Kamen Rider Ghost Episode 5- "Impact! The Mysterious New Rider" Discussion
 

A new challenger approaches! And he's stolen an Eyecon! How can Takeru fight back?!

Time change, looks like it's 5:30 EST & 6PM EST now. :(

Are we allowed to post links to sites that have the video up, for those who missed the stream?

This episode was damn good, probably my favorite so far. Some cool if frustratingly short fights, actual plot stuff, eyecon jacking, Specter...cool stuff. School shooting plot was mostly super pointless, but eh, that seems to be how things are going to be...hint at the end to some larger significance though, so I guess that's something.

Makoto's role seems to be more antivillain than antihero, which is rather interesting. I wonder how long that's going to last--it'd be interesting if it was, well, more than like two episodes or something. Him appearing to be clearly heroic in Genesis raises some questions, but they could probably handle that like they did Takatora in the Sengoku movie (that is to say, pretty poorly, but still).

I didn't expect him to take the Edison Eyecon this early, but hey, I don't mind. The fact that they went out of their way to have him just barely not get Newton makes me think he's not going to be stealing that one, though.

Anyway, all of Makoto's finishers are pretty fucking cool, especially the Omega Fang. Makoto is cool.

Poor Takeru. Makoto putting his spirits down.

I wish Akari would teach him a lesson! Maybe the same way Mai did for Kaito.

Yeah, one of the biggest problems I've had with Ghost, and I thought Spectre would fix this, is the fights. They're too short and don't really do much in terms of leaving an impact on the viewer.

Yeah. Every time they use a Damashii they basically just do one attack and turn back, it's kinda stupid. Especially Newton in this episode was ridiculously pointless. We can't even properly call that a fight.

Hopefully they get better at this, cause it's pretty insubstantial so far. Cool and flashy, but like you said, too short to really leave an impact.

Here's what I want: just one good Ghost vs Specter fight, 5 minutes of the two switching between their forms, while the two fight in between with those forms, no "oh no, this thing sucks, I've been defeated because the budget's shit this year", just a fight, because if this year's rider fights are gonna be THIS poor, I don't wanna see what it's gonna look like when he gets Boost.

Subs are out. http://over-ti.me/releases/kamen-rider-ghost-05/

I totally missed that Alan called Makoto his best friend when I watched it raw. That's...really interesting. (also, Makoto's name wasn't said once this whole episode, so that's kinda weird).

Still a pretty great episode, anyway.

I liked this episode. Ghost hasn't made a huge impact on me as a show, so far, but it definitely looks like the plot is starting to move a bit more. I've been avoiding spoilers so I don't know much about Spectre or Mystery Dude, so I'm very curious to see what their collective deals are, especially since they're apparently connected somehow.

I really liked that Takeru didn't immediately find a wellspring of self-confidence and defeat Spectre in their rematch. I kind of hope that this lasts for a few episodes as Takeru gradually gets his shit together and learns to be a better Kamen Rider from his conflicts with Spectre (which I think is what Drive wanted to do with Machine Chaser but ultimately just used his fights with Drive as filler).

I'm giving this episode top marks - in part because of the plot developments, but mostly for the cinematography. There were some really nice shots in this episode. I'm not sure who directed this episode, but I want to see them do more.

This was the first Episode that really had me hooked all the way through. I love Specter as a character and he fits perfectly into this show. He is a nice balance to the more goofy main characters and a really good opponent for Takeru.

Really interested in his backstory and how he is connected to the scarf dude.

Plus Nobunaga Damashii is officially my new favorite form in the show.

Not going to lie, aside from the suit, Spectre didn't really impress me. For the moment he just seems like a generic "I'm strong you're weak my way is better" type of Rider. Now true we've had them in the past, but Spectre just seems a little too into that character type. Hopefully he gets something as the show goes on.

His introduction did give the episode a nice story however. I actually like that Takeru at the end of it still isn't sure about himself. This is a plot thread I would very much enjoy seeing throughout the show, or at least for a couple more episodes. But the whole school and mom thing was really pointless to me. They didn't really do anything with it and it pretty much just became set dressing for the Takeru/Spectre stuff. In the end, it should've probably just been cut or saved for later and just have the two meet over a random Ganma attack. I also didn't like that Tut appears and was collected apparently before the series starts. This will probably happen again, but it is irritating since with these being gotten by finding objects and what not, it makes it fun to see them discover the item and meaning and whatnot. Not just magically appear.

Spectre's henshin is pretty cool though. Really digged his henshin phrase. His weapon is utterly stupid looking though. But I'll give it Nobunaga's finisher, that was pretty cool. Ironically though, the Tut weapon is rather decent looking and has an ungodly shitty finisher.

