Ultraman X

[Dai]

This show just keeps hitting us with one great episode after another. The Gomess episode was epic and moving, and featured some of the best kaiju fight choreography I've seen in a long time. The docu-drama episode was a great change of pace, and handled lots of difficult (thanks to the shaky-cam) compositing effects deftly. And the Pigmon episode took a plot formula that has been done to death by the franchise and somehow still made it engaging. There's just something about the positive message of acceptance and co-operation in Ultraman X that feels timely, and yet is universal enough that it doesn't come across as preachy.

I hope X somehow manages to get licensed for a western blu-ray release. I want to be able to rewatch it for many years to come.

[Rody]

I'm still playing catch-up with the show. I just finished episodes 13 & 14: the Spectre arc.
Exceed X looks pretty snazzy - but the power bar Daichi has to slide is plain stupid. Gotta market that merchandise, though!
Seeing X team up with Ultraman Victory AND Ultraman Ginga was quite a treat. I haven't seen any of their shows, and I've heard mixed to negative things about them from fellow kaiju fans (plus, I don't care for Victory's design), but Tsuburaya pro. seems to be making great use of the Ultra multiverse.


I, too, am hoping this show can get a DVD/Blu-ray release here when it finishes. I don't know how good viewership is for Crunchyroll, but it would be great for Tsuburaya pro. if they could make more profit stateside; plus, I just want to own this show and play it for kids!

*EDIT*
I just watched the Gomess episode. It was the best episode yet!!

[klen7]

i really liked the Gomess episode as well. Overall i have been pretty impressed with this series. I came in with low expectation because of the cards and the spark dolls, but it all works pretty well. Has this series been successful in Japan?

[king_ghidorah]

I guess I'll be the one guy who just isn't into this show. It's just so damned toy-centric...it's a far cry from the (admittedly child friendly) adventure sci-fi tone of the original couple of series.

[kiryugoji04]

I think it's handling it's toyetic nature really well. I love this series so much. It's got a ton of really unique, inventive, and exhilarating episodes.

[Gman2887]

[kiryugoji04]

[Mac]

There's a poster going around for the new Ultraman X film. Who's directing? EDIT: Nevermind, I checked the SciFi Japan article, it's Taguchi. Which is good news.

I hope the film tries to create some type of narrative momentum. The last movie, Ultraman Ginga S Movie Showdown, was complete trash, barely qualifying as a movie. It was happy to just parade around decade old characters.

[Inui Takumi]

[Dai]

It was nice to see M-1 this week. His episode in Ultra Q was one of my favourites, and it's interesting that they specifically tied this episode into the continuity of the old one.

[king_ghidorah]

Need to give this series another try now that kiryugoji04 deemed it his favorite Ultra series ever on FB. That's high praise coming from a pretty big Ultra series fan...

[Rody]

I'm almost caught up now. Episodes 17 & 18 were rather average, I thought, but Ep. 19 was neat.

[kiryugoji04]

Got lazy about posting my thoughts and stuff, so let me recap really quickly:

Episode 16: Super creative episode and I'd say it's one of the best in the franchise to date! I love how they still managed to move the overarching plot forward a little too during Dada's interrogation. Taguchi is the best, as always.

Episode 17: I was so angry when I thought they were gonna let Pygmon die at the end. Some have said they wish they'd stuck to their guns and let Pygmon actually die but I really enjoyed how this episode subverted the tradition of Pygmon's tragic demise. Because Pygmon is ALWAYS tragically demising.

Episode 18: This episode was super weird. The structure and pacing and everything felt off somehow? And I wasn't the biggest fan of how they turned the Space Cats' memory-effecting properties into a fart joke. Still, I was happy to see a Space Cat show up in the franchise again and there were tons of fun moments spread throughout the episode. Maybe it will gel a little better on a rewatch. My girlfriend really enjoyed it though, so that's a plus.

Episode 19: I cried. Not gonna lie. This episode was really touching and also fairly creepy in the M1 segments. I just watched that episode of Ultra Q not too long ago and it was really great seeing X take that original story and using it as a springboard for this one. The first shot of X and EX Gomora facing off was really killer too.

