[DISCUSSION] Ultraman Decker

[Toku Prime]

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Another year and another Ultraman series has begun. I get the impression that the response so far has been more positive than Trigger, but what do you think?

 

[scikaiju]

I'm liking it so far, the characters are all fairly interesting so far. Of course the Sphere here did something their counterparts in Dyna never did and create a barrier that keeps humans from going into space sp that's a plus in my book. And if they ever explain why they want to keep humanity out of space, I saw the Nihon subs for Dyna a couple of years ago and I don't recall if they explained why or not there, but that will be another huge plus in my book.

If I'm being honest here I always felt that Trigger's biggest issue was that tghere was so much lore from Tiga, the mysterious lady in white, the fight against the darkness, to things that came later like the three giants and Tiga's dark history, that they had to incorporate and update. Ahain it's been a couple of years but Dyna never seemed to have that much so Decker pretty much has a blank slate.

 

[Dr Kain]

This show sucks right now. Episode 5 was the first and only good episode thus far and then it was ruined by a clipshow following it. Yet again Tsuburaya shows their laziness and there is no Covid or Olympics to make excuses with this year. What's even worse is the clipshow introduced this character that we have never heard of before, who was apparently the creator of the Nursedessi even though the bratty dude in Trigger said he designed it. Decker himself is boring and once more they're using non-Dyna monsters for a Dyna tribute show.

And what is going on with the Earth beign encassed by the Sphere? How are they getting sunlight? How have they not suffocated from the complete environmental change? Everyone is just ignoring this nonchantly as if nothing happened at all. Them encasing the Earth should be detrimental, but everyone is just acting like it's just a minor inconvenience. Where is the threat? Where is the urgency to fix the issue now?

 

[Captain Shark]

This series is based and I'm glad that unlike Rider and Sentai I haven't dropped this.

Yet again Tsuburaya shows their laziness and there is no Covid or Olympics to make excuses with this year.

The clipshows air during a major holiday, that's why they don't air regulars episodes at that time.

Decker himself is boring

They seem to be using a more mystery angle to him compared to other Ultras, he doesn't speak his dialogue rather his host states it out loud giving a more intangible and alien way of communicating.

 

[Toku Prime]

Episode six included an appearance by some Twin Tails, which don't serve any purpose to the story and are only seen in shadows. That is apparently because the director really likes that monster and wanted to include it, but the old suit was declared unusable and they wouldn't make another one just because he wanted his favourite monster in the show. So that is a toy Twin Tail, replicated many times via effects, hiding in the darkness.

This episode also included a little technological milestone. You may have heard about the Star Wars TV shows using really high-resolution screens in their studios to show a background, rather than a normal green screen. Apparently Tsuburaya have now got one and the underground sequence in Decker's sixth episode was the first time it was used.

I feel like Decker's cast are more enjoyable than Trigger's and the series benefits from not trying to bash us over the head with rehashed lore from the series it's drawing from.

Yet again Tsuburaya shows their laziness and there is no Covid or Olympics to make excuses with this year.

Last weekend was Obon a.k.a. that summer festival that gets mentioned all the time in toku and anime. Apparently TV viewership completely crashes during the festival period. Whatever they broadcast, there was no point in putting much effort in because their audience isn't tuning in that week.

So from a TV production point of view, this was an almost ideal time to deploy a clip show. The framing device featured two characters who are not a part of the main cast, so they could film this any time that a second unit is free without having to keep it in the primary crew's schedules. And it just uses a simple "back wall and some furniture" set that they could knock up on a smaller sound stage. Then any time or resources gained from this episode's simple production can be used to get ahead on post-production for later episodes.

And yes, that should tell you how little the 'Revice vs Juuga' plot really matters to Toei, if it was wrapped up during an episode that they know a lot of their viewers would skip.

Decker himself is boring and once more they're using non-Dyna monsters for a Dyna tribute show.

Eh, the reusing of monster suits is a well-established part of the franchise going back to the original Ultraman, and an established part of modern Ultraman production now that we're nine years beyond Ginga. It's probably why they have so many monsters that people remember, rather than Toei's endless one-shot monsters that are usually forgotten about as soon as the episode ends. Also, the monsters get included in the collectable gimmicks, so there's probably pressure from above to include them.

We will probably see Mons-Ahgar from episode four again in future seasons. They've mentioned in interviews that the new suit they made even includes hidden attachment points so that future productions have the option to turn it into a modified or super version if they wish to.

And what is going on with the Earth beign encassed by the Sphere? How are they getting sunlight? How have they not suffocated from the complete environmental change? Everyone is just ignoring this nonchantly as if nothing happened at all. Them encasing the Earth should be detrimental, but everyone is just acting like it's just a minor inconvenience. Where is the threat? Where is the urgency to fix the issue now?

