A new Page of History, Kamen Rider Ghost Reviews: Episodes 1 and 2 · 11:39pm May 9th, 2020
Video belongs to Toei.
I honestly have mixed feelings about this review.
Yeah, its not much of a surprise at this point that I really enjoy Kamen Rider, that being said I have not heard good things about all of the shows. Arguably the worst is Ryuki, an absolute piece of crap that most of the time doesn't feel like an actual Kamen Rider show with Riders that are more monsters than anything else, not helped by the two head writers clashing over pretty much everything. The worst I've personally watched is Den-O, but one could possibly enjoy it. And I could write a book on Amazonz.
Kamen Rider Ghost is part of what is called the Neo Heisei era, the second half of the Kamen Rider shows of the Heisei era (divided by Kamen Rider Decade). It's actually a pretty good time for Kamen Rider, there's a bit more comedy, but it still maintains a lot of the deep and complex storytelling instead of being focused on that silliness (unlike another show I could mention). But Ghost is not one I've heard a lot of good things about from people who have watched it.
Yeah, unlike Kuuga I have not seen any of Kamen Rider Ghost, this is me going into a show completely blind and commenting on it as I go and make jokes wherever I can. What I do know about it comes from the occasional comment I've heard and the episodes of Zi-O that focused on them, so not a whole lot.
So, let's get started, shall we?
Episode 1: Eyes Open! Its me!
Okay, if Ghost has any sort of naming convention for its episodes its completely lost on me. Some shows would do that, but its not a bad title and does reflect some of the show's themes, so let's move on to the episode itself.
So we open onto an image of the moon and an eye symbol flashes across the screen, forming into a piece of paper with the same symbol on it. It changes quickly to a shot of a figure standing over the same piece of paper and dropping some liquid into it, two odd devices flying out of it:
These are likely Eyecons, the obligatory plot trinket for Ghost and they form into two creatures and we get a bit more of a look at the man as he transforms them into two monsters.
We then cut to a shot of a large rock face and a fire with a child kneeling over a wounded man who yanks off a necklace and gives it to him. Gee, I wonder if this is going to be a plot point later. This is a child version of Takeru Tenkuji, and yeah the kid actor isn't that great, but its just for the one scene for backstory as it was a dream as we cut to a shot of the grown up Takeru before panning over to a monolith with a familiar symbol, and get a shot of the logo.
We then are brought to the Daitenkuu Temple, which is... a Temple. Yeah going into this since I'm going into it blind I honestly don't know a lot about these locations. We're introduced to Tsukimura Akari who is looking for Takeru at the Temple as she was supposed to meet with him, and is told that he's probably in the office. One of the Monks, Onari, says that Takeru carousing with others is unacceptable, but by this point Akari is already gone so its pretty much pointless.
Akari runs into another room with Onari close behind trying to stop her, but apparently someone has left Plot Convenience News on. The news report is talking about unexplained phenomenon in Tokyo's Rikudo District. But we have more important things to worry about as Akari has entered that weird room from the stinger looking for Takeru and finds him asleep on a book about Miyamoto Musashi, a noted Japanese swordsman and philosopher.
I'm just shocked that Kamen Rider remembered that notable people from their own history exist other than Oda Nobunaga.
Anyway, Akari wakes Takeru up by yanking the book out from under his head and tells him to call her Akari-San or Miss. Akari as she's his "elder" despite having known him for years. She berates him for not coming to her Birthday Party, and he just comments that it didn't interest him. Also apparently it was at an exhibit on the dawn of nuclear physics... yeah, thrilling. Takeru is much more interested in a book about Famous Heroes of the world. Akari comments that his father must've known how much he'd like it, and Takeru says that he can understand it better now, and we get this line here:
"A hero is a person who's life burns brighter than others."
That's... actually an interesting way to look at things, especially in Kamen Rider. Riders, and superheroes in general really, can be lights in the darkness, fighting to protect those who need it. A Rider is ultimately a representation of hope, whether or not that's exactly what they meant here, I'm not sure yet, but it definitely works.
