About what the camera is hidden, this is about a newer show, where I watched this older one more recently, but it reminds me of Neon's DezaStar stint in Geats. About a female competitor being instructed to sabotage, and both cases involve cards even (I really wanted if Geats gave more about complete list of cards Neon got). The series already have Gentaro insisted that Yuki would never do it on purpose, but Neon also is unwilling to really hurt or sabotage the other participants, doing bare minimum of the tasks and is shown hesitating, with DGP upping the ante of the consequences later. Otherwise, though Yuki didn't know at first that Erin injured her, Yuki still knows that Erin was hostile to her and tried to bring her down when she's promoted, but Yuki still tries to get Erin to just leave her and win the race.

Their final duel rather reminds me of W vs Makoto/Jewel Dopant before, where despite the MOTW's apparent invincibility (Jewel's toughness and Aquarius' regen), they're given weakpoints that instantly defeats them after it got hit. W still uses his Prism Break finisher to do that, but Fourze simply uses Claw for more hitboxes to hit both shoulders at once. No new combination, just simple Claw, albeit it seems that Claw has advantage for being used with Barizun Sword than in base form of being big. Erin directly thanked Gentaro for defeating her as a Zodiart onscreen, where Tamae and Ritsuko was only later stated as being grateful for that to initially ask Gentaro for prom.

Yeah, this is rather like Ryuki or perhaps also Build ending, but applied on only one person. Erased memories, means erased development for the character (like for Erin to not jump over conclusions in why the camera was hidden). I can accept this for something like Ryuki as it's about the world being made better without war (and it's Shinji's achievement), though yeah the development for people like Kitaoka would be canceled, but it does feel rushed to have Erin instantly being besties with Gentaro and Yuki at the end unlike this 2-parter process. It should be inevitable that the villains would displease us, not only for killing off characters, but also erasing Erin's memory, but perhaps the outcome should be like Nadeshiko in Megamax where she just walks past Gentaro and the other KRC where this can seem to be forced happy ending. Albeit, for part of being fine with two strangers saying they're her friends part, it rather have happened to me too, dunno if this counts as stranger, but a beautiful co-worker in different division that I never interact before, having her consistently greeting me when I come pass, despite me never interacting with her that time. When I later asked why (first time I directly interact, btw), she said it's because we're friends and she claims she wants to befriend anyone.

Guess Ryusei, despite well, being forgiven after murdering Gentaro (proving that Gentaro's method worked on him), or well, he himself choosing to trust Aries to cure Jiro, can still think Gentaro was naive for trying to help a Zodiart. Though obviously, as Ryusei already fully developed since ep. 32, he can easily accept that Gentaro can tame Erin at the end of the episode, where secondary Riders who are still assholes may dismiss the main protagonist's achievements. And for cheating part, Gentaro screams at his friends to stay back during his duel with Erin anyway. Dunno if it's the KRC being invited for the final test, I feel it's just Gentaro or Ryusei following them up to fight off Zodiarts. The test was all just Zodiart plan anyway to find suitable Horoscopes.

I just wanted to point out that I love how you can tell we're all watching different subs because we're all calling this girl by a different name.

I know one group went with Erin because “Suda Erin” is an anagram of “Eridanus”, a river related to Aquarius.

Ohh, if so, nice. Nice wordplay. :rock:

Yeah, I think this is just a classic Kamen Rider situation where one Rider's natural inclination to distrust the motivations of an enemy is overruled by their trust in the main Rider. Ryuusei's growth isn't in trusting Zodiarts, it's in trusting that Gentarou knows what he's doing.

It's a tribute to Erin's difficulty nailing Japanese pronunciation!

The sad thing is that I think Elleen was sincerely offering Yuki helpful advice at first, but Yuki responded with even more ROCKET GOD which could easily be taken as dismissal. This does seem like an example of Yuki being rude, not only deranged. It's a plot that only works due to Yuki acting like this and hiding the camera parts for a reason she cannot explain. Gentarou and the audience know that Yuki isn't a bad person, but Yuki sure gives Elleen a lot of reasons to think poorly of her, all snowballing from that first impression.

I don't mind Tomoko participating in the space cadet training while being irrelevant to the plot, since I thought that worked okay for the Hound Zodiart arc. Shun, Miu and JK really are just there in Rabbit Hatch though.

Congrats on your 7000th post!

Gentarou is a true friend for honoring Elleen's wish to settle her fight with Fourze, even though he knew it would be a heartbreaking conclusion. He always cares about people's feelings, even when they're misguided and I think this is a rare bittersweet yet important message for the show that sometimes the help your friends want isn't the help you want to give. As Fish pointed out, Cosmic States has the tears that Fourze's previous States don't, so this is pretty appropriate to show that Gentarou has moments of suffering like other Riders.

What was that dude even looking at on his phone to be so distracted?!

