[Salaryman Zero]

Just wrapped up Ultraman Orb and Ultra Seven. Pretty sure I've finally hit 100 hours of Ultraman content.

Ultraman Orb:

I've almost uniformly enjoyed all the New Generation shows (with the blatant exception of Ginga), and Orb follows the trend. While I've strayed from the Kamen Rider franchise since Decade and haven't enjoyed any of the Neo-Heisei stuff, I've really embraced this new direction for the Ultraman franchise.

I love Gai, and that he's not another naive freshman who has to learn to master his powers, but rather a competent Zubat-esque hero from the jump. Juggler is cool, though I imagine I'll have to watch The Origin Saga for more of his character arc. Naomi is cute, and I was surprised by how much they played up the romantic angle; they even had Gai do the trademark J-drama "guy hugs girl from the back" thing with her. Naomi's also in shorts and hot baths a lot, which seems surprisingly risque for a Saturday morning kids show, though maybe that's just cultural differences? Anyway.

Action, choreography, and set design are on-point, as always. Again, not crazy about Orb's design and his many forms, or even the clunky-looking Orbcalibur, but I can live with 'em. Although I will say I loved Orb's henshin sequence, which is a first for me. It's not uber long like Geed's, and I love how Gai is wearing a black undersuit (just seems cool, like the Ultraman "armor" forms on it), and that he refers to all the Ultramen with honorifics. #RespectfulGai

There's a loose overarching plot with Juggler, but it's largely tangential. The stronger episodes, as with X, are the slice-of-life one-off episodes, e.g. the Babarue-seijin one, the Shibukawa spotlight one, the Black Star Cafe one etc. Of special note is the three-part Thunder Breaster (hehe) arc, which I was genuinely impressed by. The exploration of Orb's power and the consequences of it, while also tying into Galactron and giving all the SSP members some solid character work, was really enjoyable.

I don't have much else to say, honestly. I think my favorite New-Gen series so far is still Geed, but if I had to rank 'em (not counting Taiga): Geed, X, Orb, R/B, Ginga S, Ginga.

Ultra Seven:

Woof. Okay, so this was very depressing to watch. Ultra Seven is, tonally, the complete polar opposite of the first Ultraman. While the first Ultraman was a largely optimistic show about a spaceman and his human friends, Ultra Seven is a dark, claustrophobic Red Scare Commies in the 1960s-ish show about humanity's neverending struggle against the threat of alien invasion.

One thing that Seven does really well is the mood. That feeling of dread, that the fear of aliens and the paranoia of the "Other" can come from anywhere, is done really well. The Akio Jissoji-directed episodes, in particular, are absolutely stellar. The Cursed Town, Nightmare on the Fourth Planet etc. feature some of the eeriest cinematography and storytelling of the entire show. Seven feels less like a superhero show about an Ultraman, and more like a Twilight Zone-style thriller.

The only issue I have with Seven is that it can get repetitive. Particularly in the stretch between Eps. 30-40, where the show gets somewhat predictable. Every episode is essentially: Strange thing happens, Ultra Garrison investigates, someone gets brainwashed, turns out to be aliens, fight! I get that Ultra series are inherently formulaic, but because Seven almost universally relies on "aliens" as its bad guys, the show loses some of its narrative punch after a while.

But the final stretch of episodes are really strong, and the two-part finale with Seven on the cross is leagues better than Ultraman Shodai's Zetton episode. It might just be the price of having a longer season compared to the first Ultraman, but I would say Ultra Seven ultimately (hehe) ends on a strong note.

Random observations: 1) It's weird that they never explain how any of the humans learned of Ultra Seven's name 2) I loved the guest-star appearances of Fuji and Capt. Muramatsu from the first Ultraman 3) I wish we got to see more of the Capsule Monsters. Seven uses Windom in the first episode, and then the show practically forgets they exist until the tail-end of its run. R.I.P. Windom though, gone but not forgotten

Onward! Up next, Ultraman Orb The Origin Saga and Return of Ultraman!