Yeah, Ultraman is pretty overshadowed especially from Seven. If he wasn't the original I think he would've been forgotten.

Ultraman's case really isn't help by the fact that there really *isn't* anything special about him outside of being the first Ultraman to come Earth in the Showa Universe. Ignoring that, there's very little about him that stands out and, because of the Multiverse, his status as the first Ultraman isn't really true outside of real life and, as I mentioned earlier, being the first Ultraman to come to Earth. He really doesn't even contribute all that much to the Multiverse as a whole.

What also doesn't help Ultraman's case though is that he didn't have much of a personality since his human form was not his own, but a guy he accidentally killed. Therefore, the little development there was, was for Hayate and not Ultraman, unlike Seven who was just as much Dan as he was Seven.

Damn, poor Ultraman. Ichigo certainly doesn't have this problem.

Though on the other hand, it's not like Sentai's first team gets anywhere near these two's recognition or love.

That's a part of the main reason why I'm not a fan of the whole "Ultra grants life to a courageous person just as they're about to die" thing. While I'm more forgiving of this in shows such as Nexus or Tiga, which treat their Ultras more like guardian spirits rather then actual characters, shows like Max where the Ultra has a home planet and allies and things like that but rarely talks with his host really annoy me. I mean, you'd think two people forced to share a single body would have more to talk about... That's why I'm kind of afraid of watching a Showa era Ultraman show, since they all take place in the same universe. I pray that Taro has an actual personality.

Well of the three Showa shows I have watched, the original is the only one without a personality. Seven and Leo both have human forms. Hell, Seven is hands down the best Ultra show ever.

Nice to hear that it still holds up despite its age.

Nah, that development was all for Ultraman. At the end of the series, when Ultraman leaves his body, Hayata has no memory of anything that's happened after Ultraman possessed him. What we saw during the series was Ultraman using Hayata's body as his own. This is probably why in later appearances there isn't much distinction made between Hayata and Ultraman as two different characters.

If you've ever seen Ultraman Zero the Movie, this is what was being referenced when Run had no memory of Zero using his body.

Nope. I've just been getting back into Ultraman. In fact, this year was the first time I have watched Ultraman since Nexus was first airing.

So which Ultraman series kaiju do you guys like? Interested to hear everyone's favorites.