#ramaga

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on 鎧真伝サムライトルーパー | Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers, Episode 5: Sadness (what a wild episode alkjdlaj):

It's very interesting to reframe the scene where Gai is shot by Saizo while fighting Ryusei as a flashback moment for Ryusei where he was stabbed with Ramaga's poison dagger. Poor Ryusei. This time he wasn't the target, anyway. But only barely.

AND RYOOOO XD (more on that later) :D And Samurai Heart makes its appearance lol For all the flaws in how Gai is being acclimated to human life by admittedly very young people who have no experience or training in this kind of thing, his relationship with Ryusei continues to be cute.

The OP is so good.

This made me laugh aldjkalj

I am not above saying that after they hit Saizo's shield I said, "Boom" aloud and then "hmm" and then Yamato said this alkdjalj

So now we know there are more youja who can do hypnosis and illusions. But interestingly, whatever Ramaga did didn't make the Troopers' eyes look like Shion's in that flashback:

This might just mean it's a different spell, a different caster, or something about Shion himself made his eyes look like this (e.g., that he has special heritage, either youja or from Kaos). But still, curious. Especially because the eye color is identical to Ryusei being taken over by the poison:

But so far as we know, Shion wasn't infected. So was Ramaga the one who did whatever to Shion, regardless of what it was? Or was Shion just less infected but not enough to be a permanent problem?

Ryusei dispelling the hypnosis reminds me of Seiji fixing Ryo's eyesight with sunlight.

AND WE GET FULL UNCOVERED ADULT RYO!!!

Lookit him. Cutie (though the beard doesn't do him any favors alkdjalj). Looks kind of like Keith from Voltron: Legendary Defender honestly lol But the generic 20th century shounen male lead look is kind of generic for a reason lol I love him :3 And his having a teacherly relationship with Ryusei is sweet. Ryo really trying to help everyone :3 And Ryusei idolizing him T-T Ryo T-T Where's Byakuen????

Also the -presses hard to create symbol- thing is fascinating. They can just... do that to Weapon-Gear/Armor-Gear alkdjlaj What magic is Ryo and later Ryusei doing and how did Shion let it do that alkdjlaj

Ryusei's students trotting quickly to him while Shion slowly walks over alkdjlaj I like the little details.

I admit I don't know Japanese architecture, so this may just be another location they used, but it is quite interesting that they have this vaguely Atlas carrying the world image in the background while talking about what Ryusei is doing on behalf of the world and the other Troopers:

(It actually looks more like Sisyphus with his boulder, and perhaps the double messaging is intended, given what Ryusei is fighting against and ultimately dies to)

Gai and Kaito's relationship continues to be intriguing:

Also highlighting because I wish. They would just. Use 2D. All the time. Instead of the ugly 3D. THIS LOOKS REALLY GOOD! WHY NOT KEEP IT??? It's in so much of the episode too! Along with the bleh 3D. Why T-T

I need to stop shipping characters with death flags. This happened with To Be Hero X, it's HABIT-FORMING alkdjalj

I honestly wasn't planning to ship them in my last fic of these two after Episode 3, but it just happened in that fic and I'm glad the series keeps supplying food for this ship alkdjlaj I think Ryusei is actually talking about how he knows he's dying(?) and he knows Shion is going to be able to stick around/maybe it's meant as a platonic thing but I choose to believe aalkdjalj

The full version of this at last is really adorable lol And the team dynamic continues to be fun:

I know a lot of tokusatsu have a lot of the very anti-climactic posing and stuff (and Yoroiden Samurai Troopers had plenty as well) like "omg you guys... can move????" But this is all very aldkjlaj It's not overly cheesy in a way that's bad, it works, just like YST's generally did.

And oh no, will Shion actually die first and all the promo material with him in the green armor was a scam after all???? alkdjalj

The sword being a fake is neat. Of course a super genius wouldn't just go up to the Youjakai fully half-cocked.

And there it be at last! The Shiroi Kikotei/Armor of the Supreme Emperor!

Still a thing in this story universe (and generally looks the same, plus the cape anyway). And Nasti is very twigged into the fact that Ramaga wants to summon it (and hiding it from Mirei for some reason still). Which begs the question: if Ryo is Ramaga/being controlled by him, and allegedly Ramaga had the other four Troopers, why couldn't Ryo summon the armor like he could before? What stopped him from summoning it to stop himself from getting captured/save everyone else?

Is that where Byakuen went? He escaped with the sword(s) back to the human world?

Presumably if Ryo is just being possessed, and although Ramaga seemingly can use non-demonic abilities maybe through Ryo (or some other person he absorbed/controls, like oh... Kayura maybe), perhaps Ramaga can't channel righteousness like Ryo can and that's why he can't summon the armor. Although this begs the question of what value possessing Gai would have since that would presumably present the same problem. Unless Ryo's body is being used up (as Gai explained) and that's why Ramaga can't summon the armor. And he needs Gai because Gai is a younger meat puppet and so could handle bearing the armor. But how long as Ramaga been unable to use the armor? He wasn't using it in the flashback with Shion and Ryusei's group, though maybe he just didn't need to given how outclassed Shion and Ryusei's group was.

