[Diamondmatter]

I think I finally figured out how to put my main problem with Ghost into words. This is slightly off-topic since it isn't so much about this episode, but I can't think of a better thread to put this in so here we go.

It doesn't feel like it has a real heart to me. The only things about the characters I empathize with are so cliche as to be practically superficial. The show feels very dull and preachy.
I can honestly, without any spiteful exaggeration, say that I enjoyed Wizard more. When I think about Wizard, I think about Nitoh's earnest shenanigans, or the comically stoic Haruto, or the looming (albeit predictable) threat of the Phantoms. When I think about Drive, I think about Chase's struggle with being a good guy, or Shinnosuke's classic heroism (for some reason Shinnosuke stands out to me as more of a "hero" than a lot of Riders), or all the weekly Roidmude mysteries.
When I think of Ghost, I'll think of Takeru looking indecisive with a white glowy filter, and Mugen no Kanosei. That's pretty much it, until I start thinking about the logistics of what I actually don't like about the show again.

I don't want to get too specific since my problem is an abstract one. The show just feels bored with itself, like it's just trucking through its episodes occasionally throwing out a mildly interesting idea that it got tired of. Kind of like it was written by someone who was really excited and had a bunch of cool ideas he wanted to sew into a great story, but someone convinced him that it wouldn't work, but he still had the job so he just kinda threw it together, disappointed, using pieces of the ideas he liked the best and not really caring enough to explain them.

But anyway, in a word, the show feels empty to me. I can't really explain it that well, but it doesn't feel as sunny and warm as Drive, Wizard, or others do. I think part of it is the characters being too preoccupied with telling each other how great Takeru is, or talking about how they're going to deal with the next boring problem. They feel very one-dimensional, like they, as characters, are tied to the story's plot points/problems, giving them depressing connotations when I think about them.
When I think about any of the characters, I can't think of any characterful, interesting moments with them. I just think of mundane scenes where they talk about problems. Takeru floating in whiteness talking to voices, Alain kind of grabbing a villain to hold him off while yelling, Makoto standing there thinking about problems, Akari sounding worried and optimistic at the same time while talking to somebody about problems, Onari holding his hands up awkwardly while making an exaggerated face at the current problem, etc.

When I think about a character from any other Rider show, I don't get such dull connotations from them. I'd list some examples, but that'd be like the fiftieth time I've done that in this post, heh. This post is becoming kind of a mess, I keep thinking of ways to word things and having realizations as I write it.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure that's my problem with Ghost. It gives me very dull vibes as a result of the way its characters are handled, I guess. I want to say it's not exactly the characters, it's the vibe of the show, but that's largely dictated by the characters so I guess they are the main problem.