[Sh Ranger]

I finished my rewatch of Ryuki and I realized this time that the Kanzaki subplot actually works better when it directly ties back to the Rider War, how it challenges Shinji's philosophy of wanting to stop the fighting and how Ren's conscience that he tries to discard is the only thing keeping him in check so he doesn't become as bad as Kanzaki.

As a framing device, in position of abstraction to the more intriguing tangible details of the drama between Riders, it's necessary to show the tragically doomed futility of the Rider War. It's mostly the reset ending that I think leaves it a disappointment, but I appreciate how this is only one of many possible timelines and the open-ended nature of the Rider War means it can be brought back anytime, like in Rider Time Ryuki.

I guess I'll talk a little about the Episode Final movie as well, while it's fresh in my memory. I liked how Yui finally got to take a more active role in her own subplot, with her death in this timeline being something she chose instead of something that happens to her, even though the scene is surprisingly darker than I remembered.

Are the "Dark" doppelgangers malicious, or just really bad at helping? Dark Yui lures Yui to the Mirror World so she won't be lonely, but only tells her about the whole dying thing when it's too late. Dark Shinji is justified to call out Shinji for breaking his promise, but he's only manipulating the guilt for his own benefit. Even in Zi-O, Dark Sougo accuses Sougo of showing Demon King traits, which leads him to become more self-critical and conscious of his evil side.

The ending is pretty clever symbolically, with how Ren's and Shinji's vow to not die parallels their deaths in the 13 Riders special and Episode 49 respectively, leaving it to viewer interpretation whether or not they actually succeeded.

After reconsideration, I've decided to promote Ryuki from #13 to #11 in my Heisei Rider Ranking:

1st) Faiz
2nd) Build
3rd) Fourze
4th) Ghost
5th) Wizard
6th) Double
7th) Kiva
8th) Blade
9th) Decade
10th) Drive
11th) Ryuki
12th) Kabuto
13th) Den-O
14th) OOO
15th) Zi-O
16th) Hibiki
17th) EX-Aid
18th) Agito
19th) Kuuga
20th) Gaim

Which means I now consider it my favorite Kobayashi Rider show. Based on general character and comedy enjoyment, Den-O would've kept that title, but Ryuki's strong drama and escalating plot gives it an edge that makes it more fascinating and complex to think about, which is something I love to get out of these shows.

Medal of Resurrection and Movie Battle Royale are next on my watchlist.