Overall it isn't a bad episode, but I think it needed some tightening up.

I think it makes sense, that since Specter has probably been working on his own stuff for a while, he would already have gotten at least one Eyecon prior to this. If he didn't that would really raise some questions, and the fact that he does have Tut shows he's not just a jerk stealing other people's stuff. (he still is that, though).

That, but I'm also super ok with it because all the "random people super admires random historical figure" plots are super contrived. I don't need another episode of some random guy going on about how much they want to be like King Tut, the stuff with Nobunaga was dumb enough. The less we actually focus on the Eyecon finding the better, imo.

Did you miss the parts about how Alan was manipulating the whole situation to turn the school-ground into something greater for the Ganma while the place was vacated? And how because the mom was hurt, Specter tipped the kid about the temple so that it would lure Takeru into the area as well?

Instead of just providing a setting for the events to take place, it also built things up toward the future. The plot threads weren't self contained in this episode, but that doesn't make them pointless. I'm sure it'll lead somewhere later down the line and I'd much prefer that over "a random Ganma attack."

I saw them, but again, I don't think they were needed. They could have easily done it in another episode that wasn't focused on introducing a new character. They could have easily had Takeru and Spectre meet some other way. Yes it may lead somewhere, but it provides too much here because, again, this is an episode that is the introduction to another main character. I'd rather in this case they have focused more on Spectre than "Okay here's Spectre, wait we need a Ganma attack/plan. Ummm attack vacant school and civilians for reason that won't come up for a while."

Hmmm, alright then. To each their own. :p

It feels incredibly bizarre that an entire month passed between episodes 4 and 5.

Seriously. What the hell were they doing for 30 days there?

I really enjoyed this episode. It's really shame that he lost Edison. I just hope that Specter and Ghost become friends later on. Their rivalry is kind of annoying although it just started.

Takeru was probably just crying about the Nobunaga eyecon.

And in the process, probably allowing Spectre to snatch Tut.

Decent episode. School plot was setting up something, curious where that's gonna go. Spectre is nothing new. Jerkhole who is stronger at debut that crosses our main rider for some reason. I did like that he got one Eyecon, so he's already a shaker, thankfully. I particularly enjoyed seeing Takeru losing the rematch, but still managing to keep the Newton Eyecon.

Anyway, Takeru is still an unsure baby, Akari is still pulling her science bullshit (Seriously, what the fuck was up her arguing about wounds? Does she not get metaphors? Is she Drax from fucking Guardians of the Galaxy?), and Onari is still seeing if he can break his vocal cords.

http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...1&d=1447274707
Yes. Yes she is.

Also, I really hope Onari doesn't eat the Ghost Fish Sausage. All that yelling would really show up his halitosis. Riccola!!!

Personally I was having a hard time trying to figure out if Takeru was lazy, or just scared to take on anything. I've decided he's both. Seriously, dude has less than two months to get eleven (now twelve) historical icons, and he's just laying around Scooby Dooing his way through his afterlife. I'd be all over that crap if it were me. It doesn't take Carmen Sandiego to figure out where all of these historical objects are.

Also, Chase in the afterlife is just as badass. I mean Spectre, sorry. Him and his fist gun. Obey the fist.

Last, I have to ask, who decided the 'historical figures'? Beethoven? Really? REALLY? I would have gone with something a little more balls to the wall. Like Rasputin. Or Sun Tzu. Or Eric The Red. Or Ramses IV. Or Mithridates VI, the Poison King who fought Rome for 40 years and drank poison until he was immune to it. Or Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Sheesh. Maybe I've been reading Badass Of The Week a lot, there seems to be a lot more hardcore historical figures that they could have gone with that would still teach kids. But no thanks. I'll take the Steve Jobs Eyecon.

Hey, it's a hard life having only one character trait.

Probably went on a cruise having a month long bender, only when they got back they were like "Ah crap what day is it?"

You know, that one empty month would have been the perfect time for the Drive crossover to take place, since that took place over a month. But of course they missed it by an episode. Friggin' what, man.

A new Rider showed up and stole an Eyecon right out of Takeru's grasp. That is totally the right time to just sit around and do fuck all for a month (while Anri probably explains the science behind the lunar cycle).

I thought this is the most controversial episode in Kamen Rider History.

It about a gun-themed villain shooting at School which happens to be a controversial subject due of real-life school shooting

What was Takuro Fukuda (Head-Writer) thinking about writing this? Is he think it's okay to write an episode about shooting at school?!

Little kids watch Kamen Rider too.

