This Week: While investigating the curious case of a vanishing monster. Haruki meets Kaori, a mysterious woman glaring at an old ferris wheel. Meanwhile, people are going missing from the town one after another... What's the truth behind the case? And just who exactly is Kaori?
Remember, this is a SPOILER ZONE! If you are trying to avoid spoilers, this is not the place for you. HOWEVER!This is not the place to discuss future episodes. You may discuss previous episodes, next-episode previews and related subjects, but stick to the episode at hand. Please be considerate of those who haven't watched ahead yet. Thank you
I really enjoyed this episode because it gave that dark mystery vibe Showa era series like Ultra Seven used to excel at.
As for anybody being confused of this being a sequel to the Ultra Q episode even though Ultra Q is supposed to be set in the main Showa universe, look at it in the same way the CG Ultraman anime is a sequel to the original 66 series but the later Ultra shows never happened or how the 90s Hesei Ultra Seven series is a follow up to the original Ultra Seven but isn't canon to the rest of the Showa series. That's the beauty of the Ultra Multiverse.
I enjoyed it, on it's own it was fine. Although I do wonder if I would have appreciated or even caught certain references if I've watched the original Ultra Q episode this is a squeal to. But it is kinda fun to think that particular episode and Z take place in the same universe, granted more than likely a simillar episode took place then covered up. Now is Miss Karou(sp) going to stick around or is she just a one and done character? It was probably just my take on the situation because it looked like there was a little something between them.
Heisei Ultraseven also referenced Oil Drinker from Ultraman Taro and this series referenced monsters from other Heisei timelines. What continuity is this? And I'm not just saying this as a guy who has covid brain. I'd ask this on /m/ too but a mod banned me for a week because posting 1d4chan is now considered being an ad bot (I swear as soon as I figure out how the **** to use Tor....). So yeah, what continuity is this? Taiga was confusing since it referenced Ultraman Jack, but is set place in Geed's timeline which is supposed to be different from the main continuity.
Heisei Ultraseven also referenced Oil Drinker from Ultraman Taro and this series referenced monsters from other Heisei timelines. What continuity is this? And I'm not just saying this as a guy who has covid brain. I'd ask this on /m/ too but a mod banned me for a week because posting 1d4chan is now considered being an ad bot (I swear as soon as I figure out how the **** to use Tor....). So yeah, what continuity is this? Taiga was confusing since it referenced Ultraman Jack, but is set place in Geed's timeline which is supposed to be different from the main continuity.
As far as we know, Z is set in a new different universe. The Ultras nowadays know each other (with some exception I think) since they can now travel to different universes it seems.
I will try to resist the urge to rave too much about Ultra Q as a whole. It's brilliant. It's under-appreciated. It, along with Ultraman and UltraSeven, are three of the most critical series for the development of toku as a genre. IMO every toku fan owes it to themselves to give it a try at some point.
I enjoyed it, on it's own it was fine. Although I do wonder if I would have appreciated or even caught certain references if I've watched the original Ultra Q episode this is a squeal to.
If you are outside North America (or know how to convince youtube that you are) then you can do so for free if you want, as Tsuburaya have also put the Ultra Q episode up on their youtube channel with English subs. That episode even has a guest star appearance from actor Akiji Kobayashi, who would go on to be the first ever team captain in Ultraman and then the mighty Tachibana Tobei in Kamen Rider.
But to answer your question, there is a lot in this episode that is drawn from the original Ultra Q episode:
A lot of the music is either directly re-used from the Ultra Q episode or is trying to imitate it's style. The lighting and direction is also different from usual and meant to recreate how it was typically done in Ultra Q.
The "people disappearing but actually being abducted" plot. One of the series' lead characters getting abducted. Being partially set in a theme park with a very similar ferris wheel The book "Challenge From The Year 2020" isn't just the name of the original episode but was a key part of that original episode The dress warn by the abducted girl is very similar to one worn by a woman in the original episode (though it's just inspiration - they're not meant to be the same character) The reference to "civilians working with police" at the end refers to the main trio of characters in Ultra Q working with a police officer to stop the Kemur plan.
Also, that monster at the beginning is from a different Ultra Q episode.
The real crazy thing is, while Tsuburaya only occasionally do episodes that are direct sequels to episodes of earlier shows, they do detailed homages to previous episodes all the dang time but never let on. So if you don't recognise it, you'd never know.
For example, the second episode of Ultraman R/B features a scene where Isami (Blu) gets caught under some rubble. The entire sequence is a painstaking recreation of a scene from the first episode of Return Of Ultraman. Why? No idea. It wasn't promoted as a way to get old-school Ultra fans to tune in. I guess they just did it so the tiny proportion of the audience that would recognise what it was would get a kick out of it.
Since Ultraman Zero debuted, the Ultraman franchise has officially been a multiverse where everything is equally in continuity.
Yes, it is a sticking plaster over a gaping wound.
All of the New Generation Ultra series have been set in different dimensions. When Geed appeared in Z, he mentions traveling from another dimension to Haruki's.
So that is the version of Riku from Geed. It's also the version of Juggler from Orb (and Orb Origin). But it's not the same planet Earth that either of those series (or any other) took place on. Heck, it might not even really be the same world that Ultra Q took place on, despite this episode.
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