History Characters / KamenRiderKuuga

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMainCharaters
* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaGurongi
* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMinorSupportingCast
* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaManga

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMainCharacters

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMainCharaters

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaGrongi

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMainCharacters

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaMainCharaters

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaGurongi

[[foldercontrol]]

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaManga

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaManga






[[folder: Manga-exclusive Characters]]
!!'''Akira Harada'''

A manga-exclusive character. Harada is a vicious serial killer who got arrested by Ichijou after murdering five women. He escaped shortly after and killed another person before meeting his demise at hands of the Spider Gurongi.
* AxCrazy: He is clealy missing a few screws.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Does this to the women he kills. Harada opens their chests, fills them with gunpowder, and burns them alive, which makes them implode.
* PsychopathicManchild: To him, blowing up people is the same as making fireworks.
* RedRightHand: The left-side of his face is completely burned off.
* SerialKiller: A mix of Visionary and Hedonistic. Killed six people in total.
* StarterVillain: Kuuga never even had the chance to encounter him.

!!'''Shouichi Tsugami[=/=]Kamen Rider Agito II'''

Yes, ''[[Series/KamenRiderAgito that]]'' Shouichi Tsugami--or rather, an alternate version of him. Unlike the canon version, this one not only keeps his memories, but he's Shouichi from the start.

* AdaptationNameChange: A particularly odd example. [[spoiler: He's still Shouichi Tsugami, but that's his birth name changed from Tetsyua Sawaki to his current name. Presumably because doing so would spoil one of the big twists related to him in his home show]].
* AdaptationOriginConnection: [[spoiler: In ''Agito'', his powers came from the Seed of Agito, which was granted by the Overlord of Light. This version's powers were transferred to him from his sister, who obtained them from the Alter Ring (which was the name of his belt in the TV series proper), which in this continuity is a version of the spirit stone, which turns people into either Gurongi or Agito]][[note]]interestingly, this means that this counterpart has a connection to [[Series/KamenRiderWizard the Cross of Fire]], unlike the TV version[[/note]].
* IdenticalStranger: With the exception of having longer hair, he bears an uncanny resemblence to Yusuke. [[spoiler: To the point that his older sister Yukina mistakes Yusuke for him]].
* WalkingSpoiler: Mentioning his entire name alone kind of spoils one of the main changes to the manga for ''Kuuga'' from the TV Series, [[spoiler: namely that Yusuke isn't the only Kamen Rider in this reality anymore]], not to mention that it's hard to do so without mentioning [[spoiler: that unlike in his home series, he doesn't have amnesia]].

!!'''Yukina Tsugami[=/=]Kamen Rider Agito I'''

The older sister of Shouichi Tsugami.

* AdaptationalBadass: [[spoiler: Not only is she more in control of her powers here, but she is able to use them to defend herself from the Gurongi, and even fights Kuuga - for reasons explained directly below]].
* AdaptationNameChange: [[spoiler: Her last name in ''Agito'' was Sawaki; here, her birth name is Tsugami]].
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Thanks to the Rose Gurongi, she ends up fighting Kuuga.
* {{Frameup}}: She's held by the police, suspected of a murder she was framed for, escaping only due to the Gurongi abducting her.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: She's a PosthumousCharacter in ''Series/KamenRiderAgito''. This version appears in the present day, but has her powers transferred to her brother, who becomes the second Agito.
* WalkingSpoiler: Much like [[spoiler: her brother]], it's a bit hard to talk about her [[spoiler: without discussing how different she is from her home series]].
[[/folder]]

* Characters/KamenRiderKuugaOthers

[[folder: Minor Supporting Cast]]

!!'''Morimichi Sugita'''

The older coworker of Ichijou who is his comrade in the battle against the Grongi. Though initially skeptical of Kuuga, he is saved by the hero and becomes a supporter, [[spoiler:to the point he learns his true identity]]. Has a child who goes to Minori's daycare.

* IOweYouMyLife: Initially he shows no reluctance in firing upon Kuuga, who was in the middle of fighting Unidentified Lifeform #5. Later, Kuuga saves his life from #5 and asks him if he's OK, much to Sugita's surprise. When the rest of the police converge on the battle, Sugita joins Ichijou in convincing their fellow officers to stand down and let Kuuga fight #5 uninterrupted.
** From then on, Sugita becomes more open to working with "Unidentified Lifeform #4". When the Mushroom Grongi knocks "#2/the white #4" (Growing Form Kuuga) down, Sugita immediately orders the force to support Kuuga, buying him time to draw the battle away. When Kuuga and a Grongi start fighting after falling into the middle of a police deployment, Sugita calls out not to shoot with Kuuga in being in the line of fire.

!!'''Sadao Matsukura'''

The Metropolitan Police Department security department head. He is the man who Ichijou goes to in order to request further assistance for Kuuga.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Matsukura eventually becomes more open to assisting Kuuga, at one point agreeing with Ichijou that the Gouram should be placed in the police's safekeeping for Kuuga's benefit.
%%* CoolOldGuy
%%* AFatherToHisMen

!!'''Tsuyoshi Sakurai'''

A coworker of Ichijou's, and a comrade in the battle against the Grongi. Initially suspicious of "No. 4", he decides to trust Sugita about Kuuga, [[spoiler: eventually learning his true identity]].

!!'''Nozomi Sasayama'''

The policewoman part of the Grongi team who runs police dispatch[[spoiler:, and becomes one of the people who knows Kuuga's true identity]]. Has a bit of a crush on Ichijou, who politely doesn't return her feelings.

!!'''Mika Natsume'''

Daughter of one of the professors murdered by Unidentified Lifeform #0. She acts out in grief that her father's killer has yet to be caught, and how to her, no one seems to care. This puts her and Yusuke in danger of the Bee Grongi. She makes up for this by joining Jean's investigation group in Nagano. Once that concludes, she decides to take up the flute.

!!'''Shoji Kanzaki'''

Yusuke's elementary school teacher. He has a moment of personal crisis when he believes he could no longer teach. Sakurako and Yusuke help him overcome that, and Kanzaki occasionally returns as a recurring character.

* MemeticHandGesture: He's the man who taught Yusuke the thumbs-up, and the meaning behind it. If not for Kanzaki, Yusuke Godai would not have become the NiceGuy he is.

