DreamSword Watches Unfamiliar Toku: Part 7 - Caster Chronicles Dragon Swordplay
 

Otherwise known as Magic Bullet Chronicles Ryukendo for those you who don't do literal translations.

This is a tokusatsu from 2006 made by Takara, and is notable in that it was seen as such a strong competitor in the genre that it's partially what caused Toei to greenlight Kamen Riders Hibiki and Kabuto to be the way they were(atleast, according to a very brief Google search I did).

Like most entries in this series, I know very little about it going in, but as soon as Bereke Scrubs released their scrub of the show, I saw some of the suit designs and decided to check this out.

This'll be an interesting experience for my threads in general, as it's the longest show I've decided to cover so far at 52 episodes and a couple specials. So we'll see if I have the stamina to keep it going or if I end up going into Binge Mode like I've done with some other shows. Either way, the biggest thing I'm hoping for is to have fun, and I hope you all do too.

Let's begin.

Pretty fun intro episode!

In terms of plot it's kind of a standard first episode, but there's some fun to be had in all the individual elements that make it up.

The story follows Kenji, a drifter who moves to Akebono City, a place that gets invaded by demons once a week. They're protected by the organization known as SHOT, as the police are rather useless in driving the demons back.

Kenji gets to know some townsfolk, gets into a fight with a CGI monster, and is eventually chosen to be Ryukendo, a transforming hero who uses a Keyblade before they were even a thing. Kingdom Hearts owes Takara some serious royalties on that one.

This is afterall only the first episode, so we only get the baseline for the cast's' personalities, but everyone begins off pretty likable. And I was actually impressed at how much effort was put into not only the effects and stunts, but also the world building when it came to Akebono City. Makes me hope that the show can reach Kamen Rider W levels when it comes to that.

I also rather like the suit design and the props too. The Keyblade is neat in how it functions, I like that the lead hero is Blue while the secondary is Red(a reverse of the usual standard), and the Wolf Bike that the Red Hero rides around on is very much My Aesthetic. And major shout out to the credits sequence, which was rather unexpected and very fun. The OP and ED songs are just kinda okay, but I could see them growing on me over time.

Overall, it's a fun start, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the show.

I think it'd be the other way around since KH1 was in 2002 and this was in 2006.

That said, yeah this is mid 2000s Toku incarnate in regards to vibes. There's a fun feeling even if I feel the pacing or just the way scenes were cut felt a bit off.

But it's a good introductory episode. And I'm already digging our heroes in terms of their looks. Though I'm also a sucker for that one villain who looks like a monstrous Kamen Rider Knight, he looks sick.

Oh, believe me, Akebono will not disappoint you! In some ways, this town is even superior to Fuuto, but more on that later. In fact, what impressed me most about this show was the number of toys. I mean, modern riders are usually criticized for too many gimmicks, but Ryukendo is not too inferior to them, and for 2006 this is completely incredible. Although it seems that for Takara the approach: “Not a single episode without an update” is quite typical.

Yeah, the editing was definitely a bit off a couple times. Namely during the climax of the episode.

Looking forward to it!

A kid finds a plant bulb made out of boobs.

With that out of the way, the majority of this episode is more about Kenji getting introduced to the police and of course, SHOT.

And while I liked the episode well enough, I think there's something to be said about how the two plots going on in this episode kinda don't really interconnect? Like, at all?

I mean, there is a very loose connection, with Kenji meeting the little boy at the start of the episode, but outside of that, this could've easily been two separate episodes. And part of me wishes it were, with this episode being entirely about the police and the monster just being something sent out like in episode 1.

But, what keeps the whole thing entertaining throughout is the various character quirks and interactions. The citizens of Akebono are quite quirky, and their police force is no exception. Even the kid has a poindexter thing going on that you kinda don't see nowadays, which not only made him likeable, but is the sort of thing you don't really see anymore nowadays.

