- —Tagline
Shadow VS Ryuko, originally titled Shadow VS Ryūko Matoi, is the 141st episode of Death Battle, featuring Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Ryūko Matoi and Senketsu from the Kill la Kill series in a battle between black and red half-alien life forms. Shadow was voiced by Brendan Blaber, Ryūko was voiced by Jenny Yokobori, and Senketsu was voiced by Tom Laflin.
Interlude
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Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
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Wiz: Shadow the Hedgehog, powerhouse of Chaos and rival to Sonic.
Boomstick: And Ryūko Matoi, the teen fighter in Life Fiber from Kill la Kill.
Wiz: They both may be try-hard incarnate, but when the chips are down, who is the deadliest edgelord of them all?
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Shadow the Hedgehog
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Rookie Driver by Patrice Duthoo & Raphaël Glatz 
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Wiz: Doctor Gerald Robotnik, grandfather to the Doctor Eggman we all know, had a problem. His granddaughter, Maria, was dying, succumbing to a neuro-immunity disease with no known cure.
Boomstick: But old Gerry had a plan. When the government contacted him to build the ultimate life form, he figured its DNA could cure Maria no problem. So he took the job, and by studying the infinite power of Chaos Emeralds, with some alien assistance, he made the one and only Shadow the Hedgehog. Wait, did the government commission him, or was it Hot Topic?
Wiz: Better question, since when were hedgehogs ultimate disease-curing lifeforms? I mean, Gerald's prototype was a lizard, which sort of makes sense as certain reptiles have regenerative tissue, but then he went from this to a hedgehog. ...Okay?
Boomstick: Who cares if he's a lizard, hedgehog, squirrel, or whatever, Wiz? All that matters is he's super badass-looking, super badass-sounding, and is superpowered by chaos. Literally!
Wiz: Shadow's powers are directly tied to those of the miracle gems, Chaos Emeralds. He can tap into their power for incredible feats, similar to his Blue Blur rival. Likely for this very reason, he actually possesses many of the same abilities as Sonic.
Boomstick: Y'know, the guy who's so fast he can almost outrun a black hole?
Wiz: Spin Attacks, Homing Attacks, Spin Dashes, et cetera.
Boomstick: But unlike his blue buddy, Shadow's not afraid to get serious and bust out some lead. Hey, Sonic, why use a Spin Attack when you've got a goddamn gun, or a sword as big as you? Look at that thing!
Wiz: He's used some of the same power-ups that Sonic's picked up, like heat barriers and magnetic lightning shields...
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Killing Engine (Instrumental) by Andy James, Christopher Clancy & Jan Cyrka
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Wiz: But he also has some unique gear all of his own.
Boomstick: His Air Shoes are way cooler than Sonic's sneakers. They can boost his speed to match Sonic's, and also let him fly... kind of. He's even got some gear attached that lets him attack at the speed of light.
Wiz: However, all of these abilities and equipment are mere accessories to Shadow's true power: the might of Chaos itself. Even without an Emerald on hand, Shadow can summon similar power, manifesting attacks like Black Tornado, Chaos Blast, or the deadly Chaos Spear.
Boomstick: But even though they totally asked for Doc Gerry to make Shadow, the feds got spooked and tried to shut down the project. And that's when things went bad... Like, really bad.
A gunshot and scream is heard.
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Final Transmission by Alexandre Garachon, Aurélien de Freitas, Tom Bonetto & Tom Gadonna
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Wiz: Shadow was successfully sealed away, but in the crossfire, a life was lost: Maria.
Boomstick: Locked up and super pissed off, Shadow had plenty of time to work on his angsty poetry, and Gerry had time to give him fake memories and a need for revenge against all humanity. Wiz, you think we're ever gonna find a scientist who doesn't go totally bonkers?
Wiz: I mean, what about me?
Boomstick: Uh... hahaha. Okay.
