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04-06-2020, 04:30 PM | #1 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Hey there! I'm Fish Sandwich. People who frequent these boards might know me as the one with the questionable taste in screen names, and the even more questionable taste in TV shows.
You might also know a user going by Kamen Rider Die. Die has been doing threads chronicling his experiences watching Heisei Rider shows for the first time for a while now, and I've come to see him as a bit of a kindred spirit when it comes to the desire to talk at length about Kamen Rider. His threads are a real treat, and if you by chance haven't checked them out, I highly suggest you do. You'll also see me in there a lot. As I'm writing this, he's about halfway through Ryuki. If you aren't reading this in the future, come on and join the fun! Of course, for however similar we are, we're also two different people. I'll truck with Showa any day of the week, for one thing. I'm also a huge fan of a show Die was largely unenthused by, which surprisingly enough, isn't Ghost. No, I'm talking about Kuuga, of course. A show formative to my fandom of Kamen Rider, not so much to Die's. And that's been eating me up a little ever since that thread ended. It feels weird to call myself a long-time fan knowing how many people have been around way longer, but I've been watching Kamen Rider since somewhere in 2011, and the memories of those shows I watched early on are starting to get a little faded. I couldn't express what I saw in Kuuga to anywhere near the extent I wanted to, and I figure it's time to put a stop to that. For a while, now, I've been rewatching the Heisei Rider shows that I saw early on, and it's been a lot of fun. Back then, I was a lot more passive about watching them, so to go back and examine them more closely the way I do now, even talking about it episode-by-episode in the "What are you watching?" thread, not too dissimilar to how Die does things, it really helped me to reconnect with what I love about them, and to see things I would've never noticed before. I figure it's high time for Kuuga to get that same treatment. The stars have lined up for it. And if I'm doing that anyway, why not go the extra mile and do my own thread for it? A thread that's similar, but different. The fundamental idea is the same. Watch a Rider show, and comment on my thoughts as I do so. The difference is that Die's threads run on the magic of that virgin experience of seeing a show for the first time. I can't give you that, and I'm also liable to be a lot more long-winded, and a lot less funny. So, like, those might be issues. What I'm hoping to compensate with is raw affection. I try my best to analyze things critically, but I'm not very critical when it comes to Kamen Rider. It takes a lot for a Rider show to upset me. I'll probably let a lot of glaring flaws off the hook, spin things most would consider negatives into positives, and not even notice things others would nitpick. All of that is out of love, and I'd be thrilled if that's of some interest to anyone. So, just like Die, let me get some basic guidelines covered: I *PROBABLY* WON'T SPOIL KUUGA PAST THE EPISODE I'M ON. The only way this would even matter is if for some reason you're reading this thread while going through the show, but this is just naturally how I tend to write about these things, so I feel like it's worth mentioning. A lot of stuff, I've plain forgotten, and while a lot of stuff I might hint at, any future events I do feel the need to bring up will probably only be referenced obliquely. I already have way too much to talk about in the moment to worry about what comes next. I'll get there eventually. I DEFINITELY WON'T BE SPOILING ANY OTHER SHOWS. Again, mostly a natural result of how I write these things. Kuuga should be the only show you have to worry about having seen (if even). Comparisons to other shows will be broad, and more about stylistic differences than anything. I won't bring up plot twists or character deaths or anything like that. The worst you have to fear is me maybe referencing a catchphrase or something. EVERYONE'S A CRITIC, which is to say, I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU ALL HAVE TO SAY! About Kuuga. About what I have to say about Kuuga. About what someone else has to say about Kuuga. Whatever. Don't sweat it too much. If you want to pop in just to say Yuusuke was wearing a particularly nice shirt in an episode, that is great. Like Die always says, these threads are participatory. It's more fun for everyone if everyone is having fun, so please don't be afraid to let your voice be heard. If you have a thought about Kuuga, it has a place here. That being said, PLEASE DON'T SPOIL ANY OTHER SHOWS, OR AT LEAST USE SPOILER TAGS. I feel a bit cruel asking this, since it doesn't matter to me personally, but I've been a spoilerphobe myself, and my promise up above becomes less than meaningless is somebody scrolls down to find a remark about something that happened in, like, episode 40 of Build anyway. Kuuga's a cool show with plenty to talk about by itself, so hopefully this won't be a hard rule to follow. So with all that out of the way, nothing would make me happier than if you'd all make your heavy burdens into a pillow, sit back, relax, and join me as I witness a legend being rewritten, all over again.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 04-06-2023 at 05:27 PM.. |
