Madan Senki Ryukendo is a tokusatsu series aired on TV Aichi from January 8 to December 31, 2006.
The story is about a secret organization S.H.O.T. (Shoot Hell Obduracy Troopers), protecting the City of Akebono from the Jamanga who is gathering Minus Energy which will be used to revive their leader, DaiMaOh. To protect the city, S.H.O.T., with the fusion of magic and technology created two arsenals to defeat Jamanga and these are GekiRyuKen and GouRyuGun. Jushiro Fudo is fighting the Jamanga threat with his partner, GouRyuGun.
Enter Kenji Narukami, a newcomer in Akebono who later works for the police. He is by the way, a student of the Narukami Ryujinryu Style, a fighting style that is designed to defeat demons. Because of one incident involving a giant monster, GekiRyuKen chose Kenji as his partner and because of this, Kenji transforms into Ryukendo!
As the series progressed, Ryukendo earns more upgrades, a rival in the name of Jark Moon and we are slowly introduced to Jamanga’s notable leaders, namely, Lady Gold and Baron Bloody.
Also, a third Madan Warrior was introduced in the of Ryujinou who at first, is fighting against S.H.O.T. because of his grudge against one member and later, fighting with them when he found out that certain member of S.H.O.T. didn’t kill his parents.
On to my review, at first, Ryukendo felt like a Kamen Rider Blade rip-off. If you are asking why, here is the answer. Ryugunoh in the senior of Ryukendo, like what Garren is to Blade, and oh, Garren and Ryugunoh both wield the same type of weapon and color scheme. Also, like Ryugunou, Ryukendo and Blade wield the same type of weapon, a sword. To add more Kamen Rider reference, Jark Moon’s mask kinda resembles Kamen Rider Knight from Ryuki and the Madan Warriors also ride motorcycles AND sometimes does an opening kick to the enemy and there is one episode where Kenji’s seniors did a “Double Friendship Kick”.
Enough with the Kamen Rider stuff, on to the review. To be honest, I find Ryukendo at first not my type until Jark Moon was introduced. The show first followed a certain pattern and that is, monsters appear, Ryukendo wins and gets the key, earn upgrades, end of story. And this never ending process ended until Jark Moon appeared. He gave the show breathe of fresh air by giving Ryukendo a good rival and sometimes, I pity Ryukendo because he wasn’t able to defeat Jark Moon even with all the upgrades.
A good thing about this show is the show’s weapon system in the form of keys. It gave show uniqueness considering that the current trend of tokusatsu uses either cards or the good ol’ fashion way. What’s more, the keys need to be “purified” before being used and we saw its effect on Ryukendo when he hastily used the powerful Thunder Key.
In terms of the story, it’s balanced and realistic. It is neither cheesy nor corny. It sometimes whips couples of comedic scenes which fit for the timing of a certain scene. One of my personal faves was the scene were the trio transforms in the men’s comfort room!
One of the best things about Ryukendo is that it returned to the classic villain plans ridiculous plan that would cause fear to the masses. To those who don’t know what this is, here is a quick lesson. In one episode, Jamanga turned almost everyone in Akebono into human balloons. Unlike the regular classic setup, the causing of fear would help the Jamanga gather necessary Minus Energy for the revival of DaiMaOh.
One of the things that I would praise about the show is the suit designs especially when Ryukendo equips the Thunder Eagle in his armor and Ryujinou’s basic design.
The only thing disappointing about the show is that Ryukendo felt like he is an overpowered hero considering he gets a lot of upgrades unlike from his fellow Madan Warriors.
Overall, if you want to watch a tokusatsu that is not produced by Toei that has good quality, great suit designs and a decent plot that is worth of your time, Ryukendo might be the show for you.