Wiz: Well, since Maria was Shadow's only real friend, revenge seemed like a good idea, which was a serious problem considering just how powerful he is.
Boomstick: He can teleport, slow down or even stop time, and even time traveled a bit. And just like any teenage boy, he's got some serious mood swings he doesn't like to talk about.
Wiz: Which can actually affect his abilities. With negative emotion, his raw power intensifies. With positive emotion, he gains more control.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: But when it comes down to it, the government may have been right to worry. Shadow possesses so much power, even he can't always control it.
Boomstick: Chaos powers are crazy. Sonic once used all seven of the Chaos Emeralds to literally rebuild the Earth!
Wiz: This is why Shadow wears Inhibitor Rings, which limit how much Chaos energy he can release at once. When he does remove them, what he loses in control is made up for by a massive increase in power. Enough to match that of a whole Chaos Emerald.
Boomstick notices a ring on Wiz's mechanical hand.
Boomstick: Hmmm.
Wiz: W-what? What are you lookin' at?
Boomstick: Is that a... do you have a ring on your robot arm?
Wiz: It was a... gift?
Boomstick: Cool. Well, good luck with that. All the rings I've given out to people always get sent back eventually.
We cut back to the analysis.
Boomstick: Anyway, Spiky Head's so powerful, he teleported an entire space colony, and even a giant asteroid. Plus, he's held back this huge space plant monster.
Wiz: And of course, tapping into the power of additional Chaos Emeralds increases his power to unbelievable heights.
Boomstick: By doin' a tango with all seven, he can turn into Super Shadow! Now, without power rings, this form can't stick around for more than a full minute, but while he's golden, he's got super enhanced abilities, is basically invulnerable, and he can fly!
Wiz: Base Shadow's not only survived being shot out of a cannon, but he's just as tough as Sonic, who survived the space station Death Egg exploding right in front of him. Most impressively, as Super Shadow, he and Super Sonic were fired into Planet Aqurius, obliterating it. This would take over a whole exaton of TNT.
Boomstick: So you've exa-splained. All this happened 'cause after 50 years of Shadow bein' trapped, Eggman himself released him to conquer the world. Sonic and crew had to stop him from destroying all mankind, but really, he's so fast, he'd wreck anyone's shit before they'd notice.
Wiz: Shadow has dodged gunfire and destroyed enemies without being seen, but his lightspeed attacks are stated as being exactly that: lightspeed, almost three million meters per second.
Boomstick: So, Shadow's super strong and super fast. Makes sense he's a formidable enemy to just about anyone.
Wiz: Lucky for our heroes, they inspired Shadow to regain his memories of Maria, who actually wanted him to protect humanity instead of, y'know... destroy it.
Boomstick: He may have softened up, but he'll always be the edgy hedgehog we love to hate to love.
Shadow: Understood. Initiating the mission now.
He teleports away.
Ryuko Matoi
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Black Venom by Michael Werner Maas & Sham-Tristan Makdessi
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Wiz: Thousands of years ago, aliens that would come to be known as Life Fibers crashed to Earth. These "parasites" attached themselves to the most intelligent species they could find: Humans.
Boomstick: And they even got humans to make them into clothes, so it was easier for them to live on us, and provide viewers with gratuitous fanservice.
Wiz: (sighs) Yeah. Anyway, the Life Fibers helped humans evolve more quickly, and soon just passively survived as humanity developed. But some weren't content with such passivity, like Ragyō Kiryūin, who had access to the original primordial Life Fiber that landed on Earth so long ago.
Boomstick: And humans are gonna human, so she and her husband experimented on that sucker like nobody's business.
Wiz: They attempted to infuse Fibers into both of their daughters. Their first daughter was too old for the experiment to be a success, and it appeared that their infant second daughter was also a failure, so Ragyō just... threw her away.
Boomstick: Whoa-ho-ho, she threw away her baby?! Kinda reminds me of how my dad just threw away our relationship.
