Kamen Rider Ryuki

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Overall: There is no reason for Gaim or Madoka to exist; Ryuki nailed it already

Ryuki has so many strong central themes.  I think at one point I heard someone say it was one of Kobayashi's weaker as she was starting out, but damn I feel like it handled it so much better than Madoka did.  Ryuki has this overall thing about dreams and believing and not giving in to the negativity of others, where Madoka went all your dreams are pointless shut up GIRLS!
Ryuki's themes about what it means to be a hero work so well, and watching Shinji trying to stick fast to his ideals but wavering because it's just not easy; should he be trying to stop the rider battle, what if those he loves are sacrificed to do so, what if those he loves die because he didn't.  We explore it more on Toujou but it is part of what pushes Shinji to his limits.  

Ryuki uses it's other riders to help look at different angles, different dilemmas, what has pushed people to this situation.  Ren is using the rider battle to save his girlfriend; can we tell him it's wrong to fight when he does what he's doing for someone else's sake?  Kitaoka does it to save his own life; can we tell him it's wrong to want to live?  Tojo wants to be a hero and is definitely wrong because of his warped views on what that means.  In the actual themes of that, to stop the rider battle, you have to sacrifice someone (though actually you're sacrificing like 3 people, maybe more, when we factor in it's keeping Kitaoka and Eri alive), is that okay as long as it's saving the lives of many?
It's very simple that Shinji doesn't know, he wants the fighting to stop cause he doesn't want people to die, but people are going to die for/if it stops.  Shinji is getting pushed on a trolley problem that just seems to get worse the more he looks at it.

It's just real good.

It's also interesting with the other riders, who have a dream they hope for if they win, but a lot of the time they end up just achieving it through their own means, luck, perserverance, or realising that it's actually not what they want.  They get there because of themselves, not because of some wish promised to them.  It's a thing about perserverance, and not giving in.

Also comedy in this show is fantastic, but as always Inoue's comedy stands as both hilarious and makes me wish I didn't exist due to the secondhand embarrassment.

Anyway this show has way too many riders!

Ryuki

Koichi existed for all of 5 seconds.  He was already dead at the start of main series, but in 13 riders he had Shinji transform into Ryuki, fight someone, and THEN told him not to join the rider battle.  From this, I conclude Koichi was a bastard.

This is a lost puppy, I love him so much and he knows absolutely nothing.  He hasn't spent a full day at his work ever, and he's pretty much exactly me; stupid and a bad journalist.  Shinji is a great protagonist, and interesting to follow through the series.  He wants so hard just to get along with people, he doesn't want to fight, and really wants to believe there's good in everybody.
Even if they kill people and eat mud.

This isn't Ryuki, this is Ryuga.  I have no idea what the point of Ryuga is.  He's just here because what if Shinji but evil I think.  I guess Zi-O's use of him was actually better.

Knight

Ren serves as a great companion for Shinji, being someone who feels he has high stakes in continuing in the rider battle.  He has a clear goal, and is hard stuck in his beliefs, the complete opposite of Shinji.  It's real good though getting to see them grow closer over the course of the series until Ren finally learns the importance of friendship.
Also Inoue like rolls a d20 to see if he remembers Yui isn't Ren's girlfriend.

Scissors

Suda was hot.  He served his purpose of letting Kobayashi almost have an onscreen brutal murder as he was probably torn apart and eaten by a giant crab monster.  That, and explaining to us as an audience why the riders can't just stop fighting all together.  They'll be eaten alive.  Painfully.

Ishihashi may of been a no one, but he laid down his life for gay rights and that is what truly matters.  You will forever be remembered.

Zolda

I love this horrible little man.  This is your disaster pan, you think he needs you?  Cares about you?  You're wrong.  Unless your name is Gorou, you are no one to this man.  Don't call him, he doesn't care.  You think he's a defence attorney?  He keeps putting his client in jail.  An enemy to all women.  He just wants to spend his time doing what interests him and eating his husband's cooking.

Gorou is a perfect man, a perfect husband.  He cares for his husband so much even though his husband is a brat.  The conclusion for Gorou's arc was so good and the expansion of it in Rider Time was great.  I love this man so much and love watching him pocketing stuff Kitaoka rejects, complimenting Shinji's gyoza, and just clearing up after his disaster husband annoys everyone.  Also he's great with kids, a perfect man.

