It’s really the fourth quarter where everything goes to shit, even by Ghost standards.

Oh no!

KAMEN RIDER GHOST EPISODES 25 - 28

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What is this show?! What a well-done string of episodes! The action's great, the drama is strong, the subplots are funny without feeling forced, there's a sense of stakes to everything... these are easily the best episodes I've seen of Ghost. I'm not entirely sure where this show was hiding all along.

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There's a thing I've noticed, the way Kamen Rider series are structured. You've got your first act, which introduces the hero, his supporting cast, and the season's gimmick. You get a bunch of monster-of-the-week episodes with varying levels of repetition. Then, the winter movie happens, and afterwards you get a secondary (or additional) Rider introduction. A few episodes later, once the second act has started, it's a transitional time for the show. It's too early to get into the final stages of the villain's plot, and you can't really keep doing monster-of-the-week episodes for another four months, so it's usually time to Find Out What The Deal Is With The New Rider. They've shown up, fought alongside the main cast for an episode or two, but what's their deal? Where'd they come from? What do they want? How do their goals overlap with or run in opposition to the main Rider? What's up with them? Ghost had that inexplicable First First Act and Second First Act structure, which means it's only now, at Episode 25, that we're really entering the Second Act.

So it is that this string of episodes focus on Alain/Necrom while Takeru recedes a bit to the background, and JESUS is the show better for it. The Epic Grade melodrama of Alain's world and family is so much more compelling than Takeru's bland earnestness. The quest to rescue Makoto feels so much more vital than a nebulous Save Takeru Someday or Beat The Villains Someday motivation. Mostly, though, using Takeru to act as cheerleader/emotional idol for Alain makes them both come out better. Alain's arc has a recognizable endpoint, and Takeru's partially naive belief in Alain is proven valid. It's a really great use of both characters.

Most astonishingly, these are excellent episodes for Akari and Onari. Really! I'm not 100% on them yet or anything, but Akari's anger at Igor and Onari's kindness towards Javert felt grounded and realistic, a million miles from the Wacky Antics that made me loathe the pair from the first first act. The whole ensemble really snaps into focus with the Riders absence, leaving me caring more about every single character. (I mean, not Yurusen. I'm not crazy.)

Kudos to Ghost for righting the ship, at least for these four episodes.

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Oh yeah, Alain is easily one of the best characters in the show. Most people really only watch the show for him, if not just watch that arc only.

He's a very endearing character.

Yeah, I can see why he'd be the thing that kept people watching. It feels at times like the show has two writers working in isolation: a great writer who's crafted this dynamic story involving a refugee boy who became an alien soldier to protect his sister, and his best friend, a prince who pushes back futilely against a growing conscience and a newfound need to follow his heart; and a lackluster writer who's written a dopey "believe in yourself and everything will work out" adventure starring three characters I have a generally tough time investing in. I'm really enjoying the show when I feel like it's the former writer's episode.

Necrom might just be my favourite tertiary rider ever. Everything about his arc is the epitome of how a redemption arc should go in my eyes -- he slowly but surely learns about the worth in protecting the world and escaping his manipulation, while letting his inner humanity shine in moments like with Fumiba even if he doesn't quite get it across well and he doesn't quite understand his feelings yet himself. In my opinion he's the best Ghost has to offer -- which isn't an insult by any means; if he was a character in, say, Drive or W I'd say the same thing.

... part of why I dislike the last third or so of the show is that it drops the ball so hard with Alain. But I'll let you get there.

Oh no!

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Wait.

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WAIT.

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NO.

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Oh, GODDAMN IT.

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How DARE you. Show is canceled, delete this thread, burn it all to the ground, salt the earth.

Easily one of the show's most memorable moments. One of the best examples I can think of of how and why to do a character death; and a great understanding of what makes it effective.

BUT YEAH IT'S SAD AND IT MAKES ME SO SAD

Huh. Like with many / all things Ghost, I completely forgot about this. But knowing this show the very next scene was that stupid monk screaming at the camera again so... I'm glad I don't really remember anything but distaste.

Oh wait; I do remember something about this! Alain seriously thought Takoyaki were Eyecons at first, didn’t he?

Oh, man, this was the final scene of the episode. They set out to wreck viewers, which I would applaud if I wasn't mostly using my hands to wipe away tears.

