In episode #35 of "Ultraman Cosmos", people show apparently superhuman abilities after visiting an odd building, and the creepy doctor is back:
News Stay At Home With ULTRAMAN| Ultra Science Fiction Hour on YouTube
- Thread starter Kai "the spy"
- Start date
This week's Trigger wrapped up the Ultraman Z crossover, and the action relied heavily on Z swapping out among his various alternate forms, so it got a bit repetitive with the same henshin sequence over and over. But otherwise, the action and cinematography were impressive, with some creatively assembled sequences of big action with continuous camera moves, both on location and in the miniature city. The CGI was a little too obvious, but otherwise the staging was excellent. I also loved the bit where the Ultras threw the robot far away from the camera and there was a time delay in hearing the sound of its crash. Too few sound editors remember that sound travels slower than light. (Although I sure hope the place where it landed was unpopulated.)
The plot, involving a worldwide digital attack by the Dada, returning aliens from the original Ultraman and others, gave the rest of the GUTS-SELECT team a pretty good chance to contribute, though still within their usual wheelhouses. I thought something weird was going on with Ignis rubbing that toy on the team members' heads, like he was taking over their minds or something, but it seems it was just him being annoying, and the captain's silent stillness was just him being stoic in a crisis.
It was nice seeing two Ultra hosts comparing notes about being Ultras. It's not much, but the older shows I've seen almost never bother to explore what it's like to be an Ultra host, so I appreciate the insight. Meanwhile, Yuna is finally catching on about Yuzare and asking the big questions. That's good.
I think I've figured something out. In the scenes with the two Ultras together, you could hear them talking to each other in Japanese, but in the final scene where Kengo and Akito were watching Z, he just made "Tcha" and "Shuwatch" noises. Does that mean that only Ultras (and other aliens) can understand each other's speech, while humans just hear the non-verbal noises? That would explain a lot.
The plot, involving a worldwide digital attack by the Dada, returning aliens from the original Ultraman and others, gave the rest of the GUTS-SELECT team a pretty good chance to contribute, though still within their usual wheelhouses. I thought something weird was going on with Ignis rubbing that toy on the team members' heads, like he was taking over their minds or something, but it seems it was just him being annoying, and the captain's silent stillness was just him being stoic in a crisis.
It was nice seeing two Ultra hosts comparing notes about being Ultras. It's not much, but the older shows I've seen almost never bother to explore what it's like to be an Ultra host, so I appreciate the insight. Meanwhile, Yuna is finally catching on about Yuzare and asking the big questions. That's good.
I think I've figured something out. In the scenes with the two Ultras together, you could hear them talking to each other in Japanese, but in the final scene where Kengo and Akito were watching Z, he just made "Tcha" and "Shuwatch" noises. Does that mean that only Ultras (and other aliens) can understand each other's speech, while humans just hear the non-verbal noises? That would explain a lot.
For those that missed it, here is episode #8 of "Ultraman Trigger":
Ugh...that transformation sequence is too long, the transformation devices look like plastic toys and it feels like something from a toy commercial. Sometimes less is more. Gimme a guy holding up a Beta capsule and a quick change into Ultraman. Otherwise the ep was okay.
^When has stuff in tokusatsu not looked like something from a toy commercial? The whole thing literally is half-hour toy commercials, like American cartoons in the '80s such as Transformers and He-Man. Even in the vintage Ultraman shows, there are episodes where kids are playing with Ultraman and kaiju toys or wearing store-bought Ultraman masks. And I'm sure the whole reason they touted the name of the week's monster in the opening titles was so the kids would know what toy to ask for by name.
Although what they do in Japan -- advertising the show's tie-in merchandise during the show itself -- was specifically outlawed in the US in the '80s, on the principle that kids might not know the difference between the show and the commercials. They also required bumpers to say "We'll be right back after these messages" and "Now back to the show," to further clarify the distinction. They've always done that in the Toei shows I've seen, with the quick eyecatches, and I've seen it in Return of Ultraman if not other Ultra shows. In Trigger, though, they cut between the show and the ads (often using show footage) so directly that it's hard to keep track of which is which. Sometimes the only way to tell is that the YouTube stream doesn't subtitle the commercials.
This week I decided to time the breaks to see how much I should jump forward to skip the ads. The main titles plus the first break appear to be about 3:20, and the subsequent ads were 1:30 each. That's actually much shorter than American commercial breaks, so I'll give them that.
Although what they do in Japan -- advertising the show's tie-in merchandise during the show itself -- was specifically outlawed in the US in the '80s, on the principle that kids might not know the difference between the show and the commercials. They also required bumpers to say "We'll be right back after these messages" and "Now back to the show," to further clarify the distinction. They've always done that in the Toei shows I've seen, with the quick eyecatches, and I've seen it in Return of Ultraman if not other Ultra shows. In Trigger, though, they cut between the show and the ads (often using show footage) so directly that it's hard to keep track of which is which. Sometimes the only way to tell is that the YouTube stream doesn't subtitle the commercials.
This week I decided to time the breaks to see how much I should jump forward to skip the ads. The main titles plus the first break appear to be about 3:20, and the subsequent ads were 1:30 each. That's actually much shorter than American commercial breaks, so I'll give them that.
