[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 40 - “SCARY STUFF! BAD GIRLS”



It’s always weird rewatching these Rider shows, because I feel like I remember it all well enough, and then there’s a curveball like Episode 40 of Fourze. This one weirdly pivots away from the Golf Battle cliffhanger from last time to give us a smaller story between Yuuki and Miu, but with enough of the larger Horoscopes storyline to make this all still feel like Kamen Rider Fourze instead of a completely different show.

Sort of amazing that it took until Episode 40 to give us a legit Yuuki/Miu story, right? There’s not really much in the way of any of the girls from the KRC getting plots that put them in opposition, certainly compared to the growing list of stories where Gentarou feuds with one of the other boys. And Yuuki and Miu specifically… there’s a lot that you can talk about? They're some of the earliest KRC members, there's a kind of mentor/student vibe sometimes, they were at opposite ends of the social spectrum at school, etc etc etc. This episode opts to revisit the rivalry that was hinted at back when Miu flirted with leaving the KRC behind, before she realized that it’d mean I stopped watching the show in protest. It’s grounded more in their friendship than anything like relationship drama (like in that earlier Miu Leaves plot), which is likely a credit to guest-writer Kobayashi, who is a pretty mega name for a one-off fill-in like this, considering you’d think she’d be busy writing Go-Busters at the time.

Despite coming in cold, the script is electric, keeping Gentarou, Kengo, and Shun off to the side, and letting Miu and Yuuki carry the drama and the action themselves. (Well, Shun’s caught up in the drama a little at the beginning, and tries his whole “manly man” toughness to break up the tension, but he’s typically hapless in the attempt.) Bringing in a couple of new Horoscopes would normally be something I’d roll my eyes at, but a) we are fully in the phase of the show where Horoscopes suddenly pop up in sequence like they were all on the same bus that was delayed, and b) the new ones are pretty cool? I like how the Pink Horoscope and Yellow Horoscope have this rivalry that mirrors the one between Yuuki and Miu, but turned up to Villainy. Miu and Yuuki let their rivalry affect their teamwork, leading to Miu’s brief capture, while the Horoscopes let their rivalry lead to the Pink Horoscope’s defeat.

For its first appearance, it was kind of nuts to see the Pink Horoscope go Supernova? And I guess Emoto is supplying the KRC with a mech? (It looks a bit like the Go-Busters fusion from the Taisen flick, but that was Sentai, so it’s probably just a coincidence; could also be a Kobayashi reference?) Meanwhile, not a huge episode for Ryuusei, despite where we left things last time – he just shows up in the end with his own mech to help defeat the Supernova’d Pink Horoscope, and that’s it. (I assume Tachibana is supplying Meteor’s mech? Weird how similar in design it is to Emoto’s!) I don’t love it when Rider shows go giant-sized for an episode’s climax – save it for Sentai, you know? – but I thought doing it with practical effects this time kept it watchable.

More than anything, I’m just glad we got a story that paired up Miu and Yuuki! A story where two young women in school work out their issues while fighting monsters… only in Fourze, you know?