Ryugunoh also gets a proper introduction this episode, and I found it cool how, in contrast to, say, Kamen Rider, our other hero is actually quite supportive(if a bit cautious) of his new teammate. Doesn't even mind that Ryukendo is the one who gets to use the new toy first. Which, speaking of Rider, modern Rider fans would probably hate this show, since we're getting new toys already. The sort of thing that we wouldn't see alot of until about a decade later.

Overall, it's basic, but it's fun. And that's all I need.

A solid next step in terms of introductory episodes. I think I'm going to like Akebono as a location considering the amount of character we see from the residents thus far. No strong opinions on the cast just yet, but the comedy is on point I feel as Kenji and GekiRyuKen's "Seriously" bit got me to laugh.

Surprised to see a sudden new form enter the fray, but hey, it was pretty neat and used the OP as an Insert. Which I'll admit, this is having the effect the GARO ones so far have had on you where you like them more as Inserts than OPs.

I'm also surprised to see them dedicate part of the credits to the episode itself too before cutting to the usual sequence. Normally I only see that in anime when they try their hand at it, with Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise coming to mind considering how many times they did it there.

I think I watched the first episode of this years and years and years ago. Didn't really click with me.

Shogo Yamaguchi who played Kenji/Ryukendo formerly played Daigo's son in that one-shot Ultraman Tiga spinoff. Hiroko Sato who played Kaori the florist went on to play Ai Yashiro, Kaoru Ichijo's counterpart in Kamen Rider Decade.

There's a reason I chose it as the thumbnail!

That's a shame. I have it on good authroity that you should atleast watch up to episode 3!

I have no idea who any of those people are!

I had a really hard time choosing a screencap for this episode.

It's one of those things where, on its face, the plot is simple: Kenji gains access to his own animal companion, Brave Leon, and he has trouble taming it.

But like, there's so much going on at the same time in terms of characterization, events that almost seem random, and the whole villain scheme of kidnapping the townfolk via putting them on a giant moving Monopoly piece.

To put it in the most direct way I can, this episode is an absolute shitpost. The kind of thing I absolutely adore in stuff like Tokusatsu and anime. If someone had told me that Inoue wrote this one, I'd believe them, because this episode of Ryukendo had serious Changerion vibes.

As such, I dare not spoil all of the great stuff that goes on in this one, and highly recommend people view it as coldly as possible. All I will say is that for just how over the top the episode is, I really did appreciate alot of the more subdued and subtle beats it had too. There's alot of great character work here, and it's only aided by the wackiness, not hindered.

A+ episode.

This aired in 2006... we have a blue sword wielding hero and a red secondary hero who has a gun... they have a spinning gimmick holder...

Eh close enough, welcome back Kamen Rider Blade.

That realization 3 episodes in aside, yeah the best I can articulate my thoughts on this episode was I felt like I was watching a shitpost (affectionate).

If there's one thing that this show nailed was showcasing a rather low energy standard day for the folks at SHOT while they try to deal with whatever disturbances there are. It's even reflected in the music where a lot of the time during the chase sequences or action scenes there's a rather relaxed OST piece playing.

Exactly what I first thought when Ryukendo was announced back in the days. :lolol

My bad. Shogo Yamaguchi who plays Ryukendo played Ultraman Tiga's son in a spinoff movie thing that is set years after Ultraman Tiga. Hiroko Sato who plays Kaori the florist in Ryukendo later played the police detective Kuuga is allied with in Kamen Rider Decade.

sorry double post.

Probably not a coincidence, is the thing. Takara is known for very blatantly taking inspiration from other popular works. The Brave series was inspired by Transformers, Zoids was inspired by Gundam, and now we have Ryukendo, which is very much taking notes from other Toku, Kamen Rider especially.

One of the things that makes the story of Getter Robo so interesting is how, despite it being one of the first super robot stories ever written, it manages to showcase a rather dramatic deconstruction of the trope known as "serial escalation." The idea that the heroes must get continuously stronger.