!!'''Junichi Chono'''

A man with a life-threatening disease and troubled lot in life. He was a supporter of the Grongi, believing that they were killing "useless" people, until Kuuga saved him from the Piranha Grongi. He briefly returned, revealing to have a personal crisis after having his entry rejected from an ad contest.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Claims that only Unidentified Lifeforms could possibly understand him. An encounter with the MonsterOfTheWeek proves to him that they don't care for what "prey" have to say to them.
* TheBusCameBack: Returns to the show much later.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Grongi]]

!!'''N-Daguva-Zeba'''
[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7d4f5dc39727bb53af1dcb3accd9c2f2.jpg]]
The ruler of the Grongi tribe. He is the first Grongi to be awoken and was the one to revive all 200 of the rest of his tribe (although he slaughtered a large number of them as they were too weak to fight Kuuga). Dubbed Unidentified Life Form 0, Daguva took the form of a young man in white towards the end of the series once Kuuga defeated the Zu, Me and Go tribes. Towards the finale, he attempted to bring about the 'Ultimate Darkness' to turn humans into a violent race like the Grongi. Yusuke eventually confronted Daguva in the mountains and after cracking each other's belts, were both forced into their human forms where they fought hand-to-hand. In the end, despite dealing Yusuke a critical blow, Daguva was killed.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The leader of the Grongi and by far the most powerful and evil member of their race.
* AxCrazy: He's thoroughly insane and psychotic and has a love for killing and fighting.
* BigBad: The one who leads the Grongi Tribe.
* BloodKnight: He spends a lot of the FinalBattle laughing his head off and having the time of his life, even as he's being beaten to death.
* TheCorrupter: Desires to become this for humanity and make them as vile and violent as his kind.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:His plan ultimately fails because he was incapable of understanding that Godai could destroy him and end the bloodshed without becoming just as violent as he is.]]
* EvilCounterpart: Just like Yusuke, he's a handsome man who turns into an insectoid combat form, controls the elements (he can shoot flames, call down lightning and create massive snowstorms) and is a supremely powerful fighter. Unlike Yusuke he's a heartless sadist who lives only for his next fight, win or loss. His true form is actually an inversion--Kuuga's powers were derived from Daguva, not the other way around.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He is very polite, almost friendly, whenever he interacts with Kuuga or with anybody who earns the right to challenge him. However, that doesn’t stop him from trying to murder them after talking with them and he has no qualms killing anybody who happens to annoy him.
* LightIsNotGood: His wears a white suit in his human form and his perfect form is white with gold accessories but is rotten to the core.
* ManInWhite: He's dressed all in white and his early appearances have him radiating light to obscure his face.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Is equal in strength to Kuuga Ultimate, implying he's every bit as potentially destuctive. If nothing else, he's capable of mass slaughtering people with pyrokinesis with no effort and capable of WeatherManipulation.
* PlayingWithFire: Has the ability to light people on fire. Not 'shoot them with fire', point his hand at them and they're suddenly on fire.
* SatanicArchetype: He's [[LightIsNotGood a man in white]] whose the sadistic ruler of a race of effectively demons and who plans to [[TheCorrupter corrupt humanity into evil and wicked creatures]].
* TheSocialDarwinist:
** Daguva absolutely despises the lowly and weak, doesn't care about any human (or Grongi) lives, and is willing to use any means necessary to make humanity as violent and hateful as he.
** The first thing he does after waking up and resurrecting his brethren is kill 162 of them (out of 200).
* SoftSpokenSadist: Despite his extremely visible apocalyptic powers and his ruthless sadism, Daguva never yells, acts arrogantly, or trash talks like his subjects. Instead, he speaks softly despite being the most evil of his brethren.
* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: [[spoiler:Daguva has no problems of killing every low ranking Grongi Tribesmen and causing mass destruction [[ForTheEvulz just for the sake of evil]]. However, his end goal is to make humanity as brutal and violent as himself, not wipe them out]].
* VocalDissonance: Throughout the series, Daguva has been depicted as a ruthless sadist with apocalyptic powers and his true form is definitely intimidating. However, his voice is disturbingly soft and youthful, which seems unfitting for his sadism and monstrous appearance.
* WeatherManipulation: Can induce heavy rains or blizzards just by being present. He weaponizes this to call down lightning strikes as well.
* XanatosGambit: His final fight with Kuuga, he wins and he goes on to bring about the Ultimate Darkness, Yusuke wins and Kuuga becomes his successor. [[spoiler:Subverted since Yusuke wins the fight yet he never became evil, thus foiling Daguva's plan.]]

-----

!!'''The Rose-Tattooed Woman/Ra-Baruba-De'''
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b2fcee31727dca2a889dc9bbd30f53e1.jpg]]
The "judge" of the Grongi's game. She is clad in black, and offers rose petals to her fellow Grongi as some kind of symbolic gesture. [[spoiler: Ultimately killed by Kaoru Ichijo with the Nerve-Breaking Bullets.]]

* ArchEnemy: She and Ichijo confront each other three times over the course of the show. The first two times she easily knocks him on his ass, and by the third time she's easily able to get under his skin by comparing her race to humanity. [[spoiler:He kills her in a fit of rage, and she dies smiling, having proving her point and rendering the victory hollow.]]
* TheBaroness: Despite her attractive human form, she acts mainly like the scheming manipulator.
* BloodFromTheMouth: When shot, and her last words are a struggle to get out.
* TheDragon: The closest thing the Grongi have to one.
* Foil: To Gadoru, Daguva's other lieutenant and the physical muscle to her more delicate scheming.
* TheHeavy: As Daguva doesn't have that much of a physical presence early in the series, she acts as the one giving orders to the Grongi and deciding who gets to attack next, as well as the terms of their 'game'.
* MouthOfSauron: Her orders and plans come from Daguva, even if they're only seen together a few times in the endgame.
* TheUnfought: DownplayedTrope. Her monster form is never seen, Godai never fights her directly. and she's [[spoiler: killed by the police. That said she gets in one last jab against Ichijo being not so different from herself.]]
* TheSpock: For the Grongi.

-----

!!'''Zu-Gooma-Gu'''

The Bat Grongi of the Zu tribe. First appearing in Episode 2, Gooma was disguised as a priest and resided in a church where he preyed on his victims during the night due to his photophobia. After his first battle with Kuuga, Gooma lost the right to continue participating in the Gegeru and was unable to advance in rank. He mostly hung around the Rose-Tattooed Woman looking for any chance to rejoin the game but being shot down each time. [[spoiler:Eventually, he discovered pieces of Daguva's body and ingested them to overcome his photophobia and finally get enough power to defeat Kuuga in Titan Form. He later attempted to usurp Daguva, but died at his hands.]]

Gooma was one of the longest lasting Grongi, surviving the Zu tribe, the Me tribe, and all but the final three members of the Go tribe.

* ArcVillain: The most recurring Grongi after the Rose and the only one to show up in monster form and fight Kuuga multiple times without dying. [[spoiler: His death demonstrates how much worse an ''imperfect'' Daguva is. And then Daguva gets the rest of his powers back...]]
* ButtMonkey: Gets tossed around easily by the Grongi and sent howling into the night after his first battle with Kuuga. [[spoiler: Even his death is an undignified mess, with his bloodied corpse tossed into a tree after trying to attack Daguva.]]
* DirtyCoward: Spends most of the series running and hiding from Kuuga or the other Grongi until he gets his OneWingedAngel forms. [[spoiler: But even that doesn't save him from Daguva.]]
* MeaningfulName: Gooma is taken from the Japanese for 'fiend'.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The Grongi only start taking him seriously after he gets his EleventhHourSuperpower.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: He's not actually a vampire, but his aversion to sunlight and habit of feasting on blood give him a certain vampire bat theme.
* UnknownRival: Despises Baruba for rejecting him, and not giving him a second chance at the Gegeru game. She considers him a nuisance at best.
* TooDumbToLive: The power he obtains from a small piece of Daguva's belt goes to his head, and he attempts to challenge the Grongi leader directly. [[spoiler: Sure enough it gets him killed easily.]]

