This is a partial character sheet for Kamen Rider Kuuga. Visit here for the main character index. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.
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Yusuke Godai/Kuuga
Yusuke Godai/Kamen Rider Kuuga (II)
Portrayed by: Joe Odagiri (live), Kenji Tominaga (suit actor)
Yusuke Godai is a carefree, gentle spirit, always willing to help out people. Motivated by the death of his father, he swore to protect others and promised to master 2000 talents before the year 2000. One day, he has a vision of an artifact called the Arcle, and eventually puts it on after the first of the unsealed Grongi attacks, giving him his 2000th skill in transforming into Kuuga. At first, his white Growing Form is dubbed Unidentified Lifeform No. 2 by the police, and his subsequent forms are dubbed Unidentified Lifeform No. 4. As the police learns of his identity, they begin working with Godai.
After seemingly dying at the hands of the mushroom Grongi Me·Ginoga·De, Godai's premonitions combined with Dr. Tsubaki's defibrillator awaken a new power in the Amadam, the stone within the Arcle. This unlocks a new level of power, the Rising forms. In his hatred for Go·Jalaji·Da, he channels Ultimate Form, a form powered by anger, as he defeats the Grongi. Eventually, once all the other Grongi are defeated, N·Daguva·Zeba, the Grongi leader, comes and nearly kills Godai, challenging him. Eventually, Godai transforms into Ultimate Form, but firmly under his control, and engages in a brutal battle with Daguva, narrowly winning after both their Amadams were destroyed and reverting into human form. Yusuke eventually recovers and is free to resume his wanderings, though it is stated that his Amadam is regenerating.
Tropes that apply to him in general
- The Ace: Has mastered nearly 2000 skills (with Skill #2000 being becoming Kuuga), is loved by everyone who doesn't consider him an idiot, and is later on seen as the hope of humanity as their protector against the Grongi.
- All-Loving Hero: He is a Nice Guy who is willing to use his newfound powers to protect people's smiles. This trait of his is the reason why he managed to control the extremely-dangerous Ultimate Form in the first place.
- Badass Biker: Very proficient at Bike Fu.
- Beware the Nice Ones: This actually becomes a plot point, when his rage makes him more and more dangerous as Kuuga.
- Came Back Strong: After seemingly dying at the hands of Me·Ginoga·De, he revives, with the ability to use the Rising Forms slowly emerging with each subsequent battle.
- The Cape: Is one of the straightest examples of this trope in Kamen Rider. After answering the Arcle's call to defeat #1, Yusuke chooses to be Kuuga and defeat the Grongi solely because it's the right thing to do and to save people, he's an All-Loving Hero, and only fights because it's the only option. Is a plot point, as if he was anything less than this, he may have become as bad as Daguva when he reached Ultimate Form.
- Character Tics: The thumbs-up, which he gives to everyone. One of the few that are justified: Yusuke inherited it from his teacher, because it meant "Well Done" to someone who surpassed adversity. Yusuke's sensei taught him this while cheering him up from Yusuke losing his father. He encouraged Yusuke to protect his mom's and sister's smiles, and grow up to be a man who could protect everyone's smiles. If not for Yusuke's teacher, we wouldn't know the wonderful man he became.
- Chest Insignia: After a certain point, he puts Kuuga's emblem onto his shirts and jackets, just like Kamen Rider Stronger.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Whenever he learns of a Grongi attack, he drops everything and rides off to stop it. This actually leads to him abandoning work at Poré Poré, to the owner's confusion.
- Comes Great Responsibility: Inverted Trope. With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power. The first time Yusuke transforms, it's primarily to save himself, transforming into the weak Growing Form. It's in his third battle at the church, with the resolve to protect humanity from the Grongi, that he enters Mighty Form. This basically defines Yusuke's time as Kuuga, as despite being scared of fighting and what he might become if he grows too strong, he continues to fight because he has to.