I bring this up because, surprisingly, for a show that's made it a point to introduce a new toy with every episode, the plot of this episode follows the same general idea. Only it's full of wacky comedy rather than being played for drama and only drama like how Getter tends to do. Both sides of the Akebono conflict are trying harder and harder to get rid of eachother, and the townsfolk are the ones caught in the crossfire.

And while a plot that heavy sounding mixed with the sort of hijinks that Ryukendo has now made itself known for might sound like a recipe for disaster, I found the overall tone of the episode to be surprisingly well handled.

The angle they go for essentially being that Kenji is ignorant of the greater threat going on, and is simply focusing on what's immediately infront of him. Played for alot of comedy, sure, but the climax especially doesn't shy away from the potential consequences. Ones that, thankfully, the rest of SHOT and the local public services are ready to try and handle.

There was also a solid bit of world building here too. Not only in terms of introducing a couple more locales, but also elaborating on how the Demons tend to cause mischief and what exactly the Canon of Light is, even if SHOT themselves don't fully understand it.

This was just a rather fun and interesting episode all around. I dug it.

To be fair to Takara regarding the Brave series, that was their attempt to replace Transformers when they realised the toyline was going down (they still gave it a better shot than Hasbro did, as at least Japan got three more animated series out of compared to the American seasons). Plus they even got to reuse several transformer toy molds they had lying around still!

Regarding this series though, I've never even heard of it till you started covering it yet the designs seem so familiar to me. Looks like a fun show though!

The show has the charm of a gotochi hero, or local hero (the toku heroes that rep their prefecture in Japan), but with the budget of a typical toku hero show. The studio that created this went on to do Tomica Hero Rescue Force and Tomica Hero Rescue Fire for TV Tokyo iirc. I think it's worth a watch.

There's a very casual vibe to the way situations and battles are handled in this show and I really like it.

I admittedly don't have much to say other than it's another solid one.

I did like the joke of trying to figure out whatAqua Mode would be good for and Ryukendo in those sequences is still normal and only has a sash on that just labels him as Aqua Mode.

Huh, that really does sum up the vibes, now that you mention it.

This is now the second Tokusatsu episode I've seen this year that features an old couple staring at a moon of ill-intent.

Thankfully this one didn't end up nearly as tragic.

We surprisingly get an episode that's alot more focused on the overarching plot this episode, with the reveal of who the Ghost Lady that only Kenji can see is, as well as the identity of Evil Kamen Rider Knight. They're known as Komachi and Jack Moon, respectively.

And in terms of character arcs, this episode is about Kenji needing to learn that this isn't a conflict that he can win all by himself, and that while he might be getting alot of new toys, he's far from invincible.

It's overall a fun episode, and the way it flows reminded me alot of GARO(that and well, the evil moon thing); if GARO had like half its budget, given all the CGI set pieces featured in the episode. Which, sure, especially nowadays it's nothing impressive to look at, but it does make for a really cool setting for the climax to take place in.

Jack Moon himself makes for a fun rival character too. He's the the honor thing of Koragg from Power Rangers Mystic Force, and also like Koragg, you can tell that this guy means business when he fights. He even interrupts the transformation sequence! Twice!

I'm just sad that the Ghost Lady bit is gonna be going away for awhile. It made for some really good gags in the past few episodes.

Or as I like to call him Kamen Rider Makai Knight. :lolol

This was a pretty fun episode, very much a wake-up call for Kenji. I'm glad we get a bit more clarity on Komachi and her whole deal, kind of. We know she's a spirit and someone notable from the city but only Kenji can see her, so I'm curious as to why this is.

That said Jack Moon really stole the show for me. Dude shows up to try and figure out the deal with SHOT, gets his fights in and decides to back off when he realizes that Kenji can provide a better challenge in the future. Now that's what I call a cool villain general.

That is his general fit, yeah.

And he can turn into the moon! Nothing rough about that!

DeviantArt joke.

Fudo gets to be the hero this time around, as the newest Key unlocks a new finishing move for Ryugunoh.

And, man, I really relate to his plight in this one, with everyone calling him old even though he's still young. I actually had a similar experience, wherein a friend would tease me by calling me "Old Man" alot. With similar results.

