Gentaro Kisaragi

Kamen Rider Fourze (仮面ライダーフォーゼ, Kamen Raidā Fōze) is the main protagonist in the series of Kamen Rider Fourze. His name roughly says Forty, as well as a combination of "Four" and "Zero", an indication of the Kamen Rider Series' 40th Anniversary and the forty different powers and weapons he can access with the Astroswitches.

Gentaro Kisaragi
Gentaro Kisaragi (如月 弦太朗, Kisaragi Gentarō) is a second year student in Amanogawa High School, who has a delinquent Yankee-like appearance wearing a short jacket over a T-shirt and baggy pants, with his hair in a pompadour, rather than the clean cut uniform worn by other AGHS students; but is actually really friendly and wants to make friends with people in the school. He is willing to go the extra mile and do bizarre things to get to know someone he wants to befriend better. He puts friendship above anything else and values every friend that he has, to the point of crying hard whenever he hears a sad story of someone he considers a friend. He also has a special handshake he does with his friends and is commonly used when Gentaro makes a new friend. The reason he does so is because he wants to see that person he befriends smile, which is the best feeling one could have. He is generally very earnest and very thick-skinned, as well as not being very perceptive and at times, can actually be very dense. He is also prone to say things other people have a hard time comprehending, due to his unique and bizarre view in things. These quirky qualities are seen by others around him to be both annoying shortcomings and unusual strengths.

Gentaro lives with his grandfather Goro Kisaragi after his parents died in a traffic accident when Gentaro was in third grade. His parents had a job that (as Gentaro stated) went above both his and his grandfather's head, but they always were proud when their son made friends. His father also told him that he needed to keep his friends close because they would eventually help him out in the long run.

Gentaro is shown to become increasingly adept in using the Kamen Rider Fourze system as the series progresses. He is shown to only be able to use conventional fighting moves, and has to rely on Kengo's advice on which Astroswitch to use in battle situations early in the series. As he gets increasingly used to fighting the Zodiarts, he learns how to devise strategies on the fly (though they do not always work and Kengo still needs to be around most of the time) and is seen to be using and changing Astroswitches more often. He is shown to be very resourceful with the use of Switches as he learns how to utilize each one in unusual ways, such as using Limit Breaks of Launcher, Gatling and Fire Switches together to form a long range Limit Break finisher, and Limit Breaking the Rocket and Drill Switches twice when he cannot finish Scorpio off with just his usual Rocket Drill Space Kick. When he has difficulty with properly using a Switch, he will take the time to understand it as he did with the Hopping Switch, ending up capable of using it as a weapon instead of just a tool.

History
After reuniting with childhood friend Yuki Jojima, he tries to befriend loner Kengo Utahoshi, who goes out of his way to avoid him. When he slights Miu Kazashiro, Shun Daimonji begins to deal out "punishment" until a strange creature Yuki identifies as a Zodiarts appears. Gentaro begins to fight off the monster until Kengo arrives in the Powerdizer exo-suit, managing to keep the creature at bay, but leaving him physically drained. Kengo and Yuki head to an abandoned part of campus where they enter a locker that transports them to a lunar base known as the Rabbit Hutch. He prepares to use the devices left behind on the base, until Gentaro appears, having followed them into the locker. Gentaro takes the device from Kengo, who is still too tired to fight back. Gentaro faces off against the Zodiarts, but Yuki shows up to advise him on how to use the device he stole from Kengo. Gentaro activates the strange belt, transforming him into Kamen Rider Fourze for the first time. With Kengo's instruction, Gentaro is able to defeat the Zodiarts, and he is begrudgingly allowed to keep the Fourze Driver in order to battle the Zodiarts menace. To cement his new friendship, Gentaro forms a Kamen Rider Club, with Yuki and Kengo as its first members while taking up the title Kamen Rider.

During his second and third school year, Gentaro as Fourze would fight against the Zodiarts and their more powerful counterparts, the Horoscopes, gaining various Astro Switches along the way. He also meets another Kamen Rider who seeks the Aries Zodiarts, Kamen Rider Meteor. While their overall goals were different, Gentaro would see Meteor as a strong and powerful ally. When an exchange student from Subaruboshi High School, Ryusei Sakuta asks to join the Kamen Rider Club, Gentaro at first refuses as he saw through Ryusei's act in the fact he wasn't being himself in front of the club. He later accepts Ryusei into the club when he reveals a small part of his personality.

Eventually, the Kamen Rider Club learns that Ryusei's old school was infiltrated by the Horoscopes and heads there to deal with the situation. As Gentaro transforms to confront the Aries Zodiarts, he learns of his abilities and eventually manage to overpower him. However, just as Kamen Rider Fourze is about to finish the Zodiarts off, Kamen Rider Meteor intervenes and executes a Limit Break, followed by a one-inch punch on Kamen Rider Fourze, sending Gentaro into critical condition. Seeing Ryusei's blatant insubordination, Tachibana shuts down the Meteor system, effectively canceling Kamen Rider Meteor's transformation and revealing Ryusei's identity to the Kamen Rider Club. Gentaro dies shortly thereafter in front of all of them, after commending Ryusei for finally being true to Gentaro and to himself. However, with Tachibana's advice, Kengo managed to resurrect Gentaro with the Cosmic Switch using the bonds of friendship forged along thus far, gaining access to Cosmic States. With this new-found power, the Aries Zodiarts proves to be an easy opponent and is defeated shortly thereafter.

