Fourze 03 released

[kokowaks]

we need more of these swimsuit episodes....

especially when its with an already awesome episode to begin with

[Connie_Edogawa]

new fan art just posted to pixiv within the past few hours!

Spoiler

[AkuTenshiiZero]

Ugh...I'm still not sold on this series as a whole, but I swore I would give it a try for a couple episodes and I guess I'm getting used to it. Gen seems less obnoxious now that he's settling into his role, but Sidekick-chan is still pretty annoying. Also, Fruity Loops with the nail polish...Can't tell if gay or just slightly insane.

Though I have my issues with the characters, I have to give credit where it is due: The choreography and wire-fu is phenominal in this episode. I was drooling over Scorpio's badassery, and Chameleon was no slouch himself. Definitely gonna tip my hat to the suit actors and stunt coordnators on this one.

Also, apparently Gen is going to use his drill to make the impossible possible.

[hunter-urufu]

What is it about the switches that makes people fidgit with them? Our first shot of Kengo had him playing with one, and now Gentarou spent most of his time non-transformed futzing with the hopping one.

In regards to Scorpio/Scorpus's Suit actor, the fighting style reminded me of Sorisa, the Scorpion Kaijin from Gekiranger. That doesn't really mean it's the same suit actor, just means they have the same Choregraphy/training.

-Edit: I'm getting the feeling that Gentarou Shouting "Uchu Kita" Is part of the transformation, as evidenced by him doing it while doing a running henshin....And still running while doing so.

[Connie_Edogawa]

What is it about the switches that makes people fidgit with them? Our first shot of Kengo had him playing with one, and now Gentarou spent most of his time non-transformed futzing with the hopping one.

In regards to Scorpio/Scorpus's Suit actor, the fighting style reminded me of Sorisa, the Scorpion Kaijin from Gekiranger. That doesn't really mean it's the same suit actor, just means they have the same Choregraphy/training.

it's just a habit to do something with your hands. i have a pen with some of the chain from a stay-put pen taped to it, and whenever i hold it i have to spin the chain around it, then back in the other direction. can't help myself. if i ever have the money, i might get the switch with my favorite switching mechanism just to fiddle with it like that.

i was thinking the same thing. and it makes sense that they would fight similarly. i doubt there's a ton of ways you can fight that makes you look like a scorpion.

[hunter-urufu]

What is it about the switches that makes people fidgit with them? Our first shot of Kengo had him playing with one, and now Gentarou spent most of his time non-transformed futzing with the hopping one.

In regards to Scorpio/Scorpus's Suit actor, the fighting style reminded me of Sorisa, the Scorpion Kaijin from Gekiranger. That doesn't really mean it's the same suit actor, just means they have the same Choregraphy/training.

it's just a habit to do something with your hands. i have a pen with some of the chain from a stay-put pen taped to it, and whenever i hold it i have to spin the chain around it, then back in the other direction. can't help myself. if i ever have the money, i might get the switch with my favorite switching mechanism just to fiddle with it like that.

i was thinking the same thing. and it makes sense that they would fight similarly. i doubt there's a ton of ways you can fight that makes you look like a scorpion.

I find it amusing that both of the scorpion Kaijin in recent memory use mostly kicks and other things that use their legs. I could see a scorpion based fighting style where you use your hands to hold (Their claws) and then have an actual tail to use for...Well, what a scorpion uses their tails for.

[Connie_Edogawa]

I find it amusing that both of the scorpion Kaijin in recent memory use mostly kicks and other things that use their legs. I could see a scorpion based fighting style where you use your hands to hold (Their claws) and then have an actual tail to use for...Well, what a scorpion uses their tails for.

well, like you said, the tail. scorpions tend to use that more than their claws because the poison usually takes an enemy down faster. and without actual claws to use, the hands aren't gonna be as good in that kind of motion. plus, the kicks are meant to stand in for the tail, anyway. thus why scorpio has those stingers on his shoes and raises on leg when he makes that cool pose on almost all fours.

[JTanzer]

At the moment, I want to like Fourze more than I do. I know the first few episodes are not entirely suitable for judging a KR or Sentai. I didn’t like Blade and Gekiranger at all for the first few episodes, but they wound up being one of my favorites. But there are a few problems that are becoming a bit grating.

