Oh well, what I meant is that, Kenzaki's cooking getting love is that, it's getting properly eaten and enjoyed, instead of being ignored or worse, ruined (like Shinji's gyoza to Ren, or Yuka's bread to Kaido).

Glad to see, what viewers like me think regarding this situation about other species, is addressed here, that like Kenzaki said, when you leave those you love for being attacked, you aren't making the situation better, that you won't be there to actually protect them. I sometimes feel Hajime's way is like how they guide someone like Tachibana that "everyone has fear" (yeah you leave them because they're attacked.... but.... who can protect them if that happens?), though not as bad as it, though probably, as already seen from Jin and Kotaro's reaction to him, Hajime leaving Haruka and Amane is probably more justified than the other times in other series.

Kotaro covers the suffering of a normal person in this genre, them not having the power (Riders) or intelligence (scientists) to do the job, or contribute nearly as much. I wonder if his Rider writing can help if he continues, like as a public alert, seems that others know what are called Kamen Rider (though probably Kenzaki, his "subject", still won't help, as what evidenced by his reaction of Kotaro telling Haruka and Amane about Hajime being an Undead). Though why for here, you tolerate Kenzaki preventing Kotaro from telling the truth unlike in other times? (yes Amane is a little child, but Haruka too).

Tachibana has worn that since his date with Sayoko long ago! I wonder if Kotaro thinks with the suit, Tachibana has married Sayoko.... So I was mistaken for Isaka being a boss level, he's more like a sub-boss (I know he's not the main antagonist of the series btw, that's actually spoiler-y). As you said Tachibana is functional human here, and that is the thing that made him beat Isaka, as pointed out, he has no fear (no pain!) left on him, so far. So the lesson is that, the edgy way of behaving the dark characters have doesn't always work all the time. Tachibana follows the secondary Rider cliche of losing their girlfriend, like Ren, Banjou, Hiiro, and 1 other. Also Tachibana's shouting of Dr Ladyfriend's name (SAYOKO!!!) is also a part of his meme.

Once more, there is no new Undead. So instead, I will explain what makes Leangle as much a meme as the other 3.

The irony surrounding Mutsuki's weak will throughout most of the series despite Leangle being said to be the strongest Rider has been the subject of mockery and parody, particularly within the Japanese fandom. There’s more to it than that, but nothing I’m allowed to say without getting too spoilery.

Next time. Guess who’s back? Back again. Inoue’s back, tell a friend.

I think I'm okay with Kenzaki keeping Kotaro from blowing up Hajime's spot because it feels slightly vindictive, what Kotaro's doing? He's got a point, but it seems like he's also got a grudge? It's not like Haruka and Amane haven't already figured out that Hajime is probably the reason they got abducted and, previously, almost exploded. They seem like they don't mind a whole lot? So Kotaro running in and shouting BUT HE'S A MONSTER has more to do with Kotaro's feelings than it does anyone else's.

Yay!

First of all, episode 16 has one of the best gags in Blade, and I really want to take a second to single it out. It's this brilliant exercise in escalation, aided by being staged in a brilliant way. I mean, I could pick this sequence apart for days, it's so good.

It's like everything that makes Kenzaki so darn lovable packed into one scene. He's just sleeping on the couch like any self-respecting freeloader, and when Karasuma barges in during the middle of the night wanting to know where the belt is, he pulls Garren's belt out from under his blanket with a drowsy smile on his face, which is funny, but it's even funnier when Karasuma tells him that's not the belt he's talking about, and Kenzaki responds by reaching back under the blanket to pull out his own belt, and the smile grows into a prideful smirk, like Kenzaki is just so satisfied with himself for heroically cuddling up with the Rider belts at night to ensure their safety. Where it gets hilarious is when Karasuma explains he means the new, probably evil belt it's super important they don't lose track of, and Kenzaki promptly flops onto the floor. I'm not sure if the funniest thing about that part is how long he ends up lying there, or the fact that he shouts "WEEEI?!" as he's doing it.

On a more serious note, I've always loved the way the show builds Leangle up. It's pretty rare that a show puts in this level of work in advance to set up the big additional Rider. Maybe it's just because they obviously had to complete the playing card motif, but Mutsuki's been in the opening this entire time, even before he starts being credited (the visuals also eventually changed a bit to show his face more clearly), and the whole idea of creating a new belt has been driving the plot since only around half a dozen episodes in. Heck, that little clip of that newscast or whatever from before the show premiered that I posted after episode 4 even felt the need to call out that an fourth Rider was coming eventually. They were not playing coy about this in the slightest, so it really feels like a bit more of a momentous occasion than usual to finally get to this episode, which just on its own still does some really fun stuff with the concept of an evil Rider belt. In particular, I love seeing Kenzaki almost become Leangle for a second, which is a fun sort of "what if" scenario for the show to highlight. Although I suppose just the year before in Faiz, this kind of thing was a lot more than hypothetical. Still, it's really neat how the scene makes a sort of horror setup out of what will turn out to just be a normal feature of Leangle's transformation, which is that the usual energy wall thing comes to the person transforming instead of them having to run at it like Blade and Garren.

