Kamen Rider Die rewatches Kamen Rider Fourze

Kamen Rider Die · Yesterday, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

But it's even more crazy that both him and Ryo Yoshizawa, who portrays Ryusei/Meteor both went on to become big names after this show.

All I'm hearing is that I should not get my hopes up for a Kamen Rider Meteor 15th Anniversary film.

(Also, holy shit, that kabuki movie looks amazing. Definitely going to check it out if/when it shows up on streaming, because it looks like I already missed its scattershot theatrical domestic release?)

(Also also, let me point out that in Kokuho, Ryo Yoshizawa plays a character named... Tachibana.)

Sunred · Yesterday, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(Also, holy shit, that kabuki movie looks amazing. Definitely going to check it out if/when it shows up on streaming, because it looks like I already missed its scattershot theatrical domestic release?)

Same here, I'm gonna have my eye out for Kokuho. But since we're talking post-rider careers, there's also another movie starring Yoshizawa which was fun that I stumbled upon a while back.

He plays a man who aspires to be a Shogi master, but a twist of fate has him give up and end up coding an AI Shogi program and take on his rival once more. Oh yeah, Fumika Baba, aka Medic, and Kanna Mori aka Natsumi Hikari, are in this as well. Baba plays the role of the sister to the AI club guy who helps Yoshizawa's character, while Mori plays the role of the rival's wife.

Kamen Rider Die · Yesterday, 08:43 PM

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE X CRAYON SHIN-CHAN CROSSOVER SPECIAL

I had no idea what this was before I watched it! I guess it was a series of 30-second shorts to promote a Crayon Shin-Chan movie? I don’t know, there’s really nothing to them (it’s maybe 90 seconds of actual storytelling) but it’s neat to see a Kamen Rider crossing over into something with the global ubiquity of Crayon Shin-Chan. This was cute!

—

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 31 - “THE FIEFDOM OF PLEIADES”

I can’t imagine what the Meteor version of this series would’ve looked like.

We’re here at what’s nominally (to my limited memory) the conclusion of Ryuusei’s main arc, and it’s probably coming at least two episodes later than I’d’ve liked, with a compelling structure (melodrama and unrequited love and switched roles!) and a heel turn I don’t fully buy. Aries is finally found, and at the same school that Ryuusei transferred from in order to find Aries, which is the kind of dramatic contrivance that Yamada would find delicious. Ryuusei is exposed as Meteor, at precisely the moment where he murders Gentarou, which doesn’t feel like it’s going to do wonders for either identity. It’s a bunch of major plot things happening, and I don’t know that I connected with much of any of it.

Like, this is a problem that should be a slam-dunk for Ryuusei: Aries is right there, zero mystery as to his identity, no backup from the other Zodiarts, he’s got Fourze on the scene, and all they have to do is defeat Aries, recover his Switch, and use that to synthesize a cure for Jirou’s hilariously convoluted malady. (I think this is the first time it’s completely spelled out? Jirou activated his Switch, it went haywire for some reason, and it’s stuck in the Switch On position because he’s in a coma and can’t switch it off. This… for sure feels like a health problem the show decided on fairly recently!) But instead of doing the absolute final step in a multiple-month plan that Ryuusei was 100% dedicated to, he gets frustrated, and anxious, and headstrong, and decides to trust Aries over Tachibana, betting on the verifiable actions of an untrustworthy adversary over the uncertain outcome of a trusted ally.

That’s the part that sort of lost me? Ryuusei’s strategy here is just, like, impatience. Tachibana has a plan; it’s not a guarantee, but there’s literally nothing to suggest that Tachibana can’t deliver as promised. (Also, I assume this was always the plan? But right this second it’s not good enough for Ryuusei?) Abandoning the plan to date to hope that Yamada – a legit and visible psychopath – will do what he promises, at the cost of Gentarou’s life, is bonkers. If there was no other way, or Tachibana was less certain, or a million other things that’d give Ryuusei some narrative cover for being all I HAVE NO CHOICE, then fine. But he’s just opting to trust Yamada because he can’t risk Jirou’s life, and I just don’t know that he needs to? Jirou isn’t more at risk than he was an episode ago, and the worst case scenario for Tachibana’s plan not working is that there’ll just be another Aries later, right? The Zodiarts still need a full complement of Horoscopes, right? So why the insane gamble?

