My Current Thoughts On Kamen Rider Series Part Three

Alright this one will actually have an easy theme to work with. I am focusing on the three shows after Kamen Rider Double, but I will go in order of Wizard, Fourze, and OOO. There is a very special reason why I am going to save OOO for last. I will admit I know the flak I got for loving Wizard when it was originally airing. Now as you can clearly see, I still have Wizard in the background because one I am lazy, but the other reason is that this background was made by a friend of mine so I will probably keep it because of that. For Kamen Rider Wizard, out of the three I will be mentioning this is still my personal favorite. I can easily agree that one of the other shows is stronger and that is the difference of a favorite and knowing when something is just better. Again that is all opinionated and if you feel your favorites are the best masterpieces around, you have the freedom to say that. For me as a critic, I need to know my personal favorites because it helps find out who I am and then just knowing what is simply a more well put together program is important for analyzing. Then both of these are important for when you want to recommend shows to other people. So let us actually get to the topic of Wizard and why it is still my personal favorite out of the shows that came after Double.

Kamen Rider Wizard

Why does Kamen Rider Wizard stand out to me as a person? One thing is that I may not be big on magic based heroes, I do love it when they are done with jewelry, weapons, and summons. A great example of this would be M.A.R not the best show, but it was fun to watch what different types of powers and magical weapons there were. In terms of designs, Wizard stands out with the jewel concepts and I love the use of black to make the other colors stand out. For the beginning of the action, I was a big fan of the action, Wizard had a great style of fighting and I will admit, when he got more powers some of those fights did lower in quality. There were some bad uses of CGI and there were good ones as well. I still enjoy the reveal of Water Dragon and the use of the Dragon summon fighting against the Phantoms inside others. I feel the Phantom concept was stronger than the Worms because of how they complete erase a person and will still have their memories which makes them extremely dangerous because of how they can interact with others. The story of how things simply went out of control because of one man's ambition is cliche I will admit that, but in the end the main story was not the focus of the show. Now that is a flaw in itself and it is hard to ignore. To me though, Wizard did have a strong focus on their filler episodes because of the concept of hope and despair. Haruto was helping out others to find their hope and while Haruto did hold onto his to become Wizard, he still needed to find some answers on his own. I find the show to be extremely helpful in regards to facing your despair and sometimes it does require a helping hand. Kamen Rider Beast while his story was simple, I can say his process of becoming a selfless person was fun, encouraging, and bit of a learning experience to how people can change. I even enjoy his motif of being a stage magician which inspired me to create a rider with the same motif, Trickster. No one in the cast actually bugged me and while some characters were wasted like the Mages, it was still a fun concept and had moments still. So with Kamen Rider Wizard it does hit many personal spots for me and it made it special for me to watch and I still remember many of the episodes and moments the show had. If it did focus a bit more on some story points we would probably have a bigger focus on the Mages and the White Mage, but in the end I am still happy to what Wizard was. So for my personal thoughts, Wizard still comes off as an A, but I will admit the show is a bit more of a B or B-

I still keep my opinions about Sora/Gremlin.

Kamen Rider Fourze

I have to say that with some great talks with my fellow Toku Warriors, mostly Janitor Joker. It did give me a bigger appreciation of this show. For Zolda, he extremely loves this show and when I first saw it, I did enjoy it. Now these days I am still rather mixed, but I see it in a better light than I originally did. It is hard for a show to do multiple characters that effect a story and that is probably one of Fourze's biggest achievements. The Kamen Rider Club was full of colorful characters and all had their own importance and even crucial story moments. For many the whole friendship angle can be beaten to death and while Fourze does follow it, the show performs the concept to where things feel nice and warm. By that I mean that the show can surprisingly be strong in showing how friends our made even if these people are completely different. Gentaro who dresses like a punk is actually the nicest person around and he makes a unique group of friends. We got the jock, the cheerleader, the goth, the spaz, the genius, the talented one who first starts out like a bully, and then someone who hides his pain. It really collects a lot of tropes and it has been done before and yet Fourze still has a nice smell to it. It felt natural for the most part in regards to friendship and it does not stop there are many others that Gentaro befriends, even teachers! Now something similar to Wizard, I did enjoy the concept of Fourze's weapons as well. Some were a bit silly and were not even weapons and yet some can be used for different purposes. My personal favorite is the Pen Switch because it was bizarre idea for a weapon and I wished it was used more. I can admit though some were just tossed out. The show did experiment around with them though as one of my favorite moments is when Fourze is just boarding along with with his claw. Cosmic States really holds up to be one of the best final forms around in terms of design and powers. Now one thing that did hurt the show was the villains. I am not talking about the Gamou and his loyal men, Libra, Virgo, and Leo. The rest of the Zodiarts were a bit lackluster though. When Cancer first came into the show, I enjoyed the hell out of him. The fun did not last long though and he was taken out by one of the most ridiculous forms and attacks in Kamen Rider history. Scorpio was good as well and had a good twist on who that actually was, but again when you keep moving on, you soon just forget about it though. Other Zodiarts were then just used for MOTW and while were still good, it would be more amusing if they were bigger villains in the end. The switch use got mixed up a bit in variety which was good and Meteor still had some awesome fights even if his character did just kind of stopped after his story was resolved. At least they still have Ryusei some funny moments and a girlfriend that all the fans want! So overall Fourze and Wizard do have similarities, but Fourze did have a more concrete story. So it is around the B+ area.

Kamen Rider OOO

I remember when I first watched OOO and I can still see my initial thoughts on the show. I praised it pretty well back then and there is Maki who I put as my favorite villain. I have to take back both of these claims. First I have a bone to pick with OOO in regards to what it did to Kamen Rider. We all remember Foundation X from Double. Riku Sanjo wanted to make the new Shocker and while Fourze did bring them back, sadly OOO easily caused a problem of not using Foundation X. There was even a connection in Kamen Rider Double where the foundation was researching the medals. What do we get in place of them, Kougami. While I love the guy's voice, what is reall his purpose in the show? That is pretty much what OOO is, what is the point? Eiji was a traveler and because of his past he did start to have desires, we learned that, then it takes like how many episodes for it to come to fruition? Eiji has a character was quite questionable as well because he is just watered down Godai and I can't believe I put this guy in my favorite characters list before! The Greeed were weak as villains and I still keep true to that. They got heavily ignored when Maki became the big villain and to be honest it is pointless as well. Literally it could have been anyone else who had interest in the Greeed. Then there was Maki's backstory with his sister and I remember originally liking that, but in the end that does not really connect to much. Things just happen in OOO and it just feels cluttered and messy. The whole concept of OOO was poorly handled as literally medals are thrown to the camera because you need to buy these things! The designs for OOO were messy when it was random combos and I will admit I personally like the random combos more though. The use of their powers had to be thought out, but even the writers gave up and just focused on the main combos. I still like most of the main combos as well, but some got overused and others were only ignored for budget reasons. The show just feels poorly planned because I do like the first Gatakiriba fight, but after that this form is so underused. At least the movie did something silly yet cool with that form. We even have Hina and her only connection to the story is because of Ankh using her brother's body and that was just by chance. I will say that I did heavily enjoy both Gotou and Date. Both Kamen Rider Briths were simply fun to watch for me. Gotou was a hero in progress and Date was the hero already that got to teach Gotou. It is Torodoki and Zanki again and while those two were better in the categories of, effective fighters, better development, and better weapons. Still Date was extremely fun as a character and gave the show the best humorous moments. I just feel bad for Birth in the end though, they just never stand a chance in any battle and yet Gotou could take down like three Greeeds when he first became Birth in the show. Then their is Ankh, I still like him and him becoming a threat later on was not shocking, but still fun in the end. Ankh slowly become more humane was enjoyable because meanwhile other Greeeds were just being... dumb. I can believe that Gamou was dumb and yet everyone else was not smart as well. The show's pacing is horrid, most of the fights were forgettable, the concept of OOO's powers are poorly handled, most of the characters are just boring, and yet it sold well. If you want to see how OOO could have been done well, just watch episode three and four of Kamen Rider Double.

