[Kiwami]

I just wanted to quickly check out some Ryuki and now I'm re-watching the entire thing. I got hooked so quickly, it seems impossible to not fall for this show all over again, it really is one of the best out there.

It's kind of fun to return to this show now that more than 10 years have passed after watching it for the first time, I can't help but enjoy it even more now.

One moment of Ruyki stuck with me for the all these years and I was curious if it would still hold up, and I just got to episode 19 and saw it again.

First all, holy hell is Asakura terrifying AF. I remember the worst of him, but even at his introduction he is so brutal and scary. It's funny how nowadays I'm like "How does Toei plan to sell merchandise of the pudding Rider given that he abducted people" and then there's Ruyki being like "Here's a purple snake man who beats people to death and points a gun at children, buy his funny Jafar-ass toy staff that makes noises when you put cards in it!", WTF

It's also quite interesting to see Takashi Hagino's performance again after having seen Changerion. It's so awesome how he can pull off both of these rolls so well, even though they are so immensely different characters.

But back to the moment I was waiting for: It's when Asakura takes the patrons of a restaurant hostage, including a little girl, and Shinji grabs a small stuffed toy to tell her everything's going to be OK. For some reason this perfectly encapsulates Shinji's character to a tee for me, the wholesome goofy guy who has unbelievable strength and courage when it comes to helping others.

I will never stop loving Kamen Rider for shows like these, Ruyki will always be awesome.



Also this shot at the end of the same episode is so epic, like I need this framed up on a wall in my house!