WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Shaman King (2021), now streaming on Netflix.
In the Shaman King reboot, Ryu initially comes off as a jerk, womanizing and wanting to be the biggest gangster in Japan. However, after protagonist Yoh Asakura knocks some sense into him, Ryu starts viewing the world differently. It culminates in Manta taking his wooden sword to help Yoh in a fight, which eventually leads to Ryu seeing things differently and understanding the concept of family. However, as Season 1 unfolds, Ryu's story of evolution and redemption also ends up feeling very heartbreaking.
Ryu didn't like inadvertently helping Manta and Yoh as it checked his ego. However, his life changes after the spirit Tokageroh, a bandit from centuries ago, possesses him and wants to take out Yoh's spirit, the swordsman Amidamaru. Ryu learns about compassion and hope through this fight, maturing and wanting to eke out a life with more meaning.
As Shaman King goes on, Ryu befriends Yoh's squad and is called upon when a disillusioned Yoh goes back to the Asakura clan to level up. Yoh's destiny as a Chosen One meant to transcend into the Shaman Kingdom and possibly become a god is weighing heavily, so he enters a cave to seek purpose. Ironically, Manta grabs Ryu -- who turns out to be a medium as well -- and they head to the cave to convince Yoh to come back to the light.
Ryu gets distracted though, ogling Tamao and forgetting how he could be something more. Nonetheless, her spirits Ponchi and Konchi attack Ryu to teach him a lesson, leaving Manta and Yoh to patch up their own bond. The sad thing is, Shaman King makes it seem like they all return to the city, when in fact it forgets Ryu in Asakura territory.
It works out for him, however, as Ryu was able to train with Yomei, Yoh's grandfather, and unlock more powers of his own. It's why he's now a skilled fighter, with Tokageroh bonded to him as they seek to make an impact in the Shaman Fight tournament. Everyone is impressed as they never expected Ryu to be this adept in battle, but the problem is, he doesn't feel like a valued character.
Shaman King just focuses on Manta as Yoh's little buddy, but Ryu sacrificed a lot to help out. He became the laughing stock of his own goons, who felt he was a traitor and would fail with these kids, but Ryu brushed all that off to help Yoh.
Still, he isn't accepted as much and doesn't feel like part of the crew, which even he admits as Yoh doesn't offer up a sincere apology. This unwitting betrayal could motivate Ryu, however -- when the time comes and they have to fight each other at the competition, he may be able to separate friendship more easily and go for the win against folks who should have embraced his loyalty.
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