REVIEW: Ghost 30
I have been waiting months for this. Ever since Alain was revealed to not only be Kamen Rider Necrom, but also to have a tragic/sympathetic side to him, I have waited to see him like this. He is finally a protagonist and is definitely one of the heroes of the programme. It doesn’t hurt either that this is one of the best episodes of Ghost to date with everything seemingly being amazing.
I think the reason why I love Alain’s story so much is the time it took to get to this point. With Chase, who ostensibly had a similar plot, it felt rushed and part of an already overstuffed series (not to mention the weird romance aspect of it all). I still love Chase and his story don’t get me wrong; I just feel Alain’s is better. We saw more of his turn to the good guys as well as it taking a bit longer, which made it make more sense and feel natural. It had time to breathe and develop. On top of that there is more of an impetus and reason for Alain to not only change sides, but to become a good guy. I also personally like his motivation of protecting the treasures of the world in Fumiba’s memory.
Speaking of Fumiba, after this episode I can say that I feel more comfortable with it. It was treate actually quite respectfully and gracefully with it firstly leading to Alain’s change in sides, but also for him to learn about human death/how to continue a person’s memory after they have died. On top of that, the way it presents her death as more of a way to celebrate her life I think is a really good message to preach, especially to kids. It was a great way to deal with something that everyone must face at one point and is quite sad, but putting a positive and heart-warming spin on it. It really encapsulates what I love about Ghost in all honesty.
Something I did realise that is quite neat, but also a positive for the show as a whole, is that a lot of the character arcs within the show revolve around the line in the theme song: “I'll never know why I was born/Even if I think hard about it I’ll never know/So I'll live. I'll fire up my soul and survive/And find the reason someday”. If you look at all the major character arcs it fits this: Takeru having doubts about being Ghost, Makoto figuring out what to do after saving Kanon and now Alain after Fumiba’s death. It’s just such a neat touch and another wonderful lesson to teach anyone of any age. It really hits me on a deep and personal level for various reasons and I’m so happy Ghost is using it as a major theme.
So I’ve spent about half of this review talking about how much I love the thematic elements of the show, but what about the episode itself? Well boy howdy was it a good one. Lemme start off with saying that the plot of the week was defiantly more interesting now that it was set up and had its more dramatic moments; it made more sense and gelled better with Alain’s story as both him and Yuki had to deal with the death of a loved one in similar ways. I think it’s more an issue with how Kamen Rider is written/structured to have plots that are over two episodes, thus having a less focused and comical first episode, with the better and fleshed out second episode following after.
I can certainly say that I liked Yuki’s story far more in the second episode since it had more weight and heart to it then when it started last week. I felt more for her plight since at the end of last week’s episode, she hit a pretty significant wall with regards to reuniting with her father. On top of that their reunion, as well as what she learnt about doing all you can to let you heart speak and do what it wants fit very well with Alain’s story, far better than the messages from last week’s episode. I also just want to say that last moment with Yuki and her father was really well done, especially so since they used the piano version of Warera Omou Yue ni Warera Ari.
Speaking of music we got another wonderful moment with Alain and his theme song. Not only was it a more significant/upgraded version of the moment a few weeks ago when he first went up against his brother, but he was wearing his new outfit and fighting while eating a box of Takoyaki. If that isn’t the best thing ever I don’t know what is. I think the reason why this moment felt so wonderful emotionally is mostly due to it being the high point of an interest curve. I don’t have time to explain it fully, but with Alain going up against his brother a few weeks back was one peak in the curve and this week we got an even bigger peak, thus making it more satisfying. Basically its some damn good writing and planning.
Something I was quite surprised with this week’s episode was that it had some genuinely good and memorable action; something I feel is kinda put on the backburner with Ghost as the show’s newness wares off. I am really happy we saw more wire work with the major fight scene this week because I missed the riders floating around like their namesakes. Plus the whole floating aspect of the Ghost riders was what made their fighting style extremely unique and fun to watch. On top of that we got more bike work which is always a treat considering how little of it seems to happen.
Basically, this is the best episode we have had in weeks. The story was great, the themes and messages fantastic and the action being really interesting. It could just be the emotional-ness of the end of Alain’s arc having an effect on my perception of the programme, but I feel it elevates and already good episode. If you love Kamen Rider, you should watch this episode. It perfectly encapsulated what is so good about the franchise.
