That is one of my two issues with this episode. The second is Blazar gaining the ability to absorb the enemy's power to make a new attack of his own? Why we didn't see this ability before with the previous enemies? And how did Blazar know Nijikagachi's beam will grant him a new power?

I don't mind the transformation fields in general but you could tell they wanted to get it done with as soon as possible from how brief it was.

There's also a shot of him doing it in the OP.

I am now five episodes away from finishing Ultraman Decker and I am considering either Dyna, Gaia, Geed, or even Orb as the Ultraman series I'm planning to watch next once I am done with, well, Decker. Incidentally, I just realized that Taiga would then be the only (completed) Reiwa era Ultra Series, outside of any spin-off materials related to them, that currently remained unaccounted for. Although, considering that the show didn't even get official English subs of some kind, is Taiga really that bad of an Ultra Series? I'm honestly curious.

It not that the show is bad it just when the deal with Mill Creek was made Taiga was still airing and so it was just left out of the deal. And they didn't start simulcasting with subs on Youtube until Z next year. So it not that Taiga was so bad that it was lwft out rather just unfortunate circumstances that it happened to be the show in the middle of all these deals being made.

You can actually watch the post series movie New Generation Climax with subs on the Ultraman Connection website so not all hope is lost for Taiga getting an english release.

Imo Taiga is quite underated it has very stark tone & very strong theme thourghout the entire show. It not everyone cup of tea but I do recommend you track down fansubs for the shows to check it out.

That's very good to know. Thank you very much for the information. :thumb:

I just want to say, I love the new Gaia Form. Glad he's getting some love for his anniversary even if it's not a New Generation Gaia (which I wouldn't mind one way or another).

Also, yes, Ultraman Taiga is one of my favorite New Generation shows, with some of my favorite characters.

Regardless of how well the show did I love the designs for Taiga and his posse. Taiga's design was nice and his final form in the TV show being a nice nod to his father color scheme-wise was cool to see. I just love how they used the Taro design template for his design.

It's nice to see Anri outside her uniform! You can see more of her toned physique in casual clothes! We even get to see her with shorter hair in a flashback, as well as establishing her surprise passion for music!

We haven't seen Retsu since episode 2 and he's still being hard on SKaRD. It takes a lot to maintain a Mecha, dude!

Oh snap, Blazar is starting to act out in Gento's body! And trying to communicate with him! It was kind of amusing watching Gento try to reach an understanding with galaxy constellation Blazar (and apologize for coming up with his name spur of the moment), though now his team is going to start to think Gento's going crazy.

Garamon! I wonder how many newer fans are going to be thrown off by seeing him in his Ultra Q role instead of Pigmon, but it was cool seeing him here. Especially with his smooth moves and invulnerable body that gave both Earth Garon and Blazar a lot of trouble.

This week on "how are they going to knock out Gento's co-pilot so he can transform into Blazar?" poor Yasonobu gets a spike in front of his face and passes out in the cockpit. Yikes.

Honestly I thought it was a coincidence that a band playing just so happened to summon a dangerous robot Kaiju to attack...but then I remembered in Ultra Q how Garamon was used to as an invasive unit to destroy Earth. I guess love for music only goes so far when it comes to galactic conquest. But they still wanted Anri to stop them.

Drip Garamon goo all over his face? Well, then Blazar will unleash a double Rainbow Slash!

That was a very...dramatic death scene, with the curtain falling. I mean, it seemed like Anri just knicked him with her gun, just shot his hand, is he really dying? And is she just going to let the other aliens go?

Special orchestra ED to commemorate the episode!

Next week: Demaaga and parent! As well as Gento's family!

Brief thoughts on last week's episode (since I didn't have time, not like it matters) but I really loved how it ended with Teruaki getting through to Yokomine and getting his autograph, along with Balazar's power up being another ability in the form of another stone, which kind of reminds me of Taiga's bracelets. Very nice resolution and episode overall.

This week, I immediately recognized the Ultra Q theme (ironic, considering I still haven't watched it yet, but I do recognize the theme). Heck, when the Aliens backstory was revealed, I was thinking Ultra Q. The whole of the episode revolving around music in the fight against Garamon was excellent, along with the curtain call at the end.

It was a very simple episode that felt very reminiscent of a Showa Show, and it delivered in that regard, along with some character development for Anri, and a peak at Blazar's influence on Gento. So far, I'm really enjoying how everything's playing out for this show.

Next Episode: It's take your family to work day for all!

Man this week’s Blazar was good.

