Yusuke Godai

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 is the main protagonist of Kamen Rider Kuuga. He is a young man who transforms into .
==History ==
Yusuke Godai was born in Hokkaido, Japan on March 18, 1975Siblings with a blood-type of O. In sixth grade, His father passed away during a job in Afghanistan. When he was 18, his mother got incredibly ill and passed away, leaving Godai and his sister in the care of his father's friend Tamasaburo Kazari.Smile
Following his return from Indonesia, Godai's life changed when he reunited with Sakurako Sawatari. While Sakurako was intrepreting the heiroglyphs from the archaelogical findings that Professor Natsume's had sent her of an ancient tribe, she translates to Godai that unsealing the tomb will bring death. Passing it off as nothing more than a joke, she goes to call the team to deliver the news and finds that their screams are the only sound getting through the phone. Godai spontaneously decides to travel to the excavation site and is suddenly hit with a vision of the past Kuuga as he looks at the Gurongi Tribe tomb. He finds the police investigating the area and attempts to sneak past detective Kaoru Ichijo in order to get a closer look. Upon being denied entry, he lingers around the wreckage site and watches the rescue team bring out a strange belt, similar to the visions he's been seeing. He later meets with Ichijo and Sakurako at the police station to watch a recovered tape of the archeologists being slaughtered by a mysterious monster, later referred to as "Unidentified Lifeform 0", before being given the Arcle to figure out its meaning to Unidentified Lifeform 0.
However, as they leave, the two encounter the Gurongi Xu·Gmun·Ba attacking the station. As the police around Godai continue to be killed, he gathers his courage and puts on the Arcle to fight him, just as the visions had shown him prior. This results with the belt fusing onto him as he assumes Kuuga's Growing Form and is able to save Ichijo from the Gurongi. The detective later recognized Godai from his unique thumbs-up call sign. After Godai wakes up 11 hours later, Sakurako suggests they return to Tokyo before being interrupted by Ichijo who tells Godai not to meddle in police affairs and to go get checked up by Shuichi Tsubaki in Tokyo. Later that night, Godai goes against Ichijo's wishes to help fight Xu·Goma·Gu, only to be beaten by the stronger monster and later scolded by Ichijo.
But after seeing the daughter of the late Professor Natsume cry over her father's death, Godai's resolve to fight for the sake of keeping people from suffering led him to assume Mighty Form, taking the name of "Kuuga" as he saves Ichijo from Goma and destroys Gmun. Starting with inspector Kaoru Ichijo, Godai eventually gains the trust of the police department by receiving the TryChaser 2000 from Ichijo. While brought to Doctor Shuichi Tsubaki for a confidential check-up, Godai learns that the Arcle's fusion onto him is more complex as it had spread vein-like connections into his muscular and nervous systems.
During his first battle with Zu-Badzū-Ba, Kuuga assumes Dragon Form and eventually masters it with Sakurako's aid to kill Badzū. Then while fighting Me·Vagis·Ba, Kuuga assumes Pegasus Form but was overwhelmed by his enhanced senses as Vagis escapes, vowing revenge on Kuuga. Unable to change, Godai decides to help Ichijo by finding Mika Natsume, who is on the verge of being suicidal when her father's murderer not yet caught. After talking Mika into letting things resolve themselves over time, Vagis attacks and Godai is able to effectively use Pegasus Form's power to kill the Gurongi sniper.
While dealing with Me·Geega·Gi, and Minori's apprehensive feelings for being Kuuga, Godai is able to become Titan Form to defeat Geega after convincing Minori that it all be right. Godai later meets Junichi Chono, a young man who lost his faith in humanity and thought to be able to relate more the Unidentified Lifeforms. However, his encounter with Me·Byran·Gi said otherwise when Kuuga saves the boy before killing the Gurongi. During the fight however, Godai felt the reawakening of the Gouram as it was excavated and whirled to life to make its way towards him, providing its power for him to counter Me·Garido·Gi.
