#started ultraman arc

[paperconsumption]

youpi? well i sure hope you do

[cherryamelia]

I don't know why but, the way he tilted his head just looked so cute to me

[churchydraws]

What's wrong with you (knows exactly what's wrong with her)

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

yuma reminding me i should probably go to MY local bike shop soon because i think i have a slow leak in the tires AGAIN

[hantheheart]

rewatch i dont know of Ultraman Rising and im noticing things

firstly. Onda calls Kenji's parents. Like. He tells them the Kaiju is coming. Onda KNOWS Kenji's Dad is Ultraman. like. that moment in the climatic fight where Onda fucks up UltraDad's leg was not just personal as "superhero who let down my family". like. that was "You, my FRIEND and colleague, failed my family" personal. The moment his family got wiped being the same moment that Kenji flashbacks to during the climax fight fuckin me up. His daughter was probably the same age as Ken. Do you think they were friends. played together. gone to parks or out to dinner together with their parents during work dinners. Do you think Ken thinks about her. proof Ultraman can fuck up in the loss of someone he grew up with.

secondly. Ken transforms in full view of SEVERAL PEOPLE in SEVERAL SCENES in this movie. like. When Emi got loose and he transforms right before the "Come to Daddy" moment?? There was a person behind him. there was someone in a car behind him while he was on his bike. SOMEONE SAW HIM CHANGE THAT JACKET IS LIEK A WHOLE SIGANTURE THEY DEF KNEW WHO THAT WAS and then????? Later, when Emi's got her wings and takes off after Mecha Gigantron, the KDF shoot missiles at Kenji's house. like. that was not a mistake. They KNEW who's HOUSE THAT WAS. he lives on an ISLAND. in the MIDDLE OF THE BAY. that was wholly INTENTIONALLY, THEY KNEW WHO'S HOUSE THAT WAS.

THE ENTIRETY OF THE CITY HAS TO BE PULLING A SPIDERMAN LEVEL OF RESPECT FOR ULTRAMAN TO LET HIM KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THINKING HE STILL HAS A SECRET IDENTITY. THEY HAVE SEEN HIM CHANGE. HE IS SO OBVIOUS IN HIS PERSONALITY AND THE WAY HE TALKS. HE GETS AWAY WITH THAT SHIT BECAUSE THEY CARE ULTRAMAN SO MUCH HOW THE FUCK WAS THIS NOT MORE IMPORTANT PLOT POINT.

also. during the interview with Ami. The 1-on-1 interview towards the start. Are they at Ami's house??? I thought it was a resturant because of the food but???? her kid was there???? Why the fuck did he do that shit with the sauce???? why did he have noodles in the first place if it was at her HOME, KEN THAT WAS SO UNNECCESSARILY RUDE AT HER HOUSE.

Chiho is so adorable tho. she has PURPLE EYES and that HAIR? i wanna pinch her lil cheeks

fucking. Captain man of the KDF. Aoshima. He feels like he was supposed to have a character arc. Like. He is such a good opposite to Ken. I love that, I can't wait for him to be an antagonist in the sequel. I kinda.... want him to punch Kenji. Like. I dunno man, I feel like they need to fist fight. Really curious about why he winced during that first moment during Onda's speech. Bet it was his wife who died since he mentioned having kids.

[longwuzhere]

Ultraman Rising Fans please give Ultraman Arc a try!

Good start to this Ultraman series! Love that the Ultraman/host is not part of the defense force but he's part of the safety and crowd control team that does Kaiju research. And hell yeah an Ultra powered by imagination! we love to see it! Also the camerawork for the climax was awesome seeing the battle between Ultraman and the kaiju through office buildings, behind windows, and stuff like, Also we got to see some miniatures return for this! Love practical effects like that! If you enjoyed Ultraman Rising, give the newest entry of the Ultraman franchise, Ultraman Arc a try or if you prefer a more feral Ultra and a literal dilf who is the Ultra's host, give Ultraman Blazar a shot. Blazar finished so you can binge it all, Arc just started and will debut new episodes on the Tsuburaya youtube channel with subs and dubs!

