[Fish Sandwich]

And with that, this adventure is just about over. You'll notice I haven't covered the handful of odds and ends Kuuga has, like the Super Secret Video, but to be perfectly honest, I need a break from writing about Kuuga. I'd love to come back and tackle all that stuff at a later date, but for now, I'm wrapping things up with some "final" thoughts on the series as a whole. This is it for the time being.



I never found much time to talk about it here, but I really love Kuuga's opening and ending themes. They're a perfect paired set. The awesome OP always gets you pumped up with that dun-DUN-dun-DUN *pause* dunnnnnnnnn~, and its lyrics about how awesome Kuuga is. The ED, in contrast, is a much more gentle tune reflecting Yuusuke's hopes and dreams. I'm the slightest bit more fond of the ending sequence, which you may have gathered from the fact that my signature image this entire time has been that first frame of Yuusuke napping on the ground, finding some peace in his often chaotic life. It's always really stuck with me. That doesn't mean the opening is any less great though, and I don't think it's any secret that one of the coolest things about it is the meta layer to all the lyrics. It's as much about Kuuga the show as it is Kuuga the character. There's one line in particular from the second chorus that sums up what the series set out to accomplish. As per the (excellent) official translation, it goes "Racing to the top, I'm here to change all of this". A bold statement for a song that would've been written before the show even premiered, but here's the thing. Kuuga did change all of this.

The impact Kuuga had is something that deserves to be appreciated. It's not hard to argue that when it hit the air back in 2000, there genuinely wasn't anything else that could come close. It really was at the top. This was no halfhearted reboot; it was a complete reinvention of a vintage franchise that catapulted it back into the spotlight, where it has since remained, uninterrupted for two decades straight at this point. That success is up to each individual show too, of course, but I think merely saying Kuuga got the ball rolling would be an understatement. It sent that thing flying. It was a wildly experimental show that took more influence from shows like ER than it did anything relating to tokusatsu. It remembered to respect the roots too, with copious amounts of throwbacks and thematic similarities, and I think that's another reason it went over so well, but in terms of production style, it was uncharted territory all the way. The more cinematic direction, the deeper, more rounded characters, the fondness for two-parters, which allowed for more complex stories, and the subsequent ability to have episodes that don't need to end with the hero blowing up a monster every week. Many of the things we take for granted in Kamen Rider now, Kuuga was the first to try, and it proved the viability of this stuff all on its own, resulting in a series that exceeded expectations, becoming popular not only within its target demographic, but beyond it as well.

But all of that, it's just about what Kuuga was, and I'm even more interested in what it still is. The thing about Kuuga is that, despite putting down the groundwork for so many future shows, I also consider it to still be a truly singular, distinctive piece. There still aren't any shows quite like Kuuga. The kind of uncompromising, borderline counterculture attitude it had was something no other Rider show could've ever gotten away with. It's a moment in time that won't ever be replicated. You can point to all the individual elements that have gone on to be used later down the line, or other stories from before it shares similarities with, but the specific, unique mix that is Kuuga is entirely its own. It's bursting at the seams with raw artistic vision. A show that respects its legacy, itself, and the viewers all enough to question everything that's taken for granted in a show like this. Why don't the police ever get involved when monsters start attacking? Why can't characters have more real problems? Why should violence be something to be celebrated? Kuuga is often described as "deconstructive", which I think can be a pretty loaded word. There's often a negative connotation to it. A show that just sits there telling you everything you like is dumb and you're dumb for liking it, that would be rude at best, and intolerably self-satisfied at worst. It's not inherently a good thing, but it's great for Kuuga because of its pure motivations. The biggest creative voices behind the show were all people who grew up on the very shows they were challenging. They loved the stuff. It wasn't a matter of claiming superiority, despite the boastful theme song. They asked those questions not out of hate, but because they believed the answers would lead to an interesting story in its own right. That it could provide an opportunity to grow into something even better. It's good to look at things from a different perspective sometimes.

And Kuuga's perspective is exactly what remains wholly original even all these years later. No other hero show is anywhere near this dedicated to its message. It's easy to file that message under "pacifism", and call it generic, but that's doing a disservice to how thoughtful and considered Kuuga's story is. This kind of subject matter can be inherently difficult for an action show to handle without coming off as hypocritical, and that's why it's a good thing Kuuga's take on it is so precisely tailored to examining the very nature of superhero narratives. It's not telling you fighting is bad, period. It's asking the audience to consider how readily they leap to it as a solution to problems. How we put on a pedestal these characters who excel at fighting, worshiping them at courageous heroes. Kuuga's main message, to me, the specificity that sets it apart from the pack, is in how it says that it takes far more courage not to fight. Wanting to simply hit things we perceive as threats, or that we just plain don't like, is basic human instinct. It's not special. It's easy. But controlling those impulses, taking the time to think things through calmly and rationally, trying to understand the things and people around you, all of that can be extremely difficult at times, and that's why maybe it's the kind of thing that truly deserves to be venerated.

