Saw the dub of Shin Ultraman last night, and I found it surprisingly fun! The cast they got fit the characters well, and this being my second time seeing the movie, I actually appreciated it a bit more than the first time around. Whoever they got to play Mefilas nailed it.

I had similar experiences. Shin Ultraman is a good introduction to the original series and a good introduction to the franchise, but as a standalone I wouldn't call it a success. Maybe Anno should have made a mini-series after all, not a movie.

I saw the subbed version and had a great time.
Im definately getting the DVD

Oh no, now Ultraman is becoming a Sphere!?

Heading into the final arc with all the Mecha down!? Wow. Although it looks like it's all fixed up by the finale (somehow).

It's at the end when they need him most that Kanata has become the rock that GUTS-Select needs. Although that's also hide to his own pain that he's grappling with to be there for everybody.

I feel like it's a testament to GUTS-Select's professionalism and competence this season that they were able to successfully carry out an operation to take down those Sphere towers. Terraphaser, on the other hand...

Dang, I think that's the most destroyed the Nursedessei ever been.

Kanata hits the nail on the head...Agams blamed Earth for his own failures and wanted to basically commit suicide with the whole human race, but in doing so he was corrupting everything Laelia wanted to see on Earth that became his code phrase. And Decker defeats Terraphaser for the umpteenth time.

Well, we finally get our Agams redemption moment as he destroys the last Sphere Tower and finally breaks the Sphere over Earth. Humanity is finally free! Well, other than the Mother Spheresaurus coming in to kill them all, but still!

Oof. Another loss for Glitter Trigger.

Mother Spheresaurus is pure, raw, power. Even if everyone wasn't on their last legs they'd probably struggle against her. I almost wish she had a voice like Gransphere though just to mock humanity and expouse the Sphere doctrine.

Ichika found out Kengo was Trigger. Will she put two and two together finally?

Oh snap! Not only is Kengo even more infected, but they destroyed the D-Flasher! They could do that!?

Well, at least Agams got to go out as himself and believing in humanity in the end. Hopefully he's reunited with Laelia.

Time for the final battle! Everybody versus Mother Spheresaurus! Decker's final battle (until the movie)!

I'm starting to get a Revice feeling with this show.

So, while I do think Agams should have been done better, I still think what they do isn't bad, per se. I know I was a little harsh with how they portrayed him, but in the end, it still worked all right. Much like Revice, I grumble a lot in the middle, but in the end, I'm still (somewhat) satisfied with the results.

Moving on...

I do enjoy the sec-ops style plan to take down the obelisk, which is just nice to see with Ultra Attack Teams where they're either evacuating civilians while shooting their guns at the Kaiju, or having their arsenal shot down.

And boy oh boy, Mother Spheresaurus is one beefy Kaiju and I love it! In a weird way, I'm kind of reminded of Peston from the Original Ultraman, just by the sheer bulk of the suit, even if it's nothing alike.

FINAL EPISODE! Hitting the Big Mom with everything we got!

Just like Sevenger Fight the Shin Ultra Fight series is now available on Ultraman Connection.

http://tsuburaya-prod.com/news/5680

The original actor or the dub voice? Because I thought Mefilas's dub voice was very hard to take seriously.

The dub voice. And that's the idea: Mefilas is a very eccentric character. Or did you really think we were supposed to take the dude who talks to Ultraman while on a swingset and tries to split a dinner bill with him super seriously? Cause I sure didn't, even in the original language.

Love this guy.

I adored Shin Ultraman.

Was it fast-paced? Yeah, but they really did make sure that everything going on was relevant to what the film was depicting: Ultraman's choice to want to ensure humanity's protection and humanity's ability to not just sit back and let Ultraman himself deal with all their problems, but persevere in the face of danger. As well as the focus on how the world would deal with kaiju and aliens becoming commonplace as time went on. How society reacts, how the government reacts, what the world tries to get out of it, etc.

It was such a fun, engaging, enjoyable film.

I also really enjoyed Shin Ultraman, and getting to see it on the big screen was fantastic. If there were anything that I'd complain about, it's that it felt like there should've been more before the story wrapped up. Maybe doing it as a miniseries or something would've been better, but I still really enjoyed what we got. As is, it felt like a love letter to the original Ultraman and Ultra Q.

By the way, anyone else a little worried by the company doing the home media release for the US?