Later, when poisoned by Me·Ginoga·De, Godai manages to survive the near death experience due to the Amadam countering the poison when induced with shock therapy, allowing him to arrive to the police's aid to destroy Ginoga and later his clone. But since then, Godai begins to feel a numbing pain during his next few battles as Kuuga against stronger Gurongi. He learns that it may be tied to a greater power that maybe needed as he believes that stronger Gurongi will eventually appear. After training to bring out the "golden power" with Enokida's help, Godai's battle against the promoted Go-Garima-Ba leads to an upgraded version of Kuuga's Titan Form, Rising Titan. The next two fights allow Godai to become Rising Pegasus and Rising Dragon while learning that the Arcle had fused further into his body.
After healing from being wounded by Go·Gamego·Re, Godai meets Chono as he took up being an artist since their last encounter before he finds the Gurongi and kills him once achieving Rising Mighty, accidentally causing mass devastation. Because of the incident, the BeatChaser 2000 would not to be given to Kuuga as the Go-Badā-Ba finally begins to play, saving Kuuga as his final victim. While Ichijo convinces his fellow officers, Godai is aided by Sugita in tracking down Badā until Ichijo arrives with the Beat Chaser which allows Kuuga to destroy Badā. However, the incident with the sadistic Go·Jalaji·Da, influences Godai's behavior for the worse, causing him to subconsciously assume Kuuga's Ultimate Form while killing the Gurongi in a brutal rage.
Later, Godai goes to Enokida when she wanted to investigate the reason on how he can turn everyday objects into weapons like the Go Gurongi before going after Go·Zazalu·Ba when she went up against an evolving Goma, worried that two Gurongi fighting each other was a very bad omen. This is made worse when Godai learns the "Kuuga" character is not of Rinto origin, but is actually an incomplete Gurongi character and may be tied to Number 0, later revealed as the Gurongi lord N·Daguva·Zeba when he arrived to slaughter Goma before making his way to Tokyo for end-game. Godai's fears of their relation were confirmed as Sakurako fully translated the Rinto text and the Gurongi characters on it, revealing his mental wellbeing during the incident with Jalaji while understanding that he'll be alright as long as he doesn't fight out of hate.
After learning from Enokida that the Gurongi may also share Kuuga's ability to change form, Godai leaves when Go-Jāza-Gi makes her move. During a flawed attempt to get her, Kuuga senses Daguva and got wounded while his guard was down before he finally kills Jāza in the next confrontation. After a post-discussion of the recent Gurongi/Kuuga connections after the death of Go·Babel·Da, Godai makes his way to the 12 Arikawa Group Flute Competition, having brush in with Daguva before arriving to the Arikawa Group building after a hostage situation is resolved with Mika traumatized by the incident. As he escorts Mika to her train for home, Godai tells her not to run away even if things get scary.
During the battle with the last of the Go Gurongi, Go·Gadol·Ba, Kuuga is overwhelmed by the Gurongi's ability to assume forms similar to his own. Severely wounded as a result, Godai is brought to the hospital where after a question of ethics, Tsubaki agrees to induce an electro-therapy charge after his heart gave out. By the time he leaves the hospital, Godai arrives to the stadium where Gadol is fighting La·Doldo·Gu. However in the ensuing rematch, Kuuga is revealed to have attained the dark-armored Kuuga Amazing Mighty Form, allowing him to defeat Gadol in a rematch. With his brethren all dead, Daguva becomes the sole victor for the Gurongi game, causing him to enact the "Ultimate Darkness". Easily overpowering Kuuga's Amazing Mighty and cracking the Amadam, Daguva singlehandedly murders 30 thousand people, doing so in an instant. Believing Yusuke to now be capable of attaining Ultimate Form, Daguva spares him, awaiting for a rematch.
Knowing that he has no choice but to assume his final form, Godai visits his friends one-by-one in preparation, Sakurako alone realizing his intentions. Immediately afterwards, Daguva makes his move, telling Godai to meet him at Mount Kuro. Now ready, Godai requests Ichijo to destroy his damaged Amadam should he lose control, before unleashing his full power. 
