Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is an American adaption of Kamen Rider Ryuki, which itself was one of the darker entries in the franchise. And while Dragon Knight is distinctly Lighter and Softer than its source thanks to the different premise, it can still get surprisingly scary for a kids show.
Tv series
- The first episode shows an innocent woman being dragged away by Xaviax's forces, with her manager just watching on because he can't see what's happening to her.
- Kit's Dream Sequence about getting devoured by the Dragreder.
- Maya being dragged into Ventara and seeing the Monsters within.
- Kit's Despair Event Horizon upon learning that there are evil Kamen Riders and he has to vent them or he will be vented himself.
- When seeing Kit fight Incisor, Len is about to help, but refuses.
- The look of horror on Kit's face when he sees Incisor getting Vented.
◊ - The way the Dispider brings in its victims. It starts out by slowly wrapping its web around the person, and then violently dragging them to Ventara.
- The Fake Vision Drew shows us about Len being the one to betray the Kamen Riders, with Xaviax watching proudly as he brutally takes down Dragon Knight, even taking his sword and using it on him. The last thing we see in the vision is Wing Knight drilling down to the defeated Adam before everything flashes to real life.
- Kit and Drew both taking on Camo. Drew doesn't know of the plan to bring Camo in, but doesn't hesitate to shoot Kit, even if it means blowing his cover.Drew: Hey, I'm an excellent marksman. If I hit you, it will be on purpose.
- The moment when Kit finally realizes that Drew was getting him to work for Xaviax. He mercilessly shoots Camo, and vents him before turning on Kit, preparing to shoot him.
- Kamen Rider Thrust's shock when he sees Camo get Vented.Thrust: What's going on? Where did he go? What just happened to him?!Len starts to walk away, only to be stopped by Brad.Thrust: Hey! I'm talking to you! What happened to that guy?!Wing Knight: *beat* He lost.Thrust: What?! Wait a minute. Nobody told me anything about this, nobody said ANYTHING about being disintegrated! I'm outta here!
- Thrust mercilessly curbstomping Dragon Knight, eventually forcing Kit onto his knees and out of his transformation.
- Kamen Rider Strike. He's not only almost as evil as his Ryuki counterpart Kamen Rider Ouja, but also has his intelligence and no drawbacks.
- He easily takes down two Gelnewts when demonstrating the power of the Advent Decks to Brad Barrett. It also demonstrates how easily he could take down a Rider.
- Everything that he does in battle. He laughs madly (In the Japanese Dub), emerges from smoke, and kicks Torque so hard that he sends him flying with the Magnugiga. His slow walking like The Grim Reaper towards Drew is also quite terrifying, sound added giving bonus points.
- Strike's brutal Final Vent kick on Thrust when he first shows it.Strike: (picking up Torque Deck) So long, Con Man. (MAD LAUGHTER.)
- The noise made when he cracks his neck will haunt your dreams. All of them.
- When Brad finally learns that Charlie is Xaviax, he is forced to continue fighting. Brad says he'll find another way.Xaviax: The way I see it, Brad, you only have two options... (transforms into his armored form) VENT OR BE VENTED!
- The fact that Len was willing to kill Thrust by thrusting his Lance into Thrust's neck.
- The Curb-Stomp Battle Sting gives Len.
- Brad Barrett watching over his old tapes of him still racing. After hearing the announcer say, "Will Brad Barrett Win?!", Brad looks down to his Deck and starts to growl.
- Even worse in the Japanese Dub. It becomes his Madness Mantra.
- Drew getting busted as The Starscream. He is ambushed by all of the minions, including Strike, and escapes, but he isn't even safe in the city. Strike chases him through the windows, and the nearby sirens probably out to get Drew doesn't help either.
- "The thrill of the hunt."
- "You can't talk your way out of this one, Drew, which is too bad, because I don't think you're good enough to fight your way out of it either."
- Strike's brutal Final Vent kick on Thrust when he first shows it.
- The venom from the Venosnaker.
- Strike's merciless beating on Sting in their first fight. He doesn't let Sting draw a Card, and only spares him because Kit and Len showed up.
- It happens again for their next two battles. Sting gets the advantage in the second, but Strike still curb stomps him until he is wheezing.
- Len throwing Albert Cho over the side of a railing. He first hits a support bar, and then lands quite painfully on the ground.
- Strike's Calling Card he left when Kit finds out that Strike took his father.
- Wanna know the worst part about a Rider getting Vented? They're essentially being trapped in a comatose-like state inside a pod between dimensions in which no one can ever save them. Until Master Eubulon is rescued that is, since only he can rescue the fallen Riders from the Advent Void.
- This is one of the rare occurrence where the American adaptation of a Japanese show actually made a doomed character's fate can be considered to be worse than its original show, despite it's still implementing Never Say "Die". And remember that KRDK is based on Ryuki, one of the darker entries of the Kamen Rider franchise and an entry where Anyone Can Die, as shown by all Riders (except possibly Ren, depending on how you view the finale) dying at the end of the series.
- Kit's Unstoppable Rage against Strike, Axe and Spear. He takes them all on with his bare hands, and Vents Spear. The fact that a mirror fell on top of Albert doesn't help after Axe's Villainous Breakdown.
