The General Ultraman Discussion Thread

[Lynxara]

Could a similar ratings drop between Tiga and Dyna explain why Tsuburaya abandoned the Tiga Universe for a group of alternative universes? Which, ultimately, led them back to the traditional Showa Universe?

Probably not. Back when the original Ultra shows aired, there were fewer channels so pretty much all TV shows pulled ratings that are unimaginably high by today's standards. An Ultraman show hasn't pulled a ratings average over 10% at all since Ultraman 80.

Anyway, here's ratings averages for every show since Tiga.

Tiga: 7.3%
Dyna: 6.4%
Gaia: 6.2%
Cosmos: 5.6%
Neo: 5.3% (though remember that it aired all of... like, two episodes)
Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy: 1.8% (note this is a fairly average rating for a post-midnight timeslot)
Nexus: 3% (Nexus got aired in a pretty awful early-morning timeslot; I've heard that ratings were much better than this for late-night reruns, but I've never seen the numbers for it)
Max: 4%
Moebius: 3.8%
Ultraseven X: 1.6% (ran post-midnight like QDF did)
Ultra Galaxy: 1.2% (no context for numbers here, does anyone know when this show aired or if it ran on cable or something?)
Ultra Galaxy NEO: 1.4% (ditto)

The narrative I get from looking at these numbers is that Tiga brought Ultraman back from a fifteen-year absence and did fairly well, because a lot of people had never gotten to see a new Ultraman show before. After that, people started taking the franchise for granted and getting bored with it.

Everything Tsuburaya did from Gaia onward, in retrospect, really comes off like the company trying over and over to find a fresh approach to Ultraman that will get Japanese viewers excited about it again. Messing with the setting, messing with the tone, reviving Showa-- all ratings stunts.

There is clearly a die-hard audience for Ultra that will show up even for the late-night shows and Ultra Galaxy, though. I imagine the transformation of Ultraman into an annual film franchise is a result of Tsuburaya trying to find the most cost-effective way to cater to this audience and what it wants while also trying to find a way to grow the brand.

 

[knightphoenix2]

Hmmm ...

According to KouAidou, and Wikipedia; Mega Monster Battle, and NEO, were on a pay-per-view station.

When KouAidou first posted similar data a few months ago, I used his links to look up the ratings for the shows. It seems like whenever Tsuburaya had their "hiccups" between shows, the ratings took serious tumbles.

 

[Lynxara]

For PPV, the Ultra Galaxy numbers aren't bad at all.

 

[knightphoenix2]

I wonder why they never did a third season of Mega Monster Battle.

I'd seen that Tsuburaya had planned to do two twenty-six episode series after Ultra Galaxy Legend, one focusing on Zero and the other on Rei. But, apparently those plans fell through.

 

[okunohoshimichi]

So anyways.

I've been catching up on my Ultraman Ace....

And is there any reason UltraSeven is Super Jesus?


I say this, as a fan of UltraSeven....The **** is he so important in Ace.

This is what they really wanted to write for the hippo episode :169:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xB35d94184"]Ultraseven vs Hipporit - YouTube[/ame]

More awesomeness: http://forums.henshinjustice.net/showthread.php?t=62947

 

[Shteve]

Damn, that was a cool clip! Seven is a bad ass for sure. Just look at his appearances; his own series, showed up in the other Showa Ultra shows, had a butt load of his own movies and series, had a second series (X) and has guest starred in the last two movies. While he is not my personal favorite, I do like him a lot, and I think he is quite possibly the most popular Ultra by straight up numbers. Unless Tsubaraya is just shoving him down the public's throat! LOL, which I don't think they are doing. Just my two cents...

Steve

 

[Oblivion]

Can anyone explain to me why are there a few variation of the video that okuno posted? I believe I'd watched the one with Ultrafather going into the fight in the full movie. This one is definitely diferrent?

 

[Daikamonohashi]

Can anyone explain to me why are there a few variation of the video that okuno posted? I believe I'd watched the one with Ultrafather going into the fight in the full movie. This one is definitely diferrent?

The one that Oku posted is just a fan edit making it look like Seven single-handedly defeated Hippolito Seijin.

 

[okunohoshimichi]

There are many fan edit clips like that on Nicovideo. For those who have accesses to the site, I'd encourage you to watch vids made by this guy: http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/14216419

 

[knightphoenix2]

Crime and Redemption?

The vast majority of the time, Ultras don't face human villains. They are few and far between. But, when they do, they have a great deal of trouble with them.

It's been said that when humans are the villains, the threat, that they've made "mistakes" - and then redeem themselves. Which makes it even out in the end.

NOT.

Just considering the cases of Keigo Masaki, General Kihachi Gondou, and Hiroya Fujimiya, we're talking about multiple aggravated assaults, kidnapping, illegal imprisonment, theft, espionage, etc. Later on, all three do attempt to make up for their crimes, with varying degrees of success.

But, would that be enough to truly exonerate them? Not in the eyes of the law, because crimes, not mistakes, crimes, were committed - and have to be answered for. That's why Masaki was in prison, Fujimiya sacrificed the power that he'd abused, and Gondou ended up sacrificing his life.

As a matter of fact, Gondou was the only one of the three who had crossed the line of murder. And found out that he'd committed high treason as well. So, he forces his own execution to restore his victim's life. Or rather, to save the human race. Too bad it wasn't his idea, at first.

Of the three, Fujimiya comes closest to earning true redemption, by surrendering his power, then using his restored, purified powers to save a helpless hostage, then finally aiding the man he'd attacked in saving the world.

The point is, each of these attacks had been driven by hubris, ambition, and jealousy. The attacks had pretty much been meticulously planned, usually long in advance. Certainly long enough to ask the question: "Am I really stupid enough to risk destroying the world?!"