[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER BLADE EPISODES 45 + 46

This time(s) on Kamen Rider Blade: We're in the endgame now! Tennouji merges with Cerberus to become Elevennouji! And Scissors Undead shows his true colors!



Hoo, boy. This is maybe going to be a tough/bad one. Just did a few paragraphs about Tennouji as a boring but thematically appropriate villain (stuff about the various villains who are bosses, stuff about a theme of the series being about how the pursuit of power absent morality is doomed to failure), and it just did not come together. I usually got one of these in me every series, where I get a very particular kind of Writer's Block. Typically, it's from an episode where I have a lot of feelings that I have trouble expressing. (There was a Ryuki one that basically demolished me.) This one... I'm not sure what I want to address?

It's a very plot-heavy section of the series. It's the final arc, and we are getting a very fast-paced version of Kamen Rider Blade. We get introduced to Cerberus in one episode, he's defeated by the end of the episode. We get introduced to Tennouji's evolved form, Elevennouji, and he's defeated by the end of the episode. Hajime is critically injured, and then he's fine by the middle of the next episode. Plus we've got reveals about what you get for winning Battle Fight (unlimited power, which is kind-of unexciting for a prize), thoughts on if humanity can coexist with the Undead, and some specifics about Kenzaki and Tachibana's employment that I find mystifying. For two episodes, it's a whole lot.

I just... I had fun watching them. They are so crammed with incident that you'd be hard-pressed to be bored. But all that Tennouji stuff I wrote and deleted, I deleted it because it felt like I was straining to find something inside this story that's bigger than the plot. It's just not coming through to me.

Like, Tennouji as Tachibana and Kenzaki's boss. There's stuff at the end of 46 where they're refusing to follow his lead, determined to follow their own code. (I love that both Tachibana, who has never met an evil boss he couldn't give the benefit of the doubt, and Kenzaki, the eternal helper, immediately bail on Tennouji. That's how you know he's irredeemably evil!) It should feel like a final refutation of Kenzaki's I'm Just Doing A Job deflection, or Tachibana's belief in the greater good trumping his need to be told what to do. But Tennouji comes from out of nowhere to do this, and his vague authority over them feels retconned in. Weren't we told way back in the second or third story that there was a brand-new BOARD, and that Team Blade had nothing to do with them? Weren't we told that Tennouji had resigned from BOARD in disgrace after Undad let loose the Undead? But now we've got Tennouji cutting off their pay, demanding the return of their gear, and threatening them for their disobedience. I don't understand how any of this lines up with what we'd seen of Team Blade's dynamic over the last 44 episodes.

Or, if they wanted to do a thing where some authority figure tightens the leash, can it at least be someone Kenzaki, the star of the show, has met before? Tachibana is the only one who ever shared a line of dialogue with Tennouji before, and it was literally one line of dialogue. There's no history with him, no sense of respect that could be leveraged against our heroes. He's just some asshole who says he signs their checks. It'd be like if Kotaro's dad showed up to kick them out of the house. It'd be bad for the team, but it'd also feel completely unestablished.

So, yeah, Tennouji doesn't really work for me. Or, uh, didn't really work for me, since he got offed by Scissors Undead. That twist... I don't know, it was fine. I appreciate that someone in the cast brought up the possible loophole of all of the Battle Fight stuff, that no one technically has to win, but it was pretty clear Scissors wasn't just going to wander off to... I mean, what does he do with his days? He's always skulking around, smirking, watching people from behind trees and corners... shit, why wasn't Tachibana the one to reach out to him? They've got way more in common!

As it is, it's interesting that it's Mutsuki who tries to make peace with Scissors Undead, even if it's a little hard to square. He's clearly found a well of empathy after defeating the Spider Undead, and he's seen the possible good in the Undead. (Although, boy, seems like a bit of a stretch to file Tiger Queen under One Of The Good Ones. She was nice to Mutsuki, but she did not love humans!) It just comes off maybe a little too empathetic for me, a Mutsuki who wants to avoid fighting if possible. I got him not knowing if it was safe to be a Rider, a fear of his own power, but this is just a little too caring for him. I don't know. It didn't 100% work for me, but it's not a big deal since the show is mostly bringing it up specifically so it can close that door. Battle Fight has to finish. There will be a victor.

Wow, god, feels like I just shit all over this one. I honestly had a good time watching it! The fights were fun, and it was nice to see all the Riders teaming up again. I just, man, Tennouji's story never worked for me on anything other than a metaphorical level, and even that is very difficult to explain. (Like, this isn't really a show about structures, or hierarchies, and the whole point of having villains who are bosses is to interrogate the idea of structures and hierarchies. The only one who benefits from Tennouji as a metaphor is Tachibana, or Kenzaki circa episode 4-ish.) The idea of Undead/Human coexistence is worth addressing, but the show never really gave it a thought beyond Hajime before now, and he's basically the exception that proves the rule. (I guess Shima, too, for a portion of two episodes.) There's some very fun in-the-moment storytelling here, but talking about it just makes me think of the flaws, the ideas that feel shoehorned in or incongruent with the other themes. I don't know. I hope this made any sense!



Next time on Kamen Rider Blade: Team Blade versus Scissors Undead! Amane might finally learn the truth about her dad's death! And I guess we're at the point in the series where there are a bunch of soldier monsters running around! I'll see you on Monday!