[DreadBringer]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I don't feel like there's actually that big of an audience for Ryuki But Cruel? I can't imagine who was clamoring for a Ryuki continuation this thematically bereft and narratively thin.

To make it clearer, not talking specifically about Ryuki there, but Brutality for Maturity view can happen in anything, and it can be done on medias that are deemed to childish by adding more gratituous violence, etc. so that it can be seen as more "mature" and appeal to them.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

RIDER TIME: RYUKI EPISODE 3 - ?ALIVE A LIFE?

D?you wanna hear something really funny? Inoue wrote my favorite Kamen Rider Ryuki episodes.

So it breaks my heart to see him also do the worst Ryuki episodes I?ve ever seen.

For those folks who think that's sacrilegious, they're probably using up this part of Inoue, what's pulled on RT Ryuki but particularly Tezuka stuff (and to a lesser extent Jun). Obviously that can never be brought up yet due to Zi-O not being talked about yet all this time. But it's not only RT Ryuki that has these kind of parts, Inoue is a writer that has to be kept on the leash on the TV, and his sub-writing part in some series like Ryuki here wasn't something that is used to criticize him, so liking these kind of episodes shouldn't be the "sacrilegious" part. Just that the part of being kept on leash should be acknowledged too, to really get into how the "sacrilegious" view happened regarding him, his more independent writings like Ryuki or Faiz novel, he's on his own that means he has no leash, thus something like RT Ryuki's Tezuka and Jun would be expected more there. And I feel that RT Ryuki for some reason has less leash for Inoue, leading for something he pulled on the side-medias to surface here (unfortunately, the "true Inoue" as it's he himself without production team) like the Gai Couple. Not something so insolent but Inoue did write 13 Riders too before.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

The only part of this episode that?s even worth talking about is in the final few minutes. It?s just the Ren and Shinji stuff, Ren?s death scene and the aftermath. Everything else is terrible, just terrible. Sara?s abilities never make any sense, nor does her plan.

I think the other part worth talking (well I'd prefer if talk to anything is open) to some is probably Ouja, regarding watching his fight and brutality as usual, with him being implacable, the Riders' extra resistance to Final Vents here gave them some room to still live before finally dying, of which was used to, ugh, Tezuka before to convey his message to Shinji, then to Asakura here to cause some more shit-stirring after Knight Final Vents him, to continue fighting Goro as primary Zolda, of which Ouja still charges through his Shoot Vent explosion and finish off Goro. Though I'm not into Ouja wank here, he's strong but still an ordinary Riders unlike some make him out to be. The question should be why wasn't Asakura dead yet after Final Vent here not Goro not killing him. And about Goro avenging Kitaoka, well it does confirm that your theory was correct, about Goro playing undercover to Asakura. Kitaoka has died here due to his illness, which is why we never seen his face, Goro's the main Zolda.

Like Eri below, for Odin... Shiro's actor Kenzaburo Kikuchi also has retired (Iwae?), shortly after his role in Kabuto, so they'd obscure his look in this as likely they also can't get the actor back. As someone who also pulls a sacrilegious take in liking Odin's looks and fighting style more than the likes of Ouja, I also dislike his implementation in battle here, he got kinda a downgrade similar to Ultimate Kuuga's later appearence (though Ultimate Kuuga's far more broken). Here, he's portrayed as someone reliant on 3 Survive cards (when Ryuki Riders are broken among ordinary Riders with 1), and that his Final Vent, which was not shown in the actual series likely to keep the hype (not counting the Dragon Knight or video game ones), is shown in underwhelming way in Odin just sending flaming Goldphoenix to charge, without Odin participating, feels like Advent more too (again, like Ultimate Punch/Kick of later Ultimate Kuuga). The one saving grace was that he still makes use of his teleporting power often, unlike his Dragon Knight counterpart Wrath (just Odin but different name).

