{Tokusatsu Thursday #1-KRe} Kamen Rider Kuuga: Episode 1
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the first installment of our very long journey through the Kamen Rider series!
'Tis a pleasure to have you join me on this path of evolution.
As the title says, this post is about the first episode of the Toei Company show, Kamen Rider Kuuga. I've finished the first episode; thusly, I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind the spoilers ahead.
Trigger Warnings: Background Character Death, Mild Violence and Fighting, 2000s CGI and SFX, Low Budget Charm
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Kamen Rider Watch Order Number: 1 of 28
Episode 1
The entire time I was watching Kamen Rider Kuuga's first episode, all I could think was "Oh man, this is exactly like the OG 1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies," and it is an remarkably beautiful thing to feel.
Before we even get into talking about the characters or set up, I really have the need to discuss just how much I appreciate the unapologetically low budget charm this series is going to give us. First off, I appreciate the costume department doing their best to hide the eye holes and back zippers of the costumes. While it most certainly does not save them from the pitfalls of rubber/latex acting suits, it's the thought that counts. The awkward greenscreen positioning of characters to make it look like they're swinging through the air is such an icon of it's time. We also must not forget to pay our respects to the switching between CGI spider webbing and practical thick cotton batting (at least I think it's that) spider webbing. There's just so many quirks that I can't help but smile in that "oh you sweet summer child" way. All Kamen Rider suits of the new generations look some level of plastic...but they're a tailored and expensive plastic look, so seeing Kuuga's chest plate just flat-out buckle and bend when he lands on the ground or dares to twist his waist is so darling. The metallic spandex suit and latex-looking everything else...there's such an appreciation it gives you towards the behemoth that modern Kamen Rider has become. One of those "remember to look back where you started so you can see how far you've gone" moments. It's also a great reminder that while good animation can stand the test of time...practical effects do not have that courtesy.
Specifically to hark on the 2000s of it all...I mean, it's everywhere. The hairstyles. The clothes. The car body types. The computers and numerous mentionings of FAX machines. The dramatic and edgy cinematic opening of Kuuga staring off epicly into nothing ness. Every last bit of it screams "2000s super cool awesome guy does super cool awesome things". I am so, so keen to see just how much more this show can date itself be it visually, environmentally, both, or something else entirely.
Now, switching to the actual plot of the series, it's only the first episode so we haven't seen much and I have certainly not had enough time to remember people's names. Kuuga, our main character, seems like a pretty chill guy! Juggling and cheering up children are definitely admirable qualities to show an admirable protagonist, right? I don't quite understand his need to trespass into buildings and archaeological sites, but I'm sure that'll be explained later. Miss Runes Expert and Mr. Police Man I'm assuming will end up as his core companions. While I've not seen all of Kamen Rider yet (that is the point of this series), I know that we're nowhere near having the first female Kamen Rider, so I'm pretty confident that Mr. Police Man will be Rider #2 (if there even is a Rider #2 this early on in the franchise) and Miss Runes Expert will be, well, the Runes/History Expert.
The belt physically going into Kuuga instead of materializing and disappearing as needed is definitely new to me, but it does explain where the hell they go! Curiously though, he doesn't have belt drivers. It's just the belt. That could change as we continue watching, but now I'm wondering if that actually wasn't the status quo for Kamen Rider back then. Maybe it'll change once he figures out his whole hallucination aspect he's got going on. Also the main bad guy didn't explode into a giant spectacle of sparks!!! I get it, low budget, but how funny could it have been to have the set intern stand behind them with a hand full of sparklers to try and make it happen?
For this episode's villain, OH MY FUCKING HELLO NO. NONONO. NO. KILL IT WITH FIRE. I respect the place that arachnids have in our natural world...but I also respect that that place needs to be nowhere near mine.
RIP to the dig site workers. You sounded genuinely terrified and I'm sorry you had to die in such a manner. I appreciate the show giving you the mercy of not being killed by the spider-demon-thing unlike the poor cops and civilians. To Mr. Police Man, I can't imagine having a near-death experience with the spider-demon-thing and only getting a thumbs up from your saviour...confusion doesn't cut it, so let's go with flabbergasted.
Episode 2 Preview
You know, I completely missed the fact that his current armour is white but his mind armour is red. I'm definitely keen to see what that's about. The next monster also looks really interesting! Some kind of bat-zombie I guess?
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you've been able to watch and enjoy the show for yourself! If you haven't, that's okay too. My thoughts are here to keep you updated in the meantime!
This caps off this weeks installment of Tokusatsu Thursday, so off into the nighttime we go in preparation for tomorrow. I hope I'll catch you at Sunday Midnight Bookclub where we'll be going through A Study in Scarlet: Chapters 1 and 2.
May we meet again when the clock strikes 12:00!