I take back some of the super-cheese comments: Ramaga's reveal, "It was me!" is kind of hilarious alkdjlaj

So this is interesting because we seemingly have an answer to how a human can become "demonic" in this story universe. They get infected with this poison and Ramaga sort of mind controls them into it. And it can be removed without killing the caster, seemingly, assuming Ramaga was the one who did something like this to Gai, as Ramaga was not dead when Saizo removed Gai's demonic powers. Conversely, the Braves were told a false story about how Gai was born/joined them or something. Or, for whatever reason, Saizo was the one who gave Gai his demon powers originally, and so Saizo was the one who could deactivate, I guess? By shooting Gai? Given Ryusei's demon form kind of resembles Gai's, there at least seems to be some connection there.

I still love how much the Troopers love Ryusei. They really do care for him. And we get slightly more than the usual clip show for their memories of him, which is sweet. He really bonded with them in a monthish time. And we do get someone singing Samurai Heart, even if it's not the whole team.

It feels like a callback to Episode 1 when Gai was singing without any backing music, but haunting in a different way.

Having Gai be the one to essentially kill Ryusei is so cruel T-T The plan was nice, though. Gai really does care and can plan things, and all the Troopers got together to help. And Gai was already regretting some of his actions and coming around.

I realized after the fact that I didn't have room in this post to really be sad about Ryusei's death (outside doomed ship stuff and how it affects other characters) but the man's been death-flagged since before the show started, folks T-T We didn't even know Ryusei existed until relatively right before the show started airing: Shion was in all the promotional material as the fifth Trooper prior to and after that, outside the OP. I think we first knew for sure about Ryusei's existence on December 2nd, when his character profile and a preview with him more prominently was shared, and then we had no idea what he was doing other than he appeared briefly in a couple previews, never in armor. You can actually see him in this preview from November 11, 2025:

He's there on the right, out of armor. There are some other shots of episodes that have already released where we (now) know it's Ryusei in the armor, and one where there's someone in green armor on-screen while Shion is standing elsewhere, in a scene from Episode 5 (I use the episode version later in this post). But we didn't know it was the guy in this^ shot in that armor when this preview aired, or even on December 2nd. Even if anyone noticed Shion was not the one in the green armor in that shot before December 2nd, I doubt they made the connection it was "that mysterious brunette with a green t-shirt in one scene of the preview". On December 2nd, we got his character profile and a preview video with him more prominently shown (but still in not much of the video). Even in that preview, he's not in the armor, and Shion transforms with the Weapon-Gear multiple times. And by that point, we'd already seen Shion in a lot of things, in and out of armor. The OP with just Ryusei and no Shion aired at midnight on New Year's Day. And that still had a death flag for Ryusei because, unlike the other five Troopers, he's walking away from the camera with his back to the audience, and his face hidden in the window where his armor is, clearly signalling he's leaving the story and potentially being replaced (as we knew, because Shion is in the vast majority of the promotional material as the one wearing the green armor). There were tons of theories at that point: Was Ryusei evil? Does Shion replace him? Does Ryusei replace Shion? Who knew! And then the ED was premiered before Episode 2 dropped and Ryusei had EVEN MORE DEATH FLAGS alkdjalj Even when I did my very non-academic survey of Japanese fans on twitter after Episode 2, folks were guessing Ryusei might die because by that point we'd all see the ED, if nothing else.

Am I sad, yes (I like Ryusei, he's a great character, it's why I've written 2 and soon to be 3 fics about him). Am I surprised? No. The only "surprise" of any kind was whether or not he'd actually die or just be out of the action in some other way (e.g., too injured, comatose, kidnapped). I even guessed Gai might be the one to "kill" him ages ago, given all the Gai crying previews and the OP (and it makes sense as something typical of the genre to galvanize him on his journey of understanding murdering people is bad). So, given I've assumed Ryusei would potentially die for over a month, I guess my sadness is a bit... less intense because I was preparing for this for over a month.

I will go down with this ship again.

And so the folks who insisted Ryo is Ramaga/his bodysuit were on to something. Though it remains to be seen what precisely is going on. Back during YST, there were a lot of attempts to basically absorb/brainwash/use Ryo in his armor, all of which ultimately failed. Presumably this is not Ryo gone mad with demonic power, potentially after being stuck in the Youjakai for a couple years. The marks on his face and the odd symbols in his eyes likely indicate possession of some kind. So was Ramaga stronger than Arago and the others who tried to take Ryo over? Is this an evolved form of what happened when Badamon tried to overwhelm Ryo for possession? Did Ryo make a deal of some kind to save his fellow Troopers, who are also notably absent, or were they absorbed like Gai did with Nezu?

