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07-26-2019, 05:44 PM | #1261 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Okay, first of all:
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Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, I definitely disagree about the New Generation designs, but this is obviously highly subjective. Zero actually does the least for me personally, although I will concede his design is fantastic. All the others I think are still totally well thought out and suited to their respective shows and characters, which is generally how I look at things like this. My immediate impression of a suit's aesthetics tends to matter less in the long term than how I feel it succeeds at communicating what it's going for. Like, my tastes kind of adapt around the show or something, which I gather isn't how it works for most people. For example, Geed won me over immediately simply for actually looking evil, because otherwise the show's message would've fallen a lot flatter. All of Orb's designs I think are super slick and refined, with Burnmite being my favorite. While I'm not too fond of Exceed X myself, I find his base form has a lot of great touches. FreshToku covered a few of them already, but I'm especially fond of his very gentle facial expression. He's the only New Generation lead not to have some degree of angry eyebrows going on, and that's super appropriate for the Ultra I feel is essentially this decade's Cosmos, all the more with the laid back, friendly way Yuuichi Nakamura voiced him. Not to mention how cool, unique, and suited to the electronic motif the- Oh. Quote:
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.
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07-26-2019, 10:02 PM | #1262 |
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Quote:
Okay, first of all:
He's not a bootleg! He's Riku! Asakura Riku! That's his name! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyway, I definitely disagree about the New Generation designs, but this is obviously highly subjective. Zero actually does the least for me personally, although I will concede his design is fantastic. For example, Geed won me over immediately simply for actually looking evil, because otherwise the show's message would've fallen a lot flatter. All of Orb's designs I think are super slick and refined, with Burnmite being my favorite. While I'm not too fond of Exceed X myself, I find his base form has a lot of great touches. FreshToku covered a few of them already, but I'm especially fond of his very gentle facial expression. He's the only New Generation lead not to have some degree of angry eyebrows going on, and that's super appropriate for the Ultra I feel is essentially this decade's Cosmos, all the more with the laid back, friendly way Yuuichi Nakamura voiced him. Still not feeling Ultraman Bose Noise-Canceling though. Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 07-26-2019 at 10:26 PM.. |
07-26-2019, 10:38 PM | #1263 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
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Quote:
LOL. And yeah, I can understand your reasoning for Geed. Like I said, the more I think about Geed, the more I warm up to his suit. You bring up a good point that the designers weren't afraid to make him look more menacing either. To a casual fan, Geed might even appear to be the bad guy. Orb just looks like he's got too much going on, though speaking of Burnmite, I do love the way he does like 8 unnecessary flips in midair in homage of Taro whenever he's in this form.
Still not feeling Ultraman Bose Noise-Canceling though.
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07-29-2019, 05:41 PM | #1264 |
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Just wrapped up Ultraman Orb and Ultra Seven. Pretty sure I've finally hit 100 hours of Ultraman content.
Ultraman Orb: I've almost uniformly enjoyed all the New Generation shows (with the blatant exception of Ginga), and Orb follows the trend. While I've strayed from the Kamen Rider franchise since Decade and haven't enjoyed any of the Neo-Heisei stuff, I've really embraced this new direction for the Ultraman franchise. I love Gai, and that he's not another naive freshman who has to learn to master his powers, but rather a competent Zubat-esque hero from the jump. Juggler is cool, though I imagine I'll have to watch The Origin Saga for more of his character arc. Naomi is cute, and I was surprised by how much they played up the romantic angle; they even had Gai do the trademark J-drama "guy hugs girl from the back" thing with her. Naomi's also in shorts and hot baths a lot, which seems surprisingly risque for a Saturday morning kids show, though maybe that's just cultural differences? Anyway. Action, choreography, and set design are on-point, as always. Again, not crazy about Orb's design and his many forms, or even the clunky-looking Orbcalibur, but I can live with 'em. Although I will say I loved Orb's henshin sequence, which is a first for me. It's not uber long like Geed's, and I love how Gai is wearing a black undersuit (just seems cool, like the Ultraman "armor" forms on it), and that he refers to all the Ultramen with honorifics. #RespectfulGai There's a loose overarching plot with Juggler, but it's largely tangential. The stronger episodes, as with X, are the slice-of-life one-off episodes, e.g. the Babarue-seijin one, the Shibukawa