is a Japanese
tokusatsu television series. It was the twelfth installment in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and it was shown on TV Asahi
from February 3, 2002 to January 19, 2003. The catchphrase for the series is . In the same vein as Power Rangers, Ryuki has been adapted into an English language series titled Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight. Dragon Knight is the first adaptation of a Kamen Rider Series in the United States since Saban's Masked Rider in 1996.
Synopsis
Thirteen Advent Card decks were created for thirteen Kamen Riders.
They make Contracts with monsters from the mysterious , a parallel
dimension opposite to our own in which only the Kamen Riders can
exist. The Riders draw on their monsters' strength in exchange for
feeding them the life force of the creatures they destroy. The
creator of the Advent Cards has only one rule: that there can be
only one Kamen Rider. The others must be killed, and the sole
victor will be granted a single wish. This is the Rider War.
All over the city, innocent people are being mysteriously abducted,
never to be seen again. During his investigations of these
incidents, Shinji Kido- an intern at the online news service ORE
Journal- discovers one of the Advent Card decks at an apartment
where every reflective surface has been covered by newspaper. He is
soon sucked into the Mirror World, discovering the terrifying truth
behind the disappearances: people are literally being pulled
through mirrors by the monsters of the Mirror World so that they
may feed. He is about to be killed by a powerful dragon named
Dragredder when he is saved by
Kamen
Rider Knight: Ren Akiyama. Ren seeks to win the Rider War at
all costs. He works with a young woman named Yui Kanzaki, who seeks
her missing brother: the master of the Rider War, Shirō Kanzaki.
Seeing Ren's strength, Shinji enters the Rider War not for the
prize, but so that he may protect innocent people from the threat
of the Mirror World, and stop the senseless fighting between the
Kamen Riders. With Dragredder as his Contract Monster, he becomes
Kamen Rider
Ryuki.
He will discover that there are some people who cannot be saved.
Sometimes he must fight in order to stop the fighting. In the end,
there can be only one Kamen Rider.
Characters
- : The main protagonist. He is a good-hearted, friendly, naive
idealist who works at the ORE Journal as a journalist trainee, but
ends up being dragged to the Mirror World. Eventually, he contracts
Dragredder and becomes Kamen Rider Ryuki to protect people's lives
and stop the Rider War.
- : A cold loner who fights constantly and is frequently
unemployed. He received his Advent Deck before the start of the
series. He accepted Kanzaki's offer to join the Rider war to give
his fiancé, Eri Ogawa, a full recovery as she was in a mysterious
coma ever since an encounter with Darkwing. Ren later contracted
with Darkwing and became Kamen Rider Knight.
- : A 19 year old woman who had been aiding Ren prior to the
series. Yui's purpose for joining Ren is to find clues about her
long lost brother Shiro. But unbeknownst to her, she has a
mysterious connection with Mirror World and its monsters.
- : Shiro's and Yui's grandmother. She took an immediate dislike
for the hard as nails Ren, but welcomed the clumsy Shinji with open
arms. Sanako considers herself to be a wise woman and says that her
intuition is never wrong.
- : A self-proclaimed "super-lawyer" who tends to only help
someone if he has something to gain. Because he has a terminal case
of cancer and was been given only a few months to live, he accepted
Kanzaki's offer to join the Rider war. His prize is to be immortal
so that he could continue his extravagant lifestyle. Because of his
illness, he suffers from frequent dizzy spells and fainting.
- : Shuichi's loyal servant who is highly skilled with household
work and hand-to-hand combat. He is also aware of Kitaoka's
activities as a Rider and helps as much as he can. Goro was once
Kitaoka's client. Because of that, Kitaoka's condition was not
diagnosed in time. Feeling in debt, Goro decided to be his loyal
servant and bodyguard forever. He would later serve as the second
Zolda.
- : A sadistic criminal man who has contract with
Venosnaker.
- : The mysterious man and scientific genius who created the
Kamen Riders for the purpose of creating a Rider War. He is Yui's
beloved older brother, whom was taken to live with his relative in
America thirteen years prior. Kanzaki researched the Mirror World,
which eventually killed him. But in reality, Kanzaki entered the
Mirror World as an entity, reappearing at Seimeiin University until
a mysterious experiment relating to his research. Though thought to
be cruel, Kanzaki's intent for the Rider war is for his sister's
life. In the end of the series, Shiro finally honors his sister's
wishes decides to alter time so that Yui remained dead, thus
negating Mirror World itself and all deaths that occurred because
of its creatures and the Rider War.
- : Kanzaki's righthand man.
ORE Journal Staff
- : Chief Editor and Shinji's senior. He can a bit silly at
times.
- : A no-nonsense reporter whose goal is to cover the truth
behind the disappearances.
- : A programmer.
- (30-50): Formerly Kitaoka's ex-secretary, she returned into his
life claiming that the two of them were to be married. Megumi is a
strong individual and quite capable in a fight, however she is
quite ditzy, which was why Kitaoka had fired her. She would later
be hired by Daisuke as a journalist for ORE.