Gentaro once again displays the lengths he is willing to go to help a friend when the Capricorn Zodiarts, Tojiro Goto, shows up and convinces JK to reform their rock band named "Gene God", using the Capricorn Zodiarts powers to improve their musical talents as well as easily enthralling their audience. JK chooses to live his dream and quits the Kamen Rider Club, which results in Gentaro losing the use of Kamen Rider Fourze Cosmic States. Refusing to give up on a friend, Gentaro goes as far as to travel to JK's hometown ask JK's now-fisherman father to teach him the song JK heard growing up, just so that he can snap JK out and reminds JK what it really means to chase one's dreams. Regaining JK's friendship shortly thereafter as well as the Cosmic States, Gentaro proceeds to make short work of the Capricorn Zodiarts.

Kamen Rider Fourze
The arsenal of Kamen Rider Fourze was developed by Rokuro Utahoshi who was a part of the Over Space Technology Organization. The OSTO developed technology that enables its user to harness a mysterious form of energy called Cosmic Energy (コズミックエナジー, Kozumikku Enajī). Rokuro was inspired by his visit to Kyoto and used a hypothetical system its occupants used in ancient times to model the Kamen Rider Fourze system after the Four Chinese contellations as reflected in the specific symbols on the Kamen Rider's limbs: Byakko (白虎, Circle), Suzaku (朱雀, Cross), Seiryū (青竜, Triangle), and Genbu (玄武, Square). As hinted at by a message by Rokuro, the driving force behind the Fourze System are the bonds of friendship. Thus, not only is Gentaro the best suited to be Kamen Rider Fourze due to his ideals and bonds, but the friends he makes in creating the Kamen Rider Club enables Gentaro to bring out the true potential of Kamen Rider Fourze.

After Gentaro flips the four Switches on the Fourze Driver, he pulls the lever on the side of his belt, which transforms him into Kamen Rider Fourze. Gentaro took the equipment to become Kamen Rider Fourze from Kengo after he followed Kengo. Fourze is based off a space craft and roughly the retired Space Shuttle. Gentaro tends to say "Space is Here!" (宇宙キター, Uchū Kitā) when transforming into Kamen Rider Fourze and says "Let's settle this once and for all!" (タイマン張らせてもらうぜ！, Taiman harasete morau ze!) before battle. Similar to his predecessors, Kamen Rider Double and OOO, Fourze uses combinations with the Astroswitches and their Modules. However, unlike the Gaia Memories and Core Medals, which need a certain combination to transform into different forms, only a few of the Astroswitches changes Fourze into a different form (known as 'States'). Kamen Rider Fourze has shapes on his limbs where the Modules attach: Circle for the right arm, Cross for the right leg, Triangle for the left leg, and Square for the left arm. The suit itself also doubles as a spacesuit, allowing Kamen Rider Fourze to spacewalk. It also has a hover pack, allowing Kamen Rider Fourze to hover in the air for a short distance. The Red-Eyed Man compares Kamen Rider Fourze's power to that of a gravitational lens, particularly on how the Kamen Rider influences both Astroswitches and Zodiarts Switches. After accepting the title of Kamen Rider, he often names his attacks with "Rider" before it.

States
﻿Kamen Rider Fourze's forms are referred to as States.

Devices

 * Fourze Driver - Transformation device
 * Astroswitches - Fourze's (normally) small devices that allow him access to that Switch's Module when activated in the Driver
 * NS MagPhone - Fourze's cellphone-like gadget that allows the transformation into Magnet States
 * Elek Module Billy the Rod - Fourze's sword-like weapon that is used in Elek States through the Elek Switch
 * Fire Module Hee-Hackgun - Fourze's gun/flamethrower/fire extinguisher-like weapon that is used in Fire States through the Fire Switch
 * Cosmic Module Barizun Sword - Fourze's broadsword/spear-like weapon used in Cosmic States

Vehicles

 * Machine Massigler - Fourze's Rider Machine
 * Powerdizer - An independent support vehicle to assist Fourze.

Quotes

 * How can I befriend the entire school if I can't befriend scum like you? - say Gentaro to Kengo
 * Space is HEEEEEEEERE!! Kamen Rider Fourze! Let's settle this one on one! - Before battling against Zodiarts.
 * I am Gentaro Kisaragi! I'm the man that will make all students become my friends - Gentaro when introducing himself.
 * Ryusei, I think this is the first time you are honest with me - Gentarou to Ryusei before his death.

Portrayal
Gentaro Kisaragi is portrayed by Sota Fukushi (福士 蒼汰).

As Kamen Rider Fourze, his suit actor is Seiji Takaiwa (高岩 成二), who has been the suit actor for the majority of leading Heisei Kamen Riders.

Trivia

 * Fourze's Magnet States is similar to Kamen Rider Gatack's Masked Form, as they both have shoulder mounted cannnons.
 * The Barizun Sword is similar to the King Rouzer used by Blade from Kamen Rider Blade.
 * Cosmic States has a touch screen-like device, similar to the K-Touch from Kamen Rider Decade. However, it is mounted on his chest, and it is divided into fours, with the top fourths the Arm Basement Switches, and the bottom fourths the Leg Basement Switches.
 * His personality is similiar to that of Kenta Date (MegaRed) from Denji Sentai Megaranger, as they are both carefree high school slackers.
 * Coincidentally, Megaranger's American adaptation, Power Rangers In Space, had a pure space theme (while the space-themed mecha originated in Megaranger, the Sentai's motif was electronics and video games), much like Fourze.
 * Fourze's symbols on his arms and legs are possibly based on PlayStation's Right button group.
 * The shapes on Fourze may seem like just simple shapes (not to mention highly coincidental), but the order of them relates to how they are drawn: a circle is one line in a loop, a cross is two crossed lines, a triangle is three connected lines, and a square is four connected lines.
 * Gentaro is the youngest main protagonist Kamen Rider to date, being only a second year high school student when he debuted and third year students after his grade. All others were either in college or were well over 20 years old.