But there is so much more than that in the Grongi, having it translated you know how the dynamic of the group works, you know their names, powers, motivations. You'd know none of that without the translations, so that's like half the plot gone.

Yes, but it also ruins all the secrets of the Gegeru if you know it in advance. And honestly, a lot of it would just be them standing around laying out the rules for the current round. I think that actually works better when you don't know exactly what they're up to or why.

So far having it translated has only added to the experience and I won't know how much it ruins until I get further down the line, so I'll take your word for it. It's been a great series either way, even if Kuuga's powers are kinda underwhelming.

Wait til you get to the Rising forms.

I'll look forward to that!

Meanwhile episode 10 was another rare misstep for the series,with Godai's sister being easily the weakest side character. She, much like the old guy who forgets things, was barely in the series enough to register who she was, much like the old man is, but these last few episodes have really given her a lot of focus and she is just so poorly acted. I guess at least the people who stand in his way, move out of the way swiftly. Toku has a tendency to draw this shit out.

Plus they killed a doggy :(

Eh, at least the action was satisfying, minus the phallic nature of his new form. Purple AND a sword eh? Interesting combo, wonder how you came up with that...

Your assesment of Titan form is rather humble compared to what other series offer in the way of questionable gear.

Hell, Kiva's Fapsword. :I

I guess this makes sense of why these shows are always such sausagefests...

I didn't like the first episode of Jetman, that's about it. I've fallen asleep during some boring episodes but didn't dislike them. I just tend to enjoy things.

Need I mention Final Attack Den-O?

Every time you see a dog in tokusatsu, it is going to die.

I think I've only seen one exception to this (which was in 555, oddly, the show that was all about misery and suffering).

I hate that joke so much...it's called the Zanbat Sword.

Yes you do.

Watched episode 18 and 19 of OOO, still awesome. Love Date more and hate Kasari, great character just hate him.

I hate him, too.
What happens to him later on was so gratifying to watch.

u mean Cazali? or whatever his name is spelt :lol

C and K
Z and S
L and R

The bastard's name was just as hard to spell as his plans were to comprehend.

The opening episode of Jetman sucks but it turns into a great series...for about twenty episodes, then all falls apart again.
:(

That makes me happy to know.

What...

What is it with Toku and non Japanese characters who speak Japanese for 99% of the time and then randomly shout something out in English with a Japanese accent? It's really weird. I've also noticed that the exclamation of 'eh' is the most used piece of dialogue in toku to points of hilarity.

Either way episode 11 of Kuuga was another weak episode with satisfying action, weird that up until this point it was the other way round. I understand it is important to focus upon, and flesh out, your characters but even when Kuuga has something interesting to say it's drawn out to extreme boredom levels or just acted so poorly it's completely unengaging.

I hope the series picks up soon or I'm gonna get real fed up of it.

Excepting any interaction between Godai and Ichijo or the doctor, I always felt all the human interactions were very little substance, stretched out over two episodes.

But I felt the mystery aspect, and the discovery of Kuuga's powers made up for it most of the time.

Yeah isn't a bad show but pretty much all the characters around Godai and Ichijo have about as much depth and charisma as a potted plant. And although some of the themes it has dealt with, like Mika's grief over the death of her father, were really really well written and constructed there was no build up that episode just kinda happened and random unrelated action scenes were just slotted in around it.

Not to mention that the acting in Kuuga is really, really bad, no one really has a lot to work with and so naturally charming actors like those who portray Godai and Ichijo manage to breathe life into their flat characters but pretty much the entirety of the rest of the cast aren't strong enough to make anything interesting and engaging out of such lifeless mannequins for characters.

Episode 12 was another fairly meh episode of Kuuga.

It was cool to see the monsters fight each other and I certainly admire Godai a lot more now I know his motivations.

On the other hand despite being a fairly cool villain in just how much raw power he had, the Rhino guy was ultimately fairly unspectacular to laughably stupid points at times. Plus the scathing critique of Japan's school system from over ten years ago didn't really have much resonance with me. Although I will admit I wish my school got me more prepared for real life.

Watched episode 20 and 21 of OOO, TaJaDor is a super sweet looking form. Love Date now, Intrigued with Ankh even with his jackass ways.

Episode 13 was a return to form for Kuuga, a really great episode. Just a shame I didn't really understand any of the references or jokes. :(

Inspired by some of the talk in this thread I've begun rewatching Kuuga. Only three episodes in so far, but definitely remembering why I love it. It really is a unique beast in the world of Kamen Rider shows. Maybe not as dynamically different as Hibiki, but it really is unlike any other Rider series.

Episode 14 was another great episode, it was cool to see Ichijou save Godai, I'm glad characters that got focus were actually well acted this episode and man that Blue Velvet sequence was just incredible.

Really my only complaints are the same old ones, namely that for the UL's the show can construct incredible action sequences showcasing just how much of a terrifying threat they are and yet it can never construct any satisfying ends for them as well, with this weeks UL being the second to be killed by Blue Kuuga's poke finish move, which I like to call the 'Facebook Finisher'. It is also easily the worst finisher in the show, minus the time Godai made his Rider Kick more powerful by doing a flip first.

I love the Dragon forms, but I agree, he finisher is kinda weak. At least with Rising Dragon it's a pointy staff instead of round ends, but it's still a kinda boring stab. Worse, it's the same for Titan and Rising Titan.

Still, I love the different forms, and that each has it's strengths and weaknesses, and he kinda has to figure them out on his own, or with some help from Sawatari.

I like the concept of the different forms, I also love that it gives Sawatari and the gang a purpose but the actual forms themselves leave a lot to be desired. Even minus the unspectacular finishers, the costumes aren't much better.