Successfully transforming into Kuuga Ultimate Form (Red Eyes), Godai battles Daguva in a blizzard storm, both proving equal in strength. Amidst their fight, Kuuga and Daguva's Amadums become severely damaged, canceling their transformations. Neither side yielding, Godai and Daguva resume their fight in human forms, coughing up blood from each punch thrown. Yusuke sheds tears at his given situation, while Daguva laughs in utter madness, enjoying himself immensely.
Narrowly defeating Daguva, Godai collapses in exhaustion, to Ichijo's concern and shock. Three months after the final battle, Godai has begun a new adventure to travel the world, starting at a Cuban beach where he helps some kids before walking off. 
===Novel: Kamen Rider Kuuga===
13 years after Daguva's defeat, a new set of Gurongi emerged from an archaeological site, each as vicious as their predecessors. Since Godai remained missing, Mika Natsume fought them with a "prototype" Arcle, becoming Kuuga Growing Form. Since this Arcle lacked an Amadum though, Mika eventually began to lose control over herself, turning into Kuuga Ultimate Form (Black Eyes).
Turning the Tokyo Tower into a superweapon, Mika attempted to get revenge on Go-Raio-Da. Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, Godai appeared with Gouram, becoming Kuuga Mighty Form. Deciding to solve the situation in a non-violent manner, Godai withstood Mika's attacks and calmly embraced her, allowing Mika to revert back into human form. 
Facing Raio, Godai overwhelmed him with his four basic forms. However, once Raio reverted into human form, Godai hesitated to deal the finishing blow. Luckily, Ichijo appeared to assist him, causing Raio to die. Once saving Ichijo from falling to his death, Godai decided to resume his journey, giving Ichijo a thumbs-up in assurance. 
==Other Events==
As a main Heisei Rider, Kuuga frequently reappears in crossovers in his suit only, usually with no speaking lines (or voiced by a new actor). Generally, he is assumed (and sometimes confirmed) to be Yusuke Godai unless otherwise stated, though the canonicity of this is dubious and bears no relevance to his characterization.
===Kamen Rider Agito===
Godai is mentioned a few times in Kamen Rider Agito. It is said that Kamen Rider G3's design was based on Kuuga, originally created to combat the Unidentified Lifeforms. This was due to that Agito was originally going to be a Kuuga sequel, however these plans were dropped early on by Toei. The remnants are still to be found in the early episodes of Agito.
=== Kamen Rider Decade===
*In the version of Kamen Rider Decade Episode 31 shown in reruns, an unidentified Ultimate Kuuga, with black eyes, appears as one of Wataru Kurenai's companions, who antagonize Decade after he failed in his mission of saving the worlds. When more Riders appear and the Rider War starts, Kuuga seemingly reverts to Mighty Form and boards the TryChaser 2000, although he is knocked out during the conflict. In the original version of the episode, the Ultimate Kuuga in the final battle was a brainwashed Yusuke Onodera, but all references to his identity are removed in the rerun version, which just makes him appear as another member of Wataru's group. Tv-Asahi site also lists this Kuuga as a separate character.
===OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders===
Kamen Rider Kuuga, in Mighty Form, appears in OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders. He reappears alongside the other Heisei era Riders, fighting against Gurongi that allied themselves with Shocker and other Kamen Rider villains from the 40 years of the franchise. Kuuga defeats N·Gamio·Zeda who had become one of Shocker's executives and stops the Gurongi's offensive. Afterward, he joins up with every other Rider for a final battle against the Great Leader of Shocker.
When all the Riders board their vehicles for a combined attack against the Great Leader, Kuuga goes with the Rising BeatGouram.
Although his human form is not shown in the movie itself, has no lines, and is not listed in the credits, Kuuga is confirmed to be Yusuke Godai by the movie's official website. http://www.all-rider.jp/character/index.html lists Kamen Rider Kuuga as Yusuke Godai
===Kamen Rider Fourze===
====Space Superiority====
The previous Riders, Kuuga among them, are remembered as urban legends. In episode 2, there is a brief new video footage of four past Riders, including Kuuga. Kuuga's video footage shows him in Mighty Form facing three Gurongi who look similar to Xu·Goma·Gu in Ultimate Form, Xu·Zain·Da and Me·Vagis·Ba.
=== Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen===
Kuuga, among the majority of the Kamen Riders, was caught up in the "Super Hero Taisen" incident which resulted in the Kamen Riders and Super Sentai joining forces to defeat both Dai-Shocker and Dai-Zangyack. Kuuga is being shown when he is team-worked with Tsukasa at first (as Decade in 1 form) while riding his TryChaser 2000.
===Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z===
Kuuga was part of a force of Rider and Sentai reinforcements led by Kamen Rider 1 and that came to assist the Riders and Sentai of recent years who were overwhelmed by the revived monster army of the . The combined forces of superheroes were able to turn the tide against the Madou army. They lined up and used their various finisher attacks to destroy the revived monsters. 
After was destroyed and the battle was finally over, Kuuga appeared standing on a cliff with all the other heroes who appeared to help, to say goodbye to the heroes of recent years before taking their leave.
===Kamen Rider Wizard===
When a young boy and a young girl attempt to escape from the World within the Magic Stone, they use the Kamen Rider Rings to summon many Riders to help them, and among them there's Kuuga. Using the Mighty form, Kuuga takes on the Armadillo Orphnoch, Beetle Fangire and Same Yummy at the same time. However, the powerful Beetle Fangire counter attacks, stunning both Kuuga and Blade at the same time. Surrounded by the monster army alongside Agito, the three Riders are hit by many energy blasts and are temporarily expelled.
Amadum, recovers the Rider Rings and summons all Riders from Kuuga to OOO, besides Decade, attaching them to a giant magic stone that absorbs their energy. Later, Amadum summons again all of the Riders from Kuuga to Fourze, and orders them to take on Kamen Rider Wizard. However, the Riders reveal they aren't just puppets and turn against Amadum. Kuuga fights against the Mole Imagin,Tortoise Undead and Bakeneko. Afterwards, Kuuga uses his Mighty Kick to finish off both the Hound Zodiarts and Rat Fangire at once. When the battleground changes to the air, Kuuga and Agito are left behind on the ground, but Decade uses his Final formride ability to change them into Kuuga Gouram and Agito Tornador. Kuuga is surprised by Decade's ability, while Agito tells him to ask before doing that the next time. Flying through the air, Kuuga destroys many Hydragoons.
Facing Amadum himself, all Riders fall before him one by one, including Kuuga. Amadum attempts to open the way to Earth, but a New Rider is called to that world, Gaim. Amadum is unable to absorb Gaim's powers and loses the powers that he had absorbed before. Most Riders go to their ultimate forms while others transform into other powerful forms, with Yusuke Godai showing on screen for the first time his Rising Ultimate Kuuga form. Flying through Amadum's blasts, Rising Ultimate Kuuga and Shining Agito hit Amadum with a Rider Double Kick which knocks him down, and they're soon followed by all other Riders present, destroying Amadum. After the battle, the boy wakes up next to the chest with the Rider Rings, and Kuuga gives him a thumbs up, telling him that everything will be fine. Afterwards, he leaves that world alongside most other Riders, and the Rider Rings disappear.
===Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai ===
Kuuga was defeated by unknown means and sent to Helheim, alongside other Riders, from where they planned a surprise attack against the Badan Empire. In the beginning of the final battle against Badan, Kuuga can be seen briefly facing the Ikajaguar Yummy, which is shown to not have been defeated in a later scene. Afterwards, Kuuga faces Destron Combatmen and Chaps alongside the Ganikoumoru. Kuuga is shown one last time during the battle taking on Badan's Combatroids when the arrive to help.
During the battle between the Heisei and Showa Riders to prove the strength of the Heisei Riders, Kuuga initially faces Kamen Rider ZO, but he takes on Kamen Rider J when the battleground changes to the coast. Kuuga's Mighty Kick and J's J-Kick match each other during the battle. Both Riders are still fighting when the battle is interrupted. Afterwards, Kuuga and ZO are seen shaking hands when both groups stand together.