----

!!'''Go-Gadoru-Ba'''

* ArcVillain: Aside from Baruba and Gooma, one of the few Grongi to fight, and defeat, Kuuga more than once. Usually the Grongi only take two episodes to beat, Gadoru's game took three.
* TheBrute: While neither stupid or slow, he relies mostly on his overwhelming power to crush his enemies, as Gooma found out the hard way.
* ClimaxBoss: The Grongi that targeted the police directly, defeated Kuuga with ease, and came closest to killing Ichijo. Kuuga only beats him by tapping into more of the golden power [[spoiler: and running the risk of turning into a second Daguva.]]
* EvilCounterpart: Another one to Kuuga, having all of his powers but none of his kindness.
* Foil: To Baruba. He's exceedingly masculine to her feminine, but as loyal to Daguva as she is and attempts to challenge him fairly, unlike Gooma.
* MirrorBoss: Has all of Kuuga's powers and even form changes just like Godai. He even has his own golden form that matches Kuuga's Rising Mighty form. He does not have a counter to [[spoiler: Amazing Mighty, which kills him.]]
* ShadowArchetype: He is the heartless warrior that everyone fears the fighting will turn Godai into.
* TheStoic: Rarely raises his voice, to contrast some of the other recurring Grongi like Gooma.


----

::'''Other Grongi'''

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They're basically an entire race of super powered serial killers.
* AnimalMotifs: All of their monster forms are based on animals.
* BeeAfraid: Me-Badjisu-Ba, the stinger-shooting Bee Grongi.
* BodyCountCompetition: Their game is basically one, about killing humans within the rules they set up
* EvilCounterpart: Along with Daguva, both Go-Badaa-Ba and Go-Gadoru-Ba parallel Kuuga in different ways. Badaa, like Kuuga, is a BadassBiker whose animal tattoo just so happens to be the motif of the [[MythologyGag first Kamen Rider]]. Gadoru, as the leader of the Go Tribe, is able to change between forms, five in total, each paralleling one of Kuuga's base four forms and his Rising form. It also helps that his animal motif is a [[JapaneseBeetleBrothers rhinoceros-beetle]].
* EyeScream: Zu-Mebio-Da is shot in the eye by police, with bloody results.
* HollywoodAcid: Go-Zazaru-Ba's scorpion venom.
* IllKillYou: Zu-Gumun-Ba yells at Kuuga with this threat [[spoiler: before he explodes.]]
* KissOfDeath: Me-Ginoga-De's killing method. While the poison he injects with it almost kills Godai, [[DisneyDeath "killing" him]] only caused his belt to [[MidSeasonUpgrade power up]] enough to allow Godai to [[NiceJobFixingItVillain defeat the rest of the Grongi]].
* ALoadOfBull: Go-Baberu-Da is one of the top three Go class; he can even wreck Titan form's armor.
* MythologyGag: Go-Badaa-Ba is a grasshopper-based Grongi with a red scarf and a bike. To a lesser extent, Zu-Baduu-Ba is reminiscent of the yellow-scarved Shocker Riders.
* NotSoDifferent: All the Grongi are [[spoiler: biologically identical to Kuuga]].
* PaletteSwap: Go-Badaa-Ba and Zu-Baduu-Ba; both are grasshopper-based Grongi with minor design differences, the most prominent of which is the color of their scarves. This is justified as they're twins.
* PiranhaProblem: Me-Biran-Gi, the Pirahna Grongi.
* PricklyPorcupine: Go-Jaraji-Da, the Porcupine Grongi. Subversion in that his game is one of the more brutal ones.
* RhinoRampage: Zu-Zain-Da, the brutal Rhino Grongi.
* SinisterScythe: Used by Me-Garima-Ba, being a mantis.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Each of them puts one on themselves when it's their turn as part of their game. Failing to use live up with them can get their kills voided or boot them out of the game.
* ThreateningShark: Go-Jaaza-Gi; in fact she is one of the three strongest Go class, with the ability to change forms.
* TransformationTrinket: It's eventually revealed that the belts all Grongi wear function nigh-identically to Kuuga's Arcle, fusing with their nervous systems and giving them the ability to transform into powerful combat forms. They're probably the only Kamen Rider monsters where their true forms are their human forms.
* WickedCultured: Some of the Go class; one reads the collected works of Camus, while another plays Chopin at the piano.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kuuga]]

