After rewatching some Mebius episodes, I have two immediate questions:

- What was the reason that they portrayed Bogal as a woman when it was in disguise? Was Bogal meant to be characterized as female, or was it just a decision by someone behind the scenes?

- Was the Adjutant played by a known comedy actor? He's clearly just for comedic relief and to poke fun at how some people in high positions are notoriously inept and ignorant of any situation, but the actor himself is clearly very good at running with the idea.

I actually think Bogarl's human disguise being a woman was all for the sake of a pun, since Bogarl contains ガール (gal/girl). I doubt they meant anything deeper than that though.

The Adjutant seems to have been played by a rather prolific actor in general, with a career going all the way back to the 60s. He certainly seems to have done plenty of comedy, but also has lot of serious roles too. I guess he just has a lot of experience and used it well to create everyone's favorite inept higher-up!

Omega's music artist got revealed.
Opening: BRIGHT EYES by ASH
Ending: Missing Link by MindaRyn feat ASH
Score: NARASAKI
https://tsuburaya-prod.com/news/8433

Looks like some of the Ultra shows that used to be on Shout are also showing up on places like Tubi and PlutoTV. Don't have an authoritative list, but I'm sure someone has made one.

Oh cool, they brought back MindaRyn!

I have finally continued right where I left off on Ultraman Nexus on which I now have 12 episodes left to the series.

Here's hoping she gives us another banger on par or better than Black Star. LFG :rock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYGyRjE_zXY

Teaser for Omega!

I'm been debating this for a while, but after seeing this video I think I've decided that I'm going to watch this show as it airs. It'll be my first time doing this for an Ultraman show!

An interesting idea with an amnesiac hero who is just learning his powers. It also looks like there will be more candor with the supporting characters than is often the case in the Ultra Show. And Kossei's connection to the kaiju is also intriguing.

Man, that soundtrack starting at 1:54 is chef's kiss. :rock:

Looks fun. Between the hair and the necklace, Sorato visually reminds me a lot of Takumi from Faiz and I’m pretty okay with that.

Can't wait to watch it!
Glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

As I await the Redman memes, looking forward to this show. That rock soundtrack from the recent trailer got me hyped. The protagonist trio reminds me of Gridman's protagonists with a pinch of the laundry trio (Takumi, Mari, and Keitarou).

As of today, I am finally finished with Ultraman Nexus (and yes, I have even watched the Director’s Cut version of episode 29 and that extra episode called Lost Memories that centers around Shiori in between).

As of today, I have finally started on watching Ultraman Taiga.

Say what one will about Ultraman Taiga as a show but episode 16 and a few others before it are great episodes and despite some serious hiccups in some areas, I find Taiga to be a very enjoyable Ultraman series so far.

Oh wow, I totally misread your last post and thought you were watching Tiga.

Taiga's a good show, I honestly don't know why it apparently has a poor reputation.

This is the second time this happened to me, funnily enough. :lol

I already watched Tiga a a few years ago when I was starting out on watching the Ultraman franchise at the time.

As someone who loves Taiga, I feel the reason is because there is a mismatch between the show's aesthetic and what it was promoting itself as, versus what the show actually ended being about. All the marketing was focusing on Taiga being Taro son, that he would be part of a team of Ultras from different planets, and that he would face an old friend turned enemy of Taro. From that, I think a lot of people went into Taiga thinking it was going to be a Taro tribute season with a Den-O like dynamic between the ultras and the host.

The actual show itself however was focused on its "aliens living amongst humans" setting, which most every episode exploring some facet of that setting. I really love all the stories and messages that Taiga did with this concept, but it also meant that the show didn't have much to do with Taiga being Taro son, or the Tri-Squad outside a couple of plot important episodes. I almost feel Taiga would have been received better if it had a more self-contained aesthetic akin to Blazar and Arc, so that people would go into the show with much closer expectations to what it was going to be.

I watched Taiga earlier this year and really enjoyed it! The more I thought about it after I finished the more I liked it, so now I'd even say it's my favorite New Gen show. I wasn't paying much attention to the promotional stuff for the show when it was new, but even I was under the impression that it would be some kind of bro comedy when I started watching. I was happy with the actual direction the show took, but can definitely see how some people would feel like it was a betrayal of their expectations.

I just still remember how dark a lot of the initial episodes of Taiga were. Like they had more explicit death in the first few episodes than in most other New Gen shows.

Not only have I managed to finish Ultraman Taiga today, I also just finished its post-series movie, New Generations Climax, on which it is yet another great Ultraman movie and with them, I have finally finished all of the main (at least until Ultraman Omega eventually starts and then finishes its run) New Gen era and Reiwa era Ultraman series. With that in mind, I can now do the ranking lists for them accordingly. They are also subject to change.

