Sanada Ryo

Sanada Ryo is one of the five main characters in Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, aka Ronin Warriors, and is the wielder of the Rekka and (Shiroi) Kikoutei yoroi (Armors of Wildfire and Inferno, respectively, in North America).

Standard Notes: This is my opinion of this character. Very little of this is fact; this is my analysis of Sanada Ryo based on what I have seen of him and the discussions I've had about him and the other Troopers with Tavestry, Celestial Tiger, Magma Angel, and Becky, as well as other people. They've all expanded upon my knowledge of Ryo, and I am grateful to them for helping me understand him.

You know, maybe it's just me and my friends' plotlines, but when I think of Ryo, I think of ANGST. The common joke I make is that he angsts over what to wear in the morning.

But all joking aside, Ryo does do a lot of that in the show. But that's because Ryo, like his element, is very passionate. He cares so deeply and heart-rendingly about everything he does and about the people he fights with and fights for.

To Ryo, no man is an island, and all of humanity is worth fighting for. Ryo burns and burns, even though he risks burning himself out, leaving nothing but cinders. He is a romantic who believes, heart and soul, that mankind is good at its core, and he wouldn't blink an eyelash at offering up his own life upon the altar of eternity to save any other human being's, especially if that human being was one of his friends and comrades.

Okay so I'm being a little melodramatic, but it's true. Ryo is not the brightest, the strongest, the fastest, the most flexible or daring...he is the Leader. He is the one who, given all the information, makes the decision. And Ryo thinks more with his heart than with his head. So yes, he makes bad decisions sometimes, at least, he makes illogical ones. Touma could tell you that. But Ryo is so very devoted to his friends and to his fellow man that his devotion inspires their own. Ryo is a leader because people will willingly, whole-heartedly follow him loyally. They do this because they know that he will NEVER abandon them, never forsake them or take them for granted. Their loss is his loss as well. He will be there through thick and thin.

This makes being around Ryo an intense experience. For the wielder of Rekka and the Shiroi Kikoutei, that's exactly what life is. Brief, bright, hot and gone. Sacrifice is real to him, and he's ready to make it.

A word on symbolism - Ryo forms his helmet from cherry blossoms, sakura in Japanese. Sakura represents sacrifice, or, more accurately, they are a symbol of short life. Yes they are beautiful but they have a tragic significance as well, and Ryo accepts that. All of the Troopers do, but this meaning, like everything else to Ryo, has a deeper, more intense existence for him.

Samurai literally means "one who serves" and that is exactly what Ryo does - he serves mankind. He will risk his own life to save theirs. Yeah, maybe he has a Christ complex, but I don't think he believes he's anyone special. He just happens to have in his possession a mystical armor and the ability to use it.

Ryo would rather HE had the armor than any one else, so that he could spare them from having to fight, but he's also the first one to wish that the fighting wasn't necessary in the first place. The yoroi and the war that the Troopers fight with it are not things to be proud of. The yoroi are necessary tools to gain a necessary victory. That is all.

Not that Ryo doesn't have his pride. He is proud to be humanity's defender but he is not so proud that he becomes arrogant. He believes in himself and in his friends, and he supports them with the same enthusiasm he does everything with.

Intensity is the only real word for the young man. Fierce blue eyes, burning as the hottest flame. Darker skin, and dark black hair - everything about him suggests BURNING, the ardor of heat and its effects. He was made in Fire's likeness and lives up to his element. He may be destined to die young...but only after having had a life lived to its fullest in every second - an experience most of us never have.