======
Due to the timeline alteration caused by Shocker, Godai became one of the brainwashed Riders in that timeline, donning the name of Shocker Rider Kuuga.
Following the Rider Grand Prix in which Drive emerged victorious over Kamen Rider 3, who was promptly integrated into the Great Leader of Shocker's Rider Robo form, Kuuga was among the Riders who appeared to attack Zeronos Zero Form and Denebick Buster only to be fought off by the turncoat BOARD Riders: Chalice, Leangle, Blade and Garren. Ultimately, the Double Riders 1 and 2 made their appearance having survived their apparent demise from within the Rider Robo, and broke Shocker's brainwashing on the fallen Riders, enabling all Riders to unite in a final battle against Shocker.
Unfortunately, Kuuga was among the Riders whose existence was erased by the Rider Robo. This fate, however, was rendered moot when the Rider Robo was finally destroyed by , restoring Kuuga's place in history.
===Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders' Souls!===
Despite not appearing in the web-exclusive series, Ghost can use the power of the 16 Heisei Riders, including Kuuga, with the Heisei Rider Damashii in the final episode.
===Chou Super Hero Taisen===
Kuuga appeared as part of Team Legend Hero, an unofficial Game World team that did not participate in the Chou Super Hero Taisen tournament, exclusively featuring in a promotional conference for the film.
===Kamen Rider Ex-Aid "Tricks": Kamen Rider Genm===
Despite not appearing in the web-exclusive series, Kuuga and the 13 Heisei Riders were in the projections of the Ganbarizing Critical Strike.
===Kamen Rider Zi-O===
====Kamen Rider Build: Be The One ====
Among the first 18 Heisei Riders, Kuuga fought against numerous monsters in a melee briefly witnessed by Sento Kiryu before being caught in the crossfire as Kamen Rider Zi-O BuildArmor used his Vortex Time Break to wipe out his enemies.
====Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever====
Kuuga appears as a Legendary Rider in the movie, in which he helps the other Heisei Riders finish Another Kuuga with his Mighty Kick.
Kamen Rider Kuuga in Heisei Generations Forever.png
Kuuga fight in Heisei Generations Forever.png
===Saber + Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki ===
Though he was seemingly erased as a result of Asmodeus’ manipulations, he was restored back into existence once Touma Kamiyama had helped Shotaro regained his passion in drawing out the superheroes that he wants to draw out.
During the climatic final battle itself, he can be seen fighting alongside Kamen Rider 1, Kamen Rider V3, Kamen Rider Zero One and Kamen Rider Saber.
==Other appearances==
===Kamen Rider Decade: The World of Tsukasa Kadoya ~The Garden Inside the Lens~===
Kuuga’s world is set somewhere early in the TV show, where Kaoru Ichijo is the only person who considers Kuuga to be an ally of humanity, while the rest of the police forces consider Kuuga as a threat. Despite having the name Yusuke Godai, his personality is actually closer to Onodera’s, if anything. Godai is an airhead for the most part, to the point of having difficulty remembering the name Decade and usually goes with “Kamen Rider Dickens.” In this world, Tsukasa is dressed as a painter in Kuuga’s world. Despite being Kuuga’s world, Tsukasa doesn’t interact much with Godai.
Instead he meets a mysterious unnamed girl, with her sentences spoken in broken grammar. This girl approaches different men saying “Do you want me?” The girl is referred as Yuri after Tsukasa sees her holding a lily flower, yuri in Japanese. She asks the question to Tsukasa, but Natsumi doesn’t like it and uses her Laughing Pressure Point technique. Yuri takes a liking to Tsukasa and connects with him. Tsukasa says they are the same type of people, and relate to each other. But he reveals that he never really paid attention to her and never cared about her. From the start, Natsumi oddly suspects that Yuri is a Gurongi. This is never truly touched upon until the where Yuri reveals the truth and challenge the Riders into a fight. Her Gurongi group is not mentioned, but she’s described as a Moth, meaning she's of the Ba class of Gurongi. She causes people to explode by sticking moth scales from her wings on people. Decade and Kuuga defeat her together. Godai only uses Mighty and Dragon, but for some reason he’s using a sword while in Mighty form, which has traditionally been a form more focused on hand-to-hand combat. Decade's Final Form Ride for this Kuuga is also different: while it retains the ability to transform Kuuga into the Kuuga Gouram, the Gouram is described as a rhinoceros beetle, despite it traditionally being a stag beetle, which is also the same insect Kuuga is based on. Godai gives Tsukasa a thumbs up as they leave.