Others
- (5-6): A detective using his job to effectly cover up his
illegal activities disposing of any witnesses to his acts. He had a
partner, the older Tomoyuki Kaga who owned the Antique and
Collection shop, until the older man's demand for a bigger cut in
the profit made Masashi kill him, plastering him into the wall of
his own shop seconds before Shiro Kanzaki appeared and offered him
a Card Deck explaining the terms of accepting it. Masashi took it
gladly and made his Contract with the Mirror Monster Volcancer,
becoming Kamen Rider Scissors and playing a part in the
disappearances as he feeds his victims to Volcancer. He and Kamen
Rider Knight confronted each other once prior to the series,
neither aware of each others' identity.
- (13-23): A mysterious and enigmatic fortune-teller. His good
friend Yuuichi was the one approached by Kanzaki Shiro to join the
Rider war, but after he refused, the monster that targeted him
finally took his life. Tezuka takes the Card Deck on his behalf and
becomes Kamen Rider Raia. Kanzaki would later attempt to escalate
the battle by giving Tezuka one of two Survive cards, but he passes
it to Ren instead. Tezuka would later avenge Yuuichi by destroying
the monster that ate him only to be killed by Ouja later on after
taking a fatal hit meant for Ryuki.
- (11-12): A former professor at Seimeiin University, he was the
one who help Kanzaki perform the experiment that resulted with
Eri's coma. Since then, Ejima left the university and wandered the
city with a Seal card in hand to protect himself from the Mirror
Monsters. But once he loses the card, Ejima ran back to his lab to
plea Kanzaki to help him as he's attacked by a Terabiter. Though
saved from the monster, Ejima dies of a heart attack as he sees Yui
and laments that she should have never been born.
13 Riders
The notion of 13 Riders is apparently a homage to the original
Kamen Rider
manga published in 1971, which
contains a chapter called
The 13 Kamen Riders. However,
only 10 Kamen Riders were featured in the TV series.
Femme,
Ryuga and
Verde appeared exclusively in the movie
Episode: Final and/or the TV special
13
Riders.
Despite the idea of 13 Kamen Riders facing each other, all 13 Kamen
Riders never really faced each other in one huge battle. The most
number of Kamen Riders in one battle is 6 (in the TV series, where
Knight, Ryuki, Zolda, Ohja, Tiger, and Alternative fought each
other, only to be interrupted by Imperer's advent monsters), and 11
(at the 13 Kamen Riders Special). Kamen Rider Raia was killed
earlier by Kamen Rider Verde's Death Vanish Final Vent. Despite
activating the Guard Vent, Kamen Rider Scissors was killed by Kamen
Rider Ohja's Veno Crash Final Vent. The remaining 10 Kamen Riders
fought on the final match of the special, with Kamen Rider Ryuki
and Kamen Rider Knight facing off against the remaining 8, led by
Kamen Rider Odin.
The show also featured two Kamen Rider clones, called
Alternatives:
- Alternative Zero
- Alternative
When the series concept was revisited in
Kamen Rider Decade, a new Rider was
introduced.
Rider Equipment
Though each Rider was different in many aspects, they all had some
fundamental similarities and used similar equipment. The key
element is the a crest-engraved card holder which holds the , which
the Riders used in their battles from summoning offensive and/or
defensive weapons to special abilities or summoning Contact
Monster. When the Card Deck is put up against a reflective surface,
a appears for the Card Deck to side into to combine the change.
Each Rider possesses a , a card reader modeled after their contract
monsters that can activate the Advent Cards' power or serve as a
weapon. All of the Riders' suits are similar in core design, with a
unique Solid Face Shield "grill" motif, Grand Mail design pattern
(most evident on the thighs), Force Bone armoring texture on their
shoulders and hips, and the Zipped Thread, a socket which serves as
a standard universal linking system in the series (standard on all
Riders (except Femme): knees, shoulders, upper back, arms, and
sides of the belt).
150
- : These vehicles were what the Riders would use to travel from
the real world to the Mirror World. Once a Rider would pass through
a mirror or reflective surface, they would then be riding in a Ride
Shooter as they were traveling through a portal to the Mirror
World. The Ride Shooter would then shoot out of the reflective
surface in the Mirror World.
Mirror Monsters
The are entities created by Yui as drawing made by her and her
brother when they were young, given life by Yui's mirror-self. As
these creatures have no true life of their own, they prey on humans
to survive on their lifeforce. The only human they can not attack
is Yui herself, whom they obey absolute like Kanzaki. However,
Rogue Mirror Monsters who attack Yui are countered by
Kamen Rider Odin or a loyal Mirror Monster
who serves Kanzaki. But the majority of the monsters are contracted
allies and the power source for most of the thirteen Kamen Riders,
building their power by absorbing the energy of other defeated
Mirror Monsters. But if the energy is not absorbed, it could reform
into a new Mirror Monster.
