Vox Age
Member
Nexus failed because of the timeslot. When it re-ran under the expected night-time slot, it garnered the expected ratings.
As for Men In Black comparisons... Nexus' world is more realistic than quite a few other tokusatsu universes. The government believed that monster attacks every day would incite a mass panic, anarchy and probably the collapse of civilization as we know it. How can people live knowing that every second a huge gopher could burst out under their homes and eat them alive? This is by no means a baseless concern.
As for jumping powers, it was a very interesting concept that allowed us to explore several characters and issues that did not necessarily deal with Ultraman. It was a very risky move, and I was glad they took it in order to play with the Ultraman formula to produce something that isn't necessarily the same old, but in essence remains very much Ultraman in its core.
Let's take Himeya Jun. The man suffered from issues that were irrelevant to giant monster attacks. He personally witnessed a brutal civil war that consumed human lives(including one he was very close to), and was powerless to do anything about it. Absolutely powerless. Sure, he had his pictures...but what the hell do people do with pictures? We have articles and photos everyday of human brutality in the world, yet these incidents continue to occur despite the efforts of others who try to propel them to the forefront of world issues. That's not exclusive to Nexus. People sitting in their living rooms, reading Time, commenting about how horrible the recent genocides were and then putting the magazine down letting that being the extent of their action is very common in real life.
So what could Jun do? Jack ****. But then, there is this mysterious power that offers him some kind of a...redemption. In the conventional sense, it'd be the reverse, as Jun is chained to a being that requests to borrow his body to fight and protect the Earth, frequently at dangerous consequences to his own well-being. But he does it anyway.
Because Nexus allowed him the choice say "yes" to make real, visible impact in a situation where people needed protection. With Nexus, he could make a difference and FEEL he could make a difference. And that's why Jun fought to his limit and exceeded it. It's also why emotional weight runs high whenever Nexus Junis form is in action to protect innocents from ravenous monsters.
Now, let's look at the second Deunamist. Ren Senjyu took the bold move of saying "no" to a vanilla plain life, and traded his lifespan so he could eat, drink, and...live. This is all fine and dandy, except he's going to die, and he's going to die soon. Regardless of Ultraman's interference. So why him? Why a boy with a busted body who probably will die off soon anyway?
But Ren didn't die at the end of the series. By Ultraman coming to him, he received attention by Komon, met Mizuo, and was rediscovered by the Prometheus Project group. While I felt the presentation of the series was a little heavy-handed on this arc, Ultraman essentially allowed others to teach him that while Ren valued the life of others tremendously, he also had to value his own, because there were others that valued him.
Ultraman taught Ren the importance of others; not necessarily the health of others, but the life and companionship that needs to be shared. The option that he said "no" to initially when he ran away from Dallas, but was given the choice to answer "yes" after his meeting with Ultraman.
As opposed to other tokusatsu that claim their maturity from sex and violence, Nexus dealt with difficult, grey issues even in the backdrop of a good vs. evil battle, offering its own interpretations. It isn't absolute, but it can provide a bit of inspiration. I have to give it credit for attempting to shake the foundations of the series in order to keep it fresh.
As for Men In Black comparisons... Nexus' world is more realistic than quite a few other tokusatsu universes. The government believed that monster attacks every day would incite a mass panic, anarchy and probably the collapse of civilization as we know it. How can people live knowing that every second a huge gopher could burst out under their homes and eat them alive? This is by no means a baseless concern.
As for jumping powers, it was a very interesting concept that allowed us to explore several characters and issues that did not necessarily deal with Ultraman. It was a very risky move, and I was glad they took it in order to play with the Ultraman formula to produce something that isn't necessarily the same old, but in essence remains very much Ultraman in its core.
Let's take Himeya Jun. The man suffered from issues that were irrelevant to giant monster attacks. He personally witnessed a brutal civil war that consumed human lives(including one he was very close to), and was powerless to do anything about it. Absolutely powerless. Sure, he had his pictures...but what the hell do people do with pictures? We have articles and photos everyday of human brutality in the world, yet these incidents continue to occur despite the efforts of others who try to propel them to the forefront of world issues. That's not exclusive to Nexus. People sitting in their living rooms, reading Time, commenting about how horrible the recent genocides were and then putting the magazine down letting that being the extent of their action is very common in real life.
So what could Jun do? Jack ****. But then, there is this mysterious power that offers him some kind of a...redemption. In the conventional sense, it'd be the reverse, as Jun is chained to a being that requests to borrow his body to fight and protect the Earth, frequently at dangerous consequences to his own well-being. But he does it anyway.
Because Nexus allowed him the choice say "yes" to make real, visible impact in a situation where people needed protection. With Nexus, he could make a difference and FEEL he could make a difference. And that's why Jun fought to his limit and exceeded it. It's also why emotional weight runs high whenever Nexus Junis form is in action to protect innocents from ravenous monsters.
Now, let's look at the second Deunamist. Ren Senjyu took the bold move of saying "no" to a vanilla plain life, and traded his lifespan so he could eat, drink, and...live. This is all fine and dandy, except he's going to die, and he's going to die soon. Regardless of Ultraman's interference. So why him? Why a boy with a busted body who probably will die off soon anyway?
But Ren didn't die at the end of the series. By Ultraman coming to him, he received attention by Komon, met Mizuo, and was rediscovered by the Prometheus Project group. While I felt the presentation of the series was a little heavy-handed on this arc, Ultraman essentially allowed others to teach him that while Ren valued the life of others tremendously, he also had to value his own, because there were others that valued him.
Ultraman taught Ren the importance of others; not necessarily the health of others, but the life and companionship that needs to be shared. The option that he said "no" to initially when he ran away from Dallas, but was given the choice to answer "yes" after his meeting with Ultraman.
As opposed to other tokusatsu that claim their maturity from sex and violence, Nexus dealt with difficult, grey issues even in the backdrop of a good vs. evil battle, offering its own interpretations. It isn't absolute, but it can provide a bit of inspiration. I have to give it credit for attempting to shake the foundations of the series in order to keep it fresh.
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