Wiz: Uh, well, fortunately for this child, her father couldn't stand by Ragyō's decision and rescued her, assuming the name Isshin Matoi, and raised this daughter himself. This is Ryūko.
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Cruise Controller by Christopher James Goulstone & Neil Martin Taylor
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Boomstick: Yeah, things were okay for a while, but it wasn't a picnic at the Matoi household. Ryūko and Isshin didn't always get along, so he shipped her off to boarding school to fight other people there instead of him. When she finally came home, she found dear old dad bleeding out, impaled by a... weird-looking sword.
Wiz: This was the first half of what would become her signature weapon: the Scissor Blades. In Isshin's last moments, he urged Ryūko to find whoever wielded the other half of the weapon, the one who killed him.
Boomstick: Ryūko might not have known it, but the Scissor Blades were created by her father out of Life Fibers.
Wiz: They're actually one of the only weapons that can cut and destroy Life Fibers, which is important when your opponents are all using, y'know, Life Fibers.
Boomstick: I would say we take a shot every time we say "Life Fiber," but you'd definitely die, Wiz. And do not try that at home. Anyway, with the quest of revenge and half a Scissor Blade, she started hunting down her father's killer. But she couldn't do it by herself, so she found a skimpy sailor suit to help her out. Yeah, here's that fanservice thing I was tellin' you about.
Wiz: This is Senketsu, a living suit made from Life Fibers, also known as a Kamui. Now, there's plenty of clothing out there made with some Life Fiber, but a Kamui like Senketsu is unique in that it's made of 100% Life Fiber, and yes, I said living suit.
Senketsu: Wait, Ryūko. These assassins can't hear me!
Cut to Senketsu being ironed.
Senketsu: Oh, that feels nice.
Boomstick: Yeah, that's not creepy at all...
Wiz: Not just anyone can wear Senketsu, as they have to successfully bond to him for the process to work. Lucky for Ryūko, she absolutely could, in no small part thanks to the Life Fibers infused within her body when she was an infant.
Boomstick: See, mom, ya trash person, it did work! And when she and Senketsu learned how to work together, there wasn't much that could stand in their way. He's more than just a sailor outfit.
Wiz: As a Life Fiber construct, Senketsu can absorb other Life Fibers to increase his own power, allowing him to transform to gain new abilities.
Boomstick: His Senjin form makes him super spikey, and his Shippu form turns Ryūko into a badass fighting rocket!
Wiz: He's also able to combine both the Senjin and Shippu forms for more versatility. Admittedly though, each of these transformations comes at a cost for Ryūko, as they're fueled by Senketsu consuming her blood. This is most dangerous in his Berserker form, that occurs when Ryūko gets too upset and Senketsu loses control. If not stopped in time, she could die from too much blood loss.
Boomstick: But most impressive is when Ryūko straight up goes flying Super Saiyan, and Senketsu turns into his Kisaragi form.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: It's way more powerful and uses even more of her blood. What's the deal, is Senketsu a vampire?
Wiz: Well, a popular theory suggests that it's all a metaphor for puberty. Senketsu pulling out Ryūko's blood is symbolic of menstruation, and the skimpier outfits visualize acceptance of sexuality, and... adulthood... except... she's a teenager... who already went through puberty?
Boomstick: Wiz, do you have a daughter?
Wiz: No.
Boomstick: I thought so.
We cut back to the analysis.
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Rock Down by Neil Martin Taylor
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Boomstick: At least having Life Fiber DNA means that she has crazy abilities on top of Senketsu's transformations, like insane super fast healing.
Wiz: Basically, Life Fibers restore themselves so quickly, that Ryūko's body starts regenerating before a blade has finished cutting through her. Unless someone is quick enough to cut through her body before this regeneration begins, she can survive almost anything.
Boomstick: She's been stabbed and sliced tons of times, including completely in half, and even had her heart ripped out of her chest! Can we get this chick as the next guest character in Mortal Kombat? I mean, they're takin' basically anybody these days, so...
