[Salaryman Zero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It's been long enough since I've seen The Origin Saga that I can't really fight you on this, but I would like to give a counterpoint here. It was a pretty strange beast in terms of its plot (especially since it's clear they deliberately made it a massive stylistic departure from a normal Ultra show), but as I remember it, it was a solid series once I adjusted to it. Gai and Juggler were absolutely the highlights the entire time. I think it was set at the most interesting possible point in their relationship, and explicitly breaking them up for a huge chunk of the show was the right move in my opinion. It allowed them to be developed more as individuals, and since the story was about them starting to drift apart anyway, it was a natural fit. It was cool seeing how they each had to adjust, and their respective attitudes towards the situation.

The actual nonsense sci-fi plot, I was never totally sold on either, but I disagree that The Origin Saga dropped the ball on the Gai/Juggler drama. They don't have to literally be together for the show to be about them. The way the guest Ultramen were handled was also a pleasant surprise at the time, so I'll let my past self explain that one:

I'm sure they were only in there because Tsuburaya wanted to get more heroes in their big Amazon-original show (thus drawing in more viewers), and/or because there's some kind of quota for Dyna and Cosmos appearances they've been trying to hit ever since Saga, but their actual role in the plot felt significantly less arbitrary than I expected.

Besides, this is Orb's origin, right? Isn't getting his butt bailed out by four different awesome Ultramen in his first big adventure the perfect explanation for how he became #RespectfulGai?

Anyway, The Origin Saga is a long way from perfect, but I do feel like there's a lot to love about it.

Although in the case of your question, I believe it's been said that all the other Ultramen are named in honor of him. I know that's hard to believe given how little respect it looks like OG Man gets, but they do care about the guy.

I don't think I necessarily had an issue that the story chose to separate Gai and Juggler...if it had chosen to follow both characters on two different narratives, showing the growing divide between them. The problem is, after Juggler leaves the main group, the story immediately shifts gears to focus entirely on the main War God/Bezelb conflict, downgrading the Gai-Juggler relationship to the B-plot.

What ends up happening at that point is that Juggler starts feeling like a guest star in a show that should've ostensibly had him as the dual protagonist. The entire A-plot is devoted to Orb and the Ultras (plus the Kanons) fighting against Dr. Psychi, and Juggler just shows up in the final battle as some extra muscle. I don't need Gai to be with Juggler 24/7, but once Juggler leaves, the story stops following his character arc.

The closest we get to character work for Juggler at that point is Agul making one comment about "I used to be like you", and maybe Orb saying "Juggler always saves me." I don't know. It was disappointing, especially coming off the main Orb series where the Gai-Juggler dynamic was teased so much.

As for the guest Ultras, I wasn't super against it necessarily. I can see your argument for Dyna/Cosmos, and it does make sense to play up the mentor-mentee dynamic, especially for a newly-minted Ultraman like Orb. I think I was more thrown off by Gaia/Agul, who both felt left-field with the whole "The Earth summoned me!" excuse. I get the notion of contrasting Gaia/Agul with Orb/Juggler, but at that point, it felt like an afterthought because the final battle was already in full swing.

Oh and for Ultraman's name, I don't know if that explanation tracks either. Was the name "Ultraman" coined by Hayata then, and if so did Shodai just not have an actual name before? Are all "Ultramen" from the Land of Light named after this one random Space Garrison member who lowkey didn't really have any super-memorable battles? Wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to be named after Zoffy, who's supposed to be this legendary Great Ultra War hero?

SO MANY QUESTIONS TSUPRO.