[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I think going with two-part stories wasn't the best idea. I know it's how Rider works, but adding a third episode would have really helped expand on some of these worlds and characters. Kazuma is right on the verge of being a really likable character in his own right and not as just a Kenzaki stand-in. A little more screentime could have really pushed him over the edge. It also could have given more room for the secondary characters.

Honestly, I think I prefer that they keep their focus relatively constrained (this story is just about Blade as a character with which to explore the themes of the show), rather than have to spend more episodes building out a character we're never going to see again. I could maybe argue for an additional episode to give the Decade supporting cast a little more relevance to the plot (Natsumi! Natsumi.), but what's here is serviceable, and it doesn't come close to feeling padded or unnecessarily stretched out.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

As for the episodes, it does strike me as hilariously easy to get fired or demoted here. And as some of us discussed over discord yesterday, it opens up the question of how much knowledge the writers have of capitalism.

The BOARD CEO has everyone working as an independent contractor, because he is a villain.

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Originally Posted by Sylarking

so what do you think of Tsukasa turning Kendate into a giant sword?

It's neat! As stated, Blade Blade is the most Yeah Of Course option for Blade's Final Form Ride, and it's pretty fun to see Decade wield the prop version for a few shots. (I mostly tune out when it's the CGI version.)

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Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

Die, where do you find these people? Someone who actually likes Doctor Who, smh.

DreamSword complains to me every time that no one on this board actually likes Power Rangers besides him, so that part of AkibaSilver's (if that's even their real name) backstory is probably more unbelievable.

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Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

The lack of Hajime though, as much as Die would have you believe Decade is about to morph into the Joker at any time (they're both destroyers and don't properly realise how until later in the series, that's another one for you buddy), does hurt this one for me, especially with how integral that relation becomes to the show's later portions, but I get it - the Ryuki arc was just about the bond between two Rider-men, one grumpy and closed off, the other idealistic and far too headstrong, you don't want to repeat that for every mini arc. So maybe focusing on Kenzaki's rise from the bottom to fight not because it gets him his shiny plaque, but because it protects people, is the better choice.

Yeah, I think this is the big reason why they had to focus on different aspects of Blade's storytelling. It'd feel a little repetitive to have another story about a schism between two Riders that Tsukasa gets in the middle of. This one got at stuff that only Kabuto can also lay claim to thematically, and Kabuto's take is more about measuring yourself against other people. Blade's slightly more about Failure than about Teamwork, so I'm okay with the choice they made.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

That being said, and this is my hottake, CEO/Chalice/Joker is probably the smartest CEO/Businessman in Kamen Rider? Especially later down the line when we get to a, a certain business related Rider Series whose business people I can only describe as incompetent due to their mindsets. The dude basically is holding all the cards and has no one from the monster side who would betray him. He's not stupidly thinking "Oh I shouldn't concern myself with the Undead because they won't backfire and betray me" and going along his merry way. He's made an alliance with them, and is able to business bullshit his way into taking out the other Riders as a result.

If Tsukasa wasn't here and he didn't get involved with Kazuma, then this story probably would have ended differently.

It's a plan so relatively smooth that it maybe didn't make the biggest impression on me before the reveal. The reveal, the Let's Make Ourselves Invaluable To The Government With A Forever War of it, was great! But a lot of what preceded that was a fairly standard Mercurial Boss, and that was sort of not compelling to me. I wish the role of CEO had a different take to it, maybe? Something more militarized, or more flamboyant, or something. Some of the casting for this story (Tachibanot, the CEO) needed a spark that just wasn't there.

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Contrary to what I said before, I decided to cautiously skim through the World of Blade discussion. I can't really compare this world to Blade as a show, considering the most I know about that right now is what I've seen from Zi-O, something about a bench and that the Secondary Rider has a theme song dedicated to his apparent love of kara miso soup. So this is going to be a shorter post than the others, but there is still some Decade stuff I can talk about.

oh god, do not say "secondary rider" for blade with any certainty or authority

that is a whole thing

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Tsukasa mundanely nicknames the BOARD Riders as Kamen Rider Salaryman, but their job is kind of like Kamen Rider Mercenary, right? At least, that seems to be the CEO's intention. War profiteering and starting from zero are themes most of us should be pretty familiar with from watching a certain show that aired in the Reiwa Era, but it's interesting to see how Decade deals with those themes here. I may not have much personal experience with jobs, but I think it's a good message that having camaraderie and the Ikigai concept is more important than standing on top and having lots of money. It's also clever how the arc with the materialistic final boss ends with a cameo of the very materialistic Diend, who I will be talking/complaining about very soon.

The thing I like about how this story explores the concept of a career is that... like, it definitely views Applying Yourself At Your Job as a positive, but it also cautions you against putting too much faith in your employer. They can have goals that dehumanize their employees, and your humanity rests on your ability to make your work a positive in the world. It's a kids show, so it doesn't get into some of the trickier aspects of those lessons (You know who gets to pick jobs that are only a social good? Rich people.), but it's cool to teach kids to be on the lookout for shitty jobs and duplicitous bosses.