So yeah, Akari is a bit less than enthusiastic about this whole thing and is clearly more geared towards science and tech. Apparently Takeru has a guard from one of Musashi's swords that he swore on that he would make his life burn bright. And we get a little bit of historical trivia, which I'm guessing is going to be a recurring thing:
Gonna be honest I have no idea how accurate any of this is, I don't know anything about Japanese history.
"You know, people say that Musashi won his duel with Saskai Kojiro at Ganryu Island when he was eighteen?"
"Well he was a different person than you at that age."
"No I just think it's the way life was back then."
He goes on about how he wanted to be a proper ghost hunter, but he's never seen a ghost.
...Okay fine I'll do it, but its way too obvious.
Song Belongs to Ray Parker Jr.
Anyway, Akari says that it's unscientific as Onari comes running down and yells at him to come upstairs (is he just now coming downstairs? What took him so long?). A transparent monster is out in the city proper with a sword that he uses to cut a car cleanly in half:
And then he goes to an amusement park and detaches a swinging ship ride from its holding and throws it into an observation tower. Holy crap, this monster's already got a body count and the episode just started. Anyway, back at the temple Onari is pretty convinced that it was a ghost that did it and Akari... thinks that there's a logical explanation behind this? Okay, I gotta rant about this.
If you read my Kuuga review you know that at this point the Kamen Rider shows are all set in the same universe, usually around Tokyo. This is right after the events of Kamen Rider Drive, the previous series in the franchise (and one of my favorites). Kamen Rider Drive's monsters were not supernatural sure, but they had powers beyond simple scientific understanding, they could increase gravity itself, slow down time, that kind of thing. Shinnosuke Tomari is one of the few Riders who actually went public with his identity and people knew about the Roidmudes. There are other monsters that you just cannot cover up as well. And that's not even going into the Sentai teams.
In short, this makes no sense. Akari, you live in a world filled with monsters and other creatures. Ghosts are not that unrealistic. Okay rant over, but I will be fair this is a problem I have with even good shows.
Anyway Akari tries to pass it off as scientific, which I think is setting up a science vs. magic conflict in the series, I can always get behind that. Onari dismisses it as being inflexible, and Akari demands proof that the ghosts exist. We also learn that Takeru's father had been the previous Head Priest of the Temple and Ghost Hunter who had been killed by a Ghost. Akari is of course skeptical because, yeah I'm not getting into that again, but Takeru says that he believes what he can see and walks off.
Anyway we then cut to a guy on a bike who gets attacked by a ghost... you know call me crazy, but I think ghosts are real here. And the ghost lifts him up, but this ain't ET so he's terrified before the ghost from before slashes his bike in half.
And we go back to the temple where the title of the episode is shown (and is different from the original list I was looking at so I had to go back and edit it, stupid translations). Anyway Takeru is shown... concentrating really hard on his finger? Okay its probably a training thing for ghost hunting as he comments that he just can't seem to get it right. Onari says that he wants to join him in his training and the courier from before comes running up asking for help since he was attacked by something, telling them what had happened on the road.
Oh and also that he has a package for Takeru, because that's what's important you know. The others in the temple want to check it out and Takeru finds out that the package is from his Dad, who is, you know, dead but it was sent 10 years ago. The package is then cut in half and Takeru finds an Eyecon inside and we get this shot:
"And you must also go to the Dagobah... oh wait sorry, wrong franchise."
Anyway, Takeru is staring at the ghost thing which no one else can see of course and the other one from before appears. And yes, Takeru looks like he's seen a ghost. So yeah Takeru can see ghosts an Onari is trying to figure out why he can't despite his diligent training and then tries attacking thin air, right before being kicked in the butt by one of the Ghosts. Akari is of course such a skeptic that Dana Scully thinks she's pushing it and one of the ghosts outright tries to stab her and Takeru stops him and grabs Onari's staff weapon and they head out into the forest.