Now do not get me started about OOO during the War movies!

Kamen Rider Fourze Series Review

Kamen Rider Fourze is the 22nd rider series as this one continues the partner motif and mixes it with a school life. Does this series pass with flying colors or does it fail like Gen did on a test where he got four points! Fourze takes place at Amanogawa High School where students learn and the usual things. A new student appears and his name his Kisargi Gentaro as he wants to befriend everyone in the school. He already meets a familiar face, a girl named Yuuki who was her childhood friend. With her is Kengo who is a friend of hers and Gen tries to befriend, but Kengo rejects his offer. Gen continues to look around the school as he starts to meet more characters. He gets the attention of the football club and the head cheerleader Miu. Things get ugly as Shun the captain of the team orders his teammates to fight Gen. He actually holds off well against the players, but Yuuki is held captive. Soon Gen is getting beaten up by Shun outside, but it stops as a big red monster appears! Everyone runs for it and luckily Gen is saved by Kengo who pilots a mech called the Power Dizer. Later on Yuuki meets with Kengo at a secret base called the Rabbit Hutch and we soon find out it's in space! Gen finds the place as he followed the two and overhears their discussion. It seems that Kengo has a device that can battle the creatures called Zodiarts, but he doesn't have the strength to do it. Gen takes on the challenge and takes the belt. Soon he finds himself in battle facing the red Zodiart as he uses the belt to become Fourze. Originally Gen didn't call himself a rider, but when he finds out about the urban legend about the Kamen Rider he soon labels himself a rider and makes a new club called the Kamen Rider Club. He continues to fight the Zodiarts and befriends new people as the story progress, but there is more behind the Zodiarts as students are given switches to become these monsters. Somehow students are being given these switches, but who and why?

There is a whole lot of characters to talk about so first is Kengo, who acts very anti-social in the beginning, but he starts to open up more and accepts Gen as a friend. Yuuki can get annoying as she is the same as Gen. She has more energy though and in the series her so called comedic moments can be good and bad, at least she does have good emotional parts. Miu is the head cheerleader and acts like a complete bitch. We soon learn that she hates people looking up to her though since they only try to catch what reflects off of her. She thinks people should shine on their own and everyone has one shinning quality. She has the best change as she becomes the head of the club and acts very courageous. Jake is a party boy who has never really had a true friend since he uses friendship to get what he wants. He constantly tricks people so he can get his way and hides his inner self. Gen gets him to open up and even though he still acts like a party boy he is way more friendly than he was before. Shun is the head of the football team and he constantly has to work hard to impress his father and he wants everything to go the way he wants since his father blinds with the idea of him being king. Shun changes into a hero as he fights and even though no one will know of his deeds he is happy to know he is doing something good for once. Tomoko is a goth girl who keeps herself away from everyone and wants to change herself because no one likes her. Gen likes how she is and she keeps to her dark magic and yet still act carefree and opens up to everyone. The secondary rider is Meteor who is Ryusei a transfer student and he hides his indentity because of a man named Tachibana who tells him to. Ryusei wants to find a certain Zodiart so he can save his friend from a coma because of a switch going haywire. He's mostly an anti-hero since he aims for his goals and defeats Zodiarts as he assists the club. Tachibana is a man who keeps his identity secret as well as he knows a lot about switches and Fourze. What both of these riders don't know what the overall goal is though and soon after teaming up they learn that a lot is at risk.

Pros- The first thing I want to say is how great Gentaro is. It's been a while since a I liked a main rider more since Decade's character sucked while Diend was awesome, Double and Accel were head on, but Accel had some better designs here and there, then finally Date and Gotou were really great together. So what makes Gentaro so great is how he acts. Full of energy and very kind. He reminds me of Godai if he had a sugar rush. He battle style is carefree, but he does get serious in fights. He also learns and uses combinations of his weapons the Astro Switches. These switches are for Fourze only and he can use forty-one switches as five of them give him new forms. The switches were very creative weapons as we get basic ones like a Rocket or Drill to some odd ones like Pen. The other characters are really fun as well and even though they get focus episodes here and there they contribute a lot to the series. The main villains are called Horoscopes and they are evolved Zodiarts mostly representing different horoscopes signs like Scorpio. With them and the Zodiarts the designs are very good as they give their themes well and share some great creativity. Along with the designs is Fourze and he's okay with the belt being the only bad part he follows a great space theme and represents a past Henshin hero. Meteor's design is really good with the space filled with stars on his body and his belt works better with the suit. There are also great forms for these riders as the best for Fourze is Cosmic as it's the only Blue final form so far as it combines all switches. Meteor gets the Meteor Storm form which is good looking and he has a nice weapon, but it's way too toy like. The finale for the series was really strong as it didn't feel rushed and it held a great message along with the best action in the series. Now the series plays with friendship a lot, but it's not like Yugioh friendship it's actual friendship. They just don't blurt the word out they show it very well and the series plays with it greatly making some really emotional scenes. The action in the series is overall good as there can be very good direction thanks to wire working and the many switches in Fourze's arsenal. The main Horoscopes are great with Sagittarius who is Gamou who made the school for his own personal reasons and aims for his goal no matter what. Tatsugami is his body guard and even though he's not the heavy emotional character he is simply a badass. Hayami is Libra and is the one who gives out most of the switches to students, but he does become more useful later on. Virgo is a loyal follower of Gamou, but "she" hides some secrets of "her" own and becomes the big page turner. There are also Scorpio and Cancer who only had a short time, but at least they weren't arc villains.