04-06-2020, 04:31 PM | #2 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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EPISODE 1: "Revival"
Let's start off by talking about episode titles for a second. It's easy to underestimate the importance of having good ones. It's a chance to define a central theme to your stories upfront. To give them a clear and unique identity. Having some kind of formula or gimmick to the names can also be a great way to add to the identity of the series as a whole. I used to not care about this all that much myself, but Kuuga got me to start paying attention with how superb a job it does at all of this. Every episode. Two kanji. One word. Zero fluff. How succinct do they get? The series opens with a hero from an bygone era battling the forces of evil, before being placed into a long slumber. Despite moments of clarity, most of the shots have a grainy filter placed over them which makes them appear... almost like an old TV show. So there you have it. In just under 50 seconds, Kuuga has already gotten you up to speed on both its premise, and the real-world significance of its existence, all without saying a word. Immediately, it's apparent how seriously the people making this show were taking things. I'd imagine the director, Hidenori Ishida, deserves credit for the genius use of the filter. Granted, he'll also use it for the monster attack that opens the very next episode, which takes place in the present, so it's possible I'm reading too much into that specific part. Still, I know Ishida pays a lot of attention to how his visuals enhance the story, and that he has a talent for finding creative ways to shoot scenes to that end, so I think there's a very good chance this was intentional. Kuuga's main writer, Naruhisa Arakawa, actually specifically recommended him for the job in part because of an incident the first time they worked together where Ishida apparently questioned Arakawa intensely on a line in the script to get a better idea of how to shoot the scene. Again, the show's staff wasn't messing around. That goes for Arakawa himself, too. After a brief scene establishing a research team has found Kuuga's tomb, we get to meet our hero for the next 49 episodes, and let me tell you, it's perfect. Yuusuke is introduced leaning against a bike (!), and tells a story, directly into the camera, about an experience he had on one of his many globe-trotting adventures that convinced him there's nothing cooler than someone who can still smile even when times are tough. As soon as he finishes, the camera cuts to reveal he's actually telling this story to cheer up a small child who got separated from his parents. The story doesn't help that much, but his followup juggling act is a huge hit with the kid. The amount this fairly short scene accomplishes is staggering. It endears the audience to Yuusuke right away with a heroic act, and the talking to the audience thing. (Thanks again, Ishida!) It also fills you in on a bit of his backstory and life philosophy, shows off his carefree personality with the juggling bit, introduces his signature thumbs up gesture, and even gets to work building some of the series' central themes. To this day, this is still my absolute favorite introduction of a protagonist in all of Kamen Rider. It's beautiful in how understated it is. Of course, if I go in-depth on every scene like this, we'll be here all day, so I'll skip out on talking about Sakurako and Ichijou's introductions, and save them for later. Suffice it to say, a whole bunch of monsters show up to ruin the research team's day, Yuusuke gets caught up in it, and after a series of visions of a mysterious warrior triggered by an equally mysterious belt recovered from the tomb, he makes a fateful choice. Kuuga goes to child-scaringly great lengths to show how destructive the Grongi are, and that scene where Yuusuke, witnessing the carnage around him as the sound fades out, replaced with a heartbeat to emphasize the tension, it's great stuff. Yuusuke's mostly been a pretty goofy dude the whole episode, so giving him that big moment where he decides to take action, it starts to demonstrate why he's deserving of being the show's hero. The rest of the episode from that point on is just him throwing down with Zu-Gumun-Ba. Uh... you might know him better as "The Spider One", but I think I'm going with this way, more to see if I can remember this stuff by the end than if you can. Please bear with me. Anyway, Gumun is just a great monster. Starting off this new era of Rider by directly paralleling the motif of the original series' first baddie is a touch of respect towards the classics I love, plus, his design is cool, and the episode