Episodes
Movies and specials
This movie is an alternate ending to the series, taking place after
the events of episode 46. With only six Riders remaining in the
Rider War: five of the six, Ryuki (Shinji Kido), Knight (Ren
Akiyama), Zolda (Shuichi Kitaoka), Ohja (Takeshi Asakura), and
Femme (Miho Kirishima), Shirō Kanzaki alerts them to quickly settle
the Rider War within three days. One of them must win and become
the last survivor before the sixth surviving rider reveals himself.
Amidst the impending chaos of the fight between the Riders, Shinji
discovers an unbelievable truth about the relationship between Yui
Kanzaki and the Mirror World, as well as discovering the existence
of his Mirror World doppelganger, Kamen Rider Ryuga.
This television special is an alternate telling of the Kamen Rider
Ryuki story. Shinji Kidou's life, working as an employee at ORE
Journal, takes a sharp turn after being pulled into the Mirror
World by a Mispider. Luckily, he was saved by a Kamen Rider, Ryuki
(Kōichi Sakakibara). However, Sakakibara could no longer go on due
to the harshness of his injuries and passed his Card Deck to
Shinji, allowing him to become the next Ryuki to survive and defeat
the monster. After meeting with Yui Kanzaki and Ren Akiyama (Kamen
Rider Knight), Shinji learns about the conditions of the Rider War,
as well as of the other Riders participating. Unable to allow such
a game of death to exist like his Rider predecessor, Shinji sets
out to convince all the Riders to end the senseless fighting and
put an end to the War. His pleas fall upon deaf ears as just about
every other Rider (except for the already-defeated Riders Raia and
Scissors) sets out to hunt down Shinji and his eventual reluctant
ally, Ren. Eventually, Shinji's deck is destroyed and Ren is
critically injured, passing on the deck for Kamen Rider Knight to
Shinji. The special has two different endings which were voted on
by the viewers via phone at the time of the initial airing: the
voted-for-air ending (in which Shinji faces the surviving Riders on
his own) and the alternate ending (a resetting of the Rider
War).
S.I.C. Hero Saga
Ryuki had two separate
S.I.C. Hero Saga side stories
published in
Monthly Hobby Japan magazine. The first was
titled and featured original characters and his Mirror Monster the
. The second S.I.C. Hero Saga story is an alternate telling that
features Ohja Survive from
Advent Calendar and also
introduces .
Advent Calendar ran from August to December
2004 and
World of If ran from June to August 2005.
- Advent Calendar chapter titles
- World of If chapter titles
Video Game
A video game based on the series, developed by
Digifloyd and published by
Bandai, was released in Japan during 2002 for the
PlayStation. It is a basic
fighting game where all 13 Riders are playable
with all the forms seen in the show, movie or specials (With the
exception of the Alternatives and Ohja's Blank Form, seen in
EPISODE FINAL). Four of the Contract Monsters (Volcancer,
Metalgelas, Destwilder and Gigazelle), the two Zebraskulls (Iron
and Bronze) and Megazelle are also playable.
Cast
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
- :
Episode Final cast
- :
- : Takamasa Suga
- :
- :
- :
- : , ,
TV special
Suit actors
- Kamen Rider Ryuki:
- Kamen Rider Knight:
- Kamen Rider Zolda, Alternative:
- Kamen Rider Ohja, Kamen Rider Ryuga, Kamen Rider Odin:
- Kamen Rider Scissors:
- Kamen Rider Raia:
- Kamen Rider Gai:
- Kamen Rider Femme: ,
- Kamen Rider Ryuga:
- Kamen Rider Verde:
- Kamen Rider Tiger:
- Kamen Rider Imperer:
- Kamen Rider Odin:
Songs
- Opening theme:
- "Alive A life"
- Lyrics:
- Composition:
- Arrangement: Kōhei Wada &
- Artist:
- Ending themes:
-
- Lyrics:
- Composition:
- Arrangement:
- Artist:
- Episodes: 1-
-
- Lyrics: Keiko Terada &
- Composition:
- Arrangement: RIDER CHIPS
- Artist: RIDER CHIPS featuring
- Episodes: 18
- "Revolution"
- Lyrics: Yūko Ebine
- Composition & Arrangement: Mikio
Sakai
- Artist: Hiroshi Kitadani
- Episodes: 34-, TV Special
- "Lonely Soldier"
- Lyrics: Yūko Ebine
- Composition: Yō Tsuji
- Arrangement: Akio Kondō
- Artist:
- Episodes: 38
International broadcasts
In addition to the
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight adaptation,
Ryuki has been broadcast in its original form in many
languages and nations.
It was dubbed into Korean as Masked Rider Dragon (
Gamyeon Raideo Deuraegeon) in South Korea
in 2004, Filipino
in the Philippines as Masked Rider Ryuki on ABS-CBN 2,
Malay on NTV7,
and in Indonesian on
Indosiar. It is also the first ever Kamen Rider Series to be
dubbed in Arabic after its run on
Space
Toon.
References
- Adness Entertainement's website featuring an American
adaptation of Kamen Rider Ryuki
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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