I wouldn't say JK is a victim here though, as the mockery he received did help him realize early that he lacked the talent for his dream and led to him finding small success as Gene in a "so bad it's good" kind of way, just not how he had envisioned like his father. His motivation is sympathetic at best and his decision to sacrifice his captive fans' and friends' health for hollow fame is rightfully called out as wrong and something that a KRC member without Switch influence should know better.

Yeah, an extreme aversion to boredom is surely a weakness in many situations. If a tedious topic drags for too long, I start looking for tangents, which depends on how fast I can react. I also get irritable if my environment is too quiet or still.

I guess, what gave me this vibe was this part of your review:

It rather reads as if what's bad is JK leaving the KRC to be a musician, as JK's described as self-serving and cowardly following "he completely gave up on the KRC in order to pursue his dream" or "throwing them aside for fame". Though dunno if I just miss out something like joke again or such which, sorry. And I know that you did write the following about JK relying on Capricorn Zodiart power and wanting to surpass reality before, which may be the explanation on the above on how JK is cowardly and self-serving, just that the "giving up the KRC" or "throwing friends aside" for fame part can feel separate.

Guess this can be like Yuki's take in early arc's two-parters involving KRC member provoking the MOTW like how Shun treated Miura or JK treated Nitta, albeit it can be harder to see as Yuki wasn't intending to be rude, though yeah she's flanderized as deranged here which can give unwittingly rude behavior. Flanderization usually favors rule of funny over character depth, consistency, or development, and this can be why I'm doubtful over having several different writers or other different staff members in production. Many people defend or justify openly jerkish and rude behaviors (and Yuki here is only subtle) from flanderization as it's just meant for comedy, which involves if a character constantly beats up others like Ran does in ep. 29-30.

It's heartbreaking, but I felt (can be corrected though) that the heartbreaking part is canceled by the rushed bestie in the end part for Erin so all seems fine and happy and the heartbreaking conclusion and stake is canceled. I mean, obviously Gentaro or Yuki would want to be quickly friends, just that previously it seems to take 2 whole episodes before for Erin to truly bond with them, but the ending has it being taken for just mere seconds. Sento and Banjo retained their memories at the end of Build, while Shinji and Ren didn't recognize each other, though they stare at each other for some time.

I actually refer to how it's a weakness if one can only make friendships through having a common hobby, where they'd be not versatile in building relationship.

Thanks! It's all due to the cosmic power of our bonds!

Ironically, he was reading a social media post about a Zodiart rampaging on a pedestrian trail near a baseball game. (I sometimes miss writing fic!)

It's maybe a little hard to explain, but what I was trying to get at is that JK's actions in the story are him trying to be the guy that he thinks he is -- cowardly, self-serving, willing to sacrifice others in service of his own needs -- while he's actually grown and changed so much since his first spotlight that he can't fully be that guy anymore, and he needs his friends to remind him of that.

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE - ASTROSWITCH SECRET REPORT

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Not my favorite style of these TV-kun specials – clip-show-style stuff that’s largely explaining the toys and/or forms – but something about making Ryuusei participate in it creates some incredibly fun energy and absurdity to the proceedings. It honestly gets slightly more boring when Gentarou shows up, mostly because Gentarou’s canon buy-in for any inane/insane task is immediate, where Ryuusei would never act like this on the TV show, so it’s more fun to watch him riff on collectibles at Tachibana’s bizarre insistence. (Tachibana, again: the right pick, comedically! Way less funny if this was Yuuki!)

The actual jokes and commentary are barely dad jokes, and it never feels like there’s an escalation of the plot so much as there’s some minor deviations to how the jokes are constructed in each section, but the connective tissue of Ryuusei’s overheated excitement and Gentarou’s overbearing teamwork allows both actors to do some quality comedic acting. This is maybe my favorite version of the Gen/Ryu team?! Look at these two goofs:

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KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 39 - “THE NEW SCHOOL RULES”

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Setting aside a brief detour into an Emoto Exposition Encounter, I thought was a pretty tight and classic Fourze episode!

So, befitting the topic, let’s push off the discussion of the main plot of this episode – Sugiura’s dictatorship – to briefly touch on Emoto, whose presence in this episode is charming (the actor’s just got a real genial vibe to his wistful recollections and occasional flashes of hollowed-out warnings) while still feeling vaguely perfunctory, like we hit Episode 39 so it’s time to get a few more nuggets about how Emoto, Gamou, and Kengo’s dad fit together way back when. I don’t know that any of the information is new (at the very least, it doesn’t exactly feel revelatory), but Emoto’s tone here makes things slightly more dangerous and imminent. Like, it’s a good scene, but it never quite feels like it’s supposed to be in this story? This episode, sure; the Horoscopes meeting is like the B-side to this Emoto subplot. But it’s sort of random how we get to it, and Sugiura’s disappearance to deal with Gentarou feels mildly out of character – isn’t this an important seminar that he’s just bailing on to deal with Gen right this second? I mean, he has to leave so Kengo can monopolize Emoto’s time with Switch business, but that just puts more of a spotlight on how contrived this bit of backstory is to a largely separate story.

