Dark Shinji

1="A Rider from Mirror World...Ryuga."

- Dark Shinji's introduction to his opponents


 * -|2="I'm no longer the illusion in the mirror. I exist...as the strongest among other Riders!"

- Dark Shinji's proclamation as the strongest of the Riders

Dark Shinji, also known as Dark Side Shinji (鏡像の真司) is the primary antagonist in Kamen Rider Ryuki: Episode Final as well as the Mirror World duplicate of Shinji Kido. Transforming into Kamen Rider Ryuga (仮面ライダーリュウガ), he is one of the 13 Kamen Riders and resembles Kamen Rider Ryuki, but with a black look similar to Ryuki's Blank Form.

In Kamen Rider Zi-O, he becomes Another Ryuga (アナザーリュウガ), created by Heure and Sworz.

In Rider Time: Kamen Rider Ryuki, he becomes Kamen Rider Ryuga again in order to participate in the new Rider War, serving as one of the primary antagonists.

13 Riders
In the 13 Riders special (alternate retelling), Ryuga was among the Riders in the ending fight, only seen there. He and the remaining Riders activated their Final Vents on Shinji, who was currently fighting as Kamen Rider Knight Survive.

Alternate ending
In the alternate ending, when Shinji as Knight destroys the core of the Mirror World, Ryuga and the other Riders vanished. However, the battle is reset again as Odin waits for the time Ryuki fights.

Kamen Rider Ryuki: Episode Final
In the alternative continuity of Episode Final, Yui Kanzaki had already met and befriended Shinji Kido when they were both very young. As a result, the young and lonely Yui subconsciously created a duplicate of Shinji in the imaginary Mirror World. Several years later, this Shinji clone would adopt the identity of Kamen Rider Ryuga and join the Rider battle in order to pursue his goal of becoming a real person in the real world.

The Mirror World version of Shinji Kido could survive indefinitely in his own universe without any extra protection, but could only stay in the real world for a short time before he started to disintegrate.

Ryuga was twice mistaken for Ryuki. Ren had seen Ryuga attack Kamen Rider Femme while out fighting a Hydragoon, and thought Shinji had come to understand the meaning of the Rider War. He then demanded that Shinji fight him. Miho first mistook Ryuga as Shinji when Ryuga saved her before Kamen Rider Ouja could kill her. Ryuga himself had destroyed Genocider and reverted Ouja into his blank form. Femme then finished Blank Ouja off.

Dark Shinji then attempted to take Miho's life. He summoned Dragblacker and had it severely wound her. Before he could deal the finishing blow, however, the real Shinji intervened and Dark Shinji left the battle. Miho would later still die because of her wounds inflicted by Dragblacker.

When Yui Kanzaki's life was coming to an end, Dark Shinji appeared from the Mirror World and absorbed the real Shinji into his body, finally "existing" as the self-proclaimed "strongest Rider". With his newfound body, he transformed into Ryuga and almost defeated Kamen Rider Knight in battle. The battle was interrupted, however, by the sound of Shiro Kanzaki screaming at the death of Yui, which caused Ren to leave and come to Shiro's place.

Just as Ryuga was about to deal the finishing blow to Ren (in his human form), the real Shinji inside him (upon seeing Yui's dead body), struggled and seperated from Ryuga. Ryuga would then plead with Shinji to merge once more, because if "they" become the winners of the Rider War, they could still save Yui's life. Shinji did not fall for the words of his doppelganger this time. As a result, Ryuga attempted to kill Shinji as the latter transformed into Ryuki.

A battle between the two Riders occured with both combatants summoning their respective Contract Monsters to fight with each other. At first, Ryuki seemed to have the upper hand as he punched Ryuga into the ground, but Ryuga later retaliated by punching Ryuki into the same building that Ren and Yui's body were staying at. They both used their Final Vents, which resulted in an enormous explosion. In the end, Ryuga was defeated and assumed dead.

Kamen Rider Ryuki: World of If
In this S.I.C. alternate retelling of the story, the remaining Riders are Ryuki (now Ryuga), Knight, Tiger, Ouja and Odin.

After Shinji is possessd by Dark Shinji, becomes Ryuga, he starts to turn into a mindless rampant in the Mirror World. Tiger shows up and tries to stop him only to be easily defeated by Ryuga in his Survive mode.

Hideyuki Kagawa, as Alternative Zero shows up with an army of twelve Alternatives in order to destroy Ryuga. As they prepare to attack Ryuga, Yui Kanzaki shows up. Kagawa laughs; Yui is the source of all their troubles and if she dies everything will end. They attack her instead, but Ryuga, having his sanity returned shields her. He reverts to Shinji and dies.

Kamen Rider Decade
In the World of Faiz, after Daiki takes Tsukasa's Ride Booker, Narutaki takes advantage of the situation as he takes Tsukasa into another dimension to be killed by Kamen Rider Ryuga. However, after interrogating Kiva-la on Tsukasa's whereabouts, Daiki intervenes while claiming it was to get the Faiz Gear as he gives Tsukasa back the Ride Booker.