I kinda like to think that it's like a Star Trek style shield, where it's normally invisible and you can only see it when it's struck. Yes, the shot of it forming around the the CGI Earth had a pink bubble to convey that there's something there, but they haven't put a pink filter over every outdoor scene since then, which is good because it'd make the show look terrible.

Also, there's been a one-year time-skip for people to get used to the situation. They're not still going to be screaming at the sky after that amount of time. Between the first and second episodes there was no active threat attacking people for all that time.

 

[Dr Kain]

Last weekend was Obon a.k.a. that summer festival that gets mentioned all the time in toku and anime. Apparently TV viewership completely crashes during the festival period. Whatever they broadcast, there was no point in putting much effort in because their audience isn't tuning in that week.

Donbrothers and Revice were regular episodes though...

So from a TV production point of view, this was an almost ideal time to deploy a clip show. The framing device featured two characters who are not a part of the main cast, so they could film this any time that a second unit is free without having to keep it in the primary crew's schedules.

Sorry, but in this day and age there is no excuse to have a clipshow anymore. People can DVR or stream the shows they watch, so having a clipshow is nothign more than a cheap gag.

Eh, the reusing of monster suits is a well-established part of the franchise going back to the original Ultraman, and an established part of modern Ultraman production now that we're nine years beyond Ginga. It's probably why they have so many monsters that people remember, rather than Toei's endless one-shot monsters that are usually forgotten about as soon as the episode ends. Also, the monsters get included in the collectable gimmicks, so there's probably pressure from above to include them.

I'm not talking about reusing the monster suits that is the issue though. I'm talking about both shows being new generation versions of Tiga and Dyna not using Tiga and Dyna monsters. For example, they could have used Geozark in the one episode of Trigger instead of Gubila. 90% of the monsters from TDG have never been seen since their original appearance. Instead of giving us Gomora 6000, Red King 856, etc, they should be focusing on TDG specific monsters.

Like when are we going to see the likes of Giranbo, Leilons, Raybeak, Kyuranos, Fohgus, Grossyna, Reicubas, Digon, Maricula, and Naltis again?

I kinda like to think that it's like a Star Trek style shield, where it's normally invisible and you can only see it when it's struck. Yes, the shot of it forming around the the CGI Earth had a pink bubble to convey that there's something there, but they haven't put a pink filter over every outdoor scene since then, which is good because it'd make the show look terrible.

I just mean what are the after effects from it? Like is it removing the oxygen from the atmosphere because plants can't grown? Did anything legitimate actually happen beyond just minor inconveniences? Oh no, we can't travel to or from space, how terrible.

Also, there's been a one-year time-skip for people to get used to the situation. They're not still going to be screaming at the sky after that amount of time. Between the first and second episodes there was no active threat attacking people for all that time.

Dude, we're more than two years after a pandemic hit and society is still going nuts from it. There is no getting used to the situation. If the entire Earth was engulffed, people would sure has hell not be acting nonchalantly about it, even after a year.

 

[Captain Shark]

in this day and age there is no excuse to have a clipshow anymore.

Honestly clipshows are a nice return to form compared to the dreck we got in the 2010s like double length episodes or not having opening or ending themes in some episodes or being super political for no reason or being pulled after only four episodes (not sure if that's just a FOX sitcom thing but still).

Dude, we're more than two years after a pandemic hit and society is still going nuts from it.

I don't know where you live, but my area's general population gave up the masks even when delta and omicron were roaring. Nobody cared then or now, almost as if it never happened.

If the entire Earth was engulffed, people would sure has hell not be acting nonchalantly about it, even after a year.

Smart people worthy of being mensa candidates maybe, but the average joe? They'll stop caring within a month. Things don't last in the news longer than a week.

 

[BBally81]

The first part of this multi-part Decker-Trigger crossover was quite good, looking forward to the next part.

To be honest, I don't mind that Decker himself is presented as sort of a silent Ultra at this time as it adds a hint of mystery to him like some of the classic series.

 

[BBally81]

while not perfect, this two-parter was pretty good and a really good crossover at that. While Decker definitely feels like a course correction for Trigger, the show did not treat the Trigger casts like they're lesser than them. It helps that Decker's showrunner also directed Ultraman Trigger: Episode Z, which many consider to be the best thing to come out of Trigger.

So far, Decker seems to getting a more positive reception than Trigger judging by its reviews on Amazon Japan's Prime Video.

 

[Dr Kain]

I'll be watching 7 and 8 tonight, but I hope they actually remembered to put Tiga and Dyna monsters into their crossover.