If it works at all (and it didn’t for me), it’s because this is an episode of Kamen Rider Meteor, not Kamen Rider Fourze. Fourze is the show about the beauty of friendship; Meteor is the show about the tragedy of friendship. Ryuusei’s a guy that can’t stop turning himself into a monster in the hopes of saving his friend, when heroism would get the job done just a little bit slower. His whole story has been about expediency at the cost of empathy, and this final turn is no different. He could trust in his friends to come through for him, or he could take it all on his shoulders and suffer the consequences of that isolation. What’s one more moment of distrust on top of months of deception?

And, y’know, hell of a cliffhanger: Gentarou, dead; Meteor, unmasked; Tomoko, sad. Typical episode of Kamen Rider Meteor!

Androzani84 · Today, 04:34 AM

When you transfer schools to find a guy, but he transferred to your school.

Also I love how they use what is clearly Toei’s stock bunny mascot suit for Yamada’s Zodiarts form’s silhouette.

And what a cliffhanger!

Anyway, random thoughts over. Actor trivia time.

I missed out on it last time, but Ryusei’s implied old girlfriend Mei is played by Runa Natsui, aka the female Shinken Red in Shinkenger, Gokaiger and that Go-Busters movie.

And Yamada himself was previously Decade’s alternate Leangle Mutsuki Kuroba.

Kamen Rider Die · Today, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

And Yamada himself was previously Decade?s alternate Leangle Mutsuki Kuroba.

And now he's the Strongest Zodiart!

Yesterday, 07:23 PM	#341
Kamen Rider Die Kamen Ride Or Die Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,963	Quote: Originally Posted by Sunred But it's even more crazy that both him and Ryo Yoshizawa, who portrays Ryusei/Meteor both went on to become big names after this show. All I'm hearing is that I should not get my hopes up for a Kamen Rider Meteor 15th Anniversary film. (Also, holy shit, that kabuki movie looks amazing. Definitely going to check it out if/when it shows up on streaming, because it looks like I already missed its scattershot theatrical domestic release?) (Also also, let me point out that in Kokuho, Ryo Yoshizawa plays a character named... Tachibana.) __________________ Currently rewatching: Kamen Rider Fourze \| Other series available on the archive!

Yesterday, 08:21 PM	#342
Sunred Ex-Weather Three leader Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 12,041	Quote: Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die (Also, holy shit, that kabuki movie looks amazing. Definitely going to check it out if/when it shows up on streaming, because it looks like I already missed its scattershot theatrical domestic release?) Same here, I'm gonna have my eye out for Kokuho. But since we're talking post-rider careers, there's also another movie starring Yoshizawa which was fun that I stumbled upon a while back. He plays a man who aspires to be a Shogi master, but a twist of fate has him give up and end up coding an AI Shogi program and take on his rival once more. Oh yeah, Fumika Baba, aka Medic, and Kanna Mori aka Natsumi Hikari, are in this as well. Baba plays the role of the sister to the AI club guy who helps Yoshizawa's character, while Mori plays the role of the rival's wife. __________________ Last edited by Sunred; Yesterday at 08:33 PM..

