My Journey's Start to Ultraman

[Fantasy Leader]

In the past, I've seen various episodes of Ultraman shows. But just a few weeks ago, I finally decided to sit down and watch my first full Ultraman series, Ultraman Nexus. Yes, I'm one of those guys.

I was pretty bored and was itching to watch a new toku that I could enjoy. A lot of people had recommended Nexus to me, telling me that while it's a deviation to Ultra, it had a lot of elements I loved in toku. And well, the people who recommended it to me ended up being right. I really enjoyed Nexus a lot. It somewhat felt like the third coming of Kuuga and Agito to me. The characters were all so lovable and played by excellent actors. And the plots were all very creative. The show had like the aggressiveness that shows like 555 and Kabuto have, except well, Nexus to my surprise did a very good job with what it did, whereas 555 and Kabuto failed imo. And while Nexus certainly was a deviation, I didn't feel like it was THAT much of a deviation (unlike the majority of the Metal Heroes). I felt like it was a pretty cool spin on it's own formula.

Lately, I've been thinking if I should check out a second series at all. Basically, I've always been a big Sentai fan, and I particularly love the shows where the team feels like a family. I've seen various episodes of each of the main Ultra shows, and this is what my experience has brought me so far:

Ultraman: Seems like a decent show. But honestly, I feel more drawn to Seven.

Ultraseven: Seen a few eps, and I must say it's quite good. Very high quality toku stuff.~ Plus, I like how the Ultra in this is actually a human in disguise. I feel like it brings more emotion and character to the hero.

Leo: Looks okay. Seems pretty dark. And the action looks good. But aside from that, I haven't quite found anything for it to draw me in yet.

Tiga: The backstories for this show sound pretty interesting. And I know that Tiga is a fan favorite. Though I felt somewhat bored from the few eps I saw. And the main character didn't really interest me all that much.

Gaia: This show seems decent. And I heard the whole Gaia vs Agul stuff is some of the best stuff ever. I'll admit, this is one of the shows that sounds a bit more interesting.

Neos: Seems decent, but not entirely sure how to feel about it. It's a show I rarely ever hear people talk about. I love the ending song.

Cosmos: I'm really not sure how to feel about this show from the few eps I saw. And I realized that people seem very divided on this show.

Max: Same as Cosmos. Not sure how to feel about it. And people seem quite divided on it from what I've seen. Though Max did seem a bit more fun to watch than Cosmos.

Mebius: Hailed as the best anniversary show ever. I admit, I'm kinda curious to know what all the hype is about. The first few eps were okay, but they haven't quite caught my attention.

Ultra Bros Movies: Not a series, but I keep hearing great things about them.

 

[Shoichi]

most Ultra series from Tiga onwards up-profiled the role and the characterizations of the defence team members in the series. prior to that most series' defence teams existed as nothing but cardboard fodder.

the entertainment is always there but the storytelling really did begin to pick up from Tiga onwards.

 

[Fantasy Leader]

most Ultra series from Tiga onwards up-profiled the role and the characterizations of the defence team members in the series. prior to that most series' defence teams existed as nothing but cardboard fodder.

the entertainment is always there but the storytelling really did begin to pick up from Tiga onwards.

Oh, I see. Maybe I'll play around a bit more with the Heisei stuff then. Though Seven still seems quite good.

 

[Shynilyte]

A lot of people had recommended Nexus to me, telling me that while it's a deviation to Ultra, it had a lot of elements I loved in toku. (...) And while Nexus certainly was a deviation, I didn't feel like it was THAT much of a deviation (unlike the majority of the Metal Heroes). I felt like it was a pretty cool spin on it's own formula.

At least where major themes are concerned, Nexus doesn't deviate too far from Ultraman in general.

Ultraseven: Seen a few eps, and I must say it's quite good. Very high quality toku stuff.~ Plus, I like how the Ultra in this is actually a human in disguise. I feel like it brings more emotion and character to the hero.

Wha? Seven/Dan is an alien. Or did you mean to say "is disguised as a human"?

Tiga: The backstories for this show sound pretty interesting. And I know that Tiga is a fan favorite. Though I felt somewhat bored from the few eps I saw. And the main character didn't really interest me all that much.