!!'''Yusuke Godai/Kamen Rider Kuuga'''
[[quoteright:213:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7bc6bd46582e30b43eb0f3e8c4e8dca5.png]]
!!! 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 [[ArcNumber master 2000 talents before the year 2000]]. One day, he has a vision of an artifact called the [[TransformationTrinket 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-Jaraji-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
* TheAce: Has mastered nearly 2000 skills (with Skill #2000 being becoming Kuuga), is loved by everyone who doesn't consider him [[IdiotHero an idiot]], and is later on seen as the hope of humanity for beating the Grongi.
* AllLovingHero: He is a NiceGuy 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.
* {{Adorkable}}: He's known for having some strange hobbies, most notably archaeology. This is due to a promise he made to master [[ArcNumber 2000]] skills before the year 2000. Rather fittingly, that 2000th skill is becoming [[HenshinHero Kuuga]].
* BadassBiker: Very proficient at [[CarFu Bike Fu]].
* BewareTheNiceOnes: This actually becomes a plot point, when his rage makes him more and more dangerous as Kuuga.
* CameBackStrong: After seemingly dying at the hands of the Mushroom Grongi Me-Ginoga-De, he [[HealingFactor revives]], with the ability to use [[MidSeasonUpgrade the Rising Forms]] slowly emerging with each subsequent battle.
* TheCape: Is one of the straightest examples of this trope in Kamen Rider. He wants to be Kuuga and defeat the Grongi solely because it's the right thing to do and to save people, he's an AllLovingHero, and only fights because it's the only choice. [[spoiler:Is a ''plot point'', as if he was anything except this he may have become as bad as Daguva when he reached Ultimate.]]
* ChestInsignia: After a certain point, he puts Kuuga's emblem onto his shirts and jackets, [[MythologyGag just like]] Series/KamenRiderStronger.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Whenever he learns of a Grongi attack, he drops everything and rides off to stop it. This actually leads to him [[RunningGag abandoning work at Poré Poré, to the owner's confusion]].
* ComesGreatResponsibility: InvertedTrope. ''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 second battle, 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.
* CoolBike: The [=TryChaser=] 2000 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 [[MechaExpansionPack Gouram]] gives these bad boys enough armor for [[FinishingMove an explosive]] [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming attack]].
* EmbarrassingNickname: 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?"
* TheDeterminator: He WILL not give up on trying to protect peoples smiles, no matter what happens to him.
* ForHappiness: He fights to protect people's smiles. Realizing this for the first time allowed him to transform into his iconic [[JackOfAllStats Mighty Form]].
* FriendToAllChildren: Hates seeing people cry, ''especially'' kids.
* HealingFactor: 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; Episodes 18 and 19 sees Tsubaki and an emergency team try to save the poisoned Yusuke, which instead leaves him in a near-death sleep.
* TheHero: He is the main hero of ''Kuuga''.
* HowDoIShootWeb: Unlike most Riders, his power neither comes with instinctive knowledge of how they work, nor [[MrExposition a helpful person to explain everything to him from square one]]. While Sakurako can translate ancient text to figure out what his powers are, most of the time 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''.
* InstantExpert: ZigZagged. 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 [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]].
** 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 MonsterOfTheWeek.
** 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 SensoryOverload 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.
* LegacyCharacter: Succeeds Riku, the original Kuuga of over 2000 years ago. As the opening will have you know, he's also [[Franchise/KamenRider a new hero of a new legend]]. [[{{Lampshaded}} Yusuke even calls himself]] "The Year 2000 version of Kuuga".
* LoyalPhlebotinum: {{Justified}} with the Arcle, as its Amadam core is fused into his body and won't come off ([[BodyHorror out of his body]]) unless the core is shattered. The Gouram, meanwhile, is purely loyal only to Yusuke.
* MemeticHandGesture: 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.
* MotorcycleJousting: The crowning example of the Heisei Era, Yusuke can [[CarFu Bike Fu]] on beaches, on roads, and even inside buildings. {{Justified}}, as the Try- and [=BeatChasers=] were specifically made for both speed and maneuverability.
* MyCard:
-->'''Ichijo''': "A man who chases his dreams"... "Godai Yusuke"?\\
'''Yusuke''': That's right!
* NiceGuy: Probably the nicest Kamen Rider, only matched by [[Series/KamenRiderOOO Eiji Hino]]. Yusuke's pure-heartedness is what lets him control Kuuga in the first place; [[spoiler:being anything less than that would plunge him into Ultimate Form's innate UnstoppableRage.]]
* ThePowerOfTrust: This is why he trusts the Gouram, even before the police can be ''absolutely'' certain that it's an ally to Kuuga.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Before transforming into [[LetsGetDangerous Kuuga's Mighty Form for the first time]], he tells Ichijou to "Witness...my transformation!"
* ReluctantWarrior: 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.
* StepfordSmiler: 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. [[spoiler: Following the final battle, he's gone back to WalkingTheEarth for some soul-searching, to rediscover his smile]].
* VigilanteMan: Attempted by Yusuke once or twice in the beginning, but ultimately {{averted}}. He always cooperates with the police through Ichijo, to the point that Ichijou willingly grants Pegasus Form Kuuga his own handgun. [[spoiler:When the force learns of Kuuga's identity, they grant him access to the [=BeatChaser=] 2000.]]

!!! Tropes exclusive to him as Kamen Rider Kuuga
[[quoteright:214:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/586e6bc0f9322016093bed86eba42822.png]]
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Ultimate Form was really only teased in the latter part of the series, and [[spoiler:it was only around the last episode that he reached it--in time to use against N-Daguva-Zeba]].
* BlowYouAway: Pegasus Form primarily empowers him and his projectile weaponry with wind.
* DarkIsNotEvil: 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 DarkIsEvil applies, too.
* DestructiveSavior: {{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 [[spoiler:the FinalBattle is a brutal fist fight with no actual superpowers being thrown around except lighting each other on fire.]]
* ElementalPowers: {{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 [[DarkIsNotEvil the black colors for his Amazing Mighty and Ultimate Forms]].
* FragileSpeedster: Dragon Form, allowing for quick movement and high jumps, but has to use a weapon to fight just as competently.
* MakingASplash: Dragon Form's agility complements its marine origin and theme.
* PlayingWithFire: Mighty Form and [[spoiler: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]]
* FinishingMove:
** Growing Form: ''Growing Kick''[[note]]A kick with a third of Mighty Kick's power.[[/note]]
** Mighty Form: ''Mighty Kick''[[note]]A powerful kick. Kuuga spins in midair to grant additional power.[[/note]]
** Dragon Form: ''Splash Dragon''[[note]]A strike with the Dragon Rod's tip.[[/note]]
** Pegasus Form: ''Blast Pegasus''[[note]]An arrow fired from the Pegasus Bowgun.[[/note]]
** Titan Form: ''Calamity Titan''[[note]]Kuuga stabs/slashes with the Titan Sword.[[/note]]
** Rising Mighty Form: ''Rising Mighty Kick''[[note]]A more powerful version powered up by the Mighty Anklet. Can level city blocks.[[/note]]
** Rising Dragon Form: ''Rising Splash Dragon''[[note]]A strike with the Rising Dragon Rod's bladed tip.[[/note]]
** Rising Pegasus Form: ''Rising Blast Pegasus''[[note]]Three arrows fired from the Rising Pegasus Bowgun.[[/note]]
** Rising Titan Form #1: ''Rising Calamity Titan''[[note]]A more powerful version of the Calamity Titan.[[/note]]
** Rising Titan Form #2: ''Double Rising Calamity Titan''[[note]]After Kuuga summons a second Rising Titan Sword.[[/note]]
** Amazing Mighty Form: ''Amazing Mighty Kick''[[note]]An even more powerful version powered up by two Mighty Anklets.[[/note]]
** Ultimate Form: ''Ultimate Kick''[[note]]A Rider Kick said to be so insanely strong, it could cause an EarthShatteringKaboom if used at full power! Obviously, this attack is [[AllThereInTheManual only mentioned, never shown]].[[/note]]
** [=TryGouram=] Attack: Kuuga on the [=TryGouram=] [[RammingAlwaysWorks rams a Grongi]].
** Rising [=BeatGouram=] Attack: ''Body Attack''[[note]]A more powerful [[RammingAlwaysWorks ramming attack]], used by [=BeatGouram=] powered up with Rising energy.[[/note]]
* MechaExpansionPack: Gouram can combine with both of his {{Cool Bike}}s, [=TryChaser 2000=] and [=BeatChaser 2000=].
%%* MidSeasonUpgrade: The Rising Forms, Amazing Mighty Form, and the [=BeatChaser=] 2000.
* JackOfAllStats: Mighty Form, Yuusuke's most used form, is adaptable to many situations.
* LightningBruiser: Amazing Mighty, powering up Mighty Form even more to be faster, stronger and better than nearly all of the other forms.
* MightyGlacier: Titan Form, slow but powerful and durable, which Yusuke uses by tanking everything thrown at him before stomping the attacker in question.
* MultiformBalance:
** He has four basic forms.
*** '''Mighty''': The [[JackOfAllStats balanced form]].
*** '''Dragon''': [[FragileSpeedster Fast and can jump very high but has the least protective armor]], and is so weak that he needs a [[SimpleStaff Dragon Rod]] to injure an enemy.
*** '''Pegasus''': Has SuperSenses 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 SensoryOverload. It's armed with a Pegasus Bowgun which [[GlassCannon shoots out a powerful air blast but has to be reloaded after every shot]].
*** '''Titan''': MightyGlacier, with high strength to wield the [[CoolSword Titan Sword]] and strong protection from ArmorOfInvincibility, 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 AttackItsWeakPoint.
*** All of the basic forms later get a MidSeasonUpgrade as '''Rising''' forms that boost their stats[[note]]Rising Mighty just gets an overall stat boost, Rising Dragon has increased speed and the Rising Dragon Rod now has [[BladeOnAStick blades on both ends]], Rising Pegasus has better SuperSenses and the Rising Pegasus Bowgun can shoot repeatedly, and Rising Titan has increased strength and bigger swords that he can [[DualWielding use two at once]][[/note]] but they're more of a LimitBreak that only lasts for 30 seconds until Yusuke's second electrotherapy in episode 46, and the power can [[DestructiveSavior 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]]The first time because he lacks the resolve of a warrior, and later when he's still weakened from a near-death state; we also see him revert to this form briefly after his SensoryOverload from Pegasus Form[[/note]] Usually regarded as useless, but proven to be [[NerfArm capable of fighting, just not being as good at it]].
*** '''Amazing Mighty''': LightningBruiser, with an overall stat boost from Rising Mighty Form.
*** '''Ultimate''': [[EleventhHourSuperpower Used in the last battle]], [[SuperMode superior to everything before it in every respect]] but it's a SuperpoweredEvilSide and can corrupt him into an evil being.
* ShockAndAwe: In contrast to the other forms' elemental themes, Titan Form is clearly empowered by electricity/lightning, most noticeable when Kuuga changes to it.
* SquishyWizard: Pegasus Form, with enhanced SuperSenses and mastery at long-range combat, but suffering from a time limit and being a poor choice for melee combat.
* SuperMode: Ultimate Form, the unquestionable best form and the best at everything. It even has the ability ([[AllThereInTheManual So sayeth the side materials]][[note]]The [[http://www.microforever.com/Rider/kuugaultimate.htm 2000 Japanese edition]] of Kuuga Ultimate Form's ''Souchaku Henshin'' toy figure (i.e. the predecessor to ''Toys/SHFiguarts'') even included "Ultimate" versions of Kuuga's Rising Forms' weapons[[/note]]) to use the weapons and powers of all the other forms with zero drawbacks.
* SuperSenses: 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 SensoryOverload and is forced out of it. [[spoiler:Ultimate Form also has this ability, but is much stronger and has no overload drawback.]]
* SwissArmyHero: 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.

