[Fish Sandwich]

EPISODE 47: "Decision"





Daguva cannot be stopped by Kuuga. Not the way he is now. The beginning of this episode wastes no time in establishing that. The initial fight between Amazing Mighty and Daguva is nothing short of a disaster. It barely qualifies as a fight, especially with how the decision was made to film it. The entire cold open is shot entirely from Yuusuke's own perspective. It very specifically emphasizes how the experience feels to him. It's chaotic and jumbled. The rain is pouring down so hard he can barely see, yet despite this, Daguva manages to light nearly everything in sight on fire, including Kuuga himself. The pain is so intense, the only sounds he can focus in on are his own pained gasps, and the laughter. The horrible, horrible laughter of the one causing all this destruction. Daguva is having the time of his life, and taunts the injured Kuuga to put up a better fight. After all, Daguva wants to smile more. This is the last thing Yuusuke hears before collapsing. This wasn't a fight. It was a nightmare, and it can't happen again. Yuusuke won't let it. But to do that, he still needs more power, and that means making a fateful decision. Yuusuke is going to do it. He's going to become the fearsome warrior.



Hidenori Ishida will be closing out the series by directing the last three episodes, and the first few minutes of this one might be his most creative work on Kuuga. Unusually, the episode preview had some unique shots in it implying a more straightforward fight scene. The simple but effective visual of Daguva putting Kuuga under his foot. Perfect for a short trailer, but what the episode itself has is perfect for the story. This is one of the most pivotal moments of the show's entire narrative, and that's why I think focusing so much on the emotion of it was the right choice. For half the series, we've heard about how the fearsome warrior will bury the sun in darkness. For the entire series, we've seen how much Yuusuke hates solving things through force. We need to understand why Yuusuke would make this choice here and now, and this opening conveys that beautifully. It's heavily visual, relying a lot on imagery to get those emotions across. The dialogue is kept to an absolute minimum, with Yuusuke's big declaration itself being deliberately subdued, in contrast to the striking, dramatic view of the four-horned Kuuga, coming more clearly into view than ever before.

One thing that is the same between the preview and the episode? The choice of ambient noise. Daguva has brought about a perpetual downpour, and in all but a few select scenes, you will be hearing the noise of it constantly. Rain being sad can be pretty trite as far as symbolism goes, but it's taken to another level here. It's not just that there's a downbeat atmosphere, it's that there's no escape from it. The episode jumps from familiar location to familiar location, but all those cozy little rooms you've gotten to know over a year inevitably still have that noise going on. And yet, even with that darkest hour finally having come, the heroes still don't give in. You can tell it's affecting all of them, don't get me wrong. But the tone of the episode, it's more bittersweet than anything. It's probably best summed up by a scene from early on where Yuusuke is watching a news report about the latest casualties. He's clenching his fist, clearly feeling that anger again, but when a voice he knows well calls out to him, he turns and smiles. It's Kanzaki.

And that's really what this episode is about at its heart. Yuusuke going around, having his last chats with some of the supporting cast. Whatever else he's feeling on the inside right now, he's planning to go beat Daguva, and then he wants to finally head back out on an adventure again. Even though he just received the beating of a lifetime nine days ago, Yuusuke, you know, he can't help but be happier when he's around the people he cares about. It comes off like Yuusuke basically trying to take himself back to why he started on this path in the first place now that the end is in sight. There's still that same warmth in these scenes, even with all the worrying going on. It's a very specific mix of emotions I have trouble describing. This episode, it's all about the worst things happening, this sense of impending dread, and anger at the damage Daguva and the rest of the Grongi have done. Scenes like Tsubaki telling Yuusuke about the rage he feels when he thinks about all the bodies he's seen over the past year, knowing everything those people's lives could have been has been stolen away from them forever. The look on Yuusuke's face as Tsubaki says that, and the scene of him driving along the street where his fight with Daguva took place, stopping in the rain to see the flowers placed on the ground for the victims of that madness. Enokida musing on how much time she's spent making weapons.

