[Magnugiga]

Impaler is yet again another case of how distinct and memorable each rider in the Ryuki universe were to me (yes, even Kamen Rider Bad Police Yamcha). Love the kickboxing+gazelle gang theme, and I remember laughing out loud the first time I saw his Final Vent. So busybody and unnecessarily showy, but also quite fun to watch! Pretty much the perfect embodiment of Sano's persona.

Regarding Shinji, I agree with every word you said. A large reason why his character eventually worked for me was indeed how the show didn't shy from showing the repercussions of his philosophy, spitting out some harsh truths to its audience that the most noble and pacifist path is the hardest one to take, and you'd be much more likely to fail miserably (it's a pretty popular arc in Japanese pop culture at that period, e.g. the main characters in Rurouni Kenshin and Trigun). But, Shinji kept on trucking anyway, and as a teen watching this, I can't help but be won over by that after all the initial annoyance and frustration at this fool.

I used to wonder what Ryuki would be if it's more like your typical generic shounen anime, where Shinji eventually get most people to his side with the power of motivational Let's Be Friends speech; but at that point, it's not the Ryuki anymore, and definitely not the show I grew to love so much.