Oh, by the way, I've started Tiga as I've always been intrigued by it. Tiga's a lot more dynamic of a fighter than Orb or Geed I feel. Plus Ligatron has an amazing suit

Ah, Ultraman Tiga. I hope you enjoy it. Tiga's a show that I feel very much embodies the ideals of the Ultraman series as a whole in that its less about the heroes that protect the people and more about the people being protected, not to mention the ordinary, everyday humans that risk their lives every day to fight monsters. Its kind of a slow show but a very cozy one.

Seven and Ace DO NOT PLAY AROUND! hahahaha


they slice and dice and just straight up murder monsters. There is no remorse or compassion. "and on that day not a single shit was given."

I haven't seen Leo yet but I've heard that show is the darkest so I imagine that one has more of the same.

It's funny when I started first watching Ultraman I'd see pics of Ultraseven and think he looked so different and I really didn't like his look.

Then I watched the show and see that the mohawk on his head is actually a boomerang blade and he just dismembers and decapitates or in the case of the Golden Snake Dragon just completely tears it apart with his bare hands,..and Seven went from, "That guy looks sort of goofy" to "Holy Crap That Guy Is Awesome!" ..in my mind.

https://i.imgur.com/PfOm3Oa.gif

https://i.imgur.com/Mep6Jx2.gif


Then you get stuff like Ace just splitting monsters down the middle...

https://i.imgur.com/MGvdeV0.gif


Or total over-kill,..punch a hole through them, then cut their head off, then blow them up.

https://i.imgur.com/EKoJVHu.gif

I love that this was apparently just 'normal childrens programming'. Hahahaha

When friends joke that I like, "Asian kid shows" I just think, "you have no idea."

Yeesh! Stuff like that is why I like Cosmos so much. Call me old-fashioned but I prefer a hero who doesn't slit people's throats. :lol

The best part is those gifs are just the tip of the iceberg. I understand Taro also loved to violently mutilate his enemies too.

Oh come on, don't tell me you hate the idea of a hero who cuts his enemies into little tiny pieces. How else are we supposed to end our conflicts? :lol

On an unrelated note, I've been watching Ultraman Leo over the past few months. I've just finished episode 30 a little bit ago and, well, it was quite the final episode for the monster that's the closest thing the show has had to a main antagonist. Oh Ultraman Leo, I have so, so many questions for your writers... Like, seriously, who thought this episode was a good idea. I mean, the episode itself was fine for an ordinary monster of the week but the Magma Alien...

I guess being a fan of The Punisher,..and one of those people who always went, "you know if Batman had just killed the Joker he'd have saved a lot of lives",....I dig the Ultra's that just don't even mess around and go right for a permanent solution.

Though every once in a while I'll feel annoyed at the Science Patrol or whoever,..sometimes I think the Ultra/Science team went too far or just acted like real assholes.

The snowy winter episode in '66 Ultraman (episode 30) with the monster called Woo. Where at the end the young girl is walking through the snow crying for Woo and freezes to death and dies, and the two Science Patrol officers fly away like, "Gee I wonder what happened to that little girl, eh,..maybe she wasn't even real anyway" ...that moment still kind of bugs me.

*I don't know how to do the Spoilers in black stuff I've seen on the site,..but that's a 50+ year old episode so....*

Oh my god, did that actually happen? That's just... damn.

Yeah, on board the ship after fighting Woo,..Hayato (Ultraman) tells the two Science Patrol Officers the monster wasn't actually real. They ask what happened to the little girl (she's dead in the snow), and he says she went home to the mountain. And then the science officer goes, "I was thinking, maybe she never really existed, maybe the girl we saw was just an illusion of the mountain."
The next guy goes, "It could be. She was cute. I feel I'll never meet someone with such a pure heart again."

Then Hayato smiles and goes, "Well,...lets go home."

They fly away and there's a couple shots of the snowy mountain and the ending music kicks in.

Meanwhile the girl is actually dead, laying in the snow, with a rabbit next to her face. (they show that a minute or so prior)

*I just watched the ending again to be sure I wasn't mis-remembering it. That's word for word the Japanese version w/ English subs.*

For some reason the way they're like, "Eh, maybe she wasn't real. Let's go home", just bugs me.

Well that is… Gnarly. Guess it's good to know if I ever decide to watch Ultraman.

