宇宙よく来ました: A Kamen Rider Fourze Wrap-Post
Another year, another Kamen Rider over. *sniffs* While I brace myself for what really looks to be lame, lame series coming up, here are my final thoughts on Kamen Rider Fourze.
I just re-read my post from the first episode. It was mostly positive although I made a lot of fun of the Bumblebee PowerDizer. My feelings towards the show overall stayed on that affectionately mocking track for most of the series. Let's start with what went well.
Kamen Rider Fourze began with a cheerful hero, a unique setting (this strange quasi-American high school) and a solid group of characters. The space theme was a great choice for this year. They didn't take it in a science fiction route like Gokaiger either, but dealt a lot with the science facts. These kids want to be real genuine astronauts and are obsessed by real genuine space travel. Despite having a hutch on the moon they can chill in anytime they want, they want to get there with human technology. A bit odd, perhaps, but I think reminding kids that we can still dream that high is a good theme.
Then we have Gen-chan: After years of either hyper wimp anti-heroes or over the top arrogant jerks, it was really nice to get a rider who was neither. I found Gen-chan a refreshing change and certainly one of my favorite individual riders. After I got over the "rocket ship" nature of the suit, I fell in love with his massugu attitude and overwhelming belief that Friendship is Magic. He never deviated from his course, even when facing betrayal and death. That is serious character strength. He's not the most dynamic hero, and indeed changes little if at all in the course of the show. This show isn't about his change, though, as it is about how he changes others. Gen-chan his making his dent in the world one fist bump at a time, and I enjoyed watching that.
Kengo, is the main source of dynamism and and change in the series. Even with my shipping goggles off, his relationship with Gen-chan goes through a lot of ups and downs that affect who he is as a person/data ningen/mystic core child thing... I'll get to that more later. Kengo's gradual acceptance of Gen-chan and eventual acceptance of humanity as a whole is what pushes the plot forward. Also, *readjusts shipping goggles* Magnet Pair is my favorite thing in the whole series.
The rest of the support cast also starts strong. In their initial arcs, I enjoyed every single one of the support crew. Every person was decently well-rounded and went through a full character arc before being allowed to join Kamen Rider Bu. Can I just say how much I love the idea of a Kamen Rider Bu? I love it. Probably my favorite support member was Miu because she is just so very kickass. She knows what she wants, holds her own against Daimonji and weighs their relationship against her own feelings, and she takes action whenever that's the sensible course. It is very rare to get a girl like that on a rider show who doesn't spend all of her time mooning over the male characters. (You can mention the prom episode if you want, but that came out of nowhere and returned there just as quickly). Kaichou forever.
Yuuki was also a highlight for me. I've heard others say she gets annoying, but I identified with her geek passion so strongly, that really never happened for me. She is just so proactive in every situation, and she has adorable hand puppets. With the exception of the weird Gemini arc (which made no sense), I found Yuuki likable and a necessary counterpart to Kengo's sulleness.
JK probably got the most development of the support cast, getting multiple episodes to deal with his conflicts and cowardice. It made him the most well-rounded of the team, and I wish the show had more time to give that kind of development to the other characters.
Then there's, Ryuusei. Honestly, I'm still a little luke-warm on Ryuusei and most of the warm part comes from watching the Ryuusei Chance on the quiz show where the actor gets to just ham, ham, ham. While he's strong in his initial arc, his motivations slide, he gets this weird het plot with Nozama and he just sort of sits there playing his second fiddle the rest of the show. Probably because of the vast amount of support characters, Ryuusei and Gen-chan never really had that "Duo" aspect that a lot of other shows get. Once Ryuusei's arc was solved, he had nothing to do but show up and fight horoscopes when the opportunity presented itself. A Nothing against him as a character, but I wish he got a bit more to do. Also, I wish they'd have let him stop doing the "Wahcha!" attack sounds.
The villainy was a bit more confusing, but at least in the beginning I liked a lot of the intrigue surrounding Leo, Libra, and Virgo. Leo is very easy to hate, both because's he's an abusive boyfriend and because he kicks puppies. Libra's plotline was really interesting right up until he defected back to Gamou. I didn't really understand that. They spent so much time showing him disgruntled with no one around to watch, it seemed cheating to say it was all an act. I would have liked his redemption to have had at least a grain of truth. Gamou never really moved me as a villain, a bit too stock type, and one just cannot look menacing while sitting in a Swedish egg chair.
Really the third arc of the show is where a lot of sharks got jumped. They were running out of time, and all of the support crew (excepting JK) was forgotten. They started pushing characters into slots that weren't really made for them. Yuuki's arc, and the idea that her friends wouldn't believe her and that she would abandon them in her time of need, just made no sense. Kaichou and Shun were relegated to saying what the computer says. Nozama as left as a hapless damsel... and that awful teacher guy kept hanging around. I understand that it was time to focus on Kengo's story arc, but so much got brushed aside in the meantime.
