Kamen Rider Fourze Series Discussion

[odin]

I agree about the characters but not so much about the switches being a repaint completely and the Kaijin, at least here is how i see it:

the series may have some similarities with the past 2 ones but that has been a trend on some of the previous series, in the showa era as well so i don't really mind having similarities just as long as it is not a copy paste. The switches may be similar to the Gaia memories and Greed Medals but just in the way that they give different skills to the user but the theme is different on how the are made:

W: Nature

Ozu: Magic

Fourze: Technology

Same with the Kaijin, they may look the same but the way they are created and what they represent are different:

W: Drugs and Addiction

Ozu: Desire

Fourze: umm...Don't know yet, need to look at it a but more

give it at least a few more episodes and see if it manages to keep you interested, oh and I'm sure that Gentaro has something besides wanting to be friends with everybody, the girl that hangs out with him did say that he seemed different than the last time they met, maybe he has some insecurities or hidden pains that makes him want friends, dunno yet.

[*Jess♥]

i hear ya, but this is what i'm trying to express. I'm not even interested in watching any more episodes.

I'm not feeling it in any way.

you may as well ask me to watch 10 more minutes of watching paint drying. that's how i feel about it.

that's all.

to be sure, if I notice that you guys start raving about it, then i'll have a look at the things you are raving about

but the ratings are relatively poor as well.

ooo initial episodes floated around 7-10% rating, fourze is floating around 5-6%. the japanese audience don't seem to be too thrilled with it either.

[odin]

alright then, it is your decision anyways so i respect it, I really hope it gets better soon or I'll just casually watch it from time to time and focus on the other Rider series i have not watched yet.

[durendal]

Well, if you guys are complaining about how generic Fourze is, nothing beats the showa riders as being the most generic. I mean, aside from Amazon, all of them are cyborgs. All of them wages war against a secret organization, which almost all of their origins involve escaping the said secret organization.

[*Jess♥]

I think there is a difference though, between feeling generic and being generic.

something can be generic but still feel great. I think goukaijer is probably generic in many ways, but it doesn't feel that way to me.

fourze is possibly not as generic or more generic than some other series, but the issue at my end is that it feels generic.

this could be simply due to lack of other factors that would capture my interest.

[odin]

It could be, it's all a matter of taste really. I great thing happened today, i was watching episode 5 while waiting for my first class on the university and a friend of mine just happened to glance at what i was watching and he instantly got interested in it XD , he did not know anything about kamen rider or super sentai but when seen fourze he thought i was watching Power Rangers, I of course corrected him telling him what is Kamen rider and what is Super Sentai and he got so interested that he agreed to watching Kamen Rider OOO in which i will provide him the downloads that i have on my hard drive = P , hopefully this will be my third person to convert to being a Rider Fan.

[Toku Warrior]

I can understand at how it just feels generic. It's not as alluring or compelling as OOO, W or even Decade & Kiva. This series, to me, is like Hibiki but with the direction and writers from the second half but also minus the song based references.

It also seems that they just went with what they thought they could fit into a switch use. The Hopping Switch is just pointless IMO. The combi use of the Radar and Launching Switches is cool and the combi of Rocket and Drill to perform his Rider Kick is really nice.

I do like the Chainsaw Switch but that Parachute Switch isn't worth it. The two new switches he used in the current episodes which is a sub-woofer and a ball-n-chain....not really feeling them. I do like the Elec Switch but it's a bit too soon to introduce a switch that causes form change.

The story thus far isn't very interesting but I can still watch it without feeling bored with it. Who is the writer of this series anyway? I do like how Fourze portrays the highschool life nicely with all the HS stereotypes and such but the characters seems just....so...plain. I do agree that the "I will be friends with everyone in the school' is just a useless gimmick and it could have been better.

The story flow isn't that bad but it seems that it's being rushed a bit too much even if it's using the 2-episode system that was started by Decade.

I'm not loving it but I'm not hating it either. I think I can give it until episode 10 and then I'll make my final decision.

[durendal]

I think it's too early to define the story as I think they are currently in the "getting to know you" stage. Besides, with the current trend of merchandise sales of Kamen Rider related items, it has been on an all time high. So even if they screw this series up, I don't think they would mind since they can still "milk" their "cash cow".

As for the writer, it's Nakashima Kazuki. Doesn't seem to have any prior experience to Kamen Rider except episode 33 & 34 of KR W. Hopefully the story will pick up once they change writers. It seems to be a standard for all KR series to have a rotation of writers. Good news is that Sanjo Riku seems to be involved as a writer. He was the main writer for W.

[Toku Warrior]

Let's hope so. I just hope that they don't bring Kobayashi in on this series. She did fine with Ryuki and Den-O was her best series for Kamen Rider related material while OOO was moderate with her ability. If anything, she needs a break from Kamen Rider so that she can come up with fresh ideas.

[odin]

The series is finally on track, at least for me...from what I have gathered the series seems to have some heavy influence with Kamen Rider W but works with W's concept on a different route, W's message was about Drugs specially its smuggling concept with the Gaia memories but one of the things that it did not deal was with the victims after acquiring what they want and losing it in other words withdrawal symptoms, Fourze is trying to go this route, what happens to a Switch owner after he/she loses his/her power? Fourze touches this and works on intervention also and considering these things the school setting makes a lot more sense so now. I'm officially interested in Fourze and how are they going to do this, specially after the latest episode, which was great btw.

