REVIEW: Ghost 13
After last episode’s high emotions and drama, we return this week to a more formulaic and by the books episode. Now I’m not really saying this is a bad thing, significant events did happen in this episode and some stuff was set in motion, it’s just that this felt a bit less adventurous than the last episode we had. We still did get the debut of Goemon Soul however and some new developments in regards to what the Eyecons can do and to the overarching plot.
So rather than the big bads fuelling the events of the episode, we are back to having a Ganma of the week causing all the ruckus in the episode. This, I think, is a reasonable move considering how the status quo was broken apart last time and we need a breather/ a return to it so we aren’t too overwhelmed and exhausted. The fact that it can all still be tied to the collection of Eyecons is a plus. With this week’s episode, the Eyecon in question is the Ryoma Eyecon which has possessed a man who happened to just find it. I quite like this turn of events because it, firstly, furthers the link between the heroic Eyecons and the Ganma Eyecons, which in turn emphasises the age-old theme of the Kamen Rider being a morally good version of the villains. Secondly it does something new with the Heroic Eyecons and thus avoiding stagnation in regards to the story of collecting the Eyecons. Thirdly, it gives the Eyecons themselves some character which makes them more interesting and significant, rather than just a collectable gimmick. Finally, it also means that the pre-established relationship between the characters and the Eyecons can further develop, like between Takeru and Musashi. Now some may say that this new development is a bit out of the blue, but it seems in the realm of possibility of the show considering the now obvious parallels between the Heroic Eyecons and the Ganma Eyecons.
Apart from that, the episode in all honesty feels quite empty. The story/victim of the week is indeed interesting and is doing something new with the Eyecons, but overall it doesn’t feel quite compelling. I understand what they are trying to do with the Sacho alliance, but not only does it feel a bit petty for such a historical figure to get involved in such a small issue, because Sakamoto Ryoma literally created modern Japan (look him up), but it also feels like just an excuse to go to outer space for the Ganma to do further their plot. I suppose this just could be a victim of this episode being the first half of a two-parter and thus they can’t reveal everything about the victim of the week. But that means his situation doesn’t really feel as moving or personal as the other previous ones. I suppose another reason for this is because the Eyecon is already made, thus there is no resonance with the victim and the historical figure, which in turn makes the Eyecon less personal and meaningful.
Speaking of the Eyecon being less meaningful, let’s talk about the Goemon Eyecon/Soul. Now the fact that they got the Eyecon by just finding it on the ground felt quite cheap and meaningless, thus making the Eyecon seem the same. Normally gathering the collectible gimmick isn’t particularly noteworthy to the plot, but considering how so far every Eyecon has had some personal element attached to its creation/obtaining, to get the Goemon Eyecon in such an insignificant way cheapens its thematic value. However, I love the actual design of the form. The colour may be off-putting for some, but it pops and contrasts really well next to the red of the Boost transient suit. On top of that the length of the coat makes it a lot more regal and flowing, which compliments not only Ghost’s fighting style in general, but Goemon’s kabuki style of fighting. The kabuki makeup style face plate, the ropes on the shoulders and the added detail of the gold coin on the breast all tie the form’s design together very well. Overall, it is such a nice design for a form; it’s just a shame that it got introduced in such an unceremonious manner.
Really thinking about the episode, however, it really didn’t help in advancing the overall plot or the characters. I fully agree this episode, and maybe the subsequent one, is a filler episode. All signs lead to it. But with previous filler episodes of Ghost, we still got a bit more of a push in regards to story and character development. All we got in terms of the long term plot is we saw the Ganma and we learnt a bit more about the Eyecons, but apart from that nothing that affects the overarching story really happened. The same goes for character development. Makoto really just did come in to save Takeru during the first fight and Takeru didn’t really grow or learn anything either. The whole episode felt like it dragged the plot of one episode into two halves with the middle fight being overall really pointless and not helping with anything.
I really can’t say any further about this week’s episode. There is just nothing to say except that, hey it filled some time and space. Yeah we got introduced to a new form, but it was thrown in there like the writers did not care for it at all. It would have been nice to have a whole episode dedicated to the Goemon Eyecon, but since for whatever reason the collection of Eyecons is being put on the backburner, it wasn’t. I just hope whatever they are cooking up instead of collecting the Eyecons as an overarching storyline is worth scraping it. Maybe the introduction of Necrom will usher a new arc that is hopefully more compelling.
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