Try Dyna, then. You don't really need to know much about Tiga to be able to follow it, and at least in my experience, there's less feel of slowness. But maybe that's due to the soundtrack. At least he Spheres-related episodes are pretty decent.

 

[Shoichi]

Oh, I see. Maybe I'll play around a bit more with the Heisei stuff then. Though Seven still seems quite good.

As a huge Seven fan I'd say go for it. :laugh:

 

[Fantasy Leader]

Wha? Seven/Dan is an alien. Or did you mean to say "is disguised as a human"?

Yeah, my bad.

 

[Daikamonohashi]

most Ultra series from Tiga onwards up-profiled the role and the characterizations of the defence team members in the series. prior to that most series' defence teams existed as nothing but cardboard fodder.

No, the older shows gave their supporting characters plenty of development.

 

[Kamen Rider IXA]

I have watched most of Heisei Ultra by now.

Ultraman - It's a sci-fi show, but I found it a bit boring. Probably because I watch a lot of eps per day.

Tiga - Good series. Serious enough, but lack of dynamic story makes it boring. I think you will enjoy series in best way, if you watch it slowly.

Dyna - I can't say it's much more DYNAmic, but a bit more entertaining, I guess. Being not as dark as Tiga, it's still a good show (probably my third favorite, after Nexus and Mebius) and the final part... is just badass. It really is.

Gaia - I didn't enjoy this series as much as Tiga and Dyna. It has some kind of story, but I couldn't understand much of it without subs. In addition, Agul has appeared only in 4-5 (If I remember correctly) episodes, during first half.

Nexus - No cooments here. Anyone, who calls himself a Tokufan should watch this. Best Toku, ever.

Mebius - One of the best Ultra Series. This is how anniversary should be done. Lots of interesting characters, good storylines, lots of characters from Showa Series.

Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle - Good series about Kaiju. Second season is much better, than first one. I found both season enjoyable.

Zero Movies - The most expensive TokuMovies, nowdays. Everyone should try them, but only after Mebius and UltraGalaxy. Third film has Dyna and Cosmos, so it's better to also watch them, before Ultraman Saga.

 

[Shynilyte]

Yeah, my bad.

Well, 80, Leo and Mebius were also aliens disguised as humans instead of aliens merged with humans, so those might be interesting for you too. 80 tried to give the main character an even more complicated life by having also work as a teacher outside of his monster fighting duties, since he believed human hatred was the reason earth is always threatened by kaiju, and he wanted to teach kids to be better people.

At least, that's what I read. I only saw 80's episodes like... 12-13 years ago now.

Dyna - I can't say it's much more DYNAmic, but a bit more entertaining, I guess. Being not as dark as Tiga, it's still a good show (probably my third favorite, after Nexus and Mebius) and the final part... is just badass. It really is.

Dyna has more interesting powers than Tiga, too. I mean c'mon, knocking things into another dimension (Revolium wave) is way cooler than throwing lightning. And Dyna can attack things during his transformation.

Gaia - I didn't enjoy this series as much as Tiga and Dyna. It has some kind of story, but I couldn't understand much of it without subs. In addition, Agul has appeared only in 4-5 (If I remember correctly) episodes, during first half.

Yeah, there really needs to be subs for this.

Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle - Good series about Kaiju. Second season is much better, than first one. I found both season enjoyable.

I found the overuse of Gomora a bit disappointing. Should've shown off other kaiju a little more.

Zero Movies - The most expensive TokuMovies, nowdays.

Wait, most expensive? Really?

 

[Scissors]

Mebius: Hailed as the best anniversary show ever. I admit, I'm kinda curious to know what all the hype is about. The first few eps were okay, but they haven't quite caught my attention.

Did you get to the Bogal/Hikari arc?
Those episodes were pretty much the writers telling us "THIS is how great the show is going to be!"

After this arc, the show did slow down a little bit, but I did not mind that at all, because they did it to put more flesh on the characters. I don't think there was a single character that didn't get some kind of focus. Even the wacky GUYS leader got some (God I loved that guy!)
Mebius really had some of the best casts I have seen in an Ultraman show.

Do yourself a favour and keep watching.
After episode 24 or so, the show really kicks in, and you start getting the tribute episodes for the Showa ultras, as well as the build-up for the big bad.