The alternative theory I still am uncomfortable with is Ramaga was going through all of them until they burned out or something and Ryo was the last one. During YST season 1, Ryo was the last to be absorbed. It'd mirror that. But more likely it's a Gai and Nezu situation, hence where Ramaga got the idea to have Gai absorb the Braves (or at least some of them). My assumption is Ramaga would target Ryo (like Gai later) because he was the Emissary of Fire and thus the one who can wield the Shiroi Kikotei. Which would hopefully mean the other four aren't dead (after all, if the goal is that armor, he still needs the other four to summon it). They're just, you know... sleeping. Or something.

It still leaves open the question of who Gai's father is. Is he actually Ryo's son or Ramaga's son or some other third thing? He still might be some random child that one or both of them got ahold of and took into the Youjakai and indoctrinated. We just don't know. Again, Kayura was kidnapped, too, and Kayura was neither Kaos' child nor Arago's, nor anyone else's.

And what have the Masho and Kayura been up to? Ryo's been running around as either a new dark lord or a meatsuit for one and they're just... busy? With what? Hope this doesn't mean they're dead... Maybe the other Troopers are forming some resistance with them in the Youjakai or something. I kind of feel like this weird poison power is something Ramaga absorbed from Kayura, given how he explains it, and aligning with the Sword of Domination leaves it 50/50 either a Ryo or Kayura thing.

And this also raises the question of if Ramaga targeted Ryusei intentionally because of Ryo's memories of him. Obviously Ryusei was kind of in the way of getting to Shion and they were the only two alive, but we do know Ryo and Ryusei had that connection. Or if it's a demonic Ryo, did he want to kill the last part of him that cared?

I hope this doesn't mean they have to kill Ryo. Obviously death for Troopers is on the table (it was before, even outside Musashi's former team and Ryusei and Shion's former team, as Shutendoji did actually die, much as we dislike remembering it). This is part of why Next Generation stories are so not my bag most of the time. Passing the baton is one thing (which for various reasons can be sad enough), but literally killing off the previous generation is really not great (and we already have Ryusei's "kill me to solve the problem" declaration, don't want Ryo doing that too, or I don't know, dissolving because his body has been through too much once he's freed of Ramaga). Not great at all. We already have 5-8 dead Troopers in this show. I do not want more.

Anywho. ...Episode 6: Restart? Woo? (Which is funny because it's more likely Episode 7 would have a change in OP/ED and more of a restart, but I guess we'll see if that happens alklaj)

Other thoughts:

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5 (you are here), Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15

Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers fanfics

Yoroiden Samurai Troopers fanfic

The series website, twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Sunrise’s website. A manga for cour 1 is also planned for release on 15 September 2026.

[fallloverfic]

I was curious what Japanese fans were thinking of Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers, so I browsed Japanese twitter after Episode 2 (it's the most active for what I have access to) (this is spoilery for episode 2). [Also, for folks looking for fanart, at least from what I've seen, twitter is still unfortunately the most active for that. Pixiv is probably second. There's a small handful of folks posting fanart on Blue Sky Social, and the tag still hasn't been wrangled on Archive of Our Own, and currently I can see five fics using three different tags for it.]

The comments:

A lot of folks are returning fans who loved or at least watched the original series. Most generally enjoy the sequel, with a number of comments saying it's a good homage essentially to the first series. There were a couple comments about how, rather than an actual sequel, this is some alternate timeline that starts after the end of YST season 1? Folks looking for an explanation for the opening backstory and where it ends. And a lot of folks excited about the different merch runs happening, for both the old and new series.

There's a lot more violence, which some find surprising, and some find a bit off-putting. Most people don't seem to care or just suggest not watching it with young children. Given a large chunk of commenters self-identify as adults in their 40s and 50s, it sounds like this isn't a problem.

Most folks are very curious about Gai and what his journey will be like. Some folks (a very small number from what I've seen) find his murderous side off-putting. A funny comment I saw a couple times was people assuming maybe Gai didn't kill Musashi's former team, he just cut their arms off lol I agree, they're definitely recovering somewhere we can't see on the Fortress Train lol A number of people loved the re-use of the old transformation sequences, particularly when Gai transformed, and particularly the cherry blossoms.

A lot of people are excited for more with Kaito, especially folks who really love Touma.

A lot of folks are worried about Ryusei's fate. Between folks who know Shion is in most of the promotional materials in the green armor, and folks who just know about the ED, folks are curious and worried about when and how Shion takes over the armor role. There was a bit of Ryusei love, and folks don't want him to die.

Very few people mention Nezu at all. A couple commented he died quickly, a few noted (as I assumed as well) this is just going to be formulaic for the story, with the Braves being sent after Gai to die/be sacrificed to him to absorb. Folks are curious about what'll happen with that.

There was a lot of excitement over stuff with Uesugi Yoshie, who's voiced by Katsuki Masako, who voiced Kayura in the Yoroiden Samurai Troopers Japanese dub. One person pointed out that the name for the character possibly comes from Kawahara Yoshie, who wrote the YST novelization and also the main series, which would be neat if true. A number of folks commented about how Yoshie's death is similar to Yagyu Nasti's grandfather's end in YST.