Raia

Yuichi was Tezuka's boyfriend, he did great for a tragic boyfriend backstory, and we got an interesting little rider who wanted something but couldn't handle the rider battle.  Then use him as fodder to make Tezuka take his place.

I love you, even if you are tragically short.  It's nice having Tezuka in the show as he is someone who's closer to Shinji in ideals, though he has reached them through different means.  Tezuka has a better understanding of Ren than Shinji, having lost a loved one himself due to the rider battle, but has learned that nothing good will come of this fighting.  He's great for working as a middle between Shinji and Ren.
Also gay rights!

Gai

Jun who even were you?  Some high school gamer boy who took over a newspaper website for like a week cause its 2002 and no one knows how computers work?  Your redeeming qualities are you're gay and would rather die with your boyfriend than live without him.  Your messed up understanding of love is your only charm point.

Ouja

Sometimes, I would show screencaps of Asakura to my friend who's not really into tokusatsu, and she wouldn't be able to tell if I was watching toku or an intense gay drama.  I don't think I fell as hard in love with Asakura as others but he sure eats mud and shows me his nipples.  The particular plot of him "protecting" the child on the ship was definitely his strongest point in the series to me, and I just really loved those episodes.  Even if he's still a nasty snake man.  I am actually disappointed that he wasn't eaten by his three monsters, I think it would of been a nice way to end him off.
Takashi Hagino has aged extremely well though, looked amazing in Rider Time.

Odin

He technically wasn't Odin but he controlled Odin so we'll use that as an excuse.  Shirou is a whole mess of a... ghost?  I think he was like a ghost that couldn't give up on his regrets so now just resets universes in a constant attempt to save his baby sister.  It's nice to have a villain that clearly isn't evil but is doing this awful thing, and eventually Shinji is trying to achieve the same thing as Shirou.  It's interesting having a hero and villain still opposed but with the same goal.

Who???  Were you?  He's here to steal your soul we guess.

Tiger

This is my boy; Homewrecker Toujou.  Toujou comes with the unfortunately I love him award.  He's just a complete mess of a person.  He loves his teacher but somehow managed to warp the idea of letting one person die, even if they're someone you care about, to save many, into kill your loved ones to become the hero that saves many.  He's a walking disaster man.  He wants so badly to be a hero, but his sense of justice is warped to the point he doesn't even seem to be fighting for justice, just to kill those he loves and become stronger.  The ending for him was fantastic though.

Yeah, Tozuka squirted a can in Shinji's face.  He existed.

Alternative

You aided the plot, thank you for that.  Hajime was our one of their group to have a personal reason for wanting to end the rider battle, which was good.

Kagawa had a lovely family, and he was straight up down to kill them because he refused to go back on his belief that killing a couple of people to save many is bad.  They honestly deserved better than him, but he did love them, he was just stubborn in his beliefs.  Though also he brought Houjou to dinner with them for some reason.  When Houjou had been telling him to kill his wife and kid.

Imperer

Mitsuru is the most relatable character in Ryuki because he becomes a kamen rider and immediately prints it on his business card so he can tell everyone.  He flirts with everyone just to get their money.  All he wants is a good life, and he foolishly treats being a rider as a way to achieve that.  It was a little weird to have this kind of character introduced so late but it does work as we as the audience already know how serious the battle is. He was a very lovable character and was interesting for balancing with Toujou.  His death is extremely well done and so impactful.

Ishida didn't have much, he liked Tezuka a lot and then got vored by a sting ray.  He was probably the one I liked most of all the new Rider Time riders.

Femme

I love Miho, and it is absolutely tragic that Inoue continues to write how he does.  Miho bullying Shinji was great content, maybe Shinji didn't need another bully, but it was good.  She's a scammer, a thief, she wants to kill to avenge her sister, we have all this great.  Then Inoue decides lets soften her and now she babies Shinji and dies?  Awful change, Inoue.

Verde

It's him, it's Chronos 1.0, Takamizawa is the horrible business man that can and will ruin your life because he can.

Kimura existed in Rider Time as well.

These Guys

Yep, these three were sure here and were absolutely nothing but I'll assume Takaiwa was Odin or here for Oma Zi-O scouting or something.

Ultimately, of course I recommend Ryuki, they nailed it.  Except for all the unnecessary riders.