Yet the episode is also about the bonds that keep these people looking forward. About moments like Yuusuke telling Enokida that once the Unidentified Lifeforms are gone, she can make something for Sayuru instead, or them having a good laugh about the concept of "failing" at going for a walk. The scenes with Kanzaki. Keiko calling Minori from at that hospital, as she gets ever closer to bringing a promising new life into the world. It's such a complex combination of feelings, and that's pretty much where Yuusuke is at right now. There's an ambiguity to him here. The entire point of the fearsome warrior is gaining ultimate power by giving in to hatred, and it's more than evident at this point that Yuusuke is capable of that. He's still smiling and cracking jokes, he says it'll all be fine, and his friends believe it, but is it really true? Can Yuusuke really say for sure he won't get carried away in a moment of passion again, like with Jaraji? And if he doesn't, does that mean he won't be able to beat Daguva? With the Amadam still cracked from their earlier encounter, his odds don't seem great. That air of nervous trepidation is what makes this such a great episode. It's a calm before the storm happening during a literal storm. Nobody can be too sure of anything right now, but there are things they're willing to bet on.

For Yuusuke, that's the relationships he values so much, and he ends the episode continuing his farewell tour by working up the courage to head into Pole Pole. For Ichijou, it's the dedication of the police force, and he ends up investigating a Grongi hideout, stuffed with encyclopedias and whatnot that I believe are meant to imply how the woman with the rose tattoo caught up on human culture so thoroughly. What Daguva is willing to bet on is the simplest of all. Whatever happens next, it's going to be so much fun.

THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER

The show has managed to top itself yet again, with a frankly astonishing amount of thumb action, including one from Minori so hard to make out you'll probably just have to take my word for it!










Total thumbs up count: 101+9 = 110

EPISODE 48: "Kuuga"

Yuusuke warms up inside Pole Pole, sharing some more casual banter and good times with Pops and Nana before announcing his intent to leave on an adventure, which sours the mood a bit. Nana in particular can't stand the thought of him leaving, but Yuusuke insists he has to go defeat #0 this time, because he's Kuuga. In a nice little moment, after Yuusuke walks out, Pops seems to finally have the epiphany that "Kuuga" meant "#4" this entire time. People make fun of shows written by Inoue for characters being poor at communicating, but honestly, Yuusuke never stopping to realize Pops might need further elaboration on what a Kuuga is for 40+ episodes might be the single biggest misunderstanding in the history of Kamen Rider. Yuusuke's never made his identity a secret, and I guess because of that, he just figured they were all on the same page the entire series. Every scene where he brings it up, it's like Yuusuke assumes Pops knows he's #4, and Pops assumes Yuusuke isn't all there, and neither of them really wants to make a big fuss about it, so they each just say what they want to say and go about their business. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it all sort of low-key hilarious.

Over at the Grongi hideout, the woman with the rose tattoo stops by for what will turn out to be her final encounter with Ichijou. He tries to interrogate her again, getting as few answers as usual out of pointing a gun at her and asking. She rubs his aggression in his face, insisting that the Linto have truly become like the Grongi, and that Ichijou's role as a cop, in her eyes, a Linto warrior who hunts his own kind, is evidence of this. Not being one to indulge him too much at once, she shoves him aside and heads out of the building. Ichijou responds to this by unloading six nerve-disruptor bullets directly into her. She gives the most perfect possible response, turning to smile at Ichijou as blood streaks down her mouth, and saying a few last words in the Grongi language before falling into the nearby water. This marks the end for Ra-Baruba-De, the rose Grongi so classy, we never saw her monster form throughout the entire show. I really love this conclusion, and how it pays off of how she was built up over the course of the story. The fact that we didn't see her as a monster gels with how she clearly takes to modern society more than any other member of the Grongi. The fact that she takes so much to human society means it makes sense she develops that sort of rivalry with Ichijou. And since she isn't a monster in a rubber suit to be fought, it means that rivalry is enhanced by the fact that Yuusuke never once met her. And all of that combines to make this such a satisfactory resolution. Her fate is ultimately tied not to Kuuga, but to the completely ordinary warriors of the modern Linto, and in the end, more than anything else, she seems to simply be proud of how much they've embraced violence over the years. And that's only looking at it from one angle. I feel like there are a lot of equally valid things you can draw out of this scene, and that's what makes it great.