There's a lot of focus on the Showa music being used throughout the show, like TOKIO by Sawada Kenji, which is Yoshie's CD, and what the music means.

There's a recurring theory that the music being used somehow means the characters will sing Samurai Heart in the show's climax/some important battle down the line. (The vast majority of comments were about the music, including Gai's singing, with the second-most comments being Yoshie-related things, like Masako's presence and what that potentially means for future episodes).

A couple folks commented on the art quality, some positive, some negatively calling it stiff or something.

There was this neat thread pointing out the real-life locations used thus far for the series, in the show and at least for now in promotional material.

At least one fan thinks Ramaga took over Ryo's body, which is what he's using now and maybe where the Sanada Braves thing comes from. The assumption is Gai is Ryo's son adopted by Ramaga and demonized I guess, but then turned human again for Ramaga's goals.

The consensus is that folks are enjoying it or at least intrigued by where it's going. There's a lot of love for the new cast, as well as Nasti's return, the homages to the original series, and a lot of the art choices. Even folks who aren't into certain aspects of the series generally plan to continue watching.

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on 鎧真伝サムライトルーパー | Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers, Episode 6: Restart (it was quite good :D):

Starting with a clip show is so ominous alkjdlaj But it's nice to see the first series XD And Ryo had a relationship with both Shion and Ryusei :3 He looks so peppy, helping them train.

And yes, Ryo now properly has a character card and a page on the official website! And we get to see the Wildfire armor properly :D It looks so pretty! A bit like how it appeared in the Langrisser crossover event in 2021, though I still like that art a bit better.

Just look at him. Ah. My first animated crush. This frame was really cute:

Bebe.

And Nasti with long hair! So she had it for a while and cut it around/after the first expedition. I'm curious what roles, if any, the other Troopers had in training the next generation. Or did they leave like Shion (and seemingly Jun) did, but come back when needed?

THE BOYSSSS

Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989) starts singing: There you see them. Standing there in the dusk... They don't got a lot to say, but there's something about them...

I hope we get to see even more of them. PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD T-T

Still no explanation whether or not Message is still canon, but nothing confirming it isn't. The armors still exist, though. Maybe whatever Shion was able to do to make the new Weapon-Gear allowed the original five to bring back their original armors, too? I wonder why the Message armors weren't good to use, if so. Or maybe they're in storage for some reason?

When they did modern animated Ryo's attack I was screaming.

My heart lol It's so pretty. When he did the spin and sword connection and just ahh. PLEASE DON'T DIE AT THE END OF THIS I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE T-T

It was suggested by someone else that the three treasures are new, not old, and I don't know if that's been verified somewhere and isn't just an assumption based on the Jewel of Conquest being blue and having a different name and the sword design being different or what. But if it's true, and Shion was able to make the new Weapon-Gear, it could also help explain how the new treasures were made, and why Shion knows about them (when Mirei doesn't). But if they stole the sword from the Youjakai somehow (will get to that later), why does that still work with a new Jewel? And why are the new ones still connected to the old Shiroi Kikotei? It would make sense the Sword of Domination came from the Youjakai because Ryo was there, presumably with his swords, but still how does 2 become 1 outside the Spice Girls song? Is it really Ryo's swords or something else?

Poor Ryo, he really did get possessed. But glad he didn't turn evil. Still, horrible for him. The YST episode where he nearly gets overwhelmed by spirits is one of my favorites and it's so terrible for him. To think he's lived like this for years, poor guy...

I wonder what the other Troopers were doing (given they're standing around and clearly active). I doubt they'd just let Ramaga take him over. Did Ramaga hurt them, using Ryo to do it? Last time, Ryo found strength from the other armors to break through. Why didn't that work this time? Because Ramaga was stronger and/or faster? Because his friends were incapacitated and/or the Masho were, too? Because Ryo was older and not as strong as when he was a teenager?

I also wonder if there's some significance to Saizo being chosen for the "screw with Gai" task when Saizo is the one being shown attacked by Ryo in the past. I don't know what the significance would be exactly, other than maybe Saizo is the strongest and best at stealth or something and it's just a coincidence/this was why Ryo was such a good vessel or something. But it'd be interesting if some aspect of Ryo was pushing forward dangling Saizo as a target for Gai to get rid of, kind of, because Saizo was part of why Ryo was taken in the first place? I don't know. Maybe the animators are just saving animating everyone else for later lol Or Gai is getting Saizo as his nemesis just like Ryo sort of did with Shutendoji (until he switched sides).

