[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

I really like how the choice of animal or mythical creature for each Ryuki rider says or reflects a lot about them.

Gai gets the rhino -- because he's a berserker set on causing as much chaos as possible.

Raia gets a stingray; a creature that's generally pretty peaceful, but holds fatal and devastating power. Tezuka as a Rider is essentially a pacifist holding a gun, so I think this fits quite well.

Ouja gets a giant cobra, because of course the serial killer gets a giant terrifying poisonous bastard that'll eat you if you so much as look at it funny!

Ryuki getting the dragon is one of the handful that's very interesting to me, because... well, okay, fictional creature so I can't exactly say something definitive here; but in a general sense, dragons are often regarded as something really cool and awesome but at the same time are horrifically destructive creatures with a hairtrigger temper capable of claiming many lives in an instant - a bit like Shinji's view on Kamen Riders versus the reality of the battle royale he's thrown himself into.

Knight getting the bat is something I feel is core to his personality, and something that's also reflected in his inherited Kamen Rider design trait being the mouth. To talk about that for a second, at first from the initial episodes of Ryuki you'd think it's because he's vicious -- he's the most outwardly antagonistic Rider even in a series full of pretty terrible people, he's always getting into fights and he's all about taking up that battle to do what's necessary. The twist though is that the mouth doesn't signify his bite; it signifies his bark. Ren will talk a big game about being able to do what he must, he'll say Shinji's a coward for not being willing to take lives; but he's got the same moral compass in his back pocket preventing him from taking that advantage.
As for how this connects to bats? Well, bats often have this conception attached to them that they're these dark, terrible creatures of the night; especially in how they tend to be associated with vampires and are horror movie staples in general. But in actuality a lot of them are very sweet creatures who aren't much more predisposed towards killing than any other animal.

Zolda gets the minotaur 'cos minotaurs are cool

This should be put somewhere, probably a place like TVTropes' Fridge page for Ryuki. Not even AkinoAme's analysis featured this. But there's an irony for Raia, the stingray is named Evildiver.... when he's the only other clear-cut good Rider.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

And yeah, killing Kitaoka became a very coveted goal for Asakura, and had things gone his way, Asakura would definitely have won the Rider War should he had ever succeeded in killing Kitaoka. The sound and power of the Minotaur is also often thought to be inspired by earthquakes, which End of the World definitely showcases.

Oh don't overrate Asakura like that. In most series with a There Can Be Only One format, he'd likely have been the central antagonist, but Shiro using Odin means he never had a chance of winning the Rider War (Odin can be killed, but he can return, and reminder he curbstomped Survive Riders who curbstomped Ouja) and in the end is largely Shiro's pawn (in a literal sense, Shiro relies on him to kill other Riders, giving him supports. Asakura is the most benefical Rider for Shiro).