For my part, I'll say that I planned to stay more active, but I got hammered by the derecho that hit Iowa almost a month ago. I just got proper internet back last night and I can finally type on something that's not my damn phone.

"Tiger Made Nice Hero" is a fitting tribute to one of my favorite arcs on the show, even if "hero" is pushing it.

I think it's definitely a show that feels a little better in retrospect, which is due to that unbeatable ending. Talking about the series in its entirety afterwards, it was just like, I Only Want To Talk About The Ending. It's so good it actually got me more excited to watch Hibiki, since I'm feeling Big Emotions about the franchise right now and I just want to keep it rolling. Very good ending.

It's interesting to hear that Blade was your last Heisei Rider, since it seems like a random one to end on. Was it just a fluke? Or was it that you wanted to watch all the other ones first?

You did an amazing job breaking all of those cards down. The show mostly glossed over them (the same way it glossed over, uh, character names), so I very much appreciated getting all the details from you.

Glad to hear you've got thoughts on Hibiki! I'll try to be back with it before you've forgotten too much!

The funny thing is, at one point I was going to make Blade my first Pre-W show because some of the Undead cameo in the OOO/Fourze movie (they’re the obscured monsters Aqua was fighting in his flashback).

But yeah, I... guess my Rider journey was sort of similar to yours in how I started? I picked a series from phase 2 I was recommended and interested in (Fourze), loved it, then went back and watched W and everything onwards in order; alongside the currently airing series (which was Build, almost halfway through). After finishing I done Heisei 1 in a... sort of strange order? I done Kiva first because I’d heard bad things and I like seeing if I can find something in a show others don’t and BOY did that not go well! Only Toku I’ve ever truly hated. Then I went to Kabuto for the same reasons and... oops! Didn’t like that one either! Still, despite the bad impression I decided to go in order; and done Den-O and Decade. Then everyone told me that you should only watch Agito after Kuuga, so naturally, I watched Agito! After randomly choosing Hibiki next I just decided to do the remaining seasons in order. Kuuga, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade.


Really interested to see what you think about Hibiki. You’re a very drama-invested viewer I think and that’s what you’ve loved most in Rider, though Hibiki is an extremely laid-back series that purposefully thrives on avoiding drama at every instance until the changeover to Inoue. I can honestly see you being one of the only people to like that second part, which should be interesting to read!

"Really Need Rider" is what's jumping out here, but that's probably saying more about me than anything.

I was also happy to see that "Way(!)" was as big as it is. Kenzaki would be so proud!

Usually when you say at the end of one of these threads you're not sure if you did the best job, I think you're being way too hard on yourself. That's very much the case here -- you did great, as usual -- but I'm kind of understanding where you're coming from this time, because part of me feels I could've done a way better job with Blade?

I had a ton of fun lecturing everyone on memes, but there were so many points where I realized I didn't have anything to say about episodes beyond that, and it was kinda freaking me out. Is this all Blade is to me? Just a bunch of dumb jokes and a really good ending? Did I just blow my entire load of enthusiasm on my first post? I love this show! Why don't I have anything else to contribute!?

I'm not totally sure even now. Maybe Blade legitimately doesn't have that much going on under the surface. Maybe if it does, that's not really a problem. Or maybe a lot of us just happened to be a little too preoccupied with other things the past month and a half to contribute as much to the discussion, and none of this has anything to do with the show's quality and/or popularity.

At any rate, returning back from my self-indulgent rant to the point I was originally making, I know it didn't have anything to do with you, Die, so as always, enjoy your break, and when you're feeling recharged, I look forward to what you have to say about Hibiki. That's a show I'm sure a lot of people will be happy to project their opinions onto you for, but I have my own theories about it based on how you felt about other shows so far. Could be really interesting! And who knows? Maybe I'll even have actual things to say about it. :p

For what it's worth, even if you're focused on primarily generating conversation, I really do enjoy just reading your thoughts on the episodes, whether I'm able to reply at the time or not. Obviously it's best when you can discuss it with others, but even if you just wrote these as a blog-style thing where there was no interaction at all I'd still read them. You have a lot of great insights on these shows that really help me find new things to appreciate about them!

I'd intended to be more active in this thread at first because I really like Blade, but I ended up having a lot of other things going on that prevented it until recently. Hopefully I can make time to be more present in the Hibiki one!

Starting and ending your Heisei journey with one unforgettable actor is maybe the best accidental path you could've been on.

One of the things I feel like I've missed from Phase 2 (aside from the shows actually naming characters) is the humor? Not to say that these Phase 1 series aren't funny, but they're certainly less... light-hearted than I think of Phase 2 as being. (And, yes, I am referring to the series about the horrors of war as "light-hearted".) So if you're saying there's less drama in the first part because it's a more fun show, I could be into that! But, also, yes, Inoue. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to risk being booted from the boards by stanning the second part of Hibiki, but it's definitely a possibility.

To sum up your feelings with a quote from the word art, you're worried about valuing "Tachibana Over Plot"?