So I've started to get into Ultraman quite a bit recently. I watched a bit of Ginga a few years ago and kind of fell of for a while (though I plan to finish Ginga and S eventually), and recently have gone through X and Orb. I then wanted to watch a bit of Geed so I could be caught up on the more recent stuff, but I figured that I should go through Zero and Belial's stories first, so I watched Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie (The Third Esq). Now I'm pretty used to how Toei handles massive crossover movies *cough*Super Hero Taisen*cough*, so I was pleasantly surprised at how this one was handled. The story was amazing, the characters were fairly dynamic, and I was still able to enjoy the appearance of the other Ultras despite knowing only cursory information about most of them. But there was one scene that, while at the time I thought was pretty cool on its own, I now think is amazing after having thought about it for a while. And that is the bit near the end where Zero and UltraSeven reunite.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20161217133421
(Incoming wall of text btw, and I think I'm going to spoiler tag it since I'll be talking about major parts of the movie)

So it starts with Zero, now back on the Ultra's home planet, seeing a crowd walk by that includes a couple carrying their baby, and he starts to go into deep though about what just happened. Now, I know it's kind of obvious, but something to realize here is that he never knew UltraSeven was his father. Thing is, though is that Ultras usually live for thousands/tens of thousands of years (i can't remember the exact number off the top of my head) before they reach the size that Zero is for most of the movie, including when he tried to take the Plasma Spark. That means that for all of those (tens of) thousands of years he never knew who his father was. As well, he most likely hated Seven up until recently due to Seven's involvement with said Plasma Spark incident. The guy stopped him from achieving his ambition for more power and in doing so got him arrested and I'm pretty sure exiled from the Land of Light [citation needed]. Now though, he realizes that not only is Seven his father, but he's also still been taking care of him this whole time, protecting him from the Spark and sending Leo to train him in his exile. And then, when the Land of Light is frozen over, the rebellion is failing, and Seven can't even fight anymore, he sends a message out to Zero. Out of all the people in the universe he could have called at that moment, he calls out for his own estranged son. Even during the battle I think he realizes this, culminating in the creation of his signature phrase:
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20161007125135

After the battle though, with everything winding down, it seems like he's starting to realize just how horrible he has treated his own father, even if he didn't know it. Seven soon arrives and interrupts this train of thought, though. He compliments Zero, saying that he's proud of him, and Zero reaches out, seemingly wanting to embrace him but awkwardly holding out his hand for a handshake. Seven then just up and pulls Zero towards him, the two sharing a long overdue moment of love. Father and son are finally reunited.
https://media.giphy.com/media/xUOxfn...ized-large.gif

The best part about this scene to me though was that aside from one or two lines, most of this little moment was done entirely through body language. They couldn't even use facial expressions, just their physical movements, and they pulled it off perfectly. Heck, most of what I said during this rambling was pure speculation based on what happened in the movie and a few bits I randomly remembered from the Ultra Wiki. They could have just explained or showed this process in the movie but they didn't. They just let the suit actors get it across with their performance, and if that's not how you do a reunion scene, then I... guess I'm just an overthinking idiot.

Tl;DR I think they did really well with the filming of that scene and I'm glad that I'm finally getting into Ultraman.

Ultraman is awesome. Wait till you see part 2 of the Zero trilogy, it's even better.

Good luck with finishing Ginga. (imo) It's the worst one, though Ginga S is pretty good.

Max and Mebius are really good. If you've already watched Ultraman 80 there's an episode in Mebius (I want to say 41? Somewhere around there, the school episode), that'll punch you right in the feels.

Nexus is really good though the writing style sort of changes pretty drastically towards the end, while still good it doesn't compare to the first 2/3'rd of this series which are pretty dark and mature. Especially because they'll have monster/story arcs that span a couple/few episodes so you don't get that Monster of the Week feeling like you do with Seven or 80 or some of the earlier ones.

X is really good too. Gaia is good though it can take a little while to grow on you and find it's pacing.

Geed is great.

..I'm biased I guess, I really like Ultraman.

Oh,..Ultraseven, Leo, and Ace can be surprisingly brutal. (just as a warning.)

I think Max and Mebius really almost encapsulate Ultraman though, they have heart and good stories and are both really good examples of an almost perfect Ultraman series. Max has 2 episodes directed by Takashi Miike that are really good, I think they're episodes 15 and 16. One with the little girl will (can?) also get you in the feels. The other one is just really funny.

