of an Undead... I like that idea! It's a little on the nose, but at least it's clear what the stakes are, and why the story's being told. This thing locked in for me fairly quickly.

Kenzaki and Tachibana's actors do an excellent job of selling the menace of their evil selves. Kenzaki, in particular, is terrifyingly effective. (I now get why he was brought back as the "villain" for that Ex-Aid Net Movie thing!) It's more than just the usual Happy-Go-Lucky Character Stops Smiling, though. There's a predatory look in his eyes, a creepiness to his stare. The shot where he pushes the fork through the eyes of the drawing of Hajime! So perfect! Unlike Mutsuki's freakout from his poisoning, this is less Feral Beast and more The Killer Is Inside The House.

And, while I really like that the type of menace is different than Mutsuki's story from last episode, the differences made it clear about halfway through that this isn't a poisoning, it's a switcheroo. Titan (presumably) is pretending to be Kenzaki or Blade or Tachibana or Garren, creating the kind of heroic misunderstanding that has Chalice and Leangle trying to almost murder their friends for their own good. (The big giveaway is the sound effect when Tachibana turns into Garren and attacks Hajime. It's the goopy Undead noise, not the Henshin noise.) And I'm okay with it not being the same gimmick as the last story! That's great!

Except, the Hyper Battle Video sort-of just did a switcheroo story, and they did it as a joke. It's... this one definitely comes off a little less effective by comparison.

It's not bad, though! Honestly! I like how much emphasis is being put on Mutsuki maybe not feeling super proud of himself after twenty or thirty episodes of hurting everyone around him because he was too weak to feel weak. It adds weight to Mutsuki's redemption that, while Tachibana and Kenzaki hilariously don't hold multiple murder attempts against Mutsuki, Mutsuki himself feels guilty about it. Or, it's guilt, but it's also this fear of relapse? A lot of Mutsuki's storyline was about addiction, about needing power because power blocked out his sadness, his weakness, his negative thoughts. There's a reasonable fear he has that, by continuing to fight as Leangle, maybe he'll fall back into those destructive thoughts and habits. It's a very thoughtful thing for the show to bring up, to give Mutsuki some conflicted feelings about being a Rider. God knows Tachibana doesn't seem to get hung up on continuous failures!

i don't know that's all i got it's 1:16am i'll try and get more into the next episode maybe good night

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade43b.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: It's all about the thing from this episode I totally forgot to talk about! The Joker inside Hajime isn't sealed, and that's bad news for Hajime and everyone who cares about him! I'll try and remember to talk about it next time!

Thanks! This is... maybe a little more than I wanted to know, but I appreciate your feelings about the ending. There'll definitely be a lot of space after the ending to talk about how it all worked out. It's maybe a week away!

Oh no wonder I misremembered. There were multiple instances of evil dopplegangers going on! Combined with that switcheroo with Taiyaki Master, it's becoming like a trademark of this series

There'a no need to give warnings or hints about the ending (especially when the first post specifically asks for no spoilers?). Just let Die see it as it comes.