==Video Game appearances==
===Kamen Rider Kuuga video game===
Godai appears as Kuuga in the Kamen Rider Kuuga video game. The player may play as Kuuga in his Mighty, Dragon, Pegasus, Titan, Growing, and Ultimate Forms.
===Kamen Rider Agito & Kuuga Wild Battle===
Kuuga appears with Agito in Kamen Rider Agito & Kuuga Wild Battle. He is playable in all forms except Growing Form.
This was the first Kamen Rider video game to feature Kuuga Amazing Mighty as a playable character and also feature Kuuga's Rising Forms as fully playable. Rising Forms and Ultimate Form can only be selectable during battle by pressing Down (Rising Forms must select pre-existing forms first; for example Mighty Form can select Rising Mighty etc.) Amazing Mighty is only playable in Survival Mode on normal difficulty (replaces Mighty Form automatically after Mighty Form's life is lower than 30%).
===Kamen Rider: The Bike Race===
Kuuga appears riding the Beat Chaser 2000 in Kamen Rider: The Bike Race, a racing game featuring the majority of Kamen Riders and Rider Machines up to Kamen Rider Agito.
===Kamen Rider: Battride War ===
Kamen Rider Kuuga appears as a Main Rider in the video game Kamen Rider: Battride War, which unites the riders of the Heisei era from Kuuga to Wizard.
Kuuga's Rising Forms (with Amazing Mighty as Rising Mighty's special finisher) are accessible via normal string charge attack.
c20130318 riderbw 010 cs1w1 720x.jpg|Kuuga riding his TryChaser in game.
Kuuga Rising Titan Form.jpg|Kuuga Rising Titan in the game.
Rising Kuuga Mighty Kick.jpg|Kuuga Rising Mighty knocking out a Salis Worm.
Kuuga Ultimate flamethrower.jpg|Kuuga Ultimate Form channeling flames from his hand.
Daguva VS Kuuga Battride War.jpg|Kuuga Ultimate Form vesus N·Daguva·Zeba in a cutscene.
4 riders vs wizard.JPG|Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki and Kiva before they using their Rider Kicks to terminate Wizard.
KRBW All Riders Heisei and NeoHeisei.png|Kuuga among the Heisei and Neo-Heisei Era Riders.
====Kamen Rider: Battride War II====
Kamen Rider Kuuga reappeared in Kamen Rider: Battride War II.
15allheisei.PNG|All of the main official Heisei Riders, from Kuuga to Gaim.
Thefirst5heiseiriders.PNG|The first 5 Heisei Kamen Riders in their Rider Machines.
===Kamen Rider: Battride War Genesis===
Kamen Rider Kuuga reappeared in Kamen Rider: Battride War Genesis
Kamen Rider Kuuga intro in Battride War Genesis.png
Kamen Rider Kuuga Ultimate Form in Battride War Genesis.png
==Stage Shows==
===Timeranger Stage Show at Double Hero Korakuen Yuenchi===
In a stage show where the are seen fighting their usual foes, a Gurongi shows up and winds up defeating them. Kuuga in Mighty Form arrives to assist the Timerangers.
===Timeranger Stage Show at Super Hero Nagoya Dome===
In a stage show where the Timerangers are seen fighting their usual foes, a Gurongi shows up and defeats them. Kamen Riders 1, 2, V3, Kuuga, , , and Robocon arrive to assist the Timerangers.
