[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.

[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 15 - “HOLY NIGHT CHORUS SINGER”

I feel like the quality of any given Fourze episode is directly correlated to how much the entire KRC gets in on the story, and this one leaves almost everyone besides Gentarou, Kengo, and Yuuki with little to no screentime. Miu and Shun get a portion of a group scene, Tomoko gets half a scene, I genuinely can’t remember if JK actually shows up, yet we somehow still got several Ohsugi scenes – this is an episode with so much Horoscopes stuff to juggle, alongside a deeper cast for our Switch Story that it kind of needed to push more than half of the KRC to the edges. I don’t know if that’s ever going to work for me? It’s noticeable here, for how much it leaves Kengo to carry basically half of the Fourze story, in a way that I’d’ve been fine with if this were Episode 3, but maybe not so much when I know what the rest of the cast can do to plus up a story. Everything in this one feels tilted towards the villains, and I’d just rather spend 22 minutes with the KRC.

May still make Yuki and Kengo (post-development) feel more standout, like how Kengo still has snarky remarks to silly enough antics Gentaro does in being slow to Glee Club's declarations, but clearly accepting to KRC as friend and club like his conversations with Tomoko, Miu, and JK, or Yuki shoehorning space in everything that isn't repetitive and just her continuing to sing about Hayabusa for another singing occassions than just Queen.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The story of the villains is nuanced, though, and it smartly recontextualizes Sonoda’s strategy of Let’s Throw Switches Into The Student Body And See What Happens by showing Hayami’s one-on-one tutoring as the way to better nurture troubled minds and shape them into something more productive. Sure, what he’s trying to produce is a brand-new Horoscope, much like he did in the past with Sonoda when she was a student, but he’s still using empathy and observation to create a curriculum tailored to his student’s needs! I think that’s neat, and it really makes Sonoda come off as the overmatched young teacher she is. Where she’d just hand off a Switch to a moody delinquent, Hayami works with Motoyama to channel his rage into a series of actions that reshape him into a higher being; if it’s not, y’know, good, it’s at least good educational practices.

It seems really quick that Sonoda was a student before in flashback, but now she's a teacher. I don't know how many time frame has passed though, if they're there for long enough that Sonoda graduated and becoming teacher that isn't new face to school or if she just got promoted to teacher for certain reason.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Motoyama’s little story with the KRC… it’s cute, going this early into a story that makes Yuuki look like a deranged weirdo and Gentarou look like an overbearing pest. Definitely a choice! Motoyama is the Frank Grimes to the KRC’s Homer Simpson, desperately trying to focus on his art while Gentarou provokes him (but in a friendly way?) and Yuuki kind of basically just exists. (He… really does not like Yuuki, despite Gentarou being the one that more actively prevents him from painting. Amanogawa High needs some better counseling for dudes!) Gen has a tendency to make Being Your Friend into your problem, and he’s sort of filling the Sonoda role in this story, by not really tailoring his approach to his subject. It’s the KRC at their most discordant (well, Yuuki gets some solid harmonies from the glee club) for a story about how to get the best out of fraught dynamics, so you gotta start it off with Gen blowing it.

Getting some Makise flashbacks in how the boys approached Yuki at first and expressing admiration behind the doors and bowing to him, but turns out the Glee Club is legit. I don't know about which is worse for Motoyama, directly making a conversation with him (which Gentaro does) or about the nearby noises (or well, actual provoking like throwing ball to his paint, or even buildings for just existing), as you seem to think Gentaro's the worst one here for 'preventing him from painting' despite him hating Yuki. Though yeah, space time is definitely needed for Motoyama, but as Gentaro pointed out, the roof isn't an exclusive spot for Motoyama.

[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

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..

Maybe! That's certainly more charitable than my read!

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

It seems really quick that Sonoda was a student before in flashback, but now she's a teacher. I don't know how many time frame has passed though, if they're there for long enough that Sonoda graduated and becoming teacher that isn't new face to school or if she just got promoted to teacher for certain reason.