Wiz: Her strength is incredible. At one point, she had to blast a hole through a layer of Life Fibers surrounding the entire planet. Life Fibers are stated to be harder than solid steel, so to pull this off, she must have struck with a force equivalent to over 650 exatons of TNT.
Boomstick: Which means she'd be able to take a hit that strong, too. But with all these powers and more, Ryūko finally found her father's killer.
Wiz: And completed the Rending Scissors.
Boomstick: These swords can casually cut through skyscrapers, and have some super forms of their own. Decapitation Mode extends the blades for better slicing and dicing, while Alumni Mode makes them so gigantic they eclipse the freaking Earth, what is this show?!
Wiz: Next to Ryūko, one Scissor Blade is normally about two and a half feet long. Scaling up, the Alumni Mode appears to be about 1,017 times larger, weighing well over three million tons. If you have a pair of normal scissors at home, imagine lifting 50 billion of those all at once, that's what this is like.
Boomstick: She can slice through 200 tennis balls five times each in less than a second, which us in the scientifically community call, ahem, "fast as f**k*!
Wiz: Or 8,000 times faster than sound. And she rocketed into the atmosphere in less than 18 seconds, which means her flying speed can reach Mach 500.
Boomstick: Uh, wait wait wait...
The screen rewinds.
Boomstick: WHY IS EVERYONE NAKED?!
Wiz: Ryūko may not have had the easiest upbringing, but after dedicating herself to revenge for so long, and yet saving the entire planet, she had become something unexpected: a hero.
Ryūko: Let's go! I'm gonna slice your ass in half!
She proceeds to cut down Satsuki, causing her clothes to dissipate.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, Shadow and Ryūko are always ready to perform and make sure you are with BlueChew.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for BlueChew.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!(The transcript below is exclusive to the YouTube version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, Shadow and Ryūko are always ready to perform and make sure you are with BlueChew.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for BlueChew.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
(The transcript below is exclusive to the Rooster Teeth version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!Death Battle
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It is sunset and roaring up the road of a city is Ryūko Matoi out on a motorcycle ride. She is taken by surprise when another motorcycle zooms by and overtakes her. It is none other than Shadow the Hedgehog. This irritates her and she speeds up until she is to side with Shadow.
Ryūko: Hey! You cut me off, asshat!
Shadow: Hmph. Who cares?
Senketsu, posing as Ryūko's sailor outfit, tries to reason with his wearer.
Senketsu: Ryūko, maybe we should—
Ryūko: Oh yeah?!
Ryūko pulls out her completed Scissor Blades and leaps from her bike. While in the air, she bites and pulls the pin from her Seki Tekko and transforms into her Kamui armor form.
Shadow: Pathetic!
While still on his vehicle, Shadow puts up a Heat Barrier to shield himself from the Scissor Blade strike. He throws her off, then jumps off the bike, using his Air Shoes to levitate. Shadow goes into his Homing Attack, pelting Ryūko twice before clashing with her weapon, launching off behind her. After landing on his feet, he continues his assault with a Spin Dash. Ryūko swipes, but does not connect as Shadow speeds around her with enough momentum to unleash the Black Tornado. Ryūko, in the center, finds herself being lifted. Senketsu's lower skirt part anchors her to the asphalt and she wildly slashes out beams in the hopes of hitting Shadow. One projectile lands on target, knocking him out of the tornado as he touches down on the ground with a sneer. Ryūko twirls her Scissor Blades before separating them into their twin components and charging at her new enemy. But Shadow was ready with a Chaos Emerald.
Shadow: Chaos Control!
Time freezes as Shadow leaps behind Ryūko and kicks her in the back of the head as time unfreezes, sending her away before she embeds her Scissor Blades to halt her momentum and charge back at Shadow. He proceeds to teleport to avoid Ryūko's swings before kicking her in the back, followed by teleporting again to kick her upwards and finishing by teleporting once more to connect an elbow drop, sending Ryūko down to the pavement. She attempts to retaliate while Shadow teleports around her, taking pot shots.