But that separate story is real good! It mostly includes everyone in it, although Miu and Shun’s contributions continue to feel like the production team is grasping at straws to keep them involved, especially with stories that are centered on the school campus. I like the premise, though – the school’s doing a fun fascism, which Kamen Riders are uniquely suited to take down. Creating a reason for Gentraou to have to defeat the villain while Fourze is magically barred from fighting, that’s cute. I like a complication like that, to force Gen and JK (if no one else) to have to use their wits when their dance skills and/or double dutch skills fail them, and pummeling is off the table. Getting to watch them dress up in goofy uniforms and go undercover… like, that’s such an Act One version of this show? It’s low-stakes, just this whole thing about overbearing rules and lack of individuality, dressed up in goose-stepping hall monitors and breakdancing competitions for people’s souls. There’s for sure going to be a second part to this story that delves into Sayaka’s accident and Sugiura’s motivation and it’s probably going to be slightly tragic, but this one’s just loopy nonsense, orbiting a story about control and safety and what we lose when we don’t let our lives have any risk.

There’s, again, a real classic appeal to that kind of Fourze story. If it splits up the cast a little too much (I think we get one KRC scene in the Rabbit Hatch?), then at least it shifts around the characters for a variety of fun groupings – Kengo/Yuuki/Tomoko and JK/Ryuusei/Gen, then Ryuusei/Kengo/Tomoko and Gen/Yuuki. (JK is off enjoying the addictive pleasures of enforcing a fascist regime, surely nothing that has any modern or historic parallels, just some flight of fancy from a TV show designed to sell toys to Japanese children.) Otherwise, we’re in a full-on Amanogawa High episode, filled with returning background characters, and largely set within school grounds. As this show goes further afield for space camps and school trips and spring breaks and exchange programs, it’s sort of nice to just spend a couple episodes with the normal student body, dealing with ridiculous school rules. It’s a throwback in the best way possible.

I just hope the Emoto stuff feels less shoehorned in next time!

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My main question about this plot is, Horoscope powers or no, aren’t the rules Sugiura enforces generally decided upon by the school board, not the student council? Between this and the previous show’s 30-40 two parter, I wonder if the writers even know how rules are implemented.

Based on literally everything we've been shown about Gamou's leadership as both a Horoscope and the school's Chairman, I cannot envision any oversight whatsoever to the students, especially anything that would interfere with Zodiart schemes. Gamou is pretty lax when it comes to what happens inside his school, while Hayami is always supportive of discipline being enforced, so this all sort of tracks for me?

(I think the bigger issue is, like, do none of the teachers have a take on this? There are students dragging each other away for punishment, and we don't exactly see this paying off for classes or whatever; there're no classes in this episode about the school's functioning, and Ohsugi only appears in the Rabbit Hatch!)

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 40 - “SCARY STUFF! BAD GIRLS”

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It’s always weird rewatching these Rider shows, because I feel like I remember it all well enough, and then there’s a curveball like Episode 40 of Fourze. This one weirdly pivots away from the Golf Battle cliffhanger from last time to give us a smaller story between Yuuki and Miu, but with enough of the larger Horoscopes storyline to make this all still feel like Kamen Rider Fourze instead of a completely different show.

Sort of amazing that it took until Episode 40 to give us a legit Yuuki/Miu story, right? There’s not really much in the way of any of the girls from the KRC getting plots that put them in opposition, certainly compared to the growing list of stories where Gentarou feuds with one of the other boys. And Yuuki and Miu specifically… there’s a lot that you can talk about? They're some of the earliest KRC members, there's a kind of mentor/student vibe sometimes, they were at opposite ends of the social spectrum at school, etc etc etc. This episode opts to revisit the rivalry that was hinted at back when Miu flirted with leaving the KRC behind, before she realized that it’d mean I stopped watching the show in protest. It’s grounded more in their friendship than anything like relationship drama (like in that earlier Miu Leaves plot), which is likely a credit to guest-writer Kobayashi, who is a pretty mega name for a one-off fill-in like this, considering you’d think she’d be busy writing Go-Busters at the time.

Despite coming in cold, the script is electric, keeping Gentarou, Kengo, and Shun off to the side, and letting Miu and Yuuki carry the drama and the action themselves. (Well, Shun’s caught up in the drama a little at the beginning, and tries his whole “manly man” toughness to break up the tension, but he’s typically hapless in the attempt.) Bringing in a couple of new Horoscopes would normally be something I’d roll my eyes at, but a) we are fully in the phase of the show where Horoscopes suddenly pop up in sequence like they were all on the same bus that was delayed, and b) the new ones are pretty cool? I like how the Pink Horoscope and Yellow Horoscope have this rivalry that mirrors the one between Yuuki and Miu, but turned up to Villainy. Miu and Yuuki let their rivalry affect their teamwork, leading to Miu’s brief capture, while the Horoscopes let their rivalry lead to the Pink Horoscope’s defeat.