- Cool Bike: The TryChaser 2000 prototype and the BeatChaser 2000. Not just a set of wheels for a ride: Yusuke liberally fights with Bike Fu whenever he must, and combining with the Gouram gives these bad boys enough armor for an explosive ramming attack.
- The Determinator: He WILL not give up on trying to protect peoples smiles, no matter what happens to him.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Is rather baffled by Kuuga's police designation, "Unidentified Lifeform #2/#4" (Mikakunin Seimeitai Ni-Go/Yon-Go). He even lampshades it: "That's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?"
- For Happiness: He fights to protect people's smiles. Realizing this for the first time allowed him to transform into his iconic Mighty Form.
- Friend to All Children: Hates seeing people cry, especially kids, so he'll try to cheer them up and instill in them some hope.
- Healing Factor: Merging with the Arcle resulted in him gaining one. It allows him to survive injuries that would kill a normal person and heal much quicker. However, this requires that Yusuke is not disturbed while recovering; #18-19 sees Tsubaki and an emergency team try to save the poisoned Yusuke when he flatlines, which instead leaves him in a near-death sleep. This gives the Arcle time to kill the poison spores and revive Yusuke, though only leaving enough power to transform into Growing Form when he returns.
- The Hero: He is the main hero of Kuuga.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Unlike most Riders, his power neither comes with instinctive knowledge of how they work, nor a helpful person to explain everything to him from square one. While Sakurako can translate ancient text to figure out what his powers are, in some cases he discovers the power before she's translated the appropriate text. Most obvious with his first transformations into Dragon Form, where he had zero idea how to use the form at first, or that it required a weapon at all. Sakurako risks her life when she tells Yusuke what Dragon Form uses to fight; and she later tells Ichijo what Yusuke needs in Pegasus Form, with Ichijo in turn granting Yusuke his new sidearm and only urging him to take the Vagis out.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Yusuke's pure-heartedness is what lets him control Kuuga in the first place; being anything less than that would plunge him into Ultimate Form's innate Unstoppable Rage. Thanks to this, he foils N-Daguva-Zeba's Xanatos Gambit to have him corrupted by Ultimate Form.
- Instant Expert: Zig-Zagged. Whenever he gets a new form, he doesn't always have the proper mindset or knowledge of how to use it effectively. When he gets his eureka moments, however, he immediately starts turning the tide.
- The sudden forced access to Dragon Form leaves Yusuke, who is most used to Mighty and Growing Forms' hand-to-hand combat prowess, at a severe disadvantage. With no way to change back to Mighty Form at first, Yusuke is forced to learn Dragon Form's true strengths (see below) in order to defeat the Monster of the Week. Downplayed here, as Yusuke takes a few blows to get used to Dragon Form's fighting style.
- When he inadvertently enters Pegasus Mode, Yusuke isn't defeated by the Grongi—rather, he's stopped by Pegasus Form giving him such a nasty case of Sensory Overload that he falls from a height that would kill a normal person, and eventually leaves him passed out. This is part of Yusuke learning that unlike the short-range-oriented Mighty and Dragon Forms, Pegasus Form's strength lies in extremely long-range combat, using the Pegasus Bowgun with his heightened senses to kill Grongi in mid-flight.
- Before using Titan Form at all, Yusuke and Ichijo try to figure out how it works via sparring with kendo gear. Ichijo comments that Yusuke is too focused on defense. This gives Yusuke the idea to do away with actively defending himself (as per kendo), and instead slowly back Ichijo against the wall while weathering his blows. Yusuke laters puts this tactic to use in Titan Form, allowing him to defeat Geega.
- Legacy Character: Succeeds Riku, the original Kuuga of over 2000 years ago. As the opening will have you know, he's also a new hero of a new legend. Yusuke even calls himself "The Year 2000 version of Kuuga".
- Loyal Phlebotinum: Justified with the Arcle, as its Amadam core is fused into his body and won't come off (out of his body), even after being shattered. The Gouram, meanwhile, is purely loyal only to Yusuke.
