[Androzani84]

One thing that makes this episode? The fact that after 30-something years of the titular Ultra almost always finishing the monster off (barring one or two hiccups) either solo or with the help of someone else, here we have a second Ultraman appear to kill the monster himself.



We also get introduced to this creepy guy.



And for casting trivia, this guy is Hassei Takano, probably better known in the west as Tezuka from Kamen Rider Ryuki. He was also Ichimonji in Kamen Rider The First and Kamen Rider The Next, and had a guest role in Heisei Ultraseven (the continuation of the 60s show that ignores all other Ultra series) as an alien who’s brother mutates into the Kaiju of the week after several years in hibernation.

[GrandComplete]

Hell yeah Agul is awesome I was just waiting until his first henshin the show to go more in depth into the guy but he is awesome rest assured.

[GrandComplete]

Episode 4 "Gamu Of The Sky"

Our first episode was not written by Konaka! Instead, episode 4 is written by Keiichi Hasegawa a name that a lot of you may recognize right now, with a strong background in both toku and anime.But at the time of writing this, he hadn't yet entered the anime world; his big break, Devil Lady, wouldn’t be released until a month after this episode would air.


But regardless, he’s become a rising star, and this wouldn’t be the last time he worked with Konaka, as he also was a writer on The Big O. His style emphasizes the drama of the characters, that the heroes should be tortured by the drama of fighting to become a tokusatsu pillager rather than just the action.His works include writing for Tiga, being the main writer of Dyna, and being a writer for every mainline Ultra except for Max and Ginga. and worked with Riku Sanjo on both W (which folded him into working on Toei Toku) and Drive. And alongside Nobuhiro Mouri, they acted as pillars for Takuro Fukuda's Ghost and Saber.

This episode is simple but to the point: Gamu gets to fly. And, to emphasize that these fighters are tools designed by Gamu, he wishes to use them to help protect the world.Gamu has been vocal in the past, but this is his shining moment within XIG, gaining the respect of Team Lightning Leader Kajio once he was on the battlefield. Gamu is the team strategist, analyzing and coming up with plans, but now he is also an active fighter, not just as Ultraman Gaia but as a member of XIG.

Monster of the week here is Mezard. and I quite like the design there. There's something gross about it that really feels like it doesn't belong in our dimension; it's distorted in a way. And while they didn’t blow up the suit, they did set it on fire, and I think that's cool

The track for this week is "Fierce Battle" the track that plays when Gamu takes off in the fighter. Since this entire episode is all about this hence the title this tracks gets special mentions for the freedom it inspires and the wonder of flying.

[GrandComplete]

Episode 5 "Another Giant"

Episode 5, and we're back with Konaka but we also have a new director, the late Masaki Harada, who died on February 28. From what I can tell, he actually got his start on Ultraman, debuting with four episodes of Tiga and continuing with the TDG trilogy, directing ten episodes for Dyna and Gaia, and remaining for Cosmos and Ultra Q Dark Fantasy, as well as Ryukendo along the way.


His work frequently incorporated realism into the Ultra Series through the use of real-world elements or allegories to real-world elements. such as Yakuza members or those who act like Yakuza and claim there is no distinction between enemies in the franchise, only "the distinction between monsters and human enemies." He also had a penchant for wanting peace with enemies, so a good chunk of his work often featured kaiju being able to settle down rather than being outright destroyed. giving his work a sense of variety as he?s not afraid to blow up a Kaiju here or there but rather creates a more complex world reflective of reality.
And you can see the first sign of Harada injecting realism. A toku protagonist with actual parents?That?s unheard of because parents are either dead, never mentioned, or evil. And in this episode, everything is just mundane; there is no massive plan orchestrated by some big bad or anything. It?s just Gamu not telling his parents that he is now part of a government organization and is given time off to just go back home for a bit to break the news. It?s all just so normal. And, despite the fact that this episode is all about Gamu, as discussed further below, the episode made the most of the little screen time the other characters in XIG had, from Georgie playfully trading with Gamu for an ice cream bar to how she does a really bad job of keeping her end of the bargain when pressed by Atsuko to even the reveal that Commander Ishimuro is a father himself and ordering Gamu to properly break the news to his parents.