Ramaga's line about "I need better than you can offer right now" (and his offer for Gai to improve himself or find a replacement) does seem to show - as others have suggested - that he might target someone other than Gai. I don't know if it'd be Musashi, given the age thing and he's not yet 15, but he is clearly thinking on it. I am really worried about the "toll" Ramaga's talking about with Ryo. I really don't want Ryo to die at the end of this because his body/soul wore out or he's already dead or something. I don't tend to believe villains when they stuff like that, so I don't think his "personality" is actually gone, but I am still worried T-T

Though I'm wondering if that's where Byakuen has gone. Maybe Byakuen managed to steal Ryo's spirit away or something? Byakuen is spiritual in his own way and came back to life once with the help of Byakueno. Maybe something about the magic there enabled him to help Ryo escape. What Ramaga did is still incredibly violating on so many levels (especially if he used Ryo's body to father a son or something), but at least it might help Ryo like... not go insane? As much?

This was a good shot:

That he's "lending" the Sword of Domination sounds like it was something he originally owned. I really wonder if Ryusei and Shion's team found it in the Youjakai and brought it back. And if they stole it from Ryo and/or Ramaga, how. And what they saw or didn't see of the previous Troopers, because only Nasti has talked about any of this and she wasn't there for either trip. The Sword of Domination is not what Ryusei was stabbed with unless it shrunk and changed design completely when he was stabbed.

And yes, it makes perfect sense that the Braves were holding back, just standing around and letting all the drama happen. Y'all were not overpowering them, they're very strong.

I'm glad Nasti is talking about survivor count because when Ramaga did the trick with the castle formation I was thinking, "Wow, so many people just died/are about to die." And that's ignoring infrastructure collapse as food deliveries are delayed or stopped entirely, the energy grid is cut into, people can't get their medications, the elderly and disabled people lose carers and access to their daily lives, children are trapped and unable to defend themselves...

And the bois deal with the reality of their messy situation. Lots of people have died, and Musashi's been around some of them (notably the shopping area he was in where Gai later killed his team, including cutting their hands off). Sometimes you can have a delayed reaction to certain circumstances, I get it, but well... Hmm. It's understandable he wants to run, though. He is just 14. Please let someone older take over, these poor kids are traumatized enough. But alas, this is shounen. Ain't got time for that, especially with the adult mortality rate here.

Kaito having Musashi's back, though, is nice. He hasn't known any of them that long, but he cares about his team.

I honestly love a good sort of... revival via hologram training fight trauma sequence while trying to work out stress lol Horrifying, yes. Right up my alley, also yes. Poor Gai. But hey, we get more of Musashi's old team! And Ryusei, you are quite... fascinating for designing this, likely with Mirei's help! Yes, I get you have to break through Gai's child soldier murder spree mentality, but well... The method.

Ooh, Mirei is in armor and fighting :D That's cool!

Even that first guy who dies is here lol Ryusei (and maybe Mirei), y'all... Traumatize the demon child with... I don't know... Assassin's Creed magic mind-tech powers?

Gai is trying to do better. And he does seemingly care about the world. Like he cares that Ramaga says humans destroy the world, and Gai believes him so... he cares about the world being destroyed and that's why he thinks destroying humans is okay, which evolves into his declaration during the fight with Shion. Interesting stuff.

I was curious when Ryusei (and his clothes) dissolved if the Weapon-Gear went with it, and we have the answer! It did not! Why that was exempt from Ryusei's clothes disappearing, who knows!

I know Yamato probably isn't aware that Kaito stole his Weapon-Gear from one of Musashi's dead teammates, but still, Yamato alkdjlaj To be fair, Shion is not helping by acting a villain lol We all handle grief and loss differently, and Shion's way is to... insult everyone close to him.

Yamato, you're Japanese. Men wear kimono. You dress as as panda for work. Please stop. I don't know if "skirt-wearing jackass" is what he's saying in Japanese, but good grief.

Shion is also older and more experienced, so this isn't fair in a lot of ways lol But at least he suggested 4 on 1 and the other Troopers honorably chose to do 1 on 1 lol

It's nice Musashi moved to avenge his brother :D

I appreciate Gai standing aside and letting Kaito have his turn. And the reinvigorated Troopers not helping Gai at all roflmao

Ryusei why are you ghost-saying this to your husband alkdjalj

So what did Ryusei think of the rest of their team lol Because he keeps personally addressing Shion (not just because the message is meant for Shion, but you know...). Maybe it's to butter him up or just propose, repeatedly, but well... I feel like Shion should get to punch Ryusei for confessing 40 times since they got back together.

I also appreciate that Shion, being older, is also taller than the 14-15-year-olds lol

Listen, I never liked Jun. Child-insert characters always grated on me because rather than making me feel like I could live in the story through this character, they were always just annoying. Chibi Usa had this problem in Sailor Moon. Jun had this problem in YST. I do, however, love modern drawn child!Jun, because I'm a sucker for redraws and he looks cute.

I have mixed feelings about Jun's adult design because, given how this show is handling sexism (and how Jun is being introduced), I am not that optimistic for how it's going to handle fatphobia.

It's really nice to have more body diversity in this story, but I am still hesitant to see how he's going to be dealt with because fat characters in manga and anime are not always treated the best (though there are more at least manga these days featuring fat characters, which is nice! It's not just a geikomi or joke character thing). And yes, I know what sumo is. But we already have weird missing cultural knowledge from the admittedly teenage cast. Shuu had a round face but he was still pretty buff. Really not the same situation. This is giving me Yutaka Itazu vibes from Eden of the East (I've only seen the first season, if things get better for him, good).