[fae-morrigan]

Okay, guys, I have to be so honest, the cyborg Jon stuff is not actually out of nowhere if you've been paying attention to the themes and ideas present in Jon's story. Actually, something to this affect has been hinted and foreshadowed all the way back in Supersons.

Jon's story, fundamentally, has always been about agency, and how being the son of a public figure like Superman hinders his ability to self-determinate. It is an idea that is present in every story, yes, every single one, starting from his debut as a character.

The cyborg stuff isn't meant to be a replacement of past traumas- it is an evolution, the thesis of what all the things he's been through have been leading up to. It is the ultimate culmination of everything Jon has been struggling with his whole life- being seen as nothing more but a tool that can be exploited.

Clark and Lois robbed Jon of knowledge about who he was for a large portion of his childhood (1). Manchester Black tried to use Jon as a weapon against his father, actively possessing him in order to do it, explicitly against Jon's wishes and opinions (2). Kid Amazo wanted to use Jon as a flesh puppet, a new healthy body that he could take over (3). Ultraman robbed years of his life and literally confined him in a place where he, literally and metaphorically, had no power. Jor El and Jon had a whole conversation about fate vs. free will in the age up arc (4). The entire central conflict of Son of Kal El was Jon fighting against a capitalist dictator who was trafficking marginalized people, altering and taking over their bodies for profit (5). Adventures of Superman Jon Kent has Jon going up against a version of his father thats a dictator, a man who has (in the words of the text) made the whole world a prison (6). In all of these situations, Jon's put in these positions specifically because he is the son of Superman, and he will forever be defined by it against his will. It is commentary on what it means to be the child of a hero, and it is an exploration of legacy that I think is very very interesting.

We've BEEN headed here! It was always going to come to some plotline of this nature. Sure, we couldn't know it'd be specifically this, him getting borged was specifically a surprise, but Mark Waid is an incredibly intelligent writer who knows what he is doing and does not just present events in a story, but ideas. The Speed Force is a love story. Absolute Power is about, well, power. And Jon Kent is fundamentally, at his core, about agency. The robot stuff isn't meant to be strictly literal!

Post Bibliography so you can check that I'm not bullshitting you. I didn't want to go look up panels because I'm laaazy, you can go see for yourself:

Superman: Lois & Clark by Dan Jurgens

Super-sons by Peter J Tomasi

Superman Rebirth by Peter J Tomasi

Superman 2018 by Brian Michael Bendis

Superman: Son of Kal El by Tom Taylor

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent by Tom Taylor

[chernobog13]

ULTRAMAN ARC IS COMING!

The new Ultraman series starts July 6, 2024!

[valtharr]

So. Which Ultraman series would you recommend for starters? Also would Shin Ultraman be a good starting point if you have never seen anything Ultraman related?

Honestly, those are both kinda tough questions 😅

Let's start with the Shin Ultraman one:

Shin Ultraman is a great movie, probably my favorite kaiju movie (sorry Pacific Rim and Final Wars), and you need no prior knowledge of Ultraman, mainly because the movie is basically an abridged version of the original 1966 series. So, as a movie, I recommend it, but I'm not sure about it as an introduction to Ultraman. Mainly because - just like Sentai and Rider - Ultraman is primarily a kids show, while Shin is aimed at a more mature audience, which is why I don't consider a great representation of the franchise as a whole. Don't get me wrong, it totally gets the themes and everything right, but the vibes are just different. So, I recommend watching it, but not necessarily as an introduction to the main franchise.

As for which actual series I recommend for a newcomer... well, I should preface this by saying that I've only really seen New Generation series (late Heisei and Reiwa era). The main reason for that is honestly that those seasons are shorter (about 25 episodes instead of the Showa and Heisei 50). But yeah, my recs are gonna be New Gen only.