Yuusuke heads to the last two stops on his tour. Neither of which includes seeing Jean, but, as much as I don't want to admit it, he always was the character with the least connection to Yuusuke, so leaving him out is a smart move in a way. The first stop is the preschool, to say goodbye to Minori and the kids there that are always so happy to see him. It's a simple scene, but I like how you can see Minori and Yuusuke's facial expressions communicating some of those more complex emotions they obviously don't want to burden the children with by bringing it up in front of them. Things they say with a look. Plus, Yuusuke's optimistic assertion that there's a blue sky waiting on the other side of all this rain is just great. You can't even complain it's too on-the-nose, because he's speaking to little kids. Of course he's not going to be subtle. He saves the subtlety for his talk with Sakurako at the university, which has considerably more tension. There's still a bit of time for some awkward chuckling, but Sakurako knows Yuusuke well enough that she's already deduced what he's planning to do, and she's completely powerless to help him from this point on. All she can do now is believe in Yuusuke, and hope things will turn out okay, and it's obvious how much that eats at her. It's a pretty uneasy conversation, and of course it's cut short when duty calls, and Yuusuke receives a call on the Beat Chaser from Ichijou telling him Daguva's making his next move. Yuusuke arrives at the scene to more burned bodies, and Daguva telling him that if Yuusuke can finally become like him, he's looking forward to seeing him again at a place that holds a lot of significance. Ichijou rides up on the repaired Try Chaser, and if that wasn't full circle enough in its own right, Yuusuke than explains what the deal is. This is ending where it all began. Daguva is waiting at Kurogatake.

Once they reach their destination the next morning, there's a little more time to talk before heading up the mountain. Pretty much every one of Yuusuke's conversations with the rest of the cast has been better than the last, and it probably goes without saying the one between the show's two main characters is the best of all. I'm going to say it anyway, though. This is a fantastic scene. There's a ton of weight to every moment. The things that aren't said, and the moments of silence matter just as much as what Ichijou and Yuusuke can manage to put into words. And that's probably the key to why it works so well. They're "managing" to speak. There's an entire year of emotions between these two that neither of them will ever know how to fully express. After all, they're so similar, remember? There's inherently going to be some sadness in that conversation, and neither of them is good with that kind of thing, because lives dedicated to protecting smiles and stoic public service mean they're both conditioned to avoid "bothering" others with their own problems. The way Yuusuke ultimately chooses to break the ice is by matter-of-factly telling Ichijou he should aim for the damaged Amadam if he ends up going out of control. I think the strength it takes to say something like that so casually is what prompts Ichijou to admit what he's been worried about since the second episode. He wishes Yuusuke was never put in a position where he had to be strong. Ichijou considers the fact they ended up relying on Yuusuke to this point to be a failure on his part, and the more and more attached he's grown to him, the more that regret increases. It was never fair that he had to take on this burden, but Yuusuke makes one thing clear in return. He doesn't regret the path he's taken. Certainly not if it meant getting to meet Ichijou. It's a touching bookend to what started off as a rocky relationship, as Yuusuke asks Ichijou and the audience, one last time, to watch his transformation. After all those episodes of buildup, the fearsome warrior finally arrives, and Kuuga heads off in his new Ultimate Form to finish off the last surviving Grongi, and end their threat once and for all.