===Gaoranger Stage Show at Super Hero Osaka Dome===
In a stage show where the Gaorangers are seen fighting their usual foes, the , a Lord, and a Gurongi appear and wind up defeating them. The , Kamen Riders Kuuga, Agito, G3-X, Exceed Gills, and 1 arrive to assist the Gaorangers.
===Kamen Rider Super Live: Cho Henshin Battle===
Kuuga returns in the Stageshow of Faiz. He was turned into stone statue by Bio Roid Dark, and is controlled to fight against Faiz, 1, 2, and V3.
==Personality ==
Godai is a happy-go-lucky and honest person that fights to protect everyone's smile. Godai constantly seeks to better himself, having gained 2000 skills because of it. While serious about keeping his vows, Godai will break some if he considers it absolutely necessary. Even in difficult situations, Godai strives to retain his smile, being optimistic in most cases. So long as he can help someone, Godai will never be hesitant to do anything, particularly after becoming Kuuga. 
However, though gentle, Godai is capable of anger and hatred. Gradually growing disgusted with the Gurongi and their immense cruelty, Godai found himself becoming more violent with each battle, brutally murdering Jalaji in a fit of rage. Receiving a mental vision of Ultimate Form in response to this; Godai became shocked, expressing horror at what he could potentially turn into.
Despite his growing hatred toward the Gurongi, Godai never reveals this feeling to his friends, not wishing to worry them. Believing that a calm heart is needed to retain his sense of self, Godai vowed to fight without hatred, subconsciously holding himself back as Kuuga. In his battle against Daguva though, Godai realizes the need to use Ultimate Form to win, it being the only power strong enough to do so. Though concerned, Godai's time with his friends gave him the needed determination, thus successfully transforming into Kuuga Ultimate Form (Red Eyes). 
Once his battle against Daguva ended, Godai resumed his adventure around the world, using it as a means to heal his emotions. Amidst his journey, Godai encountered some children from a foreign land, joyfully entertaining them. 
==Abilities==
*Expert Combatant: From the beginning of the series, Yusuke proved himself an expert fighter, though with little actual experience. Despite his initial lack of knowledge concerning Kuuga's powers, Godai swiftly adapted from each battle, learning from his defeats. A capable weapon user, Godai readily handled Kuuga's weaponry without issue, including his Rider Machines. By the final battle against Daguva, Godai has completely mastered his powers as Kuuga, matching his foe with each attack until narrowly winning in human form.
==Kamen Rider Kuuga==
Transforming with the power of the Arcle, Kuuga was designed to access a variety of forms for different situations. Among them are the incomplete Growing Form, the balanced Mighty Form, the agile Dragon Form, the precise Pegasus Form, and the powerful Titan Form. 
Through modern technology, Kuuga later learnt to draw more power from the Arcle, gaining upgrades in the form of Rising Form versions, and the Amazing Mighty Form.
Like certain Gurongi, Kuuga can manipulate atoms themselves, done via his Morphing Power. In his four basic form and their "upgrades", Kuuga can temporarily transmogrify items of a certain shape into weapons, similar to the Go Group. 
If Kuuga were to release the Arcle's full powers, he will transform into his final form, Ultimate Form. In this state, Kuuga is nigh-unstoppable, rivaling N-Daguva-Zeba himself. However, since Ultimate Form heavily stimulates its user's anger and malice, one requires compassion to retain control. 
==Equipment==
===Devices===
*Arcle - Transformation belt
*Amadam - Power source
===Weapons===
*Dragon Rod - Dragon Form's personal staff
**Rising Dragon Rod - Upgraded version used by Rising Dragon Form
*Pegasus Bowgun - Pegasus Form's personal gun
**Rising Pegasus Bowgun - Upgraded version used by Rising Pegasus Form
*Titan Sword - Titan Form's personal sword
**Rising Titan Sword - Upgraded dual swords used by Rising Titan Form
*Mighty Anklet - Kick-enhancing anklet worn by Rising Mighty Form and Amazing Mighty Form
===Vehicles===
*TryChaser 2000 - First Rider Machine
*BeatChaser 2000 - Second Rider Machine
*Gouram - Mechanical beetle which transforms into armor for TryChaser or BeatChaser
== Legend Rider Devices==
Ever since Kamen Rider Decade, Kamen Riders' arsenals have featured an assortment of Legend Rider-based collectible devices, including many for Kuuga.