Awesome Ultra Q references, Blazar actively making his presence known to Gentaro and possessing him slightly is really interesting, and I love the music theme of this episode.

Also, I like how Blazar "acquires" new techniques through combat. It's not a new concept whatsoever, but executed very well. They didn’t just tick it off at every possible occurrence, so him grabbing the rainbow power last week was very surprising, and how it forms the classic slash attack that Blazar now regularly uses is awesome. I hope the sword works the same way.

Very impressive episode of Blazar this week, and that's coming from someone who only vaguely understands all the homages going on in it.

Insanely strong atmosphere throughout, and I especially appreciated how they made the first two chunks of the episode shorter than usual so we could have this very long stretch of the story being continuously scored by the music, uninterrupted by a commercial break or whatever else. A lot of shows that do similar artsy things with music will leave me feeling like the gimmick stops by necessity before it's really run its course, but no such problems here. They even denied us a chance to hear Black Star during the credits in the name of preserving the unique style and tone, which takes serious resolve when Black Star is that much of a jam.

EDIT: also, just to give this the extra bit of exposure it deserves, because I really appreciate this being put up right alongside the episode, here's two of the guest stars performing the music in isolation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NzQqnt7ZcM

It sure was. The black and white scenes, Garamon, and a freakin' cicada humanoid?! The ending was a nice touch as well.

Huh, so the title of the song is Chilsonite Genesis. Seeing this and considering the Garamon appearance, I guess it's safe to assume the scraps of Garamon will be used to make the Chilsonite Sword? BTW love how there are figures of Earth Garon and Blazar in the back.

Finished Ultraseven.

It was... okay. Like, I totally get why this show is so huge, the sheer creativity, effect work and effort is outstanding, but for me personally - I like the slightly more whimsical and fun Ultraman better.

Ultraseven is too repetitive with the constant alien attack plots. I get why that is, but they rarely peak when it comes to morals and making a point, so more often than not it just feels the same.

Episode 26, "Super Weapon R-1" is the sole outliner in an episode that is beautifully written, carries a strong message and gets all points across. That one is not only the best Ultraseven, but also one of the best episodes of the Ultra-series in general I've seen.

I'm moving on; let's see how another overly popular Ultra series works out for me. Will it take me higher? Lets see.

After months of waiting, I have finally received my copy of the Ultraman Orb Blu-Ray series set which also means that Orb is officially the next Ultraman series I am watching next and I have just started on watching as well. I have also watched Decker's post-series movie and the ninth episode of Blazar beforehand. Oh, and the Decker series itself is a very solid show despite a few serious hiccups during its second half. *cough*Agams*cough**cough*

For me it was enjoyable seeing what cool and crazy alien they'd be fighting week-after-week and watching Dan's bond with the Ultra Guard (especially Ann) deepening, as well as some of the later Ultraseven fights.

Even after years since it aired Orb I think was a-okay for the 50th anniversary. The card fusion gimmick and Hideo Ishiguro as Gai really worked for me.

Yeah, about that - I thought giving another fan favorite a go right away might be too soon. So I put on a more niche show to relax instead. It doesn't get talked about a lot, but man I wish I heard about it sooner!

It's called "Ultraman Tiga" and was apparently the first Ultraman show after a long break? Man, it's so good! The team is super likeable, the effect, costume and miniature work is insanely awesome, it easily rivals cinema productions of the time. The plots are fun, creative and diverse, it has everything!

This is the kind of thing I would expect to lead all the popularity polls! Like, with dedicated anniversaries! Maybe even a remake or an homage of sorts! Since this is called Tiga they could call it... "Trigger" or something? Nah, that would be silly.

Anyways, I'm about halfway through but I love every second of it. Ultraman Tiga rules!

We finally see Gento with his family! I'm glad to see he's the type of husband who actually contributes to the housework, minus Blazar possessing him throwing him off a little.

Don't you just love it when your son watches you work? Minus actually knowing it's you as Blazar, but still...although Jun just tosses it aside to watch the news.

It was supposed to be Gento's day off with his family and instead he's going to see a Kaiju Egg because his son is as fond of Kaiju as he is. Then again, what Ultra Captain has ever had a vacation that hasn't been interrupted by a Kaiju problem? Or any Attack Team member ever? At least he was on the scene when trouble started before he was inevitably called in.

Baby Demaaga! And it's human-sized! I'm actually glad they just started with tranqs instead of immediately jumping to try and kill it.

Retsu finally reappears after a several episode absence only to make everything worse because he wants a full armed response because the only good Kaiju is a dead Kaiju in his book. If they had just left it alone, Mama Demaaga probably would've just taken her baby and left.