Mebius also gave me one of the best laugh out loud moments that I wasn't expecting. After Mebius had just had a big knock down fight that wrecked a lot of the city.

https://i.imgur.com/p5FFmfM.jpg


Hahaha, I love that part. The anguish and anger in that dudes voice made it so funny. Like yelling at Superman for wrecking the city, "YOU PROTECTED.....NOTHING!!"

Already at the first ep Ryu pulls a Planet Of The Apes by having his You Maniacs moment. :lolol

he yells a lot. I'd argue it's actually his most memorable trait.

G.I.G.!

All the characters manage to have personality and be memorable though.

and Mirai/Ultraman really grows as a character which is cool. You see him learning to be a good Ultraman which isn't something that always happens with the series. And he truly appreciates his team and being a part of it.

I loved Mebius when Hunter Knight Tsurugi was involved and when Mebius predated Gokaiger with the Ultramen of the past making guest appearances. Still the best episode of Mebius to me to this day is the Ultraman 80 tribute episode where 80's students were all grown-ups circa 2006 and they had a grade school reunion.

yup, that's the one that punches you in the feels. I think it's episode 41 (it's right around there.)

Ultraman 80 was the first Ultraman series I watched and finished straight through, ..so seeing Takashi Yamato again was a surprise, and then seeing his grown up students talk about what an impact he had on them...yup..punched in the feelz. Hahaha

Indeed. And that is how you do a reunion episode. :rock:

So I just got done with episode 33 of Ultraman Leo. It was a fine episode, one that I enjoyed for the most part. It also featured the second appearance of Astra since his debut which raises the question... what is the point of Astra? Like seriously, why does this guy exist?

He has no character, no personality, never interacts with Leo, and he's *never* around in any capacity. Even in this episode, Leo had things pretty much handled and by the time Astra showed up, the monster had already released Leo from his death grip. All he did was shine a light in the monster's eye, do a finishing attack with Leo, and carry away the monster at the end.

The only possible explanation I could come up with for his existence is because MAC are absolutely terrible at their jobs and the writers/toy companies figured Leo needed *somebody* there to give him a hand but... just why is he a thing? I love his concept so much but the writers do absolutely nothing with it. Why didn't they just give him a nameless monster companion instead... wait.

Astra is Leos younger brother. I think they're supposed to be twins.

They are. He's just called his younger brother in show itself but he is canonically Leo's younger twin brother. It would be nice if they had more then a single conversation. This has nothing to do with the show but I've always imagined Astra's human form to be that of an elementary school aged boy for some reason.

So here is a question for everyone I just thought randomly. Do the eye holes of early Ultraman heads bother you?

not usually,..but sometimes from certain angles it's hard not to see 'crosseyed'.

...some masks/helmets hide it better than others.

No. The only suit eye holes that have ever bothered me are Stronger's.

Ultraseven's gets me. Most of the others I don't notice, but I can't ignore his.

Some do it worse than others. I think Mother of Ultra has it pretty bad. I can't not see crossed eyes. Most of the newer Ultras I don't notice the eye holes at all.

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

It does a little but it's kind of what you get used to from early Toku.

So that manga based on your favorite red and silver giants? It is getting an anime.

So I've been binge watching Ultraman Orb now that Geed ended, I'm already down to the last five episodes.

It's been a fun series overall, the side cast is a very quirky bunch while Gai and Juggler have been treats to watch.

I do have a question though, I get why they chose Ultraman and Tiga for a fusion, and I do also get why they chose Mebius and Taro for a fusion.

I'm still trying to figure out Jack and Zero for Hurricane Slash as well as Belial and Zoffy for Thunder Breaster.

Ultraman is the first Ultraman to come to earth while Ultraman Tiga was the first Ultraman to get a full length tv show after a fifteen year long hiatus since the end of Ultraman 80, making him the beginning of modern day Ultraman. As for Ultraman Taro and Mebius, Ultraman Taro was Mebius' mentor back in the Land of Light. The wiki actually has a full list of the connections the fused Ultras have with one another.