Edited December 6, 2011 by odin

[*Jess♥]

im up to ep 6. i like how the producers are addressing gen's odd ambition to be everyolnes friend, and actually challenging such a thing.

they aren't leaving it as a shalow trait, they are working with it and i find that appealing.

it's really such a shame that they did what they did with epsode 3. i think that was a huge mistake. one they may recovr from but not before paying the price.

[odin]

I have been thinking recently, wouldn't it be fun if Fourze did a crossover with Super 1? he is the first space theme Rider after all, the possibilities for a good story involving them would be pretty good.

[*Jess♥]

I don't know super 1.

but last night i watched the episode with daimonji.

I watched him using powerdizer or whatever it is called.

i think the exaggerated emotion was quite good. it was a bit too much, but i didn't mind it so much, it was just about ok.

I liked that.

[odin]

yea, that episode was pretty cool, I really hated daimonji but at least now it is explained why he is like that. btw the second rider has been revealed for a while now, he will be debuting in the new crossover movie with Ozu and W, I really dig the design although the belt looks too bulky but anyways I might as well post a few pics of him:

Edited December 9, 2011 by Ryuki
spoilers

[*Jess♥]

remember the spoiler tags please, as this is the ongoing discussion thread, unless he has already debuted in the show, it needs a spoiler tag.

that guy look pretty cool though.

[odin]

ah right, my bad...I'll keep it in mind next time.

[*Jess♥]

so we now have meteor?

what do you guys think of him?

I was very interested to see him doing his almost perfect mimic of Bruce Lee.

very cool

[odin]

That is what got me into a fan instantly, Meteor is very cool, his design is awesome too, I will definetly be seen this series through the end, just because of meteor, although the supporting cast is awesome as well, i just hope he does not get in the background as Birth, his design is by far one of the best in Kamen Rider History and he did not even get any upgrades that could get him to be as equal as a complete greed, just a rider strong enough for crowd control, not cool...with meteor I can see him getting even more awesome than he already is, which is hard to top since he is already using JKD as a fighting style.

[Toku Warrior]

Wow, no posts since January. Well, So far, it's keeping me interested. Gentarou is now actually having to work more at helping people, both students and faculty alike, and it shows that even he can fail sometimes.

I like how they have it set up with his friendship with Kengo constantly being tested....but that form, Magnet States, just so tacky.

I'm loving Meteor as he's just the type of secondary Rider that we need for a series such as this. though, if he keeps on running away to transform anymore then, sooner or later, he's gonna get caught.

I'm going to start a topic thread for spoilers and updates so that we can keep them out of here.

[*Jess♥]

I was really happy for the introduction of a particular actress that we know so well

she is so lovely

[odin]

I must say I am enjoying this series a lot, It does not take itself too seriously which is a good change of pace compared to other Rider series, I like all the characters the Cancer Zodiart and Meteor in particular, i have grown fond of Fourze's Elec and Magnet State but not so much his fire state, Gentaro is someone i would definitely be a friend with, the only thing that killed it for me is The Meteor Storm State, I don't mind the colors but the helmet is just awful, maybe it will grow on me over time but not right now, i am very anxious to see Fourze's "Final" form I like it a lot more than Meteor Storm and dang it I WANT TO SEE LEO IN ACTION ALREADY!!!!.

[*Jess♥]

I'm a little intrigued by the relationships that are growing between meteo guy and the guy in orbit andgentarou etc.

this is the first bit of intrigue I think I have seen in this series.

I will always generally hate how they have made it so much like a kids show, but i think I can sort of ignore that while watching.

there are some good bits.

[odin]

Alright, after watching the most recent episodes of Fourze and the Megamax movie (a good movie btw) I am convinced that fourze in a way its a continuation to Kamen Rider W, why do i say this?

because a certain organization from W keeps popping up in fourze which is Foundation X the group that made NEVER and the T2 Gaia memories, apparently they are funding Gamou's work. another reason is the fact that they have a lot of basic similarities like how the switches are like drugs, similar to Gaia memories only that they are concentrating this on a school environment.

knowing this it has me intrigued to find out how exactly are they going to follow up on this, if they do not do anything with this on Fourze then I'm very sure that they will on the next Kamen Rider Series. The Megamax movie was a nice treat for me as a Ozu fan so I may actually do a review of this movie in the future. As for the current events in Fourze I am liking the fact that they are making Leo (which is also my zodiac sign) so formidable that it is now Meteor's new goal as he is basically no match against him right now which makes me wonder if Meteor will get a new form soon although I doubt it since it is so late in the series already.

Edited May 21, 2012 by odin

[*Jess♥]

I think this was said a while back, that they were continuing this trend of keeping the series linked together in the same universe.

I forgot about that actually, with the juvenile nature of the show, it didn't seem to it within the same universe, but then of course in the kyoto episode, the foundation X turned up.

fourze is a lot better than when it first stared but it still can't end soon enough for me.

[odin]

yes, this was discussed a while back but for me it is not much of a big deal of each series being linked to one and other since it has been done since the showa era of Kamen Rider, the reason why i brought it up it is because Ozu has been more distant to other series in the past and now fourze shares a similar history with W making it a nice treat for me as well as W fans.