Ryo
Background
Ryo comes from a shinobi clan lineage, though details about his family are scarce. His mother died when he was young, and his wildlife photographer father, Sanada, is frequently away on assignments—much to Ryo's frustration. The father does have relatives on his side, but Sanada cut ties with them over philosophical differences and never reconnected Ryo with that side of the family. Fans often imagine Ryo as essentially an orphan given how absent his father tends to be. Sanada himself first appears in official canon during an audiocassette drama possessed by a demon.
Wildfire Armor
Ryo's primary armor is the Wildfire (Rekka), channeling the virtue of Righteousness (Jin). He wields twin katanas and his signature move, Wildfire Flare, combines both swords into a staff-like weapon for one devastating strike.
Inferno Armor
When Ryo unites the guiding virtues from all four Ronin and Warlord armors, he gains the Inferno Armor (also called the White Sun Emperor or White Armor). He first obtained it during his initial confrontation with Talpa—when he was absorbed into Talpa's armor alongside the other warriors, Ryo refused to surrender and broke free, drawing power from his allies' virtues to defeat Talpa.
The catch? The Inferno's immense power actually destroyed his original Wildfire swords, so Ryo later acquired the Swords of Fervor to handle it. His new surekill, Rage of Inferno, fires a massive stream of flames instead of a physical blade strike. The armor's raw destructive capability is said to rival planetary destruction, making it so valuable that Talpa became obsessed with claiming it above all else. Interestingly, the Inferno needs five guiding virtues to maintain its stability—it has no virtue of its own. Ryo's tiger companion, White Blaze, also gained an armored form and carries the Soul Swords of Fervor into battle, housing Black Blaze's spirit. The Inferno was eventually destroyed fighting Mukara.
The Nine Armors
After Talpa's spirit was banished to the Netherworld, his demonic armor remained in the human world. To keep him from returning, the Ancient split it into nine separate suits, each infused with one of the traditional Confucian and Bushido virtues: Righteousness, Justice, Courtesy, Intellect, Faith, Loyalty, Obedience, Reverence for Elders, and the ability to bear pain quietly.
The American localization swapped a couple of these—Life replaced Intellect, and Piety replaced Reverence for Elders. Each armor can be summoned instantly by calling its name and virtue aloud (like "Armor of Wildfire, Dao Jin!"), or in Japanese by simply saying "Busso" followed by the armor name.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
