YMMV / Kamen Rider Ghost

• Arc Fatigue: Some arcs in Ghost feel like they could have been four episodes long, but get stretched to ten or even twenty episodes long. A good example is the subplot regarding a doppelganger Makoto, who just spends a good chunk of his time fighting Makoto before he gets to do something other than that. The overall perception is that ten or so episodes worth of plot were stretched out over forty episodes.
  • The core concept of the series, Takeru trying to resurrect himself, is another prime example thanks to the fact that the series pulls no less than two magic resets (firstly Takeru's father sacrificing his life to extend the deadline, then Takeru actually dying and being brought back, still a ghost, by his friends' feelings for him) which end up making the plot run the length of the series despite originally being given a hard limit of 99 days. Many fans were already tired of the plot after the first reset, and viewed any attempts to get drama out of it as pumping a dry well.
  • Demia Project remains in a "just about to go online" state for about thirty episodes.
  • Many fans feel like the show's final arc feels stretched, again with what seems to be four episodes or so worth of plot being spread over ten episodes.
• Americans Hate Tingle: Ghost draws a lot from East Asian spiritualism and Buddhism in particular with its setting, themes, story, and characters. Some have noted that people familiar with these concepts are generally more appreciative of Ghost as a whole than the average member of the Western audience, for whom such Shown Their Work details would fly over their heads, so this is seen as one of the contributing factors to the less-than-positive reception the season gets from the Western fanbase at large. Takeru in particular is seen as bland by those who make no connection between his All-Loving Hero/Humans Are Special attitudes and the values of the Bodhisattva, and consider his Came Back Strong revivals as straightforward Death Is Cheap without seeing any relevance to Buddhist concepts of death and reincarnation.
• Awesome Music: Can be found here.
• Badass Decay:
  • Alain in late episodes. After his Eyecon's destroyed and he's left mortal, he starts off as The Woobie before the things happening to him change from tragic to mostly ridiculous. For example, getting a marker ink mustache on his face and being declared as a minimal threat by an enemy force because he can not catch up. Luckily, he manages to finally get caught up with the others. Ironically because he was getting messed with by a monkey, pig, and kappa.
  • Igor. Started out as a Mad Scientist who had no qualms about experimenting on humans and was considered quite formidable in a fight with his Gamma Eyecons. While still something of a threat, he's gotten a lot less menacing, spending the most of his time panicking, getting slapped by Akari, or just seeming like an idiot.
  • Makoto: He started off as a serious threat to Takeru and was a pretty helpful teammate once they teamed up... for about three episodes. From there he starts getting trucked by basically anything, including an untransformed Alain. Improves once he gets Deep Specter, though.
    • For reference, Knight has rolled^note When someone takes damage in a tokusatsu, they usually get hit by sparks and fall on the floor, usually rolling. "Rolling" is a term made by Korean tokusatsu fans. 48 times, and Baron has rolled 70 times. Specter has rolled a grand total of 77 times.
  • As if to punctuate the Badass Decay, Makoto and Alain's final fight, their final moment to shine in the show... is overshadowed by yet another Badass, Genm. And then the next episode after is them getting rolled by him. What makes it worse? They got rolled by a bicycle of all things!
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Takeru Tenkuji is this despite being the protagonist of the series. Some finds him to be a well written Nice Guy who undergoes some good Character Development while his detractors sees him as bland.
  • Himiko, while people like the idea of a female soul being used and its powers look interesting, some are turned off by its rather feminine design with pink colors and what appears to be eyelashes on the faceplate.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Makoto's dream world paradise in #34 that is dripping with Incest Subtext. While Makoto is protective of Kanon, it's not to an extreme or obsessive extent and the scene is out of place.
• Broken Base: Some fans got angry when it's revealed that Sennin could have just revived Takeru from the word go, calling it a very dumb moment in Kamen Rider Ghost. Others, however, rationalized his choices.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Many people have called that Specter was really Makoto and that the Eyecon he has is his sister, something that the show plays up as a huge plot twist. It's to the point where one fansub didn't even bother to translate the Eyecon's calls to her brother as simply "brother", but rather "Makoto".^note However, this is because the fansub (Over-Time) is dedicated to translating as much as possible so that the dialogue isn't awkward in English. Who actually calls your brother "brother" in English?
• Creepy Awesome: While fighting as Necrom, Alain is nothing more than a merciless, stoic badass.
