Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2011
- Messages
- 525
I watched the series a while ago, but I decided to re-watch some random episodes today. Man, it's bizarre how much I love this show. It's extremely odd, and yet so endearing. It embraces its individuality of its characters, and even throws many classic tropes out the window (the superhero is the goofy sidekick, the main action hero is a total douche, etc.), leaving everything feeling new and fresh.
The main hero, Gentaro Shizuka, is a straight up douche. The show even admits to it at points. He slaps women regularly, forcefully makes out with a nun, and even randomly kills a horse. The show actually feels like this was the point, as it's nothing but pure entertainment. He's the man's man's man's man, in his spaghetti Western outfit with a super powered whip. Gentaro is also a surprising character, in that he actually fights the monsters despite having no powers. Every episode he fights side by side with Iron King, and even kills a large amount of the monsters, even some monsters too powerful for Iron King. Nothing says 'cool' like swinging off a giant monster's horn, and then kicking them in the face. Even the fights he has with others his size do nothing but show how he's virtually Brock Samson in a cowboy hat.
So if Gentaro isn't Iron King, who is? Iron King is, amazingly enough, the bumbling sidekick, Goro Kirishima. The central reason why the show still works, despite Gentaro being naturally unlikable, is because of Goro being such the opposite. He's kind, soft spoken, silly, and treats everyone with respect. His character stays a mystery until the finale, but what we do know is that he is more powerful than he leads on. His weakness as Iron King is a good one. Iron King is powered by hydrogen oxide, and his water supply decreases rapidly. That means fire themed monsters, or one with a lot of explosives at their disposal, cause Iron King to weaken more than the average creature. So the amount of time Iron King has to fight really depends on the scenario. Goro makes for both a great and unexpected hero, and really is the heart of the show.
The villains are very distinctive, with this show being an early example of "Various villain organizations." Even better, two of the three groups are actually humans. The three groups are the Shiranui Clan (an exiled group of people who want to avenge their ancestors by wiping out Japan), the Phantom Militia (a group of revolutionists who want to destroy the Japanese government), and the Titanians (aliens in top hats that, surprise, want to conquer the earth). Despite some abnormal defeats (one soldier knocked out by a piece of bread), the Shiranui Clan and Phantom Militia are very menacing villains. They feel real, and their goals for domination don't have the same generic sense of many Toku villains. They really have no morals, killing doctors in cold blood, attempting to murder a nun, destroying sanctuaries, and other rather evil deeds. But just as well, these actions never feel forced. Instead they feel like the delusional "The needs of the many" outlook that shows the twisted ideals of the villains. The Titanians are, well, interesting to say the least. They aren't as compelling villains, but they're a lot of fun to watch run around and scream "TITANIA!"
The monsters change with the factions, but all of them are perfectly out-there and strange. The designs are simpler than, say, a Tsubuya-designed monster, and yet that lends itself to even crazier themes and looks. One of my favorite opponents for Iron King was Caprigon, the Marathon Monster. It's never explained why or how, but Caprigon just loves running. His fight with Iron King is literally a race, but with punches. A race to where? Why all the running? Because shut up, that's why. Monsters like that are all throughout the series, and it makes it even better when the creatures are ridiculous, and yet the episode's story is dark in tone. Caprigon arrives in an episode all about a doctor's duty to their patients, and Gentaro's desperation to save a doctor who won't leave the battlefield. A tragic moment happens near the end, and we then cut to Caprigon running around in circles. Beautiful.
The fight scenes are just as wacky, and are far lower in budget than the average Ultraman fan is used to. The low budget does nothing but make the scenes more enjoyable. There's a 'hard work' feel to those scenes, and you just can't help but appreciate the stunts, locations, and inventive ways used to make effects we now take for granted.
Overall, I adore this show. I can watch it every few years and yet still get the same feeling of fun and wonder with the series as I did the first time I watched it.
The main hero, Gentaro Shizuka, is a straight up douche. The show even admits to it at points. He slaps women regularly, forcefully makes out with a nun, and even randomly kills a horse. The show actually feels like this was the point, as it's nothing but pure entertainment. He's the man's man's man's man, in his spaghetti Western outfit with a super powered whip. Gentaro is also a surprising character, in that he actually fights the monsters despite having no powers. Every episode he fights side by side with Iron King, and even kills a large amount of the monsters, even some monsters too powerful for Iron King. Nothing says 'cool' like swinging off a giant monster's horn, and then kicking them in the face. Even the fights he has with others his size do nothing but show how he's virtually Brock Samson in a cowboy hat.
So if Gentaro isn't Iron King, who is? Iron King is, amazingly enough, the bumbling sidekick, Goro Kirishima. The central reason why the show still works, despite Gentaro being naturally unlikable, is because of Goro being such the opposite. He's kind, soft spoken, silly, and treats everyone with respect. His character stays a mystery until the finale, but what we do know is that he is more powerful than he leads on. His weakness as Iron King is a good one. Iron King is powered by hydrogen oxide, and his water supply decreases rapidly. That means fire themed monsters, or one with a lot of explosives at their disposal, cause Iron King to weaken more than the average creature. So the amount of time Iron King has to fight really depends on the scenario. Goro makes for both a great and unexpected hero, and really is the heart of the show.
The villains are very distinctive, with this show being an early example of "Various villain organizations." Even better, two of the three groups are actually humans. The three groups are the Shiranui Clan (an exiled group of people who want to avenge their ancestors by wiping out Japan), the Phantom Militia (a group of revolutionists who want to destroy the Japanese government), and the Titanians (aliens in top hats that, surprise, want to conquer the earth). Despite some abnormal defeats (one soldier knocked out by a piece of bread), the Shiranui Clan and Phantom Militia are very menacing villains. They feel real, and their goals for domination don't have the same generic sense of many Toku villains. They really have no morals, killing doctors in cold blood, attempting to murder a nun, destroying sanctuaries, and other rather evil deeds. But just as well, these actions never feel forced. Instead they feel like the delusional "The needs of the many" outlook that shows the twisted ideals of the villains. The Titanians are, well, interesting to say the least. They aren't as compelling villains, but they're a lot of fun to watch run around and scream "TITANIA!"
The monsters change with the factions, but all of them are perfectly out-there and strange. The designs are simpler than, say, a Tsubuya-designed monster, and yet that lends itself to even crazier themes and looks. One of my favorite opponents for Iron King was Caprigon, the Marathon Monster. It's never explained why or how, but Caprigon just loves running. His fight with Iron King is literally a race, but with punches. A race to where? Why all the running? Because shut up, that's why. Monsters like that are all throughout the series, and it makes it even better when the creatures are ridiculous, and yet the episode's story is dark in tone. Caprigon arrives in an episode all about a doctor's duty to their patients, and Gentaro's desperation to save a doctor who won't leave the battlefield. A tragic moment happens near the end, and we then cut to Caprigon running around in circles. Beautiful.
The fight scenes are just as wacky, and are far lower in budget than the average Ultraman fan is used to. The low budget does nothing but make the scenes more enjoyable. There's a 'hard work' feel to those scenes, and you just can't help but appreciate the stunts, locations, and inventive ways used to make effects we now take for granted.
Overall, I adore this show. I can watch it every few years and yet still get the same feeling of fun and wonder with the series as I did the first time I watched it.
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