I do wonder why Jun just moved into the train to get away from fighting (and why didn't Shion know? Do Shion and Jun know each other?). What special power does he have that Nasti thinks is so important? But hey, for folks who love him, he's now here!

Generally, though, it was a good episode! Lots of stuff with everyone, a lot about grief and mourning, terrible things for Ryo, questionable things for all the Troopers, past and present... Just a lot of neat lore, and more questions for Episode 7: Memory.

There's also some cute new cover art for the series album that's coming out:

Other thoughts:

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6 (you are here), Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15

Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers fanfics

Yoroiden Samurai Troopers fanfic

The series website, twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Sunrise’s website. A manga for cour 1 is also planned for release on 15 September 2026.

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on 鎧真伝サムライトルーパー | Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers, Episode 11: Return:

Mirei's end (at least for now) reminds me of Wolf's Rain, with that relentless trudge of continuous loss in a hopeless battle. The heroes will probably win, but at what cost? So I'm kind of hmm. I can't say I'm happy this is turning into a Wolf's Rain situation, given how utterly depressing that series is, but well... It doesn't seem that surprising. But Ryo's return is giving me hope maybe she'll come back. Unless she's meant to be the Shutendoji parallel (maybe that's why she has pink hair! Cause you know reddish-brown > pink???), which... well.

This - Kaito catching an exhausted Gai - is the kind of stuff I wanted more of with the Shiroi Kikotei: that it drains the user so much, he needs to be supported by others, so that's fun.

Also yay for Kaito/Gai folks :D

I find it interesting that Sasuke cares whether or not Mirei lives, given how all the Braves seem to feel about humanity. I imagine he views it as keeping your word. Again, the Braves are complex individuals we don't have a lot of insight into. They feel kind of like extras in an aside, discussing the plot between major plot scenes where the audience can hear them, which kind of fits with some of the stage-based references in the show (like the door transitions). It's certainly a choice. As is the giant tuning fork lol

If you are tuning your instrument in the modern day, don't use a tuning fork. There are apps that are so much more useful.

Modern Kaos!!! In shadow memory!!!

No Shutendoji, I guess (that hair is definitely white and not red/brown, that is Kaos, not Shutendoji).

Well, Nasti/Ryo shippers are living.

Now, now, Gai, let the man explain just how you were born and who had a kid with Ramaga if that's really your origin story.

So much of this episode is why it's bad to fully share your plans with your enemy, which is, I guess, also why we're only teased about Gai's backstory again.

Hey, Shuu, Shin, and Touma's leg!

Just in time for Shin's birthday! Ah, a fully remade Yoroiden Samurai Troopers with modern animation would be so nice...

Well at least this seems to put to rest the question of if Season 2 of YST is canon, because this is the final battle in Episode 39. And which is heavily paralleled by the events of YSST Episode 11 (hence why Ramaga gets the armor, which Ryo makes Arago absorb). It's still up in the air if the OVAs are canon, but at least YSST didn't entirely nix season 2 of YST (I mean it doesn't matter anyway, especially for folks who don't care about YSST, but just saying...).

I still think this "I can change anyone as I please" stuff is setting up revivals (especially given Ryo survived, at least for now), but who knows! Maybe it's Wolf's Rain ending and everyone dies. While the Braves do a song, apparently. Even the little boys Musashi tried to save, who get names, get puppetted T-T

I am fascinated that Izumo has a gun, given Japan's stance on these things, but well, he is from a nationalist party, I guess. Then again, given some tropes of higher-ups in offices with guns, maybe there was another reason he had it... I'm still suspicious of why he's in the story and Nasti specifically made a deal with him for DST, but given what we've seen of this episode... it'll be interesting to see if any of that comes up in future, particularly in Cour 2.

I think part of the mass puppet thing is to, I guess, make saving the world less... distant than it was in the first show? Because they just saved people because it was the right thing to do, not because they necessarily cared about people on an individual level. The stakes are closer to home, I suppose. Or it pads time, who knows? Also feels a lot like the ending of the first Sailor Moon anime season, just saying...

Of course Ramaga can't walk, he has to leap into the air really high and then fall.

"More passion! More shouting!" lol There are random moments of humor in this episode. At times this show is extra violent and at others, it's your typical goofy tokusatsu. If you want a good tokusatsu not precisely parody, I guess, but close, I would highly recommend Mr. Villain's Day Off.

I would be shaking that bell like a dog with a toy, given Ramaga's comment that it bothers him, Nasti.

The attack animation of the flames when Ramaga and Gai fight is pretty.

Shion, babe... know your ancient texts!!!

Well... Ryo's not dead! So... Win! Saved by the power of parallel storylines!