Anyway out in the forest the Ghosts demand that Takeru hands over his Eyecon, which he of course refuses to do. Onari and Akari show up with Onari telling him that he needs to run. Takeru however is pretty confident that he can fight them as long as he can see them, so he swings the staff wildly at the monsters. I'll give him credit for bravery at least, but not for brains. And... yeah, the sword wielding one outright slashes through him and Takeru collapses, remembering his father's last words:
"One day you must attain the heart of a hero and open your mind's eye."
Pretty sure he'd prefer Takeru to be alive for that, but yeah, Takeru is dead.
Video belongs to Nintendo.
Well, that was a short run for a main character, guess we have to move on to another character, right? Right? Of course not, Takeru's Eyecon glows brightly and he finds himself in a waterfall basin near some flowers. He makes his way out and looks up to see an image of his friends trying to save him before it closes up. Naturally he questions if he's dead, gee I wonder where he could've possibly gotten that idea from. But however its not that simple as, this guy shows up and asks if he wants to live:
He introduces himself as Sage (must've spent all night thinking up that one) and when Takeru tries to get close, he backhands him and calls him a fool. Takeru doesn't exactly disagree, saying that he was stupid to believe in himself and not training hard enough. However, Sage has something to say about that:
"Tenkuuji Takeru, it seems that you have been burdened with the fate of battling the Ganma."
"Now can we hurry this up, I need to tell some guy in America he got chosen to be a Green Lantern next."
Anyway, Sage tells Takeru that his soul is sealed within the Eyecon and there are other Eyecons that contain the souls of heroes meaning they are the very souls of Legendary Heroes. He is told that if he collects 15 Eyecons he can basically do whatever he wants with that power, but of course its not that easy. The Ganma, which are the monsters that attacked him before, are also after the Eyecons, and Takeru says that he can't beat them. But Sage says there is a way, he must become Kamen Rider Ghost.
I will actually give Takeru credit here, for all his talk about wanting to be a hero, he's actually not sure if he can do this so he hesitates. It shows that he's got enough sense to actually think this through a little, but since the alternative is Death, he agrees, and Sage uses flame based magic to give Takeru his belt, the Ghost Driver:
And its not that bad, not my favorite design for a Driver, but it goes with the eye theme as well as the whole supernatural aspect of the show. Its simple, but effective enough. Drivers tend to be fairly simple in design anyway, and this is effective enough in its design. It definitely goes with the theme of the show at least.
We also meet Yurusen who is this, flying ghost Eyecon thing that Sage says will fill him in on the details. Sage then hits Takeru with his staff and sends him flying back into the pool and on Earth the sky turns dark and Takeru returns in a dramatic ray of light transparent and looking like he's about to regenerate, but his body is gone and Akari is distraught. Yeah, they can't see him, though I don't know why his body is gone.
However, the Ganma can see him because otherwise there wouldn't be a fight and Takeru tries to activate his Driver before realizing he has no idea what he's doing. Yurusen appears and gives him a quick tutorial.
"GET READY PEOPLE!"
Henshin!
Video belongs to Toei.
So I might as well talk about Ghost's design. The two Riders I've talked about before are both Stag Beetle Riders, that's pretty easy to figure out. I had to actually look it up, but apparently Ghost is supposed to have a Firefly motif, not sure I can see it honestly. The other motifs make more sense like ghost, eyes, and historical figures. The design itself is actually rather interesting, having a much more supernatural or ghostly look, and the trench coat and hood is not something I usually see. I rather like it it, gives him a very unusual look and not one normally seen in Riders.
Anyway, Takeru is told that he can't die again so at least there's that. He summons up a pretty big sword and fights against the two Ganma that had killed him before This is pretty standard for a first fight as he needs to get used to his new powers, finding that he can fly, but that distracts him and the sword Ganma hits him into a tree.
"I thought you said I couldn't die."
"Well that doesn't mean it won't be extremely painful."
And that is why you read the fine print, geez.
Anyway, he's told to pull the switch on his Driver again to use the Omega Drive, once more saying that his life will burn bright. He triggers it and its apparently his finisher as he blows up the spear carrying Ganma good. However the other one tells him to find him, and we cut to a shot of him riding on a motorcycle to the Ganma's location on a boat.
