[Switchblade]

Fourze 35-36

Yeah, so I kinda dragged my feet on this one. I watched the first episode ages ago, but just got around to the second tonight. I'm not a huge fan of this arc. There's some really good JK stuff, but the Zodiart is kind of annoying and most of the other supporting characters get very little to do. I regret the choice, though, because 36 ended up being much better than the set-up in 35 led me to think it would be. The scene with Gentarou playing guitar on stage while JK sang was really good. "Gene" is a really stupid name for your rock god alter ego, though. I thought that at the time and it's still true today.

This is an arc that really works better on rewatch. The Core Switch is first brought up here and it's something that makes way more sense knowing the full story. It still comes out of left field, but at least I know the context better now. There were some more good explanations for why we're getting only Horoscopes now, too, what with the Kyoto wormhole being closed. The show really did a much better job of justifying the villain upgrade than I remembered.

Action scenes were good, too, although Cosmic crapping out when JK temporarily left the KRC feels like a cheap attempt to prolong the story. Not as bad as Machine Chaser in Drive, but the stalling was still palpable. Meteor's continued rivalry with Leo is always fun, though, and I liked both his trick in the second fight and the return of the older Horoscope suits.

Next up is an arc I've been looking forward to: the moment when Yuki completely goes off the deep end.