Kamen Rider Fourze (2012) Episodes 21-22 Overview

Alright, Cram Session, Part 2: Cram Hard with a Vengeance! I should warn again, don’t expect much as far as pics goes here, and I’m only really going to touch upon things instead of go in-depth, although it won’t be as brief as the previous overview I did for Episodes 16-20.

Episode 21: Alright a new teacher, and it’s the awesome magician girl from Kamen Rider W! And Hurricaneger!  And Daimonji Kanon! Boy, she really like doing Toku shows…..Anyhow I do have to admit her character here is a nice change of pace from the other faculty members as she just simply doesn’t give a crap, as evidenced by the “Counseling Session” she has with Yuki, Kengo, and Gentaro, who greatly admires her superkick. It’s also a good thing that Virgo is starting to make more of an impact on the overall activities of the Horoscopes, as we are seeing Hayami come undone by the fact that the current Pegasus Zodiarts (who really looks like a recolored Horse Orphonach to me) was not a student chosen by him. Methinks it’s about to be Dark Nebula time for him as well. I also like the setup of a giant “Who is the Switcher?” between Haraka and the Rakugo Pres. Kijima, which floats back to more of the earlier episodes than the Quick-Switcher storylines they’ve been doing as of late to get Ryusei’s character some development. Overall I did like this episode, especially with the fight choreography with Fourze and Meteor, which not only showed the whole Riders-Begrudgingly-Working-Together-Meme, but also showcased the Claw and Board Switches to great effect. I have to say I really like how airborne this series is with it’s fight sequences, although having a WireFu specialist like Sakamoto helps.

Episode 22: The mystery continues, with Gentaro convinced that Haraka is the Pegasus Zodiarts, while Ryusei is lead towards Kijima by Virgo, who I think was actually brilliant in that by sending the KRC to Kijima, leading to his Zodiarts form being finished off before his subsequent evolution into the Cancer Zodiarts. With Cancer now in the picture I predict Hayami heading to the Dark Nebula in the next arc as it seems they really tend to go with 2 Horoscopes at a time in this show, especially as OOO proved having multiple Big Bads can be problematic for your overall story. I am also interested in whether they choose to reveal Virgo’s human form and maybe have her take Hayami’s place as the principal of the school or whether Gamou himself will finally step out and assume leadership of the faculty in that sense. I also have to comment on this arc’s comedy bit being Gentaro’s changing hair direction depending on how wind can effect him, plus his fully-straight hair after getting knocked out by Haraka in the Kickboxing Gym. It’s kinda nice that the staff are willing to play with conventions and in this case, parody how KR actors usually tend to have evolving hairstyles throughout a show that tend to go more over the top and haywire as the series goes on (see Takumi from Kamen Rider Faiz), whereas Gentaro simply keeps the same look throughout, even when shooting conditions are really rough to his Pompadour. Finally I do hope that they keep Haraka as the Homeroom Teacher, even if they only feature her every once in a while, as she would be a great foil for when they do bring back Sonada (especially if Sonada ends up taking the “Total Evil” Route).

This arc is pretty nice overall and I do recommend it for the fact that the overall arc is now starting to accelerate as now more Horoscopes are being revealed. I’m going to figure we’ll probably get the entire Horoscopes by Episodes 34-36, as that’s usually when the Final Forms for both Riders debut and in past shows they start the main Big Bad arc around then as well. I’ll leave you with some more craziness from YouTube, and in the future expect more of a regular pace from our reviews, except on more of a 2-arc basis. HENSHIN!