#sun23nel

[flaim-ita]

I know, I'm a Kuuga fan, so it's weird for me to ask, but... what does each of Kuuga's forms (Growing, Mighty, Dragon, Pegasus, Titan, Rising Forms, Amazing Forms, Ultimate, and Rising Ultimate) symbolize when it comes to Onodera's character?

Okay so first I do need to point out something kind of important and it’s that YUUSUKE DOES BOT HAVE THE RISINGS OR AMAZING.

This is going to get relevant later because Yuusuke sort of jumps that slow fall middle bit of Kuuga, and there’s a reason.

Okay so the base forms are mainly a versatility thing. They have roughly equal power just in different fields. Different situations, different forms. We even do see Yuusuke use the other forms every now and then, but Yuusuke…

So Onodera Yuusuke is a Main Rider who has WILLINGLY become a support Rider. All of his forms come from this change. We only see him use Dragon Pegasus and Titan on his own World, mainly, because that is where the reality of “Kuuga” is central. The story is running on obligation. “Yuusuke” becomes “Kuuga”. He fights the ULFs. I’m sure we’d have seen a very different progression if this “simple” story kept going. And I’m sure we’d see the original progression of forms. I’m ALSO sure that this running on obligation story would have gone much worse

We didn’t see that, though. Did we?

We got Tsukasa.

We got…

Okay so going from the basic set to RISING ULTIMATE is just a fascinating choice to me. Yuusuke skips all the middle in part because he is forced but the other part is like the central purpose of Yuusuke as a character and it’s that, through Tsukasa, Yuusuke has fully broken free of the narrative, he is not good because he has to be but because he wants to be. He is, yes, brainwashed and beat up over and over, but because of that, he isn’t afraid of Kuuga.

Why?

Because of Decade.

Yuusuke is not afraid of Ultimate, or Rising Ultimate, because he isn’t alone. Because his tragedy was halted in its tracks. Instead, this power marks facing the darkest parts of the man he chose to center in his life (but not selfishly, no. He did it because Tsukasa needs him, and the Worlds need them both, and it’s the right thing to do) through the darkest parts of his own powers.

He knows they are dark, too. “Then I’ll become the devil myself” and all that.

The central point of Yuusuke as Kuuga is the power of bonds to truly break the control and fear of darkness. And through them, Yuusuke can go from Mighty to RISING ULTIMATE, with very little in between, free from the tragic fear and loneliness that would usually makes Kuuga so utterly heartbreaking.

If Godai is “it shouldn’t have been you, but it had to be you, and I’m sorry”, Onodera is “it shouldn’t have been you, but it can be you, and you aren’t alone anymore”

If Kuuga goes in clean, dragging order, it is the tragedy of war. If it trips and falls into the power of darkness, it is the hope within of love.

[flaim-ita]

Ngl, as someone who didn't mind Onodera, and sees your headcanons about Onodera being the one to appear more...Yeah, I can easily see that. Like really, poor Godai REALLY needed to rest. Also, fun thought: you think Onodera eventually learned how to use the normal Rising Forms (Rising Mighty, Rising Dragon, Rising Pegasus, and Rising Titan), and Amazing Mighty alongside the possible other 3 Amazing Forms (Amazing Dragon, Amazing Pegasus, and Amazing Titan)?

Yeah!!! It feels wrong to ask Godai to fight any longer, you know?

I do think Yuusuke probably has the upgrades, yeah! He gets into all sorts of problems so it just makes sense.