I started with the movie (Ultraman the Next), then watched the Zero Trilogy,..which I didn't wholly understand but I liked it and understood enough to catch what was going on (I just didn't recognize all the characters), then I started watching the original series and 80, and like Switchblade mentions Ultraman Max,..and I think Nexus (which tied into The Next movie). Mebius is another really good one.

Now I jump around depending on if I'm in the mood for Showa Ultraman or Heisei Ultraman.

I'd say the original series, or Max, or The Next movie is a good starting point.

It's really not a super complicated premise that's hard to understand. There's a lot of 'related' characters eventually that you come to understand their relations to each other, but by and large each series is going to be about an Alien that posses a human. That Human grows large and fights giant monsters as an Ultraman. That's the core of Ultraman.

Max or Mebius, (or both) probably would be a really good starting point though. Or the The Next (2004) movie.

the original is easy to get -dated a little but still fun, some of the stuff the science patrol does is rather hilarious

the original IS fun. I hope now that Tsuburaya finally has their rights back we can get HD versions of it.

I love the episode where Fuji is a giant. Hahahaha

https://i.imgur.com/JpaGvF7.jpg

i just like the classic fights and stuff though i do wish they would extend the ultraman time limit a little. Its always been 3 mins give or take as a way to save on the effects buget but things are cheaper to produce now so why not find a way to say they can now stay giant for 5 mins like device that revitalizes them used by the humans to give them an extra job support to recharge the hero when he is running low on time

I've never actually timed it but I'm not convinced they 100% stick to the time limit.

Nope. I hear Ginga'a timer flashed for like half an episode.

I think the original '66 Ultraman stuck to that rule, but most of the other Ultra shows are pretty flexible about it.

And some of the Ultras that don't really have a human form the timer is sort of a non-issue.

Like Riku in Geed I don't even understand why he has a timer, (though his is sort of a non-issue as well),..he's not human.

Now Leito/Salaryman who's possessed by Zero, definitely should have issues with the timer since he actually is a human hosting an Ultra.

They do it as well as Garo does.

How does Riku being an Ultra in human form exclude him from the 3 minute time limit? Ultras, at least most Showa universe ones, draw their energy from sunlight, most of which gets filtered out of the earth's atmosphere before it reaches the surface. So unless the Ultra has solar panels on their body, like Ultraseven, or has a color timer that measures current strength rather then their time limit, like Nexus or Gaia, they should still be subject to the time limit whether they have a human form or a host.

Slow motion shots of flips, kicks, taunting, and pants wetting do not count against color timers. It's assumed that any wacky hijinks your non-ultra companions get up to are happening at the same time.