If you ever find the movie let me know, can't find it anywhere.

I just exposed myself to my first Ultraman production -- 2004's Ultraman: The Next.

The movie was pretty lackluster. I liked a lot of the giant-sized fights, but... The story was about as slight and inconsequential as they come. And it did the "dark, gritty" reboot thing. I feel like a lot of the magic of the character must not have been preserved with this reboot -- cause it was pretty joyless and boring.

While I didn't love the movie, I can say I'm interested in exploring the Ultra franchise further. With that in mind, I could use some suggestions where to begin.

I know Ultraman Nexus takes place in the same universe, and I've heard it's good. But is it the best introduction to the show? I know it's usually cited as a Ultra series that breaks the standard formula.

Ultra fans, what say ye?

If you were not into The Next's particular tone, well... Nexus is more of the same, in some aspects even worse, about having that dark a tone. Try something else instead.

I really liked Nexus but I'm hardly the expert based on the limited number of Ultra Series that I've seen.

The Next and Nexus are incredibly atypical of the Ultra franchise. If you really want a movie to sample Ultraman by, try the Zero films, particularly Revenge of Belial. They're much more fun and exciting.

It wasn't so much the tone that bothered me about The Next, it was more the cookie cutter plot. If Nexus is awesome, I'm not concerned about the darker tone.

Right on, I'll give them a look. Thanks!

Same one I found...

Nexus can be hard to watch at some points, in the sense that the first half of the show is a huge struggle for the characters and everything comes at a cost, I love Nexus but I love the Zero movies way more, especially Revenge of Belial.

If you say so. You mentioned the "dark, gritty reboot" bit in what seemed like a negative light, which is what I was referencing. Ultraman series as a whole aren't all that cookie cutter and in fact are incredibly good about variations of plot and tone, but be warned they are typically episodic.

I could criticize a lot about Nexus despite it being one of my favorites, but being cookie-cutter isn't one of those things.

Whoa. I just watched a trailer for Revenge of Belial. Now THAT is what I'm talking about! That movie looks nuts!

There's a whole freaking planet of Ultramen?

(That's probably a dumb revelation, but I know next to nothing about this franchise.)

I would have been fine with dark/gritty if the movie hadn't had such a thin, recycled plot.

I've always intended to give Nexus a shot once I know more about the classic Ultraman formula. So I can appreciate how it deviates.