[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 04 - “CHANGES AND SECRET MOVES”

It’s the way that this story kind of drills into her character by making her more icily defiant and self-assured, rather than softening her or making her learn a lesson or anything. The runner for this two-parter is basically Miu Did Nothing Wrong, and I sort of respect that? It’d feel phony, or at least boring, to have Miu become this big-hearted softy who was humbled and humiliated, so she learned to appreciate people. Story ends kind of exactly the opposite: a bunch of sycophants learned that she’s the real deal, and her greatness is the ideal they should be aspiring to, rather than fruitlessly trying to tear down at the cost of their own potential. (Is this a Kabuto reference for the KRC?) It’s a two-parter that burnishes the legend of the Mean Girl, and I love that choice. Miu’s not some lazy bully, she’s a hard-working diva who’s earned every bit of her fame, and god help you if you think you can cheat it out of her hands. A whole story devoted to shaming the audience for suggesting that Miu isn’t the greatest? Okay!

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.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And, like, this one really lets the actors do something nuanced and complicated here, which is so welcome. Gen gets to try out a more subdued and heartfelt version of his normal high-energy support, taking Miu’s setback more personally than she does, which makes for some tremendous scenes between the two of them. (They got chemistry to death.) Meanwhile, Miu has to find a way of being 110% Miu that somehow still has you rooting for her, and I gotta put all of it down to the charisma of the actor. The script is real good, and that speech at the Queen Festival is perfect, but without that specific actor nailing a bunch of tricky scenes throughout this episode – bowling alley, locker room, Festival, bridge, clubhouse – I don’t think this story lands. It for sure needs Gen to do his part, but this is a Miu showcase story, and it really only works if that actor can carry you along. She does, and she does so thrillingly.

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).

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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.

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).

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

While I wouldn't rank Miu quite as high in KRC as you do (assuming you're counting Riders?), I think the new president is a great first addition to the team for sure! I agree with you about the Kabuto reference, like Tendo, while Miu is somebody who may appear arrogant and pretentious at first sight, especially with Tamae making propaganda to frame her as such, all of her boasts are in fact totally sincere, not empty words. Tamae deceived herself, believing that she was only a stepping stone for Miu, when Miu would never make friends with people she doesn't care about. So Miu is a totally reliable and loyal friend, if you can accept her proud personality. Even Yuki-supporter Tomoko looked mildly impressed with the speech.

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.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

It's an interesting choice going with Miu as the first recruit for the KRC. Given her attitude towards Gentarou in the first two episodes you'd think she'd be one of the last to come around instead of the first, especially with Tomoko actively helping out/stalking the gang at this point. It's a good choice, though, because Miu is really fun and this story does a great job of showing off the full range of her personality. It makes a lot of sense that she and Gentarou bond early on, though, since one of Miu's big things is respecting people who are honest about what they want and Gentarou never uses less than his whole ass in everything he does. I'll always love the bit where she provokes the Zodiart because she trusts that Gentarou will be able to save her.

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.