Ronin Warriors: Difference between revisions

[[File:roninwarriors.jpg|frame|At least these are ''good'' loose cannons.]]

 

 

The villain of the show is Master Talpa, [[Satan|supreme lord]] of the demonic Underworld, who spends most of the First Arc as a floating demonic mask (with an inexplicable-yet-menacing Welsh accent in the American dub). The first episode has him barging into the mortal world and setting up his phantom stronghold. Bearing witness to this horrific event are [[Bratty Half-Pint]] Yuli (whose parents are captured during the invasion of Talpa's forces) and Mia Koji, a young student-teacher and [[Hot Librarian|researcher of ancient Japanese legends and antiquities]]. Also witness to this event are five athletic young heroes in colorful armor, one of whom (Ryo) is wandering the city with an [[Team Pet|enormous white tiger]] by his side. When Mia and Yuli find themselves threatened by soldiers of Talpa's Dynasty, Ryo and the other young heroes step in to rescue them. Sensing trouble, Talpa casts the young heroes to the four winds for their trouble; Mia and Yuli take it upon themselves to find and reunite the Ronin Warriors so they can prevent [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Opposing the heroes' quest to defeat Talpa are his [[Four Is Death|four powerful warlords]], who each have the power to work his will and unleash unspeakable horrors upon the world. (Of course, the heroes have Yuli on ''their'' side, so things pretty much even out.)

This series is probably one of the more famous anime of the '90s; with its enjoyably cheesy dub, it helped pave the way for the later anime boom that was to come. It was syndicated on many TV networks and was an early staple of Toonami (where many fans were likely exposed to it). Due to fan demand, Bandai released the entire show on DVD, giving fans both sides of the coin thanks to the existence of double-sided DVDs: on one side of the disc was ''Ronin Warriors'', and on the other was ''Yoroiden Samurai Troopers'' (subbed and completely uncut). After the release of the series, Bandai released the OVAs (complete with a new dub) and then eventually released the series and the OVAs together in a huge collector's set. The individual DVDs benefit from having a "flip" cover: one side is the ''Ronin Warriors'' cover, and the other side is the ''Yoroiden Samurai Troopers'' cover, and while both sides share similar layouts, the back-cover text and the logos are in line with each specific version of the show (right down to episode titles and character names).

 

* [[The Abridged Series]]: A fairly recent addition, actually, and still not beyond its first episode as of...two years in. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LQVEI6FxUg First part of the first and only episode is right here.]'

** Also, Sage's Mental Notes can be found on Youtube. Not quite an Abridged Series, but very funny.

* [[All There in the Manual]]: In-depth background information on the characters and the armors can be found in Japanese publications and official novels written by script writers for the TV series. While general information about the characters can be found on the Internet, [[No Export for You|good luck finding translations of the novels]] which feature actual stories about the warriors' home lives.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Shades of this the Warlord Sekhmet/Naaza, though the show never draws attention to it. Not only is Sekhmet the name of a god''dess'', but his "snake-like" physical traits include large eyes with pink-shadowed lids. A lot of his taunts towards the heroes tend to be a bit suggestive.

** The English dub may have noticed this and given his character a [[Evil Sounds Deep|deep, manly voice]] to counteract it.

* [[Amulet of Concentrated Awesome]]: The Jewel of Life/Heart of the Ancients.

** Mia (or Nasuti in this case), who was born and raised in France, also speaks without any noticeable accent.

* [[Anime First]]: The two-volume manga that followed was an adaption of the TV series and aimed at a younger male audience. The [[Cut Short|one volume manga]] ''Shin Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers'' published afterward was [[Continuity Nod|based on the TV series]] but [[Discontinuity Nod|disregarded the events of the OVAs.]]

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: {{spoiler|Lady Kayura. After the necklace that caused the brainwashing was damaged by Ryo, Talpa resorted to other means.}}

** Mukala qualifies for this {{spoiler|since he was manipulated and eventually possessed by the Black Armor of Inferno.}}

* [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys]]

* [[Catapult Nightmare]]: Ryo does this a couple of times.