Plus, major bonus points for the first we see of Leangle being on his bike. AND this is the episode where Chalice drives his up an entire stairwell! It's almost like the show is called Kamen Rider or something! :p

And while I'm talking Leangle, I just want to get this out of the way since Switchblade brought it up earlier, but Garren is definitely the weirdest name of the bunch. "Leeangle" is a completely real (if obscure!) word that means exactly what it's supposed to. Meanwhile, Garren is deliberately corrupted to the point nobody can seem to agree what exactly the original word even was. It's not even a contest. Dadi's got this one in the bag.

Yeah, the next three episodes are a whole Inoue trilogy, the first of a few sets of episodes he does for this show.

Hey thanks for reminding me of the greatest Kamen Rider Blade moment. I needed that rn.

My absolute favorite thing about this gag is that Karasuma comes in super hot, yelling about the missing belt, and Kenzaki takes forever to get up. Usually, in a Kamen Rider show, someone comes into a room yelling and folks just launch out of bed, fully present for the scene. Kenzaki definitely spends a few seconds not really processing what's happening, and that's such a great beat in the gag.

My second favorite thing about the gag is how Hirose wanders in, more pissed off about people yelling in the middle of the night than whatever it is that they're yelling about. It's a totally fair feeling for her to have about something happening this late!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/...shoplifter.png

Why even have other writers for Kamen Rider, when Inoue exists.

I meant to say something about this scene in my post last night, but forgot. This scene was probably my favorite in the whole episode. The timing of it is perfect, after we've spent several episodes showing Hajime constantly getting rejected. The woman and child he saved were terrified of him, his new "friend" Jin calls him a monster and rejects him, Kotaro openly dislikes him and makes that vocally clear every chance he gets. And the worst part about it isn't that he's being rejected for any particular actions he's taken (Especially since his actions for all these people were to help them!), they're rejecting his very existence as a "monster." It's a complete refusal to acknowledge him as any kind of person at all, and a declaration that he's fundamentally bad.

But after all that, we get to see him back with Haruka and Amane - the people who have actual reason to be afraid of him considering he's the reason they've been in danger several times - and they accept him unconditionally. I just really like the way it flips it around, where the people who he tried to help ended up rejecting him as a fundamentally bad existence, but the people who are at risk because of him still trust him because they believe he's a truly good person. After spending quite some time getting shunned due to his very existence, he's back with those who love him simply for his existence. It's so nice to see Hajime back in the positive and welcoming environment he deserves.

Yeah, I think there's a current of emotion that runs through all Kamen Rider where acceptance isn't that hard if you're willing to take people on their own terms. Haruka and Amane have been around Hajime enough to know he's a person worth having in their lives. Anything he isn't telling them, well, they trust that he has a good reason for not telling them. That's it. Not worth dwelling on what they don't know about Hajime, when what they do know is that he's family.

or it's late at night and i spent an hour writing about kamen rider and i'm getting a little emotional

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 17

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: We learn more about Mutsuki! We meet Kiryuu, at least a little! We see Leangle in action! And Hajime basically gets an episode off!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade17a.png

It's been a long day, it's pretty late in the evening, let's see what I've got in me when it comes to talking about this episode of Blade.

(Did I blow it on the last one? Didn't feel great about that one. Felt like I came up short.)

This is a very Inoue episode, isn't it? It has the trademark mix of teen melodrama that stays just this side of despondent, incredibly funny gags, slight misunderstandings that telescope into serious problems, and a sprinkling of random violence. After Agito and Faiz, it feels familiar.

And, man, I like it. I really do! It makes for a very different flavor of Blade, but I found it an incredibly enjoyable viewing experience.

We learn a lot about Mutsuki, and his worldview slots in well beside Kenzaki's workmanlike approach (I love that his first pitch to Mutsuki on why he shouldn't want to be a Rider is that the pay sucks and it's a ton of work) and Tachibana's dread at the cost of being a Rider.

(I didn't really touch too much on this last time, but I think Tachibana's reticence to fight as Garren is playing well into the themes of the show. Kamen Rider Blade is, at least partially, a show about how we process grief. Whether it's a burden that weighs us down or a fire that motivates us, people respond to death and loss in different ways. It's super important that the show spend at least a few episodes on Tachibana not being sure if he wants the pressure of being a Rider after the death of Dr Ladyfriend.)

Mutsuki's someone who wants to be helpful, wants to be a hero. But he's also someone who feels guilty about wanting those things. He wants to stand out, but shrinks from the spotlight. His hope is that, through service, he'll feel like it's okay to feel pride in himself. He wants being a Rider to change him into a better person. If Kenzaki is someone who wants to atone for his past, and Tachibana is someone who fears for his present, Mutsuki is someone who longs for a better future.

Leangle, though... maybe not the best option for him!

I really dig that suit. I hadn't noticed it until the longer fight scene at the start of this episode, but the three dots of the Club are the same as the three eyes of the Spider Monster. Great way to tie together the spider and the card motifs. His abilities, though, man! That Remote ability seems like a tough one to beat, what with it unsealing old monsters that Leangle can take on for himself. I love shit like that, where the Rider's tools become a weakness, something that the opponent can not only negate but steal. Copy Vent, that type of thing, I think it's a fun tactic. It creates a dilemma that the Rider has to outthink, rather than just outfight.

But the fight's only a little bit of this episode. Briefly, it's about Mutsuki. Mostly, it's about Mutsuki and Kenzaki.