The Complete Ultraman Series Rankings (New Gen Era Edition)
1. Geed
2. Z
3. Orb
4. X
5. Blazar
6. Decker
7. Taiga
8. R/B
9. Arc
10. Ginga S
11. Ginga
12. Trigger



The Complete Ultraman Series Rankings (Reiwa Era Edition)
1. Z
2. Blazar
3. Decker
4. Taiga
5. Arc
6. Trigger

And, like all of my rankings lists, they are just my personal opinions, you're more than welcome to make your own.

I think my New Gen ranking goes something like

1. Arc
2. Orb
3. Ginga
4. Ginga S
5. R/B
6. Taiga
7. Geed
8. Z

The ones between Z and Arc I haven't seen enough of to rank.

Yeah, all right.

1. Orb
2. Z
3. Geed
4. R/B
5. Ginga S
6. Taiga
7. Blazar
8. X
9. Arc
10. Decker
11. Trigger
12. Ginga

The top and bottom were easy, but the middle was really tough. I almost forgot X existed.

Trying to finish off the last few New Generation shows I haven't seen yet, and this time I watched Ultraman Z, which seems to be one of the most popular ones. I was pretty underwhelmed by it though, would probably say it is a little weaker than Geed.

The show takes a while to get going, and when it does I felt like it just became a more insipid version of Ultraman Gaia? It touches on some ideas of mercy towards monsters, the role of monsters in Earth's ecosystem, and having to sometimes kill one to save many, but I don't think it truly explored any of these ideas with the depth Gaia did. Another issue with the series is how often it gets bogged down by crossover nonsense that doesn't rrally add anything of value to the show. I know I am not exactly the biggest Jugglus Juggler fans, but man what is he even DOING here?! It had some decent elements too of course. I think the cast had a nice chemistry in this one and Haruki's actor was really good in some of the more serious moments. It was perfectly decent... but not anywhere near what I expected. I feel so out of synch with other fans when it comes to the New Generation era!

I enjoy Z fine enough but I'd say my biggest issue with Z is that I felt the show never really explored or emphasized its themes and messages as much as I wanted it to. The best of Ultra is usually when an episode leaves me deeply thinking about what the episode was doing and trying to say, whereas most of Z left me feeling "ok that was cool" and then I don't think about it much afterwards.

I do really like Z final arc though, in particular its message about the nature of power, namely that power is not inherently good or evil, it's merely dependent on whoever wields it. I think this is a cool message to have and part of me wishes it was a much more overarching theme of the show, cause I feel the setup of Z, from the Devil Splinters to Z himself, is there to support it. The biggest example for me is Delta Rise Claw, which thematic feels like it embodies that final message on power. It's a form that uses Belial's power, but doesn't have any of Belial characteristics, showing that Haruki and Z are able to use the powers given them without letting it corrupt or influence them. But the debut of DRC doesn't emphasize any of this, so it just remains as subtext.

They touch on a lot of interesting ideas but don't explore any of them with the depth needed! I like the idea of just locking in and focusing on the concept of how good and evil comes down to the wielder (though it may have felt like a rehash of Geed to some extent). It still took the show like... 10 episodes to even get to some of its more interesting ideas though, which messes up the pacing even more. I thought about this after I typed my initial post about Z, but the final fight was quite anticlimactic too, which has left me with this haunting feeling that I did not actually finish watching the show. I see the show's vision, but it just doesn't come together anywhere near well enough to leave to leave me with any feelings beyond "that was fine".

I feel like Z is a show that basically embodies the spirit and ethos of Ultraman in modern form. It hits a lot of the beats of other Ultra shows but executes it well and with a likeable cast and good action scenes.

I also actually hadn't watched Orb or Geed before I had watched Z so I had no frame of reference for Riku, Belial, Zero or even Jugular but I feel like they did a good job incorporating them into the show and Jugular is just soooo charismatic. Having a former villain turned Captain while still being, basically, himself was a fun dynamic.

Plus it's got Sevenger. You just can't beat Sevenger.

It’s actually very easy to beat Sevenger, but it keeps trying and that’s why we love it.

Just one look into those expressive eyes and I forgive it!