Gento is keeping it a secret what his role in the GGF is? That seems like it'll be a mess eventually, but seeing how his wife reacted when he went back...I guess I understand why he doesn't want to worry her.

This is the first time I've actually wanted to see the Earth Garon lose.

Jun taking over and dragging his mom away was surprisingly cute. Poor Satoko though.

Good to know the Rainbow Slash can be used as not only a shield but also a freeze ray.

I thought Blazar was acting up because it saw the injustice going on towards Demaaga, but was it actually upset...because it didn't want them to steal its kill? It seemed like it was Gento's side of the fusion that stopped it from killing Demaaga and was fighting Blazar.

I see Blazar also has a sonic attack he just dishes out there. And the Spiral Burrade can contain Kaiju and move them underground?

I don't think Retsu is going to take it well that Ultraman Blazar got in the way of their battle with the Kaiju. Not even SKaRD understands why he did it. But at least his son is an even bigger fan of Blazar, so that's a win in Gento's book.

Next week: Gebalga! The Meteorite Kaiju!

I must say, I really enjoy the approach they're taking with Blazar. It seems Blazar is "learning" about humanity, hence why he felt the need to take a drink or watching educational shows.

I mentioned when we first saw the Kaiju in the Press Conference, something about Demaaga looked off, and now I can say that it was because it was the baby's suit. Still, it was a precious little monster, reminds me of Baby Godzilla (and the fact that Demaaga looks like Godzilla adds to that).

It's kind of sweet how Gento humbles himself to his family about his position in the GGF and the team (or mostly, Teruaki who knows of his family connections) just rolls with it. The dynamic of his family is pretty sweet all things considered.

I also like the detail of Earth Garon's eyes not retaining their design we've seen before and just left bright blue, as if it's the villain. This episode really had it going for it!

And of course, some discourse between Gento and Blazar with the two fighting each other is quite something. I feel like this show is a reimagining of Ultraman in a way Shin Ultraman or Ultraman the Next did, while still remaining true to the core of the character, which is something I love. Whether that was intentional or not, it's still good. And for a moment, I thought we were going to see a Blazar Form debut with that Red Stone, but a "new" power works too. I'm honestly enjoying this subversion of expectations. Good job, Tsuburaya!

And Retsu is probably not taking kindly to Blazar after this, so brace for a "We're gonna kill Ultraman Arc."

Next Episode: Is that Starro the Conqueror!?

Gento keeping his family in the dark worries me. Didn't expect him to lie about his job.

Great episode though. I love how both Gento and Blazar quarrel with each other. Like, have we ever seen an Ultra be this conflicted and physically restrained by their human host? This works especially well since they aren't able to just talk things out with each other like Z could.

Gotta say though, I love how Blazar pulls technique after technique out of nowhere. Very Showa in a good way.

Woah. First real conflict between Gento and Blazar. And this time Blazar wasn't even trying to be the hero.

Are we sure it was Gento and not Blazar trying to hold the other back?

Pretty sure yeah. Gento initially believed killing the Kaiju was right until his son changed his mind, and he took action after that, so it's fair to assume he was the one holding Blazar back.

It appears to be Blazar holding Gento back, not the other way around.
https://i.imgur.com/bDr4jmb.jpg

Blazar didn't take interest in babies, the baby was simply on the screen as Blazar took over to communicate (?) with Gento, and it seems they "discussed" the recent events of Blazar taking over. The baby on the TV screen was foreshadowing to what the episode was about.

And the left side thing I don't buy, I don't think it's that simple. Last time when Blazar made themselves known and grabbed the drink they used Gento's right arm, not the left. Also, if the left side in this scenario is Blazar, as in Blazar always represents the left side of the body, whoever made that picture conveniently forgot it was the left side that summoned the spear in the first place before passing it to the right.

This makes no sense if it is Blazar in control of the left side who would want to protect the baby in the first place. They wouldn't bring the spear out. It only works if Gento is the one who does it, intend on doing the "right thing" only to pass it to the right side, Blazar, because he himself can't finish the job, but then remembers the words of his son and decides against it in the last moment and intervenes.

To put it more simply: If Blazar's body was really split like this, then the conflict wouldn't have started this late with Gento in the driver seat all along. Because Blazar has no motive to intervene this late, he has a clear goal. It's Gento who learned from his son and had a change of heart and wants to protect the two Kaiju now that Blazar is about to deliver the final blow.

