[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 16

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Karasuma gives some backstory and then splits, again! Tachibana quits, again! Hajime fights in a way that worries Kenzaki, again! A new Rider debuts, again! And Honey Butter Fried Chicken is open for carryout, again! That last one isn't a Kamen Rider thing but I had it for dinner and it was delicious!



When there was only one pair of footprints in the sand, that was Tachibana quitting again.

The "again” thing, me using it a bunch already, it's almost entirely a joke. I don't think this episode was especially repetitious or anything. I mean, the Karasuma thing, maybe. I love that that dude hung around for twelve minutes of an episode before he had to leave the country. Hilarious. I really hope we find out that he's ducking loan sharks or something. He gets suspiciously antsy whenever he has to hang around Team Blade for more than a minute.

There's plenty new in this episode, and it's pretty much all Leangle related, so let's talk about Mutsuki.

He's an interesting kid so far. I think he's fun, in a Normal Boring Teenager way. He's unlucky in love, prone to some terrifyingly bad luck in general, and sort-of hapless in an inoffensive way. He's, like, a blob of a character. Or, like clay, ready to be sculpted. He doesn't bother me, which is the least of what I want before he becomes a Rider.

(Also, I think he lives in Yuuji's house from the first episode of Faiz? That curved window in front of the house looked super familiar. Also also, him being curt with his mom, immediately running up to his room, locking the doors, closing the blinds, all so he could Blay His Buckle... show, you are killing me.)

Most of his story so far is wrapped up in the Leangle Driver, and... I really like what the show's doing with it? I like that it has a will and a presence, like the One Ring or something. It wants to be worn, wants to be used, needs to perpetuate its designs. That's a different kind of threat than I've seen a Rider show go with, and I'm into it being explored.

Tachibana's story... I joke about him quitting again, but I liked what resulted.

(It is sincerely funny that, at his most competent, he takes a sabbatical. That is 1000% Tachibana, to take a step back when things are still dangerous and he's actually capable of helping. He's still very bad at putting the needs of others ahead of his own! Kotaro needs to give him another pep talk!)

He's a guy that has made terrible, terrible decisions while being Garren. The worst of those decisions may've resulted in Dr Ladyfriend's death. I think it's reasonable and responsible for Tachibana to take a step back from superhuman destructive power until he's able to approach it without grief and guilt. Dude had a rough couple weeks, it's best if he went for a coffee or something.

Hajime's got a cute scene with Amane, and it's one I could've watched for an entire episode. They've got such a sweet bond, those two actors. Amane really lights up when Hajime's around, and Hajime is nearly in tears when she says that the only important thing is that they're friends. It's adorable, and the purest moment in this episode.

It's so pure that it kind-of makes Chalice more ruthless than ever? When Dragonfly Monster continues to taunt him into a fight by threatening Haruka and Amane, Chalice is off to end it. Kenzaki thinks that they can team up to take down Dragonfly Monster together, leading to a fun Blade and Chalice team-up fight scene. It's incredibly brief, though, since Chalice is so enraged at Dragonfly Monster's threat that he's putting tons of civilians in danger through his reckless combat. Blade's aghast, because the point of stopping the Undead is to save innocents, and Chalice is oblivious to the destruction he's causing. (Is the restaurant he's tearing up the one Asakura held hostages in from Ryuki?) Blade wants to save lives, but Chalice wants to protect Amane and Haruka first, seal Undead second, basically nothing third. They can't even work together effectively to do either of the first two, since Chalice can't figure out how to work with others.

...Which they're going to have to do in a hurry, since Leangle arrives under cover of immediate goddamn darkness to kick the crap out of Blade and Chalice. Should be fun to see how this group of super-powered sweet boys, grumps, and mind-controlled spider avatars are going to get along! I assume not great!



Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Mutsuki goes full Teen Wolf on the basketball court! A guy that I randomly got a trading card of chokes someone else! And Leangle fights some more!