That aside, this episode was... alright. Despite being the one who gets to be the hero in the end, the episode doesn't focus nearly as much on Fudo as I'd like; With about 70% of it still very much focusing on Kenji. Whenever it's not focused on BalloonGunner, atleast.

The gags and action are also pretty basic. I did get a decent chuckle out of the scene where the policegirl dup whip out shotguns though. And BalloonGunner needed to tether itself to a tower in the center of town so it doesn't float off was a nice touch.

Outside of that, this one was just a very okay time.

Seeing your reviews, DreamSword, and especially your current sig, has me thinking Kenji's sukajan (his satin embroidered souvenir jacket, for those not familiar with the term) is one of my favorite wardrobe choices in tokusatsu. I believe the next hero to wear a sukajan was Chiaki/Shinken Green in Shinkenger. And those jackets are quite pricy according to what I googled, at least the authentic ones are.

In this case, given that Gentaro only appeared in Fourze wearing such a jacket once, he (in the show) and the Toei wardrobe staff (in real life) borrowed it temporarily.

Yeah this was a pretty alright episode.

It's neat to have Ryugunoh take point though the leadup to that is just a training sequence we kinda see but it seems like it only amounts to Fudo practicing the finisher again and again until he can properly brace.

Also it's amusing how in the SHOT Information segment they say Dragon Cannon "instantly reduces anything to atoms" since that did not happen at all lol. Kenji had to do a finisher on a large bit of BalloonGunner to actually finish it off and get the key in the end.

I imagine it's also very practical when filming during the colder months!

Him flying through the window did give me a chuckle, I will say.

I was rather jiving with this one at first, only to end up with mixed feelings by the end.

A major part of the plot is an old man's' relationship with his son, who rather than taking up the family business, it focusing on a musical career.

And a plot like that, in a show like this, kinda writes itself, right? The father and son see value in eachother's' paths in life, and learn to compromise and love one another despite their difference.

Except... no. By the end, it's all but flat out stated that the dad was right in that his son was only wasting his time and that a life of heavy metal was never a serious thing, nor should it ever be taken seriously. Traditional work is the only thing that qualifies as real work.

It just left a really bad taste in my mouth. Especially after the episode itself had been doing such a great job at using these two as a vehicle to do some more excellent world building when it comes to Akebono City(well, them and the police). It'd be like if you were enjoying a really good pizza, only for the final bite of it to be suddenly filled with coleslaw.


The other aspect of the plot is a continuation of the gag that Kenji can't ever get along with the Beast Kings that he acquires. This time it's Fire Kong, of whom he tries to find various ways to tame but to no avail until he learns from the father and son from beforehand. In that regard, both plots are tied together alot better than the two plots of episode 2 were. And they were almost equally enjoyable too. Which is a rather nice step up.

In the end, I don't out and out dislike the episode, as it still has alot of the stuff I enjoy about Ryukendo as a whole, but man, what a letdown of an ending.

I mean, I felt like it was more the son realizing "Hey if music doesn't work out, I can go back to this thing I used to love" than him being entirely wrong. But idk.

Anyway, Kenji's antics in trying to get Fire Kong's cooperation were great. The Banana bit was probably my favorite part of the whole affair. Also hey, we've got actual normal suits for unique monsters this time instead of CG monstrosities. Was wondering if we'd ever get more traditional ones aside from Jack Moon.

I'd be down for that angle if not for this little bit at the end.

https://i.imgur.com/oQfQjjk.png

Basically it makes it sound as if he's giving an excuse and that the dad was totally right with how his son never actually commits to anything. Combine that with the whole "The son took the dad's' bait" thing with Kenji and I just can't give it any leeway.

A very emotional episode that I really dug.

Rin the desk lady takes center stage here, as the vast majority of the episode has to do with her backstory and how her relationship with her brother affected her.

While we don't get anything super extensive on her brother's' personal life, we do learn what type of person he was via comparisons to Kenji as well as learning where his passions lied, and how he fought to protect what he held dear.

