Now being an animated short doesn't imply that it can't tell a coherent story, or atleast execute a premise properly enough in order to draw intrigue into wanting to see more. You don't even have to look far, as two successes that emerged from this same program were Little Witch Academia and Death Billiards. With Academia garnering enough acclaim to have a 2nd installment and Death Billiards giving rise to the popular Death Parade. They both manage to establish their setting, gave us an interesting premise and piqued the viewer's curiosity for more.
Unfortunately this is where Ryo failed. Not to say it didn't have the making for a good show but rather the execution of it is what caused it to dig its own grave. Set in Edo period Japan and giving off a strong traditional aura, Ryo had many avenues it could of taken. With themes of war, revenge, trust and betrayal, the formula for a great period piece samurai flick was there. With such a limited runtime the show made the biggest mistake by trying to incorporate all these themes in one swoop. This led to a unengaging disjointed story riddled with timeskips. It isn't hard to piece together what they were going for but the time restraint worked against it. In the end it felt like a long messy trailer for a period piece drama. If it took a more simplified approach and set a clear focus on one theme is wouldn't have been a problem. Having multifaceted themes is only good if it doesn't spread the show's potency too thin.
To put it as simple as possible, this was a short that bit off more than it could chew.