Worried he'll still collapse and dissolve at the end of this (e.g., "I had enough for one last fight..."), but well... Maybe he'll just get Shin, Shuu, Touma, Seiji, and Byakuen, and everything will be fine! Poor guy's still had five years of his life stolen from him and lived in a presumed nightmare all that time, but he's at least acting stable enough, so that's good!

"Epilogue" is an ominous episode title, given Cour 2 is later this year, but well... Here's hoping we see more of gen 1 next ep, because we still don't know what happened to them.

Other thoughts:

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11 (you are here), Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15

Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers fanfics

Yoroiden Samurai Troopers fanfic

The series website, twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Sunrise’s website. A manga for cour 1 is also planned for release on 15 September 2026.

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on 鎧真伝サムライトルーパー | Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers, Episode 12: Epilogue (just wow):

Gai walking around essentially naked as a demon is, well... okay lol No wonder Saizo was perhaps not that emotionally supportive lol

I teared up when Ryo transformed. Pity it's mostly the ugly 3D. Shots like this look pretty decent:

Oh, Ryo T-T Just you know, handwave the trauma, I guess... It is interesting the Sanada symbol is really gone. He didn't just let Ryusei share a copy of it, he literally gave it away to Ryusei. Which is interesting in regard to how the Troopers - or at least Ryo - can modify their armors. The armors seemed to be more like... magical tools they couldn't do all that much with other that maneuver somewhat. Also interesting in the sense that I don't know if this is an error or something intentional, because the symbols are there right before he got captured:

This would have been after he "gave" the symbol to Ryusei. So I'm not entirely sure why they're there in this sequence in Episode 6, but not in Episode 12.

<.< That's an interesting way to phrase things, Ryo. Just sayin. Given, clearly, there were other options you used before.

The gen 1 Troopers being kept like this is basically a redraw of how the first gen Troopers were imprisoned before, like in YST Episode 31: Legend of the Armor Called Inferno:

Fun reference! Not fun for the guys, who've likely been stuck like this for five years! And also maybe brings back old nightmares.

This shot also made me cry:

Look at them. The bebes. Touma with a beard adlkjaldkja Is it so he can match his husband aldkjalj Did they both have terrible beard fashion ideas and everyone was like, "Of course you're married" adlkjaldaj

(Had to redo this because tumblr limits picture # per post and I took too many screencaps so the quality is kind of bad but ahh, them) Listen... they've been imprisoned for five years. It's good they stood up at all, quite frankly. The juxtaposition of "cocky" to "suddenly also in your 40s/50s and also recently imprisoned for five years" is still kind of funny alkdjlaj Poor guys. Hope y'all get vacations and don't die in cour 2.

Look at it, so beautiful and not destroyed for whatever reason. It's not that different from how it appeared in the Langrisser crossover back in 2021. Again, a pity we don't get the rock music sting the transformation used to have, but I do love the modern redo of the transformation, not just sticking with the new armor.

The old one's still pretty, though.

Seiji got a ponytail???? Seiji?????

I love this so much alkdjladja Beautiful man that you are.

And we even get Byakuen in his Byakueno look!

I am all kinds of dead right now. Just... ahhh... So happy T-T Again, we had this from the Langrisser thing in 2021, but it's nice to have it in more than some gacha mobile game! (Also the Sanada symbols are on that armor, so I guess he had a back-up pair cause it's a different armor aldkjalj) This was always my favorite armor. It's the only one I got the model for and commissioned someone to draw a couple years ago. Ah, I'm happy XD

Also the fight with Ramaga was a nice bit of animation. Interesting to see more fighting and not just cuts or the ultimate. Also interesting it's "Flash Slash", and not "Rage of Inferno".

Sasuke worried about the husb

Although it is meant to be tropey, "After the villain is defeated, their lair explodes/collapses", the castle is literally something being held in the air by Ramaga's spell, so with his focus/control collapsing, it makes sense the castle would, too. The rock falling on him was funny lol I guess no one at all is worried about the falling rock killing anyone else?

Glad the remaining Braves rejected Ramaga. Though why they stuck around until then is... confusing. It'll be interesting to see if they come back in cour 2, and if, when Gai freed the souls of the humans Ramaga absorbed, he also freed the Braves he'd absorbed.

Look at them in their normal clothes and alive, the boys T-T Of course Shuu and Shin are together, as always XD Touma in his suit, I just... Ryo and Touma on either side of Byakuen, like when they went on their trip into Arago's realm, I... ahh... And good, y'all stay there, where you're safe(ish) and no dying. At all!

idk guys, I think with the Ramaga smashing y'all in your Under-gear, some decisions were not made all that well lol

I appreciated this acknowledgement here. Definitely some folks ain't coming back, and even if they do, they are likely coming back with some trauma. Like even if Ryusei comes back, well... he has questions to answer. And I don't think Yoshie or the people Gai killed personally are coming back.

I'm sure other folks have pointed this out, but I was wondering previously if Ramaga was some outcast from the Divine World. I think it's very pointed Sagume Yashima has four followers, not five. Like yes, maybe that was to resemble the Masho, but it'd be interesting if Ramaga was originally the fifth. It would explain how he got the powers he does. So was their diverging tactics why Ramaga went off to the Youjakai?

