My Journey's Start to Ultraman

[Toku Prime]

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.

...which means I'll probably never bother with the older series then. I abandoned Tiga after 6 episodes and Max after 10 for exactly the same reason - the main human casts seem to have the mental age of pre-schoolers, they do the same damn thing every week even though it never works (ooh there's a monster, let's fly at it. Oh it disappeared. Oh look it's back, let's fly at it. Oh no it knocked us out of the sky. Hey where'd that new guy go? :nooo and by and large the acting is waaay below that of Rider or Sentai. I'd seen Neos which was the same, but at least I could chalk that up to it being a straight to DVD mini-series. Tiga and Max had no excuse. Maybe one day I'll give them another shot, but so far the only thing I can recommend about them is to listen to Max's theme tune, which is admittedly awesome.

I'm currently a half dozen episodes into Mebius/Moebius and I have to say, so far, it's really enjoyable. I'd recommend that any day if it stays like this. This is the first Ultra series I've tried that didn't seem like a chore to watch, so I'm hoping it will convert me to the franchise.

 

[Shoichi]

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

save for the first 3 series, I'm not sure I knew much about the TAC, ZAT, MAC and UGM fellows at the end of their respective series, especially in Leo. I really felt nothing when MAC was obliterated by Silver Bloom, except wonder if I was ever going to see Ultraseven again.

...which means I'll probably never bother with the older series then. I abandoned Tiga after 6 episodes and Max after 10 for exactly the same reason - the main human casts seem to have the mental age of pre-schoolers, they do the same damn thing every week even though it never works (ooh there's a monster, let's fly at it. Oh it disappeared. Oh look it's back, let's fly at it. Oh no it knocked us out of the sky. Hey where'd that new guy go? :nooo and by and large the acting is waaay below that of Rider or Sentai. I'd seen Neos which was the same, but at least I could chalk that up to it being a straight to DVD mini-series. Tiga and Max had no excuse.

I didn't like Max but I absolutely loved Tiga. Give it another try. It's what revived the Ultraman genre after 16 years of inactivity on TV screens.

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.

Hahahaha.. the Ultraman teacher thing lasted only about 8 episodes IIRC. I guess 80 couldn't handle 3 jobs at one go (being Yamato, being a teacher, being a UGM member)

 

[Scissors]

...which means I'll probably never bother with the older series then. I abandoned Tiga after 6 episodes and Max after 10 for exactly the same reason - the main human casts seem to have the mental age of pre-schoolers, they do the same damn thing every week even though it never works (ooh there's a monster, let's fly at it. Oh it disappeared. Oh look it's back, let's fly at it. Oh no it knocked us out of the sky. Hey where'd that new guy go? :nooo and by and large the acting is waaay below that of Rider or Sentai.

Thats one of the reasons why I always loved the Night Raiders (the defence team in Nexus)
They actually DID do ****, blow up monsters and stuff, and I always loved that they actually treated Ultraman as an enemy through the first half of the show.
The only person I couldn't stand was Nagi, who seemed to be a ***** just for the sake of it.

 

[Fantasy Leader]

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.

Nope, I only watched the first 4 eps of Mebius. When does that arc happen?

the main human casts seem to have the mental age of pre-schoolers, they do the same damn thing every week even though it never works (ooh there's a monster, let's fly at it. Oh it disappeared. Oh look it's back, let's fly at it. Oh no it knocked us out of the sky. Hey where'd that new guy go? :nooo and by and large the acting is waaay below that of Rider or Sentai.

:laugh:

I think the actors from what I have seen seem fine. But there have certainly been some characters that I didn't care much for, and that's mostly due to how their written or presented.

Thats one of the reasons why I always loved the Night Raiders (the defence team in Nexus)
They actually DID do ****, blow up monsters and stuff, and I always loved that they actually treated Ultraman as an enemy through the first half of the show.
The only person I couldn't stand was Nagi, who seemed to be a ***** just for the sake of it.

YES :thumbs:

I actually liked Nagi at the start surprisingly. Yeah, she was a *****. But thanks to her actor, she felt believable and actually had stuff going on inside of her, that I was actually able to forgive her at the start. It also helped that Komon wasn't the guy who always took lip from her. I feel like Nagi was executed far better than a lot of those assholes in some of those Heisei Rider seasons (Kusaka, Hajime, Tendou, Nago, Diend, Ankh, etc). :laugh:

 

[Burkion]

For those comments about the Kaiju Defense teams being useless, that's only true after UltraSeven.

The Ultra Garrison are arguably the single most competent defense team ever in the franchise and I am including Crew GUYS and the Night Raiders.

Many, many episodes involve them saving/assisting Seven as much as he does it for them, and this even continues in the finale. Only rarely are they ever canon fodder, to the point where I can't think of a good example off hand except maybe The Brave One and even then they were instrumental to Seven defeating Crazygon.

 

[KingRanger]

Mebius/moebius takes a little to get into, but then it just rocks. It's also one that is more enjoyed if you have seen some of the older series.

 

[Shoichi]

For those comments about the Kaiju Defense teams being useless, that's only true after UltraSeven.

The Ultra Garrison are arguably the single most competent defense team ever in the franchise and I am including Crew GUYS and the Night Raiders.

Many, many episodes involve them saving/assisting Seven as much as he does it for them, and this even continues in the finale. Only rarely are they ever canon fodder, to the point where I can't think of a good example off hand except maybe The Brave One and even then they were instrumental to Seven defeating Crazygon.

well, that's what I said. :laugh: MAT - UGM are mostly cannon fodder with MAC being the worst of the lot.

 

[Scissors]

Nope, I only watched the first 4 eps of Mebius. When does that arc happen?

I believe it is episode 6 or 7.
I am pretty sure its before episode 10.

 

[Zelalem]

Fantasy Leader, Have you seen Ginga? If so, what do you think of it so far?

 

[Mr. Rhythmic]

As a die hard Ultra fan, these would be my picks for shows to get into.
You already did "Nexus," which is good.

Ultraman: Not only can you not go wrong with the classic, but it's still one of the best, and now I would consider it one of the most underrated. While it's not brooding and filled with ongoing story arcs, almost every episode is a blast. Tsuburaya shows off its creative muscles here, with a great combination of monsters, scifi, and fun characters that you grow to love. Still the definitive series for me.

Ultraseven: A classic on different terms. The characters are very well established, and you really get some amazing and dramatic moments with Dan. I haven't seen the complete series yet, but every episode I have seen has been brilliant.

Ultraman Tiga: Arguably the best of the Heisei shows, and a great start for people new to the mythos. It combines a lot of the elements of the classic shows, but adds in newer elements to the mix. The final 10 episodes are unbelievably epic, and results in one final showdown between good and evil. Afterwards, try to watch the movie "Neverending Oddyssey," which is also fantastic.

Ultraman Mebius: This is a great show for a beginner to get a crash course on Ultra history. It delves into the mythos without forcing it on you, allowing you to both enjoy it and get even more interested in the classic seasons.

I'd personally start with those.