Ryūko: Stop... moving!
Senketsu: He's anticipating you. You should anticipate him instead.
Ryūko: No shit, stupid!
Ryūko readies her Scissor Blades for an overhead slash which Shadow teleports to avoid, only to be struck by the backswing as Ryūko drags her weapons through the road, launching him into the air before being assaulted from all sides by his opponent until he creates a barrier to shield himself from the final swing, the force of said swing sending him crashing into his Dark Rider.
Shadow: Damn.
Ryūko lands back on the ground as the jets on her back warm up, sending her towards Shadow while she enters her Senjin Shippu form.
Ryūko: Let's get faster. Senjin Shippu!
Shadow rummages through the remains of his bike before pulling out a gun, which turns out to be empty to his chagrin, causing him to replace it with his Black Sword in time to block Ryūko's Scissor Blades.
Ryūko: (laughs) Aww, did your mommy pack that sword for you?
Both combatants rush through the city, clashing blades until Shadow manages to get a successful hit with his Black Sword, slicing Ryūko's arm off and cutting into her waist.
Senketsu: Careful. That hurt.
The damage was quickly rendered moot as her genetics repair the wounds.
Ryūko: Have a little faith!
Shadow proceeds to perform a Homing Attack while holding out his Black Sword, turning into a sawblade of red, black and purple, before launching towards Ryūko, who follows suit. Both clash with their blades, creating an explosion that sends Ryūko to the ground while sending Shadow upwards. Ryūko collects herself before charging at her opponent while the seven Chaos Emeralds surround him before being absorbed.
Shadow: Time to end this. Behold my power!
Witnessing her enemy transforming into the glowing Super Shadow, Ryūko calls upon her and Senketsu's own trump card.
Ryūko: Senketsu... Kisaragi!
Life fibers around Ryūko are absorbed as she and Senketsu transform into their own golden form, while Super Shadow is unimpressed.
Super Shadow: Hmph, faker.
Ryūko fires a barrage of sword beams which Super Shadow blocks with a force field before the pair clash with each other repeatedly, rising higher and higher until they're in deep space. Super Shadow breaks from the clash to fire a storm of Chaos Spears, which Ryūko avoids before revealing one more ace up her sleeve.
Ryūko: Scissor Blade Alumni Mode!
Ryūko's Scissor Blades grow in size until their shadows covers the city far below.
Ryūko: Sayonara, dipshit!
Ryūko proceeds to swing both Scissor Blades at Super Shadow as he prepares himself before contact. All is quiet before two rings fall away, Shadow's Inhibitor Rings.
Super Shadow: SHUT UP!
In a burst of raw Chaos energy, Super Shadow shatters the Alumni Mode Scissor Blades, much to the silent shock of both their wielder and her partner before Ryūko is sent into the outskirts of the city by a barrage of Chaos Spears, skewering her body before she hits the ground.
Senketsu: Ryūko!
As Ryūko bounces off the ground, Super Shadow speeds to her location, silent fury in his voice as he says one last attack.
Super Shadow: Chaos Blast.
The full force of the blast engulfs Ryūko, leaving her screaming in agony as every life fiber of her being is obliterated. The explosion dissipates and all that was left in the area was a crater and a levitating Super Shadow. Shadow depowers back to his base form and lands in the crater where he strikes a cocky pose, proud of his victory.
Shadow: Hmph, I'm the coolest.
Results
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We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Y'know, we made fun of how little clothing Ryūko was wearing, but Shadow's been naked the whole time!
Wiz: Armed with Senketsu, her Scissor Blades, and her Life Fiber buffs, Ryūko was definitely a match for Shadow... at first.
