Rider Time: Ryuki
 

ZI-O's second spinoff.

Takamasa Suga returns to the title role; Toshiki Inoue to write the script.

so that's why ryuga's getting another rider instead of ryuki.
huh.

This is sooooo out of the left field but I've got no complaints.

Ryuki Tribute in Zi-O are getting special focus and I love it!! :D

Inoue writing a special that won't air in SHT? So it'll be a badly-plotted mess of misunderstandings, filled with as much grossness as he thinks he can get away with...

Very excited for more Ryuki, though I'm rather apprehensive about it being written by Inoue. I wasn't super fond of his take on the series in Episode Final

I guess the primary reason they're doing it is to explain/retcon the ending of Ryuki.

What? Yes! What?

For what it’s worth, Inoue wrote a lot of episodes from the original Ryuki series. He actually knows this material.

wait is inoue the kiva guy

Well shit...

This is the answer to Sentai's "10 Years After" specials. I hope future tributes lead to the same thing.

you thought that the next rider for a special would be quiz BUT IT WAS ME RYUKI

That's true, but he couldn't even maintain a coherent story between The First and The Next. Hongo and Ichimonji's whole rivalry is based around their love for a woman who isn't even mentioned in The Next.

Yeah, love him or hate him, he knows how to do drama.

Anyway, Ryuki's in my top 10, I'm so down for more from it. For what it's worth, I do think the main 4 riders will be back, give or take.

Yeah, as well as the Agito guy and the Faiz guy

I'd prefer if Kobayashi was writing this (because of course I would), but... uh, yeah. I'm definitely not going to say no to this, as out of left field as it is.

This seems rather fitting since it's the series that broke the trend of threes, and started the path for all riders to follow.

Plus, I rather like the embedded aspects of it in connotation of Zi-O.

Riders who are fighting to get a wish granted compared to Riders fighting over the once and future king alongside impostors. There's a nice theme play contrast in many regards, and makes me excited for some future potential spin-offs too in how that might further play out in other contrasts of celebratory natures from the eras.

Basing your entire perception of Inoue on The First and The Next is like basing your entire perception of Bowie on Hours or of Weezer on Raditude. :lol

The dude was the head writer on Ryuki (with an assist from Kobayashi). In theory, he should know what he's doing with this world and these characters. In theory...

):

Here's hoping that they finally explain how the Contract Monsters still exist.

It was the other way around.

Derp. Of course. I'm an idiot. :o

He wrote 14 episodes and the Alternate Ending movie, but you're right, he wasn't the head writer. I think I give him more credit because his eps are the most memorable, IMO. (No shade on Kobayashi, she's still one of my faves, especially later on in her career.)

My larger point still stands, though. He should know the world and characters well enough. It may not be any good given Inoue's recent toku work (although his anime stuff is still pretty well done, so who knows), but familiarity with the material shouldn't be an issue.

Inoue struggles with overarching storylines, is prone to repetitive character types and re-used episode plots across the various series he's worked on, seemingly struggles to write female characters, is far too often 'edgy' for the sake of it - I just don't really rate him as a writer at all....

.....I've enjoyed various series he's written for (Changerion was often a lot of fun; Faiz looked cool as hell despite being a hot mess; Jetman had some truly epic moments), but not for his writing, and I definitely wouldn't mention him in the same breath as Bowie.

I'm a sucker for some Kobayashi, though - definitely agree with Fish sandwich and would prefer if she were penning this.

This is all very fair, and I mostly agree. I love Inoue, but I recognize he's not to everyone's taste.

As for the Bowie comparison, if you look at the whole of the tokusatsu, Inoue is very much a weirdo 80s outsider who shook up the classic elements of the genre and twisted them into something new and shocking that old-timers didn't initially accept. Obviously, they're not artists of the same caliber, but I don't know that the comparison to Bowie is that far off, at least within the milieu of the genre.

Oh yeah, there's a much greater chance that the movie would be good if Kobayashi were steering the ship. No arguments there.

Ryuki getting a special yes. It good to see one of my favorites again. I hope it clear up the ending that was confusing for me.

Would love to see a new Survive form rider out of this maybe Zolda, Gai, or Odin.

The Bowie comparison just didn't follow for me because he was such a master of self-reinvention whilst Inoue has more of a particular style. In the context of the above, I see what you mean.

He's also unquestionably a big part of Heisei Kamen Rider, and it follows for him to be involved with the end-of-an-era celebration.

I have high hopes for this. He did fantastic on Ryuki and The First and Next were perfect to the stories they were telling. Far more coherent than they get credit for if you watch it from the right perspective and see where the focus is and what it was building to if it had gotten the third movie it was supposed to get.

Which then ended up becoming Amazons instead as something else entirely.

With RyuSoulger coming, it was kind of obvious if you stopped to think about it for a second.

Dragon Knight and Dragon Knight. Toei doesn't drag on their feet when it comes to good promo and timing. They know how to build on hype too.

Hopefully there might be a reason for that. But we'll see. One can only hope.