[Androzani84]

Well, Sunred stole my thunder, but he can’t steal my showmanship.

Tomica Hero Rescue-lert

Being a Sakamoto show, there’s going to be a lot of guests from past Toku shows. Some will be major villains, others won’t be. This is one of the former cases.

Our start villain Miura is played by Masanori Mizuno, who was previously Jun Watari/Rescue 5 in Tomica Hero Rescue Fire.

As for our secondary etymology lesson, Tomoko Nozama’s Rider reference should be even more obvious if you’ve seen a certain Amazon original series, but her forename sounds like “Tomo”, meaning “friend”, which was a major theme of Amazon’s show.

And for something few talk about, Miu’s beta bitches, Jun and Tamae, are named for Junko Tama, V3’s female lead.

We also get some older Riders cameoing via stock footage, though why they chose Super-1 to go with Ichigou, Black and Kuuga is anyone’s guess. The others are new beginnings ones, so I’d argue Skyrider would’ve made more sense.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Gentarou and Kengo aren't immediately what I think of when I think iconic Rider duos, because I think the larger ensemble they're both a part of, in its totality, is the real heart of the show, but I loved getting to see how Kengo in particular ends up being shaped by that week after week.

Even in the second episode, this series is already hammering home the concept that you can't do everything yourself, and you need to find people that can handle the stuff you can't, while you handle the stuff they can't. This show knows exactly what it wants to talk about!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

Orion Zodiarts still to this day is a memorable kaijin for me in the Kamen Rider series. I personally love how a constellation that involves a belt is the first of its kind since belts are a key element in Kamen Rider overall. Plus, one of the relatively easiest constellations to find thanks to the belt portion of it, I think.

If only there had been a really prominent Spider constellation!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

We also get some older Riders cameoing via stock footage, though why they chose Super-1 to go with Ichigou, Black and Kuuga is anyone?s guess. The others are new beginnings ones, so I?d argue Skyrider would?ve made more sense.

Tomoko just finds them interesting!

[DreamSword]

Super-1 was likely chosen because he was the first Rider to do space travel. Even if it was brief.

Also because both Fourze and a certain other character who shows up later in this show likely took quite a bit of inspiration from Super-1's' overall style.

[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Well, Sunred stole my thunder, but he can?t steal my showmanship.

Tomica Hero Rescue-lert

Being a Sakamoto show, there?s going to be a lot of guests from past Toku shows. Some will be major villains, others won?t be. This is one of the former cases.

Our start villain Miura is played by Masanori Mizuno, who was previously Jun Watari/Rescue 5 in Tomica Hero Rescue Fire.

As for our secondary etymology lesson, Tomoko Nozama?s Rider reference should be even more obvious if you?ve seen a certain Amazon original series, but her forename sounds like ?Tomo?, meaning ?friend?, which was a major theme of Amazon?s show.

And for something few talk about, Miu?s beta bitches, Jun and Tamae, are named for Junko Tama, V3?s female lead.

We also get some older Riders cameoing via stock footage, though why they chose Super-1 to go with Ichigou, Black and Kuuga is anyone?s guess. The others are new beginnings ones, so I?d argue Skyrider would?ve made more sense.

I am so morbidly curious to see how your devotion to detailed behind the scenes trivia handles episode 3 and its choice of location filming.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Also because both Fourze and a certain other character who shows up later in this show likely took quite a bit of inspiration from Super-1's' overall style.

Amazon? I guess I can see it. He's definitely got a Showa look to him.

[Switchblade]

I decided to play along after all.* Last time I went through Fourze I did my own recap posts (it says something about how long ago this actually was that I called it "pulling a Fish Sandwich" instead of "pulling a Kamen Rider Die"). It occurred to me that it would be fun to look up my posts from then and see how my responses hold up over half a Tsukasa later. **

I got a little more structured after a few posts, but here's the kick off:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

So, following up on my own suggestion I started rewatching Fourze last night. I'm almost certainly not going to do an arc-by-arc recap like Fish Sandwich, but after the first two episodes I am definitely remembering how much I loved this show's characters. I'd forgotten just how delightful Gentaro is and it's nice to see the early version of Yuki again, before she was exposed to too much cosmic radiation and lost her damn mind. I'm looking forward to the rest of the cast getting folded into the KRC and the inevitable arrival of Ryusei.

I remember having some big issues with the show's pacing near the end, but I'm curious to see if that's less of a problem when I a) know it's coming and b) am not watching one episode a week.

Another thing I'd forgotten is how good the action is. Taikawa did such a great job playing Fourze as this kind of aggressive but clumsy brawler. I miss the era when Rider fights didn't just consist of dudes standing around throwing CGI at each other (looking at you, Grand Zi-O!).

