alchemicink

Perhaps you can guess from the title, but I am at the point in my watch of Kamen Rider Ryuki where I can't seem to stop. I had been trying to limit myself to one or two episodes a day, but... well... they're only like 25 minutes long! (I even watched one on my lunch break today 😂)

Anyway, I've watched through episode 22 now, and boy has it been a rollercoaster. (Spoilers ahead)

Now that there's several Riders in play, I'm really excited to see the different dynamics play out as they interact.

Tezuka (stingray guy!!), in particular, has been great to shake things up because he's more aligned with Shinji's ideals to not fight each other. So if you put them on a spectrum, he and Shinji are on one side while the psychopath prison escapee (I can never remember his name) is on the other. And Ren and Kitaoka are kinda floating around in the middle, depending on the episode. (RIP to the blackmail Rider with the punchable face. You would have been on the spectrum closer to Mr. Psychopath)

Honestly, the Rider fight stuff and the morality of participating is so much more interesting to me right now than the Mirror monsters and whatever happened to the Kanzaki siblings in the past.

I'm actually sort of more invested in Ren right now. He had a whole Heroic BSoD in episode 17. I feel bad for him because he's gotta fight to save his dying girlfriend, but he's too much of a good guy (deep down) to kill the other Riders. And then he tried to team up with the psychopath instead?? This has been a fascinating mini-arc (but I'm glad Shinji won him back over in the end)

Another thing I enjoyed about this batch of episodes was how wild the plot was. The Ore Journal team got blackmailed! Shinji ended up in the middle of a hostage situation! Ren stole a cop car!!

All very exciting things 😂 I loved it!!

My only real complaint about this series so far is how the ladies never get to contribute much to the actual plot. Not to compare too much with Kuuga, but in that series at least, Sakurako and Enokida were integral parts of the team. They didn't do any fighting like Godai and Ichijo but their contributions were just as important.

I feel like poor Yui just doesn't feel like a well-developed character. She's researching her past, but mostly that feels separate from what everyone else is getting up to. Hopefully that'll change in the future, but I have watched enough TV over the years to not get my hopes up.

The only other ladies in this series are also largely inconsequential, though Reiko has potential if she doesn't accidentally get herself killed.

Anyway, these are the kinds of things I think about when watching media. I can acknowledge what feels like a bit of a shortcoming while still thoroughly enjoying the series. (And I am very much enjoying it!!)

A few other notes:

Shinji giving Tezuka a speech in episode 17 about not believing in fate or something like that sounded like something Tatsuya from Timeranger would say! Now I want a little crossover with them meeting up somehow 😂

Also, I recognized another film location!! The restaurant where Mr. Psychopath took people hostage was also the same restaurant Godai was hanging out at in episode 1 or 2 of Kuuga. (I forget which episode). I recognized it because I thought the name EDDIE'S KITCHEN was kind of funny, so I screencapped it in Kuuga. And then I shrieked when I saw the name again in the Ryuki episode.

These kinds of things are fun for me 😁

(My final note for this rambly bit is that I can't decide which potential ship I like the most 🤭 too many good options! I consider this a mark of a good series 🤭)

Read my previous rambly thoughts: Episodes 1-4 and Episodes 5-13