[Kamen Rider Die]

Guess who had a busy day at work, is waiting for dinner to arrive (Steak & Shake!), and is going to do a big batch of discussion responses?

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I don't know about Hajime, as I said above, it seems that Kotaro is the one that is still at fault here, he got kicked out by the house even by Haruka.

I don't think he was "kicked out" so much as his presence was upsetting Amane. He's just trying to make everyone safe and happy, and that was not working out. So he gave her space. Even Haruka is telling Kotaro that Amane's acting out, she missed Hajime, and that they're really hoping Hajime will share what he's hiding soon.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

For Lazer-Undead stuff, the difference is that his act here would be a genuine vile act, not a facade like Lazer's.

It's really the sunglasses and overall fashion that made me think of Lazer.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Also btw, can you take consideration of what I wrote about Inoue there? You said that you would be interested in hearing what they don't like, if folks got other problems. And it seems the problem is a serious one.

I don't really know? I'm not sure what the problems are. If you want to fill me in, that'd help!

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

So we finally get to see Mutsuki's personal trauma here and, honestly, I've always thought it was really dumb. He was kidnapped as a baby and stuffed in a bus station locker, and the memory of that experience has forever hung over him. Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on that. There is no way he'd remember an experience from when he was that young. It really feels like a stretch to have that be one of his defining moments as a character.

So, here's my take.

I don't think Mutsuki really remembers this trauma from when he's a baby. That's... memories don't really work like that? I think he was probably told at a young age what had happened, and he's sort-of invented these memories of the event, focused on them as The Reason He Turned Out This Way. I think it's more about Mutsuki trying to create a framework for his feelings than it's a literal thing that occurred in the way he remembers it.

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Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

I always liked Tachibana and Mutsuki's little thing, especially with how it continues through the series. Tachibana is screwed up, and with Mutsuki he sees a way to give himself a bit of stability in a way that doesn't directly involve fighting, and *maybe* make up a little for the whole "getting-addicted-to-seaweed-and0-not-facing-my-trauma" deal. Mutsuki is fine, just a kid getting in way over his head, I'm sure this will go well for him.

Tachibana looking for stability by mentoring the traumatized kid who's being taunted by his own Rider belt is... yep, that checks out as a decision Tachibana would make!

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I'll also toss in that I'm quite fond of Tachibana's turn as a mentor for Mukki. It's like a pairing that was just born to fail, and that's why it's fascinating to see them trying to make it work. It's a very fun dynamic for the show to explore. It's pretty clear that Tachibana sees a lot of himself in Mukki, what with the first time he sees him being with his girlfriend right after Tachibana was reminiscing about Sayoko, and on a base level, you can understand why he'd want to make sure this kid doesn't become the walking disaster of a person that he was not too many episodes ago, but that also kinda underlines the issue that maybe Tachibana isn't the best guy to be taking on apprentices when he only got his own life together like a week ago?

The rest of these two episodes, they definitely feel like another set of just nice, cozy base-level Rider episodes. They've got a lot of heroic action, and the characters are all doing things, but they're not doing anything crazy. It's exciting drama without any particularly complicated stakes or dilemmas. Nothing that demands you think too hard about it, which I know is going to sound backhanded, but I genuinely think it's important for Rider to just be light entertainment sometimes.

It's appropriately Tachibana to have him have one good day and then feel like he's able to solve everyone else's problems. Fish, he fixed his own problems, the most problematic problems in the universe! No one had ever suffered the way he had, and he overcame it! This Mutsuki thing is a going to be a piece of cake!

Also, yeah, these are very okay episodes of Blade! The villain plot doesn't have a bunch of moves on it, and it's not really About anything, and the show really needs to figure out a new overarching villain goal/scheme/leader/whatever to create more structured storytelling, but I still had fun watching it.

Like, I bought Kenzaki's rage at not being able to help Kotaro. It's just action-adventure acting, a hero in crisis, but it was well-executed. And there's this move from the previous episode where Blade throws his sword just past Lazer But He's On Blade, and it allows Blade to reposition for a better attack. Smart fight choreography, meat and potatoes stuff.

I'm okay with some fun stories, even if they don't provide a lot to talk or think about. I do feel little bad on these threads when that's the case, though. Tough to show up and just go It Was Fun, you know?

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Well, now that Die has long since passed the episode where it's no longer a spoiler.

*ahem*

DROP
FIRE
GEMINI

BURNING DIVIDE

SAYOKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Burning Divide is my favorite name, but my least favorite move. Lightning Sonic is my least favorite name, but my favorite move. Spinning Dance is right in the middle.