Boomstick: Yeah, with her awesome strength combined with her insane endurance, base form Shadow was in a lot of trouble. But even then, it wasn't a surefire win for the rocket chick.
We cut to the post-analysis.
Wiz: Outside of his Super form, Shadow never withstood anything on the scale of Ryūko's hole in the Life Fibers surrounding Earth. At her maximum power, she could've easily dealt a killing blow... if she could catch him. Shadow could keep up with Sonic the Hedgehog, whose race against a black hole proves he can move over 260,000 times faster than sound;[Note 1] far faster than anything Ryūko's shown, and more than quick enough to slice through a Life Fiber before it has time to heal.
Boomstick: Once the red-and-black Edgehog turned red-and-gold, Ryūko didn't really have a way to take him down. I mean, Super Shadow's Chaos powers use all seven Chaos Emeralds, which could move pieces of the Earth around!
Wiz: Considering Earth's total mass, and the speed at which each piece was moved, this would require exerting energy equivalent to 1.6 decillion joules, which translates to over 2,800 zettatons of TNT.
Boomstick: "Zett"'s a ton of power! A LOT more than Ryūko's biggest hits. Even one Chaos Emerald is enough to match Ryūko's best. And considering Shadow can match the power of an Emerald when he takes off those inhibitors, he had better odds of winning even without going Super.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Ryūko put up an amazing fight, one for the ages, but Shadow's unmatched power and speed proved too much for our lady in black and red.
Boomstick: Hey, he's pretty beat up about it, too. Do you know what he said when he was asked what his favorite anime is?
The moment Boomstick's referring to is promptly played on the Death Battle Lab's monitor.
Shadow: I like the one with the edgy girl and the Scissor Blade.
Wiz: (shrugs) It's canon. N-no, really.
Boomstick: In clothing, the Edgehog couldn't be over-Shadow-ed, and Ryūko's Life Fiber... was snipped.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Shadow the Hedgehog.
Original Track
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Composition
The track for this fight is "Chaos Unraveled" by Therewolf Media ft. Brandon Yates. It is a heavy metal rock piece with heavy vocals similar to that of the Crush 40 soundtracks of the Sonic the Hedgehog series mixed with some techno-rock similar to the music heard in Kill la Kill. The rhythm and background chords are reminiscent of "Before My Body is Dry" from Kill la Kill (with its main riff even being heard during the chorus), while some quicker riffs are reminiscent of "I Am All Of Me" from Shadow the Hedgehog. Additionally, the lyrics themselves are dramatic and dark with homages to both series, representing the edge the two combatants are often viewed with.
Title
The title refers to the themes of both combatants' respective abilities; "Chaos" naturally refers to Shadow's Chaos powers, while "Unraveled" refers to Ryūko's Life Fibers and how they unravel like string in certain circumstances, such as the destruction of Goku Uniforms.
Cover Art
The cover art done by Luis Cruz depicts Ryūko's battle-damaged Scissor Blades embedded in the Moon's surface while the red Chaos Emerald is cleanly sliced open in front of it, spilling shiny fragments. The Earth, Sun, and several meteors can be seen in the background, with the space setting in general likely referencing how the climaxes of both Sonic Adventure 2 and Kill la Kill take place in space. An animated version of the cover art depicting the Scissors Blades cutting the Chaos Emerald can be viewed here.
Lyrics
[Intro] |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Shadow and Ryūko are that they are both black and red anti-heroes with short tempers and aggressive personalities who are half-alien, having been genetically engineered and fused with alien DNA (Black Arms and Life Fibers, respectively) since their creation/birth, and the biological offsprings of the main antagonists of their story (Black Doom and Ragyō Kiryūin, respectively). In addition:
- Both sought vengeance for a loved one (Maria Robotnik and Isshin Matoi, respectively).
- Both were initially enemies to a blue-colored rival with a similar power set (Sonic the Hedgehog and Satsuki Kiryūin, respectively) before eventually teaming up with them.