This is one of the most monumental showdowns in Rider history for a bunch of different reasons. Much as Ultimate Form is only truly first seen here, this is the first time we've gotten a clear glimpse at N-Daguva-Zeba's true form. It's a direct mirror to Ultimate Form, with a matching four-horned stag beetle motif, spiky bits in similar places, and the notable contrast of being primarily white, which also happens to match his human form's taste in clothing, just as Yuusuke himself has started wearing more black lately. The inversion of stereotypical good/evil colors was almost certainly deliberate, although there's room for debate about how much that's really meant to imply. What's for sure is that there are a lot of very effective parallels between these characters, and while Daguva has only properly been around for this last stretch, he's made every bit of screentime he's had count towards building himself up as the polar opposite of everything Yuusuke represents. I tend to be fond of villains with these kinds of setups, and Daguva, man, he's as good as they come. Going into the fight, there's a brief phase where the two basically test out their incredible powers, with Daguva lighting Kuuga on fire again, only this time, Kuuga returns the favor. This supernatural duel doesn't last long. The two quickly start pounding into one another the traditional way, and the whole time, Daguva is just ecstatic. He lives for combat, and nobody has given him as good a time as Kuuga in forever. He's laughing all through the fight. Even once his belt, as well as Kuuga's, are broken, reverting them to their human forms, he's still laughing. No matter how bruised he is, no matter how many hits he takes, he wouldn't trade this experience for the world. Fighting is what gives his life meaning. It's what makes him feel happy. But that's only his perspective, and there's a question here that needs to be asked -- how does Yuusuke feel?



And of course, he feels like absolute garbage. He despises every second of this. He's always despised it. This is what that mask has been hiding an entire series. All the pain and misery, not simply at taking all these wounds, but at being forced to deal them back in kind. The heartache of this whole miserable, pointless cycle where a punch to the face is all that decides who's right and who's wrong. That look on Yuusuke's face, how he sounds almost like he's crying as the blood rolls down his chin before he strikes the final blow on Daguva, I can't even begin to describe the impact this had on me. It's a moment I won't ever forget. Kuuga was a show that had a lot it wanted to say, and this climax says everything louder than any amount of words ever could. It is intensely powerful, and without question my favorite final battle in all of Rider. It's the pinnacle of a series-long trend of asking you to reexamine everything you think you know about hero tokusatsu. By stripping away the fancy powers, all the special effects, the costumes, the music, all the spectacle, it implores you to take a second to truly think about what exactly you're rooting for. Watching larger than life characters sort their problems out through violence, it's ingrained in pretty much every form of storytelling there's ever been. That kind of physical conflict is primal and easy to dramatize. We all want to see heroes defeating villains. But why exactly do we want to see it? What exactly is it we should be idolizing about those kinds of characters? Kuuga was a show that often aimed for realism, and, in real life, what is trying to solve things exclusively through force more likely to result in? Will it lead to a thrilling showdown, with the fate of the world at stake, filled with exciting colors and fantastic abilities? Or will it just be two men, beating each other to death in the snow, savage and senseless?



Refusing to give the audience what they wanted, in this case, I firmly believe to be the best possible choice this story could've made. This is what the show was building up to since all the way back in the second episode when Yuusuke told us he'll never get used to this feeling. Taking all the glory out of fighting, exposing how ugly and repulsive it is so unapologetically, that was the only way Kuuga ever could've ended. But there was one thing that could've gone more than one way. Originally, the plan for the ending was to have Yuusuke die. It would've been a sort of way for him to atone for the violence he was a part of, regardless of his selfless motives. While we'll see what became of that plan in a second, there's one part of it that's just as true in the final product. By the end of this episode, Kuuga is gone, and we won't be seeing him again.

THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER

With some help from the kids at the preschool, the show tops the record it just set last episode. I don't believe it either.








Total thumbs up count: 110+14 = 124

EPISODE 49: "Yuusuke"

Kuuga's finale is a unique ending to a unique show. First of all, this is hard to appreciate watching it now, but there's no commercial break in the middle. It's still the normal length, so I don't know if they had to stuff 7 straight minutes of ads before or after to compensate or what, but the episode ran on TV from beginning to end completely uninterrupted. I think that speaks to a certain level of pride in the end product. It gets special treatment because it is special. So let's get into why.

The episode opens with about half a minute of nothing more than a sort of ethereal zoom through the clouds. The credits that would normally be reserved for after the opening are put here instead, as is the simple title of the episode. Yuusuke. Just "Yuusuke". It may seem like a lot of nothing, but when you put it in context of how the previous episode, called "Kuuga", was so downbeat and violent, that simple, peaceful shot of the clouds starts to make a lot more sense. One thing about the opening from the second version onwards I've neglected to mention is that it added a feature where the initial flashes of images that start it off include a sort of preview, usually of that episode's monster, but also sometimes used for things like each of the Rising forms. What is it this time, at the end of it all? It's Yuusuke's hand, giving a thumbs up. Perfect. It's the first we see of him this episode, and, believe it or not, those couple of frames are the most we'll see for a while.