spotlight one, the Black Star Cafe one etc. Of special note is the three-part Thunder Breaster (hehe) arc, which I was genuinely impressed by. The exploration of Orb's power and the consequences of it, while also tying into Galactron and giving all the SSP members some solid character work, was really enjoyable. I don't have much else to say, honestly. I think my favorite New-Gen series so far is still Geed, but if I had to rank 'em (not counting Taiga): Geed, X, Orb, R/B, Ginga S, Ginga. Ultra Seven: Woof. Okay, so this was very depressing to watch. Ultra Seven is, tonally, the complete polar opposite of the first Ultraman. While the first Ultraman was a largely optimistic show about a spaceman and his human friends, Ultra Seven is a dark, claustrophobic Red Scare Commies in the 1960s-ish show about humanity's neverending struggle against the threat of alien invasion. One thing that Seven does really well is the mood. That feeling of dread, that the fear of aliens and the paranoia of the "Other" can come from anywhere, is done really well. The Akio Jissoji-directed episodes, in particular, are absolutely stellar. The Cursed Town, Nightmare on the Fourth Planet etc. feature some of the eeriest cinematography and storytelling of the entire show. Seven feels less like a superhero show about an Ultraman, and more like a Twilight Zone-style thriller. The only issue I have with Seven is that it can get repetitive. Particularly in the stretch between Eps. 30-40, where the show gets somewhat predictable. Every episode is essentially: Strange thing happens, Ultra Garrison investigates, someone gets brainwashed, turns out to be aliens, fight! I get that Ultra series are inherently formulaic, but because Seven almost universally relies on "aliens" as its bad guys, the show loses some of its narrative punch after a while. But the final stretch of episodes are really strong, and the two-part finale with Seven on the cross is leagues better than Ultraman Shodai's Zetton episode. It might just be the price of having a longer season compared to the first Ultraman, but I would say Ultra Seven ultimately (hehe) ends on a strong note. Random observations: 1) It's weird that they never explain how any of the humans learned of Ultra Seven's name 2) I loved the guest-star appearances of Fuji and Capt. Muramatsu from the first Ultraman 3) I wish we got to see more of the Capsule Monsters. Seven uses Windom in the first episode, and then the show practically forgets they exist until the tail-end of its run. R.I.P. Windom though, gone but not forgotten Onward! Up next, Ultraman Orb The Origin Saga and Return of Ultraman! Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 07-30-2019 at 01:28 PM.. |
07-29-2019, 07:53 PM | #1265 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
Also also: Quote:
Again, not crazy about... the clunky-looking Orbcalibur
It's not clunky, it's hefty, okay? It's basically the ultimate weapon. Even if Gai runs into a monster too tough to stab or slash, he can always use the flat side to bludgeon it to death. I am genuinely curious how you feel about Orb Origin as a whole though. The beefy greatsword is one thing (I'm a sucker for heroes with swords), but the way Orb completely flipped the script on how super modes work has always been really fascinating to me. Instead of something really elaborate and regal, Origin is by far the most simple of Orb's forms, genuinely looking the part of a standard Ultraman design. The context it had in the story, with the brief glimpses of it in silhouette during flashbacks (as well as on the show's main promotional poster that was being used before it even premiered, IIRC), and it representing Gai finally sort of reclaiming his identity after hitting his lowest point (again) made it extremely memorable. Everything about that debut coming out of the Thunder Breaster arc was just perfect, especially hearing that melancholic tune Gai is always playing reworked into a triumphant anthem. His tragic history was the spine of the story from the opening scene, and I don't think anyone could ask for a better payoff. Part of me wishes Specium Zeperion got more of a fair shake, because I like that design a lot too, and having seen those early episodes again, a lot of the fight scenes it was in were extremely cool and creative in how they used its abilities, but it's hard to argue with Tsuburaya's logic in treating Origin as being Orb's default form ever since the show ended. Namely, because, you know, that's what it is.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 07-29-2019 at 07:55 PM.. |
07-30-2019, 02:27 PM | #1266 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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So the new episode of Taiga just aired. To summarise, it features a slug alien who gets drunk on yoghurt, the debut of our human protagonist and future va for Taiga’s third partner and the use of the Gingalette.
I loved it. |
07-30-2019, 02:28 PM | #1267 |
Dai Shogun
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 7,528
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I'm kind of lost for words when it comes to describing Ultraman Taiga. I just want to write what I liked but in the end I basically describe the entire episode. And when I pick out a few moments to highlight I feel like doing all the other great stuff that happened a disservice so... yeah, Ultraman Taiga rules, episode 4 was awesome.