Jokes! But I do take your point. The memes are what people remember 15 years later, not some random detail or scene. I don't think being excited about them, even to the exclusion of deeper analysis, is a problem.

I think a big part of my feeling that there wasn't more discussion around certain parts of the series is that, frankly, they're not that memorable. If I watch an episode and immediately go to write it up, there are probably a half-dozen things I'll want to discuss from it. But if that same episode gets brought up even a week later, my feelings will be a lot more vague, and consist largely of Oh Yeah That Was Good. I cannot imagine how little I'd recall after a few years. (Most of my contribution to your Kuuga thread was the couple three things I absolutely loved or totally despised, by way of example.) It's no crime for folks to not have a list of comments or concerns for a random tokusatsu episode they watched somewhere over the last decade.

And I don't... I really don't want this all to sound like I'm dwelling on how these threads go. I'm honestly not. They're fun! While I sometimes feel proud of one (Faiz!) or less proud of another (never going to feel like I did Ryuki justice!), it is not, like, an ongoing concern. I don't feel bad about any of them. It's just a little moment at the end of the experience where I can get a little reflective, a little analytical about the process. In the moments, I'm just thinking about Kamen Rider and talking with other fans about it. The top-down view, that shit is all kept in the immediate aftermath, the brief afterglow of finishing a series. It's pretty much the only time I feel clear to ask if folks are getting what they want out of these things. I'm glad know that they are!

I appreciate the kind words! I definitely don't mind if folks feel more comfortable reading along than participating. I lurk in a bunch of threads around here! I get it!

And, yeah, I totally understand being less able to chime in With Everything That's Going On. That's... I honestly wondered if I should even ask people about their involvement, since I know how hard it can be to focus on stuff, or to lose yourself in fictional heroes. Even if it's just regular life getting in the way, it's completely reasonable to be on the boards a little less. It's nice when folks have the time, but I certainly wouldn't want people to feel guilty (or whatever) for not being around.

Now, 43. Oh I forgot something before, Kenzaki claims Mutsuki beat Spider Undead with his own power.... and ironically it's total opposite; Kenzaki just handed Mutsuki Blade King's sword!

Well, not everything is opinionated, like for this one, canon plotting, no matter which headcannon, so gotta explain. Yes, Spider Undead was a voice on his shoulder, but, that's only one of his steps to fully take control of Mutsuki. It can directly take over Mutsuki's body, but its grip is too fragile to mantain in battle for extended periods of time. So he resorts to being the voice of his shoulder and slowly takes firmer grip on his body and mind. Spider Undead is a puppeteer operating a puppet, being a voice is one of his ways to do so, and finally succeeded after Mutsuki killed Shima (but Shima's sacrifice wasn't for naught). Mutsuki himself made it easier for Spider Undead controlling him as a puppet though, with his flaws like insecurities, though his feelings for Nozomi allows him to regain control at few occassions; preventing Spider Undead for harming her.

The stakes being yet another time, a Kamen Rider (possibly more publicly known in Blade; like people like Jin knows) being seen as enemy for attacking civilians. For the cast, well, it's not unusual for them though, with Hajime going crazy as Joker, and Kenzaki briefly also went crazy, then Mutsuki being controlled by Spider Undead. Hajime is a repeat for ep. 38 for returning the favor into Kenzaki.

Well, for Tachibana... probably the viewer is also used to his acts from the early parts of the Blade as a broken man lol. And as an artist.... it stroke me when Kenzaki stabs the picture drawing with that fork! Also, Kenzaki acts normal, albeit in more hyper-energy when his friends interact... it seems that the poison isn't simply turning him evil but also giving him a sense of manipulation with him acting fine around his friends.... which almost fooled Tachibana and Mutsuki, while Hajime is unconvinced.

And it's going according to the plan for Tennoji who seemingly here wants the Riders to destroy each other. Probably as he wants the Riders to destroy each other, Trial F only poisoned the 2, while letting the other 2 fight.

Well, sure, but I don't think they mean "power" in that way. They're proud of Mutsuki overcoming the darkness within himself, and defeating the Spider Undead all on his lonesome.

...which he got a ton of help from Shima and Tiger Queen to do, but technically I don't think Kenzaki and Tachibana know that.

Yeah, man, I don't think it's that clear cut? I think there's plenty of room for interpretation in how much Mutsuki is to blame for his own actions. If you want to read it as him being a victim of the Spider Undead's schemes, that's cool! I just don't think I see it that way.

Ha ha, sure, maybe that's it! It doesn't take a lot to get me to think that Tachibana's a danger to himself and others!

So I actually got these guys back out last week, but I haven't had a chance to upload a good photo until now. We were in the heart of late series Blade so I found my old Kiwami Tamashii King Form and Wild Chalice. Felt like sharing since it seems like this line has long passed out of general awareness.

Thanks for sharing! That King Form suit just works, even in a more stylized take. I don't know enough about toys to know where those came from, though. What's the story with these?