- Motorcycle Jousting: The crowning example of the Heisei Era, Yusuke can Bike Fu on beaches, on roads, and even inside buildings. Justified, as the Try- and BeatChasers were specifically made for both speed and maneuverability.
- My Card:Ichijo: "A man who chases his dreams"... "Godai Yusuke"?
Yusuke: That's right! - Nice Guy: Yusuke is very kind, caring, and considerate towards others, whether it's protecting others from monster attacks or attempting to make people happy in small, mundane ways.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: He gives Go-Jalaji-Da such a brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that said Gurongi actually becomes too despairful to do anything, with Rising Titan's Finishing Move sealing the deal.
- The Power of Trust: This is why he trusts the Gouram, even before the police can be absolutely certain that it's an ally to Kuuga.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Before transforming into Kuuga's Mighty Form for the first time, he tells Ichijo to "Witness...my transformation!"
- Reluctant Warrior: Hates fighting, but chooses to fight as long as the Grongi remain a threat to people.
- He's actually weakened by this initially, until he finds a stronger reason to fight than a vague sense of obligation because Kuuga's the only thing that had even slowed them down up to that point. It's only once he has a purpose that overcomes his reluctance that he goes from Growing Form to Mighty Form.
- Running Gag:
- His penchant for entering/leaving buildings by climbing to and from windows.
- His attempts to Jump Scare his friends by sneaking up on them with a scary mask. Key word: attempts. Even if he successfully climbs inside to do this, his friends usually know what's going on. He does unintentionally scare Sawatari by sleeping on her office floor, leading to her tripping.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: His sense of right and wrong doesn't have much to do with the law. It's a lot more about having a good reason to him, and that's why he's okay with taking a police bike without permission to chase down a Grongi.
- Superior Successor: By the end of the series. Whereas his predecessor sacrificed himself to seal away the Grongi, Yusuke defeated their strongest members in battle. Notably, Yusuke even managed to control Ultimate Form itself, which literally rewrote the Kuuga's inscriptions.
- Stepford Smiler: Shows signs of this late in the series, following his rage-filled beatdown of Go-Jaraji-Da. Especially noticeable in his farewell scene to his old teacher, when, seeing more reports of Daguva's carnage, we get a close-up of his fist on his side, clenching in rage. Following the final battle, he's gone back to Walking the Earth for some soul-searching, to rediscover his smile.
- Vigilante Man: Attempted by Yusuke once or twice in the beginning, but ultimately averted. He always cooperates with the police through Ichijo, to the point that Ichijo willingly grants Pegasus Form Kuuga his own handgun. When the force learns of Kuuga's identity, they grant him access to the BeatChaser 2000.
Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Kuuga
- 11th-Hour Superpower: Ultimate Form was really only teased in the latter part of the series, and it was only at #48 that he reached it—in time to use against N·Daguva·Zeba.
- Blow You Away: Pegasus Form primarily empowers him and his projectile weaponry with wind.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Kuuga's Amazing Mighty and Ultimate Forms are black with gold, and in the final episodes Yusuke wears a lot of black. He's still as heroic as he ever was, though. However, Ultimate Form is perfectly capable of corrupting Yusuke, so Dark Is Evil applies, too.
- Destructive Savior: Deconstructed. The Rising Forms are powerful enough to cause catastrophic explosions; thus, Godai and the police work to avoid this by diverting battles to more secluded locations. Kuuga Ultimate could destroy the world if he went all out, which is probably why the Final Battle is a brutal fist fight with no actual superpowers being thrown around except lighting each other on fire.
- Elemental Powers: Downplayed, as Kuuga does not actually invoke the elements themselves (unless otherwise stated). Each of the four forms of Kuuga is themed after an element and implied as such based on in-universe translations of the Linto language. Heck, even Godai's own surname is tied to the four elements. Specifically, it means literally means "five great", with the fifth probably referring to the black colors for his Amazing Mighty and Ultimate Forms.