I've noticed that too. When Blazar partially takes over to notice the baby Demaaga, I feel it could have been blazar opposing Gento on killing it. I like how it's showing Ultraman being a benevolent alien to the point it refuses to allow the host to have full control.

It also sort of confirms my theory on Blazar's design being asymmetrical in a way, where the left side is Blazar, while the right more plain is Gento. By which I mean the design not as a whole.

However, either can be true, it's so far only a detail and could very likely be a coincidence. We shall see how the show plays out to fully know how this works.

Super duper interesting episode of Blazar this week. Gento's family was one of those ideas that immediately sounded exciting to me, so it was great to finally see that factor into an episode in such a major way, and while advancing all that stuff with Blazar himself I also like, at that. Plus, it definitely seems like the kind of episode that'll connect to a bunch of broader series-wide ideas in ways we can't totally understand yet, so it'll probably be even more interesting looking back after the show is done.

Beyond that, I mean, I just like any episode of Ultraman where the solution isn't blowing up the monster? Like, I didn't mention this back when it aired, but it actually genuinely bugged me in episode 2 specifically, that Gedos' villainous motivation was just like... wanting to eat fish? When a kaiju doesn't seem at all malicious and isn't like, creating hurricanes just by breathing, or some such obvious urgent danger, it becomes way harder to be happy about the good guys coming in guns blazing. So naturally, I've very much appreciated the several episodes of Blazar since then that have actively been exploring exactly this kind of thinking to such great dramatic effect.

The TV at the start is definitely about at least a little more than simply the episode involving a baby, if that's what you're saying here. That show on the TV is talking about a parent being able to understand what a child wants, even though it can't communicate with language. Which would connect to why Blazar does the eye thing again then and there, because those flashbacks are less about Blazar taking over, and more how the two of them have been communicating in general, including Gento trying to talk to Blazar after he took that drink in the same gentle tone a parent would speak to a child with. That baby wants milk; Blazar wants vegetable juice...

...or something! I don't really understand most of this myself, but I get the feeling the show deliberately left it somewhat ambiguous who exactly is doing what during the climax, since leaving the viewer trying to guess at how these characters feel would mean engaging the viewer with those themes of communication in a very direct manner.

Yeah, either can be true:

1- Blazar wanted to kill the monsters after hearing Gento believing to kill a monster to save people is better than to let it go leaving destruction on their paths.

or

2- Gento wanted to kill the monsters to protect his family and Blazar stopped him because it wasn't right to kill a parent and their child and he provided an alternative solution with his latest new ability.

Excellent episode. I don't know if this was just me, but I didn't initially read Blazar's freakout as being against Gento. I assumed that there was something else in there that was bringing out Blazar's savagery and this was Blazar himself fighting back against it. That's probably wrong. Either way, the general is a dick.

Blazar seriously went stop hitting yourself
https://i.imgur.com/VYLw4ql.gif

I am now officially halfway through Ultraman Orb and I'm already loving everything about this show so far from the main cast to great character drama. It might even become one of my top favorite seasons of Ultraman if this show keeps it up throughout its second half. I can definitely see why Orb is considered as one of the major fan favorites of the franchise.

They were definitely leaning into the idea that the GGF maybe aren't 100% good guys so I could see it being Blazar stopping Gento from killing the kaiju. The ambiguity of who was in control of what when Blazar fights himself could lead to some cool story stuff. Or we're all totally overthinking it!

This show is very good.

Now going to an unfamiliar territory
https://www.tokunation.com/forums/at...1&d=1695058588

I actually watched both seasons of Mega Monster Battle in their entirety just last month, funnily enough.

Yeah, the director confirmed that it was Blazar stopping Gento, which implies that it wasn?t supposed to be ambiguous, but people took it as such.

Do you have a source for that? I want to read the whole thing, maybe I'll get it then.

"I want to have Ultraman get angry at a situation where a child is being unreasonable or crying. This is the story that was created from the idea of "I want to make Ultraman get angry at children who are being unreasonable or crying. In the end, it became a story about facing life. I think the answer is different for everyone. For now, the world where children can laugh is the best. The image is my favorite scene in episode 10."

Yeah that definitely explains everything :lol

I could comment more on this subject, but for now, I just gotta say that I love how that somewhat mangled translation accidentally makes it sound like they wanted to do an episode where Ultraman scolds some kid for crying. And you know, by "love", I mean "kind of hate", but I'm more amused than upset is the point. Just to be as clear as possible! This communication thing really is a struggle! :p

Finished the first Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle season. I won't say it was boring but it sits at the lower tier levels.