[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 34

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: Kenzaki struggles with keeping his friends safe! Hirose gives a stirring speech! And two outstanding fights cap off maybe the perfect episode of Blade!



Seriously, maybe a perfect episode of this show.

There's an idea they're playing with, how a hero's empathy is both strength and weakness, and they just let it roll out in every single scene, with every single Rider. They also give it great fights, clever dialogue, and a rousing finale. Flawless episode, I have to say.

And, it's an episode anchored by a definitive speech from Hirose to Kenzaki, so this thing's already got my number. I love the relationship between these two. He's the heart of the team, but she's the brains. Kenzaki's a very sweet boy, and it's easy for him to get confused, misled. (I mean, never to the degree of Tachibana, because that dude's pathological.) She's able to see how easily his caring for people can trip him up, and she's there to help him understand how he can best help others.

Kamen Rider is a franchise that, among other things, is about the value of empathy in a world of violence. Kamen Riders aren't heroic for being stronger, or deadlier. They aren't heroic for fighting monsters. They're heroic for caring about people. Kenzaki cares so much that it can be used against him. Tachibana tells him he's a danger to everyone the longer he remains a Kamen Rider, that U.N.D.E.A.D. is just going to keep coming after him, putting people at risk. It's Kenzaki's responsibility, according to Tachibana. Kenzaki is the one who's causing distress.

It's bullshit. It's a villain move. It makes Kenzaki feel terrible for defending himself. It's an abuser's move, gaslighting the victim into feeling at fault for what the abuser is doing. But it only works because Kenzaki feels so responsible for people's safety that he's unable to hang around them if he thinks they could be hurt. He'll do anything to protect people, even if it means cutting all ties to his friends. So he runs away from home, ready for a life of solitude, separate from the people he cares about. But that empathy that's been weaponized against him by Tachibana, it's not just a one way street. A Kamen Rider fights because they care about people. But people care about a Kamen Rider so they can fight.

It's a really beautiful speech Hirose gives, and one I don't think I'd've been able to put into words before. (All-time classic episode for Hirose, from the point in the beginning when she's like Kenzaki Why Did We Have To Lug All Your Shit Around, to the end where Tachibana's warnings to stay away from Kenzaki are met with a stern You Are Out Of Your Damn Mind If You Think I'm Staying Home.) She's disappointed in Kenzaki for leaving, mad at him for thinking he'd be able to fight on his own, because he's never fought on his own. The people he cares about support him so that he can fight for them, with their strength added to his. Blade is, naturally, a weapon that everyone who believes in Kenzaki wields through him. People need Kenzaki to protect them, but Kenzaki needs those people to give him the strength to protect them.

It's an idea that just keeps drilling down through the episode. Mutsuki loses to Hajime because Hajime finally understands that he's fighting to get back to the people he loves, while Mutsuki thinks he'll be more powerful by pretending he doesn't care about Nozomi. (Some terrific dialogue in that fight scene, too. Hajime's whole I Don't Need To Be A Monster To Whip Your Ass thing, or Mutsuki running him down by calling him a card. Great stuff, perfect energy.) Seeing Hajime finally, at the very edge of losing his humanity, feel that connection to the people who have been rooting for him... god, it's like a series finale. Such a massively cathartic moment, watching him win a fight because he cared more about people than the human he was fighting.

Even King gets in on the thematic action, being bested thanks to Hirose and Kotaro rallying people to pin down a monster so Blade could finish it off. The King vs Blade fight... first off, what is the fight music that's playing over this one? I thought it was a blast, some high-octane guitar work. But, after that, man, a well-deserved win for Blade, with him having so much faith in his friends, in everyone, that he didn't even need cards to beat King. The camerawork sold the turn in the fight, with Blade's punches into camera transitioning from futile to forceful, the intensity of Kenzaki's faith overpowering King's defenses. And then, to finish it, just punching that Seal card straight into King's chest. Beautiful fight, iconic finish.

A really, really great episode of Kamen Rider Blade. Just, man, exploring the ways that empathy can get mixed up with guilt, or used by horrible people to inflict self-doubt, or how if you believe in people they'll believe in you... I love it. I love taking an idea that central to Kamen Rider, and just showcasing it for an episode. Literally nothing makes me happier. A+ episode.



Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: A new girl! Mutsuki gets his ass kicked again! And maybe I'll remember to talk about King Form!