The series also pulls off a lot of great finishers

Cons- The Horoscopes are overall good, but sadly the series needed to show them all so soon Horoscope members were treated as arc villains. Where there are great ones like Aries and Aquarius we get bad ones like Capricorn who add nothing to the series. Even though Meteor's part of the story was good the series did focus on it a little too much and that affected the pacing of the show. Then after Ryusei's story he is just an okay character which disappoints me because he was really good as an anti-hero. The main story mostly remains a mystery the whole time until the near end with only hints around to try to progress the series. The series has way too many characters, but that is only because they push minor characters in. This gives screen time an issue and the only times big players can shine are two arced episodes for them. Even when things are remained a secret there are only a handful of shocking moments as you can guess what will happen later in the series. I did like how the series shown switches early on, but there is one big problem. There wasn't much variety of switches! Fourze will mostly use forms and the same switches more and it makes the action boring at times. There are also time the series just goes into a quick finisher, but it's not flashy like Double at times as they show the same thing again and again. I mentioned this in constant episode reviews so I am saying it one more time. Episodes end at really bad points and they always end at a cliffhanger at times llike Kabuto since it's follows an arc system. Past series have done better with this, but the worst part about Fourze is that it just cuts to it like seconds after a fight. It leaves you with disappointment and when it gets back to the second part the fights just ends soon anyways. There are also some bad parts with how space is used here and there and this isn't nit-picking since there was one scene where the club members only had about one minute to escape from dying in space! (something I forgot to mention in an episode review)

 This form really only had one different finisher and it was used way too much.

Overall- It's the lesser of the partner era Kamen Rider series has it sadly has a weaker story and it follows some plot points more than OOO did. The characters really make the show the most enjoyable part and it has great comedic and emotional moments. Don't pass this series because of how friendship is mentioned it is actually used well in the series so it will pass with a B. Kamen Rider Fourze is a good series as action can be very well done with more out suit combat than usual rider series. There are great characters to follow and them alone make this a journey worth while.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 48 Review Switch On Your School Days (Major Spolier Alert!!!!)

After Kengo's demise Gamou and Tatsugamu return to the Hutch to taunt our heroes. Gamou gives Gen back the Fourze Driver so he can keep it as a momentum and if he does try to fight, the next fight will be to the death. The two Horoscopes leave the Hutch and there Gamou tells the rest of the club that he will give his final speech tomorrow. The two riders get out of the Hutch as it soon explodes. At night the gang are in a classroom and there Yuuki reads the letter she got from Kengo. The letter holds Kengo's last words to everyone in the club as even Gen is brought to tears. Also in it, is the possibility that he was killed by Gamou. He says that the gang shouldn't hate Gamou for this, but try to stop and help him. The next day arrives as Ohsugi tries to warn the other teachers about Gamou being the head Zodiart, but no one believes him. Soon Gamou gives his speech to everyone in the school as he admits to what he has done with the students. He thanks them for helping him evolve and in one hour he will leave to space as the land will be destroyed. After that Gen meets up with the gang as they are ready for the final battle. Gen only wants Ryusei to come along with him though, but he has an idea for the others. Soon the two riders transforms and ride on into the scene where Gamou is beginning to summon the Dark Nebula. Leo summons Dustards to stop them, but of course that doesn't work. Soon Leo knocks Meteor off his bike and their final confrontation starts. Fourze goes into Double Rocket States and uses the Limit Break to take Gamou down to the ground. There Fourze goes back to normal and fights Sagittarius hand to hand. Soon he changes into Elek States and uses the blast finisher, next was the Fire States finisher as it was ineffective against Sagittarius, but Magent States was effective as Gen slams the giant magnet at his foe while pulling off the Limit Break. Back to Meteor and Leo as they are giving their all. Soon Meteor goes into Storm form to absorb an attack and uses the Max Power of the spinning top. There he not only sends it's once, but twice with more power. Leo is sent flying to the ground and there Meteor Strom uses a Rider Kick and Leo uses his howl move. Both of their attacks knock them out of their transformations, but Ryusei wins as he knocks Tatsugami down. Ryusei there says he will decide his own fate and Tatsugami's body vanishes. Fourze then goes into Cosmic States and with his sword knocked both sides use a kick marking the first normal Rider Kick for Fourze. They both hit each other and there Fourze uses the Cosmic Limit Break once more to send him to the school. There the remaining club members appear to give a graduation ceremony for Gamou? Everyone thanks Gamou for building the school as they have great memories being here as Gen continues to fight out of suit. Soon Gen tells Gamou that the school will now continue without Gamou as he transforms again. He uses the Rocket Drill Kick finisher, but he boosts it up to twice it's strength as it defeats Gamou. With Gamou defeated the Dark Nebula disappears and Gen befriends him since that's what Kengo and his father would want. Gamou accepts his friendship, but he doesn't have long to live since he has forced his evolution too far. Gamou wants the gang to go see the Presenter and Gentaro promises that he will. When Gamou leaves the gang give him a bow goodbye. Gamou reaches to a playground and looks up to the stars as he won't be reaching the Presenter, but he know his students will as his body also goes into dust. Another day is upon us as Gen tries to throw away Kengo's letter since it just makes him cry everyday, but Kengo stops him! Kengo is not too sure, but he thinks Gamou did something. Gamou did as he used Aquarius' powers to revive the Core Switch, but for some reason Kengo can't find the switch and he doesn't have the headaches anymore so he's human now? Gen says that he shouldn't worry about that since he's alive and well! Everything is now over as the remaining teachers will make sure to care for the students without the chairman and principal. Shun proposes to Miu and she loves the ring, but she spots a big red ring being worn by a boy and she loves that ring even more. Ryusei wants Tomoko to visit him at his school, but she is worried about Ryusei's girlfriend. Ryusei says that he doesn't have a girlfriend, yet as this makes Tomoko happy as he leaves. Finally Haru and Ran appear and the Rider Club starts in a new era and as Gen says they will befriend aliens!

Goodbye Kamen Rider Club

Dang they put on one hell of a finale I must say. There was really one flaw which was Kengo comes back! They pulled a Double on us. It's really a quick one too as Gamou just did it because he felt guilty which is good and all, but it wasn't really needed. With Double and how Phillip came back it was still sad since Wakana, the only remaining family member dies as well. Philip will live on without his family, but he has been living with one as well. This time it was really just thrown in so that people would be happy. I still say that OOO had the best ending out of the three since Anhk still has a chance, but not right now. The other ending scenes were nice as we see Wizard is going to be in this world as well continuing what OOO did. The Ryusei and Tomoko shipping is still very alive and I bet there will be more when Fourze comes back. Then seeing the Rider Club flag waving again with the remaining a new club members was very nice as they will go meet the Presenter. So yea the pulled a quick one on us, but the overall ending is still great which I will get further into detail now.

