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Ultraman Discussion Thread
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08-01-2019, 08:31 PM
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1276
Salaryman Zero
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 129
Random thoughts on my latest Ultra-binge:
Ultraman Orb The Origin Saga
Man, was this a let-down. I was really hoping this would be the "Year One" of Ultraman Orb, with Gai coming to terms with his newfound power and responsibility, and Juggler's creeping descent into darkness...and the show
does
kind of start out that way...
...Until it decides to haphazardly shunt all that in favor of...some bizarre plot about a Tree of Life, a War God (Goddess?) who protects a planet (of aliens who look exactly like humans, which is one of my most-hated Ultra-tropes), some random scientist kid who somehow has access to a submersible, an overtly-narmy villain and his army of mind-controlling Antlars, plus random cameos of Cosmos, Dyna, Gaia, Agul...
And I just didn't care anymore. Right around the point when Juggler leaves the main group, the show stops being about the Gai-Juggler relationship, and the narrative crux of the entire thing just falls apart. The story then devolves into this sci-fi gobbledegook plot and I had to grit my teeth just to plow through the last 8 or so episodes.
Maybe it makes more sense within the greater Orb Chronicle context, but as a standalone series, it really didn't do much to expand on or explain the origins (hehe) of the Gai-Juggler rivalry that we see in the main series. It's a shame too, because I really enjoyed Ultraman Orb.
Ultra Fight Victory
I'm starting to see the genius of the Ultra Fight shows. Get the main cast members back, throw some popular Ultramen and kaiju together to fight in front of a cost-efficient greenscreen, and sprinkle in some fanservice callbacks. These Ultra Fight shows are essentially just half-hour commercials for an Ultraman's new form or new toy. From a financial perspective, it's brilliant.
And you know what? It's totally working.
I did not give two Birdon balls because I was having so much fun. Having Hikari back was dope, and I love the Victory Knight suit and even that goofy Green Ranger/Kamen Rider Ibuki-esque flute. Giving Ace Killer (ahem, Victory Killer) the UlTrans gimmick was neat too. And the music themes! Not gonna lie, when the Ace, Leo, Ginga, and Victory themes kicked in, I was cheering.
Overall, not mind-blowing, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Ultra Fight Orb
I mean, if you have Ultraman Zero in it, I'm probably gonna enjoy it. Just sayin'.
I don't have much to say on this one--just like Ultra Fight Victory it's a fun romp advertising a new Ultraman form with some healthy doses of fanservice. There's not much depth beyond that. I did love how they had the Showa Ultramen take on their original foes though (i.e. Jack vs. Gudon/Twin Tail, Seven vs. King Joe, and Zoffy vs. Birdon as he did in Taro's series). And Orb's new Emerium Slugger form is inoffensive enough. It's basically just Zero's suit, but it does remind me of Geed's Solid Burning form in a good way too.
Speaking of Geed, was that him at the end? I read that it was just Belial in disguise which...I don't really get either, but alright. Reibatos was cool though; I wonder if his name was a reference to Alien Bat, since they're both necromancers.
Anyway. Shoutout to Sakamoto-san, he seems to be having a lot of fun with these shows.
Superior 8 Ultraman Brothers
This was good. I was kind of expecting more from what I've heard is the best (both critically and commercially) Ultraman movie, but maybe I'm just burned out from consuming too much Ultra-material.
Regardless, I do like the central conceit of the Tiga-Dyna-Gaia trio being kids who grew up inspired by the original Ultramen, and I loved all the scenes with the Ultra Brothers going about their civilian lives. It's like the classic narrative of old soldiers who've fought countless battles, and now they've retired to the happy tomorrows that they deserve.
Ultraman is an inherently nostalgic and optimistic franchise, so building it around peoples' belief in their heroes was a smart thematic decision. And the copious amounts of fanservice didn't hurt either. I loved that they brought back all the wonderful actresses from the original shows, and all the references made me smile, especially since I'm rewatching the Showa stuff right now. My two favorites were:
1)
When Mebius refers to Goh as Shin Ultraman-neesan, and
2)
Seeing all the classic attack team jets at the end.
The only thing I was really meh about were the bad guys. Can someone explain the Black Silhouette? Were they just a metaphor for the hopelessness we succumb to if we don't believe in ourselves and our dreams? I don't know. Also some of the CGI work with Giga Khimaira has not aged well, but that's not really the film's fault per se. It's just cool to see TsuPro come so far with their VFX work.
Oh, and I still don't really get the parallel universe hijinks. Sooo Mebius got sent to an alternate world where Ultraman was just a show...but because the kaiju were summoned over, the people in this universe who were Ultramen in that other universe...suddenly got the Ultra powers from that universe too? I don't know. Ultraman continuity makes my head hurt.
Anyway. How many hours of Ultraman content have I watched in the last two weeks you ask? Only 135 hours. Let's see if I can hit 200.
Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 08-01-2019 at
08:37 PM
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