[DreamSword]

I just finished episode 36 of Fourze, and I gotta say, the latest two-parter?

Probably the absolute worst I've gotten from this show so far. Just like... wow, I barely even know where to begin.

First there's the fact that it's centered on JK, the worst character. Second, it has a really terrible moral(Never think about the future, only the present). And third, the story sucked in general and raised a ton of questions about episodes prior.

Maybe it's just TVN's' subs(which have been shaking in terms of quality with the later episodes), but I feel like all the problems I've been having with Fourze really came to a head with these episodes, and this is after a long stride of episodes I mostly liked(9-34).

So far I think the biggest problem I have with the show though is that, for a story that's meant to have Friendship at its front and center theme, it has a very... narrow(I guess that's the word?) view of the concept. Like, I typically don't like harping on something for what it isn't and prefer to focus on what it actually is, but there's so many great angles they could've taken.

Like examining the quality of the people you keep around you, the consequences that toxic friendships can have on people, and how sometimes despite your best intentions, some people just can't be reasoned with(just to name a few). Instead the show(and Gentaro) seems more focused on simply going "Be friends with everyone, even if they're terrible because hey, they'll come around eventually! Add another to the checklist!"

Heck, the focus on quantity over quality has really stunted alot of our core characters in terms of their development too. Another two-parter to flesh out JK some more would've been fine, but instead it just made him even worse in my eyes. I feel the show would've been way better had it been more focused on developing the core cast it had and showing everyone growing together. Literally just be Kamen Rider Breakfast Club. But sadly no, almost willing to bet even after this "improvement" JK will go back to being in the background being useless and almost everyone else in the KRC will remain one-note.

It's not like I outright hate the show or anything, but man, unless things take a serious upward swing in the last act, Fourze is definitely the bronze medal of the Foundation X Trilogy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnugiga

Whoa, what a coincidence, I just bought used hard copies of the manga couple of weeks ago (it's localized and published in my country in the 1990s). I remember reading a volume of it as a kid, and not liking it because it's very different to the show, but now I'm very eager to revisit it. Was planning to post about it in the manga thread at some point.

Nice! Very lucky you have official translations. I look forward to reading what you think of the manga as a whole.