- Both receive increased powers via extraordinary sources (the Chaos Emeralds and Senketsu, respectively) which can give them a golden, glowing super form (Super Shadow and Senketsu Kisaragi, respectively), with the climaxes of their stories involving them falling from space after a final battle in the aforementioned golden super form.
- Funnily enough, during the Sonic Twitter Takeover leading up to the release of Sonic Forces, it was revealed that not only is Shadow's favorite anime Kill la Kill, his favorite character is Ryūko herself.[1] This is even referenced in Shadow's "Background" slide during his analysis and by Boomstick at the end of the post-analysis.
- According to storyboard artist John Mitchell, the Senketsu Kisaragi transformation segment was supposed to be hand-drawn, but sprites were used instead due to time constraints. He also noted how bothered he felt about Ryūko's personality in the fight being more akin to how she was earlier on in Kill la Kill rather than her end-of-series self and how confused he was over the decision to use a take of Shadow saying "Chaos Blast." softly for the killing blow rather than yelling it.[2]
- This episode was originally titled "Shadow VS Ryūko Matoi". However, the YouTube version has since been renamed to "Shadow VS Ryuko" shortly after the episode's release, likely for SEO reasons to help it fare better in the YouTube algorithm.
- The original tagline for this episode was "These razor sharp edgelords are battling to the death!". This was changed to the current tagline before the episode's release, likely in response to the negative reception of it labeling both characters as "edgelords."
Easter Eggs
- The scene where Ryūko enters Kisaragi is mainly based on a similar scene from Kill la Kill The Game: IF.
- After transforming, Super Shadow reacts with "Hmph, faker." This is both a call-back to Shadow's first fight with Vegeta, who called Super Shadow a "rip-off," and a reference to a cutscene in Sonic Adventure 2, in which Sonic says "I found you, faker!" to Shadow during their second confrontation.
- Just before Super Shadow unleashes his Chaos Spears attack on Ryūko, the constellation from Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro can be seen in the background.
- This is the fifth episode to feature the constellation in the background of the fight, after Guts VS Nightmare, Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, and Hulk VS Broly, and with the next one being Saitama VS Popeye.
- Ryūko says the word "sayonara" before trying to finish off Shadow, the same exact word both Vegeta and Mewtwo said before they killed Shadow in their respective episodes.
- These all reference the final words Maria uttered to Shadow before her death in Sonic Adventure 2: "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."
- Unlike the previous two times, however, Shadow manages to turn the tables and take the win instead, with his utterance of "SHUT UP!!" likely being a response to how often he's had to hear it on the show.
Errors
- Ryūko's name in the episode's current title does not have the accented "u", likely due to SEO reasons.
- During Shadow's analysis, his Planet Aqurius destruction level feat of exatons is erroneously misspelled "exotons".
- In Shadow's "Feats" slide, Aqurius is misspelled as "Aquirius".
- There is also an extra space between "Solaris," and "Sonic," in the same slide.
- One of the Chaos Emeralds that Shadow uses to transform into his Super form appears as an extra red instead of yellow.
- There's an extra space between "outlast" and "Super Shadow" in the final popup.
Other
- This is the 10th Video Game VS Anime/Manga-themed episode, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Pikachu VS Blanka, Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Guts VS Nightmare, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Mega Man VS Astro Boy, Pokémon VS Digimon, and Lucario VS Renamon, and with the next two being Guts VS Dimitri and Joker VS Giorno.
- This is the fourth time that the Video Game character wins, after Pikachu VS Blanka, Kirby VS Majin Buu, and Lucario VS Renamon, and with the next two being Guts VS Dimitri and Joker VS Giorno.
