"While airing..."

[Tom Constantine]

I think I recall this situation quite differently back then, everyone was slating it for the first half of the season, even quoting that the quality of Heisei Rider shows had dropped off completely.

It did get better and people enjoyed it, but even now, those suits are still ugly as hell.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

From the reactions I remember at Japan Hero, people seemed to really like Blade, because I remember being all "Doesn't anyone realize how horribly made this show is!?!?" Basically, the consensus was Blade was good, but not as good as Faiz, and Faiz was good, but nowhere near the "masterpiece" that was Ryuki.

Ryuki praise was inescapable. You'd think that was the show that started the franchise. Back then it was "Kuuga who? What's an Agito? Shouldn't Ryuki's awesomeness be recognized with an Emmy nomination? Screw The Sopranos!"

 

[Igadevil]

Until the final stretch, it was kind of overlooked in some places. I even a remember a "Why isn't anybody talking about Blade?" thread. :laugh: The ending did provoke some reactions, but not as strong as something like Decade's. My lasting memories of Blade when it aired was that people argued for-freaking-ever over whether Leangle's name was "Wrangle" or not, the very silly rumor about Tachibana going insane and killing Karasuma, and the Blade Box videos.

At the time I loved it, and it's still one of the top Heisei series IMHO, though I'm in the minority opinion on just about every aspect of the show (love the costumes, somewhat prefer the Missing Ace ending, think the pacing in the first half was fine, think the Mutsuki stuff didn't overstay its welcome, think "rebirth" was a good song, and so on.)

Considering there was a period where Blade was the only Kamen Rider I had access to, being pre-downloads (for me), pre-classic shows are all on DVD (and pre-me actually owning many of them on DVD as well as being at college away from my original series box and VHS tapes) I had to make due with questionable DVD-R's. So I guess it does have kind of a "stuck on a desert island" aspect where I got to watch it better than is probably healthy. But even still, it's a show I really enjoy and honestly I find it's one of the 2000's series that most captures the spirit of what I like about classic Kamen Rider (and Kamen Rider in general.)

 

[kokowaks]

I liked blade and probably all the heisei before it... They had the somewhat realistic approach to their respective settings and they don't necessarily follow the (bi)weekly arc format.. Sure their monsters may survive until the second week but there is an ongoing story beneath it that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next episodes thus the arcs interconnect with each other. The characters are dynamic and they don't have linear and cliched personalities...

right now i felt the trend somewhat brought the current shows down in terms of comprehension that the kids could easily relate with the characters... :disappoin

 

[The Analyzer]

I'm 12 episodes in so far and the show feels very different, since the writer was apparently new to Rider. I'm liking the characters and other aspects so far but it's different.

BTW, what was the reaction to the writer change midway through. Apparently, the original one stepped off due to not knowing how to deal with Toku shows?

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

BTW, what was the reaction to the writer change midway through. Apparently, the original one stepped off due to not knowing how to deal with Toku shows?

I kind of feel like...the English speaking fandom was not so aware or cared much about writers or who wrote what at the time...? I don't remember anyone (at Japan Hero, at least) talking about the writer change.

And I remember reading the original writer, Shoji Imai -- who had never done a toku or anime prior to Blade and was a TV drama writer -- ended up having scheduling issues and decided to leave the series. I don't think it was a big Hibiki scandal or anything. His last episode -- which is when Shima is sealed -- always seemed like an appropriate way for Imai to depart the series.

 

[Tom Constantine]

I think my opinion is slightly skewed because Blade made me drop out of the toku fandom until Kabuto came along. The first 12 episodes had so many problems with it that I couldn't have been the alone by just turning off.

People only became aware of writers during the Hibiki writer swap where the show drastically changed. Before it wasn't even considered a topic of conversation, but now people want to know whose working behind episodes before they even hear plots.

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

I'd think that if I flipped Hibiki on one day and instead of recaps... Asumu was falling off his bicycle down a hill because of some kid I'd have never seen before, I'd wanna know what was going on too. :sweat:

 

[Keith Justice]

Blade got me back n to Toku after... was it Hibki that made me drop out of it? It reminded me of the potential of Kamen Rider.

 

[VengeanceGOD]

Blade was my first rider show, and I was a regular member here while it was airing. It was very similar to thr atmosphere during Den-O; a series that was supposedly "dark and mature" (Faiz, Kabuto) had just finished, and the new series that tried to lighten the mood (Blade, Den-O) was considered heresy and anyone who liked it was an idiot. Seriously, it's funny how little Faiz is talked about now considering the worship it used to have. Now it seems Blade is popular, which is awesome because it's still my favorite, but back then it was well and truly hated.