For its first appearance, it was kind of nuts to see the Pink Horoscope go Supernova? And I guess Emoto is supplying the KRC with a mech? (It looks a bit like the Go-Busters fusion from the Taisen flick, but that was Sentai, so it’s probably just a coincidence; could also be a Kobayashi reference?) Meanwhile, not a huge episode for Ryuusei, despite where we left things last time – he just shows up in the end with his own mech to help defeat the Supernova’d Pink Horoscope, and that’s it. (I assume Tachibana is supplying Meteor’s mech? Weird how similar in design it is to Emoto’s!) I don’t love it when Rider shows go giant-sized for an episode’s climax – save it for Sentai, you know? – but I thought doing it with practical effects this time kept it watchable.

More than anything, I’m just glad we got a story that paired up Miu and Yuuki! A story where two young women in school work out their issues while fighting monsters… only in Fourze, you know?

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Virgo turning into a flower makes sense. You know, virgins are associated with flowers in symbolism

It's indeed a common and normal rule for a school to forbid students from having specialized outfit, hairstyle, or accessories. This episode, even the Horoscopes, describe this as suppressing the freedom and individuality of students, where schools are a place to make students obedient as Sayaka said, with the dark implication so that they won't question the corruption around them and can be controlled like pawns, with Keisuke being literally brainwashed by Taurus later. Now this is done by a student, including a council, rather than Satake or Ohsugi before. It should be clear that if Zodiart corrupts the user, it's what made Sugiura become a dictator as Gentaro already know he's Taurus. Otherwise, this episode seems to show that Gentaro's firmly on chaotic side of good. People has positive connotations with the term law and negative with chaotic, but good doesn't equate lawful, where it's chaotic for Gentaro to focus very strongly on individual rights and freedoms, and will strongly resist any form of oppression of themselves or anyone else, like the law and rules, relying on conscience rather than conduct to do good.

The one who uses a Switch is instead Fourze's base form, showing off new variations of Giantfoot attacks (can be from side too), with Cosmic States only beating up Taurus with Barizun Sword. Gentaro roots for JK against Sugiura because the current context is about him trying to dismantle to council's rules, but I wonder if this is in more neutral situation, it might be natural for people to think Gentaro would root for his friends (means the one that hangs out with him visibly, but it's just more about them being major character that the story follows) over random people, but Gentaro wants to befriend everyone, so this should extend to the dance competitors too. I guess it was a mistake for me to assume JK should be less athletic than Miu, because he constantly runs from trouble, but he gotta be athletic to some degree like Miu as a breakdancer, and there's a reason why JK is the one the story made to be another Power Dizer user, alongside the one called King and Queen.

Ohsugi's antagonism to the KRC before was also about disobeying rules such as Yuki adding space-themed books in the library. Ohsugi still has some subtext with Gentaro even before joining KRC like getting him to talk in his room because he's lonely, but he still seems to respect rules more to praise Gentaro for finally behaving 'properly' like uniform and hairstyle, but still, wonder what'd be Ohsugi's reaction towards the rules enforced by the student council. If Miu and Shun being involved at this point is shoehorned, them graduating and being busy on college may be the right call. I wonder if Kengo can know Meteor's Switches too and act as technical support for both Riders, but Ryusei gotta keeping his secret outside of KRC may limit communication between him and the other members too in fight.

Oh, Yuuki's in this.

Did not even clock that that was Virgo! Thanks!

I think Ohsugi on his own (without the added context of the KRC) would be excited initially, and then partially concerned, and then completely overwhelmed -- we have about 20 episodes along these exact lines!

I knew a true Fourze fan would recognize that shot!

Wow, did it? I mean, we've established I haven't watched the show in a while, but I could've sworn there was another episode way back around like, 17 or so, that also put a strong focus on their relationship. I recall it being a pretty affecting little story? One I think of pretty frequently when I think of this series, even! Kind of scary to think how poorly I actually remember this show, but at least I can trust that Die would never get these sorts of things mixed up!

It's what I'm best known for! Well, that and my fervent fandom for Sentai, but that's not pertinent to this discussion.

Not having enough staff can also be a problem though, like for example, a single writer suffering burnout at a critical point in the work. Inoue claims he's immune to this, but there are many who aren't. Generally, I think it's important that the staff are a good match for each other and to keep a limit on how many are involved at once. Too many cooks spoil the broth, after all. Personally, I think Gotchard is a great recent example of various writers Gotcha-N-Going together in a successful way. Maybe we should consider what Fish mentioned in the Rider watch thread as well, which suggests that Nakamura was okay with Sanjo making Yuki a little insane and then it escalated.

