REVIEW: Ghost 12
So there seems to be a pattern here: every week I review Ghost, it seems to improve significantly every time. This instalment of the programme is one of the most heart-warming, tragic, dramatic and triumphant episodes of Kamen Rider to date. It is a perfect end to a great start and a wonderful way to end the year.
So with this week’s episode, Takeru’s time is finally up. Initially this was supposed to be about a week or two from now, but I assume with the break for New Year’s, Toei wanted to cap off the year with an end to this arc of the show. What a brilliant move that was. I think it was a great way to finish this initial arc and to leave the viewers satisfied before the short break between now and the 10th of January. Furthermore, the time skip allows for our characters, and the audience, to have a break from the non-stop action; for the actual implications of time passing to sink in.
It’s that one montage halfway through the episode that I think is what sold the episode for me. Seeing everyone nervously accepting Takeru’s acceptance and bet efforts to comfort everyone, seeing Onari breakdown when no one is around as he marks the days off the calendar, seeing Akari furiously and desperately try to figure the monolith out and finally seeing Takeru smiling and happy in front of his friends, but the night before we see him filled with anxiety and doubt. Watching all that again for the sake of writing this review, I still get tears welling up in my eyes.
Takeru’s ‘death’ was also extremely moving; with its visual parallels to the opening, Akari and Onari still loving and praising Takeru as he departs and Makoto wanting to continue Takeru’s dream, this certainly felt like the series finale and had a similar amount of emotional impact; Which all leads me to Takeru’s ‘resurrection’. This is how you should introduce an upgrade to a Kamen Rider. You should not just hand it to them, but you should have them earn it. This case has even more impact since it is Takeru’s father, his own personal hero, who grants him this power with a very touching scene between the two.
Thus we arrive at Fighting Spirit/Toucon Boost, Ghost’s first upgrade. Personally I find the design somewhat lacking. For me all Boost is, is a recolour of Ore soul with some flame bits added onto it; it doesn’t feel new or exciting. Although I will concede that it does have quite a bit of thematic significance considering Takeru’s catchphrase, so it does get some points for that. But I suppose it doesn’t have to be that much considering where it is within the show; that of a minor upgrade to tide over until Necrom show’s up. But I am rather glad that this is how they are vaguely solving the problem of Takeru’s impending death: it is simply a resetting of the clock and that he will truly die sometime in April, probably to be brought back proper with Grateful soul. Thus although not too impressive, Boost certainly does its job. I would discuss the Sunglassher, however as we have not seen its full range of powers in the show yet, I will hold off on talking about it for now.
As alluded to earlier, a lot of the characters got some wonderful moments this week. As I said earlier, Onari and Akari’s reactions to Takeru’s impending, permanent death was some of the most heart wrenching things I’ve ever seen; you can really tell how much they care for and love Takeru. Makoto also got his moment this week with trying to protect Akari and Onari as well as saying that he is going to continue Takeru’s dream to the future; but what was most interesting for Makoto this week was what he said after the fight. I think that with his declaration that Takeru has surpassed him and that he has unfinished business to do, he is going to have an arc where he seeks more power, which would be a rather interesting direction to take him. It means he won’t stagnate and just become a simple secondary rider, he will evolve and change.
But again, Takeru stole the show again this week. For him to want what’s best for his friends first and do his best to push all his emotions away to make sure they are okay first is not only a wonderful character trait, but is very much so within his character to do so. What is even better is that the programme actually shows us that this is taking a toll on Takeru and that he isn’t all sunshine and rainbows; he is a real fleshed out character and human being. We even see him break down and cry when he meets his father, which is nice to see in a Kamen Rider protagonist. It also shows that in the end, Takeru is still just a kid who’s dealing with so much stuff. I think Takeru may become one of the best riders that we have ever had.
Now for some bits and bobs that can’t fit thematically into a full paragraph; I’m glad Javelle was the villain used here to elevate Takeru to Boost, since he is indeed a threat, but one that isn’t significant enough to throw the whole story of course if he was defeated, which according to scans he really wasn’t. It’s a shame that Shibuya and Narita just keep being used as people to get the plot moving, but considering they are unimportant secondary characters I really can’t expect much for them. I really hope Alan turns out to be Necrom since he hasn’t been doing much and its really being telegraphed that no one tells him anything, so I hope he rebels and goes off on his own as Necrom.
And so we are done with Ghost for 2015 and what an end to the year it was. With some genuinely heartfelt moments and a brilliantly implemented upgrade, Kamen Rider Ghost episode 12 ranks as one of the best episodes of not only Ghost, but of Kamen Rider overall.
