Kamen Rider Dragon Knight/Ryuki - Rider Conversion

The following is in order of appearance of their (Earth) Rider form in Kamen Rider Dragon Knight. The order differs in Kamen Rider Ryuki. These comparisons took over many months to do and I've been waiting until the series ended to post this, but since CW4Kids will now stop airing the show, I guess it's a better time than ever.

Len (Wing Knight) / Ren Akiyama (Knight)
Both seem cold and tough, though Ren stays that way throughout the series and even though Shinji grows on him, their rivalry remains constant. Len is not trusting of Kit at first, thinking he is working for Xaviax, he later wants to train him, but the other riders get in the way. Len must 'vent' the other Riders. Len gets a soft-spot for Kit around the fourth or fifth episode, wanting to train him. Ren was a cold unemployed loner who became a rider to save his fiancé, Eri, who was in a coma ever since an encounter with Darkwing. Len is one of the last original Kamen Riders of Ventara, the rebel fighters against Xaviax. He was taken out of the stasis pods by Kase because their pods were at the end of the line.

Len is the leader now but he was once a loner they would only be called at night and was not comfortable with venting the Riders. Ren wanted to win the Rider War and didn't care for the other Riders and did whatever to win. Ren was able to restore his fiancé but it seems his last battle killed him. Len also seems to be advised by a mirror self, but that wasn't mentioned again. In 13 Riders TV Special, Ren died in Shinji's arms. Len lost Kase when she was vented by James and he got his revenge by venting James. Len was reunited with Kase and in the end, they lived happily ever after, let's suppose. Len had to deal with the betrayal of Adam and trusting him once again and being betrayed once again. In the end, they defeated Xaviax and he was happily fighting evil with his girl Kase and best pal Kit.

Kit Taylor (Dragon Knight/Onyx) / Adam / Shinji Kido (Ryuki)
Shinji is a 23 year-old happy-go-lucky, a bit naive and idealistic young man that tries to bring the Riders together and stop fighting each other... albeit unsuccessfully. He worked as a journalist trainee. Kit is an 18 year-old orphan who has gone from his foster home to his father's apartment, he is in search of his lost dad that turns out to be in Ventara, the mirror world taken over by the evil Xaviax. Both of them are the second riders, both tagging along to Wing Knight/Knight. Kit seemed to have no job at all, they are similar except that Kit is more of a regular kid--he even wanted to quit, but that's because he was overwhelmed. They are both hustled by the green bull guy Torque/Zolda--except that Torque lied to him to go against Wing Knight and Zolda tricked Shinji in believing he killed him. Shinji never killed a Rider, but the interesting part is that Kit vented Spear, and he felt guilty and strange afterward.

But he did so as revenge for Chris being vented and because Spear helped kidnap his dad. And then Kit started having nightmares of him becoming Onyx and venting Len and Kase, which hummed a darker side in him. Kit also had a choice, twice actually--once through JTC and then Xaviax, to vent Wing Knight to get his father back and sane. Kit was devastated to find out that Xaviax was behind everything---pretending to be his father, speaking to him and giving him false advice. Basically Kit had no vices like the others and Xaviax had a large scheme to get Kit. All of the drama also came to affect Shinji as well. Kit was vented and then rescued by Eubulon, he took the Onyx deck--after not wanting it because of nightmares of venting Len and Kase. When he met Adam, he fought him and immediately wanted to vent him. At the end of the Ryuki series, Shinji was stabbed in the back by a monster before he could transform while protecting a little girl and died. In 13 Riders TV Special, he became Kamen Rider Knight after Ren died. At the end of the KRDK series, it mostly about Adam.

Adam was treated as a traitor at first and mostly mentioned throughout the series until Kit was vented and most of the focus sort of shifted unto to Adam. Adam was rumored to fall in love with Kase even though she was with Len, but Adam then fell in love with Sarah. Adam was 'tricked' by Xaviax and became his unwilling lackey in order to not let his love Sarah know the truth. He wanted to stop being a Rider in order to be with her. In the end, Adam told her the truth. In the end, Eubulon healed Kit's father, they were reunited and he became dragon knight as Adam let go the deck and helped Sarah rebuild Ventara.

