[Salaryman Zero]

Ultraman Dyna:

I guess I won't bury the lede: I found Dyna to be a huge step-up from Tiga.

It keeps everything I liked about Tiga while taking all of its predecessor's issues and improving on them immensely. I genuinely think this might be in my Top 5 of favorite Ultra-shows so far. It's really that good.



To start, Shin Asuka is a blessing. Look, I like the humanity and sincerity of Nagano's Daigo as much as the next Ultra-fan, but let's face it, he was a fairly typical Ultra protagonist devoid of any standout character traits. Daigo was like Shin Hayata; the cookie-cutter hero with a good heart who was nice but who really only existed to henshin into a 50-meter-tall giant of light. Which is fine.

But Asuka? Goddamn. Here we finally get an Ultra protagonist with depth, and heart, and a distinctive personality. Asuka is truly--no pun intended--a dynamic and well-written character. He's cocky and headstrong and competitive, but also kind, forgiving, and loyal to his friends. He's bratty and immature, but still maintains a child's faith in people. In short, he feels like a real person with nuance, and you wanna root for the guy not just because it's his name on the marquee, but because you empathize with him.

I liked Asuka from the moment he stepped into the frame, and Takeshi Tsuruno should be commended for an absolutely stellar performance here. I can't wait to rewatch Saga and Orb Origin now that I have this deeper appreciation for the character.

And the rest of Super GUTS are not too shabby themselvess either . I was initially a little concerned since Tiga's GUTS were one of the best attack teams in terms of characterization, but Super GUTS stepped up to the bat and delivered. Ryo, Mai, and Hibiki are probably the strongest; with all three of them receiving very strong spotlight episodes for character growth, plus their relationships with Asuka also form much of the emotional core of the team. Kariya, Kohda, and Nakajima are a little more ancillary (and truth be told, I prefer Yazumi, Shinjoh, and Horii), but on a whole I really grew to like the team over the course of the 51 episodes (and one TV special).

Oh also, the one big advantage that Super GUTS have over their senpais...is Hanejiro. This adorable furball is great and I wish every attack team had their own alien mascot. But hey, OG Guts still have the better uniforms so I guess everything evens out!

Speaking of aesthetics, I love Dyna's suit as well. It's not quite as iconic as Tiga's, but it still looks incredible, and I believe Dyna holds the honor of being the first Ultra with a Blue form in the franchise's history. I love all three of his forms, and his Miracle/Strong forms are definitely a big upgrade from Tiga's Sky/Power ones. Besides a more interesting visual variation between Miracle/Strong (the silver portions are flipped in each form), the show also does a far better job of defining each form's unique qualities. Miracle has psychic powers, a faster speed, and can teleport. Strong is, well, strong. And Dyna does a far better job of showing why one form is better than the other in certain situations than Tiga ever did.

Also, I love Dyna's horn design. It makes him stand out in a sea of generic fin-head Ultramen, and we need more unique crests like his.

Similarly, I actually dug the designs of the Super GUTS jets as well, much to my own surprise. I'm usually pretty meh on whatever dopey fighter jets we get in every season, but the GUTS Eagle is a gem. I love the look of all three jets, the fact that their paintjobs reflect Dyna's colors, and the combining gimmick isn't horrible either. These jets almost help wipe the memory of the XIO Musketty from my mind.

I guess I'll touch on the more abstract elements of the series that I enjoyed next. One thing I really dug was the tone. Unlike Tiga, which played it largely straight, Dyna's storylines and cast weren't afraid to inject a little levity and get goofy on occasion. Yeah, a professional military organization probably wouldn't mess around as much as Super GUTS did, but it really made these characters endearing, and a couple of lighter episodes helped to offset some of the more serious plots. At the end of the day Ultraman is supposed to have fun and heart, and I think Dyna really nailed that tonal balancing act.

On a similar note, I also really appreciated Dyna's use of continuity. As a big comic-book buff, continuity is a huge turn-on for me, and the fact that Dyna acknowledged and built on what came before with Tiga made me really happy. With all the NG Ultra shows kinda taking place in their own universes, I've really missed this sense of history and inter-connectivity in the Ultraverse. I loved every episode where the Tiga cast showed up, and the fact that they got EVERYONE from OG Guts and even the TPC Chief made me feel like a kid watching the annual Power Rangers teamup again. The finale's scene between Daigo and Asuka was just perfect, and anytime a Tiga song started playing in the background, I was all in my feelings too.

Moving on, I know much of this review feels like a comparison game with Tiga, but I have to say that I found the fight scenes to be a noted improvement as well. Dyna's battles just felt more entertaining, and the sheer variety was also a welcome departure from Tiga's generic "let's punch in a city of forest" rumbles. Throughout the series, Dyna throws a ball at a kaiju baseball-style, wrestles with a snake underwater, fights a giant insect in a snowstorm, and battles a stone-kaiju on Mars, among many others. The diversity of battlegrounds and battles meant that every new episode was a treat...there's even an episode without a fight scene.

Another thing that Dyna did better? The theme song! OK, I know this is a spicy take, but I truly enjoyed this one more than Take Me Higher. Part of it is the visuals; I love that they brought back the classic Ultraman silhouettes, and quite frankly the entire OP sequence is a lot more appealing than Tiga's "shots of jets launching." But honestly, while Take Me Higher is probably more iconic, I just love everything about the Dyna song. FLASH! MIRACLE! STRONG! I still remember this anthem from my younger days watching this as a kid.

Now I guess I'll close off this review by talking about the three-part finale. Boy, what an emotional rollercoaster. To no one's surprise, I think this one actually tops the Tiga finale too. There's just so much going on; from the Black Buster coup, to Ryo and the rest of Super GUTS learning Asuka's true identity, to Asuka fighting a Sphere-possessed manmade Dyna clone. That and the finale also manages to tie up the season-long subplots of Asuka's dad, the Spheres, while also bringing back the entire cast of Tiga. And that final goodbye before Asuka changes into Dyna for the last time and sacrifices himself to save the Earth...man, I really thought he'd make it out, but the fact that the show had the balls to end with our hero's seeming demise Shodai-style is...

I know Dyna comes back in Saga, but it's still pretty affecting to watch. The entire Super GUTS cast also manage to churn out some of their strongest and most heartfelt performances in this finale too. In the midst of these planet-ending stakes, its that scene when Hibiki admits he knew Asuka was Dyna all along that really got to me.

Anyway, I feel like I've been here long enough, but Dyna was an incredible show and everyone should watch it at least once. If I have one nitpick is that the show never really explains the origin of Dyna, but I suspect the movie might cover that, so I'm off to watch that next.

Onward to the Tiga/Dyna movie and the Tiga Gaiden!