So even though I originally said I wanted to take a break from Showa Ultraman for a bit and watch Nexus next, I've kinda had a hankering for some good old fashioned classic Tsuburaya goodness of late, so I ended up starting Ultraseven instead!
I did however finally watch The Next after years of meaning to import it but never getting round to it, so that and Blazar are currently giving me my modern Ultraman fix.
But yes, I watched the first five episodes of Ultraseven last night, and I did indeed really enjoy them! I can totally see what you meant Benjamin about Ultraseven taking everything that the original Ultraman established and expanding upon it. It definitely feels like a show that's got a bit more budget to play with compared to Ultraman, even just in terms of having a lot more throwaway shots of people walking the corridors of the TDF HQ; and indeed having other *people* in the HQ besides just the main cast!
Just bigger sets and more focus on vehicles (the Thunderbirds influence being pretty clear there). And starting right off the bat with an organisation that's dedicated to protecting Earth from alien invasion, whereas Ultraman did have that eventually, but built up to it over time. Here it feels like they're playing with a broader canvas right from the get-go.
I'm also liking the spin with Ultraseven and Dan Moroboshi where they're just one and the same person, rather than an Ultra being and a human fused together. It definitely feels a lot more "superhero"-ish, with Dan being able to use powers in his human form, as well as giving us an inner monologue every now and then when he recognises something of alien origin. Plus Ultraseven directly interacting with humans wile being human-sized is something we never saw in the original show, and it really gives this a cool new spin on the premise that Ultraman established.
And even though it feels like it makes less sense in the context of Dan and Ultraseven literally being the same person, I'm liking how every Ultraman has their own special device that transforms them. Sure the Ultra Eye is basically the same as the Beta Capsule and changing it into a pair of glasses is really just a cosmetic difference, but it's still fun regardless. Also, capsule monsters! When he first used one in the first episode I was like "ok, I guess we're really not going to explain this, huh?"
But either way it's a fun concept and a neat way of getting more monster fights in there, and I'm always down for more monster fights!
As for the episodes themselves, they were a lot of fun! I could have kept going if not for it getting late by the time I finished episode five, but I really enjoyed them. I recognised Eleking as a popular monster, and his episode was certainly cool. I also really liked the creepy atmosphere of The Green Terror, which reminded me a lot of the Greenmons from Ultraman but with a splash of Ultra Q atmosphere thrown in (even ending with an "it could happen to you!"-type closing narration). And damn, speaking of Eleking, he got messed up!!
I thought Ultraman could be brutal sometimes, but Ultraseven thinks nothing of just straight-up slicing monsters into tiny pieces! I'm once again surprised that Tsuburaya was cool with this level of violence in his shows (even if this one was aimed at a slightly older audience), but I'm kinda getting used to it by now.
And the other aliens have been cool too; and not just Alien Cool!
I like how "out there" things like Cool and Vira are. I've always preferred Godzilla's more "realistic" (for the most part) monster designs when it comes to overall design philosophy, but watching the Ultraman shows have definitely made me warm up to the more "out there" monsters like these.
So yeah, I've really been enjoying it so far and I'm looking forward to watching more! At this rate I really am going to have to order Return of Ultraman sooner rather than later just to keep this Showa Tsuburaya train going even longer!