It's pretty cool how the breakdancing and double dutch contests show off Gentarou's and JK's actors' physical skills, while Sugiura relies on CGI. It ironically makes the losers look cooler to me.

Sugiura's motivation will have to be more than slightly tragic to make up for him calling Tomoko disgusting though.

Where'd the diabolical student council go anyway? Shouldn't they be doing something about all those black uniforms? Surely this is a violation of the Amanogawa bylaws!

Oh, you must be referring to that episode where Yuki got poisoned by Scorpio so Miu feigned betrayal to get the antidote. I'm surprised Die never talked about her impressive act, being such the Miu fan.

I gotta do everything around here? I thought we were a team! A team of five to six color-coded heroes!

I already have my responsibility to praise Tomoko!

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 40 - “OF VALUES AND PASSION”

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I like the little friendship between Tomoko and Emoto. It’s cute, and fragile, in an episode that’s otherwise ridiculous and melodramatic. It’s an oasis of two people finding a little bit of connection amidst cosmic machinations and post-traumatic witch disorder, and I really appreciated that this strange association, of all things, was the way into the reveal that Emoto is Virgo.

It’s something I’m sure we’ll be talking more about soon, but I liked how it all ended up getting revealed, and I like that the show chose this specific episode in which to reveal it. We’re in a story about guilt, and love, and bad choices made in the aftermath of tragedy, and how dreams can get warped into something more nefarious when left to curdle, so that is exactly when you do a little subplot revealing that the generous and kind scientist is actually a Horoscope who may or may not be working to enact Gamou’s villainous schemes. Perfect place for it!

The rest of the episode… I don’t know, it wasn’t for me? There’s kind of three main things going on here – the Emoto/Tomoko/Virgo stuff, the Gentarou/Sayaka stuff, and the Meteor/Taurus/Golf stuff – and they’re all working at such different tonal levels and placed in somewhat haphazard ways, so the end result is more about picking through what’s offered, rather than enjoying a complete package.

Like, in nearly any other episode, “Meteor duels a Horoscope in golf to free the enslaved souls of Amanogawa High” would be the climax of the story, because it’s BY FAR the most memorable and iconic thing to happen here. It’s Meteor! Playing golf for the first time! To defeat a bull-themed fascist! And he wins by using his power-up’s cartoony finisher!!! Instead, this episode drops it in the middle, where Taurus refuses to accept his defeat, and the episode just rolls on to a histrionic climax that’s more about Virgo's warnings than anything else. I can sort of see the episode trying to tie together its various threads this way, turning each resolution into a new problem, but the result just makes each preceding element seem like it was a distraction from the current one; the golf thing didn’t matter, then the Taurus thing didn’t matter, now here’s Virgo.

It didn’t help that the Sugiura/Sayaka stuff just never clicked with me. It’s, again, I can sort of see where it works: Sayaka’s hurt by Sugiura’s overly-permissive take on school governance, and he lets the Zodairt Switch’s cosmic power warp him into a malevolent view of safety through obedience and control, which is the natural enemy of the KRC’s more individualistic ethos. That’s a natural story to tell – safety through control versus happiness through freedom, and the balance to be found within them. But what we get over these two episodes is way too absurd to find much emotional weight: Sugiura’s cosmic breakdancing, Sayaka’s nightmare hospital (???), and the general This Is Over The Top tone to every nominally dramatic flashback scene. It’s a whole bunch of choices that didn’t work for me, in service of a story that wanted to do way too much, without much sense of how to best arrange its pieces.

(Also, man, so many weird questions about this episode! Where were any of the teachers for this story of the school being taken over by Sugiura’s army? Why was Sayaka in the Hospital Of The Damned like she was supernaturally cursed, instead of just fell down a flight of stairs? Why didn’t anything come from JK’s scene of being cheered for his fascism? What happened to Ohsugi? Why does Tomoko not tell anyone else in the KRC that Emoto is Virgo? Why am I expected to care about the love between Sugiura and Sayaka, when they’re both repellant creeps in this story, and only Sugiura has an excuse for it?)

Still, Tomoko and Emoto! Those were some cute scenes.

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I love it when Kamen Rider does genre homages/parodies. Nothing will ever touch the absolutely bonkers episodes where Kabuto became a wuxia movie centered around competitive cooking, but Fourze becoming a zombie horror movie for a couple of episodes was also pretty fun. I want to give some very special love to the scene where the class president is bundled up in bandages and an eye patch in a dark, creepy hospital. Bonus points for the characters wondering out loud why the hospital was so dark and creepy.

I stand by my comments on the ending of Sugiura's arc: it was a really good moment and it sucks so much for him. At least they didn't go with the convenient amnesia to hide Gamou's identity again.

One reason the Emoto reveal works is because while the franchise has had male passing monsters revealed to be women, they’ve never done the opposite. And in another case of anagrams, Emoto is “Otome” (Japanese for virgin, in the female sense) backwards.