They've got great chemistry, in that Mistaken Identity way. Mutsuki is very interested in finding out what it's like to be a Kamen Rider, since he's got no memory of his actions as Leangle. Meanwhile, Kenzaki doesn't know he's talking to "Mutsuki”, he thinks he's just talking to the kid he saved from a monster a few days earlier that's weirdly into being a Rider like that could ever happen. It's a cute little scene, where Kenzaki tries to joke off the importance of being a Kamen Rider (just like he did when Tachibana asked him about his dedication back in the first episode) and Mutsuki vaguely refers to horrible dreams he has. It's a little open-ended, but a cute scene.

The next one, though... amazing.

Mutsuki is chasing a shoplifter, who runs by Kenzaki. Kenzaki is pushing his non-functional superbike up a hill. (I love how this is never ever explained. It's such a contrivance, but I forgive it because it's such a contrivance. I love the absolute flex of Inoue not caring to drop in a single line of previous dialogue to establish the bike as needing gas or not starting or something.) The shoplifter puts the two bottles of soda he stole in Kenzaki's back pocket without Kenzaki noticing. Kenzaki, by the way, looks sort-of like the shoplifter. Mutsuki and his boss assume that Kenzaki is the shoplifter, dragging him back to the store to face an interrogation. It's incredibly minor stakes, but the chance of the police getting called leads Kenzaki to envision the scandal of the media reporting on Blade as a petty criminal.

It's something the show could've done as just Kenzaki respecting the law enough to not want to get in trouble, despite knowing he's innocent. But they went with Kamen Rider Blade Is Going To Be Pilloried By The Press As A Scoundrel And A Ne'er-Do-Well, and it's brilliant. It is absolutely, for me, up there with Tachibana claiming to have eaten a puzzle piece as one of the most insane things I've ever seen on a Kamen Rider. Brilliant, brilliant gag.

From here, Mutsuki gets Kenzaki released by putting in a good word for him, and Kenzaki is just worn down by this day. His bike still doesn't work, he got accused of being a shoplifter, he never found Mutsuki or the missing blet, and this goddamn kid won't leave him alone. He's at wit's end, so when Mutsuki keeps pressing him on being a Rider, he's finally honest. You don't want to be a Rider. It's dangerous, and you could die. That's it. That's the endorsement, there's your pull quote. No sugar coating, no deflection.

It's a nice thing to see from Kenzaki. He's a very sweet boy, and he doesn't like being serious with people, but sometimes it's the only way. Mutsuki thinks being a Rider is the key to a brighter future, but Kenzaki knows how tenuous life is as a Rider. It's something Tachibana still won't come back to, even though he's needed.

Tachibana manages a little help, though, despite looking at the Garren belt as though it might devour him whole. He's on the trail of Kiryuu, the first Garren test subject and someone I had a trading card of, I think. I can't find it now. I ordered the OOO and Birth SHODO from some eBay seller, and they tossed in a trading card that meant zero to me at the time. It was just a picture of Kiryuu, gloves on, looking to the right. Maybe I'll dig around for it this weekend? Anyway, yes, Kiryuu is running around murdering criminals, and Tachibana is very not happy to hear that Kiryuu... exists, I guess? He definitely seemed to think he shouldn't be running around. There isn't a ton with that plot in this episode, so there isn't much to touch on.

Oh! His weird-ass belt! He pushes a little button on his belt and the dude he's choking gets electrocuted! I thought it looked sort-of hilarious? It did not come off as a very exciting moment. It felt cheap, kitschy. I mean, funny, though. I laughed at it. But, Inoue! I laugh a lot at his stuff! There were a lot of funny moments in this one! The basketball players play for the Akatsuki team! In an Inoue episode! Inoue, who wrote Agito! With the Akatsuki mutants! INOUE!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade17b.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Mutsuki's inner tragedy comes to light! Kiryuu and Tachibana square off! And Leangle is being kind-of a jerk roommate to Mutsuki!

I'm no forum-poster-rider-liveblog-critic (because such a thing doesn't exist!), but all your posts are good as usual!?

It's a shame Blade turned out to just be a rotten, no-good criminal though. No wonder the show tried so hard to sideline him at the beginning!

In a world with one Rider who's a prehistoric monster-killer/killer-monster, and one Rider who's a fighting-adverse recovering addict who has assaulted his last two bosses, Kenzaki is absolutely right to assume that he'll tarnish the good name of Kamen Rider by being accused of stealing two sodas. Thank goodness the Rider who is possessed by an immortal evil spirit was there to bail him out!

For the other thing, thanks. Sometimes... it's like baseball, where sometimes you really get ahold of one, and sometimes you think Man I Really Did Not Get Ahold Of That One. Nothing for it but to take another swing, I guess.

Amazing, and significant!

Learning Ondul the Easy WEEEEEEI! (#9)

https://i.imgur.com/gTNNmz3l.png

In today's lesson, the Strongest Rider finally makes his debut, and he... doesn't actually speak in Ondul. Like, ever. Even when literally every other main character on the show does. Mutsuki's a real oddity for a lot of reasons, but Leangle does still properly have his own emoticon with (0H0), and, thanks to one overly enthusiastic lady at a supermarket telling him to chase down a thief (okkakten mutsuki! -> oppeketenmukki-!), he even gets his own corrupted nickname just like Kenjaki and Dadi do. Don't be surprised if you see me referring to him as Mukki more than by his actual name.