• Critical Backlash: There's a sizable number of fans now coming to Ghost who don't quite understand all the hate it gets and are more likely to be favorable to it, with certain elements like the Arc Fatigue in latter half of the show being mitigated by watching it all the way through, as opposed to on a weekly basis.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Any time the comedy is Takeru saying that he's going to die when he's already dead.
• Discredited Trope: People were sort of annoyed at how many times previous Kamen Riders used the "main Kamen Rider dies" trope, especially when it doesn't stick for more than one episode. People joked about it when they first heard the premise to Kamen Rider Ghost. Then they started to get annoyed when they did a fake out not once, but twice. And then there's the people who got peeved when the movie shows Takeru having a fake out death a third time.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Most viewers of the show will often poke fun at the idea that Thomas Edison and Oda Nobunaga are viewed as heroic spirits despite the infamy they have. What makes this funny is that for the latter, they acknowledge that he was ruthless, but that he also had a humane side too.
  • To say nothing about the inclusion of Billy the Kid, a notorious gunman of the American West (though, in fairness, much of his life was subject to exaggeration both pre- and postmortem), and Harry Houdini, who often debunks the supernatural.
    • In Houdini's case, that doesn't make him evil, it's just ironically hilarious. As for the others, that's why it is better to go with the standard translation of luminary, or great people. While it might sound bad, you can be considered for either title if your life is noteworthy enough. Even bad, or downright evil men and women are luminaries. The show does seem to be aware of this on a certain level, too: the Monster of the Week Gamma are also based off of historical figures, with the Denki Gamma being based off of Nikola Tesla and the Sword Gamma being based off of Kojiro Sasaki, themselves rivals to two of Takeru's Eyecons (Edison and Musashi).
    • Also, as mentioned in his own page, Houdini WAS interested in finding evidence that the supernatural was real. His debunkings were part of his initial disappointment and his means to filter out the non-supernatural. Which means that, in Ghost's version of history, Houdini finally found what he was looking for.
• Epileptic Trees: Upon the initial leak of Ghost's Edison Damashii, many viewers insisted the form was based on Nikola Tesla instead despite the obvious lightbulb motif, due to the latter's larger involvement in the field of electricity. Even beyond the series' ending, some fans still argue the form would have made more sense if it was actually based on Tesla.
• Fan Nickname:
  • From the moment the world saw the suit, he was doomed to be known as Kamen Rider Deadpool.
  • Ghost's default form is a mostly black short-sleeved hoodie, with his alternate forms being different-colored short-sleeved hoodies (including a red one that allows him to dual-wield swords) have naturally garnered him the nickname "Kamen Rider Sora".
  • A decent amount of fans started to refer to the Robin Damashii as the Arrow Damashii.
  • Keeping in tradition with superhero fan names, they begin calling Edison Damashii the Yellow Jacket Damashii, due to the light bulb pattern on the face plate resembling that of a yellow jacket's face.
  • The fact that the forms for this season are based on deceased historical figures has earned the nickname "Kamen Rider: Shaman King." One of the forms is even a famous Samurai. And now, one of them is a Shaman Queen.
  • The talking Eyecon that may be Specter's dead sister. With the existence of an Ore Eyecon, some fans have taken to naming it the Ore Imo Eyecon.
  • Necrom's color scheme and brace henshin device has people labeling him Kamen Rider Ben 10. The nickname becomes more fitting when it turns out that Necrom has a time limit for his transformation as well. Except he has the option of recharging his transformation by absorbing Ganma Commandos.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: There's a good number of fans who think Takeru should have ended up with Akari instead of Chloe as happens in the post-series novel.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Before Kamen Rider Fourze came out, one of the rumors floating around claimed that the main Rider's forms would be based off of legendary heroes. Seems those rumors were about four years early...
  • Early rumors for Ghost (before the title was revealed) indicated it would have a fashion (which includes clothing) theme. Come the official scans, and it's revealed his form changes each involve wearing a different coat.
  • Before the official spelling was revealed via toy catalogs, most people assumed that this season's Transformation Trinkets were called "Ghost Icons". But, seeing as they're shaped like eyeballs, a lot of fans embraced the pun and started to call them Ghost "Eyecons". As it turned out, "Eyecon" IS the official name.
  • And of course, the numerous comparisons to Ghost Rider have just reached a hilarious new level...
