[Kurona]

It's something they do every year! Basically just a bunch of clip shows with a particular focus (last year was Trigger and Dyna) which often hints at what the next show will be about, or something in it. This one seems to be strung along with slightly more of a plot, even having its own DX item and card sets

[Byg42]

The other purpose of these recap shows, other than being hints of the next Ultra show, is also to fill the airtime and keep the timeslot till the next show airs.

[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Byg42

The other purpose of these recap shows, other than being hints of the next Ultra show, is also to fill the airtime and keep the timeslot till the next show airs.

And it’s basically what kept the franchise on life support during the early ‘10s when Tsubaraya didn’t have the money to make a new show. I don’t know how many people remember this, but Ginga, Ginga S, and X all aired as chapters of the Ultraman Retsuden recap series that ran from 2011-16.

[ShiShiLeo]

Anyone else reading Dandadan?

Very big Ultraman reference

[Daikaijuman54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiShiLeo

Anyone else reading Dandadan?

Very big Ultraman reference

Hah! That's funny. I probably should read it, but I'm currently reading JoJolion (an Ultraman figure is seen at one point) and writing my own Manga.

Also, in case anyone noticed in Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens and Go Rush! the card making machine is straight-up King Joe. Just a funny detail.

[Byg42]

Since all the episodes for UGF3 are out, here are my thoughts on it.

Overall, I do think it's better than TAC. The overarching story feels a bit tighter, it has a somewhat more conclusive ending, and like before it manages to highlight various aspects of the Ultra universe that haven't been seen or used in a while. At the same time though, I think it still suffers the same structural problem that impacted TAC, namely that the story and concepts it's trying to tell feel a little too big and ambitious for the format that UGF offers.

TDC feels like it's trying to be the next big event in the Ultra universe, something that shakes up and impacts future entries. That however doesn't really work with the UGF format, which tend to be 80% fight scenes, with maybe a couple of down time here or there. TDC does have a couple of interesting themes and ideas, especially with the end goal it's putting forth that the Ultras and Absolutians can work together and co exist. Those elements however aren't given the time or brevity to sink in, since most of UGF3 concerns around big spectacle actions moments. Especially when you try to watch all of this at once as a movie, which is how I first viewed it back on Connection, the whole thing can feel like a bit of blurr, which also caused me to miss certain things in that initial viewing.

Like I think back to UGF1. That story was a much simpler and straightforward affair, and I think as a result it ends up feeling the tightest and concise out of the 3 UGFs. While UGF2 and UGF3 do explore a lot of interesting concepts and developments, those elements aren't given the time and focus that they should, which leaves them feeling kinda undercooked. With the upcoming Regulos specials that were announced, I'm hoping that given those seem to be smaller affairs, they won't suffer the same issues that UGF2 and 3 had.

Some other random thoughts:
-While I do think the ending is better than UGF2, it still feels like they're pushing it to again end on another cliffhanger/tease for a future UGF.
-For how much he's been teased and advertised, it's weird how barely relevant Regulos himself is to UGF3, only really showing up in the 3rd act. And that just makes it funny when they do all this lore dump about him.
-It's cool and also just kinda funny how much spotlight Astra got in this. Like he plays an integral role in the 3rd act, and he's the character that Regulos has a connection to.
-The cliffhanger with Ribut is kinda weird. Like they try to play it as a bit of shocking and impacting moment, but by the time this aired, we had already seen him in Trigger more than a year ago. I didn't think we needed this whole explanation for how Ribut, Tartarus and Diavolo ended up in Trigger's world, especially since I think most of us thought this took place after the Trigger UGF tie-ins
-The initial way this released I think really hurt a lot of the interest and hype for this, with both the JP and EN versions locked to subscription services. It's weird too how the JP version was released as weekly episodes, while the EN version released as a full movie, which meant both sides ended up getting spoiled in some way or another

[Enchilada645]

I'd say UFG 1 and UGF 3 are tied for me with UGF 3 edging it out just barely. And UGF 2 is at the very bottom.

As someone who hadn't watched R/B when New Generation Heroes was airing, it still felt incredibly odd to me that Rosso, Blu, and Grigio were kinda just there and sorta placed on like a "low level" status of sorts in terms of their presence. Like I get they're the new guys but they really went hard on "They're the new guys" to an annoying degree where I finally felt some relief after Rosso and Blu got to have some cool moments alongside Grigio showing her stuff towards the very end.

Meanwhile UGF3, pretty much everyone gets their turn to shine and do some cool things. Even some surprising people like Astra who I just stared with my eyes wide saying "He's doing something!". This is especially important after watching the Mebius OP with him included in the lineup of Ultramen who all cameo in different ways only for him to show up at the very end doing a combo beam with Leo for like 3 seconds of screen time.

But yeah, I also feel like... UGF3 just got rid of the fluff the Absolute Conspiracy was doing? Like, the beginning and end of the Absolute Conspiracy were pretty alright. The issue was the middle part dragging and the mystery/power of the Absolutians sort of just wearing its welcome to where I really couldn't care less about Tartar Sauce.

Destined Crossroad meanwhile sets up the stakes from the last one near immediately, gives us a few major points of what we need to do, runs through them while giving us cool other ideas and stuff, and doesn't let go until the very end.

Also I didn't really mind it ending on a "This took place before Trigger" footnote, purely because New Generation Heroes and Absolute Conspiracy both ended the exact same way so I already expected that. Just like I expected this was a middle installment given out of all the Absolutian warriors teased in that one poster at the very end of Absolute Conspiracy, we only got Diavolo and Titan, not the female silhouette and if she didn't show up at all then that meant we weren't done in the slightest.

Speaking of Absolutians though, Titan was a pleasant surprise after being kind of "meh" on Diavolo after his debut in Trigger. I suppose I prefer the knightly type to the brute force type when it comes to these two in particular. Titan's clashes with Ribut were nice to see and I really want both of them to become friends.

Anyway other than that, my thoughts would all kind of go into ramblings of "This is so cool!" to like nearly everything. So I'll probably just end it here for now. Maybe another post.

[Kurona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Just like I expected this was a middle installment given out of all the Absolutian warriors teased in that one poster at the very end of Absolute Conspiracy, we only got Diavolo and Titan, not the female silhouette and if she didn't show up at all then that meant we weren't done in the slightest.

Oh, about that. They stated that the female absolutian was scrapped due to I believe time constraints; she was meant to appear in this but those plans got canned. I assume Gina Spectre is here to take her place

[Enchilada645]

Oh huh... did not know that.

That's an absolute shame.

Though I did enjoy Gina Spectre's plotline with Grigio, so I suppose it wasn't really that big of a loss tbh.

[Byg42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also I didn't really mind it ending on a "This took place before Trigger" footnote, purely because New Generation Heroes and Absolute Conspiracy both ended the exact same way so I already expected that.

If the next UGF ends in a lead up to Decker, that especially is going to feel a little weird given the explicit timegap between Trigger and Decker. Like the timeframe between UGF2 and UGF3 already feels a little wonky given that the entirety of Z happens somewhere in the middle of it.