Kamen Rider Kuuga

*Kamen Rider Kuuga*
Kamen Rider Kuuga
Genre	Tokusatsu; Superhero fiction; Science fiction; Action; Drama; Horror movie
Created by	Shotaro Ishinomori
Developed by	Ishimori Productions; Toei Company
Written by	Narushia Arakawa; Toshiki Inoue; Tsuyoshi Kida; Kei Murayama; Kiyoshi Takenaka
Directed by	Hidenori Ishida; Katsuya Watanabe; Takao Nagaishi; Nobuhiko Suzumura; Osamu Kaneda; Kōichi Kotō
Starring	Joe Odagiri; Shingo Katsurayama; Kazumi Murata; Wanaka Chizaki; Kitaro; Mie Nanamori; Kenji Urai
Narrated by	Fumihiko Tachiki
Opening theme	"Kamen Rider Kuuga!" by Masayuki Tanaka
Ending theme	"Aozora ni Naru" by Jin Hashimoto
Composer	Toshihiko Sahashi
Country of origin	Japan
No. of episodes	49
Production
Producers	Yūmi Shimizu; Takeyuki Suzuki; Shigenori Takatera
Running time	23–25 minutes
Production company	Toei Company
Original release
Network	TV Asahi; RCTI (2001-2002)
Release	January 30, 2000 –; January 21, 2001

Kamen Rider Kuuga (stylish in English as Masked Rider Kuuga) is a Japanese television series. It is the tenth installment of the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows and the first of air entirely in the Heisei, as well as the first standalone Kamen Rider TV series since Kamen Rider Black RX and the first series of the revived run of Kamen Rider, bringing Kamen Rider into the 21st century.

Schedule

It was a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei, and has shown on TV Asahi from January 30, 2000, to January 21, 2001, replacing Moero!! Robocon in its timeslot. Kamen Rider Kuuga is the Kamen Rider Series to be broadcast in a Widescreen (letterboxed) format. it aired alongside Mirai Sentai Timeranger.

Syonspis

Long ago, the Grongi Tribe terrorized the Linto Tribe until a warrior acquired the power of Kuuga and defeated the Grongi, sealing their leader within a cave. In the present day, Kuuga's mysterious stone belt is excavated, freeing the Grongi as they resume their murderous game on the Linto Tribe's descendants: humanity itself. But a multi-talented man named Yusuke Godai finds himself drawn to the belt and becomes the new Kuuga. He helped assemble the Science Police to fight the Grongi to ensure the happiness and safety of others. But as the endgame draws near, Yusuke learns of a horrible revelation between Kuuga and the Grongi Tribe's leader.

Cast

Yusuke Godai / Kamen Rider Kuuga: Joe Odagiri
Kaoru Ichijo: Shingo Katsurayama
Sakurako Sawatari: Kazumi Murata
Pops (Tamasaburo Kazari): Kitaro
Minori Godai: Wakana Chizaki (Played as Wakana Aoi)
Shuichi Tsubaki: Yoshitaka Otsuka
Hikari Enokida: Kaori Mizushima
Nana Asahina: Shio Mizuhara
Jean Michael Sorrel: Serge Vasilov
Mika Natsume: Yuka Takeshima
Sadao Nakamura: Yudai Ishiyama
Morimichi Sugita: Takashi Matsuyama
Tsuyoshi Sakurai: Nobuyuki Yoneyama
Nozomi Sasayama: Eri Tanaka
Hitoshi Kashihara: Takashi Kikuchi
Junichi Shiina: Makoto Hatayama
Gohei Ebisawa: Fujio Mori
Tsurumaru Kameyama: Katsuaki Nishide
Akiji Kanzaki: Takashi Inoue
Junichi Chono: Daisuke Uchida
Keiko Motoki: Rie Okada
Atsuko Enokida: Machiko Naka
Sae Enokida: Kentaro Niibo
Hiroyuki Yashiro: Yutaro Kamata
Shuto Terashima: Tomoaki Takagi
Kanako Suyama: Yukako Mino
Woman With the Rose Tattoo (Ra-Baruda-De): Mie Nanamori
Zu-Goma-Gu: Mitsuru Fujio
Zu-Zain-Da: Akira Nogami
Me-Garume-Re: Masaharu Mori
Me-Garima-Ba: Miho Kido (Played as Miho Iijima)
Nu-Zario-Re: Tadashi Takatsuki
Zu-Badzu-Ba, Go-Bada-Ba: Nobuyuki Ogawa
Ra-Dorudo-Gu: Tenmei Basara
Go-Gadoru-Ba: Masato Gunji
N-Daguva-Zeba: Kenji Urai
Narration: Fumihiko Tachiki

Theme songs

Opening theme

"Kamen Rider Kuuga"
- Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
- Composition & Arrangement: Toshihiko Sahashi
- Artist: Masayuki Tanaka

Ending theme

"Aozora ni Naru" ("Become the Blue Sky")
- Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
- Composition & Arrangement: Toshihiko Sahashi
- Artist: Jin Hashimoto