[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 11 - “THE LUNAR GATE DISAPPEARS”

It’s a more plot-focused episode of Fourze this time out, as the club members themselves are at risk, rather than a soon-to-be-friend or one-off guest star. Like, Makise is just a creepy incel weirdo, and so we don’t need to go through any story beats where we learn his tragic backstory or try to understand his motivation. He’s a creep, and he’s a creep to Yuuki, so we can just focus on what the threat means to the KRC.

With Fourze coming after OOO, Makise rather reminds me of Kitamura from OOO ep. 33-34 before who's also a creep that puts his so-called friend in abusive relationship that isolates them from the rest of their friends in a possessive manner, but it's done to the male main Rider (heated drama between men eh...) rather than the female lead. Makise isn't only matched in how Yuki's actual friend is also "more than human" as Fourze, but his tracking abilities he used to stalk Yuki are also replicated by Burger Meal. His motivation at the end doesn't seem to be about being a yandere for Yuki anymore, but just about being a hope crusher.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The more interesting part of the story is Kengo, who finds himself trapped on the moon. A few months ago, he’d’ve probably been okay with it: time to work, in isolation, without anyone demanding his attention or recognition. But he can’t pretend he’s that guy anymore. The second he’s cut off from the rest of the KRC, the Rabbit Hutch feels as empty and lifeless as the lunar surface. It was a safe space, and now it might be his tomb. If you’re going to do a story where Kengo grudgingly realizes that he genuinely likes being in a club with Gen and the rest of them, you need to make him realize how he much he needs them – and not just to, like, actually save his life, but also simply the companionship of other people.

Spelled out by Sonoda too that Kengo has become more outgoing since meeting Gentaro. Now it's seen how Kengo met seemingly the only person he seems to consider a friend for now in Yuki for flashback. Kengo doesn't seem to get annoyed with Yuki yapping at him the first time about her space geekiness like about Kengo's dad she saw him unlike to others. For normal humans, they seem to only be able to travel to Rabbit Hutch by the gate on the locker, but at least now, Fourze can easily travel to space.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Writing this all out, it sounds exceptionally minor and kind of rote: some two-dimensional creep harasses the team, one member’s in danger, and the remaining kids have to pull together to save him, while he learns to appreciate everyone in their absence. But, man, something about this cast just elevates it? There’s so much specificity to every character’s actions – Kengo’s wry smile as everyone splits, Shun’s easy charm, Yuuki’s reluctant heroism in spending even a single goddamn second around Makise. (He’s repellant!!!) I kind of hate just going VIBES, because that’s like talking about food by saying It Tastes Good: true, but not really explaining anything. But it’s sort of just Vibes? The youthful energy of this show, it’s kind of my favorite version of toku. It forgives stupid plot decisions, because kids are stupid. It allows for rich melodrama, because kids are melodramatic. It gives Kengo being trapped on the moon equal emotional significance with him missing his friends, and sort of realizing that they are his friends and he does miss them, and none of it feels ridiculous or disproportionate. Show’s just real fun, because the cast is real fun, and you can stretch that to the moon and back if you want to.

Maybe what's more important for the show is the acting, more than the writing or such. It feels that, though this'd be subjective, the more well-liked shows like Den-O, W, OOO, Fourze, all are seen as having good acting, while shows that are more lukewarm received like Wizard, Ghost, Saber, or Gotchard usually can have some characters people can't stand to watch, due to the acting. I can feel that those shows can have some similar aspects or cons as 2-parter type of show, but with differing reception, with Den-O being something that most fans acknowledge the flaws of like the plot or writing, but the acting makes up for all of it.