And, woah, okay this is definitely worth mentioning:
Yeah, apparently he can transform his bike too.
Anyway, the fight begins again in the middle of a group of gathered diners outside and a table gets cut in half (lots of things getting cut in half in this episode). We actually get a very brief bike combat scene before cutting to a beach somehow, and it turns out the Ganma have minions, faceless creatures in black that serve them:
Foot soldiers in Kamen Rider are not nearly as common as in Super Sentai, and these are kind of plain.
Anyway, the Ganma says that he will be overwhelmed by superior numbers, to which Takeru replies that Musashi fought one hundred opponents at once. The monster says that he is no Musashi, but Takeru is dedicated to defeating the Ganma at this point. The sword guard starts glowing and he's told to make a symbol with his fingers to create a seal. And, oh boy... we get to this finally, something I've been a bit afraid of discussing, form changes.
Kamen Rider often does form changes, especially in the Neo Heisei era. Its basically a way to sell toys, but it's something that is often used to give Riders new powers to use in combat. The problem is that they can be a bit overused, appearing quite often throughout the franchise and often get forgotten after a more powerful power is found. In this case he has the soul of Miyamoto Musashi and his two swords technique.
Yeah, Takeru is a bit confused understandably, and Yurusen tells him to accept Musashi's power already. The Ganma tries to attack the soul, but Sage's head appears in the sky and stops it, explaining that Musashi's soul will lend Takeru his strength, saying that he can use the powers of their souls as Ghost.
So yeah, here's his Musashi form:
So, what were you saying about him being no Musashi?
Anyway, he slashes through the footsoldiers and faces off against the sword Ganma. He's told to have the sword make contact with the belt, triggering the omega slash finisher and defeating the Ganma, but the same man in black is watching with a younger man with him. The man in black smiles, revealing broken teeth.
We cut back to the temple where Onari is pacing wondering where Takeru is. Takeru tries to touch Akari, but they still can't see him. Apparently it's based on his emotional state, and he jumps at Yurusen, only to find himself visible again. Onari and Akari are relieved to see he's still alive, and then he vanishes again when he tries to explain himself. Yurusen just basically makes him visible again, and Takeru finally tells them that he's a Ghost now after dying and when Akari demands an explanation he vanishes again with Akari once more trying to figure out an explanation and Onari is trying to say that it proves the existence of ghosts.
Takeru re-enters the temple and picks up his book, meeting Sage who has moved in. Oh, and also he tells Takeru that he has to get those 15 souls in 99 days or he's dead for realsies. So, you know, time limit.
You know, Kamen Riders actually die all the time and come back, the reason Ghost is different is he's got his powers literally from dying. This is however the last time this was really done, for the best really because it's really overdone. Kamen Rider Drive did it best, but that's for another time.
Episode 2: Electric Attack! The King of Invention!
So episode 2 actually starts out on the theme song, so I might as well discuss it. It's, okay really, the song is your typical intro for this kind of show. It doesn't really do much to reflect the underlying style of the show's themes that much. Though occasionally it references "I think therefore I am." It's simple, but effective enough. I'm honestly not a fan, but when you've watched as much TV shows as I have, you've seen worse. It's just not that interesting.
The episode starts with an introduction by Takeru that gives a synopsis of what happened last time. We then cut to the Temple once more where Takeru is examining the Eyecon that he had gotten last episode, wondering how he got it from. Apparently Onari has also been brought in on what's going on and marks the day that is probably 99, or 98 days rather, from then. Akari on the other hand is taking all of this very well.
"I don't believe Takeru died. I don't believe he transformed. Absorbing something as unscientific and intangible as a ghost, and channeling Musashi? This is probably some kind of hallucination!"
By well I mean she's making early X-Files Dana Scully look like a true believer. YOUR FRIEND CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND IS NOW A SUPERHERO, BE IMPRESSED DARN IT!
