[GoldenXtreme]

This has been a while coming, but I finally wrapped up Ultraman Orb, along with some of its related specials/movies/miniseries. But for now I want to focus on Orb itself. I was pleased with it in the sense that it was probably the most unique and daring of the New Generation shows so far, but at the same time I think I fell squarely outside of the sort of person this kind of show appeals to. I like that it focuses on a bunch of lame reporters (who unleash a torrent of madcap dialogue in all their scenes) instead of a defense team and tries to go for a slightly darker angle than most Ultra shows, both of which felt very Kamen Rider to me. But it was also a show where I felt like the lighter elements and darker elements of the story didn't really work well together, resulting in an inconsistent tone and a story that would often stop short of going anywhere too interesting. A lot of the fights were done in an unusual style that really emphasized collateral damage, further enhanced by the amount of from the ground shots due to our defenseless reporter squad, but the show never really went anywhere with it narratively, which disappointed me since I thought that would be interesting. Jugglus Juggler was... fine. I kind of expected him to ham it up more with a name like that. I kept joking as I watched it that he would have driven me insane if I was straight though. His background with Gai is kept really vague in the show and his redemption is very abrupt too. On the other hand, I really liked Gai! I thought his actor gave a really charming, nuanced performance that had a lot of warmth to it. Really sold the emotionally wounded Ultra Warrior angle. But then he has these stupidly long transformation and form changes that completely mess up the flow of fights! It was also heavy on the romance angle, even for an Ultra show, and I can't say I was particularly into this one. I know that sort of thing is often just a hard sell for me.

So ultimately? Lots of good ideas and lots of stuff that just didn't live up to expectations. I think this would be a good show for anyone who watched Kamen Rider Kiva and liked its ideas, but wished it was a bit less janky or a bit less Inoue. For me though, I once again came out of it with mixed emotions. Another C.

I also watched Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga. It was bizarre to be honest! The style is so different from Orb itself that I have a hard time even seeing Gai and Juggler as the same characters, even knowing its supposed to be a distant prequel. I wish some of the basic Gai and Juggler details were incorporated in the original show because honestly some of my understanding of their background was WAY off. I get the impression Tsuburaya was hoping to make more adult fan oriented miniseries judging by the Ultraman Heroes branding at the start of episodes, but it never went anywhere as far as I know. It was fun seeing some of the older Ultras again of course, but that doesn't really sustain the show. Psychi's whole plan was also kept really vague for most of the show, which made things needlessly confusing. Maybe I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing Orb fans would have been all that into.