Richie Preston (Incisor) / Masahi Sudou (Scissors)
Masashi Sudou was a detective, using his job to effectively cover up his illegal activities, disposing of any witnesses to his acts. He appears in only one episode and is killed by his own Contract Monster when his Vent Deck is cracked. Masashi even tricked Shinji. Richie was a rich, annoying and spoiled young man, who was told by Xaviax that his money was gone by his father and if he vent Dragon and Wing, he would get his money back. He ended up being vented by Wing Knight, being sent to the Vent Void to never come back. Fans didn't like his catchphrase, "This is so not cool." His Ventaran self had a brief appearance in the episode before the last. In the finale, it was said all the Earth Riders were un-vented and memories erased.

Drew Lansing / Chance (Torque) / Kitaoka Shuichi (Zolda)
Kitaoka is a rich self-centered lawyer and Drew is not. Kitaoka was suffering from an illness and morally grey, he once tricked Shinji in believing he killed him. He liked Shinji when they first met, but then almost let his true feelings slip, and so froze Shinji out of his life. For a time, he was Takeshi Asakura's defense lawyer, until Asakura's attitude upset him, leading him to quit. Eventually the two found out they were both Riders and they began a personal feud against each other. The illness eventually killed him. His assistant Goro, who adored his master, became Zolda and was killed by Asakura. Drew on the other hand, is aware of Xaviax's plan and Xaviax was straight-forward to him (as far as he knew). His assignment was to split Kit and Len up by convincing Kit that Len was the bad guy. Drew is cocky, conniving and in reality, only cares for himself and has no problem betraying the human race. While Zolda never really killed anyone, Torque vented Camo (Grant). Drew wanted to betray Xaviax and in turn was vented by Strike (JTC). Torque's Ventaran mirror self Chance was un-vented later in the series, played by the same actor. Chance was a joker like Drew but was nice and good, well he didn't get much characterization, other than just being caring to Len. In the finale, it was said that Drew was unvented and his memory was erased.

Grant Staley (Camo) / Itsuro Takamizawa (Verde)
Itsuro was the first oldest Kamen Rider ever at age 38 until Kamen Rider Gaoh. He only appeared in the 13 Riders TV Special and never appeared in the series, while his American counterpart appears a bit after the fourth Rider. Itsuro was a wealthy businessman, his wish was to rule the world. Soon after he saw Shinji as a threat to his own plans and gathered every like-minded Rider to team up and dispose of him. He mortally injured Knight with his Final Vent, only to be killed by Knight's Final Vent immediately afterward. Grant, on the other hand, is a hustler/trickster who is tricked by Xaviax, who told him he was a mercenary. He becomes a Rider to be 'the best fighter in two worlds' and goes after Wing Knight, only to be vented by Torque and never actually got to fight Wing Knight. Camo's contact beast didn't even get shown. The Venteran Camo came into play in a cameo in the penultimate episode. In the finale, it was said all the Earth Riders were un-vented and memories erased.

James “JTC” Trademore / Price (Strike) / Takeshi Asakura (Ohja)
Takeshi was a psychotic serial killer who had many enemies and an enormous chip on his shoulder. Ohja actually appears after Gai. He is a really interesting and satisfying character. He kills a lot of the Riders, he kills Gai and Raia and takes their Contract Beasts, he destroyed Imperer's Vent Deck, causing him to die in the Mirror World. He also inadvertently helped in Tiger's death. He killed Femme's sister and was killed by her in the movie. In the series, police gunned him down. JTC is mentioned in episode 2, first appears at the end of episode 6, it is alluded he is Strike at the end of episode 8, and he makes his first transformation in episode 13-"The Thrill of the Hunt." JTC is a blogger that Maya adores and he is the only bad rider that targets her specifically. As Strike, he is Xaviax's right hand man.