Alain totally thought the takoyaki were Eyecons, which was hilarious. Every takoyaki stand scene was like a goddamn episode highlight, and now they're gone, everything's bad, everything will be bad forever, leave me in my anguish.

This show should not be allowed to treat viewers this way! You can't be terrible for half of your run, then suddenly be good and make me care about things! I feel like Ghost and I had an understanding, and they are reneging hardcore.

KAMEN RIDER GHOST EPISODES 29 - 30

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I get that killing Grandma Fumi, THE BEST CHARACTER, in the previous episode was going to have to be addressed. I was a little surprised, though, that Ghost made these two episodes a little thematic thing on grieving and saying goodbye. Like I wouldn't have expected a show that has so many sudden resurrections and reincarnated souls to lean into the idea that it's healthy to let the dead go at a certain point and move on. I'm not sure if that's counter-intuitive to the show they've been making thus far, but I thought it generally held together. Alain's grief at Grandma Fumi's death felt acknowledged without being overly melodramatic (he managed not to slip into a catatonic stupor this time, at least). Yuki's ability to both need closure and accept it was a solid arc. It was a sadder couple of episodes, but not unreasonably so. I mean, monsters still got beat up and exploded. It's still a Kamen Rider show.

That said, so, don't ever be anyone's parent or parental figure on a Kamen Rider show. Grandma Fumi dies. Yuki's dad died on his birthday, to make her extra sad. Alain's dad is double murdered right in front of him. The piling up of tragedy over the last few episodes almost became so much that I couldn't take it seriously. Again, Yuki's dad dies on his birthday. It's like that episode from earlier in the season, in the Ryoma two-parter, where the dad and son argue and the son immediately runs out and gets hit by a car and dies. I'm not sure if I found that tragic like I was supposed to, because I was laughing SO DAMN HARD. The Yuki stuff has some of the same problem, where they've gilded the melodrama lily a bit. A dead dad for a teenager is a big enough deal on its own! You don't need it to be his birthday, and he's also bought her a new puppy, and he was only one day until retirement. Just, her dad died. I don't think anyone needed more than that.

But, y'know, that's all a small complaint. The Alain redemption arc seems like it's reached its natural conclusion, everything about it felt earned, and the main cast seems ready for the next stage of the story. I'm getting into this, and from what everyone tells me, it's nothing but blue skies ahead. Just like Alain would want!

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I don't know about blue skies, but you are definitely going to be stuck with Alain's lime green half-poncho for the rest of the series.

The first place I ever saw Alain was in the Ex-Aid/Ghost movie, and I'm pretty sure that was the outfit he had on. So, if anything, I've been waiting for the real Alain costume to show up.

It's... y'know, it's okay. He looks like an alien prince stranded on Earth, I guess? Like, if I saw that guy with Takeru and Makoto, I'd be, like, "Oh, yeah, that green one is definitely alien nobility and how does he not weigh 300 pounds yet from eating nothing but takoyaki?"

Speaking of outfits, I thought Takeru's red variation of his clothes shortly after obtaining Boost was so much better than his 'default' clothes and he never should have changed back.

Oh, agreed. It's hard to say neon yellow is better than red in any circumstance.

KAMEN RIDER GHOST EPISODES 31 - 35

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Uggggghhhhhh, these episodes. Uuuugggggggghhhhhhhhhh.

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Let's start with a pair of episodes that ask you to care about two things that are impossible to care about: Shibuya's family problems, and the minutiae of, like, Episode Zero of Ghost.

Shibuya's got problems with his mom (who exists) because of his dad (who doesn't exist, he's dead, ALL DADS ARE DEAD, Jesus what is it with these writers, is everyone in Japan an orphan, what the hell even happened to Makoto and Kanon's family, do they even have any, we never hear about them, they're just always at the temple, were they born orphans or something). Specifically, his mom wants him to be an ass-kicker like his dad? And she's upset that he's not beating up vandals like the man she fell in love with? It is all incredibly strange and a Freud Eyecon seems like a better fit for this episode than Tutankhamun. It all made me very uncomfortable. Mostly, though, I just did not care about anything regarding Shibuya. It felt like the definition of filler.

