Is Fourze as good as previous Kamen Rider series?
 

I ask this because I got really hooked to Fourze and then have sort of lost interest now that the "main characters" have all been identified and joined the Kamen Rider Club. Some of the best episodes in my opinion were the interactions and just waiting for them to join up and become "BEST FRIENDS!".

I ... haven't seen an episode in about a month :(

He's still out there trying to be friends with everyone though!

While Fourze hasnt really hit it's stride yet it probably depends on what you like in a series. There are better and there are worse.

For me personally Fouze is probably 6th on my list of favorites behind Double, Blade, Kabuto, OOO, and Faiz but once the series ends who knows where it'll rank. But someone else could come and tell you Kiva's eons better than Fourze.

Edit: I helped so much I'm sure :lol

You haven't missed a lot though, given this past week had a hiatus.

And the last couple episodes were pretty solid. Now that they've IDed everyone, we're getting some different stories and starting to find out more about the bad guys.

Episode 15 had a revelation re: the Zodiarts/Horoscopes that blew my mind. Plus, now that Libra's in play, things are more interesting as he has different methods than Scorpion that are more than just the simple "give away Zodiart switches to every malcontent in the school and let them go berserk on their new power" strategy.

Plus, we just got Meteor. Which could make things more interesting as we got a cold intro in that we know nothing about him other than he's Meteor. Admittedly I don't know how it's been done in other shows as the only other KR I've seen is Double, but Accel's introduction was far more involved. Meteor's intro is interesting as he just shows up out of nowhere and starts doing stuff.

One thing I'm liking about Fourze though is the level of teamwork. Shun/Kengo are very much integral members of the combat support team, and everyone else has a well-carved out role to play on the team as well. Though honestly, Yuki's is the least defined other than her enthusiasm/awesome Hayabasa-kun song.

It pretty much is a matter of preference. Fourze is very light hearted compared to series like Kuuga or Agito, which were far more dramatic. But it has a heart to it that makes watching it very enjoyable, partially from just how well Gentaro is portrayed. Personally Agito is my favorite followed by Double, but Fourze is making a pretty good go at making my top 5.

I think it is.

All shows are slow going in the first part, where the writer are trying to find exactly where to take the latter half of the show. Just look at Blade, it had a damn rocky start, but has one of the most loved endgames.

I have seen some good tings so far, the friends dynamic between gentaro and the KRC, the idea's behind the Horoscopes and how only some have the ability to exceed Last one (not unlike the Seed of Agito in a way). But Gentaros ham headedness can get annoying at times, and the fact we are running with a "Breakfast Club" dynamic for the main supporting cast.

I think it has the chops, but it remains to be seen if it goes anywhere.

Fourze has exceeded my expectations and is a rather solid show. Kamen Rider Meteor though, fails to impress.

I totally enjoy the light-heartedness, and really like the idea of "high school" playing a role in it. I'm just curious if they will eventually arch the story into something bigger and badder and forgive the term "epic" than just episode after episode of fighting off the new Zodiart as the Dean/Principal whatever shakes his fist and/or laughs.

We've seen a few minutes of Meteor, with him barely doing anything except counter Libra. It's WAY too early to judge him, I'd say.

I'm most interested in the fact that Kengo seemed to recognize the belt/switch, unless I'm misreading the implied body language or something (which is possible).

They're going to have to do SOMETHING. They've already said there's 8 more Horoscopes that have yet to be discovered, and unless they're saving them for the endgame, I hope we get some more students evolving into Horoscopes.

It really depends on your taste really. I've asked a couple of people I know what they think about Fourze and if they think its as good as other series. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes no, but thats usually because they have OOO still fresh in their mind.

In my opinion, yes. Its different, but that also helps it as it is doing an idea that quite honestly most of us would expect from Power Rangers in that its based in High School. I'm enjoying the villains and I can't wait to see who and how the other Horoscopes look like.

Also, the OST for it is very good for my tastes.