I think the safest bet in my eyes would be Ultraman X. It doesn't really call back to any previous seasons, and it's pretty "vanilla" in its setup: The Ultra and his host are distinct characters from each other, the host works for an anti-kaiju defense force, etc. It sticks to the "formula" pretty closely, closer than any of the other New Gen shows I've seen... with the exception of one:

Ultraman Z is also pretty by the numbers, and has the distinct advantage of being fully legally available one Youtube, both subbed and dubbed. The main reason I recommend X over Z is that Z leans a bit more into the greater universe of the franchise, with appearances from old characters, one of which actually ends up playing a major role. That said, it was the first Ultra season I watched in full, and it wasn't like I was totally lost, but I would recommend watching Orb and Geed before jumping into Z. Speaking of which...

Ultraman Orb is actually the most recent season I fully watched, and I really like it. The main character is just really cool, and while the supporting cast starts off as kinda annoying, but they grew on me a bit over the course of the show. It's also pretty serialized, with some mysteries that slowly get revealed throughout the story.

Ultraman Geed, like Ultraman Orb, is a bit of a fan favorite. Now, technically, the main villain of the show is a major villain in the greater Ultraman lore, which at first might seem like this would be a bad entry point, but the show provides you with enough context that you can just treat as backstory. I also like that it kinda gives you a bit of "best of both worlds" when it comes to Ultras: The main character is actually an Ultra in human form, but there's also a secondary Ultra who does the more classic "bond with a human host" thing, so you get both common flavors of Ultraman in one series. Also, for what it's worth, I once commissioned a Youtuber who knew basically nothing about tokusatsu, let alone Ultraman, to review Geed, and he ended up liking it.

Finally, I'm gonna shout out Blazar and Arc, the most recent seasons, with Arc's second episode having just aired the same day I'm writing this. Blazar has some Ultraman staples, like the defense team and the human and Ultra being separate entities, but also does some new stuff with those tropes, like the Ultra not being able to properly talk, and the host actually being the head of the show's main defense team. Obviously, I can't say much about Arc yet, but it seems to go in a bit more traditional direction. Both are also available on Youtube, with Blazar having two audio tracks (Japanese and English) that you can switch between, and Arc having separate uploads for its sub and dub

Also, I should mention: Every Ultraman season prior to 2020 is available on BluRay via Mill Creek Entertainment, and from what I can tell, they seem to be region free. At least I had no problems watching them on my German PS4.

[vo-kopen]

So there’s a new Ultraman season starting and I watched the premier. I have seen only a few Ultraman stuff (Shin Ultraman and all of Ultraman Z) but Arc has me intrigued. There is some neat world building in the first episode, the toy component is not as rough as in Ultraman Z (Z had so much stock footage) and I like that this is not the start of the story. Yuma has been Ultraman Arc for a few months, and kaiju have been rampaging for the past 16 years. (Also gosh that’s a fun reason for kaiju to attack cities. Gross but fun) I enjoyed the creativity Yuma showed in the fight, and I appreciate the countdown in the corner and the wonderful miniatures. Also as someone who prefers superheroes to be medics rather than cops, I like that SKIP are not a defense force but are a research group that tries to prevent kaiju attacks and that help in evacuation. I will say that I hope all of the core cast gets fleshed out. There are only like four humans and a robot, so I hope everyone gets focus and depth. It’s the Beast Wars versus the original Transformers cartoon logic. Overall I like the premier (I watched the sub) and intend to keep watching. My only complaint was the “coffee” thing was a bit awkward for me, but I have seen worse quirks in Ultraman. That woman in Shin really needed to stop grabbing butts.

Anyway, I am linking both the sub and English sub here since it’s easier if any of you want to try it out. It’s a strong start to the season. And as a bonus, the new kaiju was pretty cool. Solid design.

