[Layton13]

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I was surprised how into Ryou’s story I was, because it has that suffocating despair that Kuuga tried to do often, but I thought it worked way better here. Some of it’s the catharsis of a henshin and a monster explosion, but I think a lot of it is how Ryou’s story is allowed to exist in parallel to the Agito/G3 part of the story. Ryou’s story gets to be about him, his losses, his determination, his sacrifice. It doesn’t have to have Shouichi’s likely enthusiasm or tactlessness. It doesn’t have to spill over into other scenes, leaving room for jokes and counterbalanced high-energy pure action scenes. It gets to live as this thread of a guy losing everything, but trying to persevere.

I think because this is more focused. This isn't darkness and grittiness for shock-factor, this is to tell a story with a character at its core.

And this is also a good look into how Inoue writes his stories. He takes a character and then beats the ever-loving shit out of them, mentally and physically until they either perceiver or wither and die. That isn't always something everyone will like, but for me, that is exactly how I like it. If a character doesn't suffer, I most likely won't be invested.

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More than G3, I feel like Ryou is the right secondary Rider for Shouichi.

I see where you are coming from, but it will probably become more apparent why G3 is the secondary Rider and not Ryou when the themes of the show become more apparent.