First was the action and boy they delivered. With Fourze he used all of his States forms, but didn't use other switches along. I think it would have been better if they mixed switches belonging to the set of the form like Hopping and Elek. That part of the fight was still very good though as there was great work with wiring. The fight really went all over the screen, but it's very easy to watch and know what's going on (if only Bay would learn that). Also seeing Gen try the forms was interesting because Fire did nothing since Sagittarius is a fire type which Gen probably didn't know so he still had to adapt and change his plans in the final battle. Magnet was used and he just slammed Sagittarius with it which was awesome as it fast paced unlike the last times that finisher was used. Cosmic was used near the end as we got a Rider Kick from Fourze and dang it was a clash of kicks and looked amazing. There also could have been more different Switch combinations there, but oh well. The best part of the fight was Meteor and Leo. The beginning was simply a beginning as the two go hand to hand. Later Meteor uses the spinning top in an impressive way as it can be used twice when Max Power is used. Then comes his kick on Leo and Leo using his howl. Both of these attacks knock them out of their transformations which was just completely the greatest thing ever in the Ryusei and Tatsugami rivalry. Great work on the placement  and showing injuries on both of them. Then back to Gen who soon fought Gamou without Fourze which was odd, but still fun to see Gen still winning. Then the last finisher was the most powerful Rocket Drill Kick this was seen last time against the Scorpio Horoscopes and even though we don't see the enlarging of the rocket and drill the attack was still powerful and impressive. Overall the action in the finale was near perfect and all that was needed was more miscellaneous switches. It was well paced and threw a lot, but still made it easy to follow.

Next is how Gamou is dealt with. I really like that how the team shouldn't hate Gamou. Gamou did take the wrong path, but he was just doing what he wanted to bring humanity closer to a higher evolution. So basically the group shouldn't hate Gamou as a person, but hate what he has done and try to help him before he goes further. It's a much different treatment for a villain compared to many other series and not just including rider series. Another thing that was nice was how Tatsugami and Gamou went too far since they were probably the first two Horoscopes. They have probably got to used to their new bodies so with a Limit Break their bodies couldn't hold anymore. I guess this could explain Gamou's red eyes since he had the red eyes oh wait Emoto had those too so he was probably second. Also how the gang gave him a goodbye was very touching because even though he built the school for his own purpose there are still memories made and they won't forget that. Soon Gamou does one good thing before his death and I can see why. Gamou said his students will meet the Presenter and Kengo is one of his students so he wanted him to live on. There is also the chance he wanted Kengo alive is so he can go to the Presenter since he originally was supposed to go. In the end Gamou was a very different kind of villain who got a different treatment. The team helped him get back to being a good person which really impressed me. Gamou probably made it to my favorite villains.

Now to the heroes and as I said before I love seeing how they don't just fight because of Gamou. They are fighting to save Japan and to save Gamou. It's a really big noble thing and I still mostly see heroes defeat villains and that's it. Sure they were told by Kengo that they shouldn't, but I have a feeling Gen would still forgave Gamou. Remind me of what Kengo said, the scene with his letter was on the same level when Gen got Kengo back to his senses. I mean hearing Kengo's final words to everyone was straight up sad and seeing everyone's broken down faces just added so much. We soon see Kengo saying what is said by thought and he smiles a lot as he talks about his friends. Kengo said things he never did before and especially calling Gen his best friend. The final episodes of Fourze had these really hard hitting scenes as the cast really pull of great performances as we see them completely down. The gang is usually happy and even when sad moments happen they never got like this before. Overall one thing that Fourze will be remembered for are the cast of characters as it really built up a great friendship in the club.

When Gen cries everyone cries

Even though the series did pull a Double on us the finale is still great. First there wasn't really anything obvious that said Kengo was coming back unlike Double and OOO so it was more of a shock this time. I guess I was somewhat expecting it because of what the last two series did. Everything before that was really strong, the drama got me sad and then excited when it got to dynamic moments. Then the action was straight out great with perfect direction. I give the episode an A as I can't wait for the Kamen Rider Club to come back in the next crossover movie.

Next Time: It's showtime!

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 47 Reivew: Goodbye Friend (Major Spolier Alert!!!)

After what happened the team went back to the Rabbit Hutch and is worried about Gamou since he still has the twelve switches. Meanwhile on the Moon, Gen and Yuuki go to see Kengo who is looking out to the Earth. Kengo says that he has learned about himself and knows about why he couldn't be Fourze and why he had the spasms. Soon Kengo takes off his helmet, but he is still alive somehow. Kengo then says he was born on the moon? Later on he starts to explain that he is the Core Child a form of life born from the Core Switch. The reason the Core Switch exists is to get samples of intelligent life for the Presenter. Gamou and Utahoshi were the first ones to find it and they were trying to solve the mystery of it so they can meet the Presenter. Utahoshi made the Fourze system so they could warp to him, but Gamou made the Zodiarts switch so that humans could evolve. When Gamou finished his switches he had Emoto kill Utahoshi, but the day before the attack the Core Child was born. Emoto soon say the child and decided to have it live with relatives and saying it was Utahoshi's son. With everything cleared up Kengo has to leave the Earth since he is a sample of human life. Going to Gamou he cannot activate the Dark Nebula since the Core Switch could be interfering. Gamou starts to stress out and soon attacks Tatsugami. Gamou cools down though and Tatsugami still pledges loyalty to Gamou since he shown him a whole new world. Soon Gamou activates his Supernova and his appearance changes. With this power Gamou is sure he can kill Kengo and destroy the Core Switch. Gen and Yuuki soon find Kengo at his house and there he asks Gen for the Fourze Driver. Kengo needs it so he can go back to the Presenter. Kengo knows he can use the Fourze Driver now because back then he simply didn't have enough power and the spasms he had was him gathering cosmic energy. Kengo has awakened now so he can use the Fourze Driver, but he isn't himself anymore. Kengo sees nothing, but a sample when he thinks about himself and not even Gen can convince him otherwise. Back at the Hutch the gang think more about the situation and don't want Kengo to leave, but that could not be an option. The door opens, but it's Tatsugami! Since Hayami reported about the Hutch the villains have finally found it. Ryusei takes him on and they have one awesome out of suit fight. Soon the both of them transform, but Tatsugami is still stronger. Ryusei tells Tatsugami that he will die by helping Gamou, but he doesn't care as he will happily die for Gamou. Meteor is defeated and then Leo starts to destroy the Hutch. Gen took Kengo to the space museum where they look at a model of the Earth. Gen sees that Kengo is still himself because he looked at the Earth the same way he did when he first saw it from space. Gen doesn't want Kengo to push himself since he has many friend who will easily help him. Kengo drops the act and starts to burst with emotions saying he is nothing, but a sample. Kengo doesn't want to leave, but his fate is to go back. Gen says his goodbye to Kengo saying he wants him to leave as a human being. He also tells Kengo to wait because soon enough they will get to the Presenter themselves someday. Yuuki also says her goodbye in a song format to try to keep herself from crying, but when hugging Kengo she begins to cry. Soon Ohsugi shows up to tell the team that the Hutch was attacked. When the three get to the Hutch Gamou appears saying he wanted to destroy this place since it should have been eighteen years ago. He tries to get the Core Switch from Kengo. Kengo says no and tells Gamou that he is not the chosen one since he is the only one returning to the Presenter. Gamou snaps and attack, but Kengo blocks the attack. Gen transforms into Fourze and Tatsugami joins the fight. Fourze goes into Cosmic States and soon the fight is taken outside of the Hutch which ends up breaking a window. Everyone gets out and before Yuuki gets out Kengo tells her that if he succeeds the Hole will vanish and Gamou cannot call the Dark Nebula again. He gives her a note and soon Ryusei closes the hole in the Hutch. Kengo gets out to help Gen as he blasts the two Horoscopes away. Ryusei transforms and gets the two in the Meteor aura as Gen gives Kengo the Fourze Driver and say their final goodbyes. Kengo uses the Fourze Driver, but Gamou uses his Supernova form and attacks Kengo with a powerful kick. Kengo is knocked down to the ground and drops the Core Switch. There Gamou destroys the Core Switch as Kengo calls out Gentaro's name as he dies.