@thefingerfuckingfemalefury @majingojira @astoundingbeyondbelief @highly-radioactive-nerd @akirakan many of you might have already seen this premier, but I just watched it this last night before bed so I am pumped, and I want to make sure everyone has a chance to check out Arc.

[sorenblr]

since we're on the subject what are your honest thoughts on eva. me personally i think its really great in a lot of ways but also completely full of shit and really falls apart when analyzed non-emotionally (in more ways than just it's *extremely* loose Christian theming)

I think it's fantastic, at least the original series and EoE. Many of the criticisms commonly levied against it are justified- this is a series that castigates its otaku audience for leering at its grossly sexualized portrayal of adolescents while at the same time constructing one of the most vociferous merchandising apparati ever conceived around exactly that purpose- but it's greater than the sum of its defects.

In the matter of broad aesthetics, direction, and composition, I would place Evangelion near the apex of the medium. The industry mechanism necessary to create something that looks like this simply no longer exists. The philistine reaction against the long takes, which would elsewhere be recognized as part of the basic grammar of any serious film, is a credit to Anno's sensibilities as director. There aren't any characters that I particularly dislike, and I think Shinji and Asuka are near to brilliant. And the first thirteen episodes are simply exceptional, even fairly undemanding genre fare. The fucking Israfel one is just an outstanding episode of television. The dramatic idiosyncracies that the series is known for don't manifest in greater quantity until the latter part, which is I imagine where less receptive audiences will start to check out, but I think they're both necessary complements to the whole.

I think about Eva-02 catching that missile to the face on a semi-regular basis. The entire MPE scene is one of the most compelling pieces of animation ever put to film. This and the Gouf battle from 08th MS Team around the same time are the acme of the thought that emphasized plausible heft and momentum in mechanical animation.

The extent to which the original series is celebrated as 'deconstructive', or as a radical departure from previous, less 'cerebral' works, is grossly exaggerated and I think dependent on a historical ignorance of the genre. That isn't to say that it's complete equivocation, but Amuro's first character arc in 0079 is going catatonic after being compelled to fight in the ambulatory war crimes machine, and Pen Pen is not some sort of embedded reflexive criticism- he is a fun penguin who basically loves to hang out. Much of the thematic material is indebted to Ideon-era Tomino, who was at least as catastrophically depressive as Anno during the period of his most prolific cultural output.

The greater innovation in Eva is its radical orientation towards psychodrama, which I think does finally reach a deconstructive apogee in EoE. Still, the basic theme of the series, the communicative impediments to human intimacy, is also the overriding concern of the first several incarnations of Gundam- but only Evangelion will have a character literally describe the hedgehog's dilemma aloud. So a lot of the perceived deconstruction is a maximal treatment of what was marginally less explicit in earlier works, and I think Anno's direction does produce striking and beautifully affective turns on that material. But the old joke that this mecha anime is about the characters is still descriptive of the entire genre. This isn't meant to be a criticism- I think it's infinitely more engaging to consider Eva as the ultimate Lost Decade continuation of earlier forms than some sort of iconoclastic rupture from tradition.

The Judeo-Christian imagery is another point of radical continuity with hyper-influential genre fare, in this case Ultraman. Anno's recent directorial output is enough to evince the tremendous debt owed to the series, but whereas the religious iconography was a genuine article of faith for Tsuburaya, in Eva the material is valued more for its aestheticizing effect. It was only when transplanted to a Western audience that the desacralized treatment of religion assumed a transgressive quality that happened to be a perfect 'in' for adolescents nationwide. Shinji is a Midwest emo icon and I can make an AMV of the series set to Chop Suey by System of a Down? This phenomenon is, to me, more interesting than the actual thematic connections the series draws from myth, which is certainly not what the thing is 'about' in any case.

