cri_c

Kamen Rider Ryuki: Great concept mishandled

Let me preface this by saying i LIKE Ryuki, despite all its faults. The idea of a Kamen Rider Battle Royale is so crazy, original and awesome...i only wish they had actually used it more.
The general concept of Ryuki is that 13 Riders have been selected by our main antagonist to partake in a Battle Royale to the death, the winner getting 1 wish...So why do we never actually see 13 Riders? Throughout the whole series we only ever see 9 of the actual 13 Riders that have been chosen (Tiger and Alternative don't count as they are part of a different faction). That just isn't enough participants to carry a 50 episode series, especially when there is a such a large gap in between the episodes with no new riders introduced, or the main plot just grinding to a halt. I never got to feel like the game had actually started.

Which is a shame because the first 6 episodes do a great job of introducing our cast, the Riders, the game and are genuinely great. After Zolda is introduced is when the first cracks start to show. This then just keeps getting worse around the middle portion of the series when Ryuki turns from a Battle Royale to pretty much just "Everyone VS Kamen Rider Ouja" But that is what makes Ouja so great, because when he is on screen THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPEN. By episode 30 i was just sick of seeing the same fights over and over again. It really isn't until Tiger is introduced where i feel like the series becomes really good again (~ Episode 34).

This is just the biggest shame about Ryuki. Its opening and final arcs are really good, but its middle portion is so dull. When Ryuki is good, it's REALLY GOOD. Episode 44 is not just the best episode in Ryuki but one of the best in the entire franchise. Which is what pains me so much about giving it such an average score. I don't mind bad media, if something is bad i just go about my day, but when i see something with potential being mishandled it drives me nuts. I want to storm into a writers room and rewrite the series from scratch.

I love so much about Ryuki. The characters, the suit designs, the fights, the soundtrack, the themes of "what is true justice?" I just wish we would've gotten a good and consistent story too.

Read More