I think the show's just having fun with how into character Gentarou is getting with his investigation, and how he lets his emotions ramp things up to a ridiculous degree. It's funny to see him treat Tomoko like a scheming villain, when she's really just a helpful bystander. Gentarou sometimes gets a little too excited for his own good! Just like me, apparently...

I don't want to just write off these very fair criticisms of my writing as just "It was late when I wrote that, and I was tired, and I sort of wasn't feeling Meteor's debut, and I didn't really feel like talking about why because I found the rest of the episode way more interesting for a variety of previously-elucidated reasons", so let me try and say more without hopefully making you even more disappointed in me.

I didn't really hate this scene or anything? I found it a little trite, in a Heisei Q2 Debut way, but I don't begrudge the show a cool new Rider, or the merch to go along with it. Meteor isn't my guy for reasons I'll probably get to down the line, but I don't feel like he unnaturally pulls focus or warps the show through some production-mandated chicanery. (He actually gives Gentarou some of my favorite story beats?) What's here doesn't fatally wound an otherwise stellar episode that does literally everything I want Fourze to do; it was just the part of the show I was less into, and I maybe gave it short shrift in ways that did a disservice to the character's fans, but I wasn't trying to be intentionally malicious or dismissive. I thought it was kind of rote, and I tried to explain why, but I clearly just made things worse than if I'd've just skipped mentioning him at all and stuck to the parts that I found more appealing. This scene was a big enough deal to feel awkward to exclude, but I wasn't feeling it at the time. I'm sorry if it's a worrying trend, or if I've let anyone down. Not my intention!

This was something similar as Kengo in episode 1 against the girl's letter. I wonder if Miu and Kengo's similarity in behavior would be pointed out. This is something that happened to the recurring cast though, unlike Yamano of OOO or Miura in ep. 2 before. Then again, other than Miu destroying the gifts, she still doesn't hide her snotty behavior in front of everyone, of which it doesn't affect her reputation unlike how she treats the gifts (of which she still completely ignores them when she's in public). I feel that for her default behavior she shouldn't only mistreat Gentaro, but just everyone except Shun and her own posse as everyone'd be inferior to her.

Feels like Yugioh about insisting that no items are useless and Gentaro determined to prove about something that seems worthless to others, with as much determination as him wanting to make friends. Gentaro did say that he's about making the impossible possible before, so he's the type to encourage people to constantly chase after your dreams, where not every KR main characters cover this aspect like Eiji or Shoma. But shonen MCs are often the ones who are about being ambitious to a master dream, they won't inspire the jaded audience though.

Then again, it's not like Gentaro would be the only one who wants to befriend Miu. Miu is so popular in school, so everyone wants a piece of her (at least even when she's visibly snotty to them outside of the gifts part), just like Gentaro. Popular jerks like Shun and Miu usually have a lot of friends in school (and a lot of people who has other awful behaviors that can be seen as entertaining like gossiping), the ones who people are less likely to be friend are the outcasts, people of lower status, or the people who don't bring anything on table, who feel like burden, where befriending them can carry a risk, not from them, but from the surroundings to likely humiliate you from befriending them. Meanwhile, being insulted by Shun/Miu would have everyone side with them. So far, the 'proof' I got from someone I met who claims to want to befriend everyone (other than me) is her willing to talk with a dustman.

I think Gentarou's story is sort of the opposite to how everyone else treats her, though? Miu has a lot of fans, but she doesn't really have any friends: people who see her as something deeper than her status and beauty. Gentarou isn't trying to befriend her because she's the Queen of the school, he's doing it because she's someone he doesn't know yet, and he wants to fix that. Gentarou is directly challenging how she treats her fans, in order to find out who she is as a person. I think it's very sweet?

