Kyoryuger's Ryuusei Ryo and Saito Syuusuke on Playing On-Screen Rivals Turned Friends

Ryuusei Ryo and Saito Syuusuke, who play Kyoryu Red (Daigo Kiryuu) and Kyoryu Black (Ian Yorkland) in Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, discussed their off-screen friendship in an interview with Hero Vision magazine, framing it as a close mirror of their characters’ arc on the show. Both actors are twenty years old, in a cast whose ages otherwise span more than a decade.

The pair traced the shift in their characters’ relationship back to the show’s fourth episode, when Ian’s backstory is revealed to Daigo and the two become friends after Daigo essentially refuses to let Ian’s guardedness stand in the way. Syuusuke described Daigo’s directness as a good match for a character who, deep down, wanted someone willing to push past his defenses, a dynamic he said reflected how Ryuusei had approached him off-camera as well, calling him a “stoic” performer who leads by pushing forward rather than by explaining himself. Ryuusei, in turn, credited Syuusuke’s bluntness and reliability as qualities that mirrored his character Ian’s own arc toward becoming the team’s trusted second-in-command.

Much of the conversation stayed lighthearted, with the pair trading affectionate jabs about each other’s quirks, from Ryuusei’s competitive streak to Syuusuke’s habit of dropping an argument only to circle back to a different version of it later, and describing a genuine friendship that carries on off set, including regular visits to each other’s homes and shared games of darts. Both agreed the closeness between Daigo and Ian on screen grew naturally out of how the two of them actually got along during filming, rather than the other way around. The interview was translated by Ekala, with scans provided by Kitarin.