An appearance is an appearance. My point though, is that Tsuburaya themselves doesn't make the distinction between animation and live-action when it comes to Jonias and the Ultra Force.

Okay. Well, let's get back to talking about the upcoming movie & series.

There's animated Ultraman series?

I think there's two.

There's The Ultraman, produced by the same studio that did Gundam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYb5m2qW6jA

There's also a Hanna Barbera animated Ultraman USA:

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

In a bit of a surprise crunchyroll just released the entire Ultraman Gaia series.

I hope all the Ultra series are subbed from CrunchyRoll someday.

Meanwhile anyone know if there are better versions of subs for the original UltraMan series? The ones I'm watching I can see the scan lines in lol, it's not a big deal I was just wondering if there were like DVD or Blu-Ray versions in existence.

If you want the best quality, you'll likely have to import the most recent Japanese BD release of the series.

Due to the Chaiyo legal shenanigans surrounding the first six Ultra series, there probably won't be any better quality releases of the original series in the U.S.

!!!!!!

When I cancelled my Crunchyroll Premium membership I said that I'd resubscribe when they got more Ultraman. I didn't think I'd be resubscribing 3 weeks later...

But man, that's awesome.

:eek:

Oh man, that's been one of the shows I've most wanted to watch, too. This is great timing - I've been missing Ultraman since finishing X and Ginga S.

I'm hearing good things about Gaia on Tumblr. I might watch it after I finish the original series right now.

I am so freaking happy that Crunchyroll added Ultraman Gaia. I watched the first episode and already love it. I think I will like the series for the same reasons as Ultraman Max. It is a lot of fun!

I watched the first episode, too. Of the shows I've seen, I'm reminded the most of Tiga so far, which probably isn't too surprising. I am liking it a lot so far.

Yeah, it's on DVD (Amazon link here), usually around $5-10.

So anyone know if there is a successor to Ultraman X?

A new show for 2016 has been announced. No word yet on whether or not it's related to X.

I see, I heard X has been popular. I just hope the next Ultraman show becomes the next Mebius, for me personally.
Because Mebius was what made me look back at the old skool ultras that I forgot due to sentai and riders at the time.

It's entirely possible. Literally all we know at this point is that there'll be a new Ultra show later this year.

It'd be a horrible shame if there weren't some kind of Ultra show this year.

Crunchyroll put episode 3 of Gaia up sometime recently, so I'm resuming watching that. I'm honestly a bit iffy on Gamu as a protagonist so far - he really does come off as pretty immature - but the scene with him diving out of the carrier jet and transforming into Gaia was freakin' badass. We also got our first look at Agul and I'm curious to see what happens next.

On a somewhat random side note, I have a question for any of you who know Japanese culture better than I do (which is admittedly not a high bar to clear): What's up with all the hangar prep and vehicle launching dialogue being in English? I've seen this in multiple Ultra series now and I'm getting curious as to why it's a thing. Is there a cultural reason or is it just something to play up the idea that these various defense forces are multinational organizations?

This isn't Ultraman related, but if you watch over the footage of Crunchyroll's stream of Katsucon, you'll see me a few times. Including when I hold up a business card for my Facebook page.

Someone made a pretty cool Lego model of the manga Ultraman:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131388...57662686745274

Damn! That looks awesome!

That looks nice.

That is awesome. =)

Finally finished Ultraman X last night, watching the last 3 episodes in one go. Really enjoyed it. The Nexus episode has made me think that Nexus will be my next Ultra show to watch.

Nexus is kind of weird, but it is a really good show.

It was my second UltraMan show, I really enjoyed it.

I've been watching Nexus on YouTube.

Well, I decided to give both Nexus and Gaia a spin, seeing as they were just added. I watched the first 3 episodes of each and liked them both. I'm drawn to "darker" stuff usually (although I wasn't exactly thrilled by Ultraseven X, but that could be any reason) so I'm going with my initial choice of Nexus. Plus, it's shorter.

Weird seeing Yasue Sato as anyone other than Jabi in Garo though!

Incidentally, do I need to have seen Ultraman The Next? It doesn't seem like it, but I'm slightly curious.

Ultraman The Next seems to be connected to Nexus. Plus, there are a lot of physical similarities.

The Next is technically a prequel to Nexus. It's only referenced a couple times near the end of the show, though, and you really won't be missing out on a lot if you haven't seen it.

That said, it is a pretty cool movie and worth a watch if you can find it.

It's on YouTube.

I watched the Next halfway through Nexus when they start mentioning it. It actually works well in the middle of the series.

I noticed that. Some really bad dub. TV-Nihon have subbed it, and it is in a batch of basically Nexus stuff that isn't on Crunchyroll. A "director's cut" of one episode and a DVD-only episode, plus some CMs, promos etc.

I needed a break from Heisei rider shows, and this is giving me that.

I like TV Nihon!

So...thinking of venturing into the Ultraman world, which of the ones that are on Crunchyroll should I start out watching?

I always recommend Max, but X is also really good.

I concur. My first Ultra was Max, and I ended up really enjoying it. Some people swear by Mebius, but I'm keeping away from that until I have a few more shows under my belt, with it being an Anniversary season.

X would also be a good entry point as well, being a shorter one.