James vents Drew/Torque, Brad/Thrust, Chris/Sting, Danny/Axe and Siren. When JTC held Kit's dad hostage, Maya finally found out he was Strike, and it is interesting what JTC's motives were. He believed in UFOs and when he discovered Xaviax, he only cared for his well being and betrayed the human race--which didn't sound so believable to me. Turns out one of the reasons he has out for the government is that his brother was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, he fought and got life without parole. For this, he sympathized with Axe for loosing his brother and we saw his soft heart. Takeshi used a combination of his contract beast with two beasts of the men he killed but JTC was given by Xaviax 'more oomph' on his deck and stole Sting and Thrust's decks from Len to make the combo beast. JTC was vented by Len.

Strike's Ventaran mirror self was un-vented later in the series, played by the same actor. Price was mistaken to be James by Trent, Kit, and Maya in three separate occasions. Price was sort of annoyed at how people were looking at him. A romance between Price and Maya started after her getting over what JTC did to her (and crying in front of him), in the finale she called him her 'Knight in shining armor.' In the finale, it was said all the Earth Riders were un-vented and memories erased.

Brad Barrett (Thrust) / Jun Shibaura (Gai)
They are very different. Jun was an arrogant and annoying 21 year-old college computer programmer who liked toying with others and took the Rider War all like a game. He appears after Raia, and he is killed by Ohja. Brad, on the other hand, is neutral in the beginning, he is a champion racer and is roped into the whole mess by Xaviax through blackmail. His trophy is taken away, accused of sabotaging another racer's bike but in reality, it was someone else and he is told by Xaviax that he can clear his name if he participates in a battle club. Once he discovers he is tricked, he threatens Xaviax but is threatened right back. He then has a grudge with Len and became obsessed with 'winning.' Brad/Gai were both vented by Ohja/Strike. I personally found Brad boring and dumb, I liked Jun more as a character, he was someone you'd love to hate. Thrust's Ventaran self had a cameo in the penultimate episode. In the finale, it was said all the Earth Riders were un-vented and memories erased.

Chris Ramirez (Sting) / Miyuki Tezuka (Raia)
Real men wear pink, right? Well, both were good guys that our hero befriends. Miyuki is psychic and it is a bit of a curse, as in he foresees his own death. He appears after Zolda does. He foresees the death of Knight and warns him. The real chosen one was Yuichi, an excellent pianist, who had lost his ability when a mugger (Ohja) broke his hands and ruined his ability to play. Had Yuichi won, Kanzaki would restore his hands. Yuichi refused, and as such was eaten by a monster and Miyuki became a rider to avenge his friend. Shinji cares deeply for Miyuki and feels real bad, worse than for others, when he dies at the hands of Ohja. Chris is a Latino Marine brat who comes from a long line of marines, he has extreme asthma and is honorably discharged which makes his father mad. Xaviax recruits him to be a Rider on the false pretenses that it is for his country and the government. Len almost vents him but hesitates. Chris befriends Kit, Len, and Maya, he took Len's words to heart and 'made every blow count' and saved Len from being vented and got vented himself by Strike. I personally liked Chris, not only because he is cute, but because he is a interesting and complex character. His mirror self cameoed in the penultimate episode, I wish they had mentioned the idea un-venting Chris before the finale. Anyway, Maya said Chris' asthma was fixed and he got to be a marine after all.