Yesterday, 08:43 PM	#343
Kamen Rider Die Kamen Ride Or Die Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,963	KAMEN RIDER FOURZE X CRAYON SHIN-CHAN CROSSOVER SPECIAL I had no idea what this was before I watched it! I guess it was a series of 30-second shorts to promote a Crayon Shin-Chan movie? I don’t know, there’s really nothing to them (it’s maybe 90 seconds of actual storytelling) but it’s neat to see a Kamen Rider crossing over into something with the global ubiquity of Crayon Shin-Chan. This was cute! — KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 31 - “THE FIEFDOM OF PLEIADES” I can’t imagine what the Meteor version of this series would’ve looked like. We’re here at what’s nominally (to my limited memory) the conclusion of Ryuusei’s main arc, and it’s probably coming at least two episodes later than I’d’ve liked, with a compelling structure (melodrama and unrequited love and switched roles!) and a heel turn I don’t fully buy. Aries is finally found, and at the same school that Ryuusei transferred from in order to find Aries, which is the kind of dramatic contrivance that Yamada would find delicious. Ryuusei is exposed as Meteor, at precisely the moment where he murders Gentarou, which doesn’t feel like it’s going to do wonders for either identity. It’s a bunch of major plot things happening, and I don’t know that I connected with much of any of it. Like, this is a problem that should be a slam-dunk for Ryuusei: Aries is right there, zero mystery as to his identity, no backup from the other Zodiarts, he’s got Fourze on the scene, and all they have to do is defeat Aries, recover his Switch, and use that to synthesize a cure for Jirou’s hilariously convoluted malady. (I think this is the first time it’s completely spelled out? Jirou activated his Switch, it went haywire for some reason, and it’s stuck in the Switch On position because he’s in a coma and can’t switch it off. This… for sure feels like a health problem the show decided on fairly recently!) But instead of doing the absolute final step in a multiple-month plan that Ryuusei was 100% dedicated to, he gets frustrated, and anxious, and headstrong, and decides to trust Aries over Tachibana, betting on the verifiable actions of an untrustworthy adversary over the uncertain outcome of a trusted ally. That’s the part that sort of lost me? Ryuusei’s strategy here is just, like, impatience. Tachibana has a plan; it’s not a guarantee, but there’s literally nothing to suggest that Tachibana can’t deliver as promised. (Also, I assume this was always the plan? But right this second it’s not good enough for Ryuusei?) Abandoning the plan to date to hope that Yamada – a legit and visible psychopath – will do what he promises, at the cost of Gentarou’s life, is bonkers. If there was no other way, or Tachibana was less certain, or a million other things that’d give Ryuusei some narrative cover for being all I HAVE NO CHOICE, then fine. But he’s just opting to trust Yamada because he can’t risk Jirou’s life, and I just don’t know that he needs to? Jirou isn’t more at risk than he was an episode ago, and the worst case scenario for Tachibana’s plan not working is that there’ll just be another Aries later, right? The Zodiarts still need a full complement of Horoscopes, right? So why the insane gamble? If it works at all (and it didn’t for me), it’s because this is an episode of Kamen Rider Meteor, not Kamen Rider Fourze. Fourze is the show about the beauty of friendship; Meteor is the show about the tragedy of friendship. Ryuusei’s a guy that can’t stop turning himself into a monster in the hopes of saving his friend, when heroism would get the job done just a little bit slower. His whole story has been about expediency at the cost of empathy, and this final turn is no different. He could trust in his friends to come through for him, or he could take it all on his shoulders and suffer the consequences of that isolation. What’s one more moment of distrust on top of months of deception? And, y’know, hell of a cliffhanger: Gentarou, dead; Meteor, unmasked; Tomoko, sad. Typical episode of Kamen Rider Meteor! __________________ Currently rewatching: Kamen Rider Fourze \| Other series available on the archive!

Today, 04:34 AM	#344
Androzani84 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2019 Posts: 3,003	When you transfer schools to find a guy, but he transferred to your school. Also I love how they use what is clearly Toei’s stock bunny mascot suit for Yamada’s Zodiarts form’s silhouette. And what a cliffhanger! Anyway, random thoughts over. Actor trivia time. I missed out on it last time, but Ryusei’s implied old girlfriend Mei is played by Runa Natsui, aka the female Shinken Red in Shinkenger, Gokaiger and that Go-Busters movie. And Yamada himself was previously Decade’s alternate Leangle Mutsuki Kuroba. __________________ The song has ended. But the story never ends

Today, 08:20 AM	#345
Kamen Rider Die Kamen Ride Or Die Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,963	Quote: Originally Posted by Androzani84 And Yamada himself was previously Decade?s alternate Leangle Mutsuki Kuroba. And now he's the Strongest Zodiart! __________________ Currently rewatching: Kamen Rider Fourze \| Other series available on the archive!