* [[Code Name]]: The four Warlords have these. You didn't think those were their ''real'' names, did you?

** The Ronins could also be considered to have these as sometimes they are simply referred to as their armor name.

* [[Combined Energy Attack]]: The heroes combine their powers to form the White Inferno armor.

* [[Convection, Schmonvection]]: The shows twists this around so much. When the heroes are split up, Ryo is found in an active volcano. His power is fire based, so the lava makes his mystic armor stronger, but it gives off heat. When Anubis throws two unarmored characters into the volcano, Ryo dives after them but realizes that his ''armor's'' heat will kill them if he grabs them, but the fact they're in a ''volcano'' doesn't bother him.

* [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]: Literally. {{spoiler|This proves to be Talpa's final undoing}}.

** Specifically, it forces him to hold the [[Idiot Ball]] {{spoiler|when it comes to the human characters Mia and Yuli. Talpa just can't see them as anything other than weak, inconsequential children even after they've saved the Ronins several times ''and'' acquired an artifact which can destroy his power. If he had just thrown the bulk of his forces at Mia and Yuli (or brainwashed a human assassin to take them out on the sly if he didn't want to confront the heroes directly,) he would have had no problem taking over the world. }}

* [[Evil Is Dumb]]: Anubis becomes ''more powerful'' {{spoiler|after his [[Heel Face Turn]]}}, with only a {{spoiler|possessed}} Kayura and Talpa himself being legitimate threats to him. It's justified, though, as he's the strongest of the four Warlords, and becomes even more powerful after he {{spoiler|takes on the powers of The Ancient}}.

* [[Evil Twin]]: Red Torrent and The Black Armor of Inferno.

** [[The Chick]]: Mia

* [[Foe Yay]]: The official Ronin/Warlord rivalries are sources. The rivalry between Anubis/Shuten and Ryo breaks the mold, but takes the [[Foe Yay]] to the next level. Rowan and Kayura definitely had their moments of this too.

Kayura: You know I'll only break your heart! }}

** It doesn't help that both of their voice actors share the same last name (possibly married?).

** Also, why is the final battle with Talpa such a [[Tear Jerker]]? {{spoiler|Because it's a mirror image of the first battle between the Ronins and Talpa. The first time around, Ryo was on the outside of Talpa's body while his friend's souls were trapped within, [[Kill Us Both|binding Talpa with their powers and begging Ryo to destroy them all.]] Ryo couldn't go through with it. In the final battle with Talpa, the positions are reversed. Ryo is fused with Talpa, binding the villain with ''his'' power, begging his friends (now on the outside) to destroy ''him.'' They have no alternative but to go through with it because by this time, they're out of options. It's a good thing for Ryo the Jewel of Life was nearby, otherwise the series would have had a Bittersweet Ending... }}

* [[Full Potential Upgrade]]: Ryo eventually needed new swords to go along with the Inferno Armor.

* [[Good Weapon, Evil Weapon]]: All of the armors.

* [[Gratuitous Japanese]]: Mostly averted as the Japanese comes in small, managable bites. The TV series dub pronunciation of Ryo (Rye-oh) plays it straight, though.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Most of our heroes suffer from one at least once, but the most notable case occurs when Dais successfully tricks Kento into thinking his armor is slowly turning him evil (and this was before the Ronin Warriors learn of {{spoiler|the armor's origins as part of Talpa's armor}}. Yuli snaps him out of it.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: The Ancient, and later {{spoiler|Anubis.}}

* [[Hotblooded Sideburns]]: Ryo, Kento, Cye, and Cale.

** Seiji and Nasuti have minor flirtation in ''YST'' which is completely removed in the dub. Rowen is also part of a fan preferred couple with Lady Kayura, despite the fact she is physically twelve. However, both of these pairings as well as Ryo's relationship with Luna are often [[Fanon Discontinuity|ignored]] by fanfiction writers [[Het Is Ew|in favor of homosexual relationships.]]

