I think next one starts off good but then some stuff happened behind the scenes and a lot of stuff got overhauled like crazy(Trying to do whatever I can to sound as vague as I can cause on my hint about the finale I think I made what happened obvious, would you consider writers and staff changes spoilers)I haven't seen most of the late 2000's Heisei shows in fact only seen one of them it will be a while before we get to something I REALLY like again(Agito's the earliest Rider series I've seen going off of release date but it's not the first Rider series I've seen)

that's weird I think it's a good ending (though can understand why the people who don't like it think the way they do) but heard it was controversial

I'm in the camp that thinks this episode does feel solidly apocalyptic; even with the pacing issues (I didn't even entirely hate the flashback, if I'm being completely honest, although I would have ended it on Kenzaki's horrified expression at the deluge of O Hai New Undead sounds coming off the searcher), I think it sells pretty well how much Kenzaki has been boxed into a corner.

I am also in the camp that is ok with Mutsuki being fridged to sell the stakes of the story. He didn't get a Tachibana-esque hell of a finale, but I don't think he needed one - from the moment he tells Nozomi that he will definitely make it back to her, the viewer expects that he won't. He's a kid who's been through a hell of an experience (so much of which he brought on himself, ok, we know this) with his own personal triumph over his literal demons, and look what it's gotten him.

Watching these last three episodes a week apart Back In The Day involved a lot of "Are you freaking kidding me" that I couldn't actually shout at my television, because thin walls and neighbors, haha. Less stressful to watch them all at once, which I have done. A few times.

Also Back In The Day there was a fan trailer for the final episode that Appeared somewhere (where was it first? idk, it's been a long long time) that I remember really liking, and hey if it hasn't been hanging out on YouTube largely unnoticed for the last decade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VNR176HmYk

Well how about this upload celebrating Dadi's appearance in Fourze where one of the top comments is "like if you got here by searching 'kara miso'" then?

I got there by searching for kara miso by the way. It's literally the second result


Eeh, not that part of it, I'd say. For the purposes of the narrative, even if Tachibana chucked the card like usual, the Giraffa Undead still would've slapped it away all the same. It'd just look way sillier/more awesome.

When I did my rewatch of Blade as a Mukki fan, I couldn't help but think it might've added a nice bit of closure to his arc to build off his long-standing one-sided rivalry with Chalice and maybe have Hajime cheesily note that Leangle is stronger than he was before or something. Obviously he still has to lose, but I feel like this episode is like 50% there when it comes to emphasizing how the Strongest Rider has actually become a hero at the end of it all. I always loved the idea that the show came down to Leangle and Blade versus the apocalypse for a bit. Like, of ALL the people to have Kenzaki's back right now, you know?

I’ve only ever seen one person have anything negative to say about the ending and it was grounded in a heavy bias - like, to the point of entirely missing the whole concept - against one of the characters. I don’t know how it ranks after the whole Neo Heisei decade, but I’ve always seen the ending get a lot of praise.

It’s certainly still my favorite.

And that actually would've been way better than what we got. Have him deflect the card off the cliff, then have Garren tackle him off in a further attempt to seal him. Not only do you still get the same end result, it makes alot more sense AND absolutely sells just how strong that particular Undead is. All in one go.

I'm honestly very curious about Hibiki. Not just for the potential car-wreck quality of the production change, but just... I don't know anything about it? Because of all of that production nonsense, it's a series that gets nothing in the Phase 2 stuff I've seen. (Agito and Kabuto were the other Phase 1 shows that I was just ??? about.) The only thing I know about Hibiki as a character is that he may or may not actually be a form-change of Wizard. (Medusa makes a really good argument in favor of Hibiki being Wizard!)

https://challengerscomics.com/images...aid/misa13.png
https://challengerscomics.com/images...aid/misa14.png
https://challengerscomics.com/images...aid/misa15.png

It'll be interesting, that's for sure! I tend to have different reactions to this stuff than is maybe typical? (Understatement?) I remember people suggesting that Blade took a while to get going, and I thought its pace was pretty solid from the jump. Dunno if I'll key into Hibiki immediately, but that's always the hope!

