For Latin American viewers, and while not being the first Kamen Rider series dubbed to Latin American Spanish (that honor goes for both Masked Rider and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight) nor the first Japanese-made series to be broadcasted in that region, as this series was previously broadcasted in South America only at the 2000s, this is the very first Japanese-made Kamen Rider series dubbed to Mexican Spanish, as the previous dub was done in Venezuela (see below), along with Kamen Rider Agito, Kamen Rider Ryuki and Kamen Rider 555.
Trivia Tropes
Acting for Two: The same guy plays both Zu-Baduu-Ba's and Go-Badaa-Ba's (both grasshopper Grongi) human forms.
Dueling Dubs: There's two Latin American Spanish dubs: The first one, which was done in Venezuela and broadcasted in South American countries only. Only 25 episodes were dubbed (see below for extra details). A new dub, done in Mexico, was done at 2021 to replace the Venezuelan one and, unlike the first one, the newer Mexican dub will be broadcasted in all Latin America.
Fake Nationality: Jean's actor, Serge Vasilov, is actually from Romania, while his character is meant to be a French guy from United States.
God Never Said That: A mistranslated interview had claimed for years that Joe Odagiri resented his time on Kuuga and took it off his resumé after moving on. He actually said that he didn't want to be typecast into children's shows, and there's evidence that he's at least neutral to the role: he kept in touch with his co-stars, attended Wakana Aoi (Minori Godai)'s wedding, and was committed to doing The Movie up to its cancellation. When asked directly about supposedly removing the show from his resumé, he responded "Of course not! Don't say such unpleasant things!". He has, though, said he doesn't really care for tokusatsu as a genre and took the role as a favor to producer Shigenori Takatera; since Takatera was fired due to the Troubled Production of Kamen Rider Hibiki, he has no real motivation to reprise his role.
In Memoriam: Before the Heisei Rider era began with Kuuga's premiere, a message states that "This project is dedicated to Ishinomori-sensei". Shotaro Ishinomori was the creator of the Kamen Rider series, and Kuuga was an idea he had to revive before his death.
Keep Circulating the Tapes: The Venezuelan Spanish dub of the series. The dub itself was unfinished due to the closure of Cloverway, and it was only aired for a short time on a local TV channel in Chile. Only the first 11 episodes can be found on the internet today.
Late Export for You: After nearly 20 years, Kuuga finally made its US debut on May 2020.
Meaningful Release Date: Whether if it’s intentional or not, its release in the States coincide with its 20th year anniversary.
A theatrical sequel to the TV series languished in Development Hell because the writers couldn't come up with a satisfactory conclusion to the story. Production was canceled in 2006, leaving Kuuga the only Heisei Rider series without a theatrical movie.
The early designs for Ultimate Kuuga had a much more regal (and gold) aesthetic. These would end up influencing the design of Kiva's Emperor Form and Kuuga's Rising Ultimate Form in Decade.
Masaya Matsukaze auditioned for the title role, but was ultimately passed over for Joe Odagiri. Considering he's been in multiple Super Sentai series, it's easy to imagine that Matsukaze would have been far more willing to reprise his role in later productions than Odagiri. At the very least he would likely have returned for video games like Battride War, since he became a voice actor starting with Shenmue.
Similarly, Noboru Kaneko also auditioned for the title role prior to being chosen to play Gao Red in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger.
In 2001 Syfy were planning to air the show in America to cash in on the surprise success Power Rangers Time Force had with older audiences. The plans would fall through due to some rather ridiculous demands they had, such as having the soundtrack be replaced with grunge rock and nu-metal, and the dub they planned on using (from Omni Productions) being rather low quality.
for Ultimate Kuuga had a much more regal (and gold) aesthetic. These would end up influencing the design of Kiva's Emperor Form and Kuuga's Rising Ultimate Form in Decade.