Three months after the showdown with Daguva, Ichijou is getting a bunch of files and whatnot in order, now that the Unidentified Lifeform task force has served its purpose. Looking over the records that go all the way back to Growing Form's initial fight with Gumun, he can't help but feel a little nostalgic. It was a long year fighting, after all, as Sakurai points out by noting they dealt with 48 different Unidentified Lifeforms up to now, counting from #0, and going up to Dorudo, who was #47. I feel like there's a chance it's a coincidence, but with Sakurai taking the time to call attention to it here, that number seems to double as a meta reference to how many episodes it took us to get to this point, which is an impressive thing to line up like that! Just one or two extra offscreen Grongi would've thrown the whole thing off, but no, it lines up exactly.

Sasayama muses on the possibility that if anyone but Yuusuke had become #4, they might not have been able to see things through to the end. In fact, everybody seems to have nice things to say about Yuusuke after everything he's done. Sakurai admires the way he always kept up his smile no matter what. Sugita wonders how he does it. Matsukura says there are few men out there like him, and even mimics a thumbs up. After this, he goes to the window to ponder what Yuusuke is out there doing right now. We cut back to that same blue sky from the cold open... and then to Pole Pole, where Pops is wearing a Kuuga-branded apron, evidently in tribute to Yuusuke.

Pops has just finished writing a response to a letter he received from Mika, who's been accepted into the high school she was shooting for, and is still keeping up with playing the flute. A lot of things are going very right for people right now. Nana's even finally landed a role herself. The structure of this episode has clearly taken shape now. It's about following everyone around to see how they're doing now that things are finally peaceful again, and their thoughts on Yuusuke's impact, with a particular emphasis on Ichijou heading around Tokyo to say his goodbyes before he transfers back to Nagano. It's essentially a twist on what Yuusuke did before facing off with Daguva. Next on his list is Enokida, who's finally found time to spend with Sayuru without the Unidentified Lifeforms to worry about. She's even planning to head to Disneyland the next day. But of course, she can't help but wonder what Yuusuke is up to, and wishes he'd stuck around long enough that she could've gotten to see what his friendship with Ichijou would've looked like in peacetime. True to his personality, Ichijou doesn't have any words to respond to this, but it's obvious from his wistful sigh he would've liked to see it himself. Elsewhere, the blue sky pans down to reveal a beach.

Back at Pole Pole, Pops has received a few customers looking to drink Yuusuke's own special blend. One of them is Kanzaki, who happened to be in the neighborhood. The other is Jean, who's feeling great knowing that tomorrow, he'll be heading to Disneyland. This tells you pretty much everything you need to know about how his relationship with Enokida is progressing, and I adore how indirect the show is about explaining it. It's all very subtle, but there just isn't anything else that needs to be said, and the slight ambiguity of their exact situation is something I appreciate. It fits a subplot that was always treated with a light touch. Always eager to please a customer, Pops calls in the guy Yuusuke based his blend on. It's some dude named Tamasaburou Kazari, who turns out to be... Pops, having done an elaborate bit where he walks up the stairs pretending to call out to somebody else. Now, explaining what Pops' real name was is hardly some necessary part of the lore to fill out, but, I mean, if you've got the time in the finale, why not? The way he makes such a scene of it, like his pride has been damaged by people assuming he can't make drinks as well as Yuusuke, that's also more of that delightful Pops arrogance I can't get enough of.

