|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
08-11-2019, 11:26 PM | #1 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Hi everybody.
I'm Kamen Rider Die, and I'm new to these boards as a poster, and relatively new to Kamen Rider as a franchise. I started with Ex-Aid back in March of 2018, and since then I've been working my way through the Neo Heisei series. I've done: W (fantastic, the last arc is maybe a little less fantastic) OOO (not the best at anything, but good at absolutely everything, my favorite series so far) Fourze (best opening episodes, best ensemble, maybe not a great suit design) Wizard (great suit design, Beast is fun, mediocre everything else) Gaim (excellent arc, good ambiguous "villains", Peko is hilariously worthless) Drive (BEST theme song, Heart and Chase are great, the middle of the series is a little muddled) Amazons (first season good, second season super weird but mostly not good, the movie is an insult) ...aaaaaannndddd now I'm working through Ghost. It is not going great. I'm up to episode 23, just before the Sentai crossover, and just after the Ichigo movie. I've never posted on these boards, and I thought, "KRD, what better way to introduce yourself to a batch of knowledgeable, engaged fans than by sharing your suffering with them? As Takeshi Hongo says in the surprisingly dull Ghost spring movie, 'We're all a single precious life,' so isn't my pain other fans' pain? Can't we all work together to help me get through this?" Long story short, I was hoping you'd all be cool with me venting about the episodes of Ghost I'm watching. This is my first watch through, so if you comment (and please feel free to comment), please, no spoilers about what's to come in this series. Please don't even tease stuff. Anything prior to the episodes I post about is fair game, or any other series I've watched is also cool, but I'd rather go into future episodes cold. Thanks! Oh, and also, I'm new at this franchise, so please forgive any names/terms I get wrong, unless I'm doing it as a joke because a lot of this needs humor to keep from crying. I'll do my best!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
08-11-2019, 11:57 PM | #2 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,427
|
I have very strong feelings about Ghost, so I am definitely going to watch this thread with interest and possibly popcorn.
|
08-12-2019, 12:10 AM | #3 |
WONDER RIDER
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,729
|
I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw this thread the first two words that popped in my head were "Oh goodness gracious here we go again".
Personally, I think of Ghost as a beautiful mess: I love the costumes, forms and even the Sunglasseslasher (blasphemy!) but I can't figure out the second half of the story at all. |
08-12-2019, 12:34 AM | #4 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
I swear, I'm not doing this to troll or reignite any fiery debates. If this all doesn't get me banned from the boards, I plan to write about other series, like Build and the first 10 Heisei series I haven't seen. I expect them to be some mix of good and bad, just like I hope Ghost ends up being some mix of good to go with the bad. I don't just want to dump on a show that it seems like plenty of other folks have dumped on. I want to talk about how I'm getting through the series, and maybe some early negativity will help some future positivity mean a little more. Let me know if my criticisms feel unfair, though, since that's not my goal.
KAMEN RIDER GHOST'S FIRST 46% I've not been at this franchise that long, and I'd only seen a bit of what the fandom talked about, but even I knew that Ghost was... let's just say "not highly regarded", to be diplomatic. While I was working my way from W up to the present, I was always slightly curious about why Ghost wasn't beloved. I'd seen Takeru in the Ex-Aid movie, and he seemed okay? I liked the suit design? What could be so wrong with it? Oh. Oh, God. The first twelve episodes digs this series a hole that, even by episode 23, it has not quite dug itself out of. Ghost, just on a basic premise level, has a whole bunch of problems: -What does the hero do when they're not Kamen Ridering? This is the same problem I had with Wizard, another show I mostly didn't enjoy. (Rinko and Beast can stay, everyone else can go.) Takeru and Haruto are superheroes, but... what else? Takeru mostly sits around unless acted on by the plot. Which means, like Wizard, this is a show that has a tough time generating plots in interesting ways. It's mostly them sitting around until the villains act, then going to stop them, repeat for 10 episodes. Ex-Aid could generate a plot/sympathy through doctoring, Drive through crime-stopping, W through slightly-sloppier-crime-stopping, OOO through Ankh being a tremendous asshole, etc. Wizard and Ghost just sit around until evil happens, but at least Wizard had his goddamn donut. Ghost doesn't even have a donut! Beyond the lack of a b-plot to generate story, it also makes the hero feel one-dimensional. What does he want, besides Not Dying and Also Maybe Other People Shouldn't Die? Does he want to see the world, make friends, something? Takeru doesn't seem like he wants to do anything other than weakly insist that he wants to be a hero. That's not going to put food on the temple's table, kid! At least your dad chopped wood for a fire! You just sit in the basement all