So yeah Takeru can definitely control his ability to appear and disappear now, so good for him. Akari thinks that this might be a sign of some sort of medical emergency and that he should go to the hospital before grabbing the Eyecon so she can try and investigate it, but Takeru takes it back, insisting that it not be taken apart as it's his soul jar pretty much. Akari tries to convince him otherwise as she can't accept that, and, uh yeah, lady even if you don't believe him you should probably be careful just in case.
Akari and Onari are pretty much fighting over what to do with Takeru at this point and pulling him before he finally gets tired of it and vanishes. He goes down into the lab where Sage is reading the book of heroes from last chapter. Takeru asks Sage if he's actually sure that this will work and getting 15 Eyecons will allow him to come back to life. It's a valid question given he just met Sage, and even though Sage asks if he's doubting him, I have to agree with Takeru, he has no guarantee that this will work.
So of course he changes the subject instead of getting a straight answer, go figure. Anyway, he asks how the ghosts themselves come to exist. Sage says that it requires three specific conditions. This should be interesting, getting some actual details on the souls.
"First, an object connected to the spirit.
Next, someone with strong feelings about the spirit.
And last but not least..."
"The eye symbol?"
"Ding dong ding dong ding dong!"
Takeru comments that his father spent a lot of time studying the monolith and wonders if maybe there's a connection between the Eyecons and the Ganma:
Well, it's that or it's going to accelerate your evolution and turn you into a star child.
Anyway Sage doesn't know if there is a connection (though I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say there probably is), but before Takeru can ask more Onari comes running in saying that they need a plan to find the Eyecons, but Takeru goes invisible again. Takeru comments that Onari can be a bit of a pain in the butt sometimes, but he means well before going back to demanding a straight answer from Sage. Sage says he thinks he knows what the next ghost will be and Takeru starts towards him, turning visible and running into Onari and he's introduced to Sage who is also invisible and he breathes something on Onari who runs off after getting an epiphany.
Anyway, we get this line as to who Sage thinks is next:
"Who do we know that perfected the light bulb and invented the phonograph?"
"Thomas Edison!"
Oh boy... well I might as well bring this up now. The show refers to them as "Heroic Souls," while hero can be used in pretty much any context depending on their actions, I have some doubts that Thomas Edison would qualify. Edison was not exactly what I would call heroic, he was petty, arrogant, and on several occasions carried out torture of animals as part of the war of the currents with his rival Nikola Tesla. He stole credit for ideas from people working for him. He pretty much went about doing a smear campaign against Tesla and Alternating Current. Its possible that they're stretching the definition of "heroic" a bit. Not that Tesla would've been much better, but let's move on.
Anyway we get another bit of historical trivia:
Okay I suppose that's technically true, but Edison is still kinda iffy here. Anyway, let's see how things go from here at least, this might prove interesting.
But yeah Takeru is pretty sure that Sage is just guessing, but Sage says that he can sense it and gives the book back and says he'll tell Takeru if anything comes up. He flips through the pages and we get a drawing of Edison:
Moving on from that, we cut back to the man in black with the Ganma on an elevator as he opens up a case with a paper with the eye on it and two vials of blood. He gives the vial and paper to a man who looks like a stereotypical mad scientist and tells him that his dream will soon come true. Yes, absolutely nothing about that is ominous.
Back at the temple Onari is talking to two other men about how they will have to look for any odd supernatural activity, shouting that their reaction is unacceptable when one of them finds it odd. We then cut to Akari who is commenting on how Takeru said to leave him alone and that she's worried about him. A professor comes up to her and asks her to look into odd things happening with black outs and power lines shorting out as she heads for the epicenter.
When she gets there a power line comes loose and crackles, swinging down and sees that there are some odd lights coming from a nearby building. She goes inside where the scientist from before is working on something with a ghost behind him:
The ghost gives him advice on what to do with whatever he happens to be working on, electricity crackling through his head as he learns what he needs to do. He runs around working while Akari walks in, having been curious about what's going on in there, but he thinks she's a debt collector and dismisses her. She says that she's here about the odd electrical activity, and the scientist insists on her leaving and saying that it has nothing to do with him. When she questions what he's doing, he pushes her out, and finds Takeru and Onari coming in looking into the odd activities around here.