!!'''Riku/Warrior Kuuga/"The Previous Kuuga"'''
A young member of the Rinto tribe, who took on the Amadam in the face of the Grongi threat in ancient times. The majority of his story is told in the novelization, and he's only ever referred to as "the previous Kuuga" in the show. Can be assumed to have had the same abilities as the modern Kuuga.

* BatmanGambit: Riku became Kuuga as a result of the Grongi setting him up for it, on the theory that he was the ''least'' warrior-like choice for being their worst enemy. ''It backfired spectacularly''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: As with Yusuke, Riku wasn't a warrior from the get-go. [[TookALevelInBadass He became one anyway]].
* BigBrotherInstinct: Became Kuuga to protect his little sister and only relative, Mio. (That's probably her hand touching the sarcophagus, at the very beginning of the first episode.)
* MidSeasonUpgrade: {{Averted}} in Riku's case. He apparently did '''not''' unlock anything past the five basic forms. (Between this and the generally sparser population density of the time, there's a good chance he avoided reaching the modern Kuuga's level of DestructiveSavior.)
* NiceGuy: Had to be, given the nature of the power he had. [[spoiler:Whether it was to the extent of controlling Ultimate Form or not is unknown.]]
* ReluctantWarrior: Wasn't much of a warrior at all before becoming Kuuga.
* SealedGoodInACan: If you need any proof that he's a NiceGuy and a hero to boot, note that he sealed ''himself'' in that sarcophagus while he was [[BuriedAlive still alive]], ''[[{{Determinator}} just in case]]'' the Grongi overcame the fatal case of death he'd given them. [[spoiler:Sadly, N-Daguba apparently forced him to revert to his aged human form in the present day...which didn't stop him, as he appeared to be getting up to fight anyway.]]
* ShroudedInMyth: We don't know a whole lot about him--just that he was at minimum Yusuke's equal as a good man and warrior.
* TheStraightAndArrowPath: Unlike Yusuke's Pegasus Bowgun in the present, Riku's Kuuga probably used an actual bow and arrows while in Pegasus Form.

[[folder: Supporting Cast]]
!!'''Kaoru Ichijo'''
[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e215a88dd4d62b30b05ec264b6818e18.jpg]]
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.

* BadassLongcoat: Is seen wearing his most of the time.
* BadassNormal: 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.
* FriendOnTheForce: 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 [[CoolBike the specialized TryChaser and BeatChaser 2000 prototypes]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: 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.
* SecretKeeper: 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 Ichijou must rely on other evidence to advocate for cooperation with Kuuga.
* TheWorkaholic: 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'''
[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/42969e6863b9f62a96a3d723ef687977.jpg]]
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.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: {{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.
* HotScientist: Although given she mainly researches past languages, she is probably more of a HotLibrarian.
* SecretKeeper: She's one of Yusuke's circle of friends who know of his being Kuuga/Unidentified Lifeform #4.
%%* MissionControl
%%* TheSmartGuy

!!'''Minori Godai'''

Yusuke's 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 Pore-Pore Tea Cafe whenever hands are short.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Kazari calls her "Minori-cchi", to her mild exasperation.
* FriendToAllChildren: Just like her brother. A given for running a daycare.
* SecretKeeper: 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'''

Godai's doctor, treating his various injuries, and taking notes on the Amadam and its HealingFactor. He also performs autopsies on Grongi victims, and even on the body of [[spoiler: Zu-Gooma-Gu, eventually leading to the conclusion that the Grongi work similarly to Kuuga.]]

* SecretKeeper: Ichijou trusts Tsubaki to keep mum on Kuuga's identity.

!!'''Hikari Enokida'''

The Head of the Police Department Science Division, the single mom is a personable scientist who studies the Grongi and develops weapons against them. Due to her workload, she doesn't have much time to spend with her son.

%%* HotScientist
* {{Meganekko}}: A scientist studying both Kuuga and the Grongi? Check. Wears glasses? Check.
* SecretKeeper: One of Ichijou's circle of colleagues who learn of Unidentified Lifeform #4 being a human named Yusuke Godai.
%%* ShipTease: With Jean.

!!'''Tamasaburo Kazari'''

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. [[spoiler:At least, initially.]]

* IdiotBall: In most episodes, if Yusuke mentions him being Kuuga, Kazaraki will ignore that.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: 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. [[spoiler:He doesn't put two and two together for most of the show, but learns the truth near the end.]]

!!'''Nana Asahina'''

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.

* {{Squee}}: Appoints herself the #1 Fan of Yusuke Godai. To her displeasure, Yusuke hardly notices that part.

!!'''Jean Michel Sorrel'''

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.

* GratuitousEnglish: Though he supposes to be French, Jean occasionally uses English words and phrases.
* MyGreatestFailure: 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.
* TokenWhite: Of all the cast, Jean is the sole foreigner character, attending the university as a transfer student.

