#and having that mean that he would be completely 100% loyal with Goro

[samarecharm]

Akira being like, obsessed w loyalty, but having it as a positive(ish) trait is so fun to me. He doesnt outright say it or ever ask for it, but theres like an unspoken bond between the thieves and himself. He asks for it (demands, really) because he gives it in return. Its the classic ‘ride or die’ mentality; he demands trust and loyalty bc he 100% trusts his team. He would not have baited himself into what would be considered his literal death if he was not COMPLETELY and UTTERLY faithful to his team and the cause. He trusted them to fulfill their end of the bargain no matter how difficult that wouldve been for them. And because of their mutual faith in each other, leader to team and team to leader, they all managed to make it out and live another school year.

He has very little regard for his life but hes not necessarily reckless. Hes calculated. And while hes a bit out of sorts in the beginning with all of these new ideas and concepts, he quickly finds his footing later in the year. And bc he is assembling a team of people who are loyal to Him, he can afford to be loyal right back to them. He can afford to be risky if the risk is mitigated by having his team follow up on his actions. This team has to run like a well oiled machine; any hiccups will get the rest of the team caught or worse; hurt or killed.

Ryuji inadvertently sets this trend, bc he is Ride or Die at heart and he somewhat influences Akira on this matter. And its why he is so reluctant to truly incorporate Goro onto the team (at first). Goro IMMEDIATELY clocks Akiras leadership as something heavier than simply ‘i lead this group to keep everyone on the same page’, but he wrongly assumes Akira has some sort of Thing about power. Theres no real power trip; he is not okay with limiting his teams voices on any matter. His ideas are not the end all, be all of any plan; hes Not Shido. I can imagine how tough Saes Palace was for everyone, but they needed to have unwavering faith in each other to pull off such a mindblowing plan.

I dunno where else im going w this, i just like thinking of Goro feeling some kinda way about Akira (and the thieves) unanimously declaring him as the leader of the thieves fully knowing what shady things theyve done up until this point. Someone who claims to change peoples hearts is deciding who gets to keep their free will or not, and to have a team basically say ‘yes hes our leader and we would die for him’ does NOT look good to anyone! Especially to someone who is quite literally killing people on behalf of someone Very Bad! Who then Dies for it!

#he is my little meow meow and a litte fucked up actually #goro would never want to be completely loyal to anyone #he follows his own rules #but like akira still trusts him? and it makes him so fucking upset #like how dare you act like im predictable #like i would just blindly follow you like an obedient dog #but he still trusts goro #and he still includes him in plans and hangout meetings #bc he fucking knows what his team is capable of #and their loyalty to him; and his loyalty to them #means that literally any wrong move would have goro dead like no joke #i say this as an avid goro lover and applogist #but if he literally killed Any of the thieves he himself would be dead very shortly after #and to some degree goro knows this #and it makes him a bit (alot) bitter and angry but also like #this is the life he chose yeah? #and like SO WHAT if he listens in a bit more at meetings? #and SO WHAT if ryuji invites him to eat with the rest of them Just Because #and SO WHAT if Akira loudly; with his whole being; acknowledge that he Wants Goro to be with them #and having that mean that he would be completely 100% loyal with Goro #and wouldnt die for him bc he Knows thats not what Goro would want #but would do it only if he absolutely must #and SO WHAT if that means he too is being read like an open book no matter how insistent he is that his pages are sown shut #to hear yusuke say ‘no i do not think that would be wise; goro would agree’ and have him ACTUALLY be right like fuck off #fuck right the fuck off ! #you dont get to know me im unknowable !!!!!!!!!!!!! #tagging as #akeshu #shuake #bc like i want to find it again

[aleasesrestaurant]

Kamen Rider Ryuki

Get in the fucking dragon, Shinji.

First Rider series to make me cry. :C Oh boy. But I think I have my gold standard for Kamen Rider now. Not amazing, just straight-up good thanks to a lot of extremely solid human drama. And Rider battles. Oh my god, this was Rider Battles the Series, and I really liked that part. :D So, that being said, let’s talk Riders!

