[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It’s just a ton of time telling us stuff we already know about Tachibana. It’s important that he’s trying to get to the root of his issues, to find some way to become the hero Dr Ladyfriend sees in him, but it’s a mostly dull approach. Like, we get to see him explaining his history to Dr Ladyfriend, then we get to see him relive those memories a few scenes later. It’s the same information! There are no new details! And, as information goes, it’s not even that relevant? It’s a minor wrinkle in the stuff Hirose told Kotaro when they were snooping around BOARD’s abandoned starter home. He was a researcher who stepped up and became Garren. It’s a data point, nothing that made me reconsider what I thought of Tachibana.

This is another time where I don't fundamentally disagree with you but I'm going to stick up for the episode anyway. I think when Tachibana's past comes up, they're definitely adding a few details each time. Him being a researcher who became Garren is a pretty throwaway line when Hirose mentions it. Here in this episode, we get to first hear the same thing directly from Tachibana's own mouth, which means in that scene it's more about his tone and attitude as he's bringing it up, a contributing piece to a conversation with Sayoko that's a little more broad in what it's about. The actual flashbacks later on, despite being just a few brief moments, I think have the most impact, with us being shown a notably fresh-faced, eager looking Tachibana that stands in stark contrast to his moodier present self... right before he gets into a fight with Isaka, entirely expecting to die, and downright content with it. They're showing him at a much higher point in his life right before arguably one of his absolute lowest.

Like, I mean, it's not a lot, but I think all these instances have at least a different enough purpose to them to justify their existence. It's definitely more context than you had about Tachibana beforehand, even if it's nothing mind-blowing, which, you know, again, I agree this isn't some absolute banger of a Blade episode.