This episode was very powerful as things get explained. I am not a fan of how it's saved for this episode since next is the finale, but it works here. I was expecting Kengo just being connected to the Core Switch, but the show still surprised me. Kengo is a whole completely different being and he took form of a human since that is the job of the Core Child. I was not expecting the Presenter being a big part in the plot since he just seemed like a god like entity, but no it did a lot. It brought the Core Switch to the moon which soon leads to Gamou and Utahoshi to have their fight. So even though it took a while to finally learn everything the main twist is very good. It gives us a really good insight on Kengo and explains all of his issues. This also makes sense when Kengo doesn't get his spasms in some episodes since the Cosmic energy must come in small or big waves at times. So overall it did take a while to get to it, but I say it's worth it.

The highlight of this episode was easily the scene where Gen gets Kengo to see that he is more than a sample. I mean that scene was really heavy as it was really going to be goodbye. Seeing Gen, Kengo, and Yuuki start to tear up just adds so much and Kengo didn't even die yet and I still cried to that scene. There was also an Orchestra verison of Switch On which sounds really good. It has a big dynamic feel, but holds the sad tone that the scene had. All the characters were going through a tough time because Kengo was going to leave and seeing everyone like this was really good. Even some points to Ohsugi who jumped right onto Leo to defend his students. Overall that scene alone made this episode have the best drama because of the pure sadness and the actors did very well with it. Also don't get me started on Kengo's death and how they ended it there was really good. With the trailer for the finale had the sad music and had us see everyone completely destroyed to know Kengo is dead. That just made me cry I mean it. One thing that Fourze did really well was the drama and the characters as the friendship motif works the best here.

There was a nice little bit of action for this episode like Ryusei and Tatsugami fighting. They didn't transform at first and seeing their fist fly at each other was amazing. I love fights like this and I can tell the actual actors did do some of the stunts in the scene also another good amount of proof is that those shows usually have their actors do some real physical work. Tatsugami has a street like fighting style when Ryusei has martial arts so seeing these two fight like this was really good. The rest of the action wasn't must, but seeing a fight in the Rabbit Hutch was good.

We got a background for Tatsugami in this episode which wasn't much and pretty simple, but one thing comes to mind. What about Hayami? We never really saw any background information when Hayami joined Gamou. He simply followed him like Tatsugami did. Also Gamou started acting differently which is showing that he is really want things done quickly. Too bad the Supernova form he had wasn't fully used and how it first appeared during his scene with Tatsugami was pretty random. I think they should have shown it when he attacks Kengo. That scene though was shocking enough though. I do like the Supernova Sagittarius, but it does remind me of the Red Nasca.

Overall this episode was very well done as next time is the finale. It really hit hard with deep emotions being shown and showing the series strongest points. Kengo was a really good character and seeing him die wasn't easy, but I hope they don't pull a Double and OOO on us. I give it an A.

Next Time: Will Gen go beyond defeating Gamou or will he forgive him?

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 46 Review: Gone Fishing (Major Spolier Alert!!!!!)

With Gamou around who continues to speak about his plans saying he will change humanity. He talks about Utahoshi and even though he was with him he still never had a friend before. Gamou transforms into Sagittarius and easily defeats the riders. Gamou goes up to Pisces wanting her to join, but Ran refuses saying that she wants to fight along with Gen and the others. With that Gamou leaves giving Ran more time to think about things and what's weird is that Ran's switch is blue. He even leaves Hayami on the ground saying he will be dealt with later. Kengo tries to tell Gamou that he will be stopped, but he gets another spasm and the villains leave. In Kengo's mind he sees the Core Switch and when he clicks it the sound of a baby appears. At the Horoscope lair Gamou tells Tatsugami that Pisces switch is still developing which explains why is it blue. Tatsugami then talks about the Core Switch since he noticed that Kengo could be connected to it. Gamou sees no need to worry though since when the twelve switches are together nothing will stop him. At the Rabbit Hutch, Hayami is bandaged up. There Ohsugi finally finds out that Hayami was Libra. Gen comes back in as he tried to destroy the blue switch. Since Gamou doesn't know of the Rabbit Hutch it will be smart to keep Ran and the switch there. Ohsugi then finds out that Scorpio was Sonada (why didn't anyone tell him this). Ran wants to go see Haru, but since she is being targeted it wouldn't be smart for her to do that. Hayami wants to take action though and he has a plan to steal with switches from Gamou since he knows where they are. Gen agrees to this plan since it's the only option and Gen fully trusts Hayami. At Kengo's house he wakes up with Yuuki sitting next to him. The two soon start to about the past when it was only them, but now they have more allies even if Kengo used to be anti-social. At the school, Hayami takes the two riders to the lair. It seems Jake and Tomoko went to see Haru as Jake calls the Rabbit Hutch. Tatsugami is there and he kidnaps Haru and wants Ran to come to meet him for an exchange. Ran goes head first into danger and even when Miu and Shun trying to stop her she escapes. In the lair the three are attacked by the Gemini clone as it explodes. Gen and Ryusei get out and before they go to save Hayami they are attacked by the two maned Dustards. The two riders fight them and with Meteor using the N.Magnet and Fourze using the S.Magnet they finish the Dustards quickly. With Kengo he starts to look into the data of the flash drive. During this Yuuki is told about Ran through phone. Ran gets to the location and to save Haru she has to fight Tatsugami. Her switch turns to red as she transforms into Pisces. Soon Fourze appears, but Tomoko senses something odd. It was actually Libra and he continues to attack Pisces. Gen and Ryu appear and see Hayami taking the Pisces switch. There Hayami tells the gang that it was all an act to get the switch since Pisces needs to be developed into the red color. Tatsugami was informed of this as well and in the last episode when they were fighting he gave Hayami back his switch. Gen who completely trusted Hayami is completely ticked off at Hayami. Hayami then talks about how he still believed in Gamou and that he couldn't resist his power. A fight begins between the two riders and the two Horoscopes and after the riders go into their final forms Sagittarius appears. The rider run at him, but like last time they are defeated with ease. With all the Horoscope switches collected Gamou begins to open up the Warp Gate. Kengo appears though and knows about Sagittarius' weakness. It seems during the opening of the Warp Gate, Sagittarius is completely defenseless. Gen goes to finish Gamou, but Hayami takes the blow. Hayami is sent flying telling Gamou he did his final deed as the Dark Nebula kills him. Gen tries to show Gamou that Hayami was a friend to him, but Gamou only say him as a solider following him. Kengo gets frustrated and releases a strong power that cancels out the opening of the Warp Gate. Gamou leaves with Tatsugami as the team go to Kengo as the Core Switch appears from his body.