I don't think it was a big deal that Mutsuki doesn't really have a big moment before his fight against Hajime. Doing something where it's more about his history or his struggle... it would've pulled focus from Kenzaki at exactly the wrong time. This episode has to be about reducing Kenzaki's options, not coloring in Hajime's savagery or reaffirming Mutsuki's journey. I think they used Mutsuki about as well as they could!

Amusingly enough, the actor who played the third Mage - the new dad guy - was a regular on Hibiki.

Just about to watch the finale!

Here's my prediction: Kenzaki becomes a second Joker (through the use of King Form), which offsets Hajime's Battle Fight victory, saving the world.

Okay! I've got an episode to watch!

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 49

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Violence is temporary. Empathy is eternal.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade49a.png

This is a story about empathy. It's a story about how saving a life can be more important than saving the world, but you might save the world anyway. It's a story about how everyone deserves a chance at happiness. It's a story that refuses the easy solution of violence in favor of the more fulfilling solution of kindness.

It's a story about Hajime.

Hajime knows what he wants. He wants a life of simple pleasures, of family, of friends. But that's not what he's meant for. He's meant for violence, for death, for the end of the world. An existence of combat never prepared him for the possibility of wanting more, and he can't square his desires with his fate. He is the Joker, but he wants to be Hajime. As long as he's the last remaining Undead, he can't be anything more than the Joker.

It's a story about Kenzaki.

Kenzaki was never going to seal Hajime. Never. That's fate, and Kenzaki hates fate. Fate says Hajime has to be sealed. Of all the ways this story could end, that was never going to be one of them. I'd've predicted Kenzaki being sealed before I'd predict Hajime being sealed. That's just not who Kenzaki is. He's someone who fights to give people a chance at life, at happiness. His parents died, right in front of him. His guilt drove him for a while, until he realized that his love was more powerful. He'd sacrifice anything to help people. Sealing Hajime isn't helping him, so it doesn't fit Kenzaki's worldview. He can pretend that he's someone willing to sacrifice a friend, but he really isn't. He's the one who sacrifices.

It's a story about heroism, of course.

Kenzaki isn't heroic because he's strong, or powerful. He doesn't prove his heroism by defeating an enemy. The real enemy of the story isn't even defeated. The Sealing Stone is out there, forever, waiting for a moment of weakness. It can't be defeated, only delayed, perhaps eternally, but never permanently. Kenzaki can't prove his heroism by stopping it. Kenzaki proves his heroism by sharing Hajime's burden. He lets the power of King Form fuse with him, turning him into an Undead. It's a stalemate, nothing more. Two Undead, prolonging an inevitable apocalypse at a cost that's both invisible, and heartbreaking.

It's a story about friendship.

Hajime and Kenzaki don't have a demonstrative relationship. Even in the final episode, there are no tears from either of them over the potential consequences of this Battle Fight. Hajime believes in Kenzaki, and Kenzaki believes in Hajime, but their bond transcends words, gestures. It's two people who understand the burden of protecting people. Hajime grew into someone who saw protecting people as more than just keeping them alive. He learned from Kenzaki, almost accidentally, that the thing worth protecting is the connection people have. Kenzaki didn't need to learn that, but he did learn to acknowledge it, to see what he was really fighting for. The two of them, they were never swayed by power or fear. They cared about people, and they respected that about each other. They started as enemies, but ended as friends.

It's a story about unbreakable bonds.

They can't ever see each other again. That's it. That's the consequence of saving the world. No one dies. Everyone's saved. Tachibana's back, and so is Karasuma. Mutsuki and Nozomi go back to school. Hajime gets to live his life as a part of Amane's family. It's a happy ending. Except, it's not. It's Kenzaki sacrificing his friendship to give his friend a chance at happiness. It's a sadness that feels bigger than a death, more permanent for its open-endedness. Kenzaki is everywhere and nowhere. On a park bench, smiling for his friend. And gone forever, saving humanity by living in isolation. But he's out there, smiling for his friend. You just know it. And he'll be smiling for him until the end of the world.

It's the end of Kamen Rider Blade. It's perfect.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade49b.png

Next on Kamen Rider Die watches Kamen Rider Blade: Thursday is the series wrapup, Friday is the thread wrapup. We're not done yet.