- Anyone who watched Ryuki before might be surprised by Kit's willingness to kill/vent another Rider (even if it's under an Unstoppable Rage condition), unlike Shinji who is completely unwilling to kill another Rider in the series.
- Xaviax's Psychic Strangle on Danny when he tells Xaviax that he can take back the money.Xaviax: I own you, you little hoodlum! EITHER YOU DO WHAT I SAY, OR YOU GET WHAT ALBERT GOT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!
- Axe's brutal beating on Kit for Venting his brother.Axe: A good son wouldn't let his dad get taken in the first place. If it were my dad, Xaviax would be toast by now. Xaviax is next, right after I'm finished with you!
- The Curb-Stomp Battle Strike gives Axe after saying he will quit Xaviax.
- The appearance of Kamen Rider Onyx. He gives Kit quite a beating, and then knocks him out unconscious. He was even willing to kill Kit in his sleep.
- Anything about Onyx. In the Japanese Dub, Kit's voice gets deeper and he growls, as Dragon Knight and as Onyx.
- The misunderstanding of Strike Venting Axe. It first starts out heading towards Dragon Knight, but is then redirected towards Axe.
- Xaviax when he uses the armor of Kamen Rider Wrath. Xaviax even admits that using the armor would have made it a lot easier to get the Earth Riders to his side.
- Xaviax approaching Trent.Trent: What do you want?Xaviax: Taylor and his friends.Trent: They're not here.Xaviax: Oh, they'll be here. They always show up when people are in trouble.
- The No-Men. They come out of nowhere, and take people by total surprise.
- Siren's Evil Laugh while fighting against Strike in the Japanese Dub.
- Strike adding Thrust and Sting's powers to his own, creating a Chimera-Like monster and letting him use more than one Advent Beast.
- Wing Knight chasing Strike. It doesn't help in the Japanese Dub when Strike is laughing madly, but the fact that Strike has to call for help for the first time is quite horrifying.
- Wrath is about to Vent Len. Kit interferes, but Xaviax teleports and lets Kit fall to the ground. With Kit caught off-guard, this line comes:Xaviax/Wrath: Goodbye, Kit Taylor.
- Also, because Wrath actually uses his Final Vent (unlike Odin), we can finally see just how devastating Wrath/Odin's Final Vent is. And unlike any other Final Vents, Wrath/Odin's Final Vent is revealed in KRDK to be a Suicide Attack one, since Wrath is also vented/killed not long after using it.
- Kit and Adam's battle. Kit doesn't back down, and even attempts to Vent Adam. Eubulon scolds him:Eubulon: Are you going to make your nightmares a reality?
- Xaviax becoming Eubulon to fight Adam so that he will stay on his side. It hits Adam. Hard. He even starts to have a hallucination when he sees everyone laughing at him, the sounds of the laughs echoing. Also, the emergence of his Death Glare.
- The Transmitters coming back online after the Kamen Riders deactivated them all.
- "Karsh is a Superior World. We are Superior People, and I will let nothing get in the way of our survival... particularly not you."
- Xaviax's battle with Dragon Knight, Wing Knight, Onyx and Siren. He overwhelms them all, and delivers his darkest gem:Xaviax: You're a fool, Adam. You were given so many chances, but you've made up your mind, and so have I. The deal's off! And once I'm done Venting your friends, I think I'll pay Sara a visit, and Vent her too!
- After Xaviax is defeated, Adam leaves the base. A small rumble is heard, and a distant image can be shown in the chamber where Xaviax died. Somehow, one can always think that it's never the end.
Novel
- The connection between Ventara and Earth has been severed, leaving the No Men, Kit and Len as the only defense from swarms of feral, human eating mirror monsters that have no clear objective anymore. Just wreaking chaos and attacking people.
- Mirror monsters have turned feral and became like their human eating Ryuki counterparts. A scene of carnage is thankfully not described in graphic detail besides recounting of dismembered body parts.
- Incisor arrives at the battlefield and all seems well until he attacks Grant completely out of nowhere. They fight, but Grant can't land a single hit. Somehow, Time Vent ended up in Incisor's hands and he used it to predict everything to turn it into a Curbstomp Battle. The fight ends with Grant being vented and the Copy Vent using impostor walking away with the Camo Advent Deck.
- Chris, Brad, Drew and Richie all go down the same way (sans Time Vent). Chris is taken out by impostor Torque redirecting Thrust's Final Vent at him to boot.
- The Cho Brothers are brutally beaten by gang members controlling the slums they live in.
- The chapter Venomous Deed shows that the desperation at the No Men's HQ has reached such a level that they don't even bother with being desperate anymore and just keep on going.Now that Richie's fate was uncertain, No Men's HQ had the atmosphere of disaster relief team that gave up on giving up. Trent was up all night, spreading the range of their systems across the world and calling for response that never came.
- JTC ended up in a mental hospital. His last battle with Len scattered his marbles and he has still not recovered them even through the year from the main story's end.
- He gets better when his memories return, but that leaves Kit in a situation uncomfortably close to Alone With A Psycho.
- JTC is vented by the impostor rider. Aside from the fight where he gets brutalized by Trick Vent clones, his last words are meant to tell Kit to watch out for the traitor among them. Unfortunately, Kit doesn't get to hear anything.Kit... be careful. There are snakes in the grass.