Episode 20: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-- OH GOD THE NEXUS CROSSOVER MELTED MY FACE OFF. Making Tachibana the new Deunamist was an inspired move. Sure, I would have loved to have seen any of the old Deunamists in the role but Tachibana inheriting the power of Nexus allowed the series to tell a VERY Nexus-esque character story while still keeping the focus on and developing these characters instead of just pandering to nostalgia for the original series. I love love love the way Ultraman X has handled its crossover episodes so masterfully.

And that brings us to this, the trailer that just dropped for the Ultraman X Movie!



Oh my God, it's so beautiful. I would have been a little dismayed that we're getting ANOTHER giant teamup movie – especially after the last one was so awful – but the fact that the five Ultramen appearing apart from the three headliners are all from X's crossover episodes, this seems like an organic continuation of what we've already seen in the series and that's really exciting! My other concern is that Zaigorg, Golza, and Antlar seem like a pretty small enemy force compared to eight Ultramen plus Cyber Gomora but there's a very brief shot of Victory fighting Tsurugi Demarga so I'm guessing a few other monsters will show up as well.

I'm so psyched.

[Mac]

Taguchi's framing of the special effects sequences is really top-notch, but Jesus, all those Ultra's. How is this film going to separate itself from the deluge of other team-up films that have plagued this series since 2006?

[kiryugoji04]

[lhb412]

Loved the Gomess episode! A one-two punch of emotions and classic miniature smashing and monster brawling (thought the fights were getting a bit too 'sentai' recently).

[kiryugoji04]

How so?

[lhb412]

^It seemed like a lot of the runtime of the fights had been ate-up by colorful cut-scenes showing power-ups, energy attacks, and transformations for many of the episodes leading up to the one I had just watched.

[Inui Takumi]

As much as I love Sentai and am used to that style, it does throw me off from time to time when the momentum of a scene is stopped by the Exceed transformation and attack stock footage. I remember that happening in episode 19 and taking me out of the moment a little bit.

[lhb412]

The episode was also the best ever use of Cyber Gomora, which I usually find gimmicky (loved the all-to-short Cyber Gomora vs. Mecha Gomora fight, tough).

Also: there should be an actual Ultraman who's martial art of choice is boxing.

[XvGojira]

[sentaison]

Episode 21: WOW, Greeza has to be the most unique ultra baddy since Bullton! The fight at the end was just nuts with some of the best f/x I've ever seen in an Ultra series or film! Greeza was overpowering in a way I've never seen used against an Ultra, X was being completely over matched on every level! How are they gonna top this for the finale?

[Dai]

Episode 21 was jaw-dropping at times. A large part of the X vs Greeza fight was one extended shot with pyrotechnics and CG effects going off in every direction. The blocking for that sequence must have been incredibly complex to pull off; on a tight TV production schedule, it took guts to to try something like that.

[kiryugoji04]

Greeza is terrifying. Thank God I have Star Wars hype to tide me over until the finale but after that I don't know how I'm gonna handle myself during the wait for the Ultraman X movie. D:

[Inui Takumi]

Last night, I finally got around to watching the last two episodes of the series. I knew that they would be good episodes since they are directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi. And man, did he do a good job. I was at the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time. Greeza was an oddly creepy character in the way it moved and attacked. It totally wrecked shop throughout these episodes and posed a legitimate threat the Daichi, X, and Xio as a whole. His final form was pretty cool and given more time, I could see it doing a lot more damage and causing a lot more turmoil for the team. X's combined armor form was interesting, reminded me of Den-O's Climax Form.

And I do like that there are a lot of things left unresolved that can potentially be addressed in the Ultraman X movie coming out in a few months. Things such as where Daichi's parents ended up? Are they still alive? I can't wait for the movie now.

Ultraman X was such a well done show. While Ginga S improved a lot compared to Ginga, X is the one that feels like a proper Ultraman series (granted, I've only seen a handful of shows to completion). It handled it's characters, story, and even cameos in such a believable manner. There may be 2 or 3 episodes that I felt weren't up to par. Other than that, every episode was top notch in some way.

I'd rank this up there with Nexus as my favorite Ultra series. It's been forever since I've seen Nexus and plan on watching it again once it appears in Crunchyroll, but I have a feeling that Ultraman X may still beat it even after rewatching. Not sure yet.

Whatever the next season of Ultraman ends up being, they have a whole lot to live up to coming after X. Such a great show.