Combine that with some really strong atmosphere and Rin's' own reflections on her inaction, and I was incredibly invested in everything going on with this one. Rin joined SHOT to carry on her brother's' dream of protecting smiles(Kuuga in the making!), even if she's not exactly a combatant.

The episode itself is really pretty to look at too; featuring alot of outdoors locales and, fitting enough, water. Multiple types of it too. Lakesides, swamps, even a flowing riverbank. It makes for an especially heinous scheme of the villains too; Pollution, which of course ties into the underlying environmental angle that the episode also features.

Oh, and the newest Beast King, Aqua Shark, also gets introduced in the episode's' climax. Makes for a pretty cool surf board, and is the only animal companion so far that Kenji manages to tame immediately. Which really works, as it shows the Shark empathized with Kenji's' fierce emotions at the time like what Leon and Kong did. Just a slight shame we didn't get a unique finisher out of it. But hey, Ryukendo freezing the lake was cool.

Overall a standout episode, and definitely my favorite so far.

I'll second it here that I consider this episode my favorite so far too. While I've been enjoying the show so far, this episode really stepped things up in a lot of aspects.

We get some more neat world-building, Rin gets her time in the spotlight, and we get a fairly unique plot that doesn't involve actively chasing the monster/threat around the entire episode which give us a lot of chances for some down time.

It really does help the show the range of the show runners, too. And it makes me excited for what other stuff we might see in the future.

Something tells me this episode was originally supposed to air right after the Fire Kong debut.

Not only is Fire Kong the main tool that's focused on in this episode(no new toy in sight for once), but the overall plot of "Kenji and Gekiryuken need to learn to get along" works alot better if put earlier in the show.

Because really, the two have had their spats, but it was always in the sort of "friends ribbing eachother for fun" sort of way, rather than any serious annoyance. And in terms of the events of this specific episode, there isn't really any sort of triggering incident to make them get at eachother. Gekiryuken just kinda starts being alot more hostile for no reason.

That said, while I setup is certainly weak, I did still like the episode for what it was trying to do. The atmosphere was handled decently, and getting backstory on Gekiryuken while highlighting that Kenji has his faults just like anyone else was nice to see.

Overall it's fine, just kind of weirdly placed in terms of the overall story so far.

This was a nice episode.

I do like how we decided to just go full Drakengard here with out monster this week and getting some more background on Gekiryuken is nice.

I mean, they didn't have to play a next to impossible rhythm game in order to unlock the true ending so we aren't quite there yet.

Why did Kenji travel to Akebono City anyway?

While that question isn't explicitly answered in this episode, it does give us some backstory on him and lend itself to a pretty solid theory.

It's actually pretty neat, the way this episode explains a detail that we often overlook in Toku: Why does the hero know how to fight the way they do? In the case of Kenji, he actually is a trained swordsman.

Infact, his style was made specifically to slay demons, leading me to think he was sent to Akebono as a part of his training. There's also the introduction of Umi, who is Kenji's' (arranged) fiance, and by extension the establishment of Rin having a crush on Kenji. It's not ideal, but I'm fine with it.

No new toy this week either. Heck, not even a new finisher. But the monster this time around is pretty fun. Not just one flying shrimp, but an entire legion of them that fly to the tune of Flight of the Valkyries. There was also some serious effort in modifying set pieces to look like the monsters had taken big ol' bites out of them, which I appreciated it.

Overall, this was a fun episode that was only highlighted by touches like the surprisingly solid musical score and the citizens of Akebono willing to help Kenji out. Yet another episode that highlights many of the show's' strengths.

It's pretty heartwarming to see the various regulars of the Akebono Shopping District pitch in to try and help Kenji out with his issue.

This episode was also pretty neat in just giving us a little bit more background information. And I do like that Umi found out about Ryukendo via the way Kenji fought than anyone outright telling her.

Also, truly only in Toku can you get an entire battalion of Anomalocaris set to Ride of the Valkyries. Honestly incredible.