Remembering Ryuki

I'll be talking about the season itself. Not the Episode Finale, 13 Riders, or Rider Time Ryuki special. They're fun watches, but not canonical to the season itself. I'll also be dancing around the edges of spoilers, unlike my normal shtick where I explain the story in excruciating detail. I'm only interested in recommending my favorite show and getting at least one other person on board that might not have been interested before. Any Rider fans may wonder why I wouldn't want to talk about Kuuga first. Well, I just rewatched Ryuki, so shuup. I'll keep it spoiler free for Ryuki, aside from the premise and some character names, but I'll be bringing up some plot points from Agito and Kuuga, especially if they're funny.

I wanted to hit on the visuals and character designs first. The effects are... Well, they're okay for 2002 television. Sometimes, monsters just look like paper cut outs and anytime an actor has to fly or move across a greenscreen, it can get rough. It's definitely not so bad it's good like Kuuga or legitimately incredible like Zero-One. I'd say the same for a lot of the character designs. I give the main rider a B- for his suit. It's another in-between. It doesn't feel simple and elegant like Faiz, or batshit insane like Revice, probably my two favorites. Kamen Rider Knight definitely scratches that itch much better. A version of Bat-Man that's actually well designed and has a medieval/cyberpunk aesthetic somehow ended up being a real winner. I think the rest of the riders in the cast got more time to cook because, unlike Ryuki and Knight they don't have that Main Character™ look about them. If you want your Henshin hero to basically look like a robot, Ryuki has you covered for days.

Speaking of, the Kamen Riders and their backgrounds are basically the most the season has going for it in terms of story. That's not to say the show has no plot, it just meanders a little until the 35th episode, when it Stone Cold Steve Austin double barrels two beer cans and starts hauling ass down the freeway until the final episode. The story itself, outside the character interactions, alternates between good and fine. It's just a side effect of the pacing. The whole premise is that a group of 13 Riders must fight to the death over the course of a year, in order to earn one wish. However, across 50 episodes, 3 of those riders appear and exit the story in the final 10 episodes. If you want anything to be explained in detail, you may be disappointed. The actual point behind the game of death is only alluded to and we aren't told why it absolutely had to happen. It likely comes from the writers still shaking off the rust from the Showa era where the lack of a constantly evolving narrative was a feature instead of a bug. That's why Kuuga felt more like Black RX than Faiz. On top of that, Ryuki is fairly dark. It's not Gaim, but based on the concept alone, you can tell it's not a feel-good season. At least Ryuki doesn't have flying Dragon Ball Super god children like Agito.

Do I recommend Ryuki? If you're expecting standard Kamen Rider fair, probably not. It doesn't represent the rest of the series too well. If you're coming off a more mature show, I think it makes a fine place to slide in if you want to watch a pre-2010 Kamen Rider Hesei era season. I hope Faiz is as good as I remember.