[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

She misses her dad! She's reckless, sure, but she's a kid who wants to hear her dad one more time. I don't think she'd've been so keen on exploring the cave if she thought there was a monster in there. I mean, even Kenzaki and Kotaro just thought it was, like, maybe not the safest place to be. They were okay poking around for a few minutes.

I was thinking that, she's probably not the only one who misses her dad like for example, Haruka. And for "if she thought there was a monster in there"....

Also for Kenzaki and Kotaro poking around for a few minutes, well, she trespassed without their consent and as her caretaker obviously they would have no choice but follow her around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Is Tachibana the best character on Blade? I’m sincerely asking. I’ve really connected with Kenzaki, Kotaro, Hirose, and even taciturn/threatening Hajime, but… Tachibana! He’s such an amazing wreck of a man!

He's fountain of memes.

As for the part hoping Tachibana never gets better, oh well don't hope for that because, this wreck may not be his default state, unlike charaacters such as Takumi. Also, not liking a double standard by others (not you), that the types of character like this gets free pass; if they don't change (getting better) you get to keep his good qualities, if they change it's good development, while the other kind of character, the non-scumbag one, if they don't change they got labeled as static, if they change, if the change isn't about becoming meaner they still would be considered exactly the same without changes.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

There’s a little bit with Hajime.

Disparaged all of humanity.... monster species alert! We've seen that he bleeds in pale green. And for saving Amane part, it's obvious, this is seen multiple times in the franchise, in many anti-heroes, but he's also one of those that only shows compassion to a few person, and only cares and acts soft regarding them; just because he acts like that to Amane doesn't mean he'll do the same to others. Though even apart from Kenzaki gaining a glimpse of hope regarding Hajime here, there's also a good reason to question him, that in opposite to approaching him and gaining new ally as he first attempts, he's also afraid that Hajime is truly sinister and had hidden agendas (you're my enemy phrase) that has to be dealt with quickly before it escalates.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I don’t get it? I mean, I’ve seen enough Kamen Rider shows, I get the motivation of I Must Atone For My Family’s Misdeeds, but I can’t relate to it emotionally at all. It feels unreal, alien.

Yeah I know, the realistic and relatable approach are apathetic, indifferent, selfish, Not Everyone Wants To Do Things, etc...like Faiz. Those that are considered as relatable and human traits are all toxic traits, such as moral failures, hypocritical beliefs. Which sets up a grimdark trend and characters being morally ambiguous at best. Where those aren't part of it, like positivity, especially Rider sensibility which for example most of the main Riders, are treated as unreal and alien as it's harder to relate; things like being so strong in their moral beliefs, or doing something earnestly without hidden agendas, like fighting for justice. Though still, I don't want for them to corrupt each characters that doesn't have them, with toxic traits to fulfill that like how people sometimes want morally ambiguous characters or villains to stay the way they are. And like here, I think sometimes people actually forget the more realistic and non-tragic/dark part in fiction, despite the claims that it's a drive for realism, or the fact that, speaking about flaws, some are conflating "not a scumbag = flawless = unrelatable and boring" (the reason those above are considered realistic? "humans are flawed"), but non-toxic flaws exist like lack of confidence, fearfulness, inflexible thought, over-honesty, etc.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Still, it makes for a solid final scene, with Kenzaki letting Hirose in on his own mechanism for dealing with guilt.

Something Hirose ironically opposite from this episode also had thrown to Kenzaki a few episodes before; where because Kenzaki isn't responsible within the BOARD's mistake of releasing Undead, he doesn't need to fight it off. But he still goes off and used that moment as a chance to make her his 2nd friend. Kenzaki's way is obviously the best way to cope, to learn and do better, but still...

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I loved the beginning of the episode, where Kenzaki is trying everything he can to get through to Tachibana.

I wonder if the longtime devotion Kenzaki has for Tachibana, was that they went good in the past (Blade is a series where it starts with the characters already being Riders), but something drives them apart in present time here, but isn't shown for now. Though for this one, Kenzaki hasn't really given the alternate solution to save Tachibana, whom body is breaking (by just saying that the Undead has been sealed, when he planned to do it himself for curing hims), albeit of course, later on the cause isn't what the cast thinks. Tachibana thinks Kenzaki has inadvertently doomed him by denying a chance to cure himself, is this what you meant by not recognizing the importance of his pain? (even if plot mechanics isn't main concern.... it shouldn't be ignored, obviously in series like this, it often plays a part).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

CHAIRMAN runs up to Dr Ladyfriend’s car to let her know the truth about Tachibana’s condition. Namely, he doesn’t really have a condition. The belt malfunctions when the user is afraid, and feeds that fear back into the Rider, along with terrifying images of their own destruction. (And yet, CHAIRMAN declares the Driver “isn’t imperfect”, which… so “can drive a scared user insane with fear” is Working As Intended? Sounds pretty imperfect to me, but I’m not a philanthropist/apocalyptic cult leader, so what do I know.) Tachibana isn’t going to explode in a green mist due to a broken Driver, he’s having an anxiety attack.

As he said, it's only psychological. What you described here is exactly what the cast thinks it's wrong that being a Rider plays a part in your body breaking down. If it's psychological it would mean that anything Rider related wouldn't play a part. It's just that Tachibana will have self-fulfilling prophecy, thinking about destruction would make it real within himself. Saying the Rider system is not defective would mean that it wouldn't be caused by the belt, but probably something within Tachibana's body (his warning to Kenzaki before was as said before, all his and the cast mistake, he accuses Karasuma and BOARD as the cause but it's not the case) that isn't shown yet, like Hajime bleeding pale green.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s fantastic, as a reveal. Thematically, it doesn’t really matter if Tachibana was in real or imagined danger, since the point of his story is his inability to accept death with grace and nobility. His reaction to the information was what his story has been about, not the validity of that information. Dramatically, it’s one thousand times better if everything he’s done has been because he was freaking out over nothing. It’s perfect. Perfect. It highlights the futility of his decisions, robs him of what little justification he had to act so selfishly. He was just scared. That’s it.

Isn't this a part of "plot misleading and lies" where Tachibana's freak out was all for nothing because the true cause of his mortality was something else other than Rider system?

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Sort-of an abrupt turn in the story? The army mans are connected to the new Undead (?) that’s communicating-with-slash-taunting Chalice, but they mostly just jump Garren and Blade at the end, To Be Continued. (My favorite part in the scene where the army mans jump Team Blade is that Hirose puts herself between the army mans and Kotaro. He’s useless in a fight, and everyone knows it!) It’s something that I’m sure will be what the next episode will be about, but it didn’t really feel too connected to the story being told in this episode. Still, it happened, and it was not bad.

Hirose has a super strength. And at the end, it seems that Blade is the show that features mooks in those armies after the previous Rider series where all the monsters are solo MOTW bosses, without any lackeys (well, possibly lackeys only to the uber powerful final boss, but those standard MOTW packs a punch rather than fodders exist to be mowed down by heroes like Build's Guardians).