Well he does still have a meme catchphrase.

And now, the Undead Information Kiosk is once more open for business.

Tackle Boar.

One of Blade’s Undead, which was released by Leangle. He has incredible charging power.

* Suit: Spade
* Category: 4
* Effect Name: TACKLE
* Card Name: Tackle Boar (タックル・ボア Takkuru Boa)
* Consumption Points: FP 800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121110111057

And as a bonus, all the Rouse Cards Leangle already has in his starter deck (since I can guarantee that most of these won’t be appearing outside of an art book, if at all).

Stab Bee.

An Undead with potent stabbing attacks.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 2
* Effect Name: STAB
* Card Name: Stan Bee (スタッブ・ビー Sutabbu Bī)
* Consumption Points: FP 400

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063620

Rush Rhinoceros

An Undead with powerful tackles and enhanced speed.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 4
* Effect Name: RUSH
* Card Name: Rush Rhinoceros (ラッシュ・ライノセラス Rasshu Rainoserasu
* Consumption Points: FP 800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063528

Bite Cobra

An Undead with greater leg strength and strong scissor kicks.

* Suit: Club
* Category: 6
* Effect Name: BITE
* Card Name: Bite Cobra (バイト・コブラ Baito Kobura)
* Consumption Points: FP 1200

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063126

Blizzard Polar

An Undead with freezing attacks.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 6
* Effect Name: BLIZZARD
* Card Name: Blizzard Polar (ブリザード・ポーラー Burizādo Pōrā)
* Consumption Points: FP 1200

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063203

Poison Scorpion

An Undead that secretes a deadly poison.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 8
* Effect Name: POISON
* Card Name: Poison Scorpion (ポイズン・スコーピオン Poizun Sukōpion)
* Consumption Points: FP 1800

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063312

Remote Tapir

An Undead that can break the seal on other Undead.

* Suit: Clubs
* Category: 10
* Effect Name: REMOTE
* Card Name: Remote Tapir (リモート・テイピア Rimōto Teipia)
* Consumption Points: FP 2200


https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20120130063512

Absolutely not, it was great. Your opinions and takeaways are always enjoyable :D Part of the reason I like reading how people react to media is that other points of view help me look critically at things that I like and why I think they do or don't work. You specifically talk about how elements of Kamen Rider fit together in a way that gives me a broader perspective. Seriously, whole new appreciation for 555 after your thread on it. Even when elements (or even large swathes) of a series don't work for you. :)

:lol There's a lot of hilarity in this episode, particularly with the shoplifting gag (AMAZING), but one of the things that has always stuck with me is Tachibana and Kenzaki harassing a bunch of high school students looking for "Mutsuki" and just - how does no one bat an eyelash at two grown-ass men stalking a teenager??? (That and Mutsuki trying to climb on Kenzaki's finally-working bike and Kenzaki literally kicking him off.)

I'm 110% sure we are supposed to find that Very Dramatic and feel Some Kind Of Way about Kiryuu harshly meting out Justice, as Judge, Jury, and Executioner :lol I felt like Kiryuu's actor sold it, but, uh. The little box, not so much. It looks v Showa to me, tbh.

Funny (?) story - around the time Mutsuki showed up when I was watching this during the original broadcast, I started to feel like I was getting a better handle on listening comprehension :lol (not actually true, as I know NOW, but at the time it was a motivational confidence booster. I will always have a bit of a soft spot for Mutsuki for speaking clearly enough that I could actually look up what he was saying)

These recent posts remind me that I need to look up a specific episode again so I can rant about why I think Mutsuki is the worst written character in the show once Die gets to it. And then Fish will reply and inform me about some context I'm missing and that'll be cool.

At least he's not bad during these early episodes though.

Finally Leangle. :rock:

Karasuma is the exposition guy though? I want to know, again, what makes this 180 degree turnabout regarding him? Also, I really wondered what's up with Karasuma in previous episode, but the answer was quick one, and a rather easy way too for him to do that and gives vague impressions regarding his morality, the second time (he was accused of unsealing the Undead before, now the story plays out like him actually aiding Isaka), that he was mind controlled. Not shown how he got freed of it though. As you said below, it's all Leangle related, so Karasuma returns for a good reason here, as he's the one who created it. And in that part, the part where Hirose jumps up to see Kotaro wandering outside makes me go "oof!", because of Hirose not taking away her slipper jumping on Kenzaki. Well at least it's indoors slipper so it won't get dirty by walking outside right... (but those are taken off when going to bed btw...).

My impression of Mutsuki is quite strange here... I feel that his introduction wasn't done in a grand way, or emphasizing way, and by that I thought he's going to be merely a minor character to advance the plot. Turns out that he's the 4th primary Rider. I thought with him being curt to his mom, it's all Nozomi related, probably also the belt part to prove the surreal moment surrounding him that ordinary people hard to understand. And for Leangle Driver, an inanimate device with will and presence, that's what I've known much in various medias, outside KR series, the "artifact of power" phlebotinum type.

