[Magnugiga]

Finished Blade.

That final arc was a proper banger! Easily the most invested I’d been in this show. Great culmination of themes and characters all around, and I got a kick out of the fact that the much hyped Joker’s Doomsday Scenario was… him summoning army of roaches. Genuine nightmare scenario, but also funny as hell. The only major blemish was Tachibana waltzing back with the Chief all of sudden; it cheapened the impact of that epic last stand at the end of Ep 47, and just the sort of weak punch-pulling move that I dislike (meanwhile, the Chief was just there for wildly unnecessary exposition and spoiler about Kenzaki’s plan).

While I’m wrapping up the show, it dawned on me how similar Ryuki, Faiz, and Blade are in many ways. Sandwiched between the procedural-centric Kuuga-Agito and Hibiki (a completely different beast among the KRs), all three felt like they represent a distinct subset of Rider Phase I shows. Blade of course rehashed Ryuki’s Battle Royale scenario and the weaponized cards, but more importantly, it also experimented with the same set of bold narrative choices the other two did; the shades of grey, the constant clash of philosophy between people on the same side, and vulnerable Riders who are generally much more uncertain about the situation they’re in (“I don’t want to fight!”-the self-defining lines uttered by Shinji, Takumi, and Kenzaki at various parts of their respective shows). The thing I like the most about Blade is how it’s the one that leans the most heavily on the idea that, instead of a certain person or organization, the situation itself was the ultimate villain of the show. That’s a challenging one to write, and I feel the show did succeed at highlighting that theme for its climax.

However, while Blade does have a more cogent world-building and overall narrative structure than Ryuki and Faiz, it’s still my least favorite among the three. It has the least interesting cast and just doesn’t have as many narrative highs as those two (although it must also be said that its lows are nowhere near Faiz’ lows). Personally, I also think it’s lacking in toyetic factor; Ryuki and Faiz are just brimming with stuff I’d love to own, while Blade felt very bland in comparison. The Rider suit and overall design themselves are also mostly uninspiring; if I have to choose a favorite, it’d be the staff-wielding Leangle with his signature Remote card, but he still wouldn’t even crack my top 10 favorite Rider design. I like the idea of the card mechanic (once I looked up an external source just to figure out how they work), but it pales in comparison to Ryuki’s much more striking and intuitive card-battling presentation. It’s been years since I last watched Ryuki and I can still recall most Strike/Shoot/Trick/Advent/Final Vents used by all 13 Riders; Blade only has 4 Riders and I just finished watching it, but I can barely recall who’s using what in this show!

But yeah, overall it’s a solid show and I like it. Perhaps not one that I’m excited to rewatch someday, but it has its moments, not least in its unique and bittersweet ending. On to Hibiki finale now …