KAMEN RIDER CLUB MEETING – QUIZ: KAMEN RIDER URBAN LEGENDS!! EPISODE 04

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/fourze/quiz04a.png

I love the naming conventions of the kids in Fourze, how they’re all barely-scrambled references to Showa Riders. It’s like if there was an American superhero show about a high school club devoted to Justice League history, populated by characters named Alan Barrett, Halle Jordan, and Wayne Bruin. (Hilariously, the upcoming secondary for this hypothetical show would be like Clark Kent being named Superman Jones instead.) It’s invisible if you don’t get the references – spoiler, it’s Showa, I’d never get the references without these quiz shows or y’all on the boards – but when you find out what the deal is, it speaks to the goofy nerds running the production team, and I love that. I like how Fourze feels less like a structured anniversary homage and more like a celebration of the inexplicable longevity of the franchise.

Along those lines, the answers in this quiz were typically bonkers (them kids dodging explosions!!!) in the way only Showa could really get away with, Yuuki was a game host, and Kengo looked incredibly tired. Plus, we learned that Riderman has a mouth because he has a mouth worth showcasing!

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/fourze/quiz04b.png

I'm going to stand by my original take here: I really liked the Motoyama story and how it played out. Full props to whoever did the suit acting for Perseus since they made that absolutely work in spite of Gentarou primarily acting alongside a foam and rubber monster suit with a fixed facial expression.

Absolutely going to stand up for Meteor's first appearance here, too. Always one of my favorite Riders to watch in a fight scene: adore the suit, love the Bruce Lee style martial arts, love the contrast between his polished fighting style and Gentarou's brute force approach. I'd completely forgotten he showed up here until we got the preview for 16. Looking forward to some elements of his addition to the cast and not others!

For the latest round of quiz answers, the V3 quiz’s correct answers were B (Haruka is Accel’s younger sister, while Chiharu is Yukiko’s equivalent in Kamen Rider the Next, which seems to have proved an effective misdirect), C (The second arc covered episodes 14-40 and the movie) and A. And now, for the Riderman quiz.

What title was Riderman bestowed upon his sacrifice in the show, and in his image song out of the show?
A) The Kamen Knight
B) Kamen Rider Man
C) Kamen Rider Yongou

Riderman appears in 9 out of V3’s 52 episodes. What percentage of the whole series is this?

A) 15.6%
B) 17.3%
C) 16.4%

Riderman’s reappearance in Kamen Rider Black RX was the first after his original performer died, so he was portrayed by a newbie suit actor being dubbed over. But who was the suit actor?

A) Seiji Taikawa
B) Richi Seiike
C) Naoko Kamio.

As for the quiz instalment, I kind of loved just how Yuki basically spends the whole thing trolling everyone, such as speaking out loud during the thinking time and humouring Shun's suggestion that the baby in the clip is Jojima Yuki, while denying that she turned into a monster as a baby.

I love any episode where a monster suit cries outside a kindergarten!

I'm glad Meteor fans were treated so well by his debut!

(I think it's actually kind of funny that I wrote about how this episode treated art as being about connecting with people and expressing yourself over the value of perfection or quality, and in doing so I posted a poorly-written piece that made multiple people mad about how I engaged with the Meteor scenes. Art is amazing!)

Oh, speaking of which, I completely forgot to mention that 16 is also the one where Gentarou specifically does a Fourze handshake with the monster, rather than just the person that turns into the monster. I really really really love that decision. Much like deliberately holding off on Kengo's turn to shake hands, it's a very smart use of the show's unique iconography to make a scene into a much more powerful statement than it might otherwise be. Even in a vacuum where Fourze was the only toku thing you knew anything about, you'd know by this point that the monster suits are there to get blown up, so to have a scene like this -- just that whole visual -- really beautifully emphasizes exactly what Gentarou is about as a person, and thus what Fourze is truly about as a hero.

Being in severe threat mode all the time is unhealthy though. Fourze is a show about friendship and there are too many problems that Gentarou cannot solve on his own. We can see this in effect with Kengo, who tried to do everything on his own and failed due to his weak constitution. Stuff like Switch calibration and battle tactics are his skill though, so Gentarou and Kengo need each other, in addition to the other KRC members' skills.

True, although the Rider Kick would be difficult to land, as Chainsaw lacks accuracy. Might be useful for fighting multiple opponents mid-air though.

