Kamen Rider Fourze (2012) Episodes 23 and 24 Overview

So, for this arc we are dealt a Zodiarts that claims to aim for being a hero like Fourze, and Ryusei is starting to soften up a bit more towards becoming just like one of the KRC guys, and we get to see Kijima in action as the Cancer Zodiarts! So does this set of episodes make the grade? Find out after the jump….

Episode 23: You know, I would not be surprised if Toei might have gotten some complaints about how rough the Meteor character was at the beginning, because boy have they flipped him around pretty quickly. Now granted, he’s still a prick, but the Meteor that was just a few episodes ago would not have hesitated to land a punch even if it meant that Tomoko would’ve been roughed up a bit. I’m not a fan of how fast they are turning him all buddy-buddy, but they are at least trying to make it work properly unlike a few other Kamen Rider shows (I’m looking at you Blade and Kiva, grrrrrr). So the Zodiarts here is a GIANT tribute to Sieg, not only in design but even in mannerism and the whole “Feathers swooshing around all over the place” effect. Of course this arc is a time honored tradition in Kamen Rider shows in which you have a baddie who is trying to be a goodie and then you and the Kamen Rider have to spend quality time trying to hope it might work. Sometimes this arc is done well, sometimes not, but at least so far when it comes to the basic Zodiarts there is no question about whether they are evil or not due to the Zodiarts Switch seemingly amplifying the darker instincts of the Switches’ owner. The Horoscopes though I wonder about, mainly due to the Switcher getting to keep his/her original body and Hayami’s extraordinarily reluctance to mass distribute switches unlike Sonada.

Ranting aside, Kijima makes his debut here and I have to say as a villain I’m impressed. He’s basically your typical young and cocky bad guy brought in to spruce things up among the main villain cast and he does do that job well, but I like the fact that he is able to pick fights with Fourze on a constant basis (meaning he’ll probably end up being the daily Horoscopes fighter while Hayami is able to go back to guiding things from the sidelines as Libra is not really suited for combat against Fourze and Meteor), and he’s still good with the puns. Cancer itself is pretty formidable with the heavy armor and pincers, basically meaning Fourze is going to have to use the right Switch combos to fend him off.

Speaking of Switches, the Giant Foot Switch is pretty funny to watch, and it has many combo potentials and can work well with the other States. I have to say though, I do miss the PowerDizer getting in on the action, but you know, CG costs. I’m actually kind of afraid for Shun as a character as with the arrival of Meteor he’s been reduced to comic relief for the most part and not really able to contribute physically as said CG costs keep the PowerDizer usage low.

Episode 24: Hmnn, to sum up the general impression of who the Switcher really was for Cygnus, I shall simply direct you to the following:

I really did think it was going to be Misa, a.k.a. Crazy Ballet Black Swan Girl, so seeing who was really behind the scenes was pretty nice for a change. Another aspect I liked about the Switcher is that the malevolent will of the Switch had overwhelmed the conscience of the Switcher. I have a feeling this might be brought up in future episodes, probably in a sort of “Mass-Zodiarts-Change” sequence in which the Zodiarts are woken up to take over their hosts, kinda similar to what happened to open up the next arc of The Guyver. Of course I wasn’t a fan of how quickly Cygnus was defeated by Meteor as we never really got to see what a Zodiarts unrestricted by human emotion and guilt could’ve wrought unto AHS, but the meat of this story was the KRC trying to get Eguchi to become a true hero.

In this episode we did see Cancer finally get set back in battle with Fourze, as it is now apparent that Long-Distance Combat will probably be the best way to deal with the foe. The question becomes how will Meteor deal with Kijima as he is primarily a Close Combat Rider? Me thinks that Meteor Storm Switch will probably factor in quite a bit to that. Again, I love the punnery that Kijima exhibits even when having to run away, you don’t really see that too much in Rider shows unless it’s a comedy episode, which reminds me, the Mid-Season-Comedy arc will be coming up shortly, and I wouldn’t be surprised that it will be Episodes 27-28 if what I am seeing about the 27 Preview is any indication.

Finally I do have to say I was a fan of the Tomoko/Ryusei hijinks in this episode, mainly because it was good comic relief to see what Inner-Ryusei would think about Tomoko’s use of witchcraft and her own inner sense/intuition. Plus I’m sure a ton of Toku fanboys will probably start up their TomokoXRyusei LoveLove Fan Art any day now, if they haven’t already.

Overall: I did find this arc enjoyable, as we got a heartfelt Journey of the Hero story, more facetime for Tomoko which is always a good thing (even when dressed up as a Grandma), and seeing Cancer in action does make me believe he will be sticking around for a while. Here’s to the next couple of episodes which will apparently deal with the mother of all High School issues: PROM. HENSHIN!