Also I didn’t point it out when he first appeared, because I couldn’t come up with a decent enough gag to hint at it, but I’ll just straight up state here that the guy playing Emoto went on to appear in the Geats/Revice movie as Seeker’s dad.

While I don't necessarily love Sugiura's quick redemption*, I like him immediately coming to the aid of Fourze, even at the cost of his imprisonment in the Zodiart Zone. I may not like his redemption, but I like what he does when redeemed!

*I think one of the problems I have with this story, and maybe the ones right before it, is that there's a difference for me between a Zodiart and a Horoscope -- while the Zodiarts are shown as wounded souls being preyed upon by folks like Scorpio and Libra, the Horoscopes are largely presented as making a conscious, albeit misguided, choice. Sugiura is warped by both the Switch (ostensibly) and his love for Sayaka (definitely) but he still serves Gamou and Hayami while enslaving the school. It's neat that Gentarou's typically able to see past Sugiura's poor choices to find the big-hearted kid beneath them, but his actions were still cruel and villainous. I don't know that eventually regretting them should absolve him of whatever enmity the rest of the school may have for him, and it's kind of pushing it for me for Gentarou to forgive him on behalf of the whole school. If he were just a Zodiart, maybe; as a Horoscope? I feel like we are narratively outside the bounds Pobody's Nerfect! Feels like Sugiura should have to earn his enslaved classmates' forgiveness! I am pretty sure we were just in a two-episode story about the value of independence and personal decision-making!!!

Another untrustworthy-but-maybe-misguided father figure!

Fun bit of trivia: Rider occasionally takes a week off due to being preempted by sports coverage, and, perhaps by some cosmic coincidence, viewers at the time had to wait an extra seven days to see Meteor's golf showdown because TV Asahi aired actual golf the week after 39 instead.

Actually, between that and the also coincidental timing of one of Die's usual April Fools gags, I'm now suddenly remembering that back in the day, Igadevil used to do a shtick on Twitter on days like that sometimes where he'd post screencaps of whatever sports thing was being broadcast with joke captions pretending to confuse it for the latest episode of the show. It was always pretty cute! That anecdote barely has anything to do with Fourze, but yeah, that's another nostalgic memory of being a Rider fan around that time for me.

Anyways, I think Die is probably onto something about the different elements of this two-parter not tying together that cleanly? I at least vaguely remember the major things from these ones individually, but going off of memory, I probably would've had a much harder time recalling that they're all from one story than usual for this show.

How DARE you declare my fandom for Megaranger a "gag"! After all that time I spent with a screengrab in my signature line declaring that I didn't have time for love because of Megaranger! Shame on you!

Secret reveals always have the character use different gender voice to hide their real identity, in how Virgo has female voice when it's used by an old male scientist. I still wonder what may happen if Tomoko, by the power of KRC, was able to give Emoto the actual moon rock she found. After all, KRC was what opened Tomoko's eyes by giving her the means to go leaving the Earth, ending up on the moon. But obviously, as someone involved with the founding members of the KRC and Amanogawa, Emoto would be more familiar with the moon already than Tomoko as just a pale successor of Rokuro's legacy.

This seems to be similar to Ryusei beating Kijima's challenge back then, where he made Kijima laugh by his futile attempts to fight him without powers. I rather feel that by this, it's better to just make Meteor lose the golf (albeit it's quite good use of KR powers to use Meteor Storm's ricochet ability to get the ball to sink), if the main aim is to give mind-controlled Meteor as a threat (if there'd be Fourze vs Meteor again). Though I also feel it's jarring for Miu to talk about Ryusei's practice last night while he's playing golf as Meteor, it may expose Ryusei's identity, the KRC should keep Ryusei's secret. And Meteor himself also refers to Fourze as Gentaro later in their fight with Virgo.

I feel about Sugiura against Sayaka, it's a proof about how a just society must hold its enforcers to the same—or higher—standards than everyone else to prevent corruption and maintain legitimacy, as enforcers aren't above biases or having superior judgment where Sugiura is unable to punish the one person he's in love with, when Sayaka acts like the delinquent that goes against what Sugiura stands for. Showing that system stability depends on accountability, questioning authority, and evaluating the legitimacy of the rule, not just the breaking of it or ostracizing any rule breakers as different outsiders who deserves to be mistreated; Sugiura is being pretentious, and his confrontation with Sayaka exposes that. It's a good use though for Sugiura to try to use his Zodiarts power to fight Virgo when he realizes the error of his ways, guess the first time a Zodiart actually tries to beat up the bad guy; where Motoyama was the first Zodiart to accept Gentaro's friendship while being in Zodiart form.