Ryuki Shinji, man, we fucking love you, but you’re such a goddamn yutz. XD Shinji was great, but of course all the qualities that make him a fun protagonist also make his story really heartbreaking. He’s an idealist put into a situation where there’s no way for him to leave with that idealism intact. Ryuki is a loss of innocence story, and it hurt by the end. :(

One thing I want to do is compare him to Kenzaki in Blade, because they’re very similar. Mostly, I want to say that Ryuki is like Blade in that they’re both depressing as fuck, but Blade starts off that way while Ryuki grows, fairly naturally, into it. I don’t mind comedies that get serious over their run, but damn, the last few episodes were painful. D: (At least it’s got better comedy than Blade.)

Knight Brooding; loner; bad boy; hardass. Ren’s such a chucklenut. :V He was a very frustrating character, because it’s obvious his arc is supposed to be “learns to give a care”, and you’re just waiting and waiting for him to give in and accept that Shinji’s his friend, already. And, I mean, he certainly starts treating him like one, or at least not an enemy after a while, but it’s not really until the last handful of episodes that he shows any care. And for the record, I didn’t cry because Shinji died, but because Ren wept. :( He actually learned to give a care when it was almost too late.

As for the Rider side, his Final Vents look kinda silly, if you ask me, but I really dig the way Darkwing transforms into a motorcycle for Survive mode. I just wish the transforming figures were, like, less than 100 bucks. D: I want.

Weird side note: I definitely would not ship him with Shinji. I mean, usually Kamen Rider is about two men who have a deep and unspoken love for each other, but it took him so long to admit to friendship, that relationship just would not work.

Scissors So, I’m writing this Kamen Rider parody fic called Kamen Rider Taco, and at the end, I’m going to have all these kids put on Rider belts and become Kamen Rider knock-offs or Riders with stupid names like Eyebrows. Scissors would fit right in with that. It doesn’t help that he’s got maybe the worst design I’ve ever seen in this series? I’m glad he died fast.

Zolda Okay. We gotta talk about Shuuichi Kitaoka. He’s egotistical. He’s a chauvinist. He’s a completely reprehensible, loathsome pile of refuse masquerading as a human being. And he is hands-down my favorite Rider in the series.

Like, as a Rider, he’s awesome. The only specializing in ranged combat, so he’s got a fucking cool-ass gun right off the bat. Like, I would expect anyone else using a Shoot Vent card to get a little hand-pistol. He gets a giant two-handed tank cannon! And his Final Vent is just all the guns. :D (My god, it’s called “End of World”! You can’t beat that!) It’s a shame he can’t ever hit with it, but fuck, I love him.

And like I said, he’s completely awful, but as a person. He’s a great character, the kind you love to hate. And his only redeeming quality was having the best boyfriend.

Yes, sweet, lovable Goro-chan, who would be the best character in the show if not for Shimada. (Who would be the best character in the show if not for Yui’s Obasan.) Whatever you think about Kitaoka yourself, you have to admit that wonderful, loyal Goro sees something in him and stays by his side with nary a complaint. And, I mean, Kitaoka sees something in him, too, since that’s about the only person he’s ever consistently nice to.

Raia I mean... He sucks? As a Rider, at least. Tezuka as a character, someone to actually help Shinji in his naive quest to stop the Rider War, was an interesting plot point. I’m glad he didn’t stick around too long. (Plus, his death got some good emotional screaming out of Shinji’s actor.)

Gai Can I just say, fuck this little punk? No one’s death was more satisfying. It’s not as bad as Scissors, but I hate his design, too. Like, yeah, sure, just flip that fucking card up into your shoulder and close it in the most awkward way possible, go ahead. His Final Vent was stupid-looking, too.

Ouja Man, Asakura is a weird character. I mean, he’s undeniably the villain of the series; you can’t even necessarily say that about Shirou Kanzaki. But he’s such a weird villain! Like, he just seems to want chaos and violence in his life, non-stop. It’s hard to figure him out, though his total lack of giving a fuck provided some seriously hilarious scenes. (Dude ate a fucking mussel shell!) I do love how he just gets ridiculously overpowered as he kills people, though. His Final Vent looks stupid, however; see also Rogue from Build.

Furry Kitty Tiger I really love his design, but I have caveats. First, as a character, he was just about as impenetrable as Asakura, but more frustratingly so. You could count on Asakura to destroy shit; Toujou was far more unpredictable, or at least, it never was certain whether he would continue as he had been. Second, his Final Vent is like, half amazing? He summons his giant tiger dude to fucking drag you across the floor, but then you get to him and he just... lifts you into the air and you explode? He was a close second for my favorite Rider in the series, but his overall effects just didn’t pan out.