makes great use of his spidery abilities. He's really got Kuuga on the ropes here. In what will prove to be merely one of a long series of bold choices the show makes, Yuusuke is barely scraping by in his first fight, and wearing the wrong costume, to boot. Kuuga's white Growing Form is strong enough to push a police van around without trouble, and tough enough to take several hits without getting turned to paste, but compared to even a low-level Grongi like Gumun, it's just not a lot of power. The best Yuusuke can manage when all is said and done is fending him off with some help from Ichijou. It's a fun climax to the fight, with Kuuga and Gumun popping in and out of either side of a helicopter while poor Ichijou is caught in the middle, trying to make sense of what's even happening. Despite taking the gamble of having an incomplete Kuuga fail to finish off the villain, the episode still makes the ending feel triumphant, with Kuuga flashing a thumbs up to Ichijou before departing against the sunset, all set to an epic remix of the theme song. It's part one of two, but unlike the rest of the series, it gives you a good sense of closure by itself, which is a smart decision for a premiere. It doesn't demand you come back the next week to see what happens. It's confident that you want to already anyway. This is a crazy tight first episode, and it's easy to see from it why Kuuga would go on to be such a huge success. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER Oh, yeah, and this is an idea I had for something fun. I'm sure somebody somewhere has already done this, but I figure there's no better way to show my love for Kuuga than to keep a running tally of every single thumbs up in the entire series, episode-to-episode. It's kind of an iconic part of the show that way. This is the premiere, too, so naturally, it goes hard in that department. Total thumbs up count: 0+5 = 5 EPISODE 2: "Transformation" This one is the real deal. Everything great about the premiere goes double for the second episode. Starting with the cold open that cuts to the chase. 41 seconds. A bat monster is killing people. Done. I love it. From there we get the fallout of Yuusuke's first outing as Kuuga. Surely, such a life-changing encounter, such a terrifying experience, would leave Yuusuke with a lot to think about. And maybe it does, but first things first, he's waking up from a nice nap and having a good breakfast. Yuusuke's laid-back nature and underplayed reactions are a huge part of what makes his character such a delight, and another aspect of Kuuga that was treading some new ground at the time. The trick is that the show also knows how far to go with it. Sakurako is here to bring up the normal questions and concerns you'd expect, so Yuusuke isn't really allowed to ever be willfully ignorant. Even more than that, he's not ignorant, and this scene provides a great glimpse into that. Yuusuke casually mentions how he didn't like the "feeling" of being Kuuga, and when Sakurako asks what feeling he means, the show provides a sharp answer. Just having Yuusuke respond by looking at his fist is the kind of subtle storytelling I love about Kuuga. It's a show that realizes that, sometimes, the best way to speak is to not talk at all. Yuusuke can have fun scenes with Ichijou where he immediately makes it clear he's not bothering with the secret identity shtick, and seems more concerned with the sound the belt made when it merged with him than all the danger he's in, because we know from moments like this there's more to him than that. Although he's definitely not leaving a great impression on Ichijou! This episode hinges on their conflicting outlooks. Ichijou is the ideal super-cop who believes in the sworn, serious duty of the police to protect the people, so super-powers or no, letting this goofball of a civilian with no real motivation get involved is out of the question. Ichijou can be too stubborn for his own good, but it's hard to blame him for feeling that way. Yuusuke likes helping people, that's for sure. But throughout the episode, he has to grapple with whether or not he has it within himself to commit to becoming a warrior to do that. Even in his initial fight with Zu-Gooma-Gu (the bat guy!), he hesitates after landing a blow. A later conversation with Sakurako hammers home what Yuusuke's problem is, in case it wasn't clear yet. He hates violence. The action itself is disgusting to him, even if the end result is preventing further violence. But the only thing he hates more than violence is seeing people suffer, and he finds the resolve to put those feelings aside after witnessing the daughter of the professor who led the research team at the ruins crying over his untimely death at the hands of the Grongi. All this, plus Ichijou tracking the mysterious monster attacks down to a church gets us to one of the greatest scenes in Rider history. Ichijou gets more than he bargained for facing down Gooma when the whole church starts going up in flames, and just when it seems like he's done for, Yuusuke charges through the doors, on his bike, to