  • After several Heisei Riders invoke Back from the Dead to the point of saturation, we now have a Rider that gets it over with for starters!
  • After constantly being traumatized by a Mentor Mascot, now it's Madoka's turn to be the mascot, and pumps all of Kyubey's traits up to eleven. To add the hilarity, the Transformation Trinket for the main form this time is the protagonist's Soul Jar and one of his forms is Himiko ^note At the endgame of Madoka, it's revealed that many famous women had been magical girls, Himiko included.
    • Likewise, this is Aoi Yuuki's return to a Kamen Rider show, this time as a regular. Last time, she played the kid version of Mari Sonoda.
  • Remember OOO's TaMaShii form? Which was a punny way of saying soul, as evidenced by the Driver ending the transformation call with "Rider....Damashii!"? Four years later we actually see a Rider soul!
  • #4 has the MOTW lifting a chunk of populated land out of the earth, becoming an even bigger threat when it falls back down. And it wasn't even that long ago, too.
    • In the same ep, the debut of Kamen Rider Specter comes awfully close to a certain James Bond movie.
  • The Gan Gun Saber was used with Edison Damashii as a gun that shoots electrical energy. Months after its debut, Fate/Grand Order features a new Archer who used an Arm Cannon that shoots electrical energy. His identity? None other than Nikola Tesla. Funnily enough, Edison was mentioned in Tesla's profile as a 'worthy rival'.
    • They also released a new Saber for summoning during the New Year 2017 Summoning Campaign. Her Identity? Miyamoto Musashi! And one of her abilities is named Empyrean Eye, or, in Japanese, Tengan (天眼)!
    • Speaking of Fate/Grand Order, where else have we seen a concept where the main protagonist has to go back in time to prevent changes in time over multiple different locations in time? Kamen Rider Battride War Genesis, where Ghost is one of the protagonists!
  • By now, everyone knows how popular RWBY is, especially since it got a Japanese release, but now that we've seen what the Grimm Damashii looks like - black, white and with some wicked shoulder spikes - is the spirit invoking that of the Brothers Grimm, Monty Oum, or even a literal Grimm?
  • Toy reviewers who fiddled around with the DX Ghost Driver toy found out that its sensor will respond to Wizard's Infinity Ring just like it does to the Gan Gun Saber. Jump ahead a few months, and early teasers revealed that Ghost's ultimate form is named Mugen Damashii — "Mugen" being the Japanese word for Infinity.
  • Remember how Shirou in Fate/stay night said "People die when they are killed?" Well, here's another show with Heroic Spirits where the protagonist not only cannot die (unless someone destroys his Eyecon), but, even though he is killed multiple times, still lives.
  • One of the more divisive things about this series was just how many times Takeru ended up dying. The next series, on the other hand, had Dan Kuroto, who died over a hundred times, and he's considered an Ensemble Dark Horse on the show.
  • Remember how people compared Necrom to Ben Tennyson, who had a wristwatch as a Transformation Trinket, and can transform into aliens? Well 3 years later, we got a Rider who has a wristwatch/clock motif, but he can transform into other Riders instead.
  • Kanon's Eyecon has a pink hue to distinguish it from other Gamma Eyecons. Guess what color her actress gets when she joins Sentai.
  • Makoto's Imagine Spot featuring multiple Kanons suddenly feels prescient with Kamen Rider Specter × Blades showing multiple Kanon clones in the flesh.
• Ho Yay:
  • Non-human-to-human example in the "Batchirimina!" special, where Takeru winks at a group of Eyecons and the Ore Ghost Eyecon blushed about moving towards him to transform. It gets weird when you realize the Ore Ghost Eyecon is supposed to be his.
    • Thankfully, that's just a weird dream Takeru had.
  • Certain parts of fandom is quick to call Alain's increasing hostility toward Makoto how a jealous ex would act when betrayed. Not helped at all by #17, which has Alain forcing a beaten and helpless Makoto to transform with the Necrom Eyecon in order to brainwash him, then saying "Now we are true friends." as he places his hand on Makoto's shoulder.
  • On a sweeter note, Makoto's first instinct is to help the newly-human Alain. His sacrifice had a Declaration of Protection and Alain crying over it.
  • Takeru and Makoto has some moments of this as well. They both clearly care about each other a lot. In one of the Legendary Rider Souls web episode, Makoto tells Sagitarius Zodiart that because he has Takeru as a friend, he is never alone. In episode 21, when Takeru finally manage to find a way to enter the Gamma world, who does Takeru think of before he enters it? Makoto.
