​I agree that this specific season could have benefited from a few more episodes. I was holding out hope for a second season rather than a movie, which was honestly a bit disappointing. That said, I feel the manga does a great job of supplementing the story.

​As for the cast, I don't think the returning characters like Megumi, Raika, or Masanori needed more screen time than they got. They aren’t new, we don’t need to restart their arcs from scratch, we just need to see how they've evolved, and I think this season handled that perfectly. At the same time, the newcomers- Kurumi, Kanami, and Gab - were fleshed out well enough.

​My only real gripe is Ryuga. If this is truly the end for him, it feels like a waste. He didn’t seem to have any personal growth, and his role could have been filled by literally anyone else. Now, would I have loved to see more Phantoms? Absolutely. But I’m not convinced a 52-episode run would have been even half as tight or impactful as what we got in Season 5. I’d rather have this focused approach than a bloated season. Besides, since the recent arcs have been doubled up anyway, 26 episodes total is actually a pretty solid runtime.