I like Red Kuuga's design but it doesn't seem to have any powers at all? I think it's supposed to enhance his abilities but between the low budget and the fact he is fighting power houses anyway the form seems kinda useless and is really a waste of the best costume in the series so far. And the blue form is just awful through and through.

The only form and finisher I've enjoyed thoroughly so far has been Green, I hope there are more like Green on the way.

I banish thee to hell. it's not awful, it's just comparatively plain, but I like it. I like the Pegasus forms too, but the problem with those is he's limited to using them for such a short period, he chou henshins into one and has to end the fight in seconds or else he loses - which is great from a storytelling perspective, but not great from a perspective of wanting to see the form more.

Red is enhanced strength. It's the most balanced form, and yes, since he's fighting beings of enhanced strength it's not obvious. If I recall, it becomes more apparent that he's significantly stronger with Rising Mighty.

I haven't watched Kuuga for a couple weeks now, I just got to the first Rising upgrade, Rising Titan, which is a superior deco to Titan, also I rather like the Gourongi enemy and the rules for the game she's following. But mostly I liked the way the upgrade in power was teased for a few episodes, present, but a slow build until BAM! Super stronger now.

Not only is it really boring looking, with a shit finisher, it provides him with what good jumping? I guess that form is really useful in a...basketball game?

Kinda weird that he got the Pegasus form so early, considering he hasn't really had a reason to use it since the Bee dude.

I can't wait to see these Rising forms!

I love the villains in this show, just because the show does such an excellent job of portraying them as a real threat. Whether it be that epic scene with Ichijou in the church, as the UL stalked him on the ceiling above or when the UL lost her eye and went around stealing them back, whether it be all the cars chucked, the people killed or just the general chaos and carnage the villains are just fantastic.

Even villains of the week rack up quite the body count, and the show makes sure you keep track, actions have consequence in Kuuga and it makes a wonderful change from the general incompetence of the majority of Toku villains, bar maybe a general or two.

It's also supposed to be faster, but it's not really portrayed well. :(

Agreed.

There's even one episode where Godai asks Ichijo what the bodycount was from a previous UL, one that we didn't see, and it was something crazy, I'm thinking like 2700, but maybe only 1700?
Anyway, I both like that they indicate there are other incidents, life goes on, between episodes, and I dislike that life goes on between episodes and we don't get to see them all.

Yeah the budget for this show is non-existent. I know Japan doesn't have a lot of money to make these, so they usually wow me with just how far they manage to make the money stretch with a little imagination but most of Kuuga's action sequences have been pretty awful, it looks like they use up the majority of the budget each episode on showing the carnage before Kuuga cleans up and I guess that isn't such a bad thing.

But yeah Kuuga does a pretty decent job of making the whole situation feel real and big as we slowly learn about the UL and their weaknesses and come to accept that in this world hundreds of people get killed daily by monsters.

It's kinda like a toku series which points out just what a nightmare hell world living in a toku setting would be, something that your usual toku tries to not point out.

One of the things I'm liking about Faiz is that the monsters are killing people, and it can be kind of grim, like the girl Orphenoch, where they take the time to setup how horrible people are to her as a human, so that when she rises as an Orphenoch you empathize with her transition and dislike of humanity, and it's not until later you realize she murdered an entire high school basketball team during their practice, including her sister. Ouch.

I love the later series, Den-O, Kiva, Fourze, W, but they don't have the same danger to them like Kuuga, or Faiz. I think Kabuto is the latest series I've seen any of that still has civilian deaths. Oh, I guess Kiva did, but like maybe one an episode, at most.

I honestly think that is a big reason Kuuga keeps me around, even with all its awful special effects, that sense of threat. I'm not really a big fan of the whole 'gritty' scene but if the UL's intentions are to simply kill, then they've achieved more in these 15 episodes I have seen than all the the toku villains from any series I've ever watched combined.

It's so hard to go from Kuuga, where you damn well know the villains are a threat and they've damn well proven it, to so many other toku series where the villains just kinda stand around, sending out minions one at a time for the heroes to defeat after the villains cause some light property damage.

Eh episode 15 was another meh episode. I loved how we learnt more about Ichijou, he is the best character in this show and I wish he was the Rider but what was the point of that bike upgrade?

Isn't Kuuga's bike meant to be the shit anyway? Hell, it even has a button that changes the paint job to suit Kuuga...for reasons never explained.

Mighty Form is designed to be a balanced enhancement of all of Kuuga's abilities. The other forms just take a couple of abilities and hyper-enhance them - Dragon is fast and agile but weak; Titan is strong and tough but slow. Mighty balances everything and is easily the most multi-purpose form. It's upgrades are also the strongest, as Rising Mighty is a beast and Amazing Mighty is even stronger.

I agree completely. I really miss this aspect of the older shows.

I guess with a bigger budget this would be more apparent, seriously excited for these new forms. I just hope the show finds its feet again soon, after a solid opening ten or so episodes for the most part, the quality has really started to dip.

Keep in mind the show is 13 years old. They didn't do a lot of CGI back then and, as you may have noticed, when they do it's not very good by modern standards.

Oh yeah I can accept it for the times but so far the UL's and Ichijou have had better action sequences than the main rider.

Speaking of Kuuga, I watched episodes 25 and 26. The Gourongi/Kuuga stuff filled maybe 10 minutes of the two episodes, and the rest of it was a super stretched out store about a kid having to deal with the fact that thins change as we get older. It could have been only about 10 minutes of stuff, but it was extraordinarily stretched out to fill two episodes.

It was rough.

But Rising Pegasus was pretty cool.