• Memetic Badass: Movie!Ghost. While Takeru is a Base-Breaking Character in the Kamen Rider franchise, everyone loves the version of Ghost that appeared in Kamen Rider Drive: Surprise Future, with his lifeless movements and ghostly abilities being seen as a much cooler alternative to how Takeru fights in the show. Some people even joke that it isn't really Takeru.
• Memetic Mutation: See this page for examples.
• Moe:
  • Takeru is a very good live-action example: cute looks, kind and gentle, devoted to his friends no matter what, and a plucky spirit no matter the odds.
  • The little coat ghosts that appear when the riders transform. Especially since they do a funny little dance around the Rider.
  • Yurusen. A floating little cyclops-like ghost with little stubs for arms. It helps that Aoi Yūki voices her.
• Moral Event Horizon: Adel definitely gets his when he frames Alain for their father's death and tries to have him killed. He goes even further by killing their father off for real.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The Ghost Driver uses techno-pop standby tracks for both Ghost and Specter, while the Eyecons end with rapping announcements. The Legend Rider Eyecons also deserve extra credit for incorporating the sounds of their represented Riders' Transformation Trinkets. The Mega Ulorder doesn't slack around either, especially with the Baritone of Strength provided by Peter Von Gromm.
• Narm:
  • The Movie has Takeru saying he doesn't want to die. The reason isn't because there's so many things he wants to do or because he doesn't want to make his friends sad...it's because ghosts can't have dinner, and he wants to have dinner.
  • Sin Specter is a pretty cool form in of itself, but there's something funny when, just before Makoto activates the finisher based around Lust that he screams out for Ryu.
  • The Ghost Driver saying "Oyasumi" (The Japanese phrase for "Good Night") whenever it's manually shut-down, such as when an Eyecon is removed from it, has a tendency to break the tension in quite a few scenes.
• Narm Charm:
  • Goemon's debut. It's just an odd mix of hilariously wacky choreography and epic fighting. The kabuki sounds only make it even funnier.
  • The "ghosts can't have dinner" line can become this for those that see it as a more endearing and human character trait of Takeru.
  • Makoto upon finding out his origins in his V-Cinema screams and rolls around in the mud and rain. While his screams become very shrill (which is stunning because Ryosuke Yamamoto had never used a voice like that for Makoto) to sounding like the memetic goat screams, it still works because it's a good representation of how crushing the revelation is to him.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: While not hated, Makoto and Kanon were decidedly unpopular during the run of the main series, due to them having very little strong presence or role after the first arc, and mostly being relegated to acting as attaches of Takeru and Alain while not getting much in the way of developed characterization. Post-series material seems designed to rectify that, with Makoto getting much more Character Development and focus in the movies, and Kanon no longer being a Damsel in Distress, even becoming a Rider in a crossover with Kamen Rider Saber.
• Retroactive Recognition: Specter's sister looks like a more baby-faced Sayo Oharu, doesn't she?
• Seasonal Rot: A popular contender for the weakest entry in the franchise. Common criticisms being that the main storyline feels stretched thin and full of Filler, an overreliance on the Power of Friendship as a plot device, Makoto and Kanon lacking much of a purpose in the story after their arc finishes, and the Gamma sans Alain not being developed enough. The very noticeable budget issues in the last third of the run didn't help either, nor the Final Boss having little concrete set-up. While people have come around to seeing positive aspects in more recent years, Ghost is still considered an divisive season and it's rare to find anyone who would place the season among their favourites in the Rider series.
• Special Effect Failure: Concept art for the Machine Gun Gamma shows him to have smoke and fire leaking from bullet holes. This effect is replicated by tissue paper with less than convincing results.
• Stock Footage Failure: Except for maybe two shots, the moment in #4 where the Gamma raises a chunk of the city off the ground is lifted entirely from the Kamen Rider OOO movie.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character
  • Adonis is set up to be an interesting villain, as a stern but affable ruler who cares for his children and only wants to do what's best for his people. However, he's killed by Adel just as he was starting to become more prominent, and most of his development happens post his demise.