Gamu's home is so rustic and rural, and you can see how he grew up to be a little awkward here. Bringing forth another form of realism, this episode explores how his homelife can be illuminating for his character. how he felt ostracized for his intelligence by childhood bullies. This episode isn?t about the bullies themselves; after all, it would be immature for the story to focus on such an aspect. So instead of doing the cliche thing and having Gamu meet his former bullies as adults and having to prove he?s changed, the story is about ultimately acknowledging the hurt of the past but also moving on with his conversation with his mother, admitting that he didn?t like where he lived but was glad to come back to tell his parents or at least his mom what he?s doing now. And, once again, we are living like normal parents. Sure, we didn?t get to see the dad in this episode, but we rarely focus on moms in Toku when we do get parents. But their banter and interactions are great: Gamu presents from the big city; her comment on how he should?ve called earlier to prepare dinner; and Gamu responding back with "just make the usual." really sell the casual love of mother and son.

The monster of the episode is Bokurag, the "Ocean Demon." Its design is a nasty mix of amphibian and fish, mixed with a bipedal creature. Bokrug shows Konaka's obvious affection for H.P. Lovecraft by drawing inspiration from him. His roars are modified Golza roars, and I like Golza, so that adds to the kaiju. Its design and power of regeneration prove it to be a tough foe.



And now what you?ve all been really waiting for is Hiroya Fujimiya, AKA Ultraman Agul. Look at this jockey nerd with his weight room filled with newspaper clippings of his rival hanging everywhere. Despite being the main event of the episode, he hilariously takes a back seat until the last quarter of this episode. But boy did the episode take a swerve with the proper debut of Agul, both for the series and the franchise as a whole. Agul is the first real secondary Ultra of the franchise; sure, Zoffy showed up in a couple of Showa episodes, but nowhere near Agul's level of importance. And the suit?we've seen some blue Ultras before, but this is the first proper blue Ultra, contrasting the franchise's and Gaia's heroic red and silver with a cool blue and black.

The helmet has a fish-like feel, and it keeps all of the design elements of Ultraman. The grunts and color timer sounds all give it a suave sound that has an edge, which I love. 10/10, perfect suit, perfect grunts?everything is just right.

The music of the episode has to be "Agul Advent," the main theme of Agul. Their sense of mystery with the theme was enhanced by the choir contrasting the low-key instrumentals as if you were exploring an underwater cave. The second half of the track is an aggressive battle track showcasing Sahashi's masterful use of leitmotifs, taking the notes of the first half and amping them up with heavier instruments and strings that show off the character's strength.

[GrandComplete]

Episode 6 "The Ridiculing Eye"

Ultraman has a giant legacy. That’s an understatement, but one of the major contributing factors to this is the Kaiju. Many Kaijus have transcended their own shows and have become as popular as or even more popular than the Ultras themselves. And Gan-Q is one of these Kaiju. This episode is significant because it marks the debut of this iconic monster 25 years in the making, which has appeared in many New Generation shows.This episode disappointed me. Initially, let me explain. While various kaiju have gone on to become popular and reappear frequently, it is frequently Showa Era kaiju from the first six Showa Era shows.Not a lot of Heisei Kaiju get a second look. Gan-Q wasn’t just popular; he was iconic. reaching up to the same level as Gomora, Zetton, Eleking, Pandon, etc. Gan-Q was the only Kaiju from Gaia that ever crossed over to anything else. So there was an expectation in my mind when I first watched Gaia because of how much of a legacy this guy had cemented for himself. The truth is that no matter what this episode did, it would never have met the expectations of the mind.




But what do I think of the episode now? This is a good episode that deals with many established elements in play. Greater bonding with the various teams with Gamu, playing Gamu's insecurities revealed in the last episode as well as Fujimiya being Ultraman Agul, Gamu briefly returning to his university and old college buddies, and even a brief mention of Team Crow, who hasn’t debuted yet, at the very end of the episode—Gaia’s a smart show that makes every second count. The show is making do with what it has, and Harada's atmospheric directing is producing some killer visuals that perfectly complement Gan-Q's creepy vibes.The practical effect of the giant eye absorbing the missiles, and of course, as usual, the exploding Kaiju, are staples but all very good.

But who wrote this episode? Give it up for another new writer joining the fray. Hideyuki Kawakami, a writer with a flair for historical dramas, got his start with Ultra with this trilogy and worked on everything up until Mebius (with the exception of Nexus). (Which is a shame, because I think the guys' sensibilities would’ve meshed well with that show.)