- Finishing Move:
- Growing Form: Growing Kicknote
- Mighty Form: Mighty Kicknote
- Dragon Form: Splash Dragonnote
- Pegasus Form: Blast Pegasusnote
- Titan Form: Calamity Titannote
- Rising Mighty Form: Rising Mighty Kicknote
- Rising Dragon Form: Rising Splash Dragonnote
- Rising Pegasus Form: Rising Blast Pegasusnote
- Rising Titan Form #1: Rising Calamity Titannote
- Rising Titan Form #2: Double Rising Calamity Titannote
- Amazing Mighty Form: Amazing Mighty Kicknote
- Ultimate Form: Ultimate Kicknote
- TryGouram Attack: Kuuga on the TryGouram rams a Grongi.
- Rising BeatGouram Attack: Body Attacknote
- Fragile Speedster: Dragon Form, allowing for quick movement and high jumps, but has to use a weapon to fight just as competently.
- Jack of All Stats: Mighty Form, Yuusuke's most used form, is adaptable to many situations.
- Lightning Bruiser: Amazing Mighty, powering up Mighty Form even more to be faster, stronger and better than nearly all of the other forms.
- Making a Splash: Dragon Form's agility complements its marine origin and theme.
- Mecha Expansion Pack: Gouram can combine with both of his Cool Bikes, TryChaser 2000 and BeatChaser 2000.
- Mighty Glacier: Titan Form, slow but powerful and durable, which Yusuke uses by tanking everything thrown at him before stomping the attacker in question.
- Multiform Balance:
- He has four basic forms.
- Mighty: The balanced form.
- Dragon: Fast and can jump very high but has the least protective armor, and is so weak that he needs a Dragon Rod to injure an enemy.
- Pegasus: Has Super-Senses capable of perceiving ultraviolet light and ultrasonic sound, but even with focus training Kuuga can only use this form for 50 seconds before suffering from Sensory Overload. It's armed with a Pegasus Bowgun which shoots out a powerful air blast but has to be reloaded after every shot.
- Titan: Mighty Glacier, with high strength to wield the Titan Sword and strong protection from Armor of Invincibility, but the sword and armor are so heavy that it's the slowest form. Despite its high defense, the armor still leaves some area exposed so the enemy can exploit Attack Its Weak Point.
- All of the basic forms later get a Mid-Season Upgrade as Rising forms that boost their statsnote but they're more of a Limit Break that only lasts for 30 seconds until Yusuke's second electrotherapy in #46, and the power can cause serious collateral damage to civilians.
- He also has three unusual forms:
- Growing: The weakest, only used when he doesn't get access to other forms.note Usually regarded as useless, but proven to be capable of fighting, just not being as good at it.
- Amazing Mighty: Lightning Bruiser, with an overall stat boost from Rising Mighty Form.
- Ultimate: Used in the last battle, superior to everything before it in every respect but it's a Superpowered Evil Side and can corrupt him into an evil being.
- He has four basic forms.
- Playing with Fire: Mighty Form and Ultimate Form. This last form, to be fair, is the only real moment wherein he can summon fire out of thin air—the same way as N-Daguva-Zeba
- Shock and Awe: In contrast to the other forms' elemental themes, Titan Form is clearly empowered by electricity/lightning, most noticeable when Kuuga changes to it.
- Squishy Wizard: Pegasus Form, with enhanced Super-Senses and mastery at long-range combat, but suffering from a time limit and being a poor choice for melee combat.
- Super Mode: Ultimate Form, the unquestionable best form and the best at everything. It even has the ability (So sayeth the side materialsnote ) to use the weapons of all the other forms.
- Super-Senses: Pegasus Form enhances all of Godai's senses. Unfortunately, these heightened sense are so sensitive that he can only maintain Pegasus for about fifty seconds before he suffers Sensory Overload and is forced out of it. Ultimate Form also has this ability, but is much stronger and has no overload drawback.
- Swiss-Army Hero: Every form has a use in every situation here. Unlike in other shows, where the new form comes in and is basically mastered right at that episode, entire episodes are devoted to either the struggling with, or the mastery of, a single new form at a time.
