[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Yeah, but that's the thing: I came in through Phase 2 Heisei, so minimal bike usage is pretty much my baseline. What's in this episode may be what the franchise did historically, in the Showa days, but I don't truck with Showa.

All the talk people have about how regrettable it is that Riders barely use their bikes anymore, man, it is not a problem for me at all.

Well, who wasn't? Probably anyone nowadays will come through phase 2 first, with many of the recommendation for first shows being phase 2 shows like W. But a bunch of them started with phase 2 and worked their way back to phase 1, from my experience. Those that don't follow phase 1, from my experience, had a quite unfair reason to me which is (only) the special effects. I think actually, none of KR special effects are ever perfect, from phase 1 to phase 2, they're still similar, just probably more oversaturated in phase 2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And, what’s going on is that everyone retreats to their corners for the rest of the episode while Sloth Style calculates the best way to destroy all four Rider, and we get to know Shima, Team Blade’s new dad.

Shima’s back from Tibet, where he allegedly assisted Karasuma in… ssssoooome way. He at least took an incredibly awkward/hilarious photo with him, and that’s good enough for me. (The way the Team treats the photo as both Proof Of Life and Seal Of Approval is adorable. Karasuma is the most absentee dad ever, and he’s hung around the sketchiest weirdos, but the Team is willing to bring Shima into the fold the second they see one photo of the two of them together. God bless their abandonment issues.) He’s here to, basically, bundle together a bunch of story threads around his finger, and point out a direction for the show to take.

I don’t love Shima so far (too much mystery), but I like the idea of what he can do for the story. As great as the cast is when they’re firing on cylinders, they’ve definitely felt like they’ve plateaued after introducing Mutsuki. There isn’t a… I don’t know, a goal, or a plan, or a sense of how to resolve the season’s threat, and we’re halfway through the show’s run. They’re tackling Undead when they pop up, but it’s pretty haphazard. Meanwhile, you’ve got more powerful (and interesting!) Undead appearing more or less daily, and Chalice’s mystery is becoming more pressing… it’s a bunch of stuff going on, and the Team feels phenomenally ill-equipped to deal with it.

I’d prefer the characters generate a solution internally, but I’ll accept an outsider’s kick in the ass this once. Shima being an Undead creates a connection between Chalice’s mystery and the main group. Shima as a mentor-figure gives Tachibana some warnings and insight for Mutsuki’s The Spider In My Brain Is Telling Me To Fight But That’s No Big Deal weirdness. Shima as a man of empathy and sacrifice forces Kenzaki to reexamine his motivations. It’s… he’s doing a lot this episode to get things on a track.

Varying levels of success, if I’m being honest, though.

Shima is the good monster this series have, Blade's answer to the likes of Cubi in Ghost and Burgmon in Ex-Aid. Shima was Karasuma's acquaintance....but he immediately also knows the faces of those involved in BOARD... and including those associated with them like Kotaro or Hajime? BOARD probably should've contained biodatas for Riders or Hirose, but probably not those related to them. Then again it's implied that he's the one that knows the situation and reported to Mutsuki. Now I also wonder, what makes this less appealing, for outsider's kick in the ass, compared to something like Miyuki, not from Blade one, but the one from Ryuki? (who just appeared and approached the protagonists).

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The Tachibana stuff is the briefest, but it’s nice to have someone helping him out.

Yeah it's undeniable, here, Tachibana seems can't deal with Mutsuki anymore, I wouldn't say he's that bad previously, he's still right of accusing Mutsuki as treating this as collectible card game. And as terrible his choices was during Isaka tenure, it's actually real experience Tachibana has compared to someone like Mutsuki to mentor with. Mutsuki's bravado also can stem from how Leangle is the strongest, ultimate Rider, seemingly thinking that Blade and Garren are weaker to lose to Daichi.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Chalice’s story intersects with Shima, which was something I really wasn’t expecting.

Chalice now taking more approach in learning humanity with taking photos of each affectionate moments human shared with each other. What'd he do with those photos he collected? Shima is more of a proof of Undeads being capable of doing something Hajime is puzzled of, but Shima's more focused on others.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Kenzaki, though… I don’t know, I wasn’t really feeling his big hero moment.

Didn't Kenzaki also already proclaimed this several times in the previous episodes though? Dunno if here you channel something where trauma can make someone more empathic and kinder, the first to reach a hand out (which for here, it'd mean Kenzaki going through his parents death giving him Rider sensibility to love and protect others), which is reportedly realistic, something I read from other's experience. But still, with it not being personal enough.... From before, sometimes people actually forget the more realistic and non-tragic/dark part in fiction, despite the claims that any tragic part is more realistic, like this blog here talks (not regarding Kenzaki, but rather Yusuke).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Love the new suit, though! It’s the gold. I think the gold on the new mask is way, way cooler than the silver. The wing cape, another fun change. It’s got a regalness without being cumbersome, which is a super fine line when it comes to suit upgrades. This, it feels more powerful without looking overdone. Really dug the new suit.

Blade's Jack Form, this series' Mid-Season Upgrade. G̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶w̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶l̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶1̶s̶t̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶i̶l̶v̶e̶r̶'̶s̶ ̶2̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶.̶ While Leangle is the strongest Ace form Rider, he can't approach upgrades like Blade can here... (at least in the main series).