==Behind the Scenes==
=== Portrayal===
Yusuke Godai was portrayed by . In , Kuuga was voiced by . In the newly released Kamen Rider Battride War, he was voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki, who also voices his A.R. counterpart.
As Kamen Rider Kuuga, his suit actor was , his motorcycle action suit actor was . Kenji Tominaga returned to do suit work for the A.R. World Kuuga in episodes 25 and 26 of Kamen Rider Decade and in Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker. He once again served as suit actor for Kamen Rider Kuuga in Super Hero Taisen.
=== Etymology===
"Kuuga" in Japanese comes from the readings of . This possibly relates to how the user of the Arcle must have a "drive" to fully use the power of the belt. "Godai" is a homophone of and is translates to "five generations" and is also one of the names for the in Japanese philosophy. These relates to Kuuga's identity was an Ancient Rinto Warrior and Kuuga's forms have relations to the five elements. The other basis of Kuuga's name is Japanese word for stag beetle - , which is Kuuga's motif.
===Rider No.===
 
As the leading Rider protagonist of Kamen Rider Kuuga, Yusuke Godai (Kamen Rider Kuuga) is labeled and . 
Before this definition in the Decade net movie, Kuuga was originally labeled , as Kamen Rider Black RX was initially seen as a form change for Kamen Rider Black rather than as a separate Rider.
=== In Popular Culture===
In the Nyaruko-san Haiyore! Nyaruko-san OVA "How to Defeat a Kind Enemy", Nyarko paraphrases Godai's famous speech from episode 2 of Kuuga: "For the sake of protecting everyone's smiles, I will become a magical girl! So please watch!" She then performs Godai's transformation pose to change into her magical girl identity. Additionally, in episodes 1 and 6 of the 2012 anime, Nyarko performs the Mighty Kick against her opponents, complete with Godai's trademark shout "Oriyaa!".
According to director Mitsuo Fukuda, the Rising Freedom Gundam, the Amazing Z'GOK and the Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam of the anime movie Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom were all named after Kuuga's forms.
==Notes ==
*Other actors who previously auditioned for the role of Godai include and .
*Not only is Godai the first Rider of the Heisei Era, but he is also the first Rider to have a stag beetle motif, specifically the species Dorcus Titanus, a large black stag beetle that is popular in the Insect Fight community
*Yusuke Godai is the only Heisei Primary Rider to have no secondary nor extra Riders to aid his battle, though this may have been due to the fact that Shotaro Ishinomori had worked on Kuuga before his death, and the staff of the series left him to fight the Gurongi alone Rider-wise as a tribute to the creator.
**Notably, among all the Primary Riders, Godai is also the only one to never appear in a film without being in a transformed state.
*Kuuga's Ultimate Form is the Heisei Rider final form with the shortest number of appearances in their respective series to date, with its only appearances only as a silhouette in some episodes and its proper debut in one episode before the finale. It also doubles as the latest Final Form to debut in the franchise.
* Kuuga Ultimate Form is the only Final Form that was never summoned and/or used by Kamen Rider Decade Complete Form in the series, not counting when he summoned all Riders in their respective final forms in Kamen Rider Decade: Protect! The World of Televikun and the game, Kamen Rider: Battride War.
*Ultimate Form's weapons were referred to in the official data, but never seen in the series proper. However, the weapons were included with the Souchaku Henshin action figure, where they were depicted as identical to the Rising weapons, with the blue/green/purple parts recolored to black.
**There were early designs that depicted Ultimate Form with its own unique weapon: an arm-mounted unit with similar design cues to the Arcle.
==Appearances==
===Footnotes===
==Navigation==
Category:Revived Riders
Category:Kamen Riders
Category:Kamen Rider Kuuga
Category:Heisei Era Riders
Category:Heroes
Category:Kuuga Riders
Category:Kuuga Characters
Category:Primary Riders