It was like you became the Motoyama to Meteor's Yuki. :lol

My gut told me it wasn't Chiharu, but my logic told me it would be too weird for a movie to change her name.

What title was Riderman bestowed upon his sacrifice in the show, and in his image song out of the show?
A) The Kamen Knight
B) Kamen Rider Man
C) Kamen Rider Yongou

Riderman appears in 9 out of V3?s 52 episodes. What percentage of the whole series is this?

A) 15.6%
B) 17.3%
C) 16.4%

Riderman?s reappearance in Kamen Rider Black RX was the first after his original performer died, so he was portrayed by a newbie suit actor being dubbed over. But who was the suit actor?

A) Seiji Taikawa
B) Richi Seiike
C) Naoko Kamio.

Thanks for the mental image of Riderman being a small lady dubbed by a deep dude.

I may feel that Miu's decision to stick to her guns can be more impactful, if she wouldn't win back all of her former fans, not having everything going in her favor. Being honest in a way that'd make others hurt should still get people to be resentful, perhaps like if someone in internet hate those who reveal their "rotten"-ness (though I do see those who defend someone successful who resorted to underhanded ways to achieve it and being honest regardless if they pulled something dangerous like potential killing). Guess it's still ideal to have everyone cheering her back on. I do feel against Miu's fans too, that in contrast to many around me, I don't make myself a fan of any public figure (including KR actors/actresses), as I view them as just human too, not anything special or above others, and may feel that those people are "admitting defeat" by thinking that they're inherently inferior to those idols they worship including fawning (often due to their looks/status compared to them, like even thinking their name is superior to normal people's), but obviously there can be those who want to improve themselves by being inspired by them.

I don't know if Miu has a change even a little here, but Gentaro's behavior should be also important here as something that may make her open her eyes. A possible reason why one can be mean is about viewing the world in a dog-eat-dog mindset, that one gotta be a jerk first to others to survive or thrive, and that others are just dishonest about not showing their true colors compared to the proud jerk. Which is seen in Miu assuming that Gentaro will gloat and be proud of Miu losing so he'd benefit, or if trying to help her means looking down on her (I do have this feeling too, being offered help means being looked down upon). But Gentaro proves that he means it to become her friend that he's prioritizing Miu's well-being despite her confusion, that he wants her to win despite the potential disadvanage Gentaro puts himself into due to their deal, which should prove Miu that not everyone is a threat (which can lead to being mean as defensive mechanism).

Maybe it can be based on superficial judgment/evaluation that they see the kind Shinji as someone who often gets beaten up and being saved, while Ryuga, the version that "sheds the weakness", is someone who beat up Ouja and his combination monster. So yeah, doing that would be safe for them, can easily achieve the objective more, and takes care of the problem better. I mean, it increases their capability when alone, no need to not receive help from others by this (no need to be in threat mode against actual friends), which'd even increase their capability. I mean, the protagonists are often made to win at the end yeah, but it can come off as a fluke/plot armor to them as they're mostly beaten up throughout the series so their win doesn't feel consistent enough to be acknowledged (as strength or such).

About being sincere and reliable, this is taken by some people to the point that many think that since, not Miu, but characters like villains aren't hiding their crimes, thus they are incapable of lying and will always tell the truth. For that the enemy is always more truthful than a friend. This makes people required to be spoon fed that a villain is lying to them by actually showing that they are lying instead of putting the pieces together. Honestly, my view is that being a friend is about exclusively treating certain people better than others, so anyone can be a reliable/loyal friend to someone regardless of how rotten they're. One can be a reliable friend, as long as they exclude said friend in even their own crimes like exterminating certain group like cockroaches. It's an extreme example, but yeah, bullies in school can have their circle of friends or family they deeply care about, but they're bullies towards people they don't think are worthy to be their friend.

Tbh, the other supporting characters (so far to me) except Yuki are no worse than Miu, as Kengo (who did similar stuff to the girl's letter) and Shun are as bad outwardly. Their attitude to Gentaro are the same as Miu's.