Kamen Rider Ryuki: 13 Riders (2002)
Production: Toei Corporation
Images Source: Official Kamen Rider Ryuki: 13 Riders Page
By Keith “JC” Hayward

Introduction

Wake up your Mirror monster and slap on your henshin belt. The mad scientist Shiro Kanzaki calls for all you Ryuki Riders to join in another tale of the Rider War… in an alternate universe!!! Tossing two Advent Cards onto the screen, each with a phone number underneath he states that the fate of Shinji and the War shall be up to the viewers to decide. Cry, “HENSHIN!”… cause we’re going back in!

Review

What you get here is an extra treat, courtesy of the good sported folk behind Kamen Rider Ryuki. The original cast and crew seem to have a little extra time and dough left over, so it appears they all decided to get together and do kind of a mini-movie, with television production values and standards. In Kamen Rider Ryuki: 13 Rider Special, this verse is the same as the first. “Thirteen Riders chosen with thirteen decks of cards to battle it out. In the end, there can be only one and that one… will have his or her dreams all realized.”

The production value of this television special are nothing to write home about, what’s cool about it is the ideas it juggles and some fun concepts.

At it’s very start you are witness to Ren dying and handing over his deck to Shinji. Shinji is faced by the wrath of all the Riders who’re sick of his meddling. With a cry of the trademark, “HENSHIN!” Shinji transforms into Kamen Rider Knight as opposed to his usual Ryuki armour.

Left with the cliffhanger of seeing a newly armour Shinji rush into battle; we flashback to the beginning, where our hero, Shinji, stumbles across the original owner of the Ryuki Deck and witnesses the man’s fall. Before he dies, the mysterious man passes over the Deck to Shinji and we find ourselves right where the original television series kicks off. Shinji finding himself in the middle of the Rider War and rushing about to tell the Riders that they don’t have to fight each other. But as we found in the television series, nobody wants to hear it and quickly everyone becomes annoyed with Shinji’s interference. Never giving up, Shinji rarely fights back and is joined by Ren to end the madness once and for all.

Kamen Rider Ryuki: 13 Rider Special is very compact. Where some arcs took three episodes, this Special does it in three to five minutes. To some, that would be off putting, but to those who’re fans of the Ryuki Saga, it’s akin to reading an alternate one-shot comic to your favorite ongoing series. It’s simple, it’s rushed, but what it boils down to is a good fix. You get all your favorite heroes to mix it up and the benefit of seeing the return of some that passed away. We’re even introduced to a new Rider who’s such charisma that you would’ve thought that he was a major ongoing villain in the television series. While you get all the suits in this, you don’t necessarily get back all the actors in the suits and those that you do you only get to see briefly before they whip out their decks and belts.

Best part about it is the two endings. As stated before, there are two phone numbers for the viewers to decide the fate of the Riders. One that’s been seen and the other that has yet to be released to the public, but will be eventually thanks to the efforts of die-hard fans. The one that’s been seen is, although far more direct that the television series, still ambiguously left open ended like the movie.

Conclusion

If you’re a fan of Kamen Rider Ryuki like I am, you’ll not want to miss this. It’s just an extra fix and nothing mind blowing. It’s rushed, hurried, and has only the production values of your average episode, but when it comes down to it, it’s also still Shinji, Ren and the unflappable cocky Lawyer smirking, scowling and being their usual selves that’s worth seeing because we loved the cast. You get the benefit of a two new possible endings and even a new Rider that should have been in the television series. So, if you’ve seen the series and seen the movie, then this is the final stop on your adventure. It’s nothing overly “Special”, but it’s definitely a good Ryuki fix if you’re looking for one.

Keith "JC" Hayward