[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 40 - ?OF VALUES AND PASSION?

I like the little friendship between Tomoko and Emoto. It?s cute, and fragile, in an episode that?s otherwise ridiculous and melodramatic. It?s an oasis of two people finding a little bit of connection amidst cosmic machinations and post-traumatic witch disorder, and I really appreciated that this strange association, of all things, was the way into the reveal that Emoto is Virgo.

I was totally relieved that Emoto saved Tomoko from getting caught by the student council, since Tomoko would be the person most severely traumatized by losing her individuality. Even though Emoto being Virgo is bad, it doesn't change that he's a kind person who would go out of his way to help a student, against Gamou's order to not interfere with Sugiura's regime. Tomoko getting sent to the Dark Nebula is a shocking way to end this 2-parter on a cliffhanger, but Emoto's previous heroism makes me want to believe in him and the possibility that Tomoko will be okay.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Like, in nearly any other episode, ?Meteor duels a Horoscope in golf to free the enslaved souls of Amanogawa High? would be the climax of the story, because it?s BY FAR the most memorable and iconic thing to happen here. It?s Meteor! Playing golf for the first time! To defeat a bull-themed fascist! And he wins by using his power-up?s cartoony finisher!!! Instead, this episode drops it in the middle, where Taurus refuses to accept his defeat, and the episode just rolls on to a histrionic climax that?s more about Virgo's warnings than anything else. I can sort of see the episode trying to tie together its various threads this way, turning each resolution into a new problem, but the result just makes each preceding element seem like it was a distraction from the current one; the golf thing didn?t matter, then the Taurus thing didn?t matter, now here?s Virgo.]

Seems like the plot decided Taurus needed one more despicable deed to make his hypocrisy clear, but unfortunately it came at the expense of Meteor who was robbed of the victory he had earned. The rooftop confrontation scene followed soon after anyway, so I was definitely disappointed that poor Ryusei had to go through all that training only to get brainwashed and deprived of what contribution he should've had.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

*I think one of the problems I have with this story, and maybe the ones right before it, is that there's a difference for me between a Zodiart and a Horoscope -- while the Zodiarts are shown as wounded souls being preyed upon by folks like Scorpio and Libra, the Horoscopes are largely presented as making a conscious, albeit misguided, choice. Sugiura is warped by both the Switch (ostensibly) and his love for Sayaka (definitely) but he still serves Gamou and Hayami while enslaving the school. It's neat that Gentarou's typically able to see past Sugiura's poor choices to find the big-hearted kid beneath them, but his actions were still cruel and villainous. I don't know that eventually regretting them should absolve him of whatever enmity the rest of the school may have for him, and it's kind of pushing it for me for Gentarou to forgive him on behalf of the whole school. If he were just a Zodiart, maybe; as a Horoscope? I feel like we are narratively outside the bounds Pobody's Nerfect! Feels like Sugiura should have to earn his enslaved classmates' forgiveness! I am pretty sure we were just in a two-episode story about the value of independence and personal decision-making!!!

I guess a fitting punishment for Sugiura would've been for him to get beat up by those he imposed his rules on, like how Gentarou let Makise get beat up by the girls he attempted to murder? His student council even abducted the cat idol Mina, so he no doubt made a lot of enemies who won't forgive him easily, at least not without Gentarou vouching for him changing his ways. Perhaps it's for the best that the plot managed to get around this dilemma by sending him to the Dark Nebula.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I dunno if this is positive or negative speaking of Nakamura being ok with Sanjo's take about Yuki when it escalated later, where I'm strongly against a character being made uncharacteristically rude or unlikable (as you noted in her response to Erin), which can happen to create comedy, which you may agree as Inoue fan, but against those who didn't have good opinion of a character/series (not talking about Yuki here only, this happens in many instance), it may make one feel like how you feel to the hero characters who rub you the wrong way.

I mean Nakamura might've been okay with it at the time as an occasional comedic OOC thing. Maybe he simply got complacent and didn't realize how far Sanjo would go with it to the point of it becoming the thing Yuki is mostly remembered for. I don't agree with it either as I prefer the more realistic nerdy Yuki, but I think there was merit to her quirky depiction in the Hound Zodiart arc, back when that wasn't her default state so the contrast actually worked for the joke there.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Also I didn?t point it out when he first appeared, because I couldn?t come up with a decent enough gag to hint at it, but I?ll just straight up state here that the guy playing Emoto went on to appear in the Geats/Revice movie as Seeker?s dad.

And what a terrible father he was as well, treating Kaima as an expendable company asset rather than a son. Even Irumi was a better parent to Neon since at least she cared.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

Anyway, since there?s so little to write questions about in ZX, I figured I?d do something different, and make the quiz focused on Kamen Rider SPIRITS, the manga that expands upon ZX without the limitations of a tv budget.

What minor Commander level villain from Stronger returns as one of Badan?s executives?
A) Squadron Commander Wild Eagle
B) Dead Lion
C) Major Skull

The main villain Judo has the ability to assume the forms of all 9 previous Riders. But what distinguishes him from the originals?
A) His arm is notably different.
B) He retains his regular Henshin belt
C) His eyes are always black.

ZX?s sister Shizuka revives as a Rider-esque figure on Badan?s side. But what lunar deity is she named after?
A) Diana
B) Mona
C) Tsukuyomi.

I should probably read up on Spirits at some point in the future. It sounds intriguing, which is more than I can say about the actual ZX special.