Ultraman Max gets licensed by Crunchyroll

[alienhulk2099]

Yes folks you read that correctly!

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... max/.79786

Ultraseven X was on munchyroll back when the site was for fansubbers, now Ultraman is returning to the site! Now with a license!

[lhb412]

This is excellent news! Ultraman's such an expansive franchise that free streaming is the best option for Japanese studios trying to get these characters out there to other countries.

[Enshohma]

Although I'm not a big fan of "Ultraman Max", I am grateful to see Tsuburaya exposing Americans to a series that isn't "Ultraman Tiga", and AGAIN for that matter!

Even if both "Tiga" and "Max" suffers from very similar problems, i.e. both trying way too damn hard to capture and / or homage the magic of the original "Ultraman". And instead coming off more coy and obnoxious in doing so.

Thankfully however, there are far more GOOD episodes than bad ones in "Ultraman Max", along with stronger art direction, special effects, and creature designs. All those things that I found lacking in "Ultraman Tiga".

Plus, online streaming may be the only real option open to Tsuburaya Productions these days, as no one seems interested in their shows through Region 1 DVD, minus the 'barley legal' release done by Chiyo.

And even than, most American Kaiju fans tend to ignore or be ignorant of the Ultra shows, along with a simple unwillingness to give any of them a chance. Even the purely kaiju' "Ultra Q"!

Hopefully, this will lead to the likes of "Ultraman Gaia", "Ultraman Nexus", and "Ultraman 80" getting full English subtitles and the Crunchyroll treatment. Hell, I'd even love to see my beloved "Ultraman Towards the Future" back again! I know A LOT of people hate that show, but it was my first introduction to the franchise, and still holds up for me on recent viewings, minus some shoddy monster suits.

[Baltan II]

[king_ghidorah]

Watched the first episode this morning. Love this show! Probably tied with the first 2/3 of The Return of Ultraman as my favorite Ultraman series ever. I think it's amazing that we're able to watch this show on our tv, legally, and subbed.

[MekaGojira3k]

Max is so much fun. It's a great mix of drama and nostalgia.

[lhb412]

Watching the first episode!

[lhb412]

Liked it a lot! Think it's kind of a jerk move on Ultraman Max's part giving his human such a cumbersome transformation device. Think practical: he's gotta lug that thing around!

[alienhulk2099]

Only Jack did not have a transformation device and for some reason everyone but me hates him. Plus it is tradition, gotta still have the traditions they had in the 60s while updating it for the modern audience.

[Rody]

I nearly danced a jig when I found out about this. I just may have to watch Max again, now.

[Mac]

I watched Miike's episodes again a few days ago, I'm not a HUGE fan of Miike's films, but really love these. I think the time constraints of television really help fix the pacing issues I have with a lot of his films.

[lhb412]

Just found out that Sci Fi Japan made a thorough Ultraman Max episode guide!

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007 ... ode-guide/

I should really get to watching these shows. I've kinda been paralyzed by the fact there's so much stuff to watch.

[MekaGojira3k]

Ultraman Max is a show that is probably the best modern example of what Ultraman is and can be.
Although Nexus really gets to me through its tone and NOSTALGIA goggles.

[lhb412]

Really getting into this series. It captures the '60s feel really well, and I love how the one white crew member just comes off as an idiot.

Hope they put Tiga up on Crunchyroll. Never saw the final quarter of the series (including the original Ultraman team-up, evil Tiga, and finale stuff) back in the day.

[kiryugoji04]

[lhb412]

Hmmm... Kaneko seemed to be having a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun with the captions and signage in episodes 11 and 12.

[kiryugoji04]

Oh, I bet you have no idea what happened in the TV cut of the Antlar episode, huh? Speaking of tongue-in-cheek.

[lhb412]

^ I read about that.



--- EDIT ---

Really enjoyed episodes 13 & 14 (the Zetton and King Joe episodes). Quality-wise, they're the best episodes so far not directed by Kaneko.

The most disappointing episode for me so far is the Red King/Pygmon two-parter. It paled in comparison to the original '66 episode its a remake of, and the kaiju portions seemed pretty weak from a film making point of view. There really is an art to shooting this stuff that you often take for granted until you see it not being done properly.

[lhb412]

Yeah, I've been binge watching this all weekend.

Just watched the Gomora episode, which I particularly liked because Gomora is my favorite Ultra kaiju (along with Dada... why have they hardly ever used Dada?!). I like that the series is now consistently indulging in the playful surreality (to a manic extent in the Miike episodes) that made the original series so great.

[lhb412]

Man, Akio Jissoji really went for the throat with his episodes! They were a perfect mix of wistful and terrifying. I enjoyed how he stomped the forth wall into pieces, too. People get far to hung up with continuity sometimes, and it's good to throw it all to the wind every once and a while.

The Ultraman '66 reunion in episode 24 was very sweet.

[lhb412]

Finally finished Max! Didn't think the back end of the series was a strong as the middle portion of episodes, but it regrouped there at the end with the Kaneko Pygmon/Red King/Shaman episode and the strong final two-parter. I couldn't help notice some similarities to the Ultraseven finale, which I assume is only natural because of the show heavily leaning on nostalgia for Ultraman and Ultraseven (with one Ultra Q episode).

Admittedly, the quality could vary from episode to episode, but the highs make up for the lows. With the episode guide I tried to make out if all the episodes I liked were by certain directors, but that wasn't necessarily the case: I generally really liked the Kaneko and Yagi episodes, but a few fell flat. Some directors made mainly episodes I found lacking, but produced one episode I thought was great. Mike and Jissoji had the strongest track record, but since they only did two episodes apiece I suppose they had more space to get theres perfect.