- Transmutation: Kuuga's Dragon, Pegasus, and Titan forms allow him to temporarily transmute objects of a certain shape into weapons suited to his forms. High tier Grongi also have this ability.
Kaoru Ichijo
Kaoru Ichijo
Portrayed by: Shingo Katsurayama
Ichijo is a young police officer from the Nagano police who is assigned to the national police squad dealing with the Unidentified Lifeforms. He uses his influence to eventually help Godai, and eventually convinces the police to help Kuuga.- Badass Longcoat: Is seen wearing his most of the time.
- Badass Normal: He kills two Grongi. Sure, he use special nerve-breaking bullets and one of them wasn't transformed, but the fact remains that he's the only human to do so.
- Deuteragonist: The second most prominent character in the series, and the one focused on just as much as Godai in the fight against the Grongi. He even kills one of the most prominent members himself.
- Friend on the Force: Supports acting together with Kuuga to his colleagues and superiors. In general, he gives Yusuke backup by coordinating with the police to find Grongi, while also giving him access to the specialized TryChaser and BeatChaser 2000 prototypes.
- The Gunslinger: Is notable for his marksmanship, and when he assists Yusuke in a fight it's usually with a rifle.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: To Yusuke. He grants Yusuke use of the TryChaser 2000 prototype against the Grongi, realizing that Yusuke—who has shown more resolve—can make the most of it.
- Secret-Keeper: He keeps Yusuke's identity as Unidentified Lifeform #2/#4 (Growing Form Kuuga and Mighty Form Kuuga, respectively) a secret from his colleagues and his superiors. A justified decision on his part, especially in the beginning, when Kuuga is considered just as much of a threat as the Grongi by the police. Of course, this means that Ichijo must rely on other evidence to advocate for cooperation with Kuuga.
- The Stoic: Straight-laced and professional by default.
- The Workaholic: He tends to push himself to do his job. Especially obvious in the earliest episodes, when he is focusing on the Grongi; he'll act in spite of his injuries from a previous encounter, he'll act without his superiors' permission, and he'll focus on ending a rampaging Grongi instead of checking on his mother.
Sakurako Sawatari
Sakurako Sawatari
Portrayed by: Kazumi Murata
An archaeologist at Jounan University. At first reluctant to help Godai with his newfound power, she eventually agrees to help by deciphering the ancient texts to shed more light on Kuuga and the Grongi.- Adventurer Archaeologist: Averted. She spends most of her time researching texts rather than going out for adventure, though considering said texts help Yusuke figure out his powers, she's helpful either way.
- Secret-Keeper: She's one of Yusuke's circle of friends who know of his being Kuuga/Unidentified Lifeform #4.
- Ship Tease: A notable amount with Godai, apart from their very close dynamic in the show, Nana is immediately jealous upon meeting her, and she and Godai share a emotional goodbye in the rain with seemingly heavy romantic subtext, right down to her final words being a variation of I Will Wait for You.
Minori Godai
Minori Godai
Portrayed by: Wakana Aoi
Yusuke's younger sister, who works at a children's daycare that Yusuke occasionally visits. At first wary of her brother's new powers, Minori became supportive of him. She helps out at the Pole-Pole Cafe whenever hands are short.- Embarrassing Nickname: Kazari calls her "Minori-cchi", to her mild exasperation.
- Friend to All Children: Just like her brother. A given for running a daycare.
- Secret-Keeper: Knows that her brother has become a very powerful warrior, but keeps quiet about it in front of those who don't know.
Shuichi Tsubaki
Dr. Shuichi Tsubaki
Portrayed by: Yoshitaa Otsuka
Ichijo's friend and Godai's doctor, treating his various injuries and taking notes on the Amadam and its Healing Factor. He also performs autopsies on Grongi victims, and even on the body of Xu·Goma·Gu, eventually leading to the conclusion that the Grongi work similarly to Kuuga.- All Love Is Unrequited: He seemingly falls for Sakurako shortly after meeting her, however he strikes out every time he tries something with her.
