Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers

Episode 4

I can't believe I neglected to mention last week that Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers is being written by Shōgo Mutō, scribe of Kamen Rider Build. Like Yoroi Shin Den, Build was an iteration of a classic Japanese children's superhero series, characterized by a frame of ambitiously complex political maneuvering and surprising moments of violence, belying that it was still, in fact, a kids' show. Build is one of my favorite Rider entries, and Muto's sensibilities go a long way to explaining why his take on Samurai Troopers clicked for me the way it did out of the gate—and it speaks to the potential ambition this series could have before it ends.

I bring this up this week not because of any stringent thematic parallels I could draw, but just because Yoroi Shin Den's Yamato, characterized by his fawning fanboyism over Mirei, really, really calls to mind Kamen Rider Build's Kazumi Sawatari and his love for the character Misora. There are some other similar elements like Yamato's lovable meatheadedness and his general color scheme, but mostly it was him going all heart-eyes over Mirei that made me go "Oh right, this was written by that guy." It's the little things.

Picking up on people's idiosyncrasies, calling into question how well you know them, that's also a key element of this week's episode of Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers. Shion, seemingly Ryusei's ex-boyfriend, showed up in the last episode, and his axe to grind turns out to be based on a misunderstanding. It's fair enough, given that it's a lack of information that the audience has also been straining against thus far. I'm glad the series didn't take too long to reveal the mystical poison problem Ryusei has been struggling with, and good news, they even confirm it could potentially be cured!

The use of the misunderstanding to have Shion exit and now rejoin with the Troopers can feel a bit trite. But again, kids' show, and the writing actually works it in with Ryusei's revealed more mercenary tendencies. He's happy to send Shion off in a huff by hiding the truth from him, so long as he also encourages him to keep developing Weapon-Gear tech. Ryusei probably would let himself die if he thought it would advance the mission of the Troopers, at least a little. Compared to the possibility of a cure floated, that tendency bodes less well for him.

Given how magnanimous Ryusei seemed to be at first, it works to introduce these layers to him, through Shion, in this show specifically about rough, discordant heroes coming together. It's parallel to the utterly alien sense of demon moral compass Gai operates on, flavored by his metaphors all being incomprehensible demon references. That's another bit I love. And much like with Gai and Kaito, it's the friction that Shion has with Ryusei that drives him to do better in battle and avenge things on his own terms.

Really, I like how everyone's getting rougher edges in this, the edgy Samurai Troopers reboot. Even Musashi, now freed from being the one moral member of his team and consistently worried he'd be killed, can instead fret about not getting laid. These guys are human…even if one of them is a demon.

Now, all that front-facing character work is being projected over a legacy series that's getting…a bit busier than I might like already. Yes, the Demon Generals having way more members than they did in the old days is still a funny conceit, but as they grapple with internal discord and politicking, gaps start appearing in how I barely know all these guys to keep their agendas straight. There are also some Three Sacred Treasures thrown out as keywords that haven't made their relevance apparent beyond the name drops, and a whole other set of interim Samurai Troopers from the previous squad that Ryusei and Shion had to ditch in the Demon World. They look cool, I hope they find a way to bring them back, but they're also one more thing on the pile of moving parts. I'm now wondering how much the show wants me to keep track of it all. But I guess if Japanese eight-year-olds can do it, so can I.

That Demon World dalliance brings up another point revealed by Samurai Troopers this week, being that the original Troopers also got themselves stuck in there after being mobilized against it five years ago. It's neat enough as a tease for old fans who might be curious about seeing their faves before this is all over, but it's also notable as being virtually identical to a key plot point from 2019's soft-rebooted Sakura Wars game! Both of these are even returns marked by adding "Shin" to the title! It could absolutely be a coincidence, it's not like Sakura Wars has the exclusive rights to demon portals, but the utilization of this plot point is so similar that I've got to at least take note of it. I guess, it's fair enough—as a rebooted referential series, Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers is nothing if not a reason for its creators to throw in more things they like. This week's old Japanese rock inclusion is Bakufu-Slump's "Runner", speaking of.

The multilayered characterization in this episode, especially for characters I already liked, goes a long way to selling it to me. It even puts new characters over; Shion's cute and reveals that he's a masochist, so that's cool. But I do wonder if Yoroi Shin Den might be getting too into its own weeds already, when I really did feel like its strength in the opening was being more accessible to people who might not be as familiar with the original Samurai Troopers. But Muto has shown his ability to handle density, so for now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Rating:

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Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris loves transforming heroes, but hasn't been able to make time for Toei's stuff recently, so he'll settle for following these Warriors what are Ronin. Follow him on his BlueSky if you're interested in his opinions on other niche nerdery.

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