- This is the 14th Anti-Heroes-themed episode, after Kratos VS Spawn, Vegeta VS Shadow, Ragna VS Sol Badguy, Wolverine VS Raiden, Dante VS Bayonetta, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Wario VS King Dedede, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, Sasuke VS Hiei, Deadpool VS Mask, Winter Soldier VS Red Hood, Venom VS Crona, and Hulk VS Broly, and with the next five being Guts VS Dimitri, Omni-Man VS Bardock, Kratos VS Asura, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 19th Hero VS Anti-Hero-themed episode, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Ivy VS Orchid, Terminator VS RoboCop, Godzilla VS Gamera, Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon, Ryu VS Scorpion, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Gaara VS Toph, Flash VS Quicksilver, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Tracer VS Scout, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Ryu VS Jin, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, Aquaman VS Namor, The Seven Battle Royale, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, and Hulk VS Broly, and with the next six being Thor VS Vegeta, Excalibur VS Raiden, James Bond VS John Wick, Killua VS Misaka, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- This is the sixth time the Anti-Hero wins, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Godzilla VS Gamera, Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon, Ryu VS Scorpion, Mewtwo VS Shadow, The Seven Battle Royale, and Hulk VS Broly.
- This is the 22nd Male VS Female-themed episode, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010), Yoshi VS Riptor, Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black, Starscream VS Rainbow Dash, Gaara VS Toph, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Dante VS Bayonetta, Meta VS Carolina, Tracer VS Scout, Zoro VS Erza, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Carnage VS Lucy, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Mob VS Tatsumaki, Gray VS Esdeath, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, The Seven Battle Royale, and Red VS Blue, and with the next three being Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, Killua VS Misaka, and Gojo VS Makima.
- This is the seventh time that the Male character wins, after Yoshi VS Riptor, Dante VS Bayonetta, Zoro VS Erza, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, and The Seven Battle Royale, and with the next one being Gojo VS Makima.
- This is the 22nd episode to feature a returning combatant, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, and Hulk VS Broly, with the next 19 being Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Excalibur VS Raiden, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 16th episode to feature a returning loser, after Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and Hulk VS Broly, with the next 12 being Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Goku VS Superman (2023), Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the seventh time the returning loser wins, after Batman VS Captain America, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, and She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and with the next six being Link VS Cloud (2021), Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, and Master Chief VS Doom Slayer.
- This is the fifth episode to feature a double returner, after Black Panther VS Batman, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, and She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and with the next five being Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Goku VS Superman (2023), and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 16th episode to feature a returning loser, after Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and Hulk VS Broly, with the next 12 being Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Goku VS Superman (2023), Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the third episode to have Brandon Yates and Therewolf Media collaborate on its track, after All Might VS Might Guy and Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, and with the next three being Saitama VS Popeye, Excalibur VS Raiden, and Galactus VS Unicron.
- Chaos Unraveled is the second collaboration track of theirs to have lyrics, after Mighty, and with the next two being The Metal Lotus and All-Consuming.
- This episode reached #15 on YouTube's Trending page four hours after it was released.
- On November 7th, 2024, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own, likely to commemorate the release of Sonic X Shadow Generations, which came out 13 days earlier.
- The fight animation was uploaded again over a month later on December 19th, 2024 as part of a compilation of Sonic-related Death Battles alongside Bowser VS Eggman, Trunks VS Silver, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers to commemorate the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film, which came out the following day.
- This and Mario VS Sonic (2018) are the first two episodes whose full fight was reuploaded by itself more than once, with the next four being Wolverine VS Raiden, Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Frieza VS Megatron, and Goro VS Machamp.
- The fight animation was uploaded again over a month later on December 19th, 2024 as part of a compilation of Sonic-related Death Battles alongside Bowser VS Eggman, Trunks VS Silver, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers to commemorate the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film, which came out the following day.
- This is the seventh episode to get age-restricted, after Zoro VS Erza, Sub-Zero VS Glacius, Carnage VS Lucy, Goro VS Machamp, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and Iron Man VS Lex Luthor, and with the next one being Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- The reason for this was likely due to the nudity and sexual content shown in Ryuko's clips.
Notes
- ↑ As determined in Mario VS Sonic (2018).