Also, I am an episode 25-26 truther. EoE is great but the television finale is its obvious complement. If you're out here telling people to watch EoE immediately after episode 24... grow the fuck up! bitch!!!*

*parody parody

[pinkprettycure]

You talking about Ultraman frequently has made me interested in the franchise myself. What shows/movies/etc would you recommend to a newbie like me who wants to get into the series? ^_^

Blazar was very newbie friendly and it has a lot of good standalone episodes like Planet of Music, Betwix Morn and Dusk, and The Wandering Zangill so you can pick up something like one of those and see if you want to watch the whole thing or not.

Arc is currently airing. This is the season that has Clover's VA as one of the main characters btw! it's only 6 eps in and I believe this weeks ep is going to be a recap episode so if you start right now you won't really be all that behind or anything since we're effectively on a break week right now . it DOES have references to Return of Ultraman but I haven't seen Return of Ultra and I don't feel like I'm lost or anything.

R/B is one of my favorites and I think it's one that would be very appealing to people who are fans of magical girl series. the plot heavily revolves around the friendship between the younger sister of the two Ultras and the villainess and the theme is family.

There's also the Ultraman Rising film and Shin Ultraman. Rising is an animated film that's an american take on the franchise in collaboration between Tsupro and Netflix, while Shin is a live action film thats an adaption of the original Ultraman series and is considered part of Anno's Shin series of films (Shin Godzilla, Shin Kamen Rider, and the Shin Evangelion/Rebuild films. "It's"Shin Japan Heroes" is just a marketing name but they do have commonality by being remakes and reimaginings of older stories.) Ultraman The Next is a good movie too but I do think you should watch it as part of a Nexus watch rather than as a starting point, and Nexus might not be a good starting point since it's more for like a teen and older audience with a darker vibe and does a lot of different things from other series so it could give the wrong impression. It's an excellent series but I think something like Blazar gives a better impression of what to expect from Ultra than Nexus.

A LOT of Ultra references itself also. but while I think references to older series definitely are more meaningful when you're familiar with them, I started with Mebius and I definitely think i'd appreciate it more on a rewatch, but those things don't mean you won't find enjoyment from the season, remember: Ultra overall is a family franchise so every season is somebodies first season! They're made with both the parents and grandparents who grew up with them AND their young kids who would be seeing them for the first time! Even Nexus being made for teen audience would have still been a lot of these kids first season, so it's always being made with the assumption that a good chunk of viewers have never seen another Ultra show n_n

[sunshinemoonrx]

8 + 20 pls!!

Favourite alien/non-human character, and favourite hero/villain rivalry...

Okay I'm gonna give two answers for the first one because my instinctive answer is a character who /is/ an alien and whose difference from Earth humans is plot-relevant but who /looks/ human and that feels not quite the spirit of the question, so I will precede that answer with one who has an actual inhuman suit form: Ankh

What can I say? Our beloved bitchy wife learning to feel an emotion one inch at a time. He's fascinating, lovable, lovably hateable, and just like Eiji we'll wait years for him if we have to. Whether he's a bird monster or Miura Ryosuke in blonde curls he's beautiful. And speaking of Miura, I love all his physical acting for Ankh's mannerisms--perching up in trees, doing bird-like threat-display stances, leading with his monster-arm like the brain is in there and not his head, using the method he accesses Shingo's memories as an instinctive gesture for "think"...

Now, favourite human-looking alien: Space Sheriff Annie

You know, I only just noticed how cheap and crinkly this utility belt is compared to the pretty nice prop guns, lmao. Speaking of physical performance, what a tour de force here. Morinaga Naomi is genuinely one of the finest stunt actors in Toei's history. She puts Shaider to shame in every episode so thoroughly you start to wonder why he's even in the show. (If you wonder why I say this show isn't actually that good despite all the stuff in it I'm constantly raving about...well, the protagonist being nothing doesn't help) This character specifically is the genesis of like half of Spielban, too.

And now, favourite hero/villain rivalry...sentai gives us so many all-timers to to choose from, but I'm gonna have to swerve into:

Gai Kurenai/Juggler

A divorce so catastrophic it caused the Tunguska event and reshaped the next decade of Ultraman shows. A reconciliation arc that outlived the dropped 10-part saga that was supposed to tell it. Simply no-one is doing it like them.

