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.