[Kurona]

... wow, this is really the end of the thread.

Like okay, not over over; we're all gonna chip in our thoughts and one day, some lovely day in 2041 we'll be talking about the Super Secret video; but in terms of recapping the series it's finished. And that's actually kind of getting me slightly emotional. I wasn't really watching along exactly; especially since I'd watched it very recently it would feel weird to for me personally, but... obviously while a visual medium can't be replaced like this, this has felt like a rewatch to me; in that it's gotten me to think a lot more about certain scenes and words and actions and has allowed me to get a lot more meaning out of this series even though it was hardly lacking on substance for me to begin with. I mean, hell, it's my third favourite Toku; it'd be pretty worrying if I didn't think highly of it before this!

All that to say, damn, this is just a thread on the internet but you got me feeling things. I can only give this my best whirl.




When I saw Episode 47's opening, I was deeply confused. I could have sworn I missed an episode with everything that was happening and had to double check my numbers and how many times I'd clicked 'next', but, nope -- this is how we were opening.

It's maybe a bit obvious to call it subversive, but I wanna say right away that that's really what makes Amazing Mighty work to me -- the hero's gone and gotten a new upgrade, and the very next episode, it's stomped underfoot effortlessly and never seen again. That sort of throw to your expectations; that kind of disregard for the traditional rules; that mixed in with the sheer sensory overload of everything going on at the start of Decision... it's fantastic. And what's really fantastic to me is how it only really dawned on me while I was watching the rest of the episode -- the constant rain brings dread, sure, but that slow realisation I had of what exactly happened just doubled down on it. I wasn't even watching a premonition of what was to come; I slowly began to realise that I was watching the kindest man in the world putting up a brave front and smiling to everyone knowing fully well that he was marching off to die; whether physically or spiritually. And it's wonderful to see everyone again -- even Kanzaki's back, Yusuke's mentor and teacher who tells him how proud he is of who he's become; and yet... there's this overwhelming sense of dread. I've yet to see anything like these two episodes.



And then Episode 48, Kuuga... it really goes and hits me with that red-eyed Ultimate. Godai turning around after transforming, slowly revealing the colour in his eyes; Ichijou's slow realisation and what I can only read as a glimmer of hope in his expression... this post is getting very gushy very quickly, but it's all I can do.

I've got a slightly different reading, if I might. Reading into Kuuga as being a deeply opposite entity to Yusuke; to being this awful, violent, terrible warrior... I mean, yeah, that's hard to dispute. It is Yusuke at his worst. It is the worst things about him that he uses with a heavy heart.

... but it's also his.

I'm a bit soft and mushy on this sort of thing, and I admit, I'm very quick to read into a Rider or Sentai form as that character's own power. I always like that. But Yusuke's just spent the whole series being called "#4". A very clinical definition by the police, a very detached term, and one that makes him no different to the monsters he's fighting. (And since I have nowhere else to really say it, maaaaybe a clever little nod to how the only numbered Riders in Showa were 1, 2 and 3?) Even his allies continue to call him that well after they get to know him personally and are directly working with him. Even when he's not called #4, ancient texts refer to him as a 'fearsome warrior'. But that's not what Yusuke calls it. He calls it Kuuga.

It's a very... I don't want to say childish thing to do, but it's definitely something that's got a lot more energy to it, a bit more playfulness. Or rather, it's a Superhero name. And I don't want to say Yusuke sees himself as a superhero or someone that swoops in to save the day or even someone that's proud to fight, because I think that goes against the core tenets of his character. Rather, I think he's very optimistic and very driven. He's determined to turn this power into a positive in any way he can; he refuses even at Kuuga's worst points to see it as the ultimate darkness. He refuses to give in to the idea that it's inherently a terrible thing -- he's going to go against everything that's been said and make Kuuga a beacon of hope that shines through the darkness. And then we see Ultimate Form has red eyes.

DreamSword went into a very good speech about how Amazing Mighty's bright red eyes symbolise the light of Yusuke shining through the darkness of Kuuga; never giving up and never giving into his worst emotions. And that's exactly what I see in the Ultimate Form he takes up here -- yes, of course, immediately after he has an ugly, awful, bloody, teary brawl with Daguva. Yes, he has to use terrible, demonic power. Yes, he has to kill. But he's refusing to do more than that.

Kuuga, in the real world, had become a hero and a source of hope and kindness to so many children in Japan. An effect that I still see today -- I'm not sure if anyone on this forum knows him, but there's this guy called KTJ-Taka that runs a shop for Toku toys. He also does quite a few youtube videos, and in one of the more recent ones I've seen; he talks a fair bit about how Kuuga was his first series, and how much he loved it and how new it was. And now he's grown up and it's made him so happy, he went out of his way to make a store specifically to sell Toku items to people outside of Japan who want them but have trouble getting them.

And I just think... I don't know. I think that, like how Kuuga had become something so positive in the real world; I think Yusuke always strived to make it something positive himself. Maybe that's just me.



I think that's a good enough lead-in to say that this last episode, that last scene where it plays the ending while Yusuke's walking through a beach on his travels, entertaining the kids as he goes? I kinda started crying. I think this is where I knew, where I really knew and realised; this was a series I'd loved. It done everything so perfectly, so wonderfully, so beautifully... and I'd fallen in love. Every relationship; every bit of trust; every struggle to put kindness above violence; I don't think I can quite put it into words. Kuuga was a beautiful series and an absolute must-watch in my eyes. I have a hard time expressing how much it meant to me, but it's so, so, so uplifting in everything it does.

And one way I know it was so important to me? ... this is gonna sound beyond corny, but ever since I watched Kuuga, I've been finding myself doing thumbs ups so much more whenever I can. Maybe more than the show itself (133 feels very low; sure you didn't miss any?), maybe a bit too much, but... I think just that little bit of positivity always helps. I've hinted towards it a lot in this thread, but Kuuga to me is about trust in those you care about -- you'll always be there for them, you're always there to support them and lend an ear when you need to, and you'll always protect them. But beyond that, you'll trust them in what they want to do and what their path is. And I think that little bit of affirmation, that little Thumbs Up, it encapsulates all of that.

I think that's everything. Thank you for making this thread, and thank you for being so open and so thoughtful about how you feel about Kuuga. It's been a joy going along with you for the ride, and I've gotten out just about everything I wanted to say on it. This has been fantastic






Now I just need to theorycraft that post on how the TryChaser's colour scheme transformation is relevant to telling us something about Yusuke's character