And, well, we get this line:
"Without my 1% inspiration, my 99% hard work will be useless!"
Which of course is a reference to Edison's quote about genius being "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Perspiration meaning hard work of course. Takeru realizes this and creates something of a bond with the scientist, Sonoda, who pulls him to look at what he's working on. Sonoda is a bit of an Edison fanboy, having collected many artifacts from the inventor. Sonoda aspires to be like Edison himself, and the electricity themed ghost is watching, commenting that this is going to require more electricity.
Apparently Sonoda is working on a teleportation device (oddly this is actually slightly more in line with Tesla than Edison), but Takeru has seen the ghost and demands to know what the ghost is trying to do. Takeru tries to convince Sonoda that he's being manipulated by a Ganma, but Sonoda is pretty much convinced that it's just his inspiration as that's more important than his life. Takeru gets angry and Sonoda tries to throw them out again, but the Ganma attacks him.
Only one thing to do now, Henshin! The fight between the Rider and the Ganma begins as they find themselves fighting in a playground with children and parents playing on it. While they can't see the two combatants, the effects of the battle are apparent as Takeru changes to his Musashi form. He goes to fight the monster, but Yurusen appears and tries to tell him it's not a good idea, and he gets shocked by the Ganma's lightning because two swords make it easier to conduct electricity.
Takeru returns to Sonoda's lab where Onari is wondering where he is. Needless to say the fight with the ghost is not going well, and Takeru believes that Sonoda is the key to getting Edison's soul. Onari runs off, and Akari is still as skeptical as ever in the next scene. There is also a group of students with one of them talking about wanting to tell a girl he likes how he feels about her, and at first this seems random, but it's actually a character moment for Takeru.
"I was just like them, a week ago. But now everything has changed."
Akari seems confident that everything will return to normal and Takeru tells her not to just shrug it off. He outright says that he has to find 14 more heroic Eyecons and now he only has 95 days left and if he can't he'll be gone for good this time. While Akari says she still doesn't believe in the Ganma, she does believe in Takeru. She reminds him of a courage test they did while younger and says that he was pretty cool back then before pushing him into the water they're sitting by and splashing him.
Back at the Temple, Takeru is meditating before the altar, saying that he believes in himself. We cut to the next day outside where Takeru is training with a sword as Onari comes out trying to get his attention. Onari has found Sonoda and the two run off to talk to him, running past Akari.
Sonoda is working on his project again but Takeru and the others come in shouting at him to stop this, but the teleportation device is complete. He activates the device and it causes a massive electrical discharge, forming a very familiar eye symbol in the sky above it. Yeah, this isn't a teleportation device, it's in fact what the monster calls a giant Ganma hole. Takeru begs him to deactivate the hole, but he can't because there's no way to shut it off once its activated, yeah real smart. Takeru gives him the same line about heroes he told himself, and Sonoda quickly gets to work.
One of Sonoda's collection, a light bulb made by Edison, starts reacting and Yurusen tells him to draw the eye symbol again, and he summons the soul of Thomas Edison.
But of course things can't be that easy, as the Ganma jumps into the soul and becomes some sort of large robotic insect creature and grabs Akari as it jumps out with Takeru following close behind, using a gun to shoot at the Ganma. The Ganma is making its way up to the Ganma Hole and lets go of Akari who gets rescued by... this thing, some sort of ship thing and Yurusen:
Apparently this is Captain Ghost, which I guess is a ghost ship, and we learn that a Ganma Hole is something Ganma come from. Takeru links up with Captain Ghost and creates a mechanical lizard creature that I swear reminds me of a Veractyl from Star Wars.
Takeru is told to use an Optic Orb on the Ganma Hole, pulling the trigger on the Driver four times and a giant Eyecon as Captain Ghost goes to attack the monster. He kicks the Optic Orb into the Ganma Hole and destroys it as the monster is defeated and Edison's soul flies out, and Takeru is mad at the Ganma for using the scientist's dreams to complete his goals. Takeru calls on Edison and get's another Eyecon.