I eagerly await when we've had all the Horoscopes turn up in the series.

Then someone can do a Fourze music video to Weird Al's Horoscope Song.

I've watched the first few episodes (and have downloaded more) but I don't feel very strongly about it. Am slowly getting into older KR, tho'.

I dont think its as good as Double was, especvially as there seems to be alot of useless stuff like a number of switches have become (hopping, Flash, Magic Hand, Pen, Chain Array and a few others), and im still not a fan of the suit designs.

but all that aside I do really like the show Gentarou is awesome and the comradery is awesome as well.

For me, Fourze is just average. It hasn't really done anything for me yet that I can't find in another Rider series and it's spent most of it's runtime setting up the KR Club. I'm hoping now that Meteor has shown up things will get a bit more exciting.

That's kinda a function of the number of switches though, and the fact that it's the protagonist who's using them in Fourze as opposed to Double, where all the bad guys have different Gaea Memories.

Though the multiple switches fits with the space theme, given space stations/rockets tend to have different modules that can plug in. Admittedly though some of them are underused in my opinion, but that's gonna happen.

I'm quite surprised at the speed they're introducing the switches at though - they're already onto the early 20s, and indications are we'll have the cellphone gadget/switches (30-31) very soon. I suspect that by the midpoint, we'll have had all or almost all 40 switches revealed at this rate, which means that they have to fall back on story/switch combos rather than showing off the cool new switches.

Same thing happened to me but that's not too unusual on my part. I'll often put down a KR about 10 episodes in then come back around the mid point. Almost didn't come back to Kabuto or OOO - glad I did on Kabuto, but kinda wished I'd let OOO go. I've enjoyed Fourze so far and have high hopes on returning to it but I can't go so far as to judge it against other series yet. It IS very different from most KR though so I wouldnt really use it as a barometer anyway.

Blade and 555 are still my favorites - but now that style is ridiculed as emo :(.

So far I am enjoying Fourze but I understand why many folks don’t like it especially compared to what has come out in the recent years. Right now Fourze is more about the characters that are around the main hero then the hero himself. And let’s face it, a super cheery main hero who’s goal is to ‘have all the friends’ isn’t exactly compelling. And let’s face it, the show is simply taking all the high school stereotypes and running with them.
On major complaint I do have about the show is the villains. What the heck is the point of finding the 12 zodiac underlings? I’m sure it will be revealed at some point but we are nearly 20 episodes in and there has been ZERO mention as to what the bad guys are actually after. At least in OOO and Double the viewer had some understanding about the villains motivation.

I am liking Fourze more and more every week. Can't really tell you why though haha.

I do tend to typically think Fourze is highly entertaining.

The thing about it has been, I took to it much faster than I ever did OOO. While it's not yet reached the heights of some of the previous shows YET, it's also not reached the lows. OOO had some spectacular and amazing moments as it went on, but at the same time I thought it had a mind numbingly slow build up to those things, and an iffy conclusion to it all in the end.

Can't say where Fourze's going to go on that spectrum, but all told it is solidly entertaining, and that's where it counts the most.

Fourze is pretty good.
It's certainly ranking pretty high. It's funny, the action is great, and the characters are enjoyable.

I really dig it. The zodiarts all look awesome, the cast are likable and actually have an active part in things and i like all the forms so far. If it keeps its pace and writing i can see it becoming my favourite series =)

I really enjoy Fourze, which is a pleasant surprise because I hated everything about it when news of it first started to come out, but I was pretty much sold when I found out Nobuyuki Hiyama was the narrator.

I've really taken a liking to the series. So far its impressed me a lot more than OOO's at this point. I just hope it continues this quality. About Meteor With the preview for 17 I'm getting serious GL vibes. Since it looks like he got his powers from an alien

I really like Fourze. It had me hooked from episode 1 and W is the only other KR that had me from ep 1, but then again I've only seen W, OOO, and Kiva all the way through so I'm a bit new to KR. But I do think me liking Fourze immediately probably had to do with the light-hearted nature of it since I had just finished Kiva (which was rather serious and dark at times) so it was a big change of pace that I liked.

