REVIEW: Ghost 28
So I can certainly say this episode of Ghost feels like an improvement over past weeks’ episodes, despite still having some of the aspects I don’t particularly appreciate about the franchise and the way it structures episodes. It was most likely as this week we got the culmination of an arc that has been steadily building up over a few weeks as well as peaks in certain characters’ personal arcs. Who am I talking about? Well read on to find out that as well as how I feel about Makoto’s new form: Deep Spectre!
So this week on Alain watch 2k16, we kind of get a culmination of the past few weeks’ build up to his telegraphed, but still extremely welcome face turn (for those who don’t know that’s wrasslin talk for when you become a good guy). So I’ll start off with his reaction to his father’s death which I think was presented extremely well and possibly one of the most compelling dealings-with-death we’ve seen in a while. For the majority of the episode Alain is in a catatonic state, needing to be dragged around to do anything at all; and who wouldn’t act like that if their whole world view was shattered and after their father died in their arms? Props should definitely go to Isomura Hayato for being able to pull this reaction off convincingly, especially during the fight scenes since it takes a lot of talent to act catatonic during a fight scene without getting injured and still maintaining a blank expression.
But honestly, the best part of Alain’s appearance this week was when he finally snapped out of his funk and finally stood up to his brother. It was a perfect moment created by multiple factors. Firstly Alain’s new theme/leitmotif swells at the perfect moment while mirroring his own growth, since it still sounds the same as his old theme, but brighter and in a major key thus being a ‘good’ version of his old theme. Secondly the little montage of where Alain was at the beginning of the show, up through to now was a nice touch again showing his growth as well as showing us how he now realises that the Ganma world is not a perfect utopia. Finally that cathartic scream from Alain really clinches this moment as it’s just so good for a lack of a better description. After weeks and weeks and weeks of Alain slowly growing and getting better, this was a beautiful moment that really nicely ends this particular arc of his story. Thankfully there is a lot of room left for him to grow and develop, but this is a great end to his becoming a hero.
Of course that moment comes courtesy of Makoto doing something quite clichéd, but doing it a manner that feels fresh. Yes he did do the snap you out of it punch common in many anime, but he didn’t belittle Alan or make fun of him. He instead restates that he believes in him and that Alan has a heart; it shows that Makoto isn’t just a generic tough guy edgelord, but that he is in fact three dimensional and cares deeply for his friends. This makes this scene even more important as its showing that our three riders are now untied under one cause and are accepting and caring of each other. This actually leads quite nicely into what I want to talk about next: Makoto’s character arc and the earning of Deep Spectre.
So with this episode I think we also got a sort-of culmination of Makoto’s character arc with his gaining of the Deep Spectre Eyecon. Now I am very happy that Makoto is growing as a character and is at a far better place than where he was at the beginning of the show as well as the fact that he has gained an upgrade, but it doesn’t really sit right with me. Firstly this culmination of Makoto’s character arc doesn’t feel as triumphant or earnt as Alain’s as well, he hasn’t been in the spotlight for quite a while thus making this end of an arc come a little out of nowhere. Yes it makes sense, but I wish it had a bit more build up and wasn’t simply made into an afterthought. This sense that Makoto’s growth as an afterthought becomes more apparent when he uses Deep Spectre. Now for those who don’t know, I feel that in Kamen Rider (and for most shows) when a character gains a significant upgrade in their power, it must be earnt or if its handed to them, it must have a good reason or catch to it. Here I know they are going for it having a catch, but that catch won’t be apparent for a while and I wish Makoto gained this power in a more significant and triumphant way. In fact with the way the episode was going, it honestly feels like Alain thematically and emotionally should have earnt an upgrade. However judging from the fact that the Deep Spectre form seems to cause Makoto pain, I think it is going to bite him in the ass and we are going to get an arc about him mastering it or something along those lines; I just wish the debut of the form held more significance rather than just appearing up after someone else’s emotional peak as an afterthought.
But what about the form itself? Well I quite like it as a darker equivalent to the Boost form, which it clearly is. With a motif of flames bursting out of control as well as using a modified Sunglassher and mechanically having a similar Eyecon that makes its own lights and sounds, this is certainly an equivalent to Boost. The suit itself is mostly a hit, but I do have some qualms with it. Firstly I absolutely adore the colour scheme. It works as an ‘evil’ version of Boost, really pops, the silver and dark purple really work off of each other really well and the blue and lighter purple accents really add to the design. Secondly the Deep Slasher’s colour scheme of dark blue and a metallic red is also extremely gorgeous and works super well. What doesn’t work well with the design is the weird blue lines that confuse the design as well as making it a bit too busy. Initially I didn’t like the horns on the mask since it looked like coral in all honesty, but seeing it in motion and from other angles apart from just the front, it actually works quite well and fits in with the flames out of control motif. Overall I quite like the design and it really fits well with what it’s trying to do.
Despite all that I have written so far, I really haven’t covered much of the rest episode and that is honestly one of my major complaints of this week’s episode: the B plot in the human world. Now it’s not necessarily a bad plot, but it’s a bit too comedic to be contrasted against the main plot of escaping the Ganma world. It feels like every time we get a deep and personal moment or a scene of tension, it’s broken with a cut to the B plot with a comedic scene. Comedy isn’t necessarily a bad thing within Kamen Rider, it’s nice to alleviate the tension sometimes, but to have these jarring changes in tone are quite frustrating and annoying. If the episode was more focused and lean, with a large emphasis on the main plot it would definitely have made it one of the best episodes of the series so far.
But I can’t complain about the B plot that much because it was still good, just jarring to have against such an intense and serious main plot. It was nice that Cubi got a bit of an character arc, that Javelle had a brief moment of redemption and a possible sign of things to come and Akari got a moment of triumph over Igor; we also got a really beautiful moment at the end of the episode when we see Cubi’s touching painting of the main heroes as the music swells; a moment that really makes me glad that I’m watching this show since it’s so touching, I just wish it came about in a less jarring way.
So yeah Episode 28 is one of the best episodes we’ve had in a while with the fantastic culmination of Alain’s face turn. It does have some faults with the jarring frankensteining of plots and the mediocre debut of Deep Spectre, but with the latter I think there is potential for some compelling plots later on, so it might be a necessary evil for something more later on down the road. With next week it seems like we are back to smaller arcs, but I think the show deserves a break after all that’s happened over the past few weeks.
