History Characters / KamenRiderBladeProtagonists

* CantCatchUp: While his Ace Form is the most powerful of all Riders, he lacks a SuperMode. Even when the ''S.I.C Hero Saga'' gives him a Jack Form, he is still unable to fly (as the Category Jack of Clubs Undead is the Elephant Undead), is much slower than the other Jack Forms, and is expected to compensate through brute strength.

As the Battle Fight continues, Blade acquires the Rouse Absorber developed by Kei Karasuma, using it at first to assume Jack Form with the Category Jack of Spades ''Fusion Eagle'', and then [[spoiler:King Form, with the power of ''all 13 Category Spades Undead'' instead of merely the Category King of Spades ''Evolution Caucasus''. This increased King Form's power at the cost of eventually turning Kenzaki himself into a Joker Undead. He uses this in the finale to allow Hajime/the Black Joker to continue living as a human, yet with him as the 2nd Joker and to stay away from Hajime.]]\\
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Voted #1 Kamen Rider in the ''Kamen Rider Blade'' franchise, #20 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #25 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

By series end, with all other Undead sealed, he regresses to his true nature as the Black Joker, dooming life on Earth. Eventually Kenzaki takes it upon himself to defeat Hajime, not by sealing him (though this provides the plot of the Missing Ace film), but by becoming a Joker himself, allowing Hajime to resume living as a human with the Kuriharas.\\
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Voted #2 Kamen Rider in the ''Kamen Rider Blade'' franchise, #27 Kamen Rider in the Heisei era, and #33 Kamen Rider overall in NHK's All Kamen Rider Popularity Vote.

* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler: Most post-show appearances have him being cynical and ruthless, caused by becoming an Undead.]] Subverted in the Drama CD, where he remains caring and friendly.

* AmbiguousSituation: His appearance in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' is one, as multiple conflicting sources alternating between him being the very protagonist of Blade who became deluded from years of distancing from his friends and/or an AlternateSelf of Kenzaki.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Using Ace form alone, Kenzaki has outfought King and the Joker Undead. Likewise, via King Form, he defeated [[spoiler:the Kerberos Undead, a weakened Jashin 14 and Tsukasa Kadoya/Kamen Rider Decade in single-combat. ]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: As Blade, he represents the Suit of Spades, with its symbol also had an inverted heart shape. The Suit of Hearts Rider is Chalice, who is none other than the [[spoiler:Joker Undead. No guesses as to what became of Kenzaki in the final episode]].

* IneffectualLoner: Before the show.

* KnightInShiningArmor: Becomes one for two episodes to an orphan girl. Fitting, since European knights are one of his motifs as Blade.

* MasterSwordsman: Near the end, Kenzaki became one of the greatest sword wielders among all the Kamen Riders, if not the very best. He can even contend against Chalice and Glaive, both of whom are designed to be physically stronger than Blade. And then there's his mastery of DualWielding.

* WorldsStrongestMan: Among all the characters introduced in the series, he is clearly this by the end, given his accumulated experience and prowess. [[spoiler:It also helps that he became a Joker Undead.]]

* {{BFG}}: His SIC-only [[http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs37/f/2008/288/3/f/Garren_King_Form_by_AjDrawer.jpg King]] form wields one, dubbed the Heavy Rousing Gun King Rouzer. His King Form in ''Outsiders'' isn't as big, but not for that is less powerful.

* MightyGlacier: Not seen in-show, but the stats and appearance of his SIC-only [[http://insidemytoybox.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/sic-leangle-jack.jpg Jack]] and [[http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t124/UndetectedOne/LeangleKing.jpg King]] forms indicate that it trades speed and agility (Leangle Jack's jump height is listed less than one-fifth of Blade Jack's!) for sheer overwhelming power. Additionally, unlike the other Jack forms (not counting Chalice's Wolf Undead form) it lacks the ability to fly.

* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler: Most post-show appearances have him being cynical and ruthless, caused by becoming an Undead.]]. Subverted in the Drama CD, where he remains caring and friendly.

* {{Foil}}: Being the series' Second Rider, he serves as one to Kenzaki, both their motifs are based on a beetle sub-species, with Garren being based on a Stag Beetle to match Blade's Rhinoceros Beetle motif, along with their color of their rider forms are contrasts to each other. Not to mention unlike the AllLovingHero Kenzaki, Tachibana is not hesitant to seal the Undeads if it needs necessarily.

* MasterSwordsman: Near the end, Kenzaki became one of the great sword wielders among all the Kamen Riders, if not the very best. He can even contend against Chalice and Glaive, both of whom are designed to be physically stronger than Blade. And then there's his mastery of DualWielding.

* MasterSwordsman: Near the end. This allows Kenzaki contend with powerful foes like Chalice and Glaive, both of whom are designed to be physically stronger than Blade. And then there's his DualWielding.

* DualWielding: Let's just say that foes [[spoiler:like King and the Keroberos Undead]] are in for a world of pain whenever Kenzaki resorts to this. And there is King Form’s Straight Flush which summons the Blay Rouzer to let him perform a dual-sword strike FinishingMove.

* BlueIsHeroic: Blade is the first Kamen Rider protagonist with a blue color on his suit.

