Well, I finished Ultraseven on ShoutFactory and have watched the first two episodes of The Return of Ultraman, which apparently is misnamed because it's actually the retroactively named Ultraman Jack rather than the original guy. I wish I'd realized before episode 2 that the first two episodes are both directed by none other than Ishiro Honda. They seem to be going in a more character-driven direction in this series, with the protagonist having more of a learning curve about being Ultraman, and with what looks like an ongoing arc involving Go's civilian friends back at the auto garage. Interesting that they did this series with Ultraman's host being a race car driver, since this was from the same year as Kamen Rider, with Takeshi Hongo being a motorcycle racer.
I'm also glad they've shifted back to a focus on kaiju rather than alien invasions. It got kind of ridiculous how many different alien species were all trying to conquer Earth in U7 -- and why so many of them randomly had giant monsters working for them or could randomly turn giant themselves. At least Return offers an excuse for why so many monster attacks are underway at once, even if it's a flimsy excuse about some kind of global upheaval releasing them or waking them from their underground slumber.
I'm also glad they've shifted back to a focus on kaiju rather than alien invasions. It got kind of ridiculous how many different alien species were all trying to conquer Earth in U7 -- and why so many of them randomly had giant monsters working for them or could randomly turn giant themselves. At least Return offers an excuse for why so many monster attacks are underway at once, even if it's a flimsy excuse about some kind of global upheaval releasing them or waking them from their underground slumber.