I guess I understand how do you advocate for multiple staff like in writing (other than for instance, Inoue), as it's not only Gotchard, but you're a fan of all the other shows that are viewed similarly to it, like Wizard, Ghost, and Saber. I guess, it may be still subjective regarding if multiple writers will improve or worsen a series, based on which series one likes or not. I can feel, and it seems to also relate to my work (where many may suggest to just take the easy but goes against my point approach to solve a problem), about how an original creator is the only one who approached the work, the world, and/or the characters using a particular execution or tone that isn't replicated by later creators. I dunno if this is positive or negative speaking of Nakamura being ok with Sanjo's take about Yuki when it escalated later, where I'm strongly against a character being made uncharacteristically rude or unlikable (as you noted in her response to Erin), which can happen to create comedy, which you may agree as Inoue fan, but against those who didn't have good opinion of a character/series (not talking about Yuki here only, this happens in many instance), it may make one feel like how you feel to the hero characters who rub you the wrong way.

KAMEN RIDER CLUB MEETING – QUIZ: KAMEN RIDER URBAN LEGENDS!! EPISODE 10

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I actually watched this ZX special last year, and I still would’ve lost to JK and Tomoko, who were just guessing! (I’d’ve only managed to get the Video Tape question right; biffed the other two.)

It’s a real Tomoko episode, but that could be the case for virtually all of these quizzes if you want it to be. (See also: Miu episodes.) She’s adorable in this one in particular, seemingly invested in the stakes of this quiz, while also being sort of perfectly detached and snarky. Like, this stopped me dead in the beginning of the quiz, and I want to pin a medal on whichever editor caught it:

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Just goofing on Ryuusei’s nervous and uncomfortable hosting! I love it! I love that these seven kids are aware of how much Ryuusei hates hosting these quizzes, and he longs for the sweet embrace of death! Or at least fulfilling his contractual obligations to the Toei Corporation! Whichever comes first!

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I swear, I have to go further back to find my old quizzes to provide the answers. Anyway, the Super-1 answers were C (which Shi_Ranger got right), B (which Die got right) and A (which neither got right).

Anyway, since there?s so little to write questions about in ZX, I figured I?d do something different, and make the quiz focused on Kamen Rider SPIRITS, the manga that expands upon ZX without the limitations of a tv budget.

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.

As for the actual quiz, I have to agree with Gentaro on the video V3 shows off: Where did they get that footage?

Thanks for the quiz!

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull
D) Baron Fang, but specifically the version that's wearing a tuxedo for no apparent reason.

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.
D) His parents are alive.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.
D) Professor Emoto and he is not okay with it.

Good God. :lolol

I was totally relieved that Emoto saved Tomoko from getting caught by the student council, since Tomoko would be the person most severely traumatized by losing her individuality. Even though Emoto being Virgo is bad, it doesn't change that he's a kind person who would go out of his way to help a student, against Gamou's order to not interfere with Sugiura's regime. Tomoko getting sent to the Dark Nebula is a shocking way to end this 2-parter on a cliffhanger, but Emoto's previous heroism makes me want to believe in him and the possibility that Tomoko will be okay.

Seems like the plot decided Taurus needed one more despicable deed to make his hypocrisy clear, but unfortunately it came at the expense of Meteor who was robbed of the victory he had earned. The rooftop confrontation scene followed soon after anyway, so I was definitely disappointed that poor Ryusei had to go through all that training only to get brainwashed and deprived of what contribution he should've had.

I guess a fitting punishment for Sugiura would've been for him to get beat up by those he imposed his rules on, like how Gentarou let Makise get beat up by the girls he attempted to murder? His student council even abducted the cat idol Mina, so he no doubt made a lot of enemies who won't forgive him easily, at least not without Gentarou vouching for him changing his ways. Perhaps it's for the best that the plot managed to get around this dilemma by sending him to the Dark Nebula.

I mean Nakamura might've been okay with it at the time as an occasional comedic OOC thing. Maybe he simply got complacent and didn't realize how far Sanjo would go with it to the point of it becoming the thing Yuki is mostly remembered for. I don't agree with it either as I prefer the more realistic nerdy Yuki, but I think there was merit to her quirky depiction in the Hound Zodiart arc, back when that wasn't her default state so the contrast actually worked for the joke there.

And what a terrible father he was as well, treating Kaima as an expendable company asset rather than a son. Even Irumi was a better parent to Neon since at least she cared.

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.

I should probably read up on Spirits at some point in the future. It sounds intriguing, which is more than I can say about the actual ZX special.

I don't know about these days, but it definitely is worth checking out because I feel like Spirits gave ZX (pronounced Zecross for those still not sure of how to call him) a resurgence like none other during the 2000s. Heck, I became a fan of ZX thanks to the manga. Muraeda went nuts with it and it was entertaining.

