REVIEW: Ghost 33
Heya! Just wanna say sorry for not getting a review out for last week’s (episode 32) Ghost! I was busy doing my second year dissertation so I needed to take time off for it, so apologies for those who missed my review (I may come back to it one day depending on my schedule, but who knows).
As for this week’s Ghost, yes the pacing might have been a bit weird; yes there were some unexplained things and Takeru ‘dying’ as a plotline has become comically frequent. But despite all that, there is so so so much to like with this episode and with the semi-debut of the Mugen form. In short I love this episode.
So I’ll start off with my criticisms with the episode just so I can get all negativity out of the way. So firstly, as mentioned earlier, I felt that the pacing of the episode was a bit off because everything overall felt a bit rushed, especially with how Takeru’s friends dealt with his death. The cast’s reaction to Takeru’s ‘death’ did indeed feel a bit rushed and brushed off too easily since they just got on with their days after one of their closest friends quite obviously died. However, I will accept that they didn’t react as much and got on with their days so as to distract themselves from their sadness; they were simply ignoring their problems. It’s not the most nuanced or subtle approach, especially considering how wonderful Boost was, but the over-the-top nature of how they reacted was quite endearing in the end in all honesty, so I’m not too bothered by it. So maybe the pacing isn’t as bad as initially thought.
Another gripe, although a minor one, is the fact that Fumiba’s granddaughter took over the takoyaki stand. Now I don’t have anything against her doing it at all, it makes total sense that she did; but I feel that without watching the Heroic Legend of Alain, you wouldn’t know who she is. It’s a case where Toei is assuming the audience has watched everything released by them and making it relatively important, thus confusing the audience. Again it’s such a tiny gripe that’s easily fixable, but it’s somewhat important to me since I’m of the opinion a film/television show/ what have you should stand on its own without the need for extra material. Finally I just wanna complain about how Takeru dying as a plot point is a bit overdone now and it’s starting to lose its dramatic weight; but at this point I’m not too bothered with it, it’s happened enough times where it’s become kinda charming and silly in a good way.
But apart from those kind of really nitpicky things, I really, really enjoyed the episode. I don’t really know where to start; I suppose Takeru’s death might be the best place to begin since it’s such a big event. With Takeru’s ‘death’, I quite enjoyed that they got it out of the way quite quickly. It meant that we would get more build up to his obvious return and that the rest of the cast would have time to react accordingly. As mentioned earlier, they reacted in a rather unusual way, but I do like the message it eventually gave that grieving is important, but you should remember the deceased in a positive manner and that they will live on in your memories. That message there is one reason why I love this episode so much, it’s so positive, wonderful and just a good message to preach. I also did kind of enjoy that they all broke down eventually while doing their best to move on, but it wasn’t as subtle or nuanced as with Boost’s debut; but it was still quite endearing so I’m willing to give it a free pass.
Another thing I quite like about Takeru’s ‘death’ was the events leading up to his death, because it was honestly quite well thought out. Firstly Deep Spectre and Grateful were incapacitated by the Ganmizers, thus leading to the two being unable to fight. Then Alain attacked the Ganmizer because he saw it destroy a flower, which was a perfect touch since it shows how much Alain has grown in a subtle way. Then because Alain was sacrificing himself by attacking the Ganmizer, Takeru had to make himself vulnerable to save him. It’s a complicated sequence of events yes, but watching it makes it less so. On top of that it all is really well thought out and makes sense; everyone reacted and acted the way they did and it only makes sense that it all lead to Takeru’s death.
I cannot emphasise enough thought how important and wonderful the message this episode gives though. I’ve briefly mentioned it before, but here is what I think the episode is trying to say proper: it’s saying that yes, people die; but that they will live on through your memories. On top of that crying and grieving is okay! It’s part of the process, but you should not grieve forever because the deceased would not want that; they would rather you remember them fondly and be happy about what wonderful things they were able to give you when they were alive. Isn’t that just a fantastic thing to teach? Yeah it’s a bit hokey and cheesy, but who cares! It’s so positive and really just so nice that it’s just good. I feel it’s such an important thing for, not only kids, but anyone to learn. To criticise the programme for preaching this message, to me just shows deep cynicism and that to me is kind of sad; to look at such positivity and happiness and to sneer at it is quite jaded to me. Point is, the message in this episode is so grand and I’m glad it exists.
But my absolute favourite thing about this episode has to be the last 5 or so minutes. It is one of the most life-affirming and fuck yeah moments I have seen in a while and it’s just so wonderful. I won’t recap it for you because that is a waste of time and words, but I’ll do my best to explain why I love it so much. Firstly I loved how Takeru went through all the emotions that Akari went through in her memory, since it addressed the sort of emotions people go through with loss and said that they are all valid and alright; on top of that it explains some of Mugen’s powers a bit, but I liked the moment mostly for the earlier thing. Everyone saying Takeru’s catchphrases and what he’s done for them was another cute moment that just moved me so much.
But dear god the moment when Takeru revived and gained Mugen was so beautiful and wonderful. Firstly I just want to address some criticisms with how Takeru gained Mugen: yes he’s gained these powers quite quickly, but he’s really earnt them. He’s died multiple times to gain them. If you’re gonna criticise his gaining of his powers, you better also criticise how some riders (such as Gaim) have just had their powers handed to them. But anyway, now that I’ve addressed that, let’s move on to how beautiful it was. Having Takeru exclaim with joy after he felt his friend’s emotions was so sweet and adorable that I couldn’t help but cry, especially with the theme song playing. This is how I want my final upgrades done, with a massive amount of pomp, circumstance, happiness, triumph and with the theme song playing. This is the watermark for me for how final upgrades are done.
So yeah, the episode isn’t perfect. It has its issues for sure and is really cheesy. But isn’t that Kamen Rider in a nutshell? It’s cheesy, hokey, sometimes bad, but in the end it’s so happy, joyous, fun and life affirming that you just can’t help but smile. Critically this episode isn’t the best thing ever, but on a purely emotional level I absolutely adore it. It really shows the programme’s heart and charm; and I certainly hope it continues on like this.
