[Fish Sandwich]

So between showing up in Zi-O, Excite! Subs doing their shiny new translation of it recently, and also how it's hard to watch Ryukendo without being reminded of it, I've finally been given the push I need to rewatch Blade what I'm pretty sure is going to be all the way through at this point. Right now I just got done with episode 16 and I gotta tell ya', this show is the absolute bomb even to this day.

It's been almost 8 years (!) since I've actually seen the whole series, and it's a bit shocking to find out that it's sort of even better than I remember it being. I've had this thought going back and watching early episodes of OOO and Ryuki too, but it's extra surprising how strong I felt the opening stretch is in Blade, because part of me has always kind of bought into the idea it takes a while to get going.

Now I feel like it's the exact opposite. It comes out of the gate with so much momentum it probably just blindsides anybody who isn't prepared to keep up with it. It might actually secretly be one of the best and most unique first quarters or so in Rider history, given how many rules it throws out the window. A lesser show would've just been content to have a status quo of Blade and Garren going around fighting monsters for a while, but here their whole operation gets destroyed in the first episode.

I've always had a strong affection for the early Heisei soap opera style, and Blade is pretty much the peak of that with the way it goes for MAXIMUM DRAMA at all times. Kenzaki beats his first monster, and instead of being triumphant and cool, he's lying on the ground exhausted contemplating whether or not his partner just betrayed their organization. By half a dozen episodes in, someone is trying to blow Hajime's family up with a time bomb. Half a dozen after that, and Tachibana has developed an addiction to performance enhancing seaweed that alienates him from his friends. What the f***.

It's legitimately fascinating to me how much crap they already stuffed into just this relatively small stretch of the show. Every single main character essentially starts the show at some kind of emotional breaking point, and consequently they start getting major development immediately. To this day I still think Kenzaki is the best example of a Rider whose fighting skills gradually improve throughout the show, and that's only one facet of what makes him so awesome.

I'm not even sure where to stop here. I'm pretty sure there's literally nothing about Blade I don't like, so just trying to praise it would have me going on for like, I mean... I'd have to make another huge thread like that one about Ghost, but there's no point to that because everybody already knows how awesome Blade is. It's top tier stuff. Cream of the crop. A+ material.

You know what my favorite thing about it might be though? The show's commitment to the Rider part of its name. The heroes almost always arrive at and leave from scenes on their bikes. Chalice rides up a stairwell to get to the top of a building at one point. I love it. Just like I love the opening theme. Or the insert theme. Or the bad acting. Or the flawless build up to Leangle's debut. Or... wait, it's happening. I'm going on forever. Okay, I'll stop for now, but I guarantee you by the time I get to King Form's debut I'll be popping back in here to do this all over again.