It's especially weird, because if the story needed Meteor to win while still not defeating Taurus, they already had a perfect way to do it: have them tie. The story was set up to do just that, but Taurus misses his shot through just, like, missing the shot, no larger complication or thematic significance, and then he declares the contest null and void. Why not just have them tie, and then Taurus retains a little bit of the nobility that Gentarou sees in him, while creating a loophole -- contract stuff! -- where Taurus can still just do his villainy as normal? It's a weird choice that fumbles two different plots.

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 41 - “ALL CLUB ACTIVITY CEASES”

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You know things are serious when Miu quits.

It’s my favorite part, the Miu stuff, which is maybe no surprise if you remember *gestures to the previous 40 episodes worth of write-ups*. She hasn’t been a lynchpin for the group recently, the way she was in the first half of the series, but if you need to show that the story has definitively and irrevocably shifted into a higher and more dangerous gear, put the spotlight on Miu.

Where Shun can be scared by the terrible glory of bathroom holes, and JK’s just permanently terrified, Miu reacts to Virgo’s threats with the type of unbending steel and smirking resolve that comes from being the best President the KRC ever had, or ever will have. In a series full of heroic declarations, and an episode full of powerful moments of vulnerability, the scene of Miu first telling a murderous Horoscope that they’ve already lost to Fourze without knowing it, and then backing down (with spite and venom) only because an innocent person would be in the crosshairs if Miu fought back… series highlight for me. Miu’s my favorite Rider on this show.

Otherwise, it’s a great first half to this episode, as Tachibana coldly suggests that the KRC pare down to just Fourze, Meteor, and Kengo if they knew what was good for them, and then Virgo threatens JK, Miu, Shun, and Yuuki to quit the KRC if they know what’s good for them. (Surely, this Tachibana Cause and Virgo Effect is something we won’t be talking about in a couple of paragraphs, so just put it out of your mind.)

The whole first half is like the show drifting into horror, from its simpler action-adventure beginnings: nowhere is safe (bathroom dangers!), no one is off-limits (Jun, the guileless cheerleader, is threatened with cosmic holes!), and everything’s way too terrifying for a group of non-powered helpers to be involved with. That shot of Miu and Shun and JK and Yuuki leaving the KRC, with the history of the last year in the background, is such a beautiful way to show both how far these characters have come, and what they’re giving up by walking away now. Even Ohsugi gets a brilliant moment of guidance, forbidding the remaining members of the disbanded team to die, because it’s against the rule he made up. (Not to worry, though: Ohsugi is immediately humiliated in the next scene. There is still some light to be found at Amonogawa!)

Then, with the cast dispersed into Heroic Trio and Probably Filming Stuff For The Summer Movie camps, we transition into a training montage, and I kind of didn’t care as much about this part.

I mean, sure, it’s mostly to eventually reveal to the kids that Virgo is Tachibana, without revealing that Emoto is Virgo is Tachibana, and I think that’s a really cute complication to the somewhat-standard Masked Helper schtick. (Sorry, Kamen Helper; this is Heisei.) To have Tachibana be both an established villain and have Emoto be an established ally in one reveal, that’s really giving the audience a lot to chew on. If we still don’t know the how or why to a lot of the details, we’re at least closer to get some sort of closure to the many various mysteries swirling around our favorite M-BUS driver.

But the training montage itself just feels like it’s killing time, and trying to provide an amount of Suit Action that the plot more or less is not equipped to provide, at least in a configuration that would move the plot along. It’s visually pleasing, in a stunt show -slash- Taisen conclusion way – explosions and wirework at Kamen Rider Quarry – but it feels like not the sort of thing this show needs right this second. (It doesn’t help that Training To Not Need Friendships feels like a non-starter for Gentarou, even if he’s reluctant to ask his friends to endanger themselves to defeat the Horoscopes. Like, this is not a good plan thematically!) It’s slightly goofy, just after Yuuki’s stark terror and Miu’s gritted sacrifice, and I don’t… it sort of feels weird here? Without the show acknowledging how weird it is?

Speaking of weird: Hayami! Yes, we are at the dawn of the Tachibana endgame, so it makes sense that Hayami would be here for it. (wink!) He’s hilariously squirrelly and cowardly here, suddenly unclear on what Gamou’s doing, how it’s going to affect him, and who all is even in the goddamn group he’s been operating alongside the past year, which is a plot development that strains credulity, even if it delivers some fun distractions vis a vis Leo threatening a petrified Libra, which is always a good thing for the show to bring back. Hayami not knowing what exactly he signed up for after enacting a major portion of this plan and now getting the first frosty toes of cold feet is just… like, it feels poorly motivated, at least for its speed and impetus, if not for its result. I am not sure why Hayami is acting like he just joined this group, and it’s bizarre to think he’s been neck-deep in Switch Distro without an inkling of where this was all heading. But he’s a sweaty mess now, which is one my favorite modes for that actor, so I’ll let it play out.

Crazy to think that we’ve only got seven episodes left! Things are picking up speed, and the shape of our endgame is coming into focus! Miu’s got her work cut out for her!

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