[ShyGuy]

Like Kurona, I'm new to Ultraman too, in fact this is the very first episode of it I've ever watched! Decided to give it a shot since they made it so easy with the official YouTube subs, and I'm glad I did.

It was a very fast-paced premiere, but didn't feel rushed. It provides just as much information as necessary, while keeping things moving and getting right into the action. That was the thing that stood out to me most actually, the amount of action involved. It was almost non-stop action from beginning to end. I have no idea if that's what Ultraman is normally like or not, but I really enjoyed it. Very flashy and fun, and the show kept finding new ways to keep the action fresh. If the action remains that great all the way through, I'll be impressed.

I also really liked the characters, even though it's only been one episode they did a good job of clearly setting up each person's personality and the general dynamic they have with each other. I'm especially fond of the relationship between Z and Haruki. they played off of each other great, and I thought it was very funny when Z gave the big encouraging speech and set Haruki up for his heroic moment, only to have to quickly tell him how to actually use the device he was encouraging him to dramatically use. But even beyond the comedy of it, I really like the little glimpse that gives us into Haruki's personality, in that even though he had no idea how to do what Z was asking him to do, he was clearly willing to throw himself head first into it if it was going to help people.

The only issue I have, and it's not really an issue as much as it is a question for Ultraman veterans, is how Ultraman seasons connect, if they do at all? Most of my toku experience comes from Kamen Rider, where each season is completely its own thing with no relation to other seasons. But here, it seemed like it was directly connected to previous stuff, with all the glimpses it had of what I'm assuming were previous Ultraman characters. I didn't feel like that had any impact at all on my understanding of the story, and it definitely felt like this still stands as its own thing, but I'm curious if Ultraman is different from Kamen Rider in that respect because I genuinely don't know.

But yeah overall I had a great time with this show and will definitely continue with it, looking forward to expanding my toku horizons!