This line of thinking feeds into every facet of the show. The word "justice" is never used a single time, likely because that's a word easily appropriated by people who refuse to listen. The Grongi are just ordinary ancestors of modern humans turned into creatures in the same way Yuusuke was. The only true difference between them is in what they choose to value. And what Yuusuke values, what makes him the hero, is that he'd never call being Kuuga "cool". His most heroic feats all revolve around him helping others out without even needing to be Kuuga. His real worth is in his ability to inspire the people around him, and to help out those in need by engaging with them on a personal level, always showing deep empathy for their problems. Those are his talents. It's the same deal for everyone that supports him as Kuuga. He's surrounded by people like Sakurako, Enokida, Tsubaki, and Jean, that aid him using their brains, rather than their brawn. Even the police, who try to participate in the fighting, are most helpful when it comes to applying their investigative and organizational skills to take control of the situation. Kuuga actually hitting a monster at the end of the episode is an important part of this routine, but it's only one part. From a main writer most known for Super Sentai, I suppose I should expect no less, but there's a very strong sense of teamwork in Kuuga. The Grongi are defeated not because Kuuga is a better fighter than them, but because they do things alone, competing against each other, while the humans work together in harmony, always valuing what every single person has to contribute. We have the potential to be like the Grongi ourselves, but we can also choose to be something better. If we persevere, never forgetting our ideals, we can rise above any cruelty and misfortune that comes our way. That's the meaning this show imbues the thumbs up with, I think. When Yuusuke or somebody else flashes it, it's a reminder not that things will just magically be alright, but that even when things are going bad, it's important to give it your all anyway.

If I had to sum up Kuuga in a word, it'd be... "healthy", maybe? A strange choice, I know, and there are plenty of other good options, but that's a thought I'd keep coming back to every now and then as I was writing these posts. I first watched Kuuga give-or-take 8 years ago, and, thinking back on it, I feel like it's kind of shaped my life more than I realized? In a really positive way, to boot. I mentioned how that shot of Yuusuke looking miserable in his final fight with Daguva left an impact on me, but, after writing that, and thinking about it even more, that one scene might well have gotten me questioning everything I thought I knew about action stories and superheroes. Nowadays, I'm way into like... I mean, Ghost is my favorite Kamen Rider show. The one with magic empathy hugs and the constant emphasis on debating conflicting perspectives in a respectful and productive manner. One of my favorite tokusatsu heroes ever is Ultraman Cosmos, the one whose defining trait is his fighting style that revolves around pacifying monsters without lethal force. I was never some huge edgelord obsessed with blood and gore or anything, but my tastes after Kuuga started leaning more and more saccharine. I started placing more value on stories that themselves placed less value on action for action's sake. Going back, I think that's a sign of how much I was listening to what this show had to say to me. It shares more DNA with my other favorites than I would think at first from how different it can be in terms of tone and style. Again, it's a "healthy" show. One that cares about you enough to ask you, more than anything, to just think a little deeper about things, even as it still provides all the thrilling hero action you came for. Kuuga was a show that was happy to exist, and it wanted that existence to mean something. At least for me, I definitely think it did.

I suppose that's about all I really wanted to say about Kuuga. Or at least, I have to stop eventually, right? I mean, I've got 49 episodes worth of other thoughts that have touched on a variety of other points. The tone, the style, the characters, the action, the heart, there is a whole lot to love about this show, and I'd like to think I captured that somewhere in all this rambling. This project was a pretty big undertaking for me, and without that affection, there's no way I ever would've seen it through this far. Going in, I was honestly a bit worried about going back to Kuuga after so many years. Was I overselling how good it is all this time? I mean, I forgot so much of it. Maybe everything between those first and last few episodes was totally unmemorable and not that great? But it was great. Aside from the mildly (mildly!) uneven second quarter, darn near every arc in this show gave me more than enough to talk about. Tons and tons of extremely well done stories with compelling narratives filled with great dramatic tension and heartwarming exchanges between endearing characters. Some of the episodes of this show I remembered the least turned out to be new favorites after seeing them again. Kuuga has always been one of my favorite shows, and now that's even more the case.

That alone makes doing all this worth it, but I could've gotten that simply from rewatching the show. Writing about it like this was something else entirely. As always, I am extremely grateful to everyone who not only stuck with me on this whole ride, but actively enjoyed doing it. I wrote a ton about Kuuga in the process. Way more than I could reasonably expect anyone to take time out of their day to read. This thread has been an eclectic mix of opinionated recap, thematic analysis, trivia, the odd gag here or there, counting... It's basically unthinkable it would have any appeal to anyone. So if you did find that appeal, and feel like you've gotten something positive out of the experience, the honor really is all mine. Again, I'll probably come back here to talk about the leftover stuff like the Super Secret Video at some point, and I'm also more than happy to keep discussing the show here with anyone who wants to, but until then, thank you all so much, and here's to your smiles.