I have to mention something first of all. I have watched Kabuto again recently and I will do a review on it soon. Why do I bring up Kabuto though? This has something to do with Gamou and Emoto having the red eyes. So far there isn't an explanation for why they have them. I then recently saw in Kabuto that a Native Worm had the same red eyes. So does that mean Gamou and Emoto are Natives? If there is no explanation to this, that could be the only reason. I am probably over thinking things though. So continuing on with Gamou I am liking that he sees himself all alone. Since he is one of the only ones who has heard the Presenter fully. This probably makes Gamou thinks he is one of a kind and doesn't need to be with anyone else. I'm sure back then he has had friends, but when he first heard the Presenter he probably ditched any type of friendship away. So Gamou is an interesting villain, but his full character depth is coming a little too late since there are only two episodes left.

So I guess I was right about Hayami. He was putting up the act the whole time just to get the switch. I have to say he really pulled this off well. I mean he was really getting hurt even if Tatsugami didn't do all out on him. Hayami even tricked Gen which you can just say he was gullible, but he has gotten things before so it's surprising to see this. I was even tricked sort of since Hayami has shown doubtfulness before and was almost killed before. In the end Hayami stayed on Gamou's side because of his power and goal. He even gave his life for him I mean damn the remaining villains are being more impervious than they were before. Hayami was the one who pulled all the strings and he died for this. Hayami overall was a good villain and is easily my favorite in the series.

The heroes were easily being shoved around thanks to Hayami's plan. Ran didn't do that much compared to the last episode, but she never went to the other side. She continued to use the switch for good as she tried to save Haru. The Pisces switch being blue is interesting, but why is it only this Horoscope? Does this mean Pisces has hidden powers? It's sad we didn't get to see much from it since Ran was defeated quickly. For Gen this was a big knife in his back since he was fully trusting him. It reminds me when Jake tricked Gen in the beginning episodes. This time it is much more serious since a lot is on the line and the only reason Jake did it was to protect himself and he didn't really have friends. Hayami fully tricked Gen and has put many lives at risk. Also another thing that interest me is the Core Switch since it can do many things so far. In Kengo's head we see all types of switches going into him to make it. I think this means the Core Switch has full control over the switches which explains why he could cancel the Warp Gate. Why does the Core Switch have the sound of a baby, well by the preview of the next episode the switch is Kengo?!

The action was pretty quick, but it was much better than other quick ones. First the fight with the maned Dustards got fixed. Last time the final forms just took them out which wasn't interesting thanks to the far zoom. This time Fourze and Meteor combined the powers of the Magnet switches in a different way. The attack was very good as it looks awesome and is very effective. It generates a lot of power and traps the enemies inside. Ran didn't get much of a fight which was sad, but the riders fight the Horoscopes with the water around is always nice. I don't know why, but seeing suit action near water is always fun to watch since it can be very hard to do since the suits can be damaged by the water. So the action had more effort this time so I give a round of applause for that.

Easily one of the most impressive finisher in the series.

Overall the episodes doesn't act that much as the second part of this arc since Ran didn't do that much, but it's the final episodes so the last couple of episodes should flow with each other. I still like Ran being a hero even with being a Horoscope and Hayami was very devious in this episode. The action got a plus and the drama is still good right now. It's getting much closer to the finale and no matter what it's always sad to see a series go. I give this episode an A.

 Next Time: Is it finally Kengo's turn!

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 45 Review: Tachibana! (Spoiler Alert)

To begin this episode is a celebration for Kengo for he has turned eighteen. He gets a key-holder with everyone's chibi-self on it as a gift. The gang start to reflect on how Kengo used to be where he was very stuck up, but now he has changed ever since he has been involved with the Rider Club. Gamou overhears about Kengo turning eighteen and for some reason is the chef today at the cafeteria. He gives the gang the first bowls of his new soup and everyone loves it. Gen tries to befriend Gamou this time, but he doesn't take the offer and talks about how some people don't need friends. Kengo tries to talk to him about this, but he starts to have a spasm and this causes Gamou to think about the time when the Core Switch was found. The next scene is at the hospital where Ran is visiting Haru (two characters from episodes twenty-nine and thirty). Gen comes to greet them, but he activates Ran's skills as she flips him. When realizing who it was the two are happy to see him. They have been waiting to get into the club. Ran leaves with Gen and Yuuki and all of a sudden Hayami drives up to them. He tells the gang that Ran can get special teaching in America and she needs to go now. Hayami gets her in his car and while on the road Leo appears and attacks. Leo then sees Ran and thinks that she is the last Horoscope member. Gen then appears to confront Leo, but Hayami suddenly reveals himself as he transforms into Libra. Leo says that Hayami is betraying the Horoscopes and soon the two Zodiarts fight. When Gen gets into the action Leo changes into Aquarius and when he is attacked something flies out to Ran and Yuuki. Fourze goes Cosmic and goes for the finisher when Libra gets the hold on Aquarius, but the finisher is useless because of Aquarius' powers. Leo makes a retreat for now and afterwards Hayami says that he wanted Ran to escape before she got a switch. Ran snaps at Hayami though since he was the one who gave Haru the switch. There Hayami tells Ran that she is Pisces the fish constellation and he wanted to keep her safe so he could be safe. There is much distrust for Hayami though, but Gen believes him. Before Gen can befriend Hayami though Kengo pops in via communicator and wants to know who the leader of the operation is. Hayami reveals that the leader is Gamou and everyone is shocked to hear this. Later that day the whole gang group up as Hayami continues to talk about Gamou. He mentions why the school was built in the first place which was to be able to find the Horoscope members. When Gamou gains all twelve switches he can make the Warp Gate which will make him able to see the Presenter. Doing this can cause a lot of damage on the Earth as this could destroy Japan. Even with all of this information Ran is still doubtful of Hayami. He tries to get her trust by handing over his switch to Ryusei. The gang then need to hide Ran as they take her to Miu's house. Tomoko though finds a blue thing in Ran's pocket. Kengo, Hayami, and Jake are looking around in Emoto's office to see if they can find anything. When Kengo gets another spasm he soon finds a flash drive with his name on it. During this Jake is called by the gang and Hayami soon talks to them. He thinks the blue slime thing is from Aquarius and soon Leo can find his way to Ran. Which so happens as Aquarius appears and quickly changes into Aries. He uses the dream cloud and only four escape from it. With Virgo's powers though Tatsugami easily traps the four and there he introduces himself. Gen, Ryusei, and Tatsugami transform as a fight begins. Leo soon gets Libra's switch from Meteor and he then summons two special Dustards to distract the two riders. Leo then finds Ran and Yuuki, but Hayami jumps into the scene and gets him away from Ran. Hayami is quickly being beaten up by Leo and with a switch on the ground Ran wants to save Hayami. She uses the switch and transforms into Pisces as she fights Leo. Fourze and Meteor go into their final forms to finish off the two Dustards and they soon get to Ran. Gen tries to stop Ran, but Gamou appears. They talk about his plans and that he won't let anyone get in his way.

