Rewatching Kuuga: What Kamen Rider has lost

LOL, you're just 7 episodes into Kuuga, you still have a long way to go. :rofl: It will be good. :thumbs:

Last time I saw Kuuga was around 10 years ago, my memory is a bit rusty since I was a wee little kid back then, but I remember that it would pick up around episode 10+, IIRC.

I'll probably rewatch it next month to freshen up my memory.

It's picked up considerbly since those first few horrid episodes. Hopefully it will continue to do so.

What exactly is so horrid about the beginning? I started rewatching with the criticisms of people like Matrix (IIRC) saying the show was boring in mind. But I don't see where the show slows down or gets dull at all. From beginning to end it's one big engaging mystery crime drama with a superhero and well-developed side characters that mostly aren't just one-trick ponies. I think many people are just put off at first by how unflashy Kuuga is compared to later Riders.

My one real complaint with Kuuga is the CGI. (Maybe the finale is a bit underwhelming too, compared to the bombastic ones of other shows. But I think by doing it quietly they exemplified the themes of the show all the better.)

The first episode I enjoyed was when he got the police prototype bike, though, I thought the way Kuuga battled the Cheetah(?) Grongi was flashy for the sake of being flashy (though I would be lying if I didn't think it was cool, and feel the need to salute the stuntwork, it just went on too long for my liking)

My biggest issue thus far is I just don't like Yuuske. I am much more interested in the police aspect of the storyline, and when the episodes are focusing on him, I find myself wishing they'd shift back to the police.

I don't think it's been done, but a Kamen Rider who was also a police officer would make a real interesting series, I think.

I'm not writing the show off, and as I watch this, a show that started in 2000 with an optimistic wanderer that became a Kamen Rider and OOO, which started in 2010 and also has an optimistic wanderer that became a Kamen Rider, I have to think that had to have been intentional.

As I said, the show had gotten better from the first few episodes, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

It also seems that the coffee house/restaurant has been a Heisei Rider staple from the beginning. I thought that was a recent thing.

The 2nd Evil said:

My biggest issue thus far is I just don't like Yuuske. I am much more interested in the police aspect of the storyline, and when the episodes are focusing on him, I find myself wishing they'd shift back to the police.

I don't think it's been done, but a Kamen Rider who was also a police officer would make a real interesting series, I think.

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A Kamen Rider's job has to be something that he can drop at a moment's notice (like in Ryuki and OOO) or that's part of what he does (Blade, Double.) Being a police officer doesn't really fit in with that unless he were a specialist detective like Terui.

We;ve had police rider such as G3 and Ryu or the Corrupt Sciccors but I don't remember if he was a detective or an actual cop. It's not uncommon to have a police rider just not as a main lead.

I don't think Hikawa was a cop. The G3 team seemed to be ranked pretty high in the police department, getting to have personal meetings with the higher-ups etc.
I think Hikawa was a detective just like Hojo before becoming part of the G3 team.

The police in Kuuga sure could have used the G3 system. Even after getting their super-rifles, they still got their asses handed to them.
I am surprised that there were any officers left alive in Japan by the end of the show....

To be fair the police did get the ability to fight grongi in kuuga but it took too long for them to develop the means. Luckily they had kamen rider on their side! Sucks they had to get their asses kicked for the G3 system to exist.

Skiks said:

We;ve had police rider such as G3 and Ryu or the Corrupt Sciccors but I don't remember if he was a detective or an actual cop. It's not uncommon to have a police rider just not as a main lead.

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Yes, I meant a main Rider. Sorry. Being a police officer is something that takes over your whole life, so it's not really compatible with being the main Rider. We wouldn't have a Rider who was a salaryman either - if he suddenly left his office to go out and fight some bad guys, he'd get fired. So main Riders are unemployed, work casually, or their job is what leads to them becoming a Rider

To this day, I am still sad we never got to see Ichijou wear the G3 armor. It was Taki all over again. :disappoin