Ultraman X

[Specium Ray]

FWIW, I've never noticed any sound issues on X, probably an isolated incident.

[Dr Kain]

[Dr Kain]

Ultraman X 11-14 - Those were a really good batch of episodes. The two parter with Ginga and Victory were really entertaining and the skull knight looking dude's design was so badass. I also loved watching X battle King Joe even though he seemed to be a lot weaker than he was in Seven. The CGI was mediocre for his four ships. Unfortunately, Daichi still hasn't done anything to make me like him as a character. It seems like he is pretty much like Hayata was in the original, there to be a reason for Ultraman to exist. Only difference is, Hayata had an excuse to be a bland character since it was the first time a show like that had ever been done. Here, there is no excuse.

[Dr Kain]

Well we just finished Ultraman X and that was an average finale for what was an average series. Spoilers will be involved.

Ep 15 - Kamiki is a terrible father! That is all.

Ep 16 - Oh god, a found footage-esque episode. WHat is this, COPS? Good guy, STOP SHAKING THE CAMERA!! Wait, did they just break the documentary style to show of the toy sale gimmick for the 100th time? Just an all around terrible episode and the worst of the series. ALthough, the scene when Kamiki interrogates the alien dude was hilarious.

Ep 17 - What would an Ultraman series be without the original Pokemon? It was a touching episode.

Ep 18 - The scene where Rui kept correcting people into calling the monster Mu-Chan to the point that everyone corrects Daichi was hilarious. A childish episode, but a funny one. Poor Wataru. His window antics were great.

Ep 19 - Gomora, Man's Best Friend! Another solid episode here, but what was up with the space monkey?

Ep 20 - Oh cool, Nexus. Boy this episode seemed extremely rushed. This should have been at least a 2 parter becasue Tachibana turning into Nexus just comes out of the blue, she quits, but then why is she still there like nothing happened? Oh, now she says she really should quit annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Nexus is gone. What the hell was that all about? What was the purpose of Nexus here when he didn't actually do anything? Once again, why the hell was this not a multi-part episode? Hell, this could have easily been a three parter with how much happened here.

Ep 21 - Okay, Greeza is freaking awesome. I love the way he moves. "Oh god dammit, I hate it when lag occurs as it makes it so hard to hit the enemy."

Ep 22 - That's it? Where was the resolution? They never even learned what the source of the dark lightning was. There was no climax to Daichi's quest to find his parents. He didn't even use the Nexus card he got two episodes ago. What was the point of Space Kong?

Overall, like I said, it was an average series. For being 22 episodes (well 24 if you count the two clipshows that were deemed .5) there was just way too much filler and nothing ever felt like there was any major plot thread. The space monkey dude was pointless as he didn't bring anything to the table. Also, Daichi was such a bland character. He barely had any character growth whatsoever and his search for his parents never had an resolution. The same goes for X himself who was there just because it's called Ultraman. Of course, it's not like the rest of the characters were any better.

Thankfully, the show made up for its negatives with a lot of really fun and entertaining episodes. The miniatures were outstanding and the camera work was quite impressive. My favorite episode was the rugby one with the aliens and nothing throughout the rest of the series was able to top it. It's a shame we never got to see them return either as that would have been cool. Then again, this show seems to be full of missed opportunities.

In the end it is easily the weakest of the Ultraman series I have seen. Granted, that isn't many, but all the same. Our next series is going to be Ginga while I finish up UltraSeven on my own.

[Rody]

^ Episodes 15 & 16 were my absolute favorites of the show. I appreciated seeing not only Kamiki's conflict between his duties as a father and a "soldier", but also his recognition - and acceptance - of the responsibility he has. The documentary episode was very funny, and it also offered a little world-building and surprise characterization here & there.

[lhb412]

Wait... there's a Hong Kong Blu-Ray of the Ultraman X movie with English subs?!

You better announce something real quick William Winckler!

[Mac]

Hong Kong put out cheap releases for all three Ultraman Zero films, but they never included subtitles. I guess that changed with the Ginga S and X movies though. Hopefully this bodes well for the Orb film (which still hasn't leaked online, the blu-ray release is in July).

