Dusk
Member
Well, just finished watching Blade some hours ago, and after sniffing and trying to whipe my tears I've decided to make this thread to know your opinions on the series^^
(there be spoilers in my post for who haven't watched the series yet)
(in case you don't feel like reading a long post, I put it in hide tag) xD
[hide]I'd talk about what I dislike in the series first. Obviously the thing I guess many of you feel: the lack of focus on the title character. First 15 episodes or so made me think "this should be Kamen Rider Garren ==" (and this is also the part which develops the plot the most slowly). And then, it comes back to Kenzaki a bit in King Form arc and a few others, but most of the story is about Chalice, whose screen time is much more than the title Kamen Rider's. Another thing is that the actors sometimes kinda overreacted. I -hate- Tachibana's scream ==
And guess that's it. A few problems at the beginning.
... but the rest works, wonderfully.
(Now time for a fangirl to shout out loud :laugh: )
After wrapping Garren's arc, the plot gets very intriguing. I found myself watching episodes after episodes no matter how many times I told myself to stop. Cliffhanger ending for each ep, and the previews are just so charming for a weak fangirl's will to fall.
I love how the Undead in general and Royal Undeads in particular are written - the bad guys and good guys, what they say about fighting for their race, and their sacrifices for the Rider, who they considered enemies at first (Leangle, you got for yourself a Queen and a King T.T). I was really impressed by Category Queen Tiger's idea of fight and action as well as Category King Giraffe's (the last King, if I remember right) idea of peace (hell yeah this King's human form is so cool too! He might be the coolest human form for an Undead in the whole series.).
How the Riders develop is so interesting. While Kenzaki's personality doesn't change much throughout the series, and he remains with his heart of gold till the very very end, he has gone from the inexperienced Rider to the strongest of all, which made me feel pleased again after Chalice's overload in the show (don't get me wrong, I love Chalice). I found Tachibana rather annoying at first but he grew on me soon later. He seems to switch sides a lot, but everything makes sense and is well-explained. I love when Kenzaki gets upgrade form and Trial B tells Tachibana that deep inside he is jealous of and desires to defeat Kenzaki. I almost screamed "That's how it needs to be!", because this makes the character more complicated and human-like, with good sides and bad sides. However, he's a heroic Rider after all, and his fight with the last Category King is just epic. Mutsuki is also great. At the beginning he's clumsy, then becomes a jerk, and finally a hero. He fights against Tachibana for what he believes. (I still wonder, though, how Leangle could be the strongest - lol, maybe the Category Ace Spider is just boasting.) And Hajime... I like how his relationships with others evolve, especially with Kotarou and Kenzaki. I enjoyed all four Riders a lot, especially Blade.
Other characters are very well-written too. All the female allies are strong in their own ways. Sayoko in early episodes, Hirose at Trial B's arc and all over the series, Nozomi around Mutsuki especially the Category Queen Tiger's arc, and (omg I have to admit it) Amane, they're all awesome. I find Amane not very likeable although she has a strong character, but just my 2 cents. And Kotarou has nice development too.
For the last episodes I almost cried at 47 as I thought Tachibana was dead. But it soon became clear that he's not. Only one week from 47 to 48, (lol when compared to W's one year from 48 to 49), this should be fine to keep the series going through its last and most important events in 48 and 49.
It'd be a big mistake not mentioning the ending. Tragic and heroic. A foreseeable finale, but still made me cry so much. This ending is proof that the series can only be titled Kamen Rider Blade. It's not just Kenzaki turning himself into Joker, losing his humanity, he also distances himself very far away from all friends he has, and lives alone. It is somewhat happy for Hajime, but there remains questions that have been haunting me painfully, of where Kenzaki goes to and how he lives. No no, I'm not going to write more about this, or I'm gonna cry again! T.T
The suit design for Blade, Garren and Chalice didn't feel really eye-catching for me at first, because I didn't like their helmets (horns, and a big heart for the face, eh... not my cup of tea). But I really fell in love with the rest of the suit, probably because I'm a fan of chest and shoulder armors xD Leangle's suit catches my eye at first sight though, I like everything about it. Jack Form, King Form, Wild Chalice all RULES. Especially King Form. 13 Undeads, but completely free from what we call "fustercluck", each into a skillfully designed and carved pattern, adding excellent features to the suit. And the goldy shiny armor... who refuses to love it?
(but the scenes in which Blade's and Garren's helmet are broken kinda freaked me out. I keep thinking what would be the result if this happens to a Rider whose body is modified instead of wearing a suit.)
Oh yeah, now for the acting. This is not a superb duperb aspect of Blade like the way I feel about W's acting, but the actors/actresses did their work very well. I actually love Mutsuki being evil - his level of coolness when he acts cool is unpredictable in earlier episodes! Also, it is because of Tsubaki Takayuki as Kenzaki that I cried this much at the finale. His facial expression there won me over. I cried and will continue crying every time I re-watch Blade and see those sorrowful smiles and eyes, as well as those last drops of human blood.
Overall, a great series for me. Strong story, strong characters, a fitting ending which leaves a lot of deep impression. The writers have set up a great story based on fate and some great God-sama, which I usually have no interest in, and made me withdraw all my bias from before and when I first watched the show. Bad guys and good guys all rocks. Things are handled perfectly and without plot holes. Nice suit design, and thumps up for the card system. Blade surely won a place on my fav list of everything movies, not only on toku or Kamen Rider list.
[/hide]
(correct me if I'm wrong, and sorry for grammatical and vocab mistakes xD)
So, what are your opinions on this series? I'm really curious about what you guys think. ^^
PS: Oh, just remember another thing. After watching Blade I now understand where all the Junichi jokes originated from :laugh:
PS2: Just checked. This is my 101st post!
