[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODE 40

This time on Kamen Rider Blade: The final fate of U.N.D.A.D.! Amane is maybe depending on Hajime too much! And no one puts Mutsuki in the corner!



I wouldn't say this one was good. I wouldn't say this one came close to being good. But it came close to coming close to being good, and I guess that's better than being bad.

It's a messy episode, which is maybe its fundamental flaw. In an episode that should at least be a suitable send-off to U.N.D.A.D. (I hate that character, but you gotta do something big for his finale if he's been a 9-episode antagonist), and hopefully give some big scenes to Hirose, this one tries to do that AND spend a bunch of time with Mutsuki and Tiger Queen (fka Twomi) AND start to acknowledge that Amane emotionally investing so much in Hajime is probably not that smart. It's a lot! That is way, way too much for one episode, and the core of it really suffers for that decision.

Like, so much of the finale of this episode hinges on Hirose's feelings about what's going on and... I mean, there's stuff in there I can find to enjoy. Her grieving at the end, it's not her grieving some stupid robot that was programmed to protect her and either was immediately reprogrammed to not do that, or wasn't reprogrammed but just never got around to it. (???? I don't know if that flashback worked even a little. It definitely raises more questions than it answers. Like, Undad wasn't killed by the Undead he released, but escaped. went into hiding, kept working secretly for Tennouji, and built U.N.D.A.D. before dying? And U.N.D.A.D. was programmed to assist Tennouji, but then just decided to do his own scheme anyway? Villain plots in Kamen Rider generally don't make a lot of sense if you think too hard about them, but this is some next level Don't Think Too Hard About It shit.) She's grieving, if I can read a lot into it, for the father she never truly put to rest. This weird monster robot, it's just a vessel for catharsis. It's like when you hear a song that reminds you of someone who's gone, and how all of those emotions come flooding back. She's presented with a thing that looks like the father she has very complicated feelings about, and she can't stop crying all the tears she's been choking back.

Except, I don't know how much of that is in the text? These last two episodes, they are asking you to infer a lot from Hirose's performance. The ending is a sort-of trite Found Family beat, but the specific story about her feelings about her dad... it really needed a couple more scenes. Something with her and Kenzaki, hopefully, where his being an orphan and her being an orphan... there's definitely scenes there! Probably really good ones! I'd've even been cool with Tachibana trying (and fumbling close to succeeding without quite actually succeeding) to find some way to bring his bizarre life experiences to bear on Hirose's recent family traumas. Or, god, Kotaro! Let him try his Wrong Thing To Say schtick to get her to open up! I needed to know how she missed her dad, what outcome she wanted, if her guilt had changed how she remembered her dad, had she grieved him before, had she felt conflicted when he died. Something! Anything! As it is, there's this, like, ellipsis where Hirose's story should be, and it really robs this episode of the tools it needs to be good. Her performance is... she is giving so much, but she's really let down by this script.

I wouldn't mind it so much (I mean, I definitely would still mind it, but not as much) if the other plots tied in thematically, but it's really only the Hajime/Amane one that does, if I squint. Amane is very much settled on Hajime as Permanent New Dad, and Haruka is rightfully worried about that. Hajime is a very nice tenant, but he's only a very nice tenant. They care for him like family, but he's not actually family. He's also not exactly dependable, which is another way of saying that this kid is creating a scenario where she loses a second dad. Haruka is clearly troubled, and Amane is not loving Hajime bailing for mysterious reasons, but that's about all we get in this episode. It's a few scenes of setup for later episodes, and while it loops in thematically with the Hirose fathers/daughters thing, it's very tangential, and it dilutes the main plot. Maybe not the best episode to start this subplot!

The rest of the episode is Mutsuki and Tiger Queen, and it's okay. I really enjoy Mutsuki's performance, his surly depression. It's so outside the other plots that it might as well be its own spinoff, which this episode really really didn't need, but I do like seeing Mutsuki whenever the show wants to use him. It's a total Your Mileage May Vary situation, but it works for me. He's just hopeless and moody and he's got maybe one friend and everyone's always judging him and he's the Weakest Rider and I just enjoy it. It's very enjoyable to me.

This episode, however, was not that enjoyable. I really wanted this to be Hirose's story, but it ended up being Undad and U.N.D.A.D.'s story, guest-starring Hirose. Not a total failure (that Hirose actor tried so hard to salvage this question mark of a story), but still a real let-down.



Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Tiger Queen versus Blade and Garren! More U.N.D.E.A.D. because I guess that is just this show now! And Mutsuki has demands, which is adorable!