(Side note: I had a real hard time finding a photo of this guy. This is the only real concrete photo of him from some historical drama he played in. If anyone has a better photo I would use that.)

And honestly, he works for this episode. Many of his episodes on Tiga and Dyna have a horror film feel to them, and pairing him with a monster like Gan-Q is like peanut butter and jelly.(Though he was no stranger to comedy as he wrote everything involving Alien Miji’s in Dyna.)


Gan-Q's design alone makes me understand why he’s become such a star. It's creepy and cool, and the fleshy parts are grotesque and beautiful to look at. The growls are these high-pitched laughs and screams that unnerve even the characters in the show. And if nothing else, showing up so many times in the years following allows us to see more of this beauty, and you know what? That's alright in my book. 10/10 kaiju.

The track of the episode has to be “City Defense Order” as we’re talking about staple kaijus in Gaia. The track I choose has to be one of the main tracks played whenever something catastrophic happens in an episode. The tension played from the strings and horns bring this piece all together.

[Androzani84]

So like you said, Gan-Q became a fairly major recurring monster in the franchise, starting with Mega Monster Battle. He notably made reappearances in Ultra Zero Fight, three episodes of Ultraman Ginga S (including the fan favourite episode Gan-Q’s Tears) and the Ultraman R/B movie.

And as the kind of guy who keeps track of that sort of thing, in the “Ultra Monsters” setting some of Ultraman Trigger’s Hyper Keys have containing the cries of the Ultra’s most iconic foes, Gan-Q is one of the few monsters to be featured in two different Keys (others being Red King, Pigmon, Gubila, Mefilas/Uringa (which are different monsters with the same cry, but are otherwise unrelated), Windam, Miclas, Agira, Nurse, King Joe, Bemstar, Gymaira, Golba, Deathdrago and everything in the Zoffy Key except Dreamgillas)

[GrandComplete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

So like you said, Gan-Q became a fairly major recurring monster in the franchise, starting with Mega Monster Battle. He notably made reappearances in Ultra Zero Fight, three episodes of Ultraman Ginga S (including the fan favourite episode Gan-Q?s Tears) and the Ultraman R/B movie.

Gan-Q's Tears is such a good episode I'm almost tempted to review it on this thread.

[GrandComplete]

Episode 7 "Cleansing of the Earth"

We got two new guys to talk about this episode, those being writer Shin Yoshida & director Takashi Kodama. Shin Yoshida is most well known for being a prominent writer in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime & Mangas. His role in tokusatsu is far more limited in that regard, becoming a writer through Ultraman Dyna before this.


His work can be dramatic focusing on characters bouncing off one another and how that reflects back to them. The characters, strengths & weaknesses are displayed in the mundane conversations they can be having.

Director Takashi Kodama, like Yoshida, has limited work in tokusatsu with Dyna & Gaia being his only works in the medium.

In fact the first Dyna Episode he directed Episode 27 “Monster Game” was also paired up with Yoshida just like what’s happening here. His directing makes good use of contrast, lighting & shadows to create memorable scenes with simple techniques but brought to life with creativity such as Gamu messy room. Or the angle between Fujimiya.

Seemingly an alien plot a device that purifies the Earth at the cost of rampaging uncontrollably potentially causing destruction to human civilization if left unchecked. It’s a dilemma that perfectly fits the show's themes of what is good for the Earth may not be good for humanity and vice versa. Fujimiya plays a small but important role egging Gamu to use his powers more than he is. And even the commander questions if Gamu would’ve sided with Tenkai as from perspective it could be seen as a force for good.

Tenkai is a very unusual kaiju because it is not. A machine created from unknown origins the fact that it doesn't have a combat mode so to speak makes for a unique opponent not only to fight but to interact with a camera.

The track I choose is “Fujimiya & Gamu played when once again Fujmiya confronts Gamu over his choice to protect humanity both the track and the scene direction strike me so much that I had to include it here this week. The mystery and atmosphere in this somber piece shows the complexity of their relationship and I alway love the use of Agul’s chorus.

[Androzani84]

Slightly late, but I finally got around to checking the wiki to see if Tenkai made any other appearances. Turns out, his sound effects get reused for two other monsters and he appears as a Spark Doll in Ultraman Ginga episode 7.

[GrandComplete]

Sorry for the late reply and yeah most Gaia kaiju's don't make physical reappernces but it neat that Tenkai got a Spark Doll made.