[DreadBringer]

Man, so late because of obviously no schedule. Fourze is a first watch for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 01 - “TRANSFORMING HIGH SCHOOL LIFE”

And that’s Gentarou, right? He wants to make friends with everyone; not be friends with everyone, but make friends with everyone. He specifically chooses Kengo to be his project in this episode not in spite of the fact that Kengo is a petulant asshole in this episode, but because of it. (Kengo’s first scene is him breaking an unnamed girl’s heart because he’s Not Here To Make Friends!) Gentarou challenges himself to find a way to get Kengo to like him, sure, but he’s also challenging himself to find something to like in Kengo. (Uphill battle for this one!) Forging connections and creating friendships is easy when there’s mutual respect and overlapping interests, but it’s more rewarding when it’s achieved by bridging a chasm of teen melodrama and grumpy disaffection.

Gentaro has more delinquent traits than I expect than just his look like him actually being good in fighting before becoming a Kamen Rider. As someone who wants to make friends with everyone, he's first shown to confront Kengo in how much of a dismissive jerk he was, which can be something that make people don't want to be friends with them. Usually calling out people on their wrongdoings is seen as unfun, and often, those who people want to befriend are the fun and entertaining guys which can involve doing wrong but fun things like gossiping or making fun of others. But obviously it's a hallmark of a real hero to not be only about saving people from monsters, but be concerned about trivial things like someone's feelings from complete letter rejection without even reading it, where people like Kengo may be only about beating up monsters while mistreating people. Protecting smiles rather than lives. Gentaro seems to be more hot-tempered kind of straight hero protagonist like Shinji or Shotaro before, though maybe other protagonists would be angrier if put in Gentaro's position here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Great first episode. Everything is there, right in the debut. The core trio feels perfectly aligned: flighty, ebullient Yuuji; raging, forceful Kengo; and dedicated, charismatic Gentarou. While we get a look in at the rest of our soon-to-be regulars – JK providing snarky commentary, Miu flirting with a guy that her boyfriend’s about to demolish, Shun showcasing that the filmmakers are not clear on exactly which football position our resident jock actually plays – the specific energy of our main three is what keeps everything orbiting correctly. (Sorry!) The way that any two of the three can collaborate for a scene on a different wavelength than any other configuration bodes well for a show that’ll mix and match a growing and idiosyncratic cast. Like, Gen and Yuuji have this goofy irreverence to how they approach danger, but Gen and Kengo are more locked-in and aggressive, but Yuuji and Kengo are more inquisitive and excited. Each actor/character alters the formula, so no scene ever feels repetitive or unnecessary, even if it’s just to watch some ridiculous flourish. (Yuuji geeking out over the first Fourze henshin!)

For a lighthearted show, there's quite a number of unlikable characters at this stage of a show, in at least Kengo, Miu, Shun, their cronies who beat Gentaro up. In contrast, Gotchard has Supana being a standout for being the only jerk among the main cast at that time. Obviously, this'd change later as Gentaro would befriend everyone, but I wonder about audience reaction if the main character that goes through this isn't someone who wants to befriend everyone, like, maybe they'd want for those students to be lynched or such or hoping for the main character's later revenge. As everyone are friends to Gentaro, he'd be opposing the divide of the school like the group tables that Yuki warned him. Gentaro's a fictional character about wanting to befriend everyone (and a part of "unrealistic/unrelatable" category of compassionate hero), but I wonder how it'd go in real life, where in my job I've met a girl, beautiful one, who claims she wants to befriend everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Doesn’t hurt that this is maybe the signature Sakamoto show, a guy who’s synonymous with Heisei action… and other stuff. This premiere really gets across the duality of Sakamoto, with tons of memorable action, both superheroic and otherwise – Gen jumping off a bridge in his first scene, the brawl with the Zodiart, and some shockingly good CG on the Power Dizer appearances – wedded to some male gaze-y camerawork. (I feel like Sakamoto just did a find-and-replace through the script, switching ESTABLISHING SHOT with LEGS.) The high school setting feels a little weird at times; teens are horny, and that should be part of the story, but the filmmakers shouldn’t necessarily be horny. Still, it’s never too distracting, and if it’s especially noticeable or heightened from what I remember, this is a premiere, and everything’s a little turned up from how it might work on a recurring basis.

I do feel that Gentaro can be more assertive than many of the other KR leads, with him taking over Kengo's fight by taking Fourze belt and pointing out that Kengo's not in shape. The fight did succeed in making Kengo bond a little against Gentaro by assisting him, if only because Gentaro can blow up the school with his use of powers. Guess Gentaro should be concerned about the school damage if he can be concerned about rejecting letters. Fourze's finishers are created (I already know this from Climax Heroes though) by making use of more than 1 Astroswitches, like both Rocket and Drill for the Rider Kick, but the items are still ordinary items. Faiz is much better in the drill kick finisher, full stop.