He did, Tachibana is clueless until he returns from sealing the Category Ace and losing against Isaka. If he hadn't been fighting, he might have made it to Sayoko in time like, to call ambulance. If he had listened to her, or trusted her, or letting anyone else know, or trusted anybody, or not backhanding the others' reassurement when they find out, he would have been able to protect her, probably she wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place. Also here's the thing in this episode; so Kenzaki seems to still put Tachibana higher in pedestal than Kotaro, the person he claimed to be his "first friend" in episode 4 (with also a friendly introduction flashback shown here). When Kotaro talks about replacing Tachibana, he lashes out at him.

Uhh... I know, Amane is there to be Hajime's morality pet, his care for her humanizes him. But Amane's thing to Hajime is already on an obsessive crush, which could make it a creepy reverse-pedo stuff, with the addition of her being completely clingy about him with little space given and... she's not merely lightened up around Hajime, by that she mistreats anyone that isn't Hajime, partly because to make Hajime look better compared to them.

The difference of the hero approach between Chalice and Blade here, for the former, as an anti-hero he's more concerned of finishing the enemy with little regard of others, while for the latter, he knows full well that it's meant to protect others, killing monster is a form of doing that, and thus, citizen's safety is the priority. Also, with you talking about previous places/settings here, do you also realize that, the beach where Emu and Kiriya got reuinted again also gets re-used? As well as the place where (Hajime) Nakamura got killed by Tiger in Ryuki.

I'm sorry, Fish, but this is a serious thread where we always call characters by their actual, real names. The production team (alongside the actors) work so hard to bring them to life, and I won't have you disrespecting their craftsmanship. Have you learned nothing from the dramatic, memorable demises of Dr Ladyfriend and Trenchcoat Mastermind? Consider this your only warning!

I don't know if this is a Spoiler question or not, so feel free to ignore it if it is, but: where do the starter cards come from? Do they generate when Leangle first Henshins? Were they presealed? Like, these are all Undead monsters, right?

I also did a really great job cleaning my tub last week, and no one even mentioned it!

(Also, thanks. I wasn't really fishing for praise or anything, with that poor appraisal of my recent posts. It's just, I don't know. Felt like I left a lot of meat on the bones of that episode. Not like it was an all-time winner of a Blade, but... I don't know. Sometimes I feel good about these. Most times they're fire-and-forget, just a way to spark discussion. But sometimes it's like Eesh, Shanked It.)

Well, Kenzaki looks like a teenager and Tachibana looks like a principal, so they probably blended right in!

Thank you! I was going to dismiss it as Showa Jank, but as someone whose exposure to Showa is almost entirely through a quiz show featuring the cast of Fourze, I felt like I was leaving myself open for some criticism. Now, I can just agree with you, and then let you soak up any umbrage from Showa fans. Thanks again!

Heroism takes many different forms. Like, I mentioned my clean tub, right?

He's homaging the better of the two Teen Wolf movies, at the very least.

I really liked his Henshin, what little of it there was. I'm watching it, waiting for some elaborate arm movement or something, and he just... stands there. And then it's OPEN UP and he turns into Leangle. It's a neat way to play with tension, to have this long beat of anticipation and then RIDER.

This is the second time Karasuma has been rescued by Team Blade, and the second time he just bails on them midway through an episode. The show can't really have him around for too long, since he knows way more about what's going on than you'd want to impart to the other characters at this point in the series. They've got to both have him around to fill in blanks, and then shove him off of the stage as quickly as possible. It's a very funny routine they've created, most likely unintentionally.

My read on the mind control was that as soon as Trenchcoat Mastermind was sealed by Garren, everyone under his control was freed. That's why the various soldiers just ran away from the truck at the same time Karasuma came to his senses. They just all came back to normal.

Well, there's friendship, which is what Kenzaki has with Kotaro; and then there's respect, which is what Kenzaki has for Tachibana. (Literally no one on the show respects Kotaro right now.) Kenzaki is very much a follower, and he's always tried to defer to Tachibana. His hope is that the Tachibana he's always respected will take back up the Garren belt, join the team, and lead them to success against the Undead. Kotaro suggesting that'll never happen is definitely not what Kenzaki wants to hear. It's a typically blunt assessment from Kotaro, who is pretty terrible at not saying the first thing that comes into his head. It's weirdly one of the reasons he and Kenzaki get along so well?

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd characterize their relationship that way? I think she's using Hajime as a surrogate dad, which feeds into his protectiveness and guilt, since he's partially responsible (?) for her dad's death.

For Amane mistreating other men... I think she's just got a really low tolerance for weak men? She doesn't find much to admire in men like Kotaro, and she's got no filter when it comes to telling them. They're a very no-filter family!

Like most of the starter cards that Garren and Chalice had, Leangle’s starter deck are all Undead that were sealed offscreen or were never unsealed in the first place.
And because the show has to keep to a budget we aren’t going to see all of the Undead but we do see most of them and of the handfull never seen in Blade some have full designs for side story’s or at least a sketch of their head

Okay, cool! Thanks!

I did laugh a little that, for clearly budgetary reasons, the cards that Leangle unsealed from Blade were mostly (entirely?) ones that already had suits made for the monsters. Certainly a lucky break for the producers!

Looking back now I think would make one helluva blooper if Kotaro accidentally hit the Blue Spader(Blade's bike) with his Range Rover and it fell to the ground in episode 15. :lolol
Speaking of which, here are the names of the bikes for each rider:
Blade is Blue Spader
Garren is Red Rhombus
Chalice is Shadow Chaser
Leangle is Green Clover

I knew all the others, but I actually didn't know the Shadow Chaser was called that. Suitably edgy!