As the Battle Fight continues, Blade acquires the Rouse Absorber developed by Kei Karasuma, using it at first to assume Jack Form with the Category Jack of Spades ''Fusion Eagle'', and then [[spoiler:King Form, with the power of ''all 13 Category Spades Undead'' instead of merely the Category King of Spades ''Evolution Caucasus''. This increased King Form's power at the cost of eventually turning Kenzaki himself into a Joker Undead. He uses this in the finale to allow Hajime/the Black Joker to continue living as a human, yet with him as the Navy Joker and to stay away from Hajime.]]\\

* [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie And Then, Kenzaki Was an Undead]]: The result of King Form's prolonged use, it mutates him with the DNA of the fused Undead and turns him into an Undead himself.

the Kerberos Undead, and Jashin 14 as well, the latter being a literal god.

* DualWielding: There are a few times where he did this to gain advantage when fighting very strong Undeads. And there is King Form’s Straight Flush which summons the Blay Rouzer to let him perform a dual-sword strike FinishingMove.

* AllLovingHero: He is all too loud and can be quite ill tempered, but besides that is a nice person all around. This leads him to TakeTheThirdOption, save everyone and preserve Hajime's human existence instead of sealing him as all the other Undead. He even outrightly claimed to love everyone at one point of time.

* FriendlessBackground: He supposedly grew up alone and calls Kotaro his first friend, but doesn't always understand what it means to have friends.

* IneffectualLoner: Before the show. After his parents died, he was cold and antisocial, and didn't have friends. He outright calls Kotaro his first. Over the course of the show, the exact opposite happens, with him reaching out to everyone. Some of his previous attitude remains in his inability to comprehend that people want to reach out to him too.
* {{Irony}}: His Tackle Boar attack is almost always evaded by any enemy it's used against due to how predictable it is. The one time it ''does'' work is during the Hyper Battle DVD, where it's used against him by the fake Blade.

* KnightInShiningArmor: Becomes one for two episodes to an orphan girl. His default form already refers to a knight, anyway. King Form too, despite be, well, a king.

* MyGreatestFailure: He blames himself for not being able to save his parents and is motivated to protect anyone he can. It's also hard for him to comprehend that someone actually actually cares about him too as evident by his confusion when meeting Kotaro and Shiori's concern about him.
* PowerOfFriendship: His means of reaching out to people is convincing them he cares and that caring about someone is awesome.

* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler:Post-show appearances have him being a much colder individual who is more willing to kill. Funnily enough, justified by WordOfGod for Series/KamenRiderDecade attributing it to the Joker's influence on his psyche]].

* SuperMode: King Form. It goes hand in hand with DangerousForbiddenTechnique as if he overuses it, he will become an Undead.

* TokenHeroicOrc: Is the Joker Undead, and fights on the side of good for the majority of the series. Notably, within the entire franchise itself, he is the first Kamen Rider to neither be a human or a human modified/transformed into a superpowered-being.

* FatalFlaw: Tachibana's most defining weakness is his [[UnwittingPawn vulnerability to manipulation]] by those who [[DealWithTheDevil promised him a deal]], even if it means harming his own friends. He lost Sayoko as a result of Isaka's actions and almost endangering Kenzaki into Joker's mutation by Trial B. This flaw persists even after his series ended, first in ''Missing Ace'' when he ignored Kenzaki and co's warning that Shimura [[EvilAllAlong isn't who he seems to be]], and then in ''Outsiders'' when his active role in killing the Ark becomes the final push for Zein to reveal [[TheComputerIsYourFriend its true self]].

* LastNameBasis: Everyone calls him Tachibana. Even his girlfriend!

** Going with Yoshito[[spoiler:/Trial B]]'s plans on structuring Kenzaki's evolution his way. Not only did it lead to Kenzaki showing distrust towards him at one point, but Tachibana himself experiences a MyGodWhatHaveIDone reaction after finding out Hirose's true actions and Kenzaki going berserk in King Form.
** He has no issues relaunching the DeadlyGame ''[[Series/KamenRiderExAid Kamen Rider Chronicle]]'' in ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' to lure out and kill [[BoxedCrook Project Outsiders]], even though Masamune and Kuroto Dan had previously exploited it and its data to wreak havoc on the world. When Nico Saiba objects, Tachibana [[WouldHurtAChild threatens to execute her]] on the spot. [[spoiler:This gets Zein's admiration, who decides to up the ante by seizing control of the plan and using it to wage war on the human race, viewing ''everyone'' as equally disposable]].

* CantCatchUp: Garren's spin-off exclusive King Form only fuses with the Giraffa Undead, making it worse than Blade's King Form by definition sans a slight increase to speed. It does however serve as a blessing in disguise since [[spoiler:the low compatibility Tachibana has with the other Undeads makes it unlikely he will mutate into a third Joker]], and the form itself readily compensates by evolving the Garren Rouzer further into a massive rifle that can still accept the remaining Rouse Cards. On the other hand, ''Outsiders'' shows that his usage of a King Form is too much for him, [[spoiler:as he can only barely defeat Horobi as Ark-Zero before the form collapses and he falls tired to the ground.]]