Kengo's story arc also was just ... so forced. Besides being a near direct rip-off of Philip's story arc, the whole job was rushed. Now, this is not me snubbing my nose at the penultimate episode where Kengo and Gen-chan finally get married. That was all good. Thumbs up over here. I liked that Kengo had to revert back to his initial self and find himself no longer able to keep up those fronts. I also liked seeing Kengo get super powers, though I wish he had more of a chance to use them.
No, the problem came after Kengo "dies." I didn't really believe Gen-chan and the rest of the team would be able to follow his letter, and it bothered me a bit that they jumped in so easily. Gamou being a pretty boring character, also just didn't have the depth to make me care about him or believe he'd use his last act to revive Kengo. If they wanted to go that route, they really needed to spend another minute showing Gamou actually regretted killing Kengo's dad.
Also guys, every piece of tension you try to build up dissipates the instant the camera cuts to JK and his fashion of the week. Stop cutting to him at emotional moments.
I can't help but compare this last episode with Double's. In Double, we get almost a full episode of Shotarou's grief, his struggles continuing without Philip and working as half a hero. It really solidifies Shoutarou's character growth, and it makes me hurt. Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a problem with my favorite characters being killed. I have a problem when they are killed sloppily and I don't feel any hurt from it. Philip's death still hurts. His return was A) given a technomagically plausible explanation and B) took enough time that it didn't cheat anyone out of his death.
Kengo just... shows up again. Hi! Everything's super! Yup, Gamou saved me and I woke up in my own room like it was aaaaaaaaaaall a dream. I'm a real boy now. I am not complaining that Kengo's alive because I want my ship to sail and sail proudly, but it was all so obviously a rush job. I've started listening to a couple tokusatsu podcasts and realized there are English speakers out there watching these shows without shipping goggles on. I don't understand it, but I imagine a lot of them were more disappointed than I was as that last ep.
I think the main challenge this show faced was that it was an Olympic year. That meant it was two episodes shorter than the average series. Two episodes could have made a big difference in solidifying the villain arc and making Kengo's arc a little more powerful. For a show that started as strongly as it did, I was a bit disappointed in a slapdash ending.
Not that I'm ungrateful for the service and the hug to end all hugs. KR Fourze never disappoints with service.
In the Bandit's rankings, this one doesn't quite make it to the top (with Double, Hibiki, and Den-o), but also pretty far away from bottom (Certainly no Decade or Kiva). It was a fun show with a catchy theme and a lot of really fun people in it. I will keep it on the hard drive and probably watch it through again sometime in the future. Lord knows I'll be needing some Rider to fill the void because I'm 95% certain Wizard is going to suck.
Till next time, stay cosmic, folks.
I just re-read my post from the first episode. It was mostly positive although I made a lot of fun of the Bumblebee PowerDizer. My feelings towards the show overall stayed on that affectionately mocking track for most of the series. Let's start with what went well.
Kamen Rider Fourze began with a cheerful hero, a unique setting (this strange quasi-American high school) and a solid group of characters. The space theme was a great choice for this year. They didn't take it in a science fiction route like Gokaiger either, but dealt a lot with the science facts. These kids want to be real genuine astronauts and are obsessed by real genuine space travel. Despite having a hutch on the moon they can chill in anytime they want, they want to get there with human technology. A bit odd, perhaps, but I think reminding kids that we can still dream that high is a good theme.
Then we have Gen-chan: After years of either hyper wimp anti-heroes or over the top arrogant jerks, it was really nice to get a rider who was neither. I found Gen-chan a refreshing change and certainly one of my favorite individual riders. After I got over the "rocket ship" nature of the suit, I fell in love with his massugu attitude and overwhelming belief that Friendship is Magic. He never deviated from his course, even when facing betrayal and death. That is serious character strength. He's not the most dynamic hero, and indeed changes little if at all in the course of the show. This show isn't about his change, though, as it is about how he changes others. Gen-chan his making his dent in the world one fist bump at a time, and I enjoyed watching that.
Kengo, is the main source of dynamism and and change in the series. Even with my shipping goggles off, his relationship with Gen-chan goes through a lot of ups and downs that affect who he is as a person/data ningen/mystic core child thing... I'll get to that more later. Kengo's gradual acceptance of Gen-chan and eventual acceptance of humanity as a whole is what pushes the plot forward. Also, *readjusts shipping goggles* Magnet Pair is my favorite thing in the whole series.
The rest of the support cast also starts strong. In their initial arcs, I enjoyed every single one of the support crew. Every person was decently well-rounded and went through a full character arc before being allowed to join Kamen Rider Bu. Can I just say how much I love the idea of a Kamen Rider Bu? I love it. Probably my favorite support member was Miu because she is just so very kickass. She knows what she wants, holds her own against Daimonji and weighs their relationship against her own feelings, and she takes action whenever that's the sensible course. It is very rare to get a girl like that on a rider show who doesn't spend all of her time mooning over the male characters. (You can mention the prom episode if you want, but that came out of nowhere and returned there just as quickly). Kaichou forever.
