is Arkham Asylum vs Arkham City argument really
First half is really focused on the core strength and general theme.
while second half thrown some interesting stuff like snake part and Adreconomic. at same time it also thrown less interesting idea like Meiko backstory (Old meiko is better ;A
and RisaxAndre stuff. not to mention many character is got shafted. I like the current arc thought
I agree that they have rather different themes, with the first half focusing on a tighter plot with time limit whereas the second half is slower and more comedic, but the later few chapters suggest that there will be a greater sense of emergency for the upcoming chapters, so it was more like a "calm before the storm" situation.
While I understand that you feel many characters has gotten less screentime, but on the other hand they all have underwent some character development, and none of them felt either overused or underused (except for Hana, you can never have enough Hana). I however disagree about Risa and Andre being uninteresting, if only for the glorious breakdown, and it was pretty effective at making Risa endearing.
Ultimately, it's a matter of personal tastes, but I disagree about the second half being any weaker than the first, because the characters are still over-the-top, because the situations are still over-the-top, because the twists are still over-the-top, because the asses are still over-the-top.