Ultraman Z

[Toku Prime]

Please switch on captions for the English subs
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Kinda surprised we hadn't made one of these already. So the next Ultraman series is "Ultraman Z" (that's pronounced "Zed" in the British English way, not with an American English "Zee"). The show is due to start on June 20th 2020.

The head director will be Kiyotaka Taguchi, who was previously the head director for Ultraman X and Ultraman Orb.

The show's opening theme is being sung by Masaaki Endoh, who toku fans may recognize as the singer of the Abaranger opening theme, as well as being a part of JAM Project who produce most of the songs for the Garo franchise. The show's end theme will be performed by Nami Tamaki, who sang the opening theme for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

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Z is the pupil of Ultraman Zero (since it was his 10th anniversary last year), who ends up merging with a human called Haruki Natsukawa, a hot-blooded karate master who is a member of the Earth defense force STORAGE.

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Haruki will transform into Z using the Ultra Z Riser, which uses both cards AND medals. As you can hopefully see above, the right-hand blue "wing" is initially on the left on top of the other wing. You first insert a card in the center to tell the device which character is transforming. Then you load three medals into that wing, press a button to start the scanner, then rotate the wing over to the right and it will scan the medals as they pass over the central card area. The combination of medals used determines which form the Ultraman becomes.

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Ultraman Z's three initial forms are (from left to right in the image above):

Ultraman Z Alpha Edge. This uses the medals for Ultra Seven, Ultraman Leo, and Ultraman Zero. This represents a certain lineage within the Ultra series, as Ultra Seven was the mentor of Leo, who in turn trained Zero, who is now the mentor for Z.

Ultraman Z Beta Smash. Formed from the medals for the original Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, and Ultraman Taro. Representing another lineage, as these are all Ultra Brothers, and also specialized in fighting techniques derived from pro-wrestling. Yes, he does look a bit like Redman for some reason.

Ultraman Z Gamma Future. Formed from the medals for Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna, and Ultraman Gaia. The first three Heisei Ultra shows to be produced in Japan. This form has "mysterious powers," versatile beam attacks and fights "trickily".

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Finally, they have confirmed that Riku/Ultrman Geed will be returning in this series. Riku will not be using his Geed Riser, but will instead begin using a Z Riser along with the medals for Ginga, X, and Orb. This will grant him a new form called Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising. And yes, I guess he's there to justify having cards as well as medals.

 

[Dr Kain]

So it's pretty much Ultraman OOO? I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "Zetto."

Anyway, I don't see anything special about it in the trailer. It looks like another modern Ultraman series. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I'm tired of seeing all of these Ultraman utilize the powers of older Ultras. It was fine for a couple of years, but now it feels like a crutch for the franchise. I guess if Tsuburaya decides to stream this one for once while it airs I'll watch it, but if not, I'll just wait for Mill Creek to bring it out on BD before I see it.

 

[Toku Prime]

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On the right is a newly-announced character called Shouta Hebikura, who is the captain of the new show's defense team, STORAGE. If he seems familiar, that's because he's played by Takaya Aoyagi, who previously played Orb's best frenemy Juggulus Juggler.

So it's pretty much Ultraman OOO?

Yeah it seems like a much less elegant OOO Driver, but it's also got a card reader attached to try and milk the kids for two gimmicks at once.

I'm pretty sure it's pronounced "Zetto."

Wasn't that the Kamen Rider that appeared between Shin and J?

 

[Dr Kain]

It was just announced that Tsuburaya will be simulstreaming Z on their YouTube channel in the US.

 

[Blazeking]

Glad they're back to doing the official English subtitles!

 

[Dr Kain]

It was a decent first episode. I haven't paid attention to anything revolving around the show, so I had no idea what to expect. I also recently learned the head writer died, so that sucks. I find it interesting that Sevenger looks like a retooled King Joe costume. Maybe they'll do something with that later on in the season? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

I do find it funny that yet again Zero got beat up and knocked away in the first episode. I kind of want to take that scene and put Willy's "Ugh, I'm pretty bad at this," line from the Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons.

I did like it when Z was telling the main dude (don't have his name memorized yet) to put more spirit into saying "ULtraman Z" along with when he was standing there and Z whispered for him to hit the button. Another cool bit was the camera work of the dude running from Baby Gomess from his eye level.

On the other hand, the gimmick seems too much like the one from Kamen Rider OOOs. All I wanted to hear was a deep voice screaming, "Zero, Seven, Leo... ZeSeLe ZESELE."

The commander dude is totally the villain we saw holding the medals in his hand.

 

[Toku Prime]

Yes, officially available WITH ENGLISH SUBS!

I find it interesting that Sevenger looks like a retooled King Joe costume.

I don't know about this particular suit, but Sevenger itself is an old school design originally from an episode of Ultraman Leo. In that episode, Ultraman Jack brings it to Earth to give to UltraSeven, as a new addition to his little team of capsule monsters. But Seven hardly ever used the capsule monsters in his own series, never mind in Leo, so Sevenger never appeared again after the episode introducing him. Explains the name though.

Funnily enough, another of Seven's capsule monsters, Windam, is in the opening credits for this series. He's posing alongside the team in that title shot. So I'm guessing that we might see Windam added as an additional mecha at some point?

I do find it funny that yet again Zero got beat up and knocked away in the first episode. I kind of want to take that scene and put Willy's "Ugh, I'm pretty bad at this," line from the Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons.

Given that he clearly didn't want Z as his pupil, that seemed very much like Zero going "Oh look, a chance to get away from this guy?! Peace out mf'ers!"

The commander dude is totally the villain we saw holding the medals in his hand.

Which commander dude? The general dude played by the shop-owner from KR Wizard? Or the day-to-day team captain dude? The team captain is the actor who previously played Jugglus Juggler in Ultraman Orb. So yeah, a lot of people are expecting the "stunning twist" that he's actually the same character returned.

Or at the very least, there will probably be a "you remind me of someone" type line. They've announced that Riku/Geed will appear in this series, and IIRC he met Jugglus in their crossover movie. Of course, Riku's actor had one of those moments himself, due to the actor having played another character in Zero's own movies.

 

[Dr Kain]

I don't know about this particular suit, but Sevenger itself is an old school design originally from an episode of Ultraman Leo. In that episode,

I totally forgot Sevenger was in Leo. Most of Leo is a blank to me outside of the forced grim dark crap and Dan being a complete and total douchebag.

Which commander dude?

The one who mysteriously said he had to run to the bathroom and then we see someone's body holding coins. That's totally that dude.

 

[Toku Prime]

I totally forgot Sevenger was in Leo. Most of Leo is a blank to me outside of the forced grim dark crap and Dan being a complete and total douchebag.

Oh yeah I only had a vague sense that I'd seen it somewhere before and had to look it up. I have similar thoughts when it comes to Leo. Seven is the biggest villain in that series.

The one who mysteriously said he had to run to the bathroom and then we see someone's body holding coins. That's totally that dude.

Yeah, the guy who "ran to the bathroom" is played by the guy who was previously (or is???) Jugglus Juggler in Orb.

 

[arcona23]

La versión con subtitutlos en español.
Gracias a Tokusatsu EcuadorUltraman Z Episodio 1

Yes, officially available WITH ENGLISH SUBS!