As always, fuck off Tsupro, getting us all so invested in a man named Jugglus Juggler.

[tsunflowers]

I keep thinking about arc revealing his name back in his galaxy was rution and he only started going by arc on earth. good thing no one told zett that was an option or he would be like “please chant my name! ultraman ultimate hero!” or something even cornier

[dynamitesunshine]

Here are thoughts on Ultraman Leo:

I jumped into this series because I saw it was airing on YouTube for its anniversary and thought I could watch it as it airs, because I have an easier time watching stuff like that. I was also, in the middle of picking what series to watch next and watched a bunch of Ultraman and Kamen Rider movies and specials.

So, I watched the first episode and immediately resonated with Gen's character, he's just happy-go-lucky, courageous, and fighting past his trauma. The whole Sports center aspect was fun, and everything was just stuff I enjoyed seeing, so it was really difficult to just catch up with where YouTube had and just watch once a week, lol. So, I kept watching it among of my anime.

This show is like a bunch of different shows as it goes through the season. It starts with the Training Arc, then goes into the Hokkaido Arc, the Ultra Horror Arc, the Japanese Folklore Arc, then is more Ultra Lore, then is the Saucer Creature Arc to finish it.

This show is intense at so many times, in the beginning Gen fights the Kaiju, loses then has to train in some intense or over the top ways by UltraSeven, Dan Moroboshi. Especially the infamous being chased by a Jeep scene, lol.

I was shocked that characters like Tooru and Kaoru were gonna be main characters after their father gets killed in episode 3, thought they were just 1 off kids, like I've seen in other toku shows, but they're main characters, and that helped make the show better when using characters like that for stories.

MAC was probably the worst done defense unit I've seen in Ultraman, because you barely learn about any of these characters besides Dan and Gen, which is all you need actually, lol. Still, they had good support characters like Momoko, the previously mentioned kids, and some of the staff at the Sports Center that Gen worked at too.

It's a very awesome show, the action is great, Gen is one of my all-time favorite Ultras, the action is a lot of fun and there are some crazy episodes. The folklore episodes are intriguing how they merge the stories in with lore of Ultraman Leo. There were quite a few horror episodes that were good, and some disturbing, especially with that clam Saucer creature.

This show is absolutely brutal at times, from the most intense episode of can Ultraman Leo and Astra manage to reforge the Ultra Key and stop the Ultra Planet (as it was called back then) from crashing into the Earth, or the Saucer creature annihilating half the cast.

Ultraman Leo himself did a lot of cool things in battle, like making smoke pipes into Nunchaku, using his mantle, to multiple different techniques he learned in training.

Also, this show has some of the best Kaiju Designs in Ultraman and I love a lot of them here.

I loved Astra, even though he only comes in to help his brother at times, it's still nice; I know he gets way more in recent specials. Still, the little bits we see of him, I enjoyed because he goes out of his way to help out his brother. Would like to have seen him explored more, but the part with the Ultra Key was great with him. Also, Ultraman King is wonderful saving Leo or helping them when they need it, I love his design. Ultraman Jack's episode he returned in was absolutely amazing, one of my favorites of the show, and I want to watch Return of Ultraman now. Love seeing Sevenger too, he's best bot.

I just really loved Ultraman Leo/Gen Ootori a lot, he makes mistakes, but he doesn't let them keep him down and makes up for them. I think that is what I resonated the most with, never let your screw-ups stop you from being a hero. Also, a good support system helps.

One of my favorite Ultraman Series and I definitely recommend it to everyone.

[miragethecat]

I have decided that I now strongly dislike Arc. 

it had no right making me tear up ON EPISODE 4

i’m literally standing here doing dishes and listening to people cheer on Ultraman and I just about started crying . 

(i love ultraman so much, they mean the world to me)