Imperer The thing is... I don’t know if Asakura was a good villain. They spend the whole series building him up as this big, scary dude, and sometimes he lives up to it, and sometimes he seems overhyped. Mitsuru Sano, on the other hand, could have been a fantastic villain, but I’m not sure if they intended that? Like, when he comes to the Riders and is all “Whoa, sempai, I love you so much!” and then he does it again and again, you’re like, holy shit, this guy is playing everyone, he is some kind of evil mastermind! But then he’s also, like, a total idiot, not to mention a huge chump, and he dies like a bitch? I’m not really sure what to make of him. Though I will say, he’s got one of those things I really hate about Kamen Rider, where you have to check the wiki to see all the information about a character. Because I was all, why the fuck does he have fifteen Contract Monsters? when in reality, he’s got one, and it just leads a herd of smaller ones. But that’s never brought up in the series; how the fuck are you supposed to know it?

Odin Uhh... I dunno. He’s the OP, unbeatable special boss. He’s literally unbeatable; Knight only gets lucky. He wasn’t very interesting.

I can talk about Shirou though? Like, he’s the creepy doomsayer of the series, and then you find out he’s the reason everything’s happening. But the one moment of his I really liked is when he, Ren and Shinji are all at the house and Yui’s disappearing. He starts screaming for her not to leave him, and his voice loses that deep, forbidding bass it usually has and he sounds like a little kid. That was some really impressive acting, there. And I guess the message is, uh, don’t get lost in the past? Something like that.

Alternative Is he even a Kamen Rider? I’m not sure. I can’t figure out who the 13 Riders actually are, I always come up one or two short or over. D: It was pretty interesting that a dude figured out a way to become a fake Rider to enter the Mirror World, though.

Femme I’m so glad the movie was mostly about Femme, or else I’d have been really disappointed. I mean, she’s the first female Kamen Rider (well, aside from Electro-Wave Human Tackle), and you named her “Kamen Rider Girl”; I shouldn’t be expecting too much, here. But her appearance in the 13 Riders special was confusing and lackuster. I mean, she just shows up and it’s like, hey, is that white Knight version a lady? But in the movie, oh man, swindling a guy trying to swindle her in the same way? What a way to introduce a character. :D I didn’t think Shinji needed a love interest, but their interactions at least proved that Shinji was just a huge man-baby. XD I do wish she’d been a little more unique than just “female Knight”, kind of how Kiva-la is “female Kiva”. I mean, even their Contract Monsters have opposing names; check the wiki. Her Final Vent is lackluster, but she actually has the coolest Guard Vent? Like, I can’t say that anyone else’s Guard was cool.

Ryuga Uh, why did this happen again? Such a random thing, though I guess it leads to the movie ending on Shinji battling his literal inner demon. But I gotta say, after 50+ episodes of watching Shinji’s actor effortlessly play this bumbling idiot, to the point where you’d expect nothing else out of him as an actor, it was a real treat getting to watch him do sinister and creepy so well. Still not sure he was needed.

Verde Verde can go suck a fuck. :V He’s a rich asshole with a terrible fucking design and the hands-down stupidest Final Vent of the series. I like how his Visor (the thing you put the fightin’ cards into) reaches up to the grab the card with a chameleon tongue; it’s like, he’s too lazy to put the fucking card in himself, he has people to do that for him. But that also means he fights with a goddamn yo-yo. Ugh, go be green somewhere else.

As for the show itself, well, like I said, the ending was depressing, but I liked the humor. Shimada, Goro-chan and Yui’s Obasan were my favorites. :) The special was confusing and frustrating in the same way Decade was; the movie was much better. In fact, the movie almost makes a better ending to the series (not just because it’s happier), since the explanation for Yui’s connection to the Rider War is a little less convoluted... except for Shinji’s involvement. <.< Yeah, not everything made sense.

But this was a really good show and I’m glad I watched it. It might be a mistake, but I’m going to try a few episodes of Masked Rider Dragon Knight now, which I expect will be a real trip. :V Then on to Faiz. Have some lists!

Kiva W Kuuga Ryuki Blade Agito Decade

Top Riders:

Diend Den-O Double Chalice Gills Kuuga Skull Zolda

I could add Build in, but I might as well wait until I’ve finished the series, even if there’s like three episodes left. :B That’ll be the next one, at least!

#kamen rider #kamen rider ryuki #review #tokusatsu