I don't think Hasegawa is near as divisive as Inoue.

To me, the main reason Inouye is controversial is not his style or themes. Then there would be less controversy, because everyone would be tired of repeating the same thing since the 2000s (or even since 90s for japanese fans). The fact is that almost all of Inouye's shows can boast of a strong beginning and a crumpled, vague ending. That`s why he regularly both delights and disappoints viewers.

I finished Ultraman Gaia!

I want to start by saying that I really liked this show and thought it was full of innovative ideas! But to me the biggest highlight of the whole experience was probably Gamu, who's now my favorite Ultra hero. Youthfully naive, yet genuinely wanting to do the best for humanity, and as the show goes along even other lifeforms he can save. If fact, he might become even gentler as the show goes along and he tries to save monsters more often. His actor did a really good job, his behavior and body language just exuded a gentle yet slightly awkward charm that really worked wonders for the character! I also really loved that he was the team's analyst, not some kind of frontline fighter or ace pilot (even though he might also be the first Ultra hero who doesn't constantly crash his jet). Even when he goes to the frontlines he's still usually doing analyst stuff! Very refreshing. Fujimiiya is also an interesting character, who I think predates the widespread popularity of these sorts of darker rival characters in tokusatsu. He's a bit like a prototype for Ren from KR Ryuki, someone who sees himself as a more brutal person than he can actually bring himself to be. I also thought the trio of reporters was like an Ultra Q throwback, which was a fun idea. To be honest though, the character situation in the show is a mess overall because there are just so many characters and the focus gets spread much too thin. Like, sure, some of the characters are more relevant than others, but even someone like Kajio, who is probably among the best developed team members, is still pretty underdeveloped by the end. So while I really enjoyed Gamu, I think the overall situation with the characters made it a show I didn't like quite as much as Tiga in the end.

I do think this is the first truly modern feeling Ultra show I've seen in a lot of ways though. Gamu actually does a pretty decent job covering his tracks so people don't suspect he is Gaia, and he still gets figured out by the commander partway through the show. Gamu even makes his own transformation device as opposed to being given a cool toy by the universe! I think the Radical Destruction Bringer is pretty underdeveloped, but he treatment of the monsters across the course of the show is also given proper thought, and I really liked the reveal that many of the attacking monsters were essentially panicked animals that were dumped on Earth, not mind controlled or anything. Then the later reveal where the Earth-native kaiju are like some sort of planetary defense system and humanity was seriously in the wrong for attacking them? Super cool. It was a show that rethought genre conventions while also being respectful of what makes Ultraman appealing.

The narrative was overall good. The show's overarching theme of how humanity fits into nature and whether we are beyond saving is frankly very lofty, but I think the show was able to create a positive tale out of it while not turning a blind eye to all of the harm people can do to the world around them. Really great episodes like the ones involving the ground penetrating missiles to attack hibernating monsters and the subsequent environmental fallout were just fantastic. At the same time, the show was able to show how humans are still fundamentally a part of nature, not disconnected from it. I was really nervous the way the story would handle it would leave me feeling cynical, but it was well balanced and managed to avoid that! On an episode-by-episode note, I rather liked how a lot of the monsters fell into distinct subgroups, so stuff like the planetary environment modifying robots come up multiple times, which gives a nice sense of continuity while also allowing the episodes to be varies due to the wide variety of backgrounds for kaiju the writers could choose from. Some episodes were definitely on the weaker side, my absolute least favorite has got to be that one about Akko's nonsensical childhood backstory that is never relevant to anything else and generally feels disjointed. But hey, can't win everything!

Overall I was very satisfied with the show and am going to give it a high B rating! At this point I feel like I've grasped the heart of the Ultra series and I've been really struck by how consistently good it is? So far, while there haven't been as many entries that just bowl me over with how good they are as Rider, there have also been very few that I don't like! Curious to see if this trend holds as I watch more. Anyways, I've finally gotten enough confidence to add an Ultra tier list to my signature!

This was uh... pretty wordy for me. I've been working on taking notes as I watch shows recently so I don't forget things I want to post and it might be working TOO well.

Currently watching some episodes of Ultraman Geed. 15 episodes down, 10 to go.

I am now 5 episodes away to finishing up on Ultraman Geed and I seriously love this series and it is also becoming another of one of my top favorite Ultraman shows of all time. I also inexplicably started on watching Ultraman Ginga.

After almost a whole month of unintentional meandering, I have finally watched the final two episodes of Ultraman Geed and I practically love everything there is about this show and it's one of those Toku series that, for one reason or another, just simply clicks with me on a personal level. It's another Ultra series where I officially get why, like Orb, Geed is considered as a major fan favorite especially for a New Gen era Ultra Series.

I am also officially a little more than halfway through Ultraman Ginga and so far, the series itself is just meh.

Finished Orb. It was a fantastic series. A good mixture between classic Ultraman and Ultra Q, The New Generation embracing more civilian-level characters, and Juggler... here's to see how he develops in the next installments until we reach Z.

Favorite episode is The Imposter Blues, followed by Hard-Boiled River.

So that Kaiju Decode project that's a collaboration with Toei Animation apparently came out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Yo-6_ljGI

Interesting setting, with a fun little surprise tossed in and one really good joke. Not at all what I was expecting, but I'm curious if there's anything more to this, since this was announced years ago.

Yeah, Ginga was the show where Tsuburaya was getting back on its feet after a few years of not producing the usual Ultraman shows since Mebius and I remember them having a limited budget at the time. X was where it started to get better again and then they did great with Orb and Geed.

And funnily enough, I have just finished watching Ginga and the show, as a whole, is really just okay but I am grateful that this show does exist since we never would’ve gotten the likes of X, Orb, Geed, and Z if it weren’t for Ginga’s success and I don’t fault Tsuburaya for the very limited budget that the series had. I guess now, it’s onward to Ginga S.