[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I may remember her... but I didn't! I think her work here is passable, but not as nuanced as it maybe should've been. She comes off too much like a contemporary of Gen, rather than an authority figure -- the performance makes her sound like a disaffected teen, rather than a disillusioned adult. It all vaguely works, since Utsugi isn't on screen a ton in this episode, but I had to keep reminding myself that Gen was not befriending yet another Amanogawa High student. Like, she's literally 10 years older than the actor playing Gen, but the performance aims it like she's his age. Maybe this was a specific choice the crew made, to not make it seem weird? I don't know. It wasn't great, but it wasn't worth calling out as something I disliked.

Considering how Utsugi doesn't want to be called Sensei, as she doesn't identify as one, I think she's actively trying to appear as an anti-authority figure, in a way that maybe also makes her sound a little like a moody teenager as a side effect. On the other side of this friendship, Gentarou acts so familiar with everybody, whether they're teachers or students, so I guess those factors let them meet each other in the middle or something.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 22 - ?KICKING YOUR TRUE NATURE?

Oh, right: It was Kijima.

I sort of thought it was? I remembered the rakugo thing not being some minor details, but a big clue, and Pegasus didn?t act like Utsugi at the quarry. This episode more or less immediately offers Kijima up as too suspicious too ignore, and Utsugi too confused to be a cover, leading to a pretty enjoyable solution to what?s normally an Act 1 mystery. There?s some genuine effort made to have the clues divulged organically, with very little of the dialogue bending over backwards to phrase things in a way that triggers a forced Eureka moment ? though, even when it does, that?s a little ode to the wordplay of rakugo, maybe? (The biggest one is Shun?s whole Gosh Magnetic Fields Are Powerful bit, but even then he?s talking about cell phones, which Ryuusei links to watches.) Kijima framing Utsugi out of a combination of spite and ego makes for a compellingly villainous motivation, and a worthy new Horoscope for our team to deal with.

Kijima used his talent of observation to frame Utsugi, but got exposed by Ryusei using that same talent against him with better precision. Kijima's major flaw is that while his lies and half-truths are convincing, he relies on them too much so they stack up until they contradict each other. Like, there was no way he knew about Utsugi breaking the alarm, so his deduction about her cheek tell ended up working against him when Utsugi's lie was shown to be irrelevant to Pegasus Zodiart. He basically only told KRC to show off how clever he was and then he learned the hard way that Ryusei was much cleverer.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

It?s funny how the Horoscopes finally find a new member, and it?s by sheer dumb luck.

How humiliating for Hayami!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I guess Ohsugi and Makise is comparable here as the "creep", where obviously Makise is far worse as an actual villain, while Ohsugi is just a comic relief. Though about being creep, while Ohsugi IS a jerk, I can feel that one being judged as a creep or not can be viewed just by their looks or status, where people like Ohsugi who isn't good looking and has loser status (like how he only had a conversation with girl once in school and people abandoning his speeches), is easily judged as a creep just for approaching someone out of his league (in Sonoda); anything an "ugly" people do is seen as a creep, but maybe not so much if they're someone charismatic or good looking (only actual depraved stuff they do will, but "ugly" ones have mundane things judged as creep too), perhaps for example, Kitaoka's advances to Reiko in Ryuki.

Well, there's a difference between a creep like Makise or Sagara from Gaim and a person who acts creepy, which Tomoko has been called in-universe. Ohsugi is a little creepy and his behavior is alarming, but it's not like he's ever committed any crimes, despite regularly fantasizing about Sonoda and random misfortune happening to Gentarou. I think he has just enough self-awareness to stop short of illegal activity. And yeah, he shouldn't be judged for his below average looks, as the handsome Hayami is much more of a creep.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I also recall the despair of fansubbers when they realized Mr. Wordplay was sticking around indefinitely as a new main bad guy. Really upped the stakes and tension of the show in a completely unique way for them.

TV-Nihon must've been pretty crabby about having to explain all those puns!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Nothing's really different in the 2nd Drill Kick other than more energy effect.

It looks cooler!

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I still liked these episodes. I think it's a pity that Haruka doesn't take Sonoda's place in terms of actually showing up on screen, but it's Nao Nagasawa so I'm going to be unavoidably biased. It does seem weird that the character isn't more prominent from here on out, but Kamen Rider generally doesn't do a lot of recurring characters, just regulars and guests. I'll talk more about my thoughts on this in a few arcs.

I guess that's how it is with Utsugi taking Sonoda's vacancy at the end of a school year. All the more reason why Gentarou had to prioritize befriending her right away. Regarding Nagasawa, I'd say this is my second favorite of her roles after Ai from Travelers Dimension Police.