Oh, and this is just more pointless trivia, but those sodas Kenzaki was framed for stealing were specifically Oronamin C, an extremely popular brand that Kamen Rider has a history of doing tie-in ads for (as well as occasional product placement, natch) that continues to this day, and goes all the way back to... well, Blade, funnily enough. I couldn't actually find the Blade ad for the life of me, so please make due with the one for Ex-Aid instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjYepP4Z6zk

It's all in that passive personality of his. He's the only one consistently calm enough to make sure he gets all his syllables out individually. :lol

I don't even know if I'll disagree with whatever it is you'll have to say, but any excuse to talk about my boy Mukki is one I'm happy to take. I mean now that he's here it's like who even cares about the other characters? This thread should just be all Leangle, all the time from now on.

Die, you know I've always respected your steadfast commitment to using only the most academic terminology when discussing Kamen Rider, but this is just way off-base. I would never do anything to disrespect Mukki!

Hey, remember in Faiz when Yuuji says that Takumi worrying so much about losing his humanity just proves how human he is? Anytime you feel like you aren't writing enough about an episode of Kamen Rider, just think back to when you had to immediately change your gimmick for the thread on that show because it was holding you back from having enough paragraphs. You don't have to be so hard on yourself!

To be fair to you, that prop absolutely looks some cheap thing that either a prop team in the 70's or a crazed vigilante in 2004 would be able to slap together on no budget.

To be fair to the Showa era, I have no idea what more that box needs to do than A) exist, and B) have a single button, both features it's completely nailing.

It's 1AM, I'm enjoying a nice late-night drink while getting some payments done and browsing some forums; and this 20-second ad has got me choking on my water. Thank you

One button is better than 90% of Showa Belts, so it's doing pretty good on that aesthetic!

If I may add, Oronamin C's schtick is that it is a small dosage carbonated drink that is pumped with vitamin C, hence the C in the name. I had a chance to drink it a few times long ago and it's nothing fancy really, just a mild energy drink that supposedly has vitamins inside to get you going throughout the day type of drink. I remember it not being as fizzy as the typical soda despite being carbonated. At least that is how I remember it. And here's the trivia, Blade happens to be the first rider show to collaborate with Oronamin C it seems.

I like how three of the four Riders have a Their Color/Their Shape naming system for their bikes, and Chalice's is slightly different. Because of course it is. He can't even name his bike with other people!

Yeah, he's too cool for that. :lolol

Can I just add that I love how nonsense it is that Chalice's powers, whatever they may be, can magically transform a motorbike into an Undead-powered motorbike. Like, presumably Board engineers spent who knows how long building that into Blade and Garren's bikes, and Leangle's is totally not industrial theft of that, but Hajime can just do it.

So for a little recap
Blade: animal is a beetle, suit is the spades also known as the suit of swords, his bike is the Blue Spader, and his rouser Blayrouser (a sword) and Blade is another term for sword for his name

Garren: animal is a stag beetle, suit is the diamonds also known as the suit of coins, his bike is the Red Rhombus, and his rouser is the Garrenrouser (a gun), and Garren is a corruption of Galleon a type of coin in Harry Potter* the rouser being a gun might be due to guns and gambling for currency being tied together

Chalice: animal is a preying mantis, suit is the hearts also known as the suit of cups, the name of his bike is Shadow Chaser, and his rouser is the Heartrouser (his belt buckle), Chalice is a type of cup and his weapon is the chalice arrow

And for our new rider Leangle his animal motif is a spider and his suit is the club which is also known as the suit of wands and Leangle is a type of club/polearm while his bike is the Green Clover with his Rouser (the Leanglerouser) is a wand that can extend into a polearm and his name is mispronounced as "Lengel" compared to the proper "Liangle"

So one of the thing that can be taken away is that Chalice is constantly subverting a lot of the theming his weapon isn’t his rouser and is named and modeled after the more modern suit instead of the Latin version. His bike doesn’t have his main color or a reference to his suit theming in its name and with his weapon having more to do with a mantis essentially being a pair of mantis scythes fashioned into a bow and his category 2 being used to end his transformation instead of it being an powerup for his weapon

* Harry Potter was pretty popular in 2004 and was one of the inspirations for the 2005 sentai series Magiranger

And the suits have changed with the versions the riders get their names from being the Latin versions

Another thing to note is that for the most part all of the Undead of each suit follow a pattern
Ace is used for transformation, 2 is a powerup for their weapon, 3 is an arm based attack, 4 is a body based attack of sorts, 5 is a kick, 6 is an elemental attribute, 7 is a form of defense, 8 and 9 are support based ,and the 10's are extremely estotic abilities like unsealing Undead or replenishing spent Rouse cards

To add to the above, each of their elemental attributes are:
Blade is lightning
Garren is fire
Chalice is wind
Leangle is ice

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 18

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Mutsuki is losing his mind! Kiryuu is scheming for power! And Tachibana is making the best goddamn faces!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade18a.png
https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade18b.png

Just the best faces.

The spotlight swings away from Mutsuki a bit, with a little bit of time for Hajime and a bunch for Kiryuu. It's a more diverse episode, with a few plots getting furthered amid some solid thematic ties.