In his fight with Ryuga, Diend summoned Kamen Rider Kiva ("A monster for a monster.") when Ryuga summoned Dragblacker, with Diend transforming Kiva into the latter's Final Form Ride Kiva Arrow form soon after. He used Kiva Arrow's Final Attack Ride to counter Ryuga's Final Vent. Diend's final attack prevailed, seemingly destroying both Ryuga and Dragblacker.

OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders
Kamen Rider Ryuga was part of a group of reinforcement riders led by Akira Date/Kamen Rider Birth to aid the primary riders in defeating the Rock Great Leader. All the Kamen Riders got on their bikes and performed the All Rider Break attack which destroyed the Great Leader.

Kamen Rider Zi-O
Heure was able to meet Dark Shinji thanks to Tsukasa's information about "that" another world. Heure learned that Dark Shinji had once been defeated in a Rider War, but as long as the real Shinji Kido exists, Dark Shinji will continue to manifest. Thus, Heure gave him the Ryuga Another Ridewatch, enabling him to transform into an Another Rider.

Sougo and Geiz try to defeat the Another Rider but to no avail, as all the attacks they dealt were reflected back. Geiz searched for White Woz to ask for assistance to take him down, only to have White Woz attack the real Shinji instead, as he stated that if Shinji is gone then so will Dark Shinji. This made Dark Shinji fight against White Woz and he reveals himself as Another Ryuga, and proved to be far too strong even for White Woz. Even Woz Futuring Quiz's ability had stated that Another Ryuga can't be defeated.

After Another Ryuga's will to fight went down, he returns to the Mirror World, but Sougo tried pulling him back, which resulting in Sougo being dragged into the Mirror World as well.

Another Ryuga keeps hunting the past clients of ORE Journal, defeating both Geiz and White Woz again in the process. Despite Geiz's suicide attack, Another Ryuga is not defeated. After Sougo appears as Kamen Rider Zi-O II, Another Ryuga is destroyed for good. Sougo then advises Dark Shinji to accept the real Shinji, just as Sougo has just accepted Mirror Sougo earlier.

In the end, Dark Shinji's fate is left unknown. Though he will continue to exist no matter what, Shinji's reflection does return shortly after, meaning that Dark Shinji might have accepted his real counterpart.

Rider Time Ryuki
In 2019, a mysterious person restarts the first Rider War in the Mirror World. Dark Shinji first appears in Shinji's dream when the latter is knocked unconscious by Zolda's Final Vent, talking about letting them unite once more, much to Shinji's horror. Dark Shinji then appears to explain Shibaura's scheme to Tezuka, which leads them to fight each other.

After Tezuka's demise, Dark Shinji reappears and succeeds in taking over Shinji's body yet again. Afterward, he meets Jun Shibaura, proclaiming that Tezuka is dead, and he'll 'Love' him in his place, before transforming into Ryuga. Ryuga easily defeats Gai with his Final Vent, and stomps on Jun's body as the latter disintegrates.

After witnessing the death of Jun Shibaura at the hands of Dark Shinji, Kimura and Ren are shocked. Ryuga then attacks Kimura, wanting Kimura to die for him, saying that if he wins the Rider War, he can escape to the real world and exist as a real being. Ren transforms into Kamen Rider Knight and uses Trick Vent to distract Ryuga. Ryuga swiftly defeats the Trick Vent copies, only to find out Ren and Kimura have already escaped.

Dark Shinji comes and offers to "play" with a vexed Asakura. Finally happy with a chance to fight, Asakura transforms and charges at Dark Shinji. The two fights a brief while before Knight, who has regained his memory,  appears and strikes Ouja, remarking that Kido's opponent is not the madman but him. Ouja is amused and begins fighting Knight. Knight tells Ouja that he is merely wanting to die, then uses his Final Vent on him right after, fatally wounding Ouja, forcing him to flee. Knight then attempts to take on Ryuga alone. Ren tries to make Shinji remember the past, and reveals to him that the voice inside his head is Shinji's, which keeps telling him to stop the war. Nevertheless, Dark Shinji states it is useless to try and bring his real counterpart back, as he no longer exists. Ren shouts at him, telling Shinji to come back, otherwise, he would have to kill Shinji. The two transform and begin a duel, with Ryuga being the winner.

As Ryuga is about to land the killing blow on Knight, the real Shinji begins to surface and forces Ryuga to stop the attack. Ren says that Dark Shinji can never win because he does not understand the bond between him and the real Shinji. Knight then strikes Ryuga, forcing him back into human form. Ren, thinking that Shinji has returned to normal, de-transforms and comes by his side. However, Dark Shinji is still in control of the body, he grabs his Black Drag Saber and fights Ren in human form. The fight is interrupted by an Asakura, also untransformed, wielding his Veno Saber. As Asakura prepares to kill Shinji, Ren shields him from the blow and receives a fatal wound as a result.

It is at this point that Shinji manages to remember his past and uses his willpower to subdue Dark Shinji. This time, both Shinji seem to coexist in unison as Shinji continues with his life; thus, Dark Shinji's wish to become real along with accepting the real Shinji come to a close.

