[Kamen Rider Die]

MASKED RIDER KUUGA EPISODES 31 - 33



Episode 31 is largely a clip show, recapping Kuuga's new Rising forms (thank you Wiki, no thank you actual show), but it does have one key bit of new story: Twoga is let off the chain! Finally, it's Masked Rider Kuuga versus Masked Rider Twoga! IT'S ALL FINALLY HAPPENING!

So, naturally, I was disappointed.

This one ended up being a bit of a slog, where some awesome motorcycle stunts were undercut by the steadfast suckiness of the Unidentified Life Form Joint Task Force, and an alarming amount of procedural red tape.

Most of the conflict in this one comes down not, unfortunately, to Twoga and his sick bike skills, but to the Metropolitan Police really not liking how much Kuuga is (accidentally!) exploding Tokyo. It's understandable, in that defeating one Grongi is now levelling entire city blocks. That's, y'know... I'm not saying the police strategy of "let the Grongi keep murdering people without doing much to oppose them" is the better course of action, but I'm also not saying "detonate a monster" is preferrable. Shit is complicated, and I'm not saying it's not. But, man, the cops spend a whole lot of time this story stopping Kuuga from getting the equipment that will end this murder spree, but I'm not seeing much hope they'd have on their own. When was the last time the Task Force managed to take down a single Grongi on their own? Ever? Kuuga's downed, like, a few dozen. They are barely qualified to carry his Amadam.

I think a story that examines the police ambivalence to Kuuga is actually a solid idea. He's not part of the chain of command, he's just a civilian, he's got no training, the death and destruction he's stopping/causing is something they have to answer for... all of that is a lot! Godai being Kuuga is definitely problematic for the government. But, like, they never even have a viable Plan B to Kuuga. Not here, not ever. The gas bullets are maybe a distraction. They lose multiple officers just trying to herd one Grongi. Literally the only thing in all of Tokyo to date that can stop a Grongi is Kuuga. Stopping him from getting BeatChaser 2000 (perfect name, chef kiss) is so utterly pointless, that it transcends the intended in-story frustration of Ichijou and becomes a drag on what should be a propulsive, single-minded action story. It's just old men folding their arms until the bodycount gets too high to ignore. There's not even a cool I Believe In Kuuga speech to make it all worthwhile, just Ichijou using his square jaw and good posture to convince a couple cops that he needs BeatChaser 2000 (swoon) more than they do, and then an off-camera The Brass Caved. The only sense we get that the police are coming over to Kuuga's side is Sugita, and him apologizing to Godai, but Sugita wasn't impeding anything in this story, so, uh, thanks?

But, look, yes, the motorcycle stuff was super-solid, and I'm thrilled that the story got to focus on the Heroes Vs Twoga plot. No Jean, barely any Pole Pole, just Ichijou and Godai trying to take down a monster. That's great. It really is. I just wish the police stuff offered anything approaching a viable alternative to Kuuga Explodes The Monster. It's tough to create realistic tension when one side is so clearly outmatched. A slightly disappointing story.