Boy oh boy we are getting close to the end of the series and I am surprised that it doesn't feel rushed so far. I may not like how the last Horoscope member appears now, but it was used well in this episode. I am also surprised that Ran and Haru actually come back into the series. I was really thinking they were going to be ignored, but no Ran is playing a big part right now. We now know are Gamou's true intentions as he has already been sacrificing people for this goal so he is not stopping. The series also goes back to Kengo's spasms which were pretty constant in this episode. I think this is because of how many Horoscopes switches are together now since I bet the Core Switch resonates with them. Oh wait we don't know about Kengo and the Core Switch yet, well too bad. It's pretty obvious that Kengo was going to be very important in the final episodes and it has to be with those spasms. Heck when I first heard of the Core Switch I first thought og Kengo. So even with an obvious plot point the episode does hold some strong elements.

Hayami is the main centered villain since he has confronted the heroes the most and deals with many issues as he acts on his own at times. He has confronted other Zodiarts before and heck he sent Cancer to the Dark Nebula thanks to his scheme. To see Hayami turn like this is good, but for something is wrong. First the series has brought up Hayami's distrust in Gamou many times before, but here it what he says that bothers me. He said that he used to trust Gamou, but now (so that means around this time) he doesn't any more. I'm sorry, but he has been suspicious for a while so he is now only acting on his own? I guess it took him a while to find out that his life was in danger (last episode) ever since he has gotten the Laplace Eye. I do like how he turns on the side of good, but how the series is doing it feels weird and I it feels that he is scheming once more. Those thoughts are kicked out though when I see him handing over his switch and actually jumping right into Leo without his switch to protect Ran. He said that he is protecting himself so I guess this works out, but to me something feels wrong.

Next is Ran and she is mostly herself still. She is still flipping people, but what is different is that she goes for power when she can. I know the episodes twenty-nine and thirty it was Haru who was struggling with power and wanted more to protect Ran. Wouldn't Ran learn from example though? The reason she uses the switch is to protect Hayami, so she is exactly like Haru. It was nice how she distrusted him and then wanted to protect him, but knowing of the episodes she was in before sort of seems like a hole in the script (reminding me of those episodes where is Ohsugi?). Another thing good with Ran is that she knows how to fight. When she became Pisces she actually faced Leo head on and she was doing pretty well. Her powers seem to be to make anything change into water so she can easily move around the area. So even though this Horoscope is coming at a late time it's still a good one.

The action again is lacking which is constantly happening in these final episodes. The idea of special Dustards was nice, but they were just more skilled and didn't have anything else different other than their looks. I did like seeing Fourze fighting with Libra and then Ran's fight was fun to watch as well. Those moments were too short though as the special Dustards were quickly finished, Tatsugami used Aquarius' powers to absorb a hit and then he flees, and Ran's fight got interrupted. The series also does the duo of Cosmic with Meteor Storm, but this time there weren't any switches expect for Cosmic and Storm! Why can't we get Meteor using the Elek switch or something like that. Fourze could have easily used the original Meteor switch which is something I still want to see used in the Fourze Driver. I will probably say this, the series is probably the worst with it's main focus for the action. At least OOO had reasons for not being able to access some forms. This time the switches are just not being used as the fights go to quickly and it makes the creativity seem low.

Once again the drama is really beating the action in the series which isn't all too bad, but the point of a superhero series is to have the mix of drama and action. I am liking Hayami trying to protect himself and finally going against Gamou and I like Ran who becomes like Haru as she wants to protect Hayami even though it reminds me of the message of those two episodes that Ran forgot. The action is slim and I hope for the next couple of episodes they fix that and have a better balance. I still give this episode a B though thanks to nice additions.

  Next Time: The plan is a go?

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 44 Review: Reach Out to the Truth (Spoiler Alert!)

Ryusei barely survives the explosion and soon the foes and Yuuki flee. Yuuki is completely distorted as Gemini keeps laughing with joy. Back with the rest of the villains Gamou is planning a celebration for when Gemini will completely take over. Libra is then sent to find Pisces, but he sees that when he does find Pisces he will not be of use anymore. With the gang they try to look for Yuuki and they soon start to feel guilty for not believing her in the first place. Kengo starts to discuss about the voice from the stars as it is a consciousness from space that tries to advance the human race. Kengo then thinks that anyone who has been a Zodiart probably heard this voice in some way. Soon Gen gets a call that Yuuki is back at her house, but it was Gemini has she is replacing Yuuki already. The real Yuuki gets to her house, but she is quickly tormented by Gemini. Gemini taunts her with the switch and Yuuki takes it which lead the gang to think she is the fake. Also Yuuki is losing more of her memories as she can't even recognize them. Yuuki gets too stressed out that she transforms into Gemini and Gen begins to fight her. Kengo starts to realize that Gemini is not fighting back like usual, but it is too late as Gen uses a finisher with four switches at the same time. Afterwards the fake appears once more and takes her switch back. Yuuki even runs away and with her loss of memories she is completely confused. With Yuuki away from the group Libra appears and kidnaps her for the ceremony. Finally Gen recalls of what Yuuki was talking about from the last episode. Gen rushes to his house to find a golden box. The ceremony begins and Gen soon finds the box. Miu, Jake, and Shun comes to interfere, but the can't do much thanks to Sagittarius stopping them. Yuuki is starting to give up, but things change when Gen comes into the scene. He shows Yuuki the box and remembers the past. Inside the box are two tickets for space that Yuuki made as a child for Gen back then. The tickets were around to remind them of their promise to go to space together. The ceremony isn't going as planned as Gemini starts to lose to Yuuki. Yuuki takes back her face and memories and a fight between Gemini and Fourze begins. Cosmic is used, but with Sagittarius and Leo around it's not an easy fight. While Gen is distracted Leo tries attacking the rest of the gang with Capricorn's powers, but for something blocks the attack. The gang get farther away and then Gemini wants to fight alone. She uses her clone again for a bomb attack, but Ryusei comes for the save by giving Gen the Meteor Storm switch. Gen uses it with Cosmic as it absorbs the explosion and soon Gemini is finished off. With Gemini switch retrieved all that is left is Pisces, but Hayami soon realizes that when it is found he will be killed. The episode ends with Yuuki making tickets to space for everyone and Tomoko makes one of her own for her and Ryusei (shipping confirmed!).

This episode is a big improvement as things are more serious which is good because the comedy last time was not so good. Continuing with Yuuki she did shine a couple of times. First I loved seeing her dealing with her loss of memories. This leads to her stressing out and facing her other self. I loved seeing that she even used the switch on her own. Yuuki was seeing no other options since she forgot who her friends were. Also a great thing is seeing the friendship between her and Gen. Since the first episode we mostly just knew they were childhood friends, but never really saw anything from their past. Seeing their past really strengthens their bond and makes it more believable. Back then we could tell those two have been getting along very well, but seeing more background info does fix some cracks. Overall Yuuki was much better in this episode and other episodes since she was doing more.

