I'm still trucking alongside the Ultra Seven road, and this week they finally got me good: "Super Weapon R1" is a fantastic episode. The best one yet IMO.

This is exactly the type of story I wanted from this show: The humans finally realizing they went wrong and actually go through with the moral all the way.

The King Joe two-part episodes got close, but the end was so lame. Dan was really rooting for a non-violent solution, got the humans to believe that peace can only be achieved through mutual understanding, but who would've guessed, the aliens lied, got blasted to smithereens and all is well. So stupid. It could've been a much better ending if King Joe went berserk or something, and the aliens willingly aided the humans in destroying the robot.

Because that's my main issue with Ultra Seven, way too many episodes are basic "aliens invade and are evil, kill them"-setups. Although elaborately and well executed visually, the messages tend to be similar and are more about humans enduring with their ways than evolving and learning something new.

But this episode handles it differently, the alien threat only happens because humans invent a super weapon and test it on a far away planet. Which in turn creates a monster that attacks earth.

While that is fairly basic too, what gets me about this episode is Ultra Seven's peril. The absolutely wonderfully acted despair on Dan's face as he realizes that the humans he loves and wants to protect are becoming aggressors. They have their reasons, to protect themselves, but are about to enter a state of conflict that will never end. And after the monster is destroyed, humanity has to reevaluate their ways, and maybe think that building more and more powerful weapons is not the best way of defense.

The phrase used in the episode to describe this arms race, "Running a marathon while coughing up blood" is so great. Can you run all the way and survive? If you do, at what cost?

I wish more of Ultra Seven was like this. It is not a bad show, far from it, but the messages it tells could be more diverse. I hope to see more stuff like this; the show is far from over, I'm about halfway through now.

Also, the way Seven ends the fight is so brutal, but to awesome. Ripping the monsters arm off, and as it lies on the ground struggling, he jumps on it, takes the Eye Slugger and just cuts its throat, spraying blood all over his face. Like, damn. Although now that I think about it again - it might've been an act of mercy. Quickly end the fight, end the monsters pain. But you have all kinds of beams for that Ultra Seven! I won't complain tough, it looked spectacular.

Ultraman Z is getting an English dub premiering April 8
http://tsuburaya-prod.com/news/5963
https://twitter.com/TsuburayaGlobal/...27309445070849

UltraSeven didn't do it for me, but R1 is one of my favorites from the series!

It wears all of the fears and concerns on its sleeve, and the show is made all the better for it.

Definitely rooted in the Cold War concerns of the times, but it still feels like a timeless message that remains applicable for any generation.

Saw Ep. 1 of Ultraman Great: Towards The Future...and I have no idea what I just saw! I don't know whether to like or loath this series!

Cons: It doesn't have the kitschy charm of a legitimate Produced-In-Japan Tsuburaya Ultra Series. It wears late-'80s/early-'90s "isms" on every sleeve. It has all the hallmarks of market-by-market syndication. English-speaking actors with "meh" dialogue doesn't necessarily inspire confidence when paired with an Ultraman. The first episode with Gudis and Bogun is a little underwhelming with limited action and visually unappealing energy effects. The lack of official licensing in these days means that all we have are low-quality copies, but even high-quality might not be enough!

Pros: The suits for Great, Gudis, and Bogun are decent enough and you feel like they're decent enough designs to justify a reappearance in a modern production. The Commander is echoing some of the Anti-Ultra sentiment before the advent of Next and Nexus: "Anything that big isn't on anyone's side!" You also have to wonder, for better and for worse, if Saban was gauging this show's reception (and toy sales) to determine if licensing Super Sentai in the West was such a good idea! To that end, there were toys and I have some of them now thanks to old copies being occasionally sold at conventions and old Ultraman toys aren't always a bad thing (even those sold in the U.S.).

I don't know if I can stomach this or not. I want to so I can see just what those old toys are based off of, but I fear for the writing and budget limitations! This doesn't have the heart and charm and cheese-appeal of Power Rangers. It's closer to V.R. Troopers (sorry Troopers) than Power Rangers! That said, it was one of the strongest attempts in the old days to market Ultraman in the West and there were varying degrees of success. It's also possible that it's just a classic case of "so bad that it's good".

Personally, I'm really fond of Ultraman Great. Like yeah, production wise, it's obviously a bit of step down from the previous japanese produced Ultra shows. But I think given what the team was working with, they still managed to make the best of it.

I guess more than anything, I feel this real passion and enthusiasm in Great. Like the production team were totally engaged with what they were doing and having a ton of fun. It's just a nice feel good show to watch

To celebrate Ultraman Taro 50th anniversary Tsuburaya will upload the entire show on Youtube with multi language subs.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=p0iz2ZWwp8c&feature=share

I think the crux of the King Joe arc for me is when Dan confronts the Alien Pedan and talks about them and humanity understanding each other and the Alien Pedan tells him "You're the only who believes that Ultraseven," which is basically true for pretty much the entire alien to human relations in the series.

Like as violent as Dan can get as Seven he is ultimately someone who believes in understanding and making peace with people, it's just he's one of the only beings in the universe who does, even as his role in the Ultra Guard represents what is possible for humans and aliens together.

Awesome. Now people from all over the world can ask “what the fuck is a Zariba?”

I’ve only seen a couple episodes of Taro, but if they?re doing a weekly release I can probably keep up with this.