Or, maybe the other plot was the definition of filler? Why was Professor Igarashi back? I thought he'd been killed, but maybe not? Either way, he's out of the hospital (it's super cool that this fount of information was just laying around for the past few weeks without anyone who could've used this information visiting him) and ready to fill us in on the backstory of the first activation of the Monolith! Except, it's all information we already know. Saionji betrayed them, and trapped Makoto and Kanon in the Ganma World. Igarashi went on the run. That's it! He contributes nothing of value. Why even bring him back?!

These two episodes were a massive letdown after a string of really solid stories, but maybe it's a bump in the road?

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Oh my God, talk about a zero-stakes, filler episode. I'd've rather they just skipped this episode and told us in the Previously On for Episode 34 that Takeru got a new (very cool!) suit. Every actor tries their best in this episode, and there's an element of the Let's All Believe In Takeru resurrection that did move me a bit thanks to a fondness for characters like Akari (who's really winning me over), Alain, and Makoto. But, COME ON. No one really believed for even a second that Takeru was dead, so all of that acting was just running down the clock until he inevitably returned, more powerful than ever. I cannot believe that, when faced with needing to give Takeru an upgrade, the writers actually chose to do a one-episode death and resurrection. Mind-bogglingly misguided.

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Okay, there's a whole two-parter that sees the (boring) Ganmeisers (I'm watching the OverTime subs, which use 'Ganma' for everything, but I'm seeing mostly 'Gamma' on the Wiki, so correct me if I'm always getting it wrong) launch another assault on the gang, Akari try and help her favorite professor, Onari and Alain get into a funny prank war, it's all intermittently interesting but still sort-of dull, WHATEVER. All of that pales in comparison to my need to talk about Makoto's dream world.

Why, why, why is his perfect world his sister, in a variety of outfits, endlessly saying his name?! All of the weird subtext of Makoto feeling the need to protect his sister is now SUPER CREEPY TEXT. Is... is this... wait, didn't he spend the first quarter of this series keeping her in his pocket?!

WHAT THE ABSOLUTE HELL.

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Makoto and Kanon's family tree gets explained down the line, don't worry. Exactly how... well, that would be telling.

Oh, and I see you've noticed Makoto's sister complex. Don't think about it too hard. Plus, since you've hit Mugen, be prepared for the downhill slope. The highlight is the Alain episode, and you'll know it when it hits you.

Neat! It's a mystery! I'm glad it's not just glossed over.

Oh no!

I remember that Shibuya episode. They done a "You should love your parents no matter what!" two-parter... and then another one immediately after.

It's almost like some producers up top saw Gou violently smashing his belt dad to pieces and felt they really needed to balance it out with stupid.

The thematic repetition didn't bother me that much. (I honestly didn't even think about it until you brought it up, so, good catch!) It's mostly that the show tried to take Shibuya from "the glasses one who says a monster is attacking" to "FINALLY we're addressing the sad life Shibuya has and the distance he feels from his mother" in about eight minutes. That is pretty fast!

Like, if they'd done the same type of "character doesn't get along with disapproving parent" story with Akari or Onari, I'd've been more okay with it. Digging into either of those characters would feel like a decent time investment. Shibuya, though? Why bother at this point?

At the time, I was glad they were doing *something* with Shibuya, since he'd been hanging around since episode 1 with precisely one character trait (being buddies with Narita). Is it perfect? Of course not, Shibuya suddenly getting a character is weird and strange, and also King Tut is there. But I didn't mind it so much.

I suppose. I just feel like they could've found a middle ground between "total background player" and "two-episode spotlight". Or maybe spent a little time building him up first? A funny scene here, some contribution to a group scene there, something. As it is, we're asked to acknowledge Shibuya's turbulent family life in one episode, then basically have him be "the glasses one" again directly after that. It's, yeah, something we're supposed to take very seriously, then immediately forget.

KAMEN RIDER GHOST EPISODES 36 - 38

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Now we're talking! After five frustratingly mediocre episodes, Ghost is back on track with a solid two-parter on the powers of teamwork, and a one-off that reminds you not to throw away your old toys just because you got a cool new one. (I mean, unless you're upgrading to a Shinkocchou Seihou Figuarts. Then you can go ahead and toss the old one.)