[[folder: Grongi]]

!!'''N-Daguva-Zeba'''
[[quoteright:360:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7d4f5dc39727bb53af1dcb3accd9c2f2.jpg]]
The ruler of the Grongi tribe. He is the first Grongi to be awoken and was the one to revive all 200 of the rest of his tribe (although he slaughtered a large number of them as they were too weak to fight Kuuga). Dubbed Unidentified Life Form 0, Daguva took the form of a young man in white towards the end of the series once Kuuga defeated the Zu, Me and Go tribes. Towards the finale, he attempted to bring about the 'Ultimate Darkness' to turn humans into a violent race like the Grongi. Yusuke eventually confronted Daguva in the mountains and after cracking each other's belts, were both forced into their human forms where they fought hand-to-hand. In the end, despite dealing Yusuke a critical blow, Daguva was killed.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The leader of the Grongi and by far the most powerful and evil member of their race.
* AxCrazy: He's thoroughly insane and psychotic and has a love for killing and fighting.
* BigBad: The one who leads the Grongi Tribe.
* BloodKnight: He spends a lot of the FinalBattle laughing his head off and having the time of his life, even as he's being beaten to death.
* TheCorrupter: Desires to become this for humanity and make them as vile and violent as his kind.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:His plan ultimately fails because he was incapable of understanding that Godai could destroy him and end the bloodshed without becoming just as violent as he is.]]
* EvilCounterpart: Just like Yusuke, he's a handsome man who turns into an insectoid combat form, controls the elements (he can shoot flames, call down lightning and create massive snowstorms) and is a supremely powerful fighter. Unlike Yusuke he's a heartless sadist who lives only for his next fight, win or loss. His true form is actually an inversion--Kuuga's powers were derived from Daguva, not the other way around.
* FauxAffablyEvil: He is very polite, almost friendly, whenever he interacts with Kuuga or with anybody who earns the right to challenge him. However, that doesn’t stop him from trying to murder them after talking with them and he has no qualms killing anybody who happens to annoy him.
* LightIsNotGood: His wears a white suit in his human form and his perfect form is white with gold accessories but is rotten to the core.
* ManInWhite: He's dressed all in white and his early appearances have him radiating light to obscure his face.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Is equal in strength to Kuuga Ultimate, implying he's every bit as potentially destuctive. If nothing else, he's capable of mass slaughtering people with pyrokinesis with no effort and capable of WeatherManipulation.
* PlayingWithFire: Has the ability to light people on fire. Not 'shoot them with fire', point his hand at them and they're suddenly on fire.
* SatanicArchetype: He's [[LightIsNotGood a man in white]] whose the sadistic ruler of a race of effectively demons and who plans to [[TheCorrupter corrupt humanity into evil and wicked creatures]].
* TheSocialDarwinist:
** Daguva absolutely despises the lowly and weak, doesn't care about any human (or Grongi) lives, and is willing to use any means necessary to make humanity as violent and hateful as he.
** The first thing he does after waking up and resurrecting his brethren is kill 162 of them (out of 200).
* SoftSpokenSadist: Despite his extremely visible apocalyptic powers and his ruthless sadism, Daguva never yells, acts arrogantly, or trash talks like his subjects. Instead, he speaks softly despite being the most evil of his brethren.
* ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil: [[spoiler:Daguva has no problems of killing every low ranking Grongi Tribesmen and causing mass destruction [[ForTheEvulz just for the sake of evil]]. However, his end goal is to make humanity as brutal and violent as himself, not wipe them out]].
* VocalDissonance: Throughout the series, Daguva has been depicted as a ruthless sadist with apocalyptic powers and his true form is definitely intimidating. However, his voice is disturbingly soft and youthful, which seems unfitting for his sadism and monstrous appearance.
* WeatherManipulation: Can induce heavy rains or blizzards just by being present. He weaponizes this to call down lightning strikes as well.
* XanatosGambit: His final fight with Kuuga, he wins and he goes on to bring about the Ultimate Darkness, Yusuke wins and Kuuga becomes his successor. [[spoiler:Subverted since Yusuke wins the fight yet he never became evil, thus foiling Daguva's plan.]]

-----

!!'''The Rose-Tattooed Woman/Ra-Baruba-De'''
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b2fcee31727dca2a889dc9bbd30f53e1.jpg]]
The "judge" of the Grongi's game. She is clad in black, and offers rose petals to her fellow Grongi as some kind of symbolic gesture. [[spoiler: Ultimately killed by Kaoru Ichijo with the Nerve-Breaking Bullets.]]

* ArchEnemy: She and Ichijo confront each other three times over the course of the show. The first two times she easily knocks him on his ass, and by the third time she's easily able to get under his skin by comparing her race to humanity. [[spoiler:He kills her in a fit of rage, and she dies smiling, having proving her point and rendering the victory hollow.]]
* TheBaroness: Despite her attractive human form, she acts mainly like the scheming manipulator.
* BloodFromTheMouth: When shot, and her last words are a struggle to get out.
* TheDragon: The closest thing the Grongi have to one.
* Foil: To Gadoru, Daguva's other lieutenant and the physical muscle to her more delicate scheming.
* TheHeavy: As Daguva doesn't have that much of a physical presence early in the series, she acts as the one giving orders to the Grongi and deciding who gets to attack next, as well as the terms of their 'game'.
* MouthOfSauron: Her orders and plans come from Daguva, even if they're only seen together a few times in the endgame.
* TheUnfought: DownplayedTrope. Her monster form is never seen, Godai never fights her directly. and she's [[spoiler: killed by the police. That said she gets in one last jab against Ichijo being not so different from herself.]]
* TheSpock: For the Grongi.

-----

!!'''Zu-Gooma-Gu'''

The Bat Grongi of the Zu tribe. First appearing in Episode 2, Gooma was disguised as a priest and resided in a church where he preyed on his victims during the night due to his photophobia. After his first battle with Kuuga, Gooma lost the right to continue participating in the Gegeru and was unable to advance in rank. He mostly hung around the Rose-Tattooed Woman looking for any chance to rejoin the game but being shot down each time. [[spoiler:Eventually, he discovered pieces of Daguva's body and ingested them to overcome his photophobia and finally get enough power to defeat Kuuga in Titan Form. He later attempted to usurp Daguva, but died at his hands.]]

Gooma was one of the longest lasting Grongi, surviving the Zu tribe, the Me tribe, and all but the final three members of the Go tribe.

* ArcVillain: The most recurring Grongi after the Rose and the only one to show up in monster form and fight Kuuga multiple times without dying. [[spoiler: His death demonstrates how much worse an ''imperfect'' Daguva is. And then Daguva gets the rest of his powers back...]]
* ButtMonkey: Gets tossed around easily by the Grongi and sent howling into the night after his first battle with Kuuga. [[spoiler: Even his death is an undignified mess, with his bloodied corpse tossed into a tree after trying to attack Daguva.]]
* DirtyCoward: Spends most of the series running and hiding from Kuuga or the other Grongi until he gets his OneWingedAngel forms. [[spoiler: But even that doesn't save him from Daguva.]]
* MeaningfulName: Gooma is taken from the Japanese for 'fiend'.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The Grongi only start taking him seriously after he gets his EleventhHourSuperpower.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: He's not actually a vampire, but his aversion to sunlight and habit of feasting on blood give him a certain vampire bat theme.
* UnknownRival: Despises Baruba for rejecting him, and not giving him a second chance at the Gegeru game. She considers him a nuisance at best.
* TooDumbToLive: The power he obtains from a small piece of Daguva's belt goes to his head, and he attempts to challenge the Grongi leader directly. [[spoiler: Sure enough it gets him killed easily.]]