And again, I want to know how precisely Shion made the Under-gear. Because what even with all this?

Gai's plan is kind of not surprising. Again, back in Episode 39 of YST (which they referenced a lot last episode), Ryo merged with Arago so the other Troopers could defeat him.

I do appreciate this bonding between Ryo and Gai, if brief.

:3

It's fine, he had a hole in his chest at the start of the show. Musashi would remember. He doesn't though, for some reason. Get him back to the Fortress Train, foolish teenagers who are very far from the adults who could be like HEY BOYS COME DOWN HERE NOW. Okay okay, gotta kill Ramaga properly, I guess. Though if Gai comes back, which he presumably will (maybe Sagume brainwashes him, too?), that does imply Ramaga could come back, as well.

I imagine this is going to feel unearned to some folks, given the speed of the story. But eh, YST wasn't specifically a master of telling stories with good pacing, either. This works for what it is. And it's nice, seeing the characters come together through strife and working hard together. Also, Kaito's seiyu is doing phenomenally. The emotion in his voice is great. It also really is something to have like... a guy's show for guys, and part of the climax is a guy singing basically another lullaby to a guy. There are a lot of religions that like chant as you send someone off in a funeral, and that's probably more of what it is. But in a story about how Gai seemingly had a stolen childhood, and how they all basically did (as 4/5 of them are children, and Shion killed his friends when he was 15ish) but are child soldiers... It's a lot. That they just have this. It's a moment of melancholic bonding, connecting through everything they've been through with music. A true goodbye (even if Kaito doesn't give up on Gai).

It also makes me wonder if the song knowledge is Kaito being an otaku and/or Yoshie having some connection with Rock Hara Junior College or some other group. Maybe she was a songwriter and/or former singer?

This is a nice shot.

I do admit, I don't know how common this is. I'm sure it appears in a lot of media, and definitely the idea of "killing the enemy will destroy/erase you, too"/"kill me to kill them" is certainly common enough. That being said, this specific version of the trope appears in Sailor Moon, when Usagi jumps into the Galaxy Cauldron to destroy Sailor Chaos (and herself in the process). Especially given, at the time, Sailor Cosmos - mysterious, super powerful being she is) was watching (and in charge of things to a degree) along with the four asteroid senshi (like Sagume and the gen 4 troopers), who were horrified at all this.

So that's a fascinating reference, if it's an intentional one. Also, again, why Ramaga might come back. As Sailor Cosmos noted, Sailor Chaos could also come back. I don't know if the Fountain of Annihilation works the same as the Galaxy Cauldron, but who knows! Certainly, what Gai did freed all those people, so they weren't erased by what he did (which is near-identical to what Usagi does with the Galaxy Cauldron). Which implies Gai and thus Ramaga weren't, either. Back in the day, a lot of people were doing lots of crossovers with YST and SM, so it wouldn't surprise me if reference is intentional, though I'm not entirely sure why, unless the anime share staff or something, which I'm not aware of. I don't think Takeuchi is involved in this.

It is funny to have two sequel media in roughly a year's timespan both be, intentional or not, specifically Sailor Cosmos references. That's great.

So we finally get to see Sagume, and it turns out, not that surprisingly, she's maybe evil? (Though the heavens usually just have their own agendas, which don't necessarily align with ones that work well for humans) And Ryusei really is coming back! I was wondering! And maybe we're doing even more of the sort of Sailor Moon plotline where Galaxia took Usagi's friends and made them her brainwashed puppets.

This is amusing my shipper heart, given Galaxia very specifically, well... with Mamoru...

So... Shion... uh... look out! I'm just saying, it's not every shounen that gets the production company making videos like this:

I will go down with this ship.

Also, I wonder if this is what Kayura and the Masho have been busy with? Maybe that's why they weren't fighting Ramaga. There were just other threats to deal with. Living with the hope they're out there somewhere.

Anyway, cour 2 is airing in July! People kept saying like... the end of 2026 (from what I remember), but apparently it's July!

So that was a cour. Wow. I have all the feelings. Glad we're getting the break, cause I need it. I think it was generally a decent cour, and it'll be interesting to see how the Divine World are evil in a different vein than Ramaga and if Ryusei is also brainwashed/being controlled with his new collar, given questions about Sasuke and maybe some of the Braves experiencing the same.

Here's to Episode XIII: A New Chapter!

Other thoughts:

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12 (you are here), Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15

Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers fanfics

Yoroiden Samurai Troopers fanfic

The series website, twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Sunrise’s website. A manga for cour 1 is also planned for release on 15 September 2026.

[swan2swan]

"Now, get up already!"

"I can handle the likes of you seated."

Okay. Sick villain line.

[yst-lsd]

These screencaps and gifs were made from yoroi shinden samurai troopers, a sequel to yoroiden samurai troopers.

♡~ Korin