save the day, dramatically proclaiming his newfound determination to a still skeptical Ichijou. What do you even want me to say about this scene? It's a masterpiece. Grade-A hero stuff. You'd have to be dead inside not to find some excitement in Yuusuke declaring he won't let these monsters take away anyone's smiles. It's the ultimate possible hero motivation, and those iconic words to Ichijou, "watch my transformation", you know, they aren't just aimed at him. That's talking right to the audience, too. We aren't just watching Kuuga's first transformation into his proper red Mighty Form, and we aren't even just watching Yuusuke's transformation into a hero who won't ever turn his back. This is a transformation for the franchise as a whole. There's a meta dimension to that line. What was running the risk of becoming an antiquated series in the public eye was suddenly the most fresh, original hero show on TV, and this was a culmination of two weeks of slower, more thoughtful pacing, all getting us to this point. It's in that moment, in the middle of a blazing inferno, that Kuuga was truly reborn, and without any doubt, Kamen Rider was back. The rest of the episode is pretty much gravy after that. The fight moves out of the church and into um, I think it's a broken down roller coaster or something? I've honestly never been sure. Whatever it is, it's another unique and interesting location for the ending showdown to happen, especially with Gumun getting in on the fun for a brief tag team, before the fight changes yet again, with the sun coming up (we know from the handy timestamps Ichijou got to the church right before morning), scaring away Gooma, and leaving Kuuga to make up for last week by finally finishing his first monster. With kind of a weak kick sort of move? And for some reason, his foot is smoking afterwards? It's probably nothing. If I could be the tiniest bit critical, the digital effect of Gumun exploding looks ~not great~, to say the least, but on the other hand, not doing practical explosions means the fights don't all have to end in a quarry, and they can put severed bits of the body flying through the air, so, you know, all I'm saying is this approach came with some benefits, too. There's also another great bit of subtle boundary pushing I'd like to point out with Kuuga breaking toku hero etiquette and flinching when it happens. This episode may show that Yuusuke has what it takes to fight evil, but he's still Yuusuke. On which note, this episode has a pretty memorable ending that I feel obligated to mention, but it's so brilliant there's kinda nothing I could add. I'll take a page from the show's book and just let the pictures do the talking for me. THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER Kuuga famously spent a lot of budget on that church set, but what's less well known is that the premiere ate up a lot of the budget too... the budget for thumbs! Total thumbs up count: 5+1 = 6
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 04-06-2023 at 05:30 PM.. |
04-06-2020, 04:53 PM | #3 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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One thing that I read into with Kuuga's first thumbs up - Kuuga's first thumbs up, not Godai's - is that it felt like... it felt like the best possible way to communicate to both Ichijou and the audience that this character is human. That's something that I believe extends to the other 49 episodes as well, but focusing purely on this moment; it's just the most wonderful, perfect way to cap off a whirling 3-4 minutes of violence.
Usually a piece of superhero media with a similar premise would follow that fight off with a lot of apprehension from the authorities; and some confusion from the hero; and all the conflict that comes with it. And not to say that Kuuga doesn't concern itself with that, but right now at this moment? Kuuga and Ichijou are stuck alone on a confined space in the air. As far as Ichijou knows he's face-to-face with a violent destructive monster who cares for nothing other than beating his foe... and then he gets the simplest, most human expression he could get to assure him. The bug-eyed white-armoured thing with a jagged mouth gives him a thumbs up. It's so small, it's so minimalist, and it's what's wonderful about Kuuga. I think this perhaps more than any other scene from Kuuga sticks out as the one part I think of when I think of this series. This is going to be a very long thread, because Godai has a spectacular wardrobe no matter the episode!
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04-06-2020, 04:59 PM | #4 |
Kamen Ride Or Die
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,159
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GodDAMN! That is some authoritative Kuuga talking! I'm learning a ton about the production history of the show (that story about the director!) and some new personal problems I'm going to have with Fish Sandwich, like the fact that he calls Godai "Yuusuke", which is a) disrespectful, b) tricky for me to remember, c) disrespectful.
