[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON RYUKENDO

I'm paraphrasing a bit, but someone once made the claim that Kamen Rider W isn't the tale of the titular Kamen Rider, but rather of its primary setting, the Windy City of Futo.

And while there's plenty in that particular post that I disagree with, I feel as though that idea in and of itself, while not entirely untrue, isn't accurate to the kind of story that W goes on to tell.

Yes, the world building in KRW is rather good, with one getting a very solid sense of the type of place that Futo is, but the two people who make up the titular Double are still very much the prime focus first and foremost. Philip especially takes center stage most of the time, as he's directly tied to the overarching narrative dealing with the Sonozaki family, and Shotaro, while far less prominent, isn't entirely divorced from everything going on, and is integral to many events and bits of character development.

Futo is very important, yes, but without Kamen Rider, there'd frankly be no story.

Meanwhile, Caster Chronicles Ryukendo? That is the story of Akebono City. Ryukendo just happens to be a part of it.

As many aspects of this show as there is to love, the world building in Ryukendo is absolutely the best that I've seen in any tokusatsu. You really get a feel for its locales, its culture, and most importantly, the kinds of people who live there, and all of their individual quirks and tales. From the old couple who sell croquettes, to the flower shop owner, to the various kids who run the streets, the various personalities and stories we experience throughout the show's' run really do make Akebono itself feel alive. And Kenji, despite being the title character, is merely a small drop in the bucket of it all.

Kenji himself doesn't have some expansive backstory, or direct tie to the Jamanga Empire. Heck, he barely even has any personal stakes to anything in Akebono at first. He just wanders in and finds himself up against demons due to his own sense of justice. More often than not, Kenji finds himself wrapped up in other people's' stories, rather than forging his own.

That's not to say that the story itself is perfect mind you. There are definitely aspects that don't make much sense("Don't rely on the Keys!"), and character bits that go nowhere(Remember when Lady Gold was Ryujinoh's' rival and not Ryugunoh's'?), but really, every other aspect of the show is so fun and so likeable that really, it's not anything that I'm about to stress over. Logic alone isn't what makes or breaks a story or character, afterall.

Besides the fantastic world building, Ryukendo has so much more going for it, to the point that, if we're making direct comparisons to Kamen Rider, it's actually way ahead of its time, which is funny, given how much Ryukendo nabs from the KR shows that came before it(namely Ryuki and Blade). Stuff like having a primary focus on fun while inserting bits of drama here and there, and front-loading most of the toys into Q1, and giving the main hero a set of form changes before they get a direct upgrade. So many tropes are there that Toei would go on to copy in later years. It's not hard to imagine that Toei was taking notes as this show aired.

When talking about the deeper aspects of the show, Ryukendo is no slouch there either. The fight choreography is almost always on point, with alot of the finishing attacks being major standouts(as they should be!). The general tone and atmosphere is almost always on point, and most importantly, the cast in general is just extremely likable. Even Koichi, a character who I didn't care for at all when he first appeared, ended up becoming endearing in his own right as the show went on. But again, it's not like it's only the superhero characters who are great, but the supporting cast in general is just alot of fun. The citizens of Akebono City are just as much a main highlight as our heroes are, and many of them elevate pretty much any episode that they're in.

Now, in the end, Ryukendo isn't one of my all time favorite toku, as it doesn't quite hit the major emotional highs that I cling to in stories, but man, it's an overall great ride and I highly recommend it. It has an interesting spot in toku history, and I imagine it had to have atleast some amount of success given its overall influence and the fact that Takara is still showing support for the show in terms of merch all these years later.

The short of it is that Ryukendo might not being the greatest tokusatsu show of all time, but it is a very fun and enjoyable one, and that alone is worth celebrating. I give this show a 4/6.