I dig Fourze so damn much.
When it's stupid, it rolls in it.
When it's serious, it pulls it off.

The thing I like the most about Fourze is how they handle the "Stupid" switches.
Fan reaction: "this is so stupid fourze confirmed for worst rider"
Fourze reaction: "This is so stupid how am I going to u-OH SHIT THIS SWITCH MATERIALIZES METAL"

Yeah, I will give Gentarou that.

He knows how to turn the most insane power-ups to his advantage.

Its pretty good :thumb:
the only thing I don't like is Gentaro keeps tranforming in public. For me whats the point of wearing a mask if everyone knows who you ar:confused:e

Most Kamen Riders seem only vaguely concerned about that, at times.

I mean. Shoutarou and Terui actively tried to keep a secret identity, and they'd still transform in front of folks at the drop of a hat. Shoutarou's enemies knew who he was after ten episodes.

And given that there's things like twitter and Facebook, in this day and age...Gentaro's secret identity won't stay secret for long. One thing I noticed about Toku though is that it never really seems to be an issue.

I like Fourze as much as, if not more than OOOs at this point. I just hope it'll keep going strong and not fall apart towards the end like OOOs did.

Still like W better, though. I just like those characters more, though the Fourze cast is growing on me.

Never mind it's a HIGH SCHOOL.

I'd find it very implausible at this point for him to have a "secret" identity if it was handled realistically.

Has anyone else noticed that the show seems to lack every form of daily technology? No cellphones, tablets or even computers are shown (except the super tech suitcase). I have a feeling that this show is kind supposed to exist in the early 90's.

I remember Tomoko using a Tablet in I think the Second Episode when they were trying to find out who the Orion Zodiart was. I may have the episode wrong, but I remember she used a Tablet. And cellphones? Most of them use one. But I see where you are going that it feels like it might be set in the 90's.

Ah, you're right. She did use an Ipad. Heck, Apple products were all over OOO. Ankh constantly used and ipad at the beginning of the series. He even mentioned at one point that it was pretty awesome. :P

That brings up a question I had. Was OOOs sponsored in part by Apple of Japan or something? Cause that level of product placement usually requires one hell of a monetary influx.

For me? No. It's not bad. But it's not great. I'm enjoying it well enough but its very average. That and if you've got any experience of highschool action anime or manga, the last 17 episodes have been disturbingly predicatable. Not a single shock...bar the fact Meteor is Bruce Lee

I am not a big fan of Fourze. It's not awful, but it's no where near the train wrecks that were shows like faiz and kabuto.

Personally I think, no, Fourze is not as good as some previous ones. I won't count Double because I've heard quite enough people say "___ isn't as good as Double." Double's a solid show though.

I think that Fourze needs some time to grow. I've seen it have some writing flubs and running changes that are not at all subtle to me, but I'm keeping in mind that the writer has never done a Kamen Rider show before and - unless there's something I don't know about him - has a small resume consisting of a stage play and two anime series. So a live action toku might be unfamiliar ground for him. However, that said, I do like their choice of direction. I think things will shape up better after a while.

Fourze is definitely not for everyone - it's definitely like Den-O in that it's just too silly for its own good - but I think it's something where, if it works for you, it REALLY works for you.

I will say this about it. Since I started watching KR regularly and while they were airing (mid-Decade is when I started up), this is the only one that I will not let que up before watching. Normally with W and with OOO's I would let 4-5 episodes go, and then watch them all in a row. The minute a subbed Fourze episode is out, I am downloading it and watching it. Says something about the show I guess.

I'm really enjoying Fourze. It manages to pull off both silliness and seriousness without any problems, and even manages to blend the two together sometimes. So far every switch that has given me a "wtf" reaction when its revealed/leaked has turned out to be not just funny but well utilised in battle.

As for it being better than previous series'...I've only seen Decade so far, and it was better than that.