tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70421509280256199702024-03-14T00:40:12.535-07:00Shynilyte's blogThoughts, geekery and whatever.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-14747988263366066502013-08-21T01:38:00.000-07:002013-08-21T04:18:28.245-07:00Ultraman Ginga episode 6: halfway finaleEpisode 6 was the final episode of <i>Ultraman Ginga</i>'s summer arc. Is it a good halfway end? Well, read on to find out.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>After the end of the previous episode, Taro manages to teleport Hikaru and Tomoya (along with himself) to safety, away from Tiga Dark. Why Tiga doesn't just look for them, I don't know. In fact, Tiga pretty much disappears with no trace until much later in the episode. I guess even dark Ultramen have some form of time limit here.<br />
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Anyway, since they were back at the school, we get to some backstory explained for Tomoya. Apparently, his father is the head of "Ichijouji Group", whatever that is. Apparently, that means they're rich, and Tomoya himself doesn't have any dreams or desire because he can easily get anything he would want, since he's apparently heir to said group. I'm not really sure how to feel about this, but he would probably be more sympathetic if he was say, worried his future is already planned out or stressed about any possible responsibilities that might get handed to him. Tomoya's lack of desire is also sort of used to explain why he's different from the other Dark Spark users, but it doesn't really explain why he needs to use the Gunpad to control Jean Killer.<br />
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Tomoya also appears to have some father issues here, and that allows Taro to relate to him with some backstory of his own. Speaking of which, Taro's flashback is at least neat in that it's an attempt to convey a positive message, even though it's not something that's actually demonstrated. On a less positive note, Taro still doesn't make it clear if he's an alternate version "native" to this universe (like how the <i>Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers</i> universe had it's own version of characters from different continuities, including Daigo, Asuka and Gamu) or if he's the "regular" Taro who travelled to this universe. It's not really an important issue, but it's worth mentioning.<br />
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On to more significant things: Hikaru offers Tomoya the challenge of defeating Ultraman Ginga in a fight, as something that would require effort to achieve. Surprisingly, Hikaru transforms into Ginga straight away without changing into a monster or alien first. Impressively, Hikaru (as Ginga) easily defeats Tomoya and Jean Killer by... "phasing" his hand into the giant robot's control room and snatching Tomoya's Dark Spark. It comes of as a little <i>too</i> easy, honestly.<br />
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Afterwards is the big fight for this episode with Ginga against Tiga, who made Alien Valkie giant-sized to help out. I do not recall Tiga <i>ever</i> having this kind of power. Seriously, it's just weird.<br />
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As promised by the preview for this episode, Jean Killer suddenly becomes Jean-Nine, and Tomoya is able to help Hikaru. Jean-Nine having his own version of the Gunpad doesn't feel right, due to how dinky the thing looks when held by such a bulky robot, making it one of the more intrusive examples of toy advertising in this show.<br />
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The fight scene itself just doesn't impress me. It didn't combine use of miniatures and scenery with clever camera angles well enough to reinforce the illusion that the combatants are actually gigantic. And the lack of special attacks on the Ultramen's part (besides Ginga's arm beam) doesn't help either. At least the insert song during the battle was great. Too bad it's pretty much the only good music used during any episode.<br />
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All in all, not a very impressive episode. But that's pretty much how every episode of <i>Ginga</i> has been so far, so um... it's consistent, I guess. But not in a very good way. It's a little disappointing that Tiga Dark was just a mindless super minion under the mysterious main villain's control, instead of another human. Sure, the episodic villains didn't have great characterization, but it was at least <i>something</i>.<br />