Adding to what macblo said, there is one common ground that they both share and that is both have a bracelet as a key item, Jack having the original Ultra Bracelet while Zero has the Ultra Zero Bracelet. Also, Zero's dad Ultraseven was the one who gave Jack his bracelet so there is that I guess. :) Anyways, Hurricane Slash is a portmanteau of Jack's Ultra Hurricane and Zero's Emerium Slash, Thunder Breastar is a portamanteau of Belial's Belial Geno Thunder and Zoffy's pearl-like ornaments.

And I just finished Orb, it was definitely a fun series, though admittedly it had some flaws, like the SSP being a bit weak in terms of side cast and VTL kind of amounting to nothing for the most part. Both sides did have their strong moments and I definitely have some new favorite episodes from Ultraman thanks to watching Orb.

Now I just need the Orb Movie and Ultra Fight Orb.

Though I think there's an Origin Saga that's also part of the Orb stuff? What's the deal with that, is it fully subbed?

https://www.facebook.com/UltramanLea...25457104148812
Here you go. Alternatively, you could wait for TV-Nihon to finish their translation of it but they've been really slow with it so...

I do wonder, why until now, they haven't cleaned it in post production. Even in Geed, Father of Ultra's eye holes and the other older Ultramen are clearly seen. I guess Tsuburaya feels that the eyeholes are already a part of their identity and removing them is changing their identity somewhat.

When I first watched Orb Origin, I was sure that I saw Shohei from somewhere before. Then I realized it was the actor who played Go-On Red in Go-Onger... :D

Oh thank you for the link, definitely saves me the hassle of trying to find it, I'll take a look once I finish the Orb Movie and Ultra Fight Orb.

that's probably what it is.

So...

Ultraman Orb The Movie: A fun little romp, seeing Daichi and X return was great, and seeing Ginga, Victory, Zero and Seven cameos were also rather fun. Not to mention Juggler is alright a treat to see, especially in this movie. Like while I'll say it didn't have the grandiose scale like the Ultraman X Movie did, it was still a fun flick.

Ultra Fight Orb: Basically an excuse to give Orb some new forms to have fun in and to give Trinity some more screen time. Overall fairly fun, and I did not expect that Geed cameo at the end, but then again that technically wasn't him if what the last episode of Geed implies is true.

Ultraman Orb the Origin Saga 1-7: I got to say while Ultraman on Earth is a fun concept, I always love to see it when aliens are the focus, and despite the B-Plot of Earth now becoming a thing now that we move past this first part of the story, it was just fun seeing the aliens and their culture.

Also it's nice to see Cosmos and Dyna back at it again, their two returning characters who I enjoy greatly, though admittedly Cosmos continues to intrigue me with every appearance he makes.

Also it's just really weird seeing Orb with the classic red color scheme, guess he gets his Orb Origin colors at the end. And I'm also guessing that the Orbcalibur is just a transformation trinket for now since he hasn't been using that at all in fights.

I know right. I've been wanting to watch Cosmos since even before I was an Ultraman fan and every time I see him it reignites my desire to watch his TV Show. It pains me that both groups who were working on the show have put it on hiatus.

Also, as somebody who considered Dyna to be kind of a big brother to the rest of the Heisei Ultras, its a little surreal to watching his show and see that he's basically the bratty little brother of Super GUTS. Its pretty fun seeing him slowly evolve into the character I'm more familiar with though.

And just finished Orb the Origin Saga. It was a nice little story that showed the start of Gai's journey as Ultraman Orb and the start of Juggler's descent into what we know him as in the main series. It also had an interesting premise with the Planet Kanon, Dr. Psychi, it's just fun to see humanoid aliens and their cultures even if we did end up going to Earth eventually.

Also was not expecting Gaia and Agul to show up as the supporting Ultraman for Orb. The two have interested me slightly so I may just check out Ultraman Gaia whenever I get the chance.

That being said, not sure where to go from here, I'm probably going to take a brief break from binging Ultraman. Though I may go for Ginga and Ginga S since those two are the only New Generation Ultra Series I haven't seen yet.

oof, Ginga S is better for sure.

I was really hard on Ginga when I first watched it before I realized the reason it looks so cheap was because it was really cheap and that Tsuburaya almost couldn't finish it. It reinvigorated the Ultraman franchise though so for that I'm happy.

It's a least favorite though for sure. Though Ginga S is a lot better. And the Ginga costume itself actually does look really nice.

An anime film to be precise, not a series.

I've always been meaning to check it out, but from hearing it's more Kamen Rider-like, I've been kind of turned off.