So much character driven greatness, such amazing action. Tsuburaya is still going strong into Reiwa and I hope they don't stop anytime soon. |
07-30-2019, 04:32 PM | #1268 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 129
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Quote:
This is starting to feel personal. It's not clunky, it's hefty, okay? It's basically the ultimate weapon. Even if Gai runs into a monster too tough to stab or slash, he can always use the flat side to bludgeon it to death. I am genuinely curious how you feel about Orb Origin as a whole though. The beefy greatsword is one thing (I'm a sucker for heroes with swords), but the way Orb completely flipped the script on how super modes work has always been really fascinating to me. Instead of something really elaborate and regal, Origin is by far the most simple of Orb's forms, genuinely looking the part of a standard Ultraman design. The context it had in the story, with the brief glimpses of it in silhouette during flashbacks (as well as on the show's main promotional poster that was being used before it even premiered, IIRC), and it representing Gai finally sort of reclaiming his identity after hitting his lowest point (again) made it extremely memorable. Everything about that debut coming out of the Thunder Breaster arc was just perfect, especially hearing that melancholic tune Gai is always playing reworked into a triumphant anthem. His tragic history was the spine of the story from the opening scene, and I don't think anyone could ask for a better payoff. Part of me wishes Specium Zeperion got more of a fair shake, because I like that design a lot too, and having seen those early episodes again, a lot of the fight scenes it was in were extremely cool and creative in how they used its abilities, but it's hard to argue with Tsuburaya's logic in treating Origin as being Orb's default form ever since the show ended. Namely, because, you know, that's what it is. I will say this about the Orbcalibur though: I think it was a smart decision from an aesthetic standpoint, because having a giant sword is a good complement to the clean design of the Origin form. The concept of a sword adds a little pizzazz to a costume that might be too plain otherwise. I just don't like the actual look of the sword, which screams "toyetic" to me, much like the Geed Claw. As for the Origin form, I would never call it iconic, but it's inoffensively fine. Sticking to just three solid colors (plus the Color Timer blue and the eyes) helps it to avoid the "messier" color schemes of his other forms, in my opinion. I particularly like the black "trunks" portion of the suit. I will mention though, that my favorite Orb form is probably Thunder Breaster (hehe). Three main colors, enough features from Zoffy and Belial to tell he's using their powers, and those DUMMY THICC shoulder pads. It also helps that Thunder Breaster was key in the three-part storyarc which I really enjoyed. I don't hate Specium Zeperion especially, but it just looks too much like a messier revamp of Tiga for me to dig. And don't get me started on Orb Trinity from the movie... Also thoughts on the new Taiga: First off, if you guys haven't heard this episode's voice-drama yet, go check that out. Just a hilarious comedic romp with the Tri-Squad, and it further cements why Titas is my favorite of the trio so far. As for the actual episode itself, without delving too much into spoiler territory, I'll just mention three things. 1) I'm actually surprised by the overall somber and dare I say more "real-world" tone that Taiga has taken so far. Yeah we get occasional glimpses of levity with the cast, but it's not exactly R/B is it? This week's episode even had a downer ending, and the world of aliens coexisting with humans isn't all sparkles either. 2) THE PRODUCTION VALUE. Seriously, it's insane to see how far TsuPro has come since the Ginga days. I feel like they're literally throwing money at Taiga. The sheer detail of the sets and miniatures. The beautiful fight cinematography and camera-work. And did I mention the mind-blowing CGI in this episode? Like, damn, whenever I watch Kamen Rider or the CW DC superhero shows, bad CGI always takes me out, but Taiga has been consistently impressive with their VFX. 3) Tregear is really, really fun to watch so far. I have zero clue what his evil plan even is, but he just exudes enough smarmy villainous douchebaggery that he stands out from the more conventional "I'm EVUL" Belial. And him whipping Homare in H2H combat, and then doing the same to Fuma. I'm really excited to see what Tregear ends up doing. Last edited by Salaryman Zero; 07-30-2019 at 05:22 PM.. |
07-30-2019, 05:19 PM | #1269 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
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Wait till you see Ultraman Leo.
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Last edited by Sunred; 07-30-2019 at 05:24 PM.. |
07-30-2019, 06:07 PM | #1270 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Episode 4 of Taiga was amazing. I accidentally used that exact adjective for both episodes 2 and 3, but honestly, after this one, I think it's something worth repeating every week as long as its true.
This was the best one yet, and the standards were already set extremely high. The plot here was something out of a Cowboy Bebop episode. Just a super tightly packed 20-some minutes with rock solid world-building, tight pacing, really heavy drama, excellent characterization that strongly builds on the main cast through their interactions with one-off characters who they have history with (going back to the rock solid world-building)... it's just perfect all around. This kind of crime drama stuff is right up my alley and they completely nailed it. The action continues to impress as well. I feel like after going nuts with X (where every single episode had some insanely cool money shot), Tsuburaya has toned down how wild they get with the cinematography in Ultraman, but so far Taiga is bringing that feeling back in force. That sequence of Taiga flying around had the same WOW factor as something like Revenge of Belial, and anyone who's seen that movie knows what high praise that is. The best part is it's not even the only standout part of the episode. At this rate, Taiga is on track to become something really special. I also have to finally mention the voice dramas. I was expecting to talk about how they did a great job at humanizing the Ultramen after those first 3 episodes (as a Mebius fan, the second one in particular really tugs at the heartstrings), but then the 4th decided to go for wacky meta comedy... which was also fantastic. I don't want to spoil the jokes, but anyone who's been overlooking them so far should absolutely give them a chance since Genm Corp is doing subs for them. Quote:
Anyways, I can't argue the "toyetic" point with the Orbcalibur. At the very least, having a big circle be the centerpiece of the design is on-brand for Orb. Also, I thought Orb Trinity looked pretty abysmal at first but for no discernible reason, I've since warmed up to it. Honestly, I probably shouldn't be arguing Ultra fashion when my tastes are this undemanding. At least we have some common ground on Thunder Breaster, but I mean, who doesn't like that form? Although if we're talking swole Ultramen, I say OG Man in the X movie could take on Thunder Breaster and Titas any day of the week. Check him out making Tiga and X look like total nerds:
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