[Shin Densetsu]

So I finished Ryuki last week, loved it, started W. Looking for a series close in feel to Ryuki, like on the levels of story and characterization. What series do you guys suggest?

[badlander86]

Blade. But its a slow slow burn.

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by badlander86

Blade. But its a slow slow burn.

Does it take extremely long to pick up?

[badlander86]

It varies from person to person. I almost dropped it after 5 episodes, took a break after that then went back at it. Personally it picks up for me at episode 9. Your mileage might be different.

[DaiRiderRX]

I've tried to watch blade, but didn't make it past episode 3, i really want to give it another chance, cause Garren is a frickin awesome design, he's the reason i want to watch the series

[Gokai Black]

Kabuto has a lot of riders like Ryuki, if that counts

[Switchblade]

If it's the story and characters you liked most, I'd recommend Kuuga or Agito. Ryuki was a bit of a shift from them, but all three have very dark stories that center around some kind of mystery. Kuuga and Agito also both have great casts full of likable and engaging characters. They both had a good amount of influence on Ryuki's overall tone and structure, too, although it did change a lot of stuff from them.

Blade is also a good show with a great plot and characters. It is a bit of a rough start, though, as it pretty much tosses you right in the deep end at the start and doesn't give you a lot of help in catching your bearings. It's worth putting up with, though, as the story is great and it probably has the best ending in the entire franchise.

If great characters are your thing, I'd also recommend Hibiki. It's a more slowly paced show, but the characters and their relationships with each other are all fantastic and very well developed. It also has, hands down, the best scenery in the Heisei era and some pretty unique cinematography. Then it all goes to hell at episode 30, but if you stop at 29 it's a pretty awesome show.

Honestly, after Hibiki I found that the shows' overall plots weren't as strong. Kabuto started the really heavy shift to the two-episode arc format - it wasn't the first show to use that, mind you, but it made that much more of the focus than it had been in the past. Pretty much from there onwards the shows generally focus on telling done-in-two stories with less attention given to ongoing plotlines. Some juggle the two effectively, some don't (I'm looking at you, Kabuto and Decade).

[Barricade64]

They're nothing like Ryuki, but the head writer Kobayashi also was in charge of Den-O and OOO, both solid shows.

[Den-O]

Agito

[Dr Kain]

If you mean character driven series, then Agito, Blade, Kiva, and W. If you mean on the side with a close number of riders, then Kabuto.

I think the thing that throws people off on Blade is how it starts out. Garren has already been a well established rider when the first episode takes place, and Kenzaki is in training, so they are riders before the show begins.