* [[I Have the High Ground]]: Practically all of the warriors.

* [[Image Song]]

* [[Last of His Kind|Last of Her Kind]]: Lady Kayura, {{spoiler|the last of the Clan of the Ancients.}}

* [[Little Miss Badass]]: Lady Kayura is physically ''twelve'' years old, but only a handful of the cast can fight her and not get stomped into the ground. The final battle could've ended in half the time if the writers didn't abruptly take her out of the plot.

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: When not in their armors, the Ronin are always seen wearing the same civilian clothes. Except for the ending, {{spoiler|where the armors transform into monogrammed jackets.}}

** Mia and Yuli also tend to always wear the same thing, even if they have access to other clothes.

* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Big time.

* [[No Export for You]]: Good luck finding the manga.

* [[Noble Demon]]: Lord Saber-Stryke

* [[Non-Human Sidekick]]: White Blaze and Black Blaze.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: Talpa and the Warlords

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Rowan/Touma is said to have an IQ of 250 (and his virtue is originally Wisdom), and yet he tends to make the dumbest remarks and decisions(such as [[The Corpse Stops Here|incriminating himself]] in the 1st OVA).

** That comment might have been made because of Rowen's surprise that Kayura's a young girl instead of a full-grown lady like her title suggests. Also, that was said the first time he had actually seen her-previously he had only heard her voice and seen her silhouette.

** Intelligence and common sense are not related in any way.

* [[Official Couple]]: [[Arranged Marriage|Mukala and Nadia]], though the majority of the North American fandom tend to forget the OVAs exist and [[Fan-Preferred Couple|focus on shipping the Ronin Warriors with Mia and Kayura,]] or [[Ho Yay|with each other]], or [[Mary Sue|original female characters]].

* [[Older Than They Look]]: Inverted with Lady Kayura who's actually ''younger'' than she looks. She looks like she's in her late teens, but is physically 12 years old.

* [["On the Next..."]]: Left out of the English dub and DVDs for the TV series, yet left intact for the OVAs.

* [[The Other Darrin]]: A rather extreme, albeit brief example, occurs in the American dub. According to several sources, the '''entire primary cast''' had head colds when they were recording the first couple of episodes, and the studio had to use temporary replacements; this explains the [[Vocal Evolution]] witnessed between episodes 1 (primary cast), 2 (the replacements), and 3 (primary cast).

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Ryo after his nightmares. Also happens to the other four {{spoiler|during the final battle.}}

** There's also Lady Kayura during one of her transformation sequences.

* [[Simple Staff]]: The Ancient One carries a khakkhara (monk staff), complete with its characteristic rings. However, it wasn't always a staff; back when Talpa first tried to conquer the Earth, it took the form of a sword with the rings around the hilt.

* [[The Smurfette Principle]]: Mia and Kayura are the only two females in the main series.

* [[Spirit World]]: The Nether Realm. Is said to have been peaceful before Talpa took control... [[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|sounds]] [[Mortal Kombat|familiar]].

* [[Stock Footage]]: The series is probably one of the Grand Champions of this.

* [[Super Mode]]: The Inferno Armor.

* [[Super Strength]]: All of the fighters have great levels of superhuman strength, though it's stated in official canon sources that Kento is physically the strongest.

* [[24-Hour Armor]]: Subverted; while the Ronin and Warlords wear their full armor during battles, they wear smaller, form-fitting "underarmor" the majority of the time.

* [[Weapon of Choice]]: All of the main cast has unique weaponry; katana, yari (spear), kusarigana (sickle-chain), nodachi (two-handed sword), yami (longbow), and many more.

* [[The Vamp]]: Lady Kayura, so very much.

* [[The Worf Effect]]: This happened more often once the White Armor showed up. The Saber Stryke arc justified this as Ryo's normal swords were getting progressively damaged from channeling the White Armor's power.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Shonen Demographic]]

[[Category:Bandai Entertainment]]

[[Category:Anime]]

[[Category:Toonami]]

[[Category:Ronin Warriors]]