Ultraman Flies into American Theaters in 2017!

[Dr Kain]

I'm not, but it isn't being shown in my area until next weekend.

 

[Dr Kain]

So tonight we went to see the Ultraman double feature despite my earlier woes.



First, the postives:

Both movies were highly enjoyable and have re-ignited my interest in Ultraman. In fact, I wish I could go back in time and stop mysel from getting rid of my Tiga DVDs I sold to a second hand shop for $1.50 a piece. Secondly, Ultraman Zero was pretty cool looking (and he looks quite reminiscent of Seven), so I really want to check out his respective series. Of course, I'm curious to see X and Ginga as well, epecially since I would be able to enjoy the characters a lot better.

Now the thing I found interesting is that X had a much better plot while Ginga had better action. The plot for X was enjoyable and the dude in the Indiana Jones get up looks quite familar (as does the archeologist lady). I couldn't help but laugh at the card game system though, which made me expect to hear the computer shout, "Ultraman Dededededecade." It was awesome getting to see Tiga and Nexus on screen again and there were some pretty wicked shots. However, the evacuation scene was quite pathetic. People would just leisurely walking instead of running.

Ginga's plot was pretty generic and by the book of what we have seen from Japanese stories hundreds of times, but the movie really excelled in its action. The camera work and miniature were utterly spectacular and I loved the different backgrounds used for the castle levels. The villain, albeit also generic, was quite awesome and he looked bad ass. Loved the scarf. Oh, and wow, I did not expect to see Yellow Buster in this, so that was cool. The other aspect I liked more in this is that each of the Ultramen really got a moment to shine compared to X.

Now the negatives:

I won't take any points off for character development because come on, let's face it, these movies are made specifically for the people who have watched the shows. However, OH... MY.. GOD.. THAT.. DUB. Did William Shatner direct the dub? The only one that seemed to actually be putting emotion into his dialog was the commander dude in X. Everyone else was more wooden than a forest. The worst goes to the scientist lady in X who paused like every three words (not that anyone was better, but she was the worst). I knew they were going to be bad, but not THAT bad! Hell, the Toho dubs from the Godzilla Heisei movies were better than the dubs to this duo. Oh, and the male scietiest in X sounded like Krillin from Dragon Ball Abridged. Anyway, they show exactly why you can not dub live action. UGH!! I hope these are released on BD with their Japanese tracks intact because I will most certainly buy them if so.

That aside, I'm going to give the X movie an 8/10 and the Ginga movie a 7/10. Like I said, they're got me wanting to get back into Ultraman again (which is kind of bad since I don't have the time for it) so this summer I am definitely going to finally watch my DVDs of the original series.

 

[Toku Prime]

(as does the archeologist lady)

If you owned Tiga DVDs in the past then she certainly should seem familiar. The actress previously played Rena, the female lead in that series. She is also IRL the daughter of the actor who played Shin Hayata, the human host (and series lead) of the original Ultraman.

When the X movie came out in Japan both the original Ultraman and Tiga were celebrating anniversary years. Which is probably why they got her back and why those are the two "guest star" Ultramen in that movie.

 

[Dr Kain]

If you owned Tiga DVDs in the past then she certainly should seem familiar. The actress previously played Rena, the female lead in that series. She is also IRL the daughter of the actor who played Shin Hayata, the human host (and series lead) of the original Ultraman.

Ahhhhh that must be it, thank you.

When the X movie came out in Japan both the original Ultraman and Tiga were celebrating anniversary years. Which is probably why they got her back and why those are the two "guest star" Ultramen in that movie.

Whoa, Tiga was 96? I thought it was alot older than that.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Secondly, Ultraman Zero was pretty cool looking (and he looks quite reminiscent of Seven), so I really want to check out his respective series.

He doesn't have a traditional series. Despite being the face of Ultraman for like five years, it was when Tsuburaya was really hurting for money, so they could only afford a handful of productions a year. His claim to fame is that he was the star of three big budget (for toku) movies, Ultra Galaxy Legends, Ultraman Zero the Movie, and Ultraman Saga. In addition, each movie had a two episode prologue v-cinema release. He also had a microseries that aired in 3 minute episodes attached to Ultraman Retsuden, a glorified rerun block.

 

[Dr Kain]

So what is the proper viewing order for Zero?

Speaking of which, today I was subbing for a fourth grade classroom that I sub for all of the time and some of the students were showing off presentations they were working on. One of them has done one on the original Ultraman series and started showing off several pictures of the monsters, with their names, telling them what order they apeared in, who they are, and then he talks about his favorites (the original, Seven, and Taro). It was quite awesome to see a 9 year old not only love the original series, but even make a presentation about it to share with the rest of the class.

 

[urugoji]

The order for Zero goes:

Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie
Ultra Galaxy Legend Gaiden: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero (V-Cinema)
Ultraman Zero the Movie: Revenge of Belial
Ultraman Zero Side Story: Killer the Beatstar (V-Cinema)
Ultraman Saga
Ultra Zero Fight (the really short thing they were talking about)

After that, he has the cameo in the Ginga S movie and a whole episode about him in X, which is why he shows up in that movie, too.

 

[Dr Kain]

Thanks.