Ultraman Arc

[Kailem]

Since there's not been a thread made about this year's new Ultraman show yet I figure now's as good a time as any, now that the first teaser and a bunch of details are out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuRlaOC1vNY

It definitely looks like they're aiming it at a slightly younger audience again than with Blazar, given the younger protagonist and more bright and colourful look it seems to have. It reminds me a lot of Ace in its Showa-esque aethetic. We even got a "shuwatch" in there too!

And the link to SciFi Japan's article covering all the main press release details:

https://www.scifijapan.com/news/ultraman-arc-press-notes-and-photos-for-new-tv-series-from-tsuburaya-pro

[lhb412]

The aesthetic is deliberately aping Return of Ultraman! It's the director's favorite series. I wonder if this means we'll see some classic kaiju that haven't appeared since that series?

Although it looks more like the usual shows of the last decade than Blazar, which was a real stylistic break, it seems some of Blazar's changes will continue: more new kaiju (and newly built kaiju suits) and a limit on the constant toyetic transformations (Arc will have armors instead of new forms, and they'll have pros and cons to their use).

[Kailem]

I kept seeing the title for this and thinking it meant the new *trailer* was coming out on July 6th and this video was just a teaser or something; I only realised the other day that *this* is the new trailer, and July 6th is when the show begins! So yeah this has been out for a few weeks now, but either way, "new" trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbgRS6rZ7Pg

Now that you've said about the deliberate Return of Ultraman influence I can definitely see a bit of it here, especially with the jazzy 70's-style title background. And I guess the new team, SKIP, isn't actually part of the Global Defence Force this time round but are rather GDF-adjacent, with one of their members being a GDF liaison. I'm not versed enough in the franchise overall to know if that's a fairly common approach in the post-Showa shows, but it's certainly a new one for me! Plus by the looks of things, I'd imagine it helps a lot with keeping the budget down too.

[lhb412]

SKIP almost seems like a friendlier version of the SSSP from Shin Ultraman; consultants who work with the defense force.

Budgets have caused the defense teams to be pushed into the background in some of the new gen Ultraman shows, but in the last four shows at least we've had pretty traditional defense teams. I've read that Bandai, Tsuburaya's majority owner, doesn't care about them, but everyone at Tsuburaya tends to fight for their inclusion.

[Kailem]

That's weird that Bandai wouldn't want defence forces to be included in these shows. If anything they should be all about them, since surely their weapons and vehicles would present them with more merchandising opportunities!

Either way they just make sense as being the most likely group of characters who would confront monsters on a weekly basis. But I guess it's a lot cheaper to have a cast of characters operating out of a Tsuburaya office than creating a 'military command center' (even on a TV budget), so I could maybe see why Bandai might potentially like to pinch the pennies that way.

EDIT: And here's the pre-launch preview episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxZQ8esUp2M

That certainly gives a nice, tidy summation of a whole bunch of previous Ultramen (great for people like me who so far have no experience with the New Generation Heroes), along with a look at Arc's powers! It's cool to see one or two classics in there, as well as glimpses of one or two new monsters that I don't think appeared in the previous trailers.

[lhb412]

Celebrated Ultraman Day by watching the first episode of Arc... and I liked it! It kinda reminds me of Blazar in the sense both feel like they've been fully fleshed out from the beginning. Can't wait to dig into all the unique details as the series progresses.

[Kailem]

I also really liked the first episode, and the second which just aired!

It was a very interesting change to have an Ultra show start off with the main character already having been a host for some time, along with Ultraman being known to the public and having fought multiple monsters (including Red King and Gomora!) prior to the events of this episode. I'm not sure how many times that's happened in series history, but it was definitely a cool way to switch things up for me, and a great way to hit the ground running. That monster from the opening kinda looked like a cross between Zetton and Antlar too...and I guess that's not the last we'll be seeing of him....

You can definitely see the Return of Ultraman influences in places, and it was cool to have an Ultra saying "shuwatch" again! They did a good job of introducing the cast, and everyone seemed likeable. And that big fight scene again Shagong - which was itself a cool creature with some neat abilities - was awesome! I loved the part where the camera rose through the building as Arc was getting up. Very, very cool.

In fact, both of these first two episodes have had some really imaginative fight scenes. I hope this is indicative of what we'll be seeing going forward with this show, because if so it would seem as though the theme of "imagination" is being used in some great ways!

So yeah, a really good start to what's hopefully going to go on to be another great show!

[lhb412]

I've finally caught up with Arc and will now be able to watch "live." Really enjoyed the mid-series two-parter. I'm impressed with Arc's original kaiju being designed deliberately retro. You'd totally believe they were Showa monsters being revived.

I was worried that they were going to spend four episodes on a Blazar crossover. I mean, I love Blazar, but there's only so many episodes of these shows and four is a lot of episodes to share, you know? But so far these first two episodes have felt like Arc episodes that just happen to feature Blazar monsters and aliens. A nice on ramp to a crossover that isn't overwhelming.

[Kailem]

I need to have a really big catch-up marathon at some point, as I've unfortunately fallen way behind thanks to a shifting sleeping schedule. But I had a feeling they might have been doing some sort of Blazar crossover when I saw some of its original monsters starting to appear on Ultraman Twitter accounts again!