Things are developing with the plot as we see Hayami is starting to fear for his life. This makes so much sense since he was going to be sent to the Dark Nebula before, but he was saved by his Laplace Eye. I bet Gamou doesn't forget his defeat and will easily get rid of him. Another thing is why that attack from Capricorn's powers were deflected. I will say this now so more spoilers, but it's no doubt the Core Switch is with Kengo. I have no idea why this is, but it could be connected to Kengo's father. So will Hayami look for Pisces or will he run for it?

The action was good with one big thing that jumps out. We got to see a Limit Break with Claw, Chainsaw, Spike, and Scissors the first 4 switch finisher. What's disappointing is that it was shown when Gen was battling Yuuki who transformed into Gemini. So it wasn't really that great since it was used on a good character. We got to see the M. Storm switch with Cosmic, but it was basically an absorption move. Then most of the action was just Fourze winning a lot which is nice to see, but I was hoping for the villains to get more action since Leo and Sagittarius were around.

Overall this was a more serious episode and it did improve from the last one. Still the action was a little lackluster. Yuuki did become a shining factor like some other episodes (barely). I am liking how Hayami is thinking making him act like a rebel fighting for his life. The drama did get much better thanks to Gen and Yuuki having flashbacks and furthering their bond. Also the others did help with this and I am happy to see the Ryusei x Tomoko shipping is actually becoming a part of the show. Back then the show just teased it a lot, but seeing it be real is nice. So this episode gets a B+ great drama, but not so good with action.

Next Time: "Sayako!" Wait wrong show.

Kamen Rider Fourze Episode 43 Review: Facing Your Inner Shadow (Spolier Alert!)

Beginning this episode is Hayami giving Yuuki two papers for her and Kengo for space training in America and only one can go. Yuuki is completely ecstatic and starts talking out loud about the voice from space. Gamou overhears and talks to her about it. It seems the major reason why Yuuki wanted to go to space is because she heard a voice from space when she was young. When she starts to leave Gamou orders Hayami to look at her with the Laplace Eye. Hayami then sees that Yuuki has the Gemini constellation. When Gen gets to the school he sees Yuuki flipping around and torn up Kengo's paper. At the Rabbit Hutch the gang start to interrogate Yuuki about what she has done. Even Gen is accusing her since he saw her and Yuuki is mad at Gen for distrusting her when she says she is innocent. During this Yuuki mentions something about a ticket, but no one including Gen doesn't know what she is talking about. Later on at school Yuuki is being blamed for graffiti all around the school, personal property, and even on people. Yuuki thinks that a Doppelganger is behind this, but of course no one would believe that (foreshadowing). After Yuuki is chased by the group of students we see Yuuki playing pranks on Jake and Shun. Things go too far though as she gets to Miu and tries to force her off a building! Gen comes for the save thanks to Fourze's power and soon Yuuki transforms into Gemini. Gen doesn't want to fight Gemini since it's Yuuki, but that doesn't stop her from attacking. Meteor shows up and he doesn't know the news yet so he tries to fight, but surprisingly Gemini blocks most of Meteor's attacks. Gemini has explosive cards and with these she gets the two heroes on the ground. The fight ends with Gemini running away and soon Yuuki appears again. Again Yuuki is saying she is innocent, but the gang doesn't believe her. She is tied up at the Rabbit Hutch and the team think about the situation. Yuuki soon gets free and even though the gang wants to help, she thinks they are all turning on her. She gets to her house and we get to see her parents and lets say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Yuuki's parents are very weird and like to dress up for themes when they eat dinner. When Yuuki gets to her room we find out that there was an imposter. Actually this girl is a part of Yuuki as she came when Yuuki was forced to press a switch. The dark Yuuki is a hidden part of her and she says she will take everything from Yuuki. Gen and Ryusei show up and fight Gemini with their powers. When things seem over Sagittarius appears and wants to keep her around since she also heard the voice from the stars. In twelve hours whichever Yuuki is the strongest will become the real one. With Dark Yuuki having the power of Gemini and Yuuki is in complete distraught, things aren't looking good for her. Gemini soon uses her Supernova as it makes a clone of herself. She uses it as a bomb as it has a card on it. Gen is about to be caught in the explosion, but Meteor saves him and takes the blow.

Did I mention her father is Dr.Maki!

For once Yuuki isn't that annoying since she is facing some serious things right now. I do like how Gemini works with split personalities and again Fourze is reminding me of Persona again. The dark Yuuki is completely haywire and does what Yuuki had thought of before. She torn up Kengo's paper because Yuuki wants to go to space and then she played pranks on the others because Yuuki actually thinks about acting like a hooligan. Then Gemini's powers are good again the cards don't help with me thinking of Persona (mostly 4), but I like how the red cards instantly explode and the blue ones are controlled. Having just these two can make a big strategy in battle and Gemini proved that. She can place the blues ones in good places including her own clone. Overall this character arc is good, but it reminds me of the Swan Zodiarts as he had the split personality as well.

Having Yuuki be the focus is good, but I would have rather had Swan become Gemini.

One thing that was weird was the comedy as it acted like a Home Alone rip off. Dark Yuuki was playing pranks on Jake and Shun and what she did to Jake was just hose him down with water. At least Shun had the bucket with something in it. Also Ohsugi got pranked and it was the better of the other two, but it just didn't fit in with this episode. At least it didn't last long as things got serious when Miu could have been greatly injured. So the beginning of the episode had more of a comedic tone, but it just doesn't work well and makes the progression feel slower since the series is supposed to end around episode 48. Then there are Yuuki's parents, it was nice to see them, but they were like the beginning of this episode. They felt out of place and probably won't be shown that much in this arc. The only good thing I can say about them is that it shows that Yuuki is similar to her parents.

Again the switches are being used more often. He had Cosmic with Elek and Cosmic used Launcher fused with Net. It isn't a whole lot compared to the last two episodes, but I always like to see the fusions of switches. Launcher and Net made a good combo since Fourze can fire projectiles that can trap the enemy. Also Gemini with her cards did make some more interesting moments with the fights. The first fight was good since we could see that Gemini actually had good close combat skills as she took on Meteor head on. Then the second she was getting beaten until Sagittarius arrived, but she came back with her clone bomb. Overall though it was just her messing around with the heroes.

Another part I didn't like at all was how the gang was reacting to all of this. It was just a huge cliche path as they just suspected Yuuki of everything. I can see a group of students who don't know anything will suspect her, but the gang should be used to the unexpected by now. They even faced Swan who had split personalities so you would think the heroes would think of another possibility. Also along with the cliche they are nearly doing nothing much different so that really ticks me off more.

It feels weird for me to say this, but the best part is Yuuki. She is facing her inner self and I like that theme, but it's just not being used that differently. Everyone just suspected like they never faced anything like this, but that have! The episode also has a quick ending because it ends with Meteor getting hit by the explosion, but the episode had a good pace so why the sudden ending. I am liking the voice with the stars and how Gamou also heard it. The comedy is boring and the episode just follows a straight path, I give it a C- I hope the next episode will be much better.

Next Time: Uhhhhhhh. Someone call Chris Hansen!