First, it's a look at teamwork in a story that should feel overstuffed (there's, what, four plots running?), but manages to corral its threads relatively well. Alain and Akari end up the best, naturally, with some obvious-but-enjoyable beats about working hard to achieve your goals. (I don't know that anything tracks with the stated theme of "faith", since it's mostly just "hard work", but close enough, I guess.) It's goofy in all the right ways, and continues not only Alain's hot streak, but solidifies the show's rehabilitation of Akari. I officially don't hate her anymore!

Takeru and Makoto have solid scenes, but thematically I'm not sure it 100% fits. Makoto, mostly because it's (with the next episode) just three episodes of him getting into fights with dopplegangers, and it doesn't really change his character in any way. Takeru, who despite having the most time with this story's (legacy underwritten female sidekick) Very Special Guest Star, also doesn't really learn anything he didn't already know about teamwork? He's a good mentor to Honami and he's the most involved in getting her team back together, which helps keep the theme of teamwork alive, but it's another zero-growth episode for our lead.

(The motivations for Honami's idol group, I mean, what is even going on there? They just completely ice her out for reasons that are mystifying, then they're just like, "We love you, please come back"? Kamen Rider does not know how to write stories for Makoto Okunaka, no matter the show.)

Overall, though, it was a really good two-parter. Dare I say it brought me the hope I needed? *WINK*

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A weird episode followed, but not a bad episode. It's incredibly strange that a series that lives and dies by New Suits and New Powers and New Merchandise would spend an episode touting the value of old suits and powers and merchandise. It's definitely true to Takeru's character that he'd need to show the Heroic Eyecons how much they mean to him, but I'm not sure it's logical? At all? I don't know if the next episode is going to show a Mugen-less Ghost blowing up Ganmeisers left and right, but currently Mugen is the only thing that'll do it. It's cool that Takeru wanted to protect his heroes' feelings, but, Mugen is a more powerful tool. Why would you not use it? But, y'know, I can accept that Takeru would act illogically to protect people's/spirits' feelings, so I still enjoyed this episode.

Also, man, I cannot say enough positive things about pairing up Javert and Onari. It is basically the only time where I feel like Onari visibly contributes to the team, and I wish to God that this version was around all the time. Mugging, wacky, flailing Onari makes me angry. Considerate, insightful, generous Onari makes me so, so happy. If the show leaned into this version of the character every episode, he'd probably be one of my favorites.

Sucks to have sidelined Alain for a whole episode just to have more scenes of Makoto fighting Makoto, but the last two-parter had some excellent Alain stuff. He can rest up for an episode.

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The idol episode was the point where I gave up and started fastforwarding through the Onari scenes. The minute that wig showed up I knew nothing good was going to come of this.

Oh, man, disagree. I think "dress-up Onari" is my 2nd favorite Onari. Anarchist/street tough/distraction Onari from the ghost dad and Houdini two-parter was similarly pretty great.

The best Onari moment is him Matrix dodging the knife Ganma only to snap his back a second later.

If I remember anything about the show’s progression, the next episode you’re going to watch has what has to be the most cynical depiction of a female rider. I won’t elaborate, but depending on your taste, it’ll either be a waste of a good character or darkly hilarious.

That was a very cool and funny moment. The effects work on this show can sometimes be a bit dodgy (looking at you, Captain Ghost), but that was shot really well.

Oh no!

I can't bring myself to dislike Captain Ghost. It's a ghost ship that turns into a giant iguana that's Ghost's rider machine; that's... awesome and I wish it was less scarce than it was

I wouldn't say I dislike Captain Ghost, because, yeah: giant-iguana-pirate-ship. That's a solid concept! It's just that, even for a show with maybe not the biggest special effects budget, Captain Ghost is shoddy-looking in a way it's hard to let off of the hook sometimes.

I think its scarcity is maybe down to the production team, uh, seeing Captain Ghost in action in the first few episodes and... reconsidering how often they use it.

It’s fine in concept. My issue with it has always been that nothing about it has anything to do with Ghost’s actual themes. It would be like if Fourze, the outer space Rider, had a submarine that could transform into a dinosaur.

You know, I'm just gonna say it, those are the worst two episodes of Ghost. They have some tangential relevance to the larger story, but they're really barely scraping by on that front, and like you said, the plot's focus on Shibuya doesn't actually serve to "rehabilitate" him into a deeper character or anything, because he goes right back into the background with Narita as soon as it's over.

