My Favorite Kamen Rider Series (So Far): #3 Fourze

Welcome back to My Favorite Kamen Rider Series (So Far)! Coming in at # 3 is Kamen Rider Fourze. Now I know I will likely get some flak for ranking this one above Den-O as this show is very divisive amongst Kamen Rider fans (which I will get into later). While Den-O certainly had stronger characters than Fourze does, nearly everything else Fourze does better. From the overarching story line to the main villains, Fourze is a top notch show and here’s why.

Plot

The story in a nutshell revolves around a high school where a rebellious has just transferred. He soon finds out that the school has a dark secret: some of the students are transforming into monsters (know as Zodiarts since they are based on star constellations) and attacking fellow classmates! The students are given switches by a group of evolved Zodiarts known as Horoscopes. The switches contain Cosmic Energy which transforms the user into a monstrous form. The only way to stop the Zodiarts is by using the Fourze System. Unfortunately, the only person who knows about the system is too weak to use it. That’s where the transfer student comes in! With his fiery spirit and indomitable stubbornness he is able to wield the Fourze System and push back the growing Zodiart menace. What follows is a fantastic story and some extremely memorable characters.

Characters

The show features quite a few characters but I will focus on the 4 we see the most throughout the show.

Gentaro Kisaragi

Gentaro is the transfer student I mentioned earlier in the plot synopsis. He is  an extremely likeable character and perhaps the most child-like Rider of all of the Hesei era series . His goal is to become friends with everyone at his new high school and he will go to great lengths in order to accomplish this goal. Gentaro has a very naive world view. However, it’s this naivety that makes Gentaro so likeable. No matter what someone does to him (even if its trying to kill him) he will always extend his hand out to them in friendship.

Kengo Utahoshi

Kengo is the original wielder of the Fourze System. However, his body is too weak to use the system and he ends up giving the Fourze Driver to Gentaro. Kengo is one of the most interesting character in the show. He is parentless (his father, who created the Fourze System, died on the moon due to a betrayal by his partner), brash and generally unfriendly but is a genius tactician. Throughout the show you find out the reason behind Kengos’ persistent weakness and it’s one of the more interesting twists of any Hesei era series to date.

Yuki Jojima

She’s…a bit off…

Yuki is a childhood friend of Gentaro. She is incredibly upbeat (almost annoyingly so) and is obsessed with anything space related. Her obsession makes her a bit of an outcast. She is friends with Kengo and acts as his support for the coming Zodiart threat. She has one of the more interesting story arcs near the end of the series where we find out more about what’s really going on beneath that sunny demeanor.

Ryusei Sakuta

Ryusei is an exchange student from another local high school. He is also the secondary Rider known as Kamen Rider Meteor. Initially Ryusei is a snake in the grass, using the members of the Kamen Rider Club for his own means. However, he eventually becomes a member of the Kamen Rider Club and becomes a great ally to Gentaro. His fighting style is modeled after Bruce Lee (complete with woos and hyahs).

There are several other characters (namely the other members of the Kamen Rider Club) that play a major role in the first 20 or so episodes but soon fade into the background towards the end of the series.

What I Liked

There are several positives to Fourze. The first is the overarching story. While the story drags a little in the middle of the series, it really picks up towards the end with a lot of shocking revelations and some jaw-dropping fights. The story is one of the few instances in Kamen Rider that I feel the writers knew what the wanted to do from beginning to end. Other series I’ve seen seem to have a great beginning but have a rushed and mediocre ending. That’s not the case with Fourze and it’s a pleasant surprise.

The second positive is with the main group of villains. You read that right. Unlike the other series on this countdown, Fourze has a well established and appropriately threatening group of main villains. The leader is enigmatic and honestly is a bit scary. His goals are made obvious; something some of the previous series main villains have lacked.  Also, the villain suit designs are some of the best I’ve seen so far. Each one is well thought out and resemble the constellation they are named after.

Freaking awesome villains!

Another positive that I haven’t mentioned in any of my previous reviews is the music. The music in Kuuga, Ryuki and Den-O was okay but Fourze has some of the catchiest background music I’ve ever heard. I have the entire OST and all of the various form themes on my iPhone and I listen to them on a daily basis. It’s just that good.

What I Didn’t Care Much For

Now I do have to mention something that I wasn’t a huge fan of: the Fourze suits. Fourze is a bit weird looking when compared to the suits that preceded it. He has a total of 5 main forms that he uses throughout the show and none of them are particularly pleasing to the eye. While not a big issue in the grand scheme of things, it’s definitely something to note.

Not winning any beauty pageants. Not pictured: Cosmic States.

Another thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was some of the switches the show uses. The Fourze System allows the user to utilize 40 different switches which end up being very hit and miss. Some are awesome like the Claw switch. Others are completely lame like the Pen switch. I get that they did this for toy sales (and I do own all of the switches, dumb ones and all). I just wish they could’ve put a little more thought into some of the switches.

Awesome!

Stupid!

What I Didn’t Like

Now for the negatives of which there is only one: supporting cast character development. In particular the other Kamen Rider Club members and the Horoscopes that appear later in the series. All of the Kamen Rider Club members were given nice story arcs with some great character development…and that’s it. They all become background characters that don’t really add anything to the story. It’s sad because I really liked some of these characters. This also happens to the Horoscopes. The first four or so Horoscopes have lots of development and stick around for quite a while. After they’re defeated, however, the succeeding Horoscopes pop up and fade away like regular Monster of the Week fodder. It’s a bit disappointing as some of these Horoscopes could’ve been really interesting if they had had a little more time to develop before getting their butts handed to them on a silver platter.

Poor guys…forgotten like yesterdays garbage.

Caveat:

Something that is worth mentioning is the overall tone of the show. As I mentioned in my introduction, Fourze is a very divisive show in the Kamen Rider community. It’s a pretty goofy/silly show when compared to the series that preceded it. It’s obvious the show was aimed towards a younger audience than the previous series were (Kamen Rider is generally aimed at teenagers). Does this make the show bad? Not as far as I’m concerned. I appreciate the lighter tone (although it gets pretty dark towards the end) as it’s a welcome change from the previous series. Some Kamen Rider fans, however, will find this unacceptable and that’s fine. My suggestion: watch the first couple of episodes and decide for yourself.

Verdict

Overall, Fourze is a fantastic show. It has great characters, awesome villains, catchy-as-hell music and some great fights. However, it falls just shy of the final two shows on my countdown. What are those shows? Well…you’ll have to tune in next Wednesday to find out!

Pros

• Main Characters
• Story
• Villain
• Music

Meh

• Suits
• Switches

Cons

• Supporting Cast Development

#6. Kuuga

#5. Ryuki

#4. Den-O

#3. Fourze

#2. ???

#1. ???