day! -Trying to tell a whole Eyecon story in an episode is insane. It would feel more rewarding as a viewer if Takeru's quest to get an Eyecon took, y'know, longer than twenty minutes. The fact that the show felt the need to have a new Eyecon AND a new monster AND a human victim to tie it all together with AND an emotional arc for the week's human victim, all in one episode? Crazy. NOT recommended as a way to tell engaging stories. It makes everyone involved feel paper-thin, and it leads to bizarre scenes like this one: These two just met! He's a teenager who approached her in a parking garage, and she's telling him her formative childhood traumas! In their first conversation! And he's doing the same! But they have to, because he needs to form a connection with her and she has to relay her motivations RIGHT NOW because she's going to be revealed as the week's human victim/culprit in 8 minutes. With no space to tell a story, you get dialogue that's perfunctory and baffling, powers that barely get utilized, and villains that are bland. -The post-winter movie do-over is better, but two first arcs are still a huge mistake. The rush to kill/revive Takeru was some terrible storytelling, and it feels like the show just wanted to take a mulligan and do it all over, with a better approach. And it is better! Alain's path from Villain to (where I'm at now) Not A Villain, Exactly, But Still A Prick is a fun arc. Specter's need to show kindness and gratitude to the Ganma Royal Family even as he's fighting against them is an admirable character trait. Cubi and Lady Brienne of Tarth Ganma are intriguing takes on monsters-of-the-week. But, it's all in service of not very much. In theory, Takeru needs to be gaining the trust of the Heroic Eyecons. He needs to demonstrate character growth in line with the expectations of each Eyecon. Robin Hood needs to see a commitment to justice. Benkei needs to see a dedication to his friends. Beethoven, I assume, needs him to learn a choreographed dance routine. (Wait, no, that was Gaim. And that one Wizard Hyper Battle Video.) That would've been a strong premise for the first batch of episodes, but what good does it do now in plot terms? Are we learning anything new about Takeru? No, it's all aspects of his personality we've seen before. (Surprise! Kamen Riders are dedicated to justice!) Does it unlock new powers? No, he could pretty much use the Eyecons like normal. Sure, Edison might get squirrely, but it's not like he used that one much, anyway. Overall, while the Ganma World stuff is a fun change of pace, too much of the other post-movie episodes feel like a slightly remastered version of what I already saw. -Onari and Akari are incredibly annoying. No screencaps, just *gestures at the first 23 episodes of Kamen Rider Ghost*. I'm in this for the long haul (if I could get through the middle-third of Wizard and the Amazons movie, I can get through anything), but it's been pretty rough so far. I can see a bit of light ahead, but I don't want to give myself false hope. Am I totally off-base? Is Ghost better in the first half than I'm giving it credit for? Let me know!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! Last edited by Kamen Rider Die; 10-13-2023 at 04:44 PM.. |
08-12-2019, 10:01 AM | #5 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,427
|
You’re not off base, but you’ll probably also look back fondly on this part of the show as its glory days the deeper you get into the second half.
|
08-12-2019, 10:19 AM | #6 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Belgium
Posts: 345
|
I truely have terrible memories of this series...I might be the only one, but I don't like the Rider suits.
Weird thing is, Takeru is boring and unappealing to me in this and the character was treated as a joke in some of his other appearences in movies with the whole "Ore wa Tenkuji Takeru" and with him dying but that guy is interesting in Zi-O... |
08-12-2019, 10:33 AM | #7 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
|
Rider has a strange tendency to make bad series a lot more interesting in revisits or returns; like Kabuto in Decade or Gaim in Drive/Gaim. I'm certainly not complaining about having an excuse to love every Rider.
Ghost I definitely remember having a lot of problems with - some MAJOR ones towards the end - but it wasn't quiiite as bad as people were making it out to be. Still in my bottom 5 rider series, but it's not horribly painful. |
08-12-2019, 11:33 AM | #8 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Thanks for the feedback, everybody!
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
08-12-2019, 11:42 AM | #9 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
|
I genuinely think Ghost is one of the best main rider designs there's ever been. There's a lot of things going for it that I could go into; but really, any design that manages to make a Parka work into general Rider aesthetics is enough to deserve high praise.
|
08-12-2019, 12:02 PM | #10 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
|
Quote:
Maybe my favorite thing is the "pulling the hood down, going to work" part of the transformation. It's a little flourish that helps energize the fight.
__________________
Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Kakuranger: 30 Years After |
ToyRise RyuKenDo |
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released |
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:46 PM.
|