Okay, then. Freshly uploaded, here's episode #9 of "Ultraman":
Well, for those in regions without a prior streaming deal preventing the YT videos from playing, here's episode #15 of "Mirrorman":
Episode #36 of "Ultraman Cosmos" sees the return of child-friendly monster Yamawarawa:
While there is the run of the original "Ultraman" on weekends, episode #28 is out today as part of the 55th Anniversary Campaign, though I also don't think it's a coincidence the original Dada episode comes up right after Dada returned in the last "Trigger" episode:
Ultraman Trigger's 2nd Ending Theme will be sung by the Trigger Trio and this was announced yesterday at Ultraman Trigger & Ultraman Z's Online Event.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1437775495463161860
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1437775495463161860
Today, Tsuburaya does not merely offer up episode #37 of "Ultraman Cosmos":
But also the complete film "Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers":
But also the complete film "Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers":
Well. In today's Trigger, we get the first overt mention of Tiga, and confirmation that it took place in a parallel universe -- and that Shizuma is originally from there, a former member of GUTS who founded GUTS-SELECT based on his old organization. That explains his lines in the first episode that gave me the impression this was a sequel. In a way, it is. Since they shot new footage of Tiga for his flashback, I'm betting this is setting up a crossover later on.
I still think it would've been cool if, instead of Shizuka, Yuna's father had been a returning Tiga cast member. But that would've given away up front what was kept a secret until now. I'm not sure it's that big or game-changing a revelation, though.
I still think it would've been cool if, instead of Shizuka, Yuna's father had been a returning Tiga cast member. But that would've given away up front what was kept a secret until now. I'm not sure it's that big or game-changing a revelation, though.
Sorry for the delay, but better late than never, here is episode #9 of "Ultraman Trigger":
As for the revelations, it also explains why this GUTS-SELECT is a privately funded NGO instead of the multi-national governmental operation that Tiga's GUTS was as part of the TPC.
If there actually will be a Tiga-crossover, I do hope they got Hiroshi Nagano to return. Some Tiga appearances had to be done without his involvement, as his agency Johnny & Associates is quite strict and possessive. But judging by the current ads, Tiga seems to have finally made its way on Tsuburaya Imagination, so they might have recently struck a deal, and hopefully it would allow Nagano to return to the role.
As for the revelations, it also explains why this GUTS-SELECT is a privately funded NGO instead of the multi-national governmental operation that Tiga's GUTS was as part of the TPC.
If there actually will be a Tiga-crossover, I do hope they got Hiroshi Nagano to return. Some Tiga appearances had to be done without his involvement, as his agency Johnny & Associates is quite strict and possessive. But judging by the current ads, Tiga seems to have finally made its way on Tsuburaya Imagination, so they might have recently struck a deal, and hopefully it would allow Nagano to return to the role.
Now that they've explicitly established the Neo Frontier Space universe, I wonder if they'll get around to mentioning Dyna and SuperGUTS as well as Tiga and GUTS. I was hoping for a third series in that continuity, but this could be close enough if they acknowledge the full continuity.
I wonder if there's going to be any significance to how similar the two universes are, with so many elements here being a remix of Neo Frontier elements, particularly the Ultras being from a 30-million-year-old Earth civilization rather than an alien planet. There are some parallels in modern history too, like the Mars colonization. And there are even some close parallels on an individual level, the Giants of Darkness being so similar to their near-namesakes from the Tiga movie. So I wonder if the storyline will delve into the reason why these two universes are so much closer together than the other Ultra universes.
I wonder if there's going to be any significance to how similar the two universes are, with so many elements here being a remix of Neo Frontier elements, particularly the Ultras being from a 30-million-year-old Earth civilization rather than an alien planet. There are some parallels in modern history too, like the Mars colonization. And there are even some close parallels on an individual level, the Giants of Darkness being so similar to their near-namesakes from the Tiga movie. So I wonder if the storyline will delve into the reason why these two universes are so much closer together than the other Ultra universes.
If there is no other legal way to watch the original "Ultraman" in your country, you may be able to watch the freshly uploaded episode #10, the one with the recycled Godzilla costume:
This week's episode #16 of "Mirrorman" features a scary clown, an evil doll, and random violence against women. If I didn't know better, I'd think this was an 80s horror film:
In episode #38 of "Ultraman Cosmos", a young girl accuses her father of being an alien. Said father is played by Shoichiro Akaboshi, who appeared in a lot of tokusatsu shows, like Choriki Sentai Orenja, Kamen Rider Wizard, Ultramans Tiga, Max, Mebius and Orb, but is mostly known for his major role as Prof. Ichiro Horiguchi in Toho's Chouseishin Gransazer:
This week, the 55th Anniversary Campaign delivers episode #26 of "Ultraman Ace", which features the Ultra Brothers (up to that point), but is also the first part of a two-parter, and precedent tells me they will probably not follow that up with part two next week:
The whole series is available for free on ShoutFactory's website, and I've just begun watching it. Man, the uniform designs in Ace are awful.
It's an interesting twist having two hosts who have to combine to form Ace, including the first female host. I imagine it could be a handy way to create complications by having the two unable to get together, though as of episode 3 they seem to be doing the opposite, contriving excuses to bring them together at the right time.
It seems odd that one of the two hosts of Ultraman Ace is Yoko Minami, when we had an Officer Minami as a regular last season in Return of Ultraman. Didn't they notice they were reusing the name?