1) The Disney Channel acting. Not surprising with such a young cast, but disappointing and it exacerbates the other problems.

2) Gen is annoying. It’s not his over-the-top style or the blatant awareness of his main character status. It’s his conception of “friends.” Guess he’s never heard of Dunbar’s Number. I hope I’m not just being old-manish about kids these days and their FaceSpaces and Twiting and “web logs,” but I recall it being hard to make friends and the ones I did have mattered a whole lot. I was on good terms with most of the remainder of my High School but that was more like mutual non-agression. The Yuki, Kengo, Gen trio, we can see slowly developing into an actual friendship. But as for the others, I suppose we’ll have to wait. They do have 48 episodes to fill.

What’s my point? Simply, that every time Gen says “I’m going to be friends with you” it rings false, and he says it a lot. I can’t say it’s impossible to sort of force your friendship on people in High School. It’s a weird time. But here, there doesn’t seem to be an attempt at creating any sort of emotional connection, just bargaining them into it. Of course, he’ll eventually wind up saving them all from monsters and then they’ll be friends out of a sense of post-traumatic emotional dependency. Yay friends!

I’m really hoping they know what they’re doing with this, and that they do break it down at some point and teach him that he can't just accumulate friends like Pokemon or Achievements. The fact that Kengo and Gen seem to be slowly learning to respect each other gives me some hope that the friends-via-crazy-stunts is just an opening gambit.

3) The stereotypes. They’re wearing on me faster than I had feared they would. The pool scene was a prime example. They had a perfect moment—a few seconds away from the main setting—where they could have show a glimmer of something in the Cheerleader and her henchgirls. Instead, the scene played out exactly how everyone imagines people like this to act when nobody is looking. “Oh wow, bitchy girl is a bitch. What a shock.”

I’m not expecting them to open wide her character yet, but a peak inside, one line with a glimmer of humanity, would have been great. It would have made the sting of the video have a little more weight because the audience would know that, while she was guilty of saying those things, the spy also edited out the part where she talked about [something that would make us feel some connection with her]. Someone made a DVD of pictures of her? That’s hella creepy. Does she have to deal with stuff like that a lot? My guess is yes. That’s gotta cause some emotional scars. But no, she’s just a jerk.

All of these problems are fixable. The kids will become better actors over the course of the series, by virtue of practice. There are tons of ways they could improve Gen and address his definition of friendship. The stereotype issue will be tricky, as it will take a lot of work. If they take the effort to make up for lost time next week, I’ll feel a lot more confident. Maybe they felt she had to fall hard and far to grow.


When I set those three things aside, I enjoyed the episode. Cool fights, particularly with Scorpio. Mastering hopping was goofy fun and I look forward to seeing it used in a Limit Break (Hopping + Chainsaw could be glorious havoc). Yuki’s costume killed me. Goth was an intriguing presence yet again. I am liking JK more than I thought I would. He seems a fun character who transcends his flamboyance, if only a little. There’s some good potential for him to become a good mix of useful resource and chaotic shit-stirrer.

In summary, while I’m a bit disappointed so far, I remain hopeful. They’ve missed some opportunities, but there’s enough to keep me coming back for a few more episodes while, hopefully, they get their stuff together.

Though, honestly, I probably will watch through all the way through either way. I’m more worried about my roommate’s waning interest. I enjoyed having someone to watch OOO with—the first KR I watched weekly—and if her less-forgiving attitudes towards the above problems turn her off, I’ll be a sad panda.

Also, the sexualization of the cheerleaders made me feel like a creepy old man.

[dancercotillion]

Complaining that teens in high school are shallow and behave falsely is a little weird. I remember being 16, and no one acted naturally or had much depth. We're all psychopaths who say stupid things in high school. Real life high school is actually a lot like these shows; there are the packs of ravening dinks who run the school, there are the bands of outcasts who don't do much outside their own, and there are the oddball people who don't fit in anywhere.

My school didn't have athletics programs, though, so the king shits of turd mountain where I come from were the awful improv team.