- Secret-Keeper: Ichijo trusts Tsubaki to keep mum on Kuuga's identity.
- Super Doc: First introduced as the coroner whom Ichijo only pulls in to take a closer look at Yusuke because Ichijo already knows Tsubaki despite the doctor pointing out that he specializes in cadavers; it's quickly just taken for granted he'll be able to handle whatever new anomaly pops up in Kuuga since he's already been given a head start on knowing his biology.
Hikari Enokida
Hikari Enokida
Portrayed by: Kaori Mizushima
The Head of the Police Department Science Division, Enokida is a personable scientist who studies the Grongi and develops weapons for police use against them. Her husband was killed in Unidentified Lifeform #5's rampage against the police. Due to her workload, she doesn't have much time to spend with her son.- Secret-Keeper: One of Ichijo's circle of colleagues who learn of Unidentified Lifeform #4 being a human named Yusuke Godai.
- Ship Tease: With Jean. It's never explicitly stated whether she reciprocates Jean's crush, but in episode 49, both Enokida and Jean state separately they'll be going to Disneyland on the same day, implying that they may be going together.
Tamasaburo Kazari
Tamasaburo Kazari
Portrayed by: Kitaro
Friends of Yusuke's father, Kazari looked after him and Minori when their parents passed away. Affectionately called Uncle (Oyassan), he runs the Pore-Pore Tea Cafe and serves as a sort of comic-relief to the series. Collects a scrapbook of Kuuga's exploits, though ignorant of Yusuke being that hero. At least, initially.- Idiot Ball: In most episodes, if Yusuke mentions him being Kuuga, Kazari will ignore that. That aside, he serves as the show's comic relief.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Unlike other characters in later Kamen Rider shows, Kazari is unaware of Godai being Kuuga, mainly because he thinks that Godai just made the word "Kuuga" up. On the other hand, he keeps an extensive scrapbook on "Unidentified Lifeform #4's" (Kuuga's) exploits against the Grongi, believing that #4 is one of the good guys. He doesn't put two and two together for most of the show, but learns the truth near the end.
Nana Asahina
Nana Asahina
Portrayed by: Shio Mizuhara
An aspiring actress, she moved in with her Uncle Kazari to take up acting school in Tokyo. She had a crush on Yusuke, and helps out at her Uncle's cafe. Though a lighthearted character, the murder spree of the Grongi occasionally hits close to home.- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Usually bright, cheerful, and smitten with Godai, someone at an audition idly saying that Nana would have an easy time with the audition's prompt of victim of an Unidentified Lifeform since her acting teacher was killed by said Lifeforms has her break down and lash out at Godai for his usual optimistic talk. Godai's pep talk gets through to her and after talking it out with the other actress, she manages to bounce back on her feet.
- Squee: Appoints herself the #1 Fan of Yusuke Godai. To her displeasure, Yusuke hardly notices that part.
Jean Michel Sorrel
Jean Michel Sorrel
Portrayed by: Serge Vasilov
A transfer student from France to Jounan University, he shares an office with Sakurako and gets gradually roped into the efforts to learn more about Kuuga. He has revealed that he had once failed a child. Has a crush on Enokida and tries to help her reconnect with her son.- Bonding over Missing Parents: Played with. Jean reveals near the end that he grew up with busy parents, which is why he had such a vested interest in getting to know Enokida when he saw she was having problems balancing work, motherhood, and its effects on her son.
- Gratuitous English: Though he's supposed to be French, Jean occasionally uses English words and phrases.
- My Greatest Failure: Through no fault of his own, Jean fails to keep his promise to Mika to protect the ancient relics that her late father discovered. Even after seeing the relics (the reconstructed Gouram) himself, he still feels dejected about it.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Loves his umeboshi (pickled plums). He specifically even requests Sakurako fetch his stash when he forgets it on a trip.
- Token White: Of all the cast, Jean is the sole foreigner character, attending the university as a transfer student.