Otherwise, Tatsuya's the one who put a game kills 12 other people, the amnesia is probably the world's system, not Sara-induced, for the Riders there are some list below, but again I don't know if this is Sara-induced, this is Tatsuya's game. Not all the questions can be answered clearly, but I don't think I want for Sara to be viewed as scapegoat here which seems that you do here (and for her telling the deadline, it's unknown when the game started the Rider War is just much shorter and likely when Sara told them it's the start, not nearing the deadline, it's just short). And regarding Tatsuya, Odin's role was just to show that he's the actual mastermind or something, to manipulate Tatsuya into starting this murder game and gather all the lives he murdered into a mysterious crystal, of which Tatsuya is given false hope that it can be used to save Sara, while he was a pawn for Odin that the gathered life would be used by him, not Tatsuya, to revive his sister again (ignoring the final ending)...

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Because, man, Ren and Shinji! Why wouldn?t you just build the entire series around their reunion?

I do feel that RT Ryuki does build the entire series around their reunion, and that Asakura was the other one that got the most focus in his bloodlust being highlighted. They were consistently great around all 3 episodes here which I agree. They're also better than the one in 13 Riders. The others? Meh who cares about them, but they're still obligatory to exist to do Ryuki Tribute. Still no excuse to make them OOC as much as you like, or actually put actual effort into them. It's the opposite actually, it's not that the show doesn't focus on Shinji and Ren, but they put no effort on the others just for obligatory Ryuki reunion. And regarding Shinji and Ren, one great thing is that, it has one of my favorite gags in the franchise (a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶t̶o̶x̶i̶c̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶l̶l̶i̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶g̶a̶g̶). Geiz is so identical to Ren, that the show acknowledges it!



Ren with his d̶e̶s̶c̶e̶n̶d̶a̶n̶t̶ twin Geiz irl and Ren 'cosplaying' as Geiz (also in this episode):





Just too bad that Matsuda doesn't change back his hair to be like Ren's/Geiz's.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It?s a shame that those moments exist as the payoff to the most relentlessly mediocre Ryuki episodes I?ve ever seen. I couldn?t begin to guess why Inoue would make something so charmless and bleak, only to resolve it with something so humane and generous. My favorite moment in the whole series is Shinji leaving the big New Collectibles fight between Team Zi-O and Odin, to check in on Definitely Couldn?t Get Eri?s Actor Back So Here?s Eri?s Back.

Actually the reason may be, sadly, this is probably Inoue's spite towards Kobayashi. But their conflict was caused by how Inoue?s father was a writer for Showa Kamen Rider. But Kobayashi hates the values Showa Rider, and most of Ishinomori?s work, help as Kobayashi pushes her own political views in her work. With Ryuki?s premise basically murdering what being a Rider meant by Showa standards, it caused the two to hate each other (s̶o̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶s̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶c̶k̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶S̶h̶o̶w̶a̶!̶). Might by Ryuki's early infamy at release but very few staff and writers saw it as their favourite, but is still used as inspiration, because it had good ideas executed badly by how Kobayashi and Inoue didn?t like each other and had different concepts for how Ryuki should go.

Otherwise, this shows that Eri is fine, so that explains why Ren seems undermotivated before to fight and win, Ren has no need to win the war and save her via the wish, so what he did was also trying to stop the war like Shinji, albeit he's more of a jerk about it. And I think there's nothing wrong of obscuring Eri if the original actress Mahiru Tsubura can't be brought back, though she had more dialogue and voice than I expect. For other Riders' disappearence, there's some good in-universe logic behind them.

• Sudo/Scissors didn't participate because sooner or later, Sudo's crimes will be brought into light. He could have either fled from the country or was arrested, likely executed if he didn't end up like Ouja (though anyway his actor Takeshi Kimura also retired).
• Takamizawa/Verde could also have either been arrested by some certain law enforcers who caught wind of his shady business dealings or been bought out by major rival companies, considering in this world all Kamen Rider exists.
• Sano/Imperer got involved was to make money easily, but since his father's death wasn't caused by the Rider War, he still became the boss of his father's company and as a result he has no reason to participate since he already has everything he wants.
• Tojo/Tiger only got involved in the Rider War because Kagawa/Alternative Zero who by sheer chance had managed to read one of Shiro's research on the Mirror World and Tojo was his pupil. But here Kagawa would never have learned about that world and thus preventing Tojo from participating.