[DreamSword]

Netflix ULTRAMAN

Boring.

Look, I'm sure if I sat here and thought super deeply about it, I maybe could do some sort of deeper, in depth analysis of this cgi anime.

Because hey, technically, there's plenty to complain about: Lackluster animation, that this is more of an Iron Man show rather than an Ultraman one, nonsensical story beats, the awful vocal direction of the English dub, etc.

But when it's all said and done, the most damning thing about this show is that I just found to be incredibly dull, uninteresting, and outright unengaging the entire time throughout. I'm not kidding when I say that I fell asleep multiple times when binging all three seasons. And that's not normal for me.

There's an old debate that I see crop up from time to time, which asks the following question: "Which is worse for a story; Being infuriating, or being boring?" And I've heard good arguments for both cases, but in the end the important thing is that both are awful to be seen as. And because ULTRAMAN here is so dull, I really couldn't recommend anything about it to anyone.

As such, I recommend you all watch Ultraman Rising instead.

I'll admit, I was also one of the people who was immediately offput by Ultraman's' design when it got revealed via merch and posters.

But, seeing it in motion, through the context and art style of the film it's home to? I've grown to absolutely love it, just like I did this movie. Everything about it took me by surprise.

The characters were very likable. The art style and animation were beautiful to behold. The action scenes were fun and stylistic. And the movie had a very good handling of its tone, despite what some trailers might've suggested. Never once did I feel as though the comedic and dramatic elements interfered with eachother.

And frankly, while I'm still a relative notice when it comes to the Ultra franchise, having seen the shows that I have made one thing very clear; Rising is far more in tune with the spirit of what Ultraman is than ULTRAMAN tries to pretend it is. Which is funny, given that Rising started off a project entirely unrelated to Ultraman at hand.

Rising seems to celebrate the core themes that the franchise had held dear for decades, whereas ULTRAMAN seems to hold outright contempt for those very same ideas. And really, the difference in passion is on full display here in every regard. Rising ends up being heartwarming, fun, and engaging. Whereas ULTRAMAN ends up being a completely boring, miserable slog where any sign of hope gets immediately fizzled out.

In the end, I give Netflix's ULTRAMAN a 1/6. It's not technically the worst show I've ever seen, but it is one of the most boring and I'm so glad I'll never have to watch it again. Meanwhile, Ultraman Rising gets a very firm 5/6 for being a great film that I can't wait to eventually see a sequel to. Watch that instead.