Yuuki was also a highlight for me. I've heard others say she gets annoying, but I identified with her geek passion so strongly, that really never happened for me. She is just so proactive in every situation, and she has adorable hand puppets. With the exception of the weird Gemini arc (which made no sense), I found Yuuki likable and a necessary counterpart to Kengo's sulleness.
JK probably got the most development of the support cast, getting multiple episodes to deal with his conflicts and cowardice. It made him the most well-rounded of the team, and I wish the show had more time to give that kind of development to the other characters.
Then there's, Ryuusei. Honestly, I'm still a little luke-warm on Ryuusei and most of the warm part comes from watching the Ryuusei Chance on the quiz show where the actor gets to just ham, ham, ham. While he's strong in his initial arc, his motivations slide, he gets this weird het plot with Nozama and he just sort of sits there playing his second fiddle the rest of the show. Probably because of the vast amount of support characters, Ryuusei and Gen-chan never really had that "Duo" aspect that a lot of other shows get. Once Ryuusei's arc was solved, he had nothing to do but show up and fight horoscopes when the opportunity presented itself. A Nothing against him as a character, but I wish he got a bit more to do. Also, I wish they'd have let him stop doing the "Wahcha!" attack sounds.
The villainy was a bit more confusing, but at least in the beginning I liked a lot of the intrigue surrounding Leo, Libra, and Virgo. Leo is very easy to hate, both because's he's an abusive boyfriend and because he kicks puppies. Libra's plotline was really interesting right up until he defected back to Gamou. I didn't really understand that. They spent so much time showing him disgruntled with no one around to watch, it seemed cheating to say it was all an act. I would have liked his redemption to have had at least a grain of truth. Gamou never really moved me as a villain, a bit too stock type, and one just cannot look menacing while sitting in a Swedish egg chair.
Really the third arc of the show is where a lot of sharks got jumped. They were running out of time, and all of the support crew (excepting JK) was forgotten. They started pushing characters into slots that weren't really made for them. Yuuki's arc, and the idea that her friends wouldn't believe her and that she would abandon them in her time of need, just made no sense. Kaichou and Shun were relegated to saying what the computer says. Nozama as left as a hapless damsel... and that awful teacher guy kept hanging around. I understand that it was time to focus on Kengo's story arc, but so much got brushed aside in the meantime.
Kengo's story arc also was just ... so forced. Besides being a near direct rip-off of Philip's story arc, the whole job was rushed. Now, this is not me snubbing my nose at the penultimate episode where Kengo and Gen-chan finally get married. That was all good. Thumbs up over here. I liked that Kengo had to revert back to his initial self and find himself no longer able to keep up those fronts. I also liked seeing Kengo get super powers, though I wish he had more of a chance to use them.
No, the problem came after Kengo "dies." I didn't really believe Gen-chan and the rest of the team would be able to follow his letter, and it bothered me a bit that they jumped in so easily. Gamou being a pretty boring character, also just didn't have the depth to make me care about him or believe he'd use his last act to revive Kengo. If they wanted to go that route, they really needed to spend another minute showing Gamou actually regretted killing Kengo's dad.
Also guys, every piece of tension you try to build up dissipates the instant the camera cuts to JK and his fashion of the week. Stop cutting to him at emotional moments.
I can't help but compare this last episode with Double's. In Double, we get almost a full episode of Shotarou's grief, his struggles continuing without Philip and working as half a hero. It really solidifies Shoutarou's character growth, and it makes me hurt. Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a problem with my favorite characters being killed. I have a problem when they are killed sloppily and I don't feel any hurt from it. Philip's death still hurts. His return was A) given a technomagically plausible explanation and B) took enough time that it didn't cheat anyone out of his death.
Kengo just... shows up again. Hi! Everything's super! Yup, Gamou saved me and I woke up in my own room like it was aaaaaaaaaaall a dream. I'm a real boy now. I am not complaining that Kengo's alive because I want my ship to sail and sail proudly, but it was all so obviously a rush job. I've started listening to a couple tokusatsu podcasts and realized there are English speakers out there watching these shows without shipping goggles on. I don't understand it, but I imagine a lot of them were more disappointed than I was as that last ep.
I think the main challenge this show faced was that it was an Olympic year. That meant it was two episodes shorter than the average series. Two episodes could have made a big difference in solidifying the villain arc and making Kengo's arc a little more powerful. For a show that started as strongly as it did, I was a bit disappointed in a slapdash ending.
Not that I'm ungrateful for the service and the hug to end all hugs. KR Fourze never disappoints with service.
In the Bandit's rankings, this one doesn't quite make it to the top (with Double, Hibiki, and Den-o), but also pretty far away from bottom (Certainly no Decade or Kiva). It was a fun show with a catchy theme and a lot of really fun people in it. I will keep it on the hard drive and probably watch it through again sometime in the future. Lord knows I'll be needing some Rider to fill the void because I'm 95% certain Wizard is going to suck.
Till next time, stay cosmic, folks.