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The episode ends by blatantly pointing out that there's more to come, since the show will be on hiatus for a little while. The viewers are reminded that the main villain is still unknown and Ultraman Ginga himself is still a mystery. Speaking of Ginga, he gets a little dialogue as a separate entity from Hikaru, but it doesn't amount to much, besides confirming that Ginga is himself a sentient entity.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i>
Ultraman Ginga </i></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></i></span>
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Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-65933198128147823092013-08-14T13:17:00.001-07:002013-08-14T13:17:22.897-07:00Ultraman GInga episode 5: things happenAs of this writing, Over-Time's subs for episode 5 aren't out yet, so I didn't have access to a thorough translation of the episode the time of this writing. Thankfully, <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1679725&postcount=216" target="_blank">okunohoshimichi at Henshin Justice was helpful in explaining a few things.</a><br />
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This episode has some more drama between Hikaru's buddies. Kenta is apparently really upset about the rest of them trying to keep the Ultraman and monster-related stuff secret from him, and this led to Alien Valkie giving him a Dark Spark. This subplot wasn't done very well, and it's resolved a little too quickly anyway. Kenta doesn't even get to use the Spark Doll he was given.<br />
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On the plus side, Misuzu's actress managed to look (somewhat) convincingly worried seeing Kenta and Hikaru argue, and that probably counts as an achievement, considering the acting ability in this series. <br />
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The main focus of this episode is Tomoya. There's a glimpse of his backstory, but not much is very clear (at least from what I've been able to understand). He seems to have something against Hikaru and the talk about following one's dreams, but I'm not sure what this all means. I assume we'll find out how he relates to the whole dreams and aspirations theme later on.<br />
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I'm honestly a little bothered by how Tomoya needs to use the Gunpad to control Jean Killer, instead of controlling the robot directly like other Spark Doll users. It's a pretty blatant example of toy promotion. But I guess they need to give him a uniqe method of fighting to contrast with Hikaru after they inevitably team up.<br />
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Hikaru's use of the Ginga Spark this time is less formulaic compared to previous episodes. He first uses the Kemur Man doll to transport himself into Jean Killer, and later on confronts Jean Killer using the Doragory doll (which he got from Kenta). Hikaru transforms into Ginga after that, and the battle then involves lots of flying. Interestingly, Hikaru as Ginga runs out of time before he can defeat Jean Killer, and the transformation gets undone before the fight actually ends. Pretty neat to have the time limit used forsomething that's actually kind of dramatic instead of just as a sign that the fight is close to over, and Ultraman will remember to use a finishing move.<br />
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Hikaru successfully frees Taro, but suddenly, both him and Tomoya are attacked by Ultraman Tiga (whom Taro recognizes, somehow) in his "Tiga Dark" form. The episode ends one of Tiga's energy attacks is speeding towards the two boys.<br />
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Interestingly, Tiga here is like Alien Valkie in that he doesn't appear to be a transformation being used by any human. I guess it confirms that the shadowy main villain's Dark Spark works differently than the others, as it can restore Spark Dolls to life instead of using them for transformations. The preview for the next episode looks promising, as it appears to show a flashback of Taro's childhood (along with his parents) and Ginga teaming up with Jean Killer (who becomes Jean Nine).<br />
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Ultraman Ginga </i></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></i></span><br />
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Say, anybody else bothered by how these kids seem to dress in the same outfits for every episode? It made sense with other Ultra shows since the characters wore uniforms, but here it's just odd.
Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-10033452843437920392013-08-07T03:10:00.004-07:002013-08-07T07:35:12.563-07:00Ultraman Ginga and the collectible toys gimmick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(An observation of some sort)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Toy image probably © Tsuburaya Pro. and Bandai</span></td></tr>
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Even though <i>Ultraman Ginga</i>'s premise is very obviously meant to help sell Spark Dolls, I've noticed that the show itself doesn't emphasize any "collect them all" aspect. The Spark Dolls are somewhat similar to the Medals in <i>Kamen Rider OOO</i>, where both the hero and his enemies can use the same items to power up. But in Ginga, none of the characters seem to care about who is getting more items. Nobody tells Hikaru he needs to defeat the enemy to get another Doll, and the vaguely-defined villain faction shows no concern that they're losing Dolls.<br />
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Of course, the villains don't look like they'll run out of Dolls anytime soon, and Hikaru doesn't specifically need any of the Spark Dolls besides Ginga. It's still mildly impressive how there's no collecting mentality that drives the characters or story, and that nothing Hikaru gains is treated as a big deal. At least so far. The show is a little less... shameless in its advertising of merchandise than the premise would lead you to believe, and that's kinda cool, even if the show itself isn't all that great. Then again, this doesn't take the "Spark Dolls Theater" segment into consideration.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-79835957906484451042013-08-07T03:07:00.004-07:002013-08-07T12:47:11.482-07:00Symphogear G episode 5: Oh wow this episode...Wow, episode 5 was... wow.<br />
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Picking up directly from the last episode, Kirika and Shirabe challenge Chris at the school festival singing competition, and it's really neat that they sing Orbital Beat, which is a Zwei Wing song that wasn't <i>really</i> used in season 1. This doesn't really serve any purpose besides having them run into Hibiki's group, since they get called back to their base/hideout. Speaking of which, why did the villains announce the existence of their group iff they were going to end up hiding anyway? That was not a well-thought out plan.<br />
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This episode's focus is mainly on the Finè group, which I like. Maria shows that she's not all that sinister, being totally unwilling to attack the soldiers that invaded their hideout. We also see more of Maria's sister Serena, and more context regarding that flashback in the first episode of <i>G</i>. Apparently, Serena self-destructed with her Swan Song to re-seal the Nephilim. We also see her Gear outfit which looks kind of terrible. Too much stuff hanging off that doesn't seem to serve any purpose.<br />
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Dr. Ver gets to be pretty villainous in this episode. Almost absurdly so. He summons Noise to slaughter the soldiers, and also a group of children that just happened to see.<br />
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We also find out the Finè group's plan is, or at least what Dr. Ver claims is their plan. Apparently, the moon's trajectory has been altered by the attack in season 1, and it will crash into the earth in the future. The plan involves uniting poeple in the world under one government, and somehow the Nephilim is involved. It really sounds more like an excuse to rule the world, just like what Chris said of Finè's plan in the previous season. He makes up for Maria's team being a little unthreatening, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Finè reincarnation turns out to be Ver instead of Maria. Would be consistent with the last season, and doesn't sound as... fanfiction-ish as Finè being a Gear user.<br />
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Hibiki gets to be pretty cool in this episode too, even though she doesn't get much focus. She's at least trying really hard against the Noise summoned by Ver, and the now somewhat larger Nephilim. And her song from the first episode gets played again. One thing I really liked about Symphogear's first season was how it could use some songs over and over without them losing any dramatic value. I haven't really been getting that for this season. Anyway, whatever mysterious tragic thing that supposedly happened in her past is still not elaborated upon, just vaguely hinted at again.<br />
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Of course, what stands out the most in this episode happens near the end. Hibiki fights against the Nephilim, and a punch she delivers, instead of damaging it, is caught by its mouth. <b>Her right arm gets eaten</b>. This is supposed to be a dramatic moment, and it works, but I can't help but think of <i>that</i> scene in <i>Madoka Magica</i> episode 3. It's not really the same, but it plays for similar shock, and I kind of want the ED sequence to become something more grim now.<br />
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Anyway, awesome episode. So much happening, and we finally get to find out important stuff about the villain group. Plus, the focus (or at least tone) didn't feel like it was jumping all over compared to the previous one. I can't wait for the rest of this show, and I expect to be surprised even more from now on (as odd as that sounds).<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Senki Zesshō Symphogear G © Project Symphogear G</span></i>
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Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-70857734322747204842013-08-05T22:49:00.000-07:002013-08-05T22:49:45.604-07:00Ultraman Ginga episode 4: still about dreamsAs shown by the preview, this episode focuses on Chigusa's dream of becoming an idol.<br />
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Anyway, episode 4 has two people from a magazine visit the school for a photoshoot, which unfortunately, they couldn't do because the model they arranged for bailed on them. However, they decided to just pick a different subject for the photoshoot, that being Misuzu. I'm not sure if magazine staff would be allowed to do that, but at least the photoshoot doesn't come across as too blatantly skeevy. But this is a children's/family show, so