DanTheMan2150AD

Essentially, speedrunning Ryuki's original fifty-episode narrative over the course of a 50-minute runtime, 13 Riders had a lot of potential in crafting an engaging what-if companion piece to the TV show, even allowing kids to vote on the ending. Unfortunately, it all ends up as a wasted opportunity and definitely feels like it should be way longer than it is; most likely, it's a case of this being a primetime special that had to be welcoming to unfamiliar viewers. Little time is spent on fleshing out the narrative outside of the most basic of setups before we're flung headfirst into the special's plentiful action. Granted, all the action is incredibly well shot, thanks mainly to the direction of long-time tokusatsu director Ryuta Tasaki; however, the narrative is exceptionally hollow, with little justification given for the events surrounding said action. It just feels like an excuse to parade the last 3 Riders who didn't appear in the show for some reason in front of the camera. All three of whom do very little to leave a lasting impression, not from a lack of trying, but more from a lack of screen time, at least the cast are all still on form. Most egregious of all for me, at least, is that they got frigging Keiichi Wada to play Ryuki's original ill-fated host, before altogether dropping him less than a minute in. This would have been so much cooler had he been the main focal point of this special, seriously, Toshiki Inoue, I know you are better than this. Regardless of the ending you choose for 13 Riders, it still feels like an extension of the show rather than something entirely separate, a bit darker and more mysterious, but with just as much flair and humour, regardless of all the in-universe rule-breaking taking place.