Whats with the overtop characters in rider?
 

I mean lately, the characters feel way to wacky and overtop. Especially in ghost with onari, he's really annoying and always yelling at the slightest of things. Its not funny, its just cringeworthy

I guess they're trying to appeal to kids with exaggerated characters. It's not an ideal situation.

Used as a device for balancing the gravity of a serious storyline I believe. Can't be overpowering as a serious show yet can't be purely a show that is just based off of jokes, so there's characters like Onari to balance the dark with light.

The main character is dead, died in the first episode for all to see and the show's plot is about him trying to become not dead where if he fails, he stays dead forever.

In a kids show with a plot like that, centered entirely around death, you need a zany loon to offset the HOLY FUCK quotient of the premise.

Just like how in Wizard we had the premise that every monster was once a man who in an unholy ritual was sacrificed and died painfully, turning them into amoral psychotic monsters who want to put other people through the same torturous death so they can become monsters too. Suddenly Shunpei isn't so pointless huh?

"Oh but my older darker Rider..." Yeah and so what? You have that and it will never leave. Some like the more fun aspect to newer Riders that isn't so grimly serious. To each their own.

Firts of all I don’t believe that to be the case, you can have well written characters who can bring the darkness of the show down without acting like a complete moron, second even if they need a zany aspect: That's no justification for shit characters like Shunpei or Onari.

As much as I dislike Akiko from Double, she had a unique aspect that worked well in tandem with the other characters, and even if she was downright stupid crazy at times, she wasn't constantly screaming and she didn’t do weird faces into the camera all the time. She did it, but not every episode. Same with Ankh from OOO: He was funny because of the cracks in his serious nature and when he had his quarrels with Eiji or the other characters.

Comedy in Rider can be so much better, especially if you divide it into the main character and a secondary character who create comedic tension by themselves, instead of having a bland main character like Takeru and the monk on drugs that is Onari.

Kamen Rider always had a comedic aspect, but lately it took a downright nasty turn just because the writers apparently can't figure out how to handle it. And there’s no justification for that, it can be done much better.

I agree den-o was hilarious and its characters weren't super annoying, loud and zany. It felt much more naturual

It's a cultural thing. Japan is big on over the top slapstick comedy that doesn't always jive that well with Western audiences.

I don't think Ankh is the over the top Akiko/Onari equivalent in OOO, though. I always got those sort of vibes mostly from Chiyoko or Kougami more than anyone else.

But honestly, I think this
Is probably the best answer. I'm absolutely certain Onari is more widely accepted by kids and adults alike in Japan. Not every form of comedy is culturally relatable.

Of course, but they are not always with Eiji, I wanted to use an example of a secondary character who helps the Rider in what he does. Because that's kinda Onari's thing in Ghost.

Chiyoko is not important enough and Kougami is not appearing that often, and neither are directly involved with the MOTW-battles. Most of the time.

I just wanted to give an example of a serious character who aids the Rider but can be funny as well, without relying on heavily slapstick.

I just take it as a sign that Toei is shifting their target audience for Kamen Rider more towards the younger kids that Super Sentai has usually targetted instead of the slightly older kids/pre-teens that used to be its core demographic. I'm not sure if it's as off-putting to older fans in Japan, but I find it very annoying, personally.