Kamen Rider Fourze: The Final Score

[Keith Justice]

I'll save my detailed breakdown for the podcast, but I gave this series a B-. Great heart, fun overall world presentation, a mess of world construction and characters and fights that came off more clumsy that not... except for when Koichi Sakamoto did directing.

Series that gave birth to possibly the greatest Kamen Rider Movie of all time though.

What's your final score?

 

[Dark Kabuto]

Keith, you ought to finish Den-O now. Fourze is far sillier then Den-O was.

Overall, I thought Fourze was a good series. It knows how to keep you engaged with the show, and I liked that it kept a tight lid on a lot of the story elements, it made for a really big "Wow" moment when something really big got revealed. But at the same time, I thought that it was to it's detriment, due to the fact that most of the episodes felt like filler almost. But the characters were fun to watch, if slightly one dimensional.

I don't mind the switches my self but oh boy...they stopped making sense the further they went along in development. Overall, I give Fourze a solid B.

 

[Ben3000]

Fourze was a good series. I really enjoyed the characters. I wish the villains were given a bit more to do but I still enjoyed it. I can say Fourze has been the most fun Kamen Rider series when compared to other Heisei shows so it was always nice to tune into a show which was just having fun with itself. Overall, Fourze gets a solid B from me as well.

 

[Khaiden]

It ain't over until you've seen the remaining two movies!

 

[Grimmhelm]

it was a good show all in all despite having a little bit too much goof in it and the fact it had a habit of dilly dallying when some of the episodes could really have been one parters.

in the end the characters were good the tales told were in great form and we got a solid story once and for all.

so i think everyone, even if you didnt like the series most of the way through should give one last shout out to it until the movie heads our way.

IT'S SPACE TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEE!!:castlerock:

 

[Mang0TarD]

Fourze definitely felt like a lot of filler and they didn't really make too great use of their time. However, despite all of that and their less than stellar character development, the Fourze team still found a way to keep you engaged and wanting more.

I was a big fan of the Sakuta/Kijima arc myself - Kijima was the only Horoscopes enforcer I really felt for aside from Emoto because of his seemingly multi-dimensional character. I saw him as an onion, as overplayed as that metaphor is, because he started out as the simple head of the Rakugo club, becoming increasingly diabolical as his run as an enforcer continued.

His ability to actually enjoy his job attracted me to him too. Unlike Tatsugami who was bound to Gamou by loyalty and Libra's never-ending quest to prove himself, he was motivated by his own will and desire. It was something I hadn't seen in a villain in a long time and his character was definitely a breath of fresh air.

 

[MetalSymphony]

Fourze was all over the place.

Starting with the feeling of being Kamen Rider mixed with [Insert American High School drama here]. But around the middle mark it just screwed that up.

The suit and Gimmick never meshed with me. I don't really like white in riders and the whole Switch gimmick to me screamed "Hey, spend many sleepless nights trying to buy us like you did for O medal's! Only we lack that solid feeling and are mostly hollow plastic!", and after having Mini-heart attacks trying to get O-Medal sets i said screw it.

The overall quality of writing seemed to crash a burn around mid-season as well. Gentaro seemed to go from being a Lazy genius to being a moron from one arc to the next.

Speaking of characters. I didn't mind Kengo, he always had that cool detachment early on, but did warm up slowly as the show wore on. Yuki, though, was annoying as F&%$, Miu was a shitty Club persident, not doing really anything useful, same with JK. Shun at least piloted the Power Dizer...that was shoved to the sidelines one the other states started showing up. Tomoko did use her Goth powers to help out now and again, plus she seem to be the female most guys where ogling in this show (you'd think Miu or Yuki would be that).

Meteor was a decent secondary rider...had he kept his identity secret until the final arc, the KRC finding out who he was ruined the dynamic they had going.

the Foodroid's where the stupidest idea for a "little robot buddy" gimmick ever. The devices from W actually had functionality with the riders weapons (most of them anyway) and you could accept them more because they where things like Phones, watches and camera's, very innocent looking things. The Candroids also had this going for them, looking like any other Japanese style vending machine can. But the Foodroids? Extremely fake looking fast food items that, while not a unusual sight in a high school, still sticks out like a bloody wound. (it doesn't help that the toys for them sucked majorly and didn't sell very well)

The horoscopes where very badly handled IMO. If they had spread out the development and introduction o the member evenly over the run of the series, that would have made them an interesting and powerful villian group...but they dragged thier feet and shoved pretty much all that into the latter half of the show, to the effect of reducing who was woed to be powerful enemy commanders into slightly more difficult MOTF.

I will say i did enjoy the final arc, if only for finally being every element of the story together for a Sakimoto directed treat for the eyes. And i actually had no issues with Kengo just "getting better" right at the end, where i know alot did.

In the end, Fourze had alot of potential, too bad it wasted the majority of it. It's going down as the lowest rated Rider ever, and i think it deserves it.
it's gets a D from me.

 

[KingWilly]

A very great show.

The premise was really original (for a Rider show), and it had a ton of likable characters to carry it to fruition. With the exception of Meteor Storm, all of the suits were utterly fantastic and a great homage to Space Ironmen Kyodian; the shining white Fourze suit will help it stand out against the rest of the mostly dark Rider suits.

The theme song and music was lovable, the action was also very well done (although I think Fourze's fighting style is a misuse of Sakamoto's talents, luckily Meteor and the Megamax movies showed it off to the fullest).

The toys weren't as cool as the past two Rider shows, but they definitely had a lot of charm to them; and the sounds and narrator for the switches were really well done.

Although I didn't like that Ohsugi's original plotline with his crush on a different teacher was dropped, I must applaud the writing for the rest of the show; very little of it felt like filler because the storylines were enjoyable by themselves (something not many shows can do). Also, the villain's motivations were a mystery until the end, which I didn't like; but the infodump was handled a lot better than various other shows (I'm looking at you, Den-O and Timeranger).

All in all, it was a blast; and I hope Wizard can live up to it. 4.5/5

 

[Egallardo26]

~Review Snip~

I agree with this 100%. Fourze had so much potential, but it went no where for most of the season making each episode after another feeling like a real drag to watch. The characters felt 2 dimensional with the lack of focus on anyone except Gentaro and Ryusei, and the whole concept of friendship suffered because of it. I really wanted to like the show, especially since it was my first time watching a Kamen Rider "live" as it was airing. I hope Wizard will be a lot better than Fourze.

Score: F

 

[Chenix]

This series taught me a very important lesson, just because a series had good designs and nice music, does not make it good. This show really disappointing me in almost every aspect of the story. The characters are just one dimensional and never made me feel any emotion for them, and when they had there character arc that was it for them, no more development. The villains where bland as hell and never really gave that much of a threat until the last three episodes. Which speaking of that, the pacing in this show is just terrible. I can live with having 12 horoscopes, but they really dropped the ball with introducing them. They did not introduce the fifth one till after 20 I believe, and after that they just became the villain of the week, nothing more nothing less. Pacing with the plot as horrible as well, with the core switch being shown the first episode, wait till the mid 30s to give it a name, and wait till the last three episodes to show what it is. While on the subject of that, kengo himself, that was just stolen from W and OOO of him dying. If they wanted to do that, he should have been built of more and more foreshadowing, instead of after episode where he is stuck in the rabbit hutch as the guy who made the switches usable. I felt no emotion for him dying and when his letter was being read. This series sucked and I am glad that it is finally over. Also if anyone wonders why I still watched it to this point, it was to see the zodiart suits in action, that is about it.

Score: F