I always thought the main problem with U7X was not that it was "too dark" but that it was too shallow visually and didn't hit its stride in terms of story until the final few episodes, though I absolutely loved the final fight he had taking down those spiders...mainly because it reminds me of a scene from my favorite Digimon movie. It felt like it was dark for the sake of being dark, like the true intention of the show was lost somewhere in production.
I guess since I'm not the biggest cinamatography buff (Dai, you're a film student, right?) and more interested in the story, it's easy for me to look beyond those things in the Ultra Galaxy shows. Honestly I was just glad to see a new take on tokusatsu, at least new for me, I've no idea if a show like that has been done in the past. I loved every member of the cast and they felt more fleshed out than just about any other monster attack crew, and they were able to do that in about half the time too! That said, yes, the low budget look thanks to the stupid visual translation system was...very annoying. (I don't mind the sound-stages, but it felt like that damn system hampered creativity) You know it's bad when you're hyped because the cast is on location rather than in a set. Despite those gripes, that was only when I really cast a deep examining eye on the show, most of the time I felt the story was good enough that I could just get lost in it and ignore the failings of the VST.
More than anything, I loved that it started this whole...thing that's lasted for a few years and is all about building the literal Ultra Galaxy. It always felt like nothing special to me in the past because we really only got mentions of stuff most of the time, but the last couple of shows and movies have given us a real galaxy and it seems like that's just going to keep on being built upon. It feels like an immense universe were so much is going on and that's what I've absolutely loved about the last three years or so of the franchise.
So basically, my top five from Tsuburaya since 2006 has been...
1. Ultra Galaxy Legends - I think this was the real big push into expanding the galaxy and I loved it for that. I wasn't too fond of how it was all so...green screeny. What I did love was the fast paced action, something that seemed really new to the franchise, and the colors, dear god the colors! Everything felt so deep and rich, this thing was a visual experience in that respect.
2. Ultra Galaxy NEO
3. Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers - I feel that this just feels like one of the few things I can call a quintessential henshin hero movie. It's got a story that goes just a bit deeper with what Mebius learns about Ultramen not really being omnipotent and in general looks really good. There's a great sense of action and adventure in the movie and never any down points in it for me.
4. Ultra Galaxy
5. Ultra Galaxy Gaiden - I really am just placing this so low because...it's only two episodes, but I do love what I've seen before. As I've said, I've heard rumors that this might be the end of the ZAP crew, and if it is, they'll definitely be going out with a bang.
Now I really do hope that it won't be too long before the next series, I think the franchise has done a good job with their properties lately, but I would absolutely love a new series. I had even thought that one could be made off the Ultimate Force Zero that Zero's building in his movie, but I don't think anyone would really fund a new show based on old characters, unless they all get new forms right off the bat. But, yeah, new series, dammit! Ultraman, Ultra Galaxy, older characters, just a new series would be great. I'm hoping it's not too much of a wild dream now that it seems the Tsuburaya sale has settled.