[Sh Ranger]

Ryusei KITAAAA!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 17 - ?IMPACT OF A METEOR?

A lot of it?s the way this episode?s constructed, kind of doing an Episode 1 riff, but entirely from Ryuusei?s perspective, and full of misapprehensions and bad-faith judgments. Ryuusei sees Gentarou?s need to be friends with everyone as a pathetic need for validation that results in an ineffective superhero, and he spends the episode cataloging everything that occurs as either wasteful or ridiculous. We?re walked through the basics of Fourze ? Gen interacting with other students, the KRC meeting up, how the Switches work, Ohsugi being cartoonishly annoyed ? but it?s constantly undercut by Ryuusei adding his reductive and dismissive two cents about how it all fits together for the characters and the show. It somehow manages to layer in his snide disapproval in a way that still preserves the brightness of the core concept ? it?s judgment that always floats above the story enough to not interfere or derail it ? while giving you his snarky eyeroll of a rebuttal.

This is a cool moment to show that Gentarou, true to his reputation, has already befriended a large amount of people offscreen. Notice that the cat idol girl also appeared at the school festival in Megamax, so it fits nicely in recent continuity. Gentarou's friendly influence certainly creates a different atmosphere for Ryusei's first day in contrast to what Gentarou experienced.

And yeah, I love Ryusei, honestly, one of my favorite Secondary Riders, but he's pretty miserable on the inside at this point, with his major downer on friendship while acting as a flatterer to get on KRC's good side. Those two sides of the actor's performance are entertaining to watch, especially as the real Ryusei starts to leak in to his persona.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And then we get the Meteor action.

I really liked this, too? I like the Meteor suit a lot, and how it communicates different ideas than the Fourze suit. Fourze?s a space shuttle: travel, exploration, teamwork. Meteor?s the solar system: isolation, emptiness, coldness, but still something that can be bright and warm if you find the right parts. They each feel like parts of the same concept, even as they approach it from different angles and at different scales. Meteor?s physicality is nicely unique from Fourze?s, as folks pointed out previously. He?s Bruce Lee smoothness and style, as opposed to Fourze?s brash exuberance. It makes Meteor feel like he?s outclassing Fourze without really doing much, and that fits Ryuusei?s disdain for Gentarou perfectly.

The white and black contrast never goes out of style. Even the accents of Fourze's orange and Meteor's blue emphasize their conflict. Yet both of them are heroes, only with different priorities. Fourze is colorful and has a lot gimmicks, which he relies on his friends to help test and determine their compatibility, while Meteor looks minimalistic, he relies on his own strength and has a few moves that he has mastered. The Rider Systems are appropriate for their users.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 18 - ?THE GEN RYU BATTLE?

That?s the beat in Gen?s story I love the most from Fourze. He?d rather have an honest enemy than a fake friend. Meteor?s a danger to others and violently imposing his own sense of justice, but he?s 100% honest and forthright about it. He has passion and dedication, which is laudable; he has the strength of his convictions, which Gen can relate to. The specifics of what he?s doing is something Fourze has to oppose, but he still wants to find a way to make Meteor his friend. It?s not until Ryu punches him in the face that Gen can see some of what Ryu?s been hiding, and think that he can get that guy to open up at some point and be a real friend.

I'm glad you love this as well, I also think Gentarou's response to Ryusei punching him is an iconic moment for their rivalry. Well, maybe kids shouldn't take it too literally about punching people in the face to make friends, but in this specific context, the punch tastes like the hidden truth of Ryusei, letting Gentarou sense the exciting mystery that exists behind the unremarkable sham he met earlier. And Ryusei, established as the handsome ace who can know and do anything, cannot in turn understand the mystery of Gentarou but learns that what he calls his stupidity shouldn't be taken lightly.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

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.

True that people are likely to care more about their friends than those outside their circle. Bullies' friends are often other bullies though, which becomes an echochamber to support their bullying behavior. Miu is friends with Jun though, who is just a happy person who loves to eat, so I think we can better perceive people by observing the company they keep.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Then again, as I said above, Gentaro doesn't distinguish between the main circle of friends and the other nobodies around, which actually passes his vow of treating everyone as a friend. Gentaro didn't only stop Nitta from beating up JK, but he also stops JK from beating up Nitta when he lost and pointed out that JK did deserve it.

Yeah, I appreciate Gentarou not letting JK play the victim, sharply reminding him he was the one who provoked Nitta in the first place. While Gentarou is a friendly and loving guy, he's firm when he needs to be and calls people out when they're wrong.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Which can be why that those who're trying to redeem actual villains are complained about. I mean, other than people like JK who can be more realistic, wouldn't this also apply to those villains who may be more enjoyable to the audience as their crimes feel more fictional (or to you, to also know more about them inside that makes you have more positive view on them)? And it'd not only personally harm the hero, but villains would endanger many people by pulling this. Like for instance, cases like Sougo to Heure, Aruto to Horobi, or Shoma to Rakia can easily end up with them being betrayed, possibly killed, and have the villain still endanger others without being stopped? Not happened, but a possibility that would always happen against anyone unlikable.

For guys like Heure, Horobi and Lakia, we get to see how they became like that, which presents the possibility to help them see the error of their ways. JK's introduction is concerning, as the show leaves it to the imagination to figure out why he's like that, even if he's not the life-threatening type. Turns out he is actually a good person after all, but the uncertainty is what makes it problematic until we see his reassuring helpful contributions to KRC in the following episodes.