[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by Salaryman Zero

I will say I loved Orb's henshin sequence, which is a first for me.

I've actually been rewatching Orb lately, and now that we live in a post-R/B world, I was shocked going back to find out how short the transformations in it are, even at full length. I remember them feeling a lot longer at the time. Also, it is great how polite Gai is... even if I disagree that there's a need to extend that courtesy to flippin' Belial, but still.

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Again, not crazy about... the clunky-looking Orbcalibur

This is starting to feel personal.

It's not clunky, it's hefty, okay? It's basically the ultimate weapon. Even if Gai runs into a monster too tough to stab or slash, he can always use the flat side to bludgeon it to death.

I am genuinely curious how you feel about Orb Origin as a whole though. The beefy greatsword is one thing (I'm a sucker for heroes with swords), but the way Orb completely flipped the script on how super modes work has always been really fascinating to me. Instead of something really elaborate and regal, Origin is by far the most simple of Orb's forms, genuinely looking the part of a standard Ultraman design. The context it had in the story, with the brief glimpses of it in silhouette during flashbacks (as well as on the show's main promotional poster that was being used before it even premiered, IIRC), and it representing Gai finally sort of reclaiming his identity after hitting his lowest point (again) made it extremely memorable. Everything about that debut coming out of the Thunder Breaster arc was just perfect, especially hearing that melancholic tune Gai is always playing reworked into a triumphant anthem. His tragic history was the spine of the story from the opening scene, and I don't think anyone could ask for a better payoff.

Part of me wishes Specium Zeperion got more of a fair shake, because I like that design a lot too, and having seen those early episodes again, a lot of the fight scenes it was in were extremely cool and creative in how they used its abilities, but it's hard to argue with Tsuburaya's logic in treating Origin as being Orb's default form ever since the show ended. Namely, because, you know, that's what it is.