[Daikaijuman54]

It's the Reaper's Ga- I mean the Rider War! I've just got back from watching this, and...

Have to agree that this wasn't that good... Especially since Ryuki itself feels like everything wrapped up perfectly, moreso than other Rider shows that leave room for another adventure, Ryuki is the whole thing. End of story. So naturally, Rider Time Ryuki does indeed sour the whole thing.

Now even though my watch of Ryuki was somewhat recent (I say and that was actually more than a year ago), though admittedly some things slip my memory, I can say I could see what they might have been going for, but I doubt even by pulling them off better would have made any difference.

I get that the cast has amnesia, so maybe they wanted to try doing the characters from different angles, but to rather poor degree as they end up remembering anyway, which only leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It also clearly doesn't work as Shinji is still very much the same personality-wise, including a few of the others.

This even fails as a Zi-O Legend Rider tribute, as Ryuki's power is extremely disappointing (they should have just rigged that Ryuki Armor or something), and Shinji doesn't really interact with them all that much, though I do like how he thought Geiz was Ren for a moment.

For some positive notes: this has that Heisei Phase 1 vibe, and Ryuki's atmosphere down to the letter, with the soundtrack as a bonus. It is great to see returning faces, though unfortunately, a lot of them mean nothing in the end, which is a shame. And the fight choreography was pretty good, but the opening fight was definitely my favorite, next being Ryuki Vs Another Ryuki (who might I add love his design, especially how Another Ryuga and Ryuki are mirrored). There were a lot of nice Shinji and Ren (love how he called him "Ron") scenes, a glimpse of Eri, and seeing how Tatsuya's (funny how his name also has something to do with dragons) story is basically Ren's.

But once again, there's so much disappointment in this package, like Abyss appearing for a brief cameo before getting killed, same with Odin, who's fight felt more like a parody in the grand scheme of things, and that the whole Reunion Rider War felt pointless. Honestly, I have to take Shinobi as the best Rider Time Special, since while the recreation and Modern Ryuki vibes are something I loved, this special just doesn't work, because Ryuki wove something with a beginning, a middle, and an end, even the Ryuki specials had more purpose than this, which is a shame, since they pretty much brought back the whole cast with guests.

Honestly it would've been more hilarious if it was just the Riders trying to win over Femme in a Bachellorette Rider War.