I assume it's been a normal number of years -- college, training, etc. -- but Sonoda was not long for this show, and I'd guess that the producers didn't want to bother casting a Teen Sonoda for a single short flashback scene. But Hayami! That guy don't ever age in anything! It's like Dorian Gray, but it's Mutsuki looking twice as old as he should while Tachibana is pristine.

[Switchblade]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Fourze 23-24

So yeah, work kinda kicked my ass this fall. I wasn't even able to keep up with new shows for awhile there, much less a rewatch. Things are getting less crazy now, though, so back it is once again space time.

I thought I remembered this Cygnus arc, but I seem to have gotten it somehow mentally merged with the Nao Nagasawa one. Mostly, I just remembered the way the cast pronounced "Cygnus." What we actually got here was another pretty good two-parter. Once it got going I recognized the Cygnus fanboy in his dollar store cosplay, but I completely forgot the arc's major plot twist. It's a cool concept, having a switcher who's unaware he's doing it. In hindsight, Fourze included a good range of characters who became Zodiarts in a variety of different ways and for different reasons.

Not much more to say, though. This was pretty much a classic filler arc with no new villains, no new character developments, and no advancement on any of the show's ongoing storylines. We got to see Tomoko and Ryusei hanging out together, but there's no sign of the crush that would later define their relationship yet.

Episode 23 saw the debut of the Giant Foot switch. Back when Fourze was airing I listened to the now defunct Henshin Justice podcast. One of their hosts speculated that Kengo's father was starting to die from oxygen deprivation while designing the Astro Switches, which explains why they get increasingly ludicrous as the show goes on. Giant Foot isn't a third arm growing off the leg, but it's still incredibly goofy.

Has Yuki gone crazy yet? Nope. She's still acting like a rational human being here.

This was definitely one of the Fourze arcs of all time. Honestly not sure there's much more to say about it. The Tomoko and Ryusei stuff was reliably fun. Shun's Owen Wilson impression was certainly borderline problematic.

On retrospect, I think Giant Foot is ludicrous enough that it circles back around to being pretty great.

[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

We got to see Tomoko and Ryusei hanging out together, but there's no sign of the crush that would later define their relationship yet.

Huge disagree!!! Their chemistry was phenomenal, and Ryuusei's mild annoyance and endless indulgence is the exact right energy for Tomoko's relentless-but-goth optimism. They make more sense on this date than any pairing outside of Miu and my eyeballs.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

On retrospect, I think Giant Foot is ludicrous enough that it circles back around to being pretty great.

My favorite non-date thing for Episode 24 is Kengo going to pains to explain the physics of Giant Foot's cosmic energy, and Gen just being like GIANT FOOT STOMPY STOMP. I appreciate the writer trying to give a little bit of pseudoscience cover to a preposterous Switch, and then realizing afterwards that literally no one besides Kengo cares.

[Switchblade]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Huge disagree!!! Their chemistry was phenomenal, and Ryuusei's mild annoyance and endless indulgence is the exact right energy for Tomoko's relentless-but-goth optimism. They make more sense on this date than any pairing outside of Miu and my eyeballs.

Yeah, me now definitely agrees more with you than I do with 2019 me. Also, I cannot stress enough how adorable all of Tomoko's "lying on the ground shaking witch paraphernalia around" scenes were.

[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Yeah, me now definitely agrees more with you than I do with 2019 me. Also, I cannot stress enough how adorable all of Tomoko's "lying on the ground shaking witch paraphernalia around" scenes were.

And just, like, Tomoko already knows what Ryuusei's thinking, even when he thinks he's being this totally-disguised secret agent. The bit where he does his internal dialogue cutting remark schtick, and she just repeats it out loud like she knows he thinks it's dumb but she doesn't care... so great, her clocking this guy early and often. Emotionally and psychologically, he might as well be wearing a big fake nose and a blonde wig, for how easily and casually she sees through him. I love it!