Kamen Rider Kuuga: arguably the best toku show ever

[Toku Prime]

My only problem with Kuuga was that the show pulled a Decade on us by showing a preview of a finale that we never got.

In one episode we get told that "OMG! You gotta watch this! This is gonna be the most epic battle ever! Kuuga Amazing Mighty vs Daguba!"
And then in the following episode they go "That was such an epic battle! Anyway, here is what happened after..."

Kuuga's final battle? They DO show the entire fight. Maybe they had planned to make it a longer battle originally, but the fight as it is gets shown from first to last punch. No, there isn't much in-suit action, but one of the running themes of Kuuga is how horrible and terrible fighting is and they bring that to a culmination by having Kuuga and his final enemy quickly destroying each other's power sources and having to fight to the death as normal humans. I'm not saying everyone has to like that ending (there's still a part of me that wishes we'd gotten to see more of the cool Ultimate Form suit and what that form could do) but they didn't skip it either like Hibiki did.

 

[Scissors]

There were plans to have a fight between Kuuga and Daguba in episode 47.
Godai confronts Daguba and the two transform, with Godai going Amazing Mighty.
People who worked on the show said that the plan was to have big battle to show how strong Daguba was.
This involved a scene where Kuuga chases Daguba through the city, setting off fires and explosions in their path.
The battle would end with Kuuga losing, leading to the events that we saw in episode 47.
However, it was simply not possible to create these scenes with the budget they had. So they dropped the idea and used the few scenes they had already shot in the preview after episode 46, and as flashbacks in episode 47.

 

[Ivanhobe]

I haven´t finished kuuga (i am like half way through), but from what i have seen, i wouldn´t really call it the Best Toku Show ever. mostly because Toku shows are so broad on themes and feels that i don´t think you could objectively chose a "best" one.

That said, the one thing were Kuuga definitely surpassed every other Toku show is in that it perfectly portrayed the idea of what would it happen if a "monster-hero" situation developed in the real world.

The following seasons continued that trend, but they went into more "fantastical" directions, while Kuuga remained almost completely grounded in a real world.

 

[Reila]

Kuuga is not even the best Kamen Rider show IMO, let alone the best "toku show ever".

 

[Kamen Rider Oni]

I wouldn't say it's the best Rider series, or the best toku show ever... but it is one of hte better ones and a good Rider series. Definitely worth sticking it out to the end, though I do wish we could of gotten that drawn out battle through the city. But alas...

 

[lazycoconut]

I agree with your main point, but as I am a sucker for a well done Multi-Rider show I can't get past the singular Rider aspect in Kuuga. Great show, Top 5 toku show ever, but not number 1 and certainly not perfect...

This is pretty much my opinion. I do love Kuuga a whole lot and it's probably my favourite Kamen Rider series, but ... it had flaws, and I tend to go for the "Rider vs Rider" setup over a lone-hero show

I haven´t finished kuuga (i am like half way through), but from what i have seen, i wouldn´t really call it the Best Toku Show ever. mostly because Toku shows are so broad on themes and feels that i don´t think you could objectively chose a "best" one.

That said, the one thing were Kuuga definitely surpassed every other Toku show is in that it perfectly portrayed the idea of what would it happen if a "monster-hero" situation developed in the real world.

I also agree with this

 

[RougeRider03]

One reason I love Kuuga is in ep 35, the ep where Kuuga battles one of the more frightening Grongi. One thing I've noticed with Sentai and Kamen Rider is that the heroes fight with a sense of civility. Despite how many people they see killed or what terrible evils they face, they don't allow it to get them. In Kuuga 35, Yuusuke is clearly enraged, releasing all his rage on the Grongi, not showing pain and just slashing. But at that time the weight of his responsibility and power truly dawn on him , making for an extremely powerful episode.

I'm not saying that all future tokusatsu heroes have to be merciless when dealing with enemies, but an occasional Wolverine-style rage would be thrilling to see.

 

[Loghorn]

Kuuga is not even the best Kamen Rider show IMO, let alone the best "toku show ever".

Well, he did say "arguably."

 

[CannibalS]

Kuuga is the best modern Showa Rider show, that happens to also be the deconstruction of everything about Showa era Kamen Rider, so much so that Agito had to deconstruct Kuuga in order to have Kamen Rider continue viably as a franchise.

That's all from me.

 

[NoirSon]

One of my favorites for certain but best toku all time... this reminds me of the debate one would have in declaring guys like Shaq the greatest center of all time when there were so many classic centers that don't get as much praise nowadays because of how long ago they played or guys like Hakeem Olajuwon or David Robinson who were just as good (arguably better) but in "smaller markets" or not as flashy.