So yeah, glad I decided to go back and watch this again. It's been really hard to watch it without a huge grin breaking out across my face.

For me, I think Fourze maybe slots in just behind Hibiki in terms of being Kamen Rider Comfort Food. It's not my favorite show, but it's one that I think has pretty much the perfect vibe for being just a fun show that I can always sit back and enjoy. Most of it is the cast. Fourze has one of my favorite overall casts, including both the Riders and the supporting cast. I think it says a lot that I still love watching this show when I'm normally completely sick of high school stories and character archetypes.

I'll stand up for the filmmaking and action, too. The classic "3-2-1" henshin sequences are iconic and I think it's a coin toss if Den-O or Fourze is Taikawa's best performance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Amazon? I guess I can see it. He's definitely got a Showa look to him.

Amazon definitely has a strong influence on Fourze. Amazon was mainly known for two things, one of which was gorily dismembering his foes. Fourze uses switches to add weapons to his arms and legs, which are exactly the kinds of parts that Amazon would routinely rip off of his enemies.

There was also a thing about friendship, but that feels like kind of a stretch.

*There is a very decent chance I will fall behind and give up somewhere in the 30s.

**I cannot promise these will obey the "no spoilers" rule because I wasn't factoring that in when I wrote these. I'll see if I can insert spoiler tags for anything that feels like it's stepping over the line.

Unless I forget to.

I will probably forget to.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

I'll stand up for the filmmaking and action, too. The classic "3-2-1" henshin sequences are iconic and I think it's a coin toss if Den-O or Fourze is Taikawa's best performance.

The Kamen Rider Die Club* adds another member! Welcome aboard, after all!

The thing I love best about the Henshin sequence is how its very simple formula requires the directors and editors to bring something original to the table every single episode, and usually in a charmingly comedic way. (Maybe even multiple times per episode!) Like, there's plenty of cool poses and catchphrases and Ore whathaveyous throughout the many Kamen Rider series, but I like this one for how someone's gotta come up with a visual gag, rather than some dynamic edit or ballsy cut. Like, even the point of the Henshin is to be fun. This goddamn show!

* we're not calling it that, don't worry

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The thing that's especially fun about Gentarou in the first episode is how he gets across the idea that friendship doesn't mean you have to change yourself to fit in, or ask the other person to change for you. It's just about being open, and valuing yourself and other people. That's some heroic spirit!

Also what makes Gentarou's mission to befriend everybody in school worth doing, as everybody is different and comes with their own challenges and Gentarou loves challenge to engage his strong emotional intelligence. Trying to change Kengo at his core would defeat the point of befriending him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Geats is my favorite Kamen Rider series, full stop, but I can't ever be that excited about a premiere whose major action sequence is CG. Fun structure to that episode, but definitely not my favorite fight.

Geats is my third favorite Reiwa Rider show, after Gotchard and Saber. Used to be Gavv, but I recently decided Geats deserves it more. I'm not surprised that you didn't totally enjoy the premiere though, since you've always had such high standards for CGI monsters.

Congrats on your 6800th post!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 02 - ?COME ON, OUTER SPACE?

I don?t know that I ever liked Kengo?

He?s certainly way down my list of Favorite KRC Members. (Maybe last? It?s a bit of a toss-up, since I recall that JK didn?t exactly endear himself to me, either.) Some of it?s the performance ? Kengo?s meant to come across (I think) as tortured and driven, desperate to learn the truth about the Zodiarts while his body fails him and a new student antagonizes him, but the onscreen result always read as petulant and needlessly insulting. (Again, first scene for him in the series is dramatically and publicly humiliating a girl who liked him!) But some of it is that Kengo refuses to have fun or engage with anyone in a friendly way, the two things I?m basically watching this show for. It?s one of my least-favorite tropes, the guy who exists to mock and belittle the premise of the series. Kengo?s role is to be an obstacle, but he comes off as more of an irritant. Never really warmed to that guy.

The humorous part is that Gentarou says something to him like, "I don't like you, so I'm going to make you my friend." I like how the show's first quarter commits to the difficulty of Kengo through his insistence on not being part of KRC or Gentarou's friend, despite assisting them from its foundation. Like, yeah, he's not only asocial, we can see he's clearly an a**hole as early as his introduction, but I think that sets the level that gives him a lot of room for constructive development and it's probably another meta reason why Gentarou is the protagonist, as Kengo doesn't have that Showa Rider kindness to go with his Showa Rider loneliness. For how I'd rank Kengo as a KRC member, well, I don't have a firm ranking of them since they're such a lovable team, but I'd at least put him above JK and Ohsugi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

First, I loved Yuuki and Gen showing up to get answers from Tomoko, because it?s so dumb. Gen is relentlessly bad at investigating things or just generally moving this story forward when he applies himself ? furthering the idea that Kengo will be crucial in steering Gen?s nascent costumed heroism ? but accidentally great at it because he?s this big, boisterous personality that people can?t ignore. His constant blundering and misapplied enthusiasm ended up being key to uncovering Miura, but mostly because Tomoko found him car-crash fascinating. And then he just screamed at her like he?s in some terrible cop show! It was great! Yuuki has her hands full with this dope!