----

!!'''Go-Gadoru-Ba'''

* ArcVillain: Aside from Baruba and Gooma, one of the few Grongi to fight, and defeat, Kuuga more than once. Usually the Grongi only take two episodes to beat, Gadoru's game took three.
* TheBrute: While neither stupid or slow, he relies mostly on his overwhelming power to crush his enemies, as Gooma found out the hard way.
* ClimaxBoss: The Grongi that targeted the police directly, defeated Kuuga with ease, and came closest to killing Ichijo. Kuuga only beats him by tapping into more of the golden power [[spoiler: and running the risk of turning into a second Daguva.]]
* EvilCounterpart: Another one to Kuuga, having all of his powers but none of his kindness.
* Foil: To Baruba. He's exceedingly masculine to her feminine, but as loyal to Daguva as she is and attempts to challenge him fairly, unlike Gooma.
* MirrorBoss: Has all of Kuuga's powers and even form changes just like Godai. He even has his own golden form that matches Kuuga's Rising Mighty form. He does not have a counter to [[spoiler: Amazing Mighty, which kills him.]]
* ShadowArchetype: He is the heartless warrior that everyone fears the fighting will turn Godai into.
* TheStoic: Rarely raises his voice, to contrast some of the other recurring Grongi like Gooma.


----

::'''Other Grongi'''

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They're basically an entire race of super powered serial killers.
* AnimalMotifs: All of their monster forms are based on animals.
* BeeAfraid: Me-Badjisu-Ba, the stinger-shooting Bee Grongi.
* BodyCountCompetition: Their game is basically one, about killing humans within the rules they set up
* EvilCounterpart: Along with Daguva, both Go-Badaa-Ba and Go-Gadoru-Ba parallel Kuuga in different ways. Badaa, like Kuuga, is a BadassBiker whose animal tattoo just so happens to be the motif of the [[MythologyGag first Kamen Rider]]. Gadoru, as the leader of the Go Tribe, is able to change between forms, five in total, each paralleling one of Kuuga's base four forms and his Rising form. It also helps that his animal motif is a [[JapaneseBeetleBrothers rhinoceros-beetle]].
* EyeScream: Zu-Mebio-Da is shot in the eye by police, with bloody results.
* HollywoodAcid: Go-Zazaru-Ba's scorpion venom.
* IllKillYou: Zu-Gumun-Ba yells at Kuuga with this threat [[spoiler: before he explodes.]]
* KissOfDeath: Me-Ginoga-De's killing method. While the poison he injects with it almost kills Godai, [[DisneyDeath "killing" him]] only caused his belt to [[MidSeasonUpgrade power up]] enough to allow Godai to [[NiceJobFixingItVillain defeat the rest of the Grongi]].
* ALoadOfBull: Go-Baberu-Da is one of the top three Go class; he can even wreck Titan form's armor.
* MythologyGag: Go-Badaa-Ba is a grasshopper-based Grongi with a red scarf and a bike. To a lesser extent, Zu-Baduu-Ba is reminiscent of the yellow-scarved Shocker Riders.
* NotSoDifferent: All the Grongi are [[spoiler: biologically identical to Kuuga]].
* PaletteSwap: Go-Badaa-Ba and Zu-Baduu-Ba; both are grasshopper-based Grongi with minor design differences, the most prominent of which is the color of their scarves. This is justified as they're twins.
* PiranhaProblem: Me-Biran-Gi, the Pirahna Grongi.
* PricklyPorcupine: Go-Jaraji-Da, the Porcupine Grongi. Subversion in that his game is one of the more brutal ones.
* RhinoRampage: Zu-Zain-Da, the brutal Rhino Grongi.
* SinisterScythe: Used by Me-Garima-Ba, being a mantis.
* SelfImposedChallenge: Each of them puts one on themselves when it's their turn as part of their game. Failing to use live up with them can get their kills voided or boot them out of the game.
* ThreateningShark: Go-Jaaza-Gi; in fact she is one of the three strongest Go class, with the ability to change forms.
* TransformationTrinket: It's eventually revealed that the belts all Grongi wear function nigh-identically to Kuuga's Arcle, fusing with their nervous systems and giving them the ability to transform into powerful combat forms. They're probably the only Kamen Rider monsters where their true forms are their human forms.
* WickedCultured: Some of the Go class; one reads the collected works of Camus, while another plays Chopin at the piano.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Minor Supporting Cast]]

!!'''Morimichi Sugita'''

The older coworker of Ichijou who is his comrade in the battle against the Grongi. Though initially skeptical of Kuuga, he is saved by the hero and becomes a supporter, [[spoiler:to the point he learns his true identity]]. Has a child who goes to Minori's daycare.

* IOweYouMyLife: Initially he shows no reluctance in firing upon Kuuga, who was in the middle of fighting Unidentified Lifeform #5. Later, Kuuga saves his life from #5 and asks him if he's OK, much to Sugita's surprise. When the rest of the police converge on the battle, Sugita joins Ichijou in convincing their fellow officers to stand down and let Kuuga fight #5 uninterrupted.
** From then on, Sugita becomes more open to working with "Unidentified Lifeform #4". When the Mushroom Grongi knocks "#2/the white #4" (Growing Form Kuuga) down, Sugita immediately orders the force to support Kuuga, buying him time to draw the battle away. When Kuuga and a Grongi start fighting after falling into the middle of a police deployment, Sugita calls out not to shoot with Kuuga in being in the line of fire.

!!'''Sadao Matsukura'''

The Metropolitan Police Department security department head. He is the man who Ichijou goes to in order to request further assistance for Kuuga.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Matsukura eventually becomes more open to assisting Kuuga, at one point agreeing with Ichijou that the Gouram should be placed in the police's safekeeping for Kuuga's benefit.
%%* CoolOldGuy
%%* AFatherToHisMen

!!'''Tsuyoshi Sakurai'''

A coworker of Ichijou's, and a comrade in the battle against the Grongi. Initially suspicious of "No. 4", he decides to trust Sugita about Kuuga, [[spoiler: eventually learning his true identity]].

!!'''Nozomi Sasayama'''

The policewoman part of the Grongi team who runs police dispatch[[spoiler:, and becomes one of the people who knows Kuuga's true identity]]. Has a bit of a crush on Ichijou, who politely doesn't return her feelings.

!!'''Mika Natsume'''

Daughter of one of the professors murdered by Unidentified Lifeform #0. She acts out in grief that her father's killer has yet to be caught, and how to her, no one seems to care. This puts her and Yusuke in danger of the Bee Grongi. She makes up for this by joining Jean's investigation group in Nagano. Once that concludes, she decides to take up the flute.

