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07-24-2019, 07:08 AM | #1251 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
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Let's not forget 80, the hardest-working and certainly the most caring Ultraman ever. Not only did he fight monsters, work for an organization that tried to protect Earth with whatever they had from said monsters, HE TAUGHT A WHOLE CLASSROOM FULL OF KIDS. That is dedication. Yeah, all the other Ultras can go strut their little form changes and their little collectibles and their star marks, but 80 was a real trooper.
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Last edited by Sunred; 07-24-2019 at 07:17 AM.. |
07-24-2019, 02:44 PM | #1252 |
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The original Ultraman is really good, and when I first watched it, I was honestly shocked by how much of the series' classic themes, aesthetics, really everything was presented so strongly in it and have been carried well over for so many years.
I don't know if it was just because of that initial surprise, but none of the other Showa Ultras really gripped me in the same way as the original, even though they're all probably objectively better in every sense. Funny that, when all the other Ultras would proceed to show up across the modern era, they'd recieve all sorts of fleshing out and development, but I've never recalled that being the case for OG Ultraman. I guess being a simple good guy is his own defining trait? Maybe it's for the best. I don't really need to find out that Ultraman is a jerk who never talked to his son for centuries. Looking at you, Seven! To make the Kamen Rider comparison again, I feel like I would only watch the original KR for historic purposes once, but I can see myself rewatching Ultraman, and even recommending it to other people as a genuinely good science-fiction show that stands on its own merits. Speaking of OG Ultraman being a simple good guy, I really liked the finale where he offered his own life in exchange for Hayata's. I think that summarizes the entire Ultraman character thematically. He's already given his life once by merging it with Hayata's in the pilot, and now in the finale it comes full-circle, and he's ready to do it again permanently. That's a hero, right there. Oh and Seven is definitely a deadbeat dad. This foo not only seemingly left his kid to be raised entirely by Leo, but apparently NEVER TOLD ZERO THAT HE WAS HIS FATHER. Aside: I'm actually really interested in Zero's background. It seems that after the Ultras exiled Belial and he turned out to be the greatest threat since Empera, they learned their lesson and tried a more rehabilitative approach when Zero attempted to steal the Plasma Spark. Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 07-24-2019 at 02:57 PM.. |
07-24-2019, 05:50 PM | #1253 |
The Immortal King Tasty
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Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
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Looking at you, Seven!
I mean, dang. Let all that be a reminder that it's never too late to turn over a new leaf. Back in 2009 there was no way a guy like Zero could've ever struck up a friendship with a dude like Leito, but he's seriously come a long way since then. I can't even believe I used to think he was a lame character.
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07-25-2019, 02:47 AM | #1254 |
Most-hated user. Kill him
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Let's not forget 80, the hardest-working and certainly the most caring Ultraman ever. Not only did he fight monsters, work for an organization that tried to protect Earth with whatever they had from said monsters, HE TAUGHT A WHOLE CLASSROOM FULL OF KIDS. That is dedication. Yeah, all the other Ultras can go strut their little form changes and their little collectibles and their star marks, but 80 was a real trooper.
Honestly I got a feeling that Zero is an illegitimate child of Seven after a one night stand.
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07-25-2019, 04:39 AM | #1255 |
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Speaking of which, when you put it that way, Zero's life story is actually super uplifting and inspirational. Dude started out as an angsty bad apple, was essentially ousted from his own society, and still rose up to become a multiversal champion of his people, with a tight circle of close friends who are pretty much the definition of "ride or die", AND, not only did he not turn out like that other bad apple Ultraman like everyone was worried about, he actively stops his evil ambitions at every turn and is now reliable and mature to the point where he's a surrogate big bro mentor to said other bad apple's own son, guiding him along on the path of justice.
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Honestly I got a feeling that Zero is an illegitimate child of Seven after a one night stand.
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07-25-2019, 06:06 AM | #1256 |
Most-hated user. Kill him
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Imaginationland
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Zero's mother is confirmed to be a Blue Ultra. Hope Seven pays for their living costs at least
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07-25-2019, 09:02 AM | #1257 |
Member
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 336
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New mini!
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07-25-2019, 08:23 PM | #1258 |
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Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 129
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I just wrapped up Ultraman X. Only Orb is left after this, and then I'll finally be caught up with all the New Generation Ultras! Anyway, some stray thoughts...