Danny Cho / Hunt (Axe) / Satoru Tojo (Tiger)
Satoru is a disturbed killer, he was an university student that revealed his identity to some scientists who tried to duplicate the power (Alternative) and ended up being killed by him. While watching Zolda, Ohja and Knight participate in a three-way battle, Satoru poured kerosene all over Zolda’s car, destroying their only way out of Mirror World before being defeated by Ohja yet again. He ends up dying due to his injuries and as he died, he wondered about how he could have been a hero and the next day the newspaper labels him a 'hero.' Danny on the other hand is the brother of Albert and they are both thieves roped in by Xaviax with money and promise of the 'American dream.' When Kit vented his brother, he wanted revenge but Xaviax forbid him to enact revenge. Xaviax threatened Danny but he still fought Dragon. Strike was sent to vent him but he was given another chance and tries talking some sense into him. Axe ends up getting vented by Strike. Axe's Ventaran mirror self Hunt was un-vented later in the series, played by the same actor. Hunt was solitary and wasn't one to get stuck in the Adam drama. Hunt was liked more by fans by evident by my poll. In the end, Maya says all the Earth Riders were brought back and memories wiped.

Albert Cho (Spear) / Mitsuru Sano (Imperer)
Mitsuru's father sent him out into the world so that he could learn the hardships of life and not be spoiled by a rich upbringing. He become a Rider in order to lead a happy life, but after his father died, he inherited his dad's business and became the boss of a major company. Because of his new found lifestyle, he wanted to give up the Rider war and enjoy his wealth. Kanzaki reminded him of his contract with the Gigazelles and what would happen to Sano if he did not fulfill his side of the contract with them. He was a eager puppy with Shinji and Ren. Ohja destroyed his deck, making him unable to leave the Mirror World and he dissolved. Albert on the other hand was the brother of Danny and they are both thieves roped in by Xaviax with money and promise of the 'American dream.' He was the dumb one and was vented by Kit. Funny enough, Albert was played by Tony Sano and Sano was the name of his character's original counterpart. The original Spear made a quick appearance in the episode before last. In the finale, it was said all the Earth Riders were un-vented and memories erased.

Kase (Siren) / Miho Kirishima (Femme)

The lone female riders, Femme was only in the movie. Miho became a rider to avenge the death of her sister which Ohja was responsible for, she does this by stabbing him in his blank form but she dies to wounds sustained while being ambushed by Ryuga. Kase comes in after Spear was vented, and has no last name much like Len, because she is from Ventara, she is an original Ventara Rider. She thought Kit was a bad guy, like Chris did, and tested him. I like how the Kamen Riders didn't question her being female and had no problem fighting her. Kase and Len were in love and in a relationship, while Miho had hinted flirtation with Shinji, that's as far as it went. Kase was very tough and very independent woman and seemed to be more on the ball than Len even though she never vented anyone. She said she wish she got her Survive deck card, but her counterpart Femme never had one. Siren's cards or contract beast were barely ever used. She was vented by Strike and taken out of the Advent Void by Eubulon. She was injured but quickly recovered and Maya gave her back her deck as Eubulon reassigned it to her. Kase was a more likable character than Miho. In the finale, she was a team with Kit & Len.

Onyx / Dark Shinji (Ryuga)

Dark Shinji was Shinji's evil side from the Mirror World. He appeared in the movie. I really didn't like him, because his suit is a re-paint. There was plenty of these copy evil riders of the main riders, but the others were more creative--like Dark Kiva. Anyway in KRDK, Kit started having dreams of him as Onyx defeating Len and Kase. Kit later recieved the Onyx deck from Eubulon after being taken out of the Advent Void and he stayed Onyx for the rest of the series until the finale when Adam gave him his dragon deck.

Vic Frasier (Wrath) / Kamen Rider Odin

Odin has no real identity, Shiro Kanzaki would get whoever he could to become him and whoever did, would become a puppet to his whims. He was the last Rider that Knight had to fight. Odin was defeated many times, but the third and final time was by Shiro himself when he realized the war was pointless. As for in the US version, Wrath has an identity. The Ventaran Wrath or the Earthling Vic Frasier (it was never specified on the show) was drained, and his body was taken over by Xaviax. So Xaviax is Wrath. I like the idea of Xaviax manipulating the Riders becoming more apparent... by physically manipulating his body against his will or knowledge. It so happens that Ventaran Wrath was the one who trained Len. Wrath gets vented by Kit but Xaviax is left intact. The original Wrath later gets a cameo in the episode before the last episode.