Ichijou stops by Tsubaki's place, where Tsubaki is remarking on how incredible Yuusuke was to soldier on for everyone's sake, in spite of the frightening changes his body was undergoing the whole time. As always, Tsubaki has a really deep appreciation of just how much pain Yuusuke went through, and he makes it clear how much he resents the Unidentified Lifeforms forcing Yuusuke to chip away at his own smile just because they were so obsessed with their own. That kind of selfishness, it's an easy way to live, but it was never Yuusuke's way, and that's what made him special. Tsubaki is confident things are looking up in the world though, especially thanks to a letter he received from Chouno. The text of it is only onscreen for a brief moment, but it's fully written out. Chouno describes in it how little seems to be changing in his life, for better or for worse. He's still working part time jobs he hates, and he's still drawing pictures when he has the time, though he doesn't even know why himself. He's still got no clue what to do with his life, but an experience where someone liked one of his pictures enough to buy it off him has led him to start thinking it's okay for him to be alive, and that, just maybe, like Yuusuke told him, he's better off trying to enjoy it, even if he doesn't know how it will all work out. To that end, he sent something along with the letter to Tsubaki, and it tells you all you need to know even without the context of the letter. He gave Tsubaki his knife, and Tsubaki takes that as a sign that Chouno is finally ready to put his own self-centered ways behind him for good. This is one of the most powerful moments in the episode, I think, proving just how much Chouno always did belong in this show. He was exactly the kind of guy the Grongi were talking about when they said the Linto would become like them, but here, at the end of it all, even Chouno was able to find hope in himself, and maybe that says something for the hope of humanity as a whole. Back at the beach, someone seen only from the legs down sets a backpack on the sand.

Pops looks through his #4 scrapbook with the rest of the group at Pole Pole, and they discuss how Yuusuke always wanted to see everyone smile. Pops brings up the letters Minori and him received from their father, and speculates how much those must've stuck with them from a young age. Combine that with Kanzaki's words, and even Yuusuke's childhood experience in Nepal that he mentioned in his very first scene in the premiere, and it's not hard to see why this guy made it his mission to protect happiness the way he did, taking it upon himself to master 2000 skills to that end. And what do we find out his very first skill was here, thanks to Kanzaki? It was smiling, of course. It might not sound that impressive, but like Yuusuke said back at the start, there's nothing cooler than someone who can keep smiling no matter how hard things get. It's safe to say he lived up to that standard.

Ichijou's next stop is the preschool, where Minori thanks him for looking after her brother for so long. Ichijou tries to downplay this, and insists he put Yuusuke through hardship, but Minori knows Yuusuke did everything he did because it was what he really wanted. One of the kids there asks why #4 left, even though he's a good guy who beat #0, and Minori replies that a world that doesn't need #4 around is better for everyone. The kid's blank expression implies that, perhaps like much of the target audience, he's having a little trouble grasping what Minori means by that, but everybody is soon distracted by the arrival of Keiko, who's stopped by the school with her newborn child in tow. The future is looking bright for her son, who gets to grow up in a world free from the Grongi's menace, thanks in large part to Yuusuke.

After this, Ichijou heads over to the university to see Sakurako, who shows him a bit of the ancient text saying Gouram is supposed to crumble to sand if Kuuga's "holy spring" ever dried up and he became the fearsome warrior. It was the Linto's attempt to avoid giving the fearsome warrior any more power to use for evil, but Gouram is still perfectly fine over at the research institute, so what gives? Well, that's obvious isn't it? Yuusuke became the fearsome warrior, but he didn't do it using his hatred as fuel, even though that would've been easy. He instead chose his own path, and gained that same power through his heartfelt desire to protect the things that matter to him. Ichijou calls out how this is symbolized by Yuusuke's visions of Ultimate Form having black eyes, while the one he actually turns into (first seen in-series as Yuusuke makes his decision in episode 47) has the same passionate red eyes as Mighty Form. This is another one of the most powerful bits of this episode. Sakurako's meta paraphrasing of the theme song, saying Yuusuke rewrote the legend, is really inspired in how much it works on both levels. Yuusuke did things his own way, and changed an ancient prophecy, and Kuuga, the show, did things its own way, and changed a franchise. It's a very celebratory remark, and there's something so blunt about the idea of Yuusuke doing the impossible and achieving Ultimate Form through kindness I can't help but love. Especially since we did see him going around talking to all his friends before heading out to face Daguva. But that's just it, isn't it? He was essentially saying goodbye to everyone, and we still haven't really seen him in his own finale, even though the episode is nearly over. He seemed so eager to leave, it makes you wonder how well he's doing as much as the characters. Can he really be happy after everything that's happened? Was his desire to leave so soon reflective of him trying to get as much distance from his trauma as possible? Will he ever feel any better, or has all the fighting left him corrupted forever? A man lying on the sand raises his fist in the air.



