[GoldenXtreme]

So you know, I think it is pretty safe to say I have not been a big fan of the New Generation Ultraman shows so far. But... one of the great things about tokusatsu is that you never know when something unexpected will really resonate with you. This turned out to be the case with Ultraman R/B, a show I was curious about but didn't have high expectations of. It swept in and ended up as my second favorite show in the whole Ultra series?!

The show just did so much right in my book. The Minato family forms the emotional core of the story, and even the antagonists have personal ties to them of some sort. Because of how focused the show is, I actually felt like I genuinely got to know everyone and their dynamics with each other. The show is also indeed a lighter, more humorous series, which perhaps gives the cast a bit more room to breathe. I honestly felt like I learned more about Katsumi and Isami in the span of 5 episodes than I did about any other New Gen heroes in the same span. Also, while it is indeed a warm and fuzzy show about family, I thought it had a lot of elements that helped prevent it from feeling like total mush. From the whole drama with who Asahi is to the implication that Katsumi sacrificed so much for his younger brother to go to college to the final battle where the parents come to realize how much their sons have grown up. Not to mention the spot on sibling bickering between Katsumi and Isami. It really captures the family aspect well. Similarly the two main Ultras aspect of the show was awesome. Watching the two of them fumble their way through fights together was both visually unique and often very funny. It was also fun to watch them chat mid-battle, to the point that I actually didn't like Ruebe as their final form because I missed watching them interact and talk. The antagonists were another aspect of the show that really stood out to me. Neither Aizen nor Mitsurugi were characters that were evil so much as they were people who pursued their own sense of justice. Aizen is obviously done is a more humorous way, trying to be cool like Orb and complaining about how modern Ultramen are doing everything wrong, in a friendly jab at the way fans complain sometimes. Mitsurugi then takes over as a more serious take on the concept, as someone who once worked alongside the previous Rosso and Blu and seeks to defeat their old enemy at any cost, while seeing their new incarnations as too weak to be true Ultramen. Honestly, the show just has a perfect scope for 25 episodes. It didn't reach for a super grand scale, and focused on building on its main cast members and adding bits of mystery to keep the viewer engaged. For some people, I could see how the sense of scale might feel too small, but for me it left me feeling satisfied that everything got enough attention. I also just enjoyed most of the show's individual episodes. A few bits felt rushed, especially near the end, but it's a minor complaint in the face of how much dang fun I had with this one. The movie was also a nice epilogue to the whole thing, it was nice to see Katsumi allow himself to leave home and pursue his own dream.

Lovely, lovely show. I get the impression it isn't a super popular one, but I am a certified fan now.