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The heroic Ronin Warriors, along with White Blaze, Mia, Yuli, and the Ancient, use their special skills and weapons given them by their armor in order to stop the Evil Dynasty, led by the ruthless and power-hungry Emperor Talpa. Each of the Ronin Warriors has a different armor, a different defining quality which allows them to use their armor, and a different elemental attack that their armor gives them. Armor is a definite good thing when taking on an entire Dynasty. So are the exotic weaponry they carry. Read on for more. |
| WARRIOR | ARMOR | COLOR | TRAIT | ATTACK | SUIT-UP |
| Kento | Hardrock | Orange | Justice | "Iron Rock Crusher!" | "TAO GI!" |
| Sage | Halo | Green | Wisdom | "Thunderbolt Cut!" | "TAO CHI!" |
| Rowan | Strata | Blue | Life Force | "Arrow Shock Wave!" | "TAO INOCHI!" |
| Cy | Torrent | Lt. Blue | Trust | "Super Wave Smasher!" | "TAO SHIN!" |
| Ryo | Wildfire | Red | Virtue | "Flare up now!" | "TAO JI!" |
| Ryo | Inferno | White | Virtue + four other qualities | "Rage of the Inferno!" | - |
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He's probably my favorite. With the Armor of Hardrock, his attacks are earth-elemental in nature. He is the strongest of the five, and Kento can often be heard commenting on how hungry he is. He eats a lot. A LOT. More than me. He suffers from an incurable appatite. Also, in spite of his (ahem) extra mass, he is very adept at jumping and leaping about in combat, which he displayed when he went one-on-one with Lady Kayura. It led Ryo on one occasion to say, "You must be part monkey!" His weapon is the three-part staff (naginata), which can have its ends connected to the central portion to create a long spear (naginata). Although the American version gives him a Japanese name, in the original series he was Chinese.
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His name seems to suit him well. His gift of wisdom, he speaks wise advice to his comrades when the need arises. But, unless the need for him to say something arises, he doesn't say much at all. I guess he would fall into the catagory of the "strong, silent type." Although not as physically strong as someone like Kento, he is definitely strong of spirit. His armor, the Armor of Halo, is spiritual-elemental. He is equiped with a singular sword (no-dachi). I am told that in the original "Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers" (which I have not seen, sadly) He flirts with and has a crush on Mia. Also in the original, his virtue was "courtesey."
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He was the last of the Ronin Warriors to be found (he was in space). His dark blue Armor of Strata gives him wind-elemental powers, including his "Arrow Shock Wave," which was something of an inspiration to me in my archery class. (I barely passed!) He is very skilled with his weapon, the bow and arrow. The most intelligent of the Warriors, he is rumored to have an IQ of 250! His defining quality was something I found a bit puzzling. Life doesn't seem to be a virtue, per se, but he is able to help empower his friends and give them the strength to carry on.
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The true spelling of his name is unknown to me. Some say it's "S-A-I" and some say it's "C-Y". I have been told, however, that "C-Y-E" is the official spelling. It doesn't matter. It's pronounced the same as "sigh". At any rate, his light blue Armor of Torent gives him water-elemental powers. His weapon of preference is the trident (yari), perhaps an alusion to the mythological figures of Poseidon and Neptune. Cye of Torent is completely at home in the water, an excellent swimmer.
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Okay, there's a lot to say about this guy. Hot-tempered yet loyal to his friends, he is
the unofficial leader of the group. He fights with the twin to-datchi (shortswords similar
to katanas), the Swords of Fervor, which he had to find to replace the original swords
that came with his armor. These swords can connect end-to-end at the handle to become a
single dual-bladed weapon. His one quality, virtue, grants him the power of the
fire-elemental Armor of Wildfire. However, if granted four others, the Wildfire armor will
be "powered up" into the Armor of Inferno. Typically, he will "suck
up" the virtues of his friends, but he has also usurped Piety, Serenity, and
Obedience from the evil Warlords along with Rowen's Trust on one occasion in order to
power the Inferno Armor. He was also able to use the white armor once with power from the
Ancient's staff.
While they are not Ronin Warriors, they are definitely "Good guys." Yuli (Jun
Yamada) was orphaned when the Evil Dynasty killed his parents. Mia Koshi (Nasuti Yagyu)
took him in. Mia helped to find the Warriors and then used her knowledge and computer
know-how to help out the Warriors. White Blaze (Byakuen) is the massive white tiger that
Yuli and sometimes Ryo rides around on. He was bequeathed the essence of Black Blaze, a
tiger owned by a bad guy called Lord Saberstrike. The guy got waxed in a fight with Ryo,
but White Blaze died in the struggle. With his dying breath, he made a noble gesture and
gave the essence of his own tiger to the fallen feline.
The Ancient One (Kaos) is the warrior monk who, four hundred years ago, defeated Talpa and
divided the power of Talpa's armor into ninths, five linked to the Confucian virtues and
four linked to the samurai virues. Even though we see his features in the shadows, his
face is never shown. Why? I'm not sure. It just isn't. He is indeed ancient, as he has
survived to the present time, only to finally die at Talpa's hands. Anubis, however, takes
up where he left off, leading Mia and Yuli to the Jewel of Life.