Ghost Game is a series that's littered with issues, but the most prominent one is its inability to integrate continuous plot threads into an episodic structure, which actively harmed the writing of the standalone episodes and the overarching plot. The main characters were static and never truly got character development, all of the supporting characters and new villains were robbed of any chance to be more than their starting set of characteristics (if they're even lucky enough to get more than one characteristic), episodes bled together as the show progressed because the MOTW formula got tedious, the series would either abruptly drop or rush interesting plot threads, and the climax of the series kicks in with minimal build-up and is hastily resolved in the final 3 episodes. To elaborate, its own episodes just bleed together because almost all of them are "MOTW with body horror powers," supporting characters are treated like shit (e.g. Kotaro’s one characteristic is being a pervert), the main characters' relationships remain stagnant (e.g. Hiro and Gammamon's relationship barely changes from episode 1), the show rushes its own plot threads (e.g.: the letter in ep. 31, Espimon’s subplot, Hokuto being barely relevant) and climax. The series being formulaic is a more noticeable problem in the show's second half, where almost every episode has body horror in it. Lastly, the main characters in this show are very reactive and have little agency, which becomes a problem since it leaves less room for characterization and they never actively investigate anything in either the standalone stories or in regards to the overarching plot threads.
Now, onto the positives. The animation, while nothing spectacular, does look fairly decent for a good chunk of its run. Plus, the character dynamics of this show are decently written, even if they're held back by largely stagnant main characters. However, it becomes stale to watch the same character dynamics when the character relationships don't change, especially in the show's second half. That said, the Digimon partners do feel unique and have their own personalities, and the same applies to the human leads. And there are slightly more good horror-themed episodes than bad ones and mediocre ones. There's less lead protagonist bias because while Hiro and Gammamon are favored, the other four leads do get their own individual episodes and still play a part in most of Hiro's focus episodes.
Overall, Ghost Game is an aggressively mediocre series with more good episodes than bad ones, but it's still a show held back by messy writing and a MOTW formula that becomes more tedious as the series progresses. Lastly, GG made me reconsider my stance on Digimon Savers since I now think it's a good show instead of mediocre, so congratulations,Ghost Game.
The Most Mediocre Digimon Show Yet
Ghost Game is a series that's littered with issues, but the most prominent one is its inability to integrate continuous plot threads into an episodic structure, which actively harmed the writing of the standalone episodes and the overarching plot. The main characters were static and never truly got character development, all of the supporting characters and new villains were robbed of any chance to be more than their starting set of characteristics (if they're even lucky enough to get more than one characteristic), episodes bled together as the show progressed because the MOTW formula got tedious, the series would either abruptly drop or rush interesting plot threads, and the climax of the series kicks in with minimal build-up and is hastily resolved in the final 3 episodes. To elaborate, its own episodes just bleed together because almost all of them are "MOTW with body horror powers," supporting characters are treated like shit (e.g. Kotaro’s one characteristic is being a pervert), the main characters' relationships remain stagnant (e.g. Hiro and Gammamon's relationship barely changes from episode 1), the show rushes its own plot threads (e.g.: the letter in ep. 31, Espimon’s subplot, Hokuto being barely relevant) and climax. The series being formulaic is a more noticeable problem in the show's second half, where almost every episode has body horror in it. Lastly, the main characters in this show are very reactive and have little agency, which becomes a problem since it leaves less room for characterization and they never actively investigate anything in either the standalone stories or in regards to the overarching plot threads.
Now, onto the positives. The animation, while nothing spectacular, does look fairly decent for a good chunk of its run. Plus, the character dynamics of this show are decently written, even if they're held back by largely stagnant main characters. However, it becomes stale to watch the same character dynamics when the character relationships don't change, especially in the show's second half. That said, the Digimon partners do feel unique and have their own personalities, and the same applies to the human leads. And there are slightly more good horror-themed episodes than bad ones and mediocre ones. There's less lead protagonist bias because while Hiro and Gammamon are favored, the other four leads do get their own individual episodes and still play a part in most of Hiro's focus episodes.
Overall, Ghost Game is an aggressively mediocre series with more good episodes than bad ones, but it's still a show held back by messy writing and a MOTW formula that becomes more tedious as the series progresses. Lastly, GG made me reconsider my stance on Digimon Savers since I now think it's a good show instead of mediocre, so congratulations, Ghost Game.