Omega's writer and director list got announced
https://m-78.jp/news/post-7492

Tried to list their most notable credits
Directors:
Masayoshi Takesue (R/B, Decker)
Tomonobu Koshi (Blazar episode 9, Arc episode 22)
Ryuichi Ichino (Taiga)
Takafumi Suzuki (Arc episode 13)
Kiyotaka Taguchi (Z, Blazar)
Takanori Tsujimoto (Arc)
Writers:
Toshizo Nemoto (Decker)
Junichiro Ashiki (Trigger, Decker, Ultra Galaxy Fight)
Masaya Honda (Arc episode 12/22)
Akio Miyoshi (X episode 13, Orb episode 4)
Yukinobu Tsuruta (Decker episode 13)
Takao Nakano (Orb, R/B)
Norikatsu Kodama (Kimura from Ginga)
Ryo Yoshigami (Arc episode 8)
Hirotaka Adachi (Otsuichi) (Geed)

Some interesting credits here. Some names whom we've haven't seen in a while such as Ichino and Miyoshi are returning. The newest name here is Kodama, whom I can't find has written anything for Ultra, but did previously portray a side character way back in Ginga

Looks like he also had a role in episode 8 of Ex-Aid. As for notable writing credits, he did episodes of GARO: Heir to Steel Armor and Tiger & Bunny.

I was wondering where Sakamoto has been but apparently he's been working on Toku shows in China (so we probably won't be getting the next UGF any time soon).

Tsuburaya knows what's up :lol

https://i.imgur.com/1Fagbkx.jpeg

Run away. :lolol

A space apparatus falling apart, a horde of insect Kaiju, and one lone Giant fending them off and defeating a giant version of them...only to get hit with a beam and crash onto Earth. Thus begins the story of Ultraman Omega.

I really like the emblem that shows up when he uses his Ultra Beam!

Buck-naked host introduction! That's a new one! Though the fact that he regressed into that "weakened" state makes me think that he already had a human form? He obviously didn't just grab a human identity like, say, Dan or Mirai.

It was a normal work day for Kosei Hoshimi up until he found some rando alien stealing his food and messing with his stuff as he tries to understand humanity. And now he's stuck with him!

I wonder if it's so much that Omega needs to learn about human emotions from his experiences with them or that he's relearning them after gaining amnesia?

Not often you see the human host do the fly off stance. Reminded me of Shinjiro.

Graim, the Burning Kaiju! It's like Gubila only he can stand on two feet, has bladed claws for hands, and his drill can shoot lasers!

Omega has amnesia but he does seem to respond with innate compassion towards Miyu, or maybe he felt inspired by Kosei's actions?

So Omega recognizes Graim and has prior knowledge of Kaiju...which begs the question how Graim ended up on Earth out of nowhere, since he appears to be the first Kaiju anyone has ever seen.

You is kind, you is special, you is unable to quit this guy you just met and make him realize just how good a guy you are!

I guess it was inevitable that they'd make a Slugger into a transformation device. I like how you can see it come out of his head like it would obviously be in his Ultraman form.

Omega can visualize his victory with the Omega Eye! No, seriously, that's what he was doing!

OMEGA KICK!

Omega living up to the Ultraseven legacy by eviscerating Kaiju and their body parts with his Omega Slugger. Ultra Beam? Who needs it! Actually I don't even remember the last time they killed a Kaiju without it exploding.

No fly off, but that made Kosei seeing Omega regress into his human form more meaningful.

"My name is...Omega!" cue OP!

Oooh!!! Title cards! And they're even using the radio show for the next episode preview! I love that!

Solid first episode for Omega, I like the vibe of this show. Seems rather chill and focused.

And while I will forever prefer handmade effects, the CG action sequence at the beginning was pretty cool.

Omega definitely looked good in action. :rock:

Really liking how things are shaping up for Omega so far!

Love how awkward and aloof our protagonist feels and the sort of grounded mystery we have with this world. Not sure if it's just me, but I can't help but be reminded by Blazar with this show. Maybe it's the bizarre Ultra, or maybe it's just the color timer, but I really get the feel and atmosphere Blazar showed at times.

A good looking first Kaiju is always a plus, but the Kaiju I've seen so far for Omega look fantastic! I'm especially excited for the Meteor Kaiju and their forms, which remind me of Victory and X's gimmick, love Rekiness and its sword form for our hero.

And I don't know if I've said this before, but I'm already a fan of the theme song and looking forward to MidnaRyn's new ending (maybe that's where my Blazar nostalgia is coming from?).

Love how the radio hosts are the preview narrators and how PAG was presenting Omega in the preshow special (maybe that's another thing that makes me wonder if there's a Blazar connection), but most importantly, I'm enjoying the dynamic with our new protagonists. I can definitely tell I'm going to enjoy them and their shenanigans.

Next Episode: There's a Frog on the Bump on the Log in the Hole in the bottom of the Sea!

Really liked this premiere. The opening scene was suitably epic and I'm really enjoying Omega as a character.