This is Yuusuke, obviously. After all that buildup, we finally see him again, but we still don't see his face yet. Just that image of him putting his fist in his palm, as though the unpleasant feelings of his days as Kuuga haven't left him, even months later, and in another country entirely. Maybe he really did crack. After all, the last we saw of Yuusuke was him in horrible pain before passing out in the snow. There are a lot of questions to be asked of him, but that might have to wait, as he looks down the beach to see a group of children angrily shoving one another around. Yuusuke leaps up to run over to them. We cut to the blue sky yet again, and a small white ball flies through the air.

Yuusuke's juggling act is a huge hit with the kids. They've all stopped fighting to watch him and smile, and Yuusuke is smiling too. Of course he's smiling. It might not have been the first plan for the show's conclusion, but really, I can't imagine it any other way. This is just the most poignant possible ending to the show, perfectly in line with everything it's ever tried to convey to its audience. The fight with the Grongi being over doesn't mean Yuusuke is done making people smile, it means he can finally get back to it. This bookend with the first episode, it's a touching resolution to the journey of a hero who refused to ever give up on his ideals. That triumph of the human spirit, of compassion and selflessness over cruelty and ego, that's what Kuuga is all about to me. However much Yuusuke has suffered, he won't ever stop moving forward, he won't ever forget why he does it, and for a show meant to inspire, there couldn't be anything more fitting. The whole scene, from the juggling, to Yuusuke walking off, all with the ending theme, Yuusuke's theme, playing both verses over it all, lyrics perfectly complementing the scene as Yuusuke finally manages to take everyone to that future without suffering or fighting, it chokes me up in ways few things can. It's beautiful what they accomplished here. The superhero show that rejects violence as something to be glorified, putting its money where its mouth is, and doing an entire episode where the hero never, ever transforms. Where there's not a single fight scene to be found. No costumes. No bloodshed. Just all the people we've grown to care about over the past year, finally able to live out our hero's dream of a world where everyone can be happy. And it's still every bit as interesting. It's as perfect a finale as a Rider show could have, and they did it all without ever feeling the need for any grand final action scene.

I didn't quite expect to have this much to say about the finale. I mean, I knew it'd be a lot, but I've always considered "Kuuga" and "Yuusuke" to be a package deal (and obviously they are), and I thought I'd have more to say about the former. Instead, this is by far the longest I've gone on about a single episode. Part of that is because I couldn't seem to help myself from summarizing nearly every single scene in order. Maybe that's down to me knowing this is the last time I get to do this, but I think what that really speaks to is how sublime the structure here is. I almost certainly could've trimmed this down, but I was too mesmerized to even consider that. I think the sheer volume of this one expresses how I feel as much as the words themselves. Hopefully you all don't mind indulging me here. I can be pretty harsh of finales when I think they disappoint even a little bit, but you'd never know that judging by this post. Every single scene here, they earn the episode's title by focusing so squarely on making a final statement on why Yuusuke, and not Kuuga, is a hero. Each has a unique point to make, and in the process, they follow up on what the extensive roster of supporting characters is up to as well, giving them the closure they need. Punctuating them all with subtle progressions of that blue sky motif, gradually building up to the eventual reveal of Yuusuke himself at the end, it's beyond punchy. The restraint it took to hold back directly showing Yuusuke for so long pays off brilliantly, because you feel his presence the whole time all the same. It's easily one of the tightest written episodes of the series, with everything pulling in one direction precisely and without waste. I always loved this episode, but I'm a little astonished to go back and realize that I might love it a little more than even the previous one. It's a tough call. You can't really have one without the other, but if there's a single episode that most represents what this series is all about, it might just be this one, and you couldn't ask for anything more of a finale.



THUMBS UP COUNTING CORNER

The last episode holds the record, but this entire trilogy milked the thumbs budget for everything it had left. A fitting way to say goodbye to an amazing series.











Total thumbs up count: 124+9 = 133