That wall-kick in to a kabedon was so crazy, startling poor Tomoko like that! Gentarou cannot make a normal entrance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Also, Tomoko debut: perfect episode.

Tomoko did cameo before, sitting at the freaks table, but yeah, love to see her helping out the pre-established KRC here while also being the reason it's called that!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Congrats on your 6800th post!

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

That wall-kick in to a kabedon was so crazy, startling poor Tomoko like that! Gentarou cannot make a normal entrance.

Gentarou is the prototype for Fujimi from Zeztz, another protagonist that IMMEDIATELY jumps to the wrong conclusion as to who is behind a supernatural mystery, and commits to that error with a frightening and hilarious intensity. Gen and Yuuki were just going to get more info, and Gen for some reason thinks the first person he sees is a villain he has to scream into submission, which is just a complete and stunning misread of the situation. I loved it. I loved it so much!

[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER FOURZE EPISODE 03 - “THE QUEEN FESTIVAL COMPETITION”



I wasn’t even planning on watching this tonight? Got home late from a movie (Mercy; awful but so awful it was great) and didn’t feel like I had a ton in the tank for Fourze, despite skipping yesterday due to the Bears game. I don’t love skipping two days in a row, but I’m letting myself take this process as less of an obligation, and more of something I do when/if there’s time. It’s not "skipping days", it’s letting this be a hobby I do in my spare time. It’s okay to say Not Tonight, you know? But, god damn, I love Fourze. I didn’t want to go another night without watching it, so here we are. Getting to talk about this show is a gift, and I want to honor it as such.

Unlike Miu!

Fun episode centering ever more members of the opening title’s cast, this time adding JK and Miu to the mix more prominently. JK’s here to help Gen (and the viewer) better understand the social hierarchy and interrelated anxieties of the students, since 1) Gen just got there and seems to be hilariously/frustratingly status-blind, 2) Yuuki conveys information about social groups the ways one might denote mines in a minefield, and 3) Kengo is perpetually annoyed at the very idea of human connection or social responsibility, so we definitely need a kid that’s capable of weaving folks together, even if it’s sleazy and transactional. JK adds another tool to the show’s narrative toolbox; also, he’s a tool, so we’re just cutting right through it.

With Miu, we’re in kind of a different space. She’s full-on Mean Girl Miu in this episode, assured of her own majesty and disdainful of everyone else in the school, most of all her adoring fans. She’s maliciously ungrateful, which bites her fully on her ass at the climax, where her mid-episode venom is replayed for all of her fans. There’s a little bit of back and forth between her and Gen over the course of the episode, a little runner about him betting her he can Pygmalion some other girl into beating her for Queen of the school (valiant effort from Yuuki, who correctly points out that three dancers in the talent portion should be against the rules), but it’s sort of just Miu being awful, she’s exposed as being awful, cliffhanger into next episode. It’s kind of hard to not just see it as just desserts, you know?

What makes it work is that it feels like the second part of a third storyline this episode, about Gen refusing to give up on the Hopping Switch. Kengo thinks it’s difficult to control and marginally useful, so he immediately gives up on supplying it for Fourze. But Gen refuses to give up on it, pledging to keep using it until a purpose reveals itself – which it eventually does, securing a brief victory over the episode’s Zodiart. It’s a cute bit of heroism and dedication from Gen, but it’s kind of not really about the Switch. It’s about friendships.

Kengo instantly discards people who can’t help him in his mission, and that’s kind of his whole decision-making matrix when it comes to letting people in. With Gen, it’s… like, making friends with everyone means making friends with everyone. You gotta spend time with cool, passionate dorks like Yuuki, but you also gotta spend time with vain, imperious jerks like Miu. You might have to argue with them, or get insulted by them, or directly challenge their status and inherent sense of self, but in doing so you can get to know them enough to find the value in them. Refusing to even try out of dismissiveness or pragmatism isn’t some smart move, it’s laziness and lack of imagination. You never know which weirdo or jerk or sleazeball or constantly-fainting misanthrope could be your next new friend.

…Okay, reading that back, I’m not sure Gen’s right on this one? We’ll find out next time!