The big theme for this story is the weight of power. Kenzaki has seen the cost of a Rider's power, and would rather spare Mutsuki from that. Tachibana broke under the weight of Garren's power, and he doesn't know if he needs to be stronger, or just let someone else carry it. Mutsuki thinks power comes without a price, and realizes too late that he's opened the door to something dangerous. And Kiryuu...

We spend a few scenes with Kiryuu, and we see what power means to him. Unlike Tachibana, Kiryuu is a man of ambition. He doesn't view a Rider's power as some solemn obligation, he views it as a tool he's destined to wield. His goal is to destroy evil, and he deserves the power it would take to accomplish that goal. His determination, his will, should bestow that power upon him.

It's maybe no surprise that Leangle would find that mindset appealing. Leangle is all about the unapologetic application of power. (I love that the belt says OPEN UP. It's a demand, an instruction to let the will of Leangle inhabit the user.) Leangle and Kiryuu, it's two warriors who've been held back by others, handicapped by misfortune, unable to fulfill their purpose. Together, there's maybe no stopping them.

Except for Tachibana, maybe?

Tachibana, as always, goes through a lot. He's still feeling a bit lost, uncertain if he should have ever been Garren. He's helping out Team Blade from a sense of loneliness, not any great heroism. He's feeling so worthless that of course Kiryuu, the man who should've been Garren, would show up to tell him to his face that he's a coward and a failure. That Kiryuu has a drive that Tachibana could never understand, and that he covets the power that Tachibana is too scared to wield. Kiryuu is the ego that Tachibana lacks.

The thing is, though, Tachibana is the humility that Kiryuu lacks, and that's an additional problem for Tachibana. Kiryuu is going to keep killing, and there's nothing Tachibana can currently do about it. He's too weak to do anything more than make That Face at Kiryuu, to be stunned and shocked and totally helpless in the face of Kiryuu's iron will. He feels responsible for Kiryuu's insanity and crimes, but he can't bring himself to oppose him.

Meanwhile, Mutsuki slowly falls apart as he sees that Leangle's power doesn't have any limits, and it also doesn't have any humanity.

It's a swift decline for Mutsuki, as the belt won't let him go. There's some outstanding lighting in this episode, from the flashes over Mutsuki's early Leangle breakdown, to Kiryuu's tragic first Henshin, but the stunner this episode is when the Leangle belt returns to Mutsuki's room. The lighting switches up from an overhead series of lights to a desk lamp that gets brighter as the rest of the room gets darker. It's extraordinarily creepy, and it feeds into the way Mutsuki views the belt as his only light, the way out of his darkness.

Kenzaki spends most of this episode trying to save Mutsuki, to reach out to him, but Mutsuki is too wrapped up in his power to reach back. It's nice to see Kenzaki in the role of stern authority figure, to see him try some Tough Love. It's not as exciting as goofy Kenzaki or kind Kenzaki, but it's okay for a change of pace. It's nice to see he's got it in him, y'know?

Hajime's back this episode, and there's really only one thing about him that I want to talk about. I honest-to-god don't know if it's Inoue making a joke or not, but there's a scene where Amane makes a cup of tea, a new recipe, and asks Hajime to try it. She says it'll warm him right down to his heart. He takes a sip, and then wonders what the warmth in his heart means. What it means. It's such a bizarrely introspective thought to have when drinking tea that I couldn't believe it. It is a corny-ass piece of writing, and I'd totally believe you if you said it was Inoue pranking the audience. I would also believe you if you said it was a corny-ass piece of writing from a dude who was worried that this episode of vengeful ghosts and humiliated teenagers somehow wasn't melodramatic enough. I'm not certain how Hajime fit into this story, and that scene sure as shit didn't make it any clearer.

I liked this episode, though. Not much in the way of funny bits (intentionally funny bits, anyway), but it's neat to see how both Kenzaki and Tachibana have to deal with two people who envy their power. Mutsuki doesn't know what he's getting himself into, and that frustrates Kenzaki. Kiryuu's lust for power would make a remorseless killer exponentially more dangerous, and that worries Tachibana. They're both, Kenzaki and Tachibana, outmatched by the weirdly unstoppable combination of teleporting magic belts, unhappy teenagers, and a reminder that Tachibana's sins as a BOARD employee are apparently limitless. It's going to be tough for any number of Riders to overcome that!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/blade/blade18c.png

Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kiryuu demands Tachibana fight as Garren! Mutsuki asks nicely for the Leangle belt! We'll see which gets the better result!

No new Undead, but I will be pointing out a minor case of Ondulish.

A scene of the convenience shop's old female worker alerting a robbery by calling Mutsuki to catch him has become a subject for the Ondol language, given the lady's near-unintelligible line "追っかけてん 睦月 (Okkake ten Mutsuki)", which sounds like "ｵｯﾍﾟｹﾃﾝﾑｯｷｰ! (Oppeketen Mutsuki)"

Been a while since I've gotten to do this, but, hey, guess who directed this episode that's heavy on creative visual choices that enhance the mood of the story?

I probably don't even need to actually say the name to Die at this point, but for the benefit of anyone just jumping into one of these threads, it's Hidenori Ishida, who seems to live for this sort of thing. Although he was also maybe a little less involved with Blade, since after this trilogy and the couple of pairs he did before, he apparently only directed two more episodes a ways down the line. Which is still better than Ryuuta Tasaki, who for whatever reason didn't work on Blade at all!

