[Kamen Rider Die]

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!



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!



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!