[Specium Ray]

[lhb412]

^Yeah, your right, but I said it 'cause it brings to mind the Americanization instantly.

[DannyBeane]

I just started watching this on Crunchy Roll the other day and I'm not sure how I feel about the first 3 episodes so far. The spfx and action scenes are great, however I don't care much for the design aesthetics of XIO, and none of the characters really grab me. Also Spark Dolls being ancient artifacts that turn into monsters despite that fact that they are clearly vinyl toys turns me off. Also the digital aesthetic isn't working for me. That said, the monster action is good and I really like the design of the X suit.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

yeah that's pretty much how I felt too,..about Ginga also, (though Ginga X was better.)

So far Ultraman Max, Mebius, Nexius and Geed are the modern ones I've really liked. (I still have to watch Orb, I hear that one's good.)

[lhb412]

I feel like I'm in the minority in liking X more than Orb or Geed. Yes, it's toyetic and the spark dolls are hard to swallow at first but I like that it's a more traditional series based on a defense team's operations, I like how individual episodes can diverge wildly in tone and often spotlight one of the team members, I love Daichi and X's relationship as Ultra and host (Salaryman Zero is the successor to this), and I like that it's more of a monster-of-the-week thing instead of focusing on our superhero's conflict with a supervillian.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

that's why I like Max and Mebius, I think they did those things,...better.

I don't dislike X. I didn't groan and push myself to finish it. But I thought Max and Mebius did that stuff better.

For whatever reason I also felt more emotionally invested in the characters.

X was very much (to me) like a live action cartoon.

Cool looking suit though,...minus the giant Beats Headphones he wore.

[DannyBeane]

So I watched a few more episodes today (admittedly I will have to rewatch some as they were background noise to a project I was working on) that said, I really enjoyed the episode where zero showed up and they fought Bandero. I loved the spaghetti western vibe they had going on. I also thought the alien rugby episode was a fun change of pace from the regular formula. I love odd goofy stories like those. I'm warming up to this series. A few years ago I couldn't watch anything after Ultraman 80, and now I'm really starting to appreciate the series from the past 5 years or so.

[DannyBeane]

Ok watching Cyber Gomora fight mecha Gomora was pretty awesome.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

agreed, very much

[DannyBeane]

So I'm watching the episode with Gomess and I'm loving it very much and it's really making me wish Toho would make a new Godzilla film using a showa Godzilla inspired design.

*edit*
Also that cyber Gomora vs Gomess fight during the wedding is one of the dopest kaiju fights I've seen in a really long time. I just want to put it on loop.

[DannyBeane]

So I'm watching the episode that just introduced Greeza and let me say... he is the villain post showa King Ghidorah should have been.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

Don't forget to catch the Ultraman X movie too, it's neat seeing X fighting alongside the other Ultras.

You've seen Episode 10 of Ultraman X already then, right?

[DannyBeane]

Once I work my way through all the Heisei series available, then I'm going to start working my way through the movies and also I dig how they give guest appearances to the other Ultramen.

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

you might want to look up the Zero Trilogy so you know who Zero is. His introduction is in the movies and not the shows.

There's:
Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie
Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial
Ultraman Saga


So you may not completely want to wait to finish the shows before you dive into the movies. Because some of the shows (like Geed) feature Zero but you'll have no introduction to him yet.

[klen7]

i saw the opening scene of Ultraman Saga at G-Fest this past year and have been planning to check it out

[DannyBeane]

[Kaiju_Ultra_Fan]

no problem, hope you enjoy them!

1 is just...insane non-stop action
2 is a good movie
3 is (sorta) like a stand alone ultraman episode that's movie length


...so,..definitely see at least 1 and 2 if you can.

Fair warning with the exception of Zero's introduction and slight character development (Belial also, the Big Bad),..that first movie is just,..non-stop ass kicking on a really big scale. Picture dozens of Ultras fighting on their homeworld!

It's way more action than story,..but,..it's really cool because it's non-stop ass kicking!

[Rody]