What Ultraman should I watch?

[Captain Shark]

Ultra Q does have subtitles though

They weren't available when I saw them at youku. Very dialogue heavy series.

 

[okunohoshimichi]

Shout! Factory released both Ultra Q and Ultraseven on DVDs recently. Amazon has them on sale now.

 

[Toku Prime]

They weren't available when I saw them at youku. Very dialogue heavy series.

It's out on DVD so you probably won't find many fansubbers wanting to tread on official toes.

I watched Ultraman over the Christmas break. It was pretty good but I began to tire of it a little towards the end, which is why I haven't jumped into Ultra Seven yet. Everything I've heard about U7 says that it's probably even more beloved than Ultraman, so there must be something good to it.

Mebius/Moebius was the show that got me into the franchise generally. It has lots of cameos from the Showa Ultras, but it makes sure to explain everything you need to know for those cameos to make sense (without overwhelming you with exposition). I had fun all the way through so I'd highly recommend it for anyone curious about the franchise. I'd seen Neos and Ultraseven X before that, but I wouldn't recommend them as starting points (U7X is only 12 episodes but still managed to feel like it had been stretched out longer than necessary, and Neos was just a chore to sit through). I've watched Tiga since and while it was good I found it strangely unsatisfying at times, but I know there are people who love it so it's probably worth checking out at some point.

Nexus is probably the next Ultra I'll see, although I did spot the Australian and American series on youtube and part of me does want to check them out just to see if they're really as bad as their reputation suggests. :laugh:

 

[Switchblade]

Max.

The answer to "what Ultraman should I watch?" is always Max.

 

[Toku Prime]

Max.

The answer to "what Ultraman should I watch?" is always Max.

Nooo. Especially if you're not super familiar with every classic monster in the franchise. So many Max episodes rely heavily on kaiju-nostalgia. I've seen what Tokuplex released of the show and it's just barely average, at least to me. It has a really catchy theme tune, but that's the most enjoyable part of each episode.

 

[Fox-Chan]

Nooo. Especially if you're not super familiar with every classic monster in the franchise. So many Max episodes rely heavily on kaiju-nostalgia. I've seen what Tokuplex released of the show and it's just barely average, at least to me. It has a really catchy theme tune, but that's the most enjoyable part of each episode.

Being familiar with past kaiju is hardly necessary when the episodes they appear in are either slight remakes or they have an almost entirely new origin. Mebius is the true, unapologetic nostalgia-fest. Although it was the 40th anniversary series so it's only natural.

Max isn't without it's problems, though. Aside from Elly and Sean, DASH is just kinda bland. And I hate Max's theme song.

 

[Toku Prime]

Being familiar with past kaiju is hardly necessary when the episodes they appear in are either slight remakes or they have an almost entirely new origin. Mebius is the true, unapologetic nostalgia-fest. Although it was the 40th anniversary series so it's only natural.

Max isn't without it's problems, though. Aside from Elly and Sean, DASH is just kinda bland. And I hate Max's theme song.

Well Mebius at least explains who the people making cameos are, so even if you don't know them you at least have characters that make sense in that episode, even if you're not getting the references they might make. Similarly with the monsters; if you don't know what they were in before, they work just as normal MotW regardless.

Max would present the reveal of the MotW as if it was the highlight of the episode. The camera is just left pointing at it for a few seconds as if they were waiting for the audience to have a "oh wow it's so-and-so" reaction before they continued on. It's just a bit weird if you don't recognise the monster and you're left wondering what all the build-up was for. Plus, Max can be so goofy that even the space monster cats are staring at him wide-mouthed in shock :laugh:

 

[Scissors]

Many people are gonna tell you that Nexus is a bad show to start with, as it is not a "traditional" Ultraman show.
While this may be true, I would highly recommend that you watch it, as it is one of the best Tokusatsu shows out there aimed for a slightly older audience.

Without spoiling too much. Nexus is pretty much a story that plays with the idea of how people would actually react if an Ultraman showed up in real life.
In all the other Ultra shows, the Ultramen are regarded as protectors of Earth.
In Nexus, they are regarded as aliens that must be destroyed.

Nexus is also interesting as the Ultraman himself is not the main character. Everything that happens in the show is seen from the perspective of what you would normally consider one of the supporting characters.
This allows the show to actually focus a lot more on the side characters, and keep the Ultraman himself as a mystery.

As mentioned before, the Ultramen in this show are not considered to be champions of goodness, and it is something that is focused on a lot during the show.
There are multiple Ultramen in the show, and except for Nexus himself, the others are pretty much demons/ghosts from the depths of space, and they add a horror element to the story which is actually very very interesting. I remember one episode where one of them is driving a character crazy by haunting her.
It is like Kuuga, just 10 times scarier.

The action is also completely different from other Ultraman shows.
Usually the Ultra fights are quite slow and uses a lot of wrestling. In Nexus, you see more fast action and martial arts.
It is pretty much Ultramen fighting like Kamen Riders.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njsPLHNhyrQ"]Ultraman Nexus VS Dark Faust - YouTube[/ame]

Give the show a chance. You won't regret it.

 

[Fox-Chan]

Well Mebius at least explains who the people making cameos are, so even if you don't know them you at least have characters that make sense in that episode, even if you're not getting the references they might make. Similarly with the monsters; if you don't know what they were in before, they work just as normal MotW regardless.

Max would present the reveal of the MotW as if it was the highlight of the episode. The camera is just left pointing at it for a few seconds as if they were waiting for the audience to have a "oh wow it's so-and-so" reaction before they continued on. It's just a bit weird if you don't recognise the monster and you're left wondering what all the build-up was for. Plus, Max can be so goofy that even the space monster cats are staring at him wide-mouthed in shock :laugh:

I just figured they wanted to make the monsters look super strong and badass. Like how some anime will linger on the baddies.

And I still think that episode was funny.

The action is also completely different from other Ultraman shows.
Usually the Ultra fights are quite slow and uses a lot of wrestling. In Nexus, you see more fast action and martial arts.
It is pretty much Ultramen fighting like Kamen Riders.

Nexus is hardly unique in that regard. Taro, Leo, and 80 all had rather fast-paced fighting with lots of flipping about and flying kicks.

As an example, one of my favorite fights from 80:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ss__r1sQjY"]Ultraman 80 vs Delusion Ultraseven - YouTube[/ame]