JK does his weird JK hand movement in the opening credits, too. Now there's context!

[Barim]

Series is shaping up nicely so far, had my doubts during the rumour stage.

Although I'm still confused about one thing, what the heck is Kougami doing in the intro?

[akinaAE86]

I'm not saying who I think the Chameleon Zodiarts is until the next episode. I will admit if I'm wrong about it though. But you are thinking the same thing about the video as I did.

Here's my idea on who the Chameleon Zodiarts is

Spoiler

I would say that the Chameleon Zodiart is one of her lackeys... the one who got "attacked" first then ran off when they were performing... for some reason, a pattern is showing up as to who the Zodiarts are, people who are close to the object of their grudge or something...

[Netto no Zen-Aki]

Also, Fruity Loops with the nail polish...Can't tell if gay or just slightly insane.

Also, apparently Gen is going to use his drill to make the impossible possible.

Fruity Loops/JK, I won't say he's gay, I'll just go on the eccentric side *the very far side of it*. I mean, every series needs one of those comic-relief characters. And JK seems to fit the bill as well as taking up another slot as "Info Merchant" *that the main character never pays back LOL*

-Edit: I'm getting the feeling that Gentarou Shouting "Uchu Kita" Is part of the transformation, as evidenced by him doing it while doing a running henshin....And still running while doing so.

Ever seen KR Den-O? Momotaros did the same thing. So it's going to be slightly hilarious. I can actually see him doing the henshin while running, but not notice that there is something in front of him because of all the smoke and lights and hits that something or someone.

[Therm_Kitty]

What is it about the switches that makes people fidgit with them? Our first shot of Kengo had him playing with one, and now Gentarou spent most of his time non-transformed futzing with the hopping one.

In regards to Scorpio/Scorpus's Suit actor, the fighting style reminded me of Sorisa, the Scorpion Kaijin from Gekiranger. That doesn't really mean it's the same suit actor, just means they have the same Choregraphy/training.

-Edit: I'm getting the feeling that Gentarou Shouting "Uchu Kita" Is part of the transformation, as evidenced by him doing it while doing a running henshin....And still running while doing so.

It's advertising. Even if you don't buy/have the belt, you can still play with the individual Switches.

Also, I'm pretty sure all the transformation requires is engaging the Switches and pushing the slider. The rest is just flash. Including the catchphrase.

I'm going to assume that Kougami is related to the development of Fourze in the next Movie Wars and we'll get him yelling UCHUUU SUBARASHI at least once.

[Alessar]

I like how they managed to position the scorpion on Scorpio's head in such a way as to suggest both a face-hugger from Aliens and the face of a Predator.

There's ~no~ question in my mind Jake is gay, though they'll probably never make it explicit. There's been a lot of little stuff to suggest it like flirty lines, and sitting with more cute girls in the cafeteria than is allowed for straight guys.

[JTanzer]

Complaining that teens in high school are shallow and behave falsely is a little weird. I remember being 16, and no one acted naturally or had much depth. We're all psychopaths who say stupid things in high school. Real life high school is actually a lot like these shows; there are the packs of ravening dinks who run the school, there are the bands of outcasts who don't do much outside their own, and there are the oddball people who don't fit in anywhere.

People may act to type in real-life High School, but this is not real life, this is drama, which depends on the ability of an audience to make an emotional connection with the characters. None of the characters in Fourze have really hooked me. (Like I said in my post, I like JK and the goth girl because I totally knew those kids in High School, but they haven't really been central to the story yet.)

When half your airtime is kicking things until they explode, you can't spend a lot of time on character; you must get the hooks in quickly and efficiently, but I think they've missed some opportunities. That just leaves us with the broad archetypes, which isn't enough for me. Even if there's some realism to their behavior, it's not dramatically compelling. It doesn't have to be much.

Eg. We should ideally be able to think of Miu as "the Popular Cheerleader with [one wrinkle to her personality]." At the moment she's just the Popular Cheerleader who acts exactly like we'd expect her to. That's boring

I hold out hope for the show. The characters in Gurren Lagann were all very simple but acquired texture over time. If they make up for some lost time next episode I'll be a happier man.