Anywho, this thread is amazing, I can't contribute much, certainly not on the Galaxy Brain level Fish can, but here's a couple things now that he's done an A+ job: KAMEN RIDER DIE BARELY REMEMBERS WATCHING MASKED RIDER KUUGA EPISODES 1 - 2 -That white suit. I really like that white suit. It sells the idea of this being a blank slate to build upon, the start of a new legend. (I just made that up, FYI.) It also somehow looks weak, which is maybe an insane thing to say about a Kamen Rider suit. Great design and a great way to kick it all off. -I love how high-strung Ichijou is with Godai in the hospital, how mad he gets at him. It's slightly out-of-character for Ichijou, which makes it happening here feel so impactful. He's incredibly mad at Godai for not being as dedicated as he should be to justice. It's a neat choice to have Ichijou get wildly melodramatic. Not an all-the-time good idea, but it helps calibrate the relationship between our two heroes. -That first episode thing of Godai talking to the camera is still so weird to me. It's only in the first episode, I'm pretty sure, and while it's a neat way to fill out his character, it's also weirdly distracting if it's not in the usual language of the show. You can either (for me) break the fourth wall all the time, or never break the fourth wall. Doing it one time, and one time only, is so weird.
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Currently working on: Go-Busters is next! Archive of previous shows on KamenRiderDie.com! |
04-06-2020, 05:25 PM | #5 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,426
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The first 2-3 episodes of Kuuga was some of the first Kamen Rider I ever watched. I'd only seen one episode of Decade and decided to go back all the way through the rest of the Heisei era first for contact. I got a few episodes into Kuuga, though, only to find out that it hadn't been fully subbed yet. I eventually got to watch the whole thing later and I really loved it. I like how these early Heisei shows tried to be more drama/sci-fi with the occasional action scene thrown in.
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04-06-2020, 05:48 PM | #6 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,558
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Quote:
Takatera: Over my dead body. Pyro team! You're on! Toei: Whaaaatt?
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04-06-2020, 05:56 PM | #7 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,428
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I've said it multiple times around these boards, but Kuuga is my all time favorite Kamen Rider show, but even so, I probably can't say anything that hasn't been said already about it. I can certainly give a few of my own personal experiences when it comes to specific episodes or moments, but even then, I don't think I'd be able to say anything anyone hasn't heard before.
So I guess the first thing I'll say/ask is this; Anyone else find the ED unintentionally hilarious? Like, no joke, due to that pic in Fish's' sig alone, you could legit end almost every episode with "And then Godai died." I legit couldn't help but break out laughing whenever that ED would just smash cut in after something dramatic. But yeah, even if I don't say much, I'll be following this thread. I'm envious of you guys who can type super detailed descriptions. It's something I've never had the attention span for. Get me on a podcast though and I'll talk your ear off. |
04-06-2020, 06:13 PM | #8 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
As far as Ichijou knows he's face-to-face with a violent destructive monster who cares for nothing other than beating his foe... and then he gets the simplest, most human expression he could get to assure him. The bug-eyed white-armoured thing with a jagged mouth gives him a thumbs up.
Quote:
I'm learning a ton about the production history of the show (that story about the director!) and some new personal problems I'm going to have with Fish Sandwich, like the fact that he calls Godai "Yuusuke", which is a) disrespectful, b) tricky for me to remember, c) disrespectful.
A)It's more affectionate, and I have nothing but love for Kuuga. B)I mentioned this show's episode titles left a huge impact on me. As for the production history thing, I actually would've started this thread earlier if I didn't decide to go watch all the DVD/Blu-ray extras, and also sit down with a dictionary to read the show's Wikipedia page in Japanese. I'm not exactly fluent, so there's potential for me to be misinterpreting things, but any behind-the-scenes detail I mention, I'm either confident is a fact (that anecdote about how Ishida got the job was straight out of Arakawa's mouth), or will try to specify is only hearsay. It definitely worked to get my hype levels for this project through the roof, but I'm glad to hear it's already having the intended educational benefits for everyone else, too.
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04-06-2020, 06:19 PM | #9 |
Returning Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: By a computer in MD
Posts: 1,637
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Woot actual analysis yessss~ Kuuga has one of my favorite designs and form changes hands down.
I watched the show a few years back but I agree that the first two episodes do a great job setting the tone. Something I noticed with Growing Form as a costume is that it seems a bit less robust than the others which I'm not sure was intentional or not. Looking forward to more |
04-06-2020, 07:24 PM | #10 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
Posts: 5,826
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Broke: Calling Kuuga "Yuusuke"
Woke: Calling Kuuga "Godai" Bespoke: Caling Kuuga "Onodera"
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Check out my occasional ramblings! https://akibamusings.blogspot.com/
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