Kamen Rider Ryuki (Video Game)
Kamen Rider Ryuga appears as a playable character in Kamen Rider Ryuki for PlayStation 1.

Kamen Rider Climax Heroes Fourze
Kamen Rider Ryuga appears as a playable character in Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes Fourze for the Nintendo Wii.

Kamen Rider Super Climax Heroes
Kamen Rider Ryuga appears as a playable character in the video game.

Kamen Rider Battride War II
Kamen Rider Ryuga appears as a boss in the video game Kamen Rider: Battride War II.

Personality
In terms of character, Ryuga was the exact opposite of his real world counterpart. While the real Shinji was kind and innocent, the Mirror World version was cruel and scheming. He was responsible for the death of Kamen Rider Femme, mortally wounding her during their fight. Near the end of the movie, he met his own fate at the hands of his real world counterpart when, after a climatic showdown, the two Riders' Final Vents collided, Ryuki surviving while Ryuga was seemingly perished.

In Zi-O, he returns as a manifestation of Shinji's rejected dark heart but still has his old persona during the events of Ryuki. Therefore, after becoming Another Ryuga, he targets the readers of ORE Journal who Shinji secretly blamed for the closure of the magazine.

Powers and Abilities

 * Mirrored Human Physiology
 * Immortality: According to Huere, as long as the real Shinji Kido is alive he cannot be defeated. He is shown to be alive even after his defeat by Shinji when their Final Vents collided.
 * Doppelgänger Morphing: Dark Shinji can take the appearance of other beings.

Weaknesses

 * Real World: Creatures from the Mirror World cannot exist in the real world for too long without being disintegrated. This also means that if he ever continues to exist outside of the Mirror World, his powers will be weakened significantly.
 * Shinji Kido: If Shinji Kido is killed, Dark Shinji would cease to exist as well. White Woz predicted that this can even override the invulnerability of the Another Rider. However, Heure suggested that doing so won't work. . Although, Dark Shinji is finally subdued for good by Shinji willpower alone, after all, they are both two sides of the same coin.

Contract Monster


Modeled after a Chinese dragon and Ryuga's Contract Monster, Dragblacker is referred as the Dark Dragon (暗黒龍).

Advent Deck
Advent Cards

Ryuga's card reader, the Black Drag Visor (mounted on his left forearm) resembles the head of Dragblacker.
 * Advent (AP: 6000): Summons Dragblacker.
 * Sword Vent (AP: 3000): Summons Ryuga's version of the Drag Saber (ドラグセイバー), resembling Dragblacker's bladed tail end. It resembles a Liuyedao.
 * Strike Vent (AP: 3000): Summons Ryuga's version of the Drag Claw (ドラグクロー), which is used in conjunction with Dragblacker for the Drag Claw Fire (ドラグクローファイヤー) attack. It resembles Dragblacker's head.
 * Guard Vent (AP: 3000): Summons Ryuga's version of the Drag Shields (ドラグシールド). It resembles part of Dragblacker's undersides with its legs.
 * Final Vent (AP: 7000): Ryuga executes his version of the Dragon Rider Kick (ドラゴンライダーキック). He levitates into the air as Dragblacker snakes around behind him. He then goes into a kicking pose, and Dragblacker sends him flying towards the target with darkness, slamming into the target with incredible power. When used on Genocider and Gai, some of the darkness hit them, binding their lower half on the ground. In Genocider case, Ryuga even manages to bifurcate it.

Equipment

 * Advent Deck - Advent Card holders, also used as a key to transformation. As long as Dark Shinji holds one, he can detects presents of other Riders and Mirror Monsters inside the Mirror World, as well as surviving without dying when return to real world
 * V-Buckle - Transformation belt materialised from a mirror reflection.
 * Advent Cards - Trading cards that supply the user powers, weapons and Mirror Monsters (if they catch any).
 * Anotherwatch - Transformation trinket

Weapons

 * Ryuga
 * Standar
 * Black Drag Visor - is a Dragblacker-styled gauntlet owned by Kamen Rider Ryuga that looks similar to Ryuki's Drag Visor, but with a deeper voice..
 * Black Drag Saber - Dao modeled after Dragblacker Drag Tail.
 * Black Drag Claw - Gauntlet/Arm cannon/Chinese Cannon modeled after Dragblacker Drag Jaw.
 * Black Drag Shield - A pair of shields modeled after Dragblacker lower abdomen. Can also act as shoulder armors.
 * Ryuga Survive
 * Black Drag Visor-Zwei - Improved version of Black Drag Visor that enables Ryuga to evolve into Ryuga Survive. Can act as both gun and sword.
 * Another Ryuga
 * Another Black Drag Saber - Version almost identical and a little bigger of original Black Drag Saber.
 * Another BlackDrag Claw - Monstrous version and a little bigger of original  Black Drag Claw.

Portrayal
Mirror Image Shinji Kido is portrayed by Takamasa Suga (須賀 貴匡), who also portrayed the lead role of Shinji Kido. As Kamen Rider Ryuga, his suit actors were Jiro Okamoto (岡元 次郎) and Jun Watanabe (渡辺 淳).