(there be spoilers in my post for who haven't watched the series yet)
(in case you don't feel like reading a long post, I put it in hide tag) xD
[hide]I'd talk about what I dislike in the series first. Obviously the thing I guess many of you feel: the lack of focus on the title character. First 15 episodes or so made me think "this should be Kamen Rider Garren ==" (and this is also the part which develops the plot the most slowly). And then, it comes back to Kenzaki a bit in King Form arc and a few others, but most of the story is about Chalice, whose screen time is much more than the title Kamen Rider's. Another thing is that the actors sometimes kinda overreacted. I -hate- Tachibana's scream ==
And guess that's it. A few problems at the beginning.
... but the rest works, wonderfully.
(Now time for a fangirl to shout out loud :laugh: )
After wrapping Garren's arc, the plot gets very intriguing. I found myself watching episodes after episodes no matter how many times I told myself to stop. Cliffhanger ending for each ep, and the previews are just so charming for a weak fangirl's will to fall.
I love how the Undead in general and Royal Undeads in particular are written - the bad guys and good guys, what they say about fighting for their race, and their sacrifices for the Rider, who they considered enemies at first (Leangle, you got for yourself a Queen and a King T.T). I was really impressed by Category Queen Tiger's idea of fight and action as well as Category King Giraffe's (the last King, if I remember right) idea of peace (hell yeah this King's human form is so cool too! He might be the coolest human form for an Undead in the whole series.).
How the Riders develop is so interesting. While Kenzaki's personality doesn't change much throughout the series, and he remains with his heart of gold till the very very end, he has gone from the inexperienced Rider to the strongest of all, which made me feel pleased again after Chalice's overload in the show (don't get me wrong, I love Chalice). I found Tachibana rather annoying at first but he grew on me soon later. He seems to switch sides a lot, but everything makes sense and is well-explained. I love when Kenzaki gets upgrade form and Trial B tells Tachibana that deep inside he is jealous of and desires to defeat Kenzaki. I almost screamed "That's how it needs to be!", because this makes the character more complicated and human-like, with good sides and bad sides. However, he's a heroic Rider after all, and his fight with the last Category King is just epic. Mutsuki is also great. At the beginning he's clumsy, then becomes a jerk, and finally a hero. He fights against Tachibana for what he believes. (I still wonder, though, how Leangle could be the strongest - lol, maybe the Category Ace Spider is just boasting.) And Hajime... I like how his relationships with others evolve, especially with Kotarou and Kenzaki. I enjoyed all four Riders a lot, especially Blade.
Other characters are very well-written too. All the female allies are strong in their own ways. Sayoko in early episodes, Hirose at Trial B's arc and all over the series, Nozomi around Mutsuki especially the Category Queen Tiger's arc, and (omg I have to admit it) Amane, they're all awesome. I find Amane not very likeable although she has a strong character, but just my 2 cents. And Kotarou has nice development too.
For the last episodes I almost cried at 47 as I thought Tachibana was dead. But it soon became clear that he's not. Only one week from 47 to 48, (lol when compared to W's one year from 48 to 49), this should be fine to keep the series going through its last and most important events in 48 and 49.
It'd be a big mistake not mentioning the ending. Tragic and heroic. A foreseeable finale, but still made me cry so much. This ending is proof that the series can only be titled Kamen Rider Blade. It's not just Kenzaki turning himself into Joker, losing his humanity, he also distances himself very far away from all friends he has, and lives alone. It is somewhat happy for Hajime, but there remains questions that have been haunting me painfully, of where Kenzaki goes to and how he lives. No no, I'm not going to write more about this, or I'm gonna cry again! T.T
The suit design for Blade, Garren and Chalice didn't feel really eye-catching for me at first, because I didn't like their helmets (horns, and a big heart for the face, eh... not my cup of tea). But I really fell in love with the rest of the suit, probably because I'm a fan of chest and shoulder armors xD Leangle's suit catches my eye at first sight though, I like everything about it. Jack Form, King Form, Wild Chalice all RULES. Especially King Form. 13 Undeads, but completely free from what we call "fustercluck", each into a skillfully designed and carved pattern, adding excellent features to the suit. And the goldy shiny armor... who refuses to love it?
(but the scenes in which Blade's and Garren's helmet are broken kinda freaked me out. I keep thinking what would be the result if this happens to a Rider whose body is modified instead of wearing a suit.)
Oh yeah, now for the acting. This is not a superb duperb aspect of Blade like the way I feel about W's acting, but the actors/actresses did their work very well. I actually love Mutsuki being evil - his level of coolness when he acts cool is unpredictable in earlier episodes! Also, it is because of Tsubaki Takayuki as Kenzaki that I cried this much at the finale. His facial expression there won me over. I cried and will continue crying every time I re-watch Blade and see those sorrowful smiles and eyes, as well as those last drops of human blood.
Overall, a great series for me. Strong story, strong characters, a fitting ending which leaves a lot of deep impression. The writers have set up a great story based on fate and some great God-sama, which I usually have no interest in, and made me withdraw all my bias from before and when I first watched the show. Bad guys and good guys all rocks. Things are handled perfectly and without plot holes. Nice suit design, and thumps up for the card system. Blade surely won a place on my fav list of everything movies, not only on toku or Kamen Rider list.
[/hide]
(correct me if I'm wrong, and sorry for grammatical and vocab mistakes xD)
So, what are your opinions on this series? I'm really curious about what you guys think. ^^
PS: Oh, just remember another thing. After watching Blade I now understand where all the Junichi jokes originated from :laugh:
PS2: Just checked. This is my 101st post!
Last edited:
Well, because from my post you can see how much I love the ending...