!!'''Shoji Kanzaki'''

Yusuke's elementary school teacher. He has a moment of personal crisis when he believes he could no longer teach. Sakurako and Yusuke help him overcome that, and Kanzaki occasionally returns as a recurring character.

* MemeticHandGesture: He's the man who taught Yusuke the thumbs-up, and the meaning behind it. If not for Kanzaki, Yusuke Godai would not have become the NiceGuy he is.

!!'''Junichi Chono'''

A man with a life-threatening disease and troubled lot in life. He was a supporter of the Grongi, believing that they were killing "useless" people, until Kuuga saved him from the Piranha Grongi. He briefly returned, revealing to have a personal crisis after having his entry rejected from an ad contest.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Claims that only Unidentified Lifeforms could possibly understand him. An encounter with the MonsterOfTheWeek proves to him that they don't care for what "prey" have to say to them.
* TheBusCameBack: Returns to the show much later.

[[/folder]]

Sakurako is Godai's friend, an archaeologist. 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.

Dr. Tsubaki is Godai's doctor, treating his various injuries, and taking notes on the Amadam and its HealingFactor. He also performs autopsies on Grongi victims, and even on the body of [[spoiler: Zu-Gooma-Gu, eventually leading to the conclusion that the Grongi work similarly to Kuuga.]]

A transfer student from France, he shares the 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.

A coworker of Ichijou, and a comrade in the battle against the Grongi. Initially suspicious of "No. 4", he decides to trust Sugita about Kuuga, [[spoiler: eventually learning his true identity]].

* CoolOldGuy: Perhaps a less obvious example. Initially he shows no reluctance in firing upon Kuuga, who was in the middle of fighting Unidentified Lifeform #5. Later, Kuuga saves his life from #5 and asks him if he's OK, much to Sugita's surprise. When the rest of the police converge on the battle, Sugita joins Ichijou in convincing their fellow officers to stand down and let Kuuga fight #5 uninterrupted.

The Metropolitan Police Department security department head, he is the man who Ichijou goes to in order to beg for further assistance for Kuuga.

!!'''Mika Natsume '''

Daughter of one of the professors murdered by Daguva, she is initially suicidal because her father's killer hasn't been found. She makes up for this by joining Jean's investigation group in Nagano. Once that concludes, she decides to take up the flute.

Yusuke's elementary school teacher, he has a moment of personal crisis when he believes he could no longer teach. Sakurako and Yusuke help him overcome that, and Kanzaki occasionally returns as a recurring character.

A man with a life-threatening disease and troubled lot in life, he was a supporter of the Grongi until Kuuga saved him. He briefly returned, revealing to have a personal crisis after having his entry rejected from an ad contest.

Yes, [[Series/KamenRiderAgito THAT]] Shouichi Tsugami - or rather, an alternate version of him. Unlike the canon version, this one not only keeps his memories, but he's Shouichi from the start.

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 [[ArcNumber master 2000 talents before the year 2000]]. One day, he has a vision of an artifact called the [[TransformationTrinket 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.

* VigilanteMan: At first attempted by Yusuke a few times, but ultimately {{averted}}. He always cooperates with the police through Ichijo, to the point that Ichijou willingly grants Pegasus Form Kuuga his own handgun. [[spoiler:When the force learns of Kuuga's identity, they grant him access to the [=BeatChaser=] 2000.]]

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 the police help Kuuga.

* TheWorkaholic: That said, he tends to push himself to do his job. Especially obvious when 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.

* SecretKeeper: Knows that her brother has become Kuuga, but keeps quiet about it in front of those who don't know.

Dr. Tsubaki is Godai's doctor, treating his various injuries, and taking notes on the Arcle. He also performs autopsies on Grongi victims, and even on the body of [[spoiler: Zu-Gooma-Gu, eventually leading to the conclusion that the Grongi work similarly to Kuuga.]]

* SecretKeeper: One of Ichijou's circle of colleagues who learn of Kuuga being a human named Yusuke Godai.

* BatmanGambit: Riku became Kuuga as a result of the Grongi setting him up for it, on the theory that he was the least warrior-like choice. ''It backfired spectacularly''.

* ShroudedInMyth: We don't know a whole lot about him, just that he was at minimum Yusuke's equal as a good man and warrior.

* FriendOnTheForce: Supports acting together with Kuuga to his colleagues and superiors and in general gives Yusuke backup by coordinating with the police to find Grongi while also giving him access to weaponry and [[CoolBike the specialized TryChaser and BeatChaser 2000s]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: To Yusuke. He grants Yusuke use of the [=TryChaser=] 2000 against the Grongi, realizing that Yusuke--who has shown more resolve--can make the most of it.
* TheWorkaholic: That said, he tends to push himself to do his job. Especially obvious when fighting 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 is Godai's friend, an archaeologist. She was at first reluctant to help Godai, but she eventually relented. She researches the ancient texts to decipher the mystery of Kuuga and the Grongi.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: 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.
* HotScientist: Although given she mainly researches past languages is probably more of a HotLibrarian.

* SecretKeeper: One of Ichijou's circle colleagues who learn of Yusuke being Kuuga.

Friends of Yusuke's father, who looked after him and Minori when their parents passed away. Affectionately called Uncle, he runs the Pore-Pore Tea Cafe and is the series Comic Relief, though they are too outdated or obtuse for anyone to understand. Collects a scrapbook of Kuuga's exploits, though ignorant of Yusuke ''being'' that hero. [[spoiler:At least, initially.]]

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Unlike other characters in later ''Kamen Rider'' shows, Kazari is unaware of Godai being Kuuga, well 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. [[spoiler:He doesn't put two and two together for most of the show, but learns the truth near the end.]]

A transfer student from France, he shares the office with Sakurako and gets gradually roped in the circle of 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.

%%* ShipTease: With Enokida.
%%* TokenWhite

* ChestInsignia: After a certain point, he starts wearing shirts and jackets marked with Kuuga's emblem, [[MythologyGag just like]] Series/KamenRiderStronger.

* HealingFactor: 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; Episodes 17 and 18 sees Tsubaki and an emergency team try to save the poisoned Yusuke, which instead leaves him in a near-death sleep.

* FragileSpeedster: Dragon Form, allowing for quick movement and high jumps, but isn't as strong as the other forms.

* TheAce: Has mastered nearly 2000 skills, is loved by everyone who doesn't consider him [[IdiotHero an idiot]], and is later on seen as the hope of humanity for beating the Grongi.

* EmbarassingNickname: Kazari calls her "Minori-cchi", to her mild exasperation.

%%* MegaNekko

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Unlike other characters in later Kamen Rider seasons, Kazari is unaware of Godai being Kuuga, well because he thinks that Godai just made the word "Kuuga" up.

* CatchPhrase: "[[PreAssKickingOneLiner Witness...my transformation!]]"

* VigilanteMan: Unusually averted; he always cooperates with the police through Ichijo. [[spoiler:When they find out he can transform into Kuuga, they grant him access to the [=BeatChaser=] 2000.]]