Between his clothes and name, even though I’ve never played it; the whole time I couldn’t help but think “oh hey Kiryu from Yakuza’s here”

I knew it, in my heart, as soon as the camera did a dutch angle down to the Leangle belt while Team Blade was arguing about Kiryuu. It's such a showy camera move, but it adds something memorable to a scene that's not that exciting on paper. (Honestly, even the actors have a tough time figuring out the tone of that scene. There's this moment when Tachibana shoots out of his seat, and his tone is mildly miffed, while every other actor backs away like he's screaming.)

You know it’s an Inoue episode when a new character arrives with the primary mission of telling one of the heroes that he sucks.

My favorite thing about Kiryuu is my favorite thing about nearly any antagonist: he's actually got a point.

Like, Tachibana does objectively suck. He's had a couple late-game wins, taking out the Spider Monster and Trenchcoat Mastermind, but he also abducted Karasuma and blew up BOARD. Then he spent a minute just sort of being psychologically unstable and getting beat up. Plus he aided and abetted Trenchcoat Mastermind for a little while, soaking up that sweet fight juice. And now he's quitting!

Imagine if you were Kiryuu. You've dreamed of being a champion of justice, and you were maimed by science for your pursuit. (Well, "science".) You've put yourself back together, done what you can to fight evil as just a man, and then you're visited by Karasuma, the guy who kicked you out of BOARD for getting maimed. He wants you to go give a pep talk to the guy who took your job, because he's been terrified of dying and now he'd rather not be Garren, thanks.

This is what you're confronted with. The man who was living your dream gives it up, and you're supposed to be the one to make him feel better. You could be doing so much more than Tachibana, but he's the one who has to be talked back into being Garren. No. Hell no.

That's what makes Kiryuu's story so compelling to me, the fact that his motivation and justification are so solid, it's just his actions that are horrible and psychotic. He's a guy that has a point and is absolutely taking that point way, way too far. That's a villain I can invest in.

I wonder what makes you think differently for Leangle suit compared to, Blade's. All of them except Chalice seems to have a motif of having similar mask. But I do agree I like abilities that turned the powers around, especially when it's overpowered abilities turned around (not here though, the sealed old monsters aren't OP ones). But it doesn't resemble Copy Vent.... which is about getting yourself an exact replica of other Rider's weapon (or disguise in Verde's case). "can not only negate but steal", there's Steal Vent on Ryuki, which is similar to a combination of Confine Vent and Copy Vent (nullifying opponent's tools for former, getting opponent's tools for latter), and Gold Drive's ability reminds me of that. Leangle also, enhanced Mutsuki's physical prowess in human form enough to be perfect in basketball it seems.

Being an Inoue episode, gotta scratch my head of why Mutsuki doesn't even clarify that he's the person Kenzaki's looking for. I did want for them to meet again and share a moment together, but still confused about why Mutsuki didn't even clarify that it's him that he's looking for, Kenzaki outright asked for someone named Mutsuki. I know he's timid but still, I don't think being suddenly forgot about yourself is part of that type of personality. :lol Mutsuki's made up with Nozomi, quickly, well, maybe even to the point that she makes up excuses on his behalf even when working as a customer on that shop, which he had to address customer's problems like the food not heated enough... she brings up a toxic masculinity vibe though to have him always domineering and “tough all the time” like never apologizing. What I get about him was that he seems to be the "ordinary person who gets forcefully dragged into weird fantasy stuff" type, though you're right the story seems to play off the opposite where he's the one that instigated his transformation.

As've been told above, the bottle was a pair of Oronamin Cs. I guess for you to only refer it as soda, Otsuka didn't publish Oronamin C in your country right? Well they did to my country though in late 2010s. I actually want to know what words Mutsuki uttered to release Kenzaki, I've always wanted to know what word you have to utter in that situation, being an innocent getting slandered, either you as the innocent yourself or knowing others that gets accused.

Tachibana is also the one informed them about Mutsuki and searched for him himself. But I can't speak much about Kiryuu here either currently.

Oh! His weird-ass belt! He pushes a little button on his belt and the dude he’s choking gets electrocuted! I thought it looked sort-of hilarious? It did not come off as a very exciting moment. It felt cheap, kitschy. I mean, funny, though. I laughed at it. But, Inoue! I laugh a lot at his stuff! There were a lot of funny moments in this one! The basketball players play for the Akatsuki team! In an Inoue episode! Inoue, who wrote Agito! With the Akatsuki mutants! INOUE![/QUOTE]

I said there I understand that, Amane is meant to be Hajime's morality pet, as well as him being a father figure for her, but the level Amane is in to Hajime is just disturbing. She's literally obsessed with her and isn't in love with him as a crush is, she's actually and obsessively in love with him. This way isn't the only way to play out this kind of relationship. For her mistreating others, that's no excuse to be insolent and disrespect an older family member just because they aren't perfect.
H̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶e̶a̶k̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶v̶i̶l̶l̶a̶i̶n̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶s̶'̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ Also she doesn't only mistreat other men, even her own mother isn't free from this, outright mocked her who tried to call her out when she guilt-tripped Mutsuki for being late on his date.