I ASK YOU TO CHANT MY NAME!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsyN1h-0JIE

I'm not a dub guy (to specify, English dubbed, don’t know what it is but English dubs never sound right to me) but I couldn’t help but check it out to see how some things have been dubbed, and I'm rather impressed. They got a lot of the important parts, including the casual banter, down very well. Like, it works.

I won’t watch the whole thing, but this could be fantastic starting point for new fans. The dub quality is there, and if that stays consistent then, well, that’s the only thing they need to do, the show itself is awesome already.

The dub is pretty good but I was not really digging Ultraman Z's voice. I know he is supposed to come off as the young apprentice of Zero but its a little too 'cool 90s hero' when I was expecting more calm and stoic alien.

There's also plenty of room to alter his lines considering his lips don't move.

Honestly Z himself was the one I'm warming up to the least.

He just sounds way more serious and stiff than Tasuku Hatanaka did. Like lacking the youthful enthusiasm and energy that I normally associate with Z.

It's a fine voice and performance in and of itself, and might fit another Ultra well, but it doesn't really sound like Z to me.

Honesty Zeno Robinson feels like he would've been better as Z going off his Haruki performance.

Although I might just be remembering more how Z was in later episodes than in the premier.

I'm currently watching the English dub version of Ultraman Z's very first episode and I'm already liking what I'm seeing.

EDIT: And it looks like I will be watching this version of the series with great interest.

I don’t know, I’ve never tried watching a dub like this is new to me and I found the experience kind of weird. The script and performances were good, but I definitely felt some disconnect between the video and the voices. May keep watching, though, because Z is a really fun ride that’s worth going on again.

Unrelated, but I thought Taro was supposed to be up yesterday. The announcement implied that it would start streaming this week but it’s not there yet.

It is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC8B6VKZ0kE

It is not. They region locked it.

I just finished watching the English dubbed version of the third episode of Ultraman Z and I'm seriously loving Haruki as this show's Ultra human host. Zeno Robinson did a great job voicing the character.

Totally agreed!

Quick reminder that tomorrow, we're getting the reveal of the next Ultraman
https://youtu.be/meM4e75KrAk

I know, and I'm very excited!

LETS GO ULTRAMAN ANKH :lolol
Sorry I just had to :lolol

Welp, guess what just got leaked
https://imgur.com/a/eA8ihxG

Ultraman Z: Deathcium Rise Claw (Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad)
7,700 Yen
October 2023
https://p-bandai.jp/item/item-100019...filiatebuilder
https://images2.imgbox.com/7e/db/nFfp7IX2_o.jpg

Honestly the new device at first reminds me of the R/B Gyro.

It suplosed tp be a wrist device so I can't wait to see it in action.

The actor who plays Heart from Kamen Rider Drive is the confirmed the host of Ultraman Blazar.

And first look at the full suit

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FuL7EJeX...g&name=900x900

That's.... umm... it's a design alright.

Apparantly the dude is married let's go!!!!

And Taguchi(X, Orb & Z) is the main director.

Ultraman Blazar official reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSnseh90pkg
https://images2.imgbox.com/89/79/bMvF3OMb_o.jpg
https://m-78.jp/news/post-6706

It going to have a dub too.

Nice

Thoughts:

- I'm sensing a bit of a crystal theme.

- Dinosaur Mecha! I love it!

- Heart as an Ultraman Host? I mean, it worked so well when Kai became Ultraman Orb!

- The Ultra is the Captain? Really intrigued as to how that will work, especially as far as coordinating the team and doing the typical Ultra stuff without anyone realizing. Will the female lead be his vice-captain?

- New Kaiju!

- Married with child Ultra MC! First time since The Next!

- Dynamic action shots!

- Transformation device and trinkets remind me of r/B and Taiga.

- Blazar looks like a more hardcore Orb.

- Will Okatron be dubbing Blazar like they did with Shin and Z?

I like that the hero looks to be skewing a bit older. Honestly, the whole things feels a more mature than what we've gotten in the last few years. Not that I haven't enjoyed those shows, but variety is fun.

Really liking the suit and very happy to hear that Taguchi is back in the director's chair.

Would you look at that, an Ultraman show that actually looks fun. Took them 3 years but still.

Very excited to see the teaser and read about what's going on in the show, all looks and sounds promising.

Also, major props for how the localization is handled. Subs and dub. When I read that it would have a dub I immediately feared they would pass on the subs, very happy to see that it's not the case.

I think the most interesting thing here other than the lack of a gimmick is how... Feral Blazar seems to be. He growls and roars instead of grunting too, I wonder if the idea is to try and blur the line between Ultra and Kaiju a bit

I think the most fun aspect of Blazar so far is that his finisher is an energy javelin and not a beam, at least from what little we've seen so far.

This also goes straight into the S-tier of Ultraman poses btw.

https://i.imgur.com/L8jg9hv.gif

I can't wait to see more. The one legged pose, the upturned palms, it really makes me think of a Muay Thai fighting style.

I wonder if they'll save up his Ultra Beam for the Final Form or if they'll spin it that he has one, it's just not his main Finisher.

I keep thinking will his headpiece thing shoot eye slugger type beam projectiles. :lolol

Seeing him do a flying knee kick move a few seconds later in the trailer and that gif that Kiwami shared I'm starting to think maybe they'll base his fighting style on that.

Off-topic I looked up blazar out of curiosity and it's a thing.

https://news.wisc.edu/what-is-a-blazar/

Look at this dude! He's so cool!

I like that (based on the trailer) instead of the usual CHYEH kind of noise Ultras make, Blazar makes RRAAAUULLHLLRO sounds.