For the record, Makoto is not a jerk, He have a younger sibling trapped in a Ganma Eyecon and in order to bring his younger sibling back, He have to gather 15 Heroic Eyecon even stealing one from Takeru

School shootings don't happen in Japan. They have no real reason to be touchy about the subject, it's not like Japan is hugely invested in what happens in the U.S. in general. So no, it's not controversial. So yes, it's ok for him to write an episode where a machine gun monster shoots at protesters at a school.

Also, we still don't know what's up with Makoto, and a jerk with good intentions is still a jerk. Doesn't make him a bad character, but a jerk is a jerk.

Clearly you haven’t watched Kuuga, the show where the Gurongi kill dozens to hundreds of people every other episode. Which includes a Porcupine Gurongi who tells school students when he plans to kill them, takes extra satisfaction when they commit suicide out of despair before he comes to kill them, and who attends the funerals of his victims to haunt the other students who are next.

Or Agito, the show where the Lords kill people in new disgusting ways every week.

But yeah, sure, the Ghost episode where a Ganma shoots the signs of protesting parents in front of a school takes the cake. What were they thinking? So brutal and controversial.

Also, how is an invisible ghost shooting where not a single person is killed at all shocking compared to the boat ride full of helpless children flung into an exploding tower from episode 1?

Or for recent shows, the Global Freeze from Drive. But I think in the light of recent events we should stop looking for mass murders or global tragedies in Kamen Rider just to prove vin13ish wrong.

I'm a bit behind Ghost due to school work, so I had to catch up on both episode 4 and episode 5. So far I like how things are going. I do wonder how Ghost is going to get all of the icons soon with Specter in the way? Things are getting interesting.

Specter may be the typical badass secondary rider that we seen a million times before, but I still think that he is pretty cool. Badass anti hero secondary riders are always popular like Knight, Meteor and Baron. So I can see why they made Specter into another anti hero again. I would imagine he would become friends later on similar to Knight and Meteor was.

Agreed. Ghost's main problems right now are pacing and misuse of the Parka Ghost gimmick. If both could be fixed around the time we get to episode 10 this show could turn around. We seriously don't need a grimdark show right now and I'm sure as hell we really don't want another Ninninger.

Vin13ish's fondness for sheer darkness just doesn't gel with what the main audience of these shows want; fun with a strong drive towards action with comedy, with drama added as needed. There's nothing wrong with being lighthearted and perhaps at some point vin13ish will understand this.

I enjoyed this episode. Spectre is pretty interesting and I like the whole finding his motivation quest for Takeru. I'm sure it was all just to make Spectre look badass here. I am intrigued with Spectre and Alan's friendship and exactly what he wants with the Ganma. Well I can't wait for more.

Well he is the reason why modern day music exist today and everyone has know who he is. I do want to see how the Beethoven forum will turn out in action though.

I'd reckon that Toei decided with the time-honored tradition of "names on a dartboard." :lol

Well... I liked it better than the prior few episodes. So far, Specter has me considerably more interested than Takeru and his Scooby Gang. I think the direction is a good chunk of what's bugging me about the show, both in terms of the fight sequences and in terms of the constant shouting on the part of Makoto and Akari.

I'm probably also a bit spoiled: I've watched several Rider shows that I enjoyed a great deal more over the last two years, and it's probably not fair to expect this show to live up to W, Den-O, Gaim, or OOO.

That Takeru has to compete for Eyecons is a much-needed dynamic. I appreciated getting a week's break from the "guest character of the week has really strong feelings about Winston Churchill and also happens to have Churchill's favorite coffee mug" format.

I still find the Sentai villains pretty distracting. I didn't know quite what to make of the "gangster covered in plastic bags" thing; perhaps I'd best not dwell on it.

But darn it, would it kill the show to throw in some spookiness? I'm not even asking for grimdark, just, y'know. Something that makes it feel like a show about a ghost.

(Well, okay, that Takeru goes invisible/intangible when sulking is actually pretty nifty.)

I think they're supposed to be smoking bullet holes.

To be fair, Japanese ghost culture is a lot different than it is over in the west.

So, uh, why didn't Takeru just turn into a ghost and try take back Edison? I guess we could blame that on his stress/pain at that moment, but I'd like to see Takeru use his abilities for more practical/useful purposes soon. Specter was neat; it's a shame I don't like the figuart too much, because he has a really nice design.

Hell, I think one of the Grongi was reported to have killed ~1800 people. Kuuga and Agito were pretty brutal in terms of civilian casualties. The Porcupine episodes of Kuuga (34 & 35, I think) are two of my favorites from Kuuga.
I dunno, I think Starfish Hitler would be a bit more divisive. (To be fair, I have not seen the Starfish Hitler episode)
On the bright side, that means we'll probably be done with this part of the story and move on to more interesting things sooner rather than later.
I'm still miffed that they just glossed over that. It felt so unnecessary, and they don't ever follow up on it.