Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Hey, the second end credits song is already gone to make way for a third? No fair!

I finally, finally got around to finishing this series and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get to it. I really loved just about everything Nexus had to offer; the episode arcs that had fewer monsters and more focus on plot, the way it built tension by switching up hosts, and the general way it plays with your expectations of what an Ultraman series is. I think it's fair to call this a deconstruction of the kaiju genre, in much the same way that Neon Genesis Evangelion and The Watchmen do for their respective mediums. I think Nexus does it one step better than those examples. While it starts in a very cynical setting, it ends in a hopeful place and the way it gets there is natural and organic. I'm going to rewatch those Sci-Fi Japan TV specials with the directors and producers now that I know what the heck they are talking about.

I'm going through this for a third time, and damn. I have a couple of favorite ultra shows - X, Max, this..and the Ultra Qs.
The thing is, they're all different. Max is really just a great example of an Ultra show. X is the best of the Toyetic era of Ultraman, and Nexus...well Nexus just gets me with story. It's different, and it's a unique creature amongst the rest of the series.

I really love how the kaiju get used for multiple arcs. It's interesting and allows the show to breathe.

Not strictly related to the show, but earlier this month I helped shoot and edit three music videos featuring Yasue Sato (who played Nagi) and directed by Takeshi Yagi (who directed Nexus, Max and others.)

This is the first song. Very short. Enjoy!

^Not strictly related, and yet very much related! Very cool Mr. Ballard.

Well, I started this this evening after perusing '60s Ultra material and blowing through Ultraseven X.

Currently through episode four (first monster arc) and not loving it so far. What finally clicked with me in the '60s stuff was its wild mixture of '60s spy-fi + the sci-fi anthology feel carried over from Q + giant monsters by way of Tsuburaya + superheroics. And Ultraseven X I wound up loving in spite of itself (see that thread).

Maybe it's my lack of experience with the genre (certainly not kaiju/giant monsters as a whole, but their superhero TV offshoots), but after reading about it feeling like a "deconstruction" here, so far it's playing much more like what I've always imagined a modern Japanese giant hero show to be than any of the other material I've watched. The only thing really bucking against that is the heavy serialization and slightly more serious treatment of survivors and witnesses (and credit where it's due, the moral ambiguity of the monster patrol here is engaging).

Despite that, I watched four episodes back to back because of its insistence of ending on cliffhangers. I guess they got me on that front.

I'll post more thoughts if I continue, though at this point I'm up in the air on whether I'll do so. Maybe in small doses.

EDIT -- I think I'm really missing the sci-fi anthology aspect.

^ I really agreed with you for those early episodes, but it grows on you. The series introduces twists and complications, and a lot of the things I complained about as defects in the early episodes reveal themselves as plot points that end up developing into something interesting down the line.

While I love the anthology aspect common with Ultra shows, I do appreciate that Nexus' approach allows us to spend more time with the kaiju, especially appreciated when it's a really cool one!

I wound up watching through episode twelve and am now really enjoying myself. Could hardly stop. I love that this Ultraman is a former war photographer/photo journalist, as it adds a sense of real-world concientiousness to go alongside some of the show's less grounded character concerns (I could go the whole series without hearing the word "genjitsu" one more time). Really glad kids wound up watching it.

Yeah, those early episodes were just rough. I think they were a poor way to start. It picks up immensely in the second four-episode arc.

I actually haven't cared for any of the monsters so far, but then, even in Godzilla movies, monster designs and powers are usually the last thing I worry about. Thus far it's been a particularly boring bunch though. Still enjoying it.

Apparently Riko and Komon had the most Puritan relationship of all time.

I don't know it's name, but there's a kaiju I really like where it's a quadruped and the suit performer's arms (the creature's front legs) are extended, think small stilts, so it cuts a real interesting shape among men-in-suit monsters.

, and are my favorite monsters from Nexus - although I think Nosferu's design could use improvement.
A lot of Heisei ultra monsters, to me, seem over-detailed and lack distinct silhouettes - aspects which make the the classic monsters so classic.

^Golgolem is the one I was talkin' bout!

Man, I need to finish this series. Life gets a little in the way sometimes, but I think I only have 7 episodes left? A few weeks ago I said I wouldn't continue with Orb until I finished Nexus, so I've only seen the first three episodes of Orb.

Marathoning the final episodes. I'm gonna finish this tonight!

Soooo...



--- edit ---

Rewatched the final episode, and -

We watched the first 6 episodes to Nexus tonight and it is as good as I remember it being. Although, the CGI is worse than I remember. I also forgot how sluggish the first arc moves. That aside, they were great. I loved how they spent time to develop Komon as the central character before they started to develop Jun. It brings an interesting dynamic that the series before it did not do.

I do have to say though, the Night Raiders' planes take forever to take off. A monster could have half of Japan destroyed by the time they leave their hangers. I'm also waiting to hear them say, "Chester Beta, Chester Gamma, Chester Delta, and Chester Cheetah, TAKE OFF!"

I like how there is already a connection between Nagi and Zero One from The Next. Can't wait to watch more.

Oh, and lastly, the subs on Crunchyroll are pretty mediocre. Episode 5 had a moment where Jun's reporter friend was talking and twice in a row it said, "LINE MISSING." WTF? Did the people at Crunchyroll just not feel like translating those two sentences? God damn that was lazy and unproferssional. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised based on what I have heard about the employees who work there.

some of these reviews are making it really hard to stick with trying to watch all the series chronologically.

...maybe I should bounce back and forth.

Or maybe watch a new series and an older series at once and work my way towards the middle. I'm already sort of doing that since I've watched some of Ultraman X but keep going back to the Original series too. (the original really has a certain charm to it. Even though the Type A costume is really rough looking. The monsters are a lot of fun though.)

Ultraman X is fun but I get annoyed at constantly having toys shoved towards the camera. Just tell the story. (I'm already buying toys I don't need to be sold on them. Hahaha). Hopefully not all the new series are like that.

Oh that, I never evren thought about that. Eh, whatever. To answer your question, yes, both Ginga and X do that.

Ultraman has adopted the practice of making the transformation device the main toy that kids get. Annoying, but apparently it's been a big success, so it's just the price we pay.

Kamen Rider and Sentai have been doing this for ages.

got it. thanks.

Episodes 7-12 of Nexus... DAMN!!!!! Wow, "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!", damn, that friggin sucks. Ouch!

I really liked these episodes, especially the stuff dealing with Faust. I do hope they start to give more focus on Jun though as he is the title character and he's been pretty much a side character thus far. I'm really enjoying the show a lot and how they are handling the monsters. I thought I had seen the first 20 or so episodes, but I do not remember Rika's story, so maybe I saw less than I had. If I had any major nitpicks it would be the CGI is pretty awful and some of the effects look a little too fake. Other than that, no complaints.

Oh, but I do need to ask, the marksman girl looks familiar. Not Nagi, as she is the woman who plays Jabi in Garo, the other one. Is she one of the sisters from Kamen Rider Hibiki?

The Faust storyline, after the revelations about the Memory Police, is what really proved to me that this was a VERY different Ultraman from what had come before. It was also a real punch to the feels. It does emphasize the darkness in the series.