  • Gyro, who happens to be Alain's former instructor. Their connection is never expanded beyond this, nor does Alain show any hesitation with fighting him. Not helped at all by the fact that Gyro practically disappears after his debut episode, only showing up in a grand total of five episodes. Some fans even forgot he existed until his brief scenes in the finale arc reminded them. The fact that he appears in Specter's V-Cinema only to be Killed Off for Real doesn't help this.
  • Alia as a Kamen Rider was given a lot of hype in the previews, however, the very first scene of the episode her Rider form debuts in is her getting her ass handed to her. After that, she doesn't ever transform into Necrom Pink again and mostly spends her time being a Damsel in Distress. In a way, Alia's a huge step down from Kiriko, and she never became a Rider.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The Omedama that Ghost used in #2 to seal the Gamma Hole is never used again for the entirety of the show.
  • Same goes for the Gammaizers possessing a Gamma and creating a new suit for them. Only one Gammaizers does this once and they never did it again.
  • Just about everything about Necrom's Arsenal. The Gan Gan Catcher, his personal weapon, just kinda shows up with no real fanfare. Those cool ghostly abilities he used when he was evil? After losing his Gamma form and becoming good he never even tries to use them again. Even the Mega Uloder gets hit with this. Here you have this awesome sounding transformation device that uses different, more western calls for the Eyecons... ...And it only has about three unique sounds. Necrom's call, Grimm's call, and Sanzo's call. Literally everything else falls under the "Tengan! Ghost!" banner. Everything. To add insult to injury Necrom is also the only main series rider to not get Super Mode during the series. ^note  Mugen, Sin, and Extremer. The closest he gets to one is an equivalent to a mid-season upgrade like Boost or Deep in Specter's V-cinema. He actually manages to beat Deep Specter with it, only to be struck down by a surprise attack.
  • Pink Necrom and Dark Ghost being in the series seems like a pretty awesome twist... until you realize that they're reduced to a thirty second fight and an "old man gets repeatedly injured easily" gag respectively.
  • Some people argue that The Movie would have worked better as the Grand Finale rather than what actually happened. Especially since most of the subplots that bring closure to some of Alain's and Makoto's character arcs are presented in the movie whereas they either get smacked around or fight the same enemy for dozens of episodes.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Of the voiced by the opposite gender variety: Yurusen. Boy or girl?
• Vindicated by History: In more recent years, Ghost has received some fairer reception compared to its original airing, helped that news of its Troubled Production has come to light. As mentioned above, the Rider designs are generally well-liked, Alain of all characters is praised for his character arc (not unlike Mack's in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive), the soundtrack and especially the opening are very well received and, like Tsukasa before him, Takeru's appearances post-series are warmly received, including the announcement of a crossover with Kamen Rider Saber, which was met with almost entirely positive reception.
• The Woobie:
  • Takeru. The poor guy's dad died in front of him, then he ends up getting killed by monsters and now has to deal with the pressure of Living on Borrowed Time and only having 99 days to live unless he finds 15 specific items. Then Specter shows up and starts beating him up and swiping them. His explanation to Akari in episode two really sells it.
  • Kanon. She and her brother basically got Dragged Off to Hell in an accident, she died, and is now trapped in an Eyecon. Her brother is slowly sliding into extremism and attacking their childhood friend, which hurts her so much she'd rather not be revived than see it happen, all the while completely helpless to actually act or do anything. At least Takeru has 99 days and can MOVE AROUND. Gets a lot better when Takeru wishes her back to life.
  • Alia, big time. As time goes on, her calm demeanor has started to crack. Her attempt at talking Adel down in #45 ends with him brutally attacking her, leaving her sobbing on the floor and metaphorically asking her deceased father for advice.
  • The Galileo Eyecon's announcement (Tentai! Shiritai! Hoshi ippai!) can be translated like this "Star! Sparking! I just want to fulfilled". If you learnt about the Dark ages and Galileo's fate, this will sound like he is mourning...
  • Jerkass Woobie: Makoto. Yes, he's ruthless and a jerk to Takeru, but the guy is just trying to bring his sister back and was dragged into the Gamma World and trapped there for who knows how long.Thankfully he gets better.
• Woolseyism:
  • The Over-Time sub tweaks the translation of the Ghost Eyecon raps to make them rhyme in English.
  • The TV-Nihon sub calls the fifteen Eyecons the "Luminary Eyecons" rather than "Heroic Eyecons", keeping more in line to what they stand for rather than giving them a Designated Hero title.

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