"Eyes open! Edison!"
So yeah, we have a second Eyecon and form change. This normally would be kind of iffy given how quickly he gets them, but the time limit he's on means that Takeru has a reason to get them. So this time I will let it pass.
"ELECTRICAL INSPIRATION! THE KING OF INSPIRATION!"
The Ganma insists that humans are just a means for them to achieve their goal. Takeru of course says that humans aren't their tools and the fight begins anew. The Ganma is of course still using electricity to try and beat him, but Takeru realizes that he's just absorbing the electricity and can use it against him. He changes his sword into a gun and uses an Omega Shoot finisher, causing him to explode and leave an object that oddly reminds me of Thor's hammer from the MCU.
But of course the Ganma leaders are watching with the younger man commenting that all that work was for nothing. However the older man says that it will prove useful in the long run. Sonoda tells Takeru that he can keep the Eyecon as a thank you for opening his eyes, and he mentions that there was a man who gave him this idea, calling back to the odd man in black.
Takeru runs into the lab saying that Sage was right that it was Edison, but only finds an odd rotary phone on the table. He calls and Sage tells him to only call when it's important. Akari is in bad shape as Onari pours tea and tries to convince her that she was grabbed by a Ganma. Akari is still trying to find a logical explanation despite all logic saying that she was grabbed, and when she asks if Takeru saved him, he said it was an iguana which she finds gross.
It ends with Takeru saying he's made up his mind, he's going to be a Ghost Hunter and find the Heroic Eyecons. Onari says he'll help and Akari says she's only going to stay around looking for a logical explanation for everything. The episode ends with a sign being set up and Takeru commenting that he needs 13 more Eyecons in 94 days.
Final Thoughts
So, what are my initial thoughts on Kamen Rider Ghost given I'm new to this show? It's, actually not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. The plot and characters are set up well enough in these first two episodes. Onari and Akari have some obvious tension between them with the whole science vs. mysticism thing, and Onari isn't exactly a genius. But, yeah it's actually pretty interesting to say the least.
Takeru himself as Kamen Rider Ghost is set up pretty well, he has a motivation for taking on the Ganma and getting the Eyecons in a way that isn't exactly forced. I'm not saying it's perfect, Onari for example is kind of an idiot, but he's clearly meant to be comic relief.
So, next time we get back to Kamen Rider Kuuga.
I should note that one of the translations swapped out heroes for Luminaries, which works so much better on so many levels. And yeah, Akari did not endear herself to anyone that quickly, given amongst other things she bought tickets to a science convention which was so obviously for her as a birthday present for Takeru.
5259330 Yeah... Akari is not high on my list of favorite people right now, not helped by the fact that I kept siding with Onari who's rather annoying in his own right because this amount of denial is so ridiculous that early Dana Scully would tell her that its real. Its clear what dynamic they were setting up, but they just made it seem like the science lady is an idiot for ignoring what's right in front of her face. That being said the concept is interesting and the overall execution isn't too bad at least in my opinion so far... we'll see how it goes.
Also I'd have been fine with luminaries for Edison. Heroes is just pushing it.
5259335
Yeah, Onari is that different kind of annoying. They do get better but... eh...
5259402 Still, its better than I expected, so that's something at least.
I will not lie ghost is known for having mixed feelings in the fan base but hey he did a good Crossover with Kamen Rider Ichigo in my opinion
5259488 Yeah, I'm not that surprised, I have some problems with it but it seems okay so far. Can't comment on the crossover with Ichigo though, I'm pretty sure I'll do those separately or I'd have to go into an entire backstory thing for any crossovers.
It might sound a bit simplistic, but it's exclamations.
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Definitely interesting take. Ghost defiantly has problems, but I still had fun with it.
5259720 Yeah, I wasn't really paying attention tot hat for some reason.
Oh that Temple thing was me not being able to figure out exactly what kind of Temple it is.