[Fish Sandwich]

Thank you all so much for the usual kind and generous responses! I'll get right to those in a second, but first, some random thoughts I had a little too late to fit in that I need to get out before I forget:

- Holy crap how cool is it that episode 48, arguably the darkest episode of the series, ended up having the highest thumbs up count I mean really

- On the whole discussion of the significance of Kuuga's eyes, it's probably worth noting Daguva's are black.

- And on that subject, I had the revelation that the whole Linto prophecy about the fearsome warrior doesn't actually refer to a specific fearsome warrior? Daguva's holy spring is as dry as they come, in both episode 1 AND 39, his appearance is accompanied by literal lightning, and he summons an endless rain that blocks out all daylight. The "holy spring" bit might be the only metaphorical part of that entire thing, and that's awesome.

- Also, Die is gonna love this one, but my one word description of Kuuga? You know what else is pretty healthy? Eating your vegetables.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

This thread is too smart to get buried in a forum, lost to the ages.

Well, as a start, I've at least made that line in my new signature a link to the thread, to make it that little bit easier to find. Oh, and if anyone was wondering, the line in question is this:



Just another quote that really stuck with me for some reason.

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Thank you so much for doing all this! Kuuga was... not my bag. I'm not sure if it's the sort of thing that improves on later viewings? There's a lot of stuff that got talked about here that... there's a way that knowing the whole picture makes it easier to see how all of the pieces fit. Knowing what kind of story it is makes watching it easier, better, and I feel like I couldn't get on that wavelength as I watched it for the first time. Or, I don't know. Maybe just wasn't for me!

I think that might be a fundamental difference in how you and I watch things? Kuuga's subtle storytelling can make it hard to get a grasp on what is and isn't significant, and something to pay attention to at first. That's more than fine for someone like me, because I tend to let TV shows just sorta... wash over me, I guess. One of the reasons I'm picky about final episodes is because I often rely on them to be that final puzzle piece that makes everything click into place. Up until that point, I'm generally just along for the ride, to some extent. You're way quicker and snappier at analyzing things, and I get the feeling Kuuga can make that tricky to do in the moment.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

And Yusuke? Well, I dunno if anyone will agree with me, but that look on his face wasn't just because he hated having to resort to such an ugly way of ending all of this, but because he outright pitied and felt sorry for Daguva and the type of person he had become. Hell, Yusuke was literally ending someone else's' smile during that entire confrontation, something I imagine he never thought he'd have to do.

Add this to the pile of great observations I never would've made myself!

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Originally Posted by Kurona

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.

No, seriously, trust me on this: your best whirl is at least as good as mine.

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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.

The funny thing is, while I often hear it referred to as a fight that happens "offscreen", that scene actually is the entire fight. We even see Daguva transform from his human self into his hairy caveman monster mode, and then into his proper suit for the first time. The fight legitimately only lasted for as long as you see onscreen. It was that brutal. The only part not shown is how Yuusuke got there, and that's not even the first time the show skimped on doing the setup, thanks to episode 42.

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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.

Another super good point, and one that ties pretty strongly into that scene from back in episode 10 where he lays out his motivations to Minori. Yuusuke, you know, he definitely doesn't really like being Kuuga, per se, but if he didn't see the value in what he can (and did) accomplish using that power, how it could be something that makes people's lives better, he never would've done it, and that's something that absolutely carries through to Ultimate Form's appearance.

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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.

I'm actually going to take the liberty of just putting that video right here, because it's only four minutes, and very relevant to the topic at hand. Why listen to me tell you about how Japanese kids in 2000 were struck by how fresh and different Kuuga was, and how much their dads who watched Rider growing up thought it was cool, when you can hear it first-hand?

Thank you for bringing this up!

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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.

Oh yeah, phhssst... totally corny, and definitely not exactly the kind of thing I was saying myself in threads four years ago.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The way the series makes a thumbs up the most cool thing ever is incredible. It really represents Kuuga's themes of hope and optimism and I legitimately, subconsciously do it way more after watching the show than I ever did before.

I still do it way more than I used to, by the way.

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133 feels very low; sure you didn't miss any?

Don't you dare tease me like that.