Don't get me wrong, it's Ghost, so I still like them, but there's no getting around how underwhelming that arc is. I'm also not sure if it helps or hurts that it comes directly after one of the show's best arcs, either. Like maybe it's okay as a breather, or maybe that just rubs in how mediocre it is by comparison. Who knows?

Eh, I think it's a closer connection than you might think. The specific word in play during that arc in Japanese, 信念, can also be translated as "conviction" which I think better gets across what the episodes are going for. Faith in the sense of having the resolve to see something through to the end.

Oh, and by the way, I can't help but notice:

You seem to have acquired a catchphrase here. :lol

Wait, I'm confused. Are you trying to make this sound like a bad thing? Because you're not doing a great job. :p

Oh, neat! That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, I wasn't mad at the show for seeming to define good old-fashioned elbow grease as some higher calling, but it seemed, like, a bit much? Conviction, though, that I can see.

Ha ha, yeah, looks like you caught that. I needed some way to acknowledge that people had feelings about what was coming up (and they are mostly not good!), without getting drawn into anything that'd give more away.

And, I mean, it doesn't really bother me. I'd like to stay as spoiler-free as possible, but I know that a) shouting NO SPOILERS for a show that finished airing almost three years ago is not really fair, and b) it's folks who are engaged with the franchise, and they aren't trying to be rude.

Still, everybody's been really great so far. This is a pretty good community! Y'all should be proud of yourselves.

ZUON! ON! ON! ON! ON!

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KAMEN RIDER GHOST EPISODES 39 - 40

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ALL DADS ARE DEAD

I don't imagine this two-parter is anyone's favorite, but I thought it had some positives. Namely, I really enjoyed seeing this Scooby-Doo gang run through what's basically a dumber version of a Drive story. (Shinnosuke would've cracked this thing top to bottom in about one scene. Stick to ghostbusting, kids!) Each Kamen Rider series has a pretty strict premise/aesthetic, and I think it's neat to see one cast deal with a different cast's dilemma. I don't remember that happening a lot on other shows, and I think it's actually a really good idea? Execution matters a lot, and I don't know if there's enough meat on this particular bone to last two episodes, but, like, I appreciated the attempt.

And, maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, but I actually enjoyed Takeru's naively optimistic view of a man he'd never met, and his instance that all people are basically good. (Speaking of Stockholm Syndrome, even the theme song is growing on me. What have I become?!) It's very, very weird that he's trying to tell a girl he just met that her workaholic father is a super-great guy that she should have unwavering faith in, but it's also so Takeru. He's got more belief in people than nearly any other Rider I can think of outside of Fourze, and while it's not the most compelling character trait ever, I do like how the show has at least committed to it.

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What I do not like is the super-clunky shoehorning in of Oh Did We Not Mention That Alain Has A Mysterious Dead Brother Well Let's Do That Now, nor did I enjoy the introduction of Makoto Is Unbelievably Mad At His Father Who Disappeared Mysteriously But He's Never Mentioned Before. (I'm less mad at the latter, since how everyone felt about their dads was the theme of the story, but it was still pretty hamfisted.) The poor writing aside, I'm mostly just not into the idea that at this late stage in the series (ten episodes left!) it feels like we are going to have to deal with some new antagonists/obstacles, rather than any sort of escalation of the ones we've already seen. (I could be wrong, but I've got a bad feeling about it.) I don't think Adel's a great villain, and the Ganmeisers are dull as dirt, but having a new endboss just feels like a weak solution. Hopefully I'm wrong!

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Oh I see you've gotten to the annual "Time to hint at the Summer Movie" dialogue/scenes they put in the series. Because once you watch Episode 42 it's time for Ghost's Summer Movie since it fits nice and snugly between Episode's 42 and 43

Yep, got it locked in on my files!

In my mind I had fit the movie between episode 40 and 41, though in hindsight it probably doesn't make that much of a difference.

I totally forgot about the two-parter about the girl, her dad, and the Ganmeiser switching bodies, maybe because it is placed right between two story arcs which I enjoyed a ton.

The Wiki has the movie hitting theaters six days after Episode 42, so that's where I plan on watching it.

The body-switching story is, at best, a fun diversion. I'd be shocked if even fans of Ghost had it in their Top 5 or anything.

I'm not saying that a dinosub wouldn't be cool, just that it really wouldn't match the theme or aesthetic of the Rider in question.