I guess the biggest pitfall of Ultraman X is that the show makes zero attempt to deliver an overarching season-long plot. There's a lot of setup at the season's start (The X-Greeza fight, the Ultra Flares and Spark Dolls, Daichi's parents' research and them being trapped in....the Digital World? Ion even know bro)...that never really pays off. It's almost as if the show ignores its own big story-arc in favor of smaller, self-contained episodes. And you know what? I had so much fun with the individual episodes that I was totally fine with that. The OG Ultraman was essentially an anthology, so I can't be too mad that X ultimately went the same route. What we got instead were 22 episodes built around a common theme of human coexistence with kaiju and aliens, which is the central motif of the entire show: unity (hence, the "Unite!" battle cry). And it's when X leans into this theme that the show really shines. From Birdon building a nest out of buildings, to the Nebula House roommates, to Houlinga, to Pigmon, to the hilarious documentary episode...what X really Xcels at (haha) is showing how living in a world with aliens and giant monsters would be like. It's almost like slice-of-life stories in the world of Ultraman, and I loved how the show was unafraid to embrace its goofy premise. We're also treated to a lot of character development for the XIO crew, and their civilian lives outside the attack team job. While I didn't quite fall in love with this cast the way I have for other Ultra shows (Geed, Mebius, even the original Science Patrol), I was still impressed by how almost every member of the team got a spotlight episode (my personal favorite was Captain Kamiki's). I guess it also helped that X had a healthy serving of fanservice with guest Ultras. It's arguably more overt here than Ginga/Ginga S, and while some of them were super left-field (Max, Nexus), I really enjoyed seeing the Ginga cast again for their two-parter. And let's be honest, any episode with Ultraman Zero is an automatic 11/10 for me. Minor off-topic tangent: Am I the only one who doesn't really care for most of the New Generation Ultra designs (not counting Zero)? They just haven't grown on me. It's not that I find them offensive, but they're all either too busy or too bland design-wise. Everyone just starts blending together after a while. Ginga is the only one who really stands out thanks to his Tron lights. But R/B, Orb, Armorless X, and even my precious Geed just feel like tweaked bootlegs of OG Ultraman's design. I think we need less Silver base designs, and more Reds and Blues. Even Taiga (whose father is ostensibly a Red) looks more like a typical Silver with minor Taro features thrown in. So far, the only New Gen suit I really like is Solid Burning Geed. More on-topic though: While I do find X's base form to be very underwhelming and forgettable, I do dig the Armor Digivolve concept of the MonsArmors. The Gomora armor, in particular, is pretty badass even if it makes him look like Ultraman WarGreymon (which I guess comes full circle since Greymon was based off Gomora...). Exceed X is a visual war crime though. Last thing: I'm also watching Ultra Seven now and jeezus, this show is depressing. It's like the polar opposite of Ultraman in terms of tone. Although I will say The Cursed Town is an extremely well-directed episode, and entirely deserving of its critical acclaim and many homages. Anyway. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Onward to Orb! Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 07-25-2019 at 08:26 PM.. |
07-26-2019, 12:47 AM | #1259 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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Personally my favourite designs of the New Generation Ultras is actually X himself, with his features that lean into a cybernetic sort of nature, and that big 'X' on his chest feels like a superhero emblem. Ginga does stand out, but he's actually my least favourite-looking because I always thought those thick blue panels on him were kinda clunky-looking. Victory is way better a design than Ginga.
Even though Orb and Geed's designs are burrowing directly from OG Ultraman, I still think Geed manages to look very unique. He takes Belial's decidedly evil features and warps them all into something that's still really cool yet his own thing. Orb is still good though, I think his mix of purple, red, black and silver makes for a really cool colour scheme. Making fun of Rosso's cat ears is off-limits! But having race-car flames or any of the other elemental effects is his and Blu's only distinctive traits, which I guess is fine enough since nobody else does it. |
07-26-2019, 04:04 PM | #1260 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 129
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Quote:
Personally my favourite designs of the New Generation Ultras is actually X himself, with his features that lean into a cybernetic sort of nature, and that big 'X' on his chest feels like a superhero emblem. Ginga does stand out, but he's actually my least favourite-looking because I always thought those thick blue panels on him were kinda clunky-looking. Victory is way better a design than Ginga.
Even though Orb and Geed's designs are burrowing directly from OG Ultraman, I still think Geed manages to look very unique. He takes Belial's decidedly evil features and warps them all into something that's still really cool yet his own thing. Orb is still good though, I think his mix of purple, red, black and silver makes for a really cool colour scheme. Making fun of Rosso's cat ears is off-limits! But having race-car flames or any of the other elemental effects is his and Blu's only distinctive traits, which I guess is fine enough since nobody else does it. It makes sense for Orb and Geed to resemble Shodai Ultraman given their powers, I suppose. Thinking more about it, I think I can agree with you on Geed actually. He does hit an acceptable balance between OG and Belial. I'm still not feeling Orb, though now that I've started his series, maybe that'll change. And R/B...eh, like I said, I don't hate any of these designs, I just haven't quite fallen in love with them the way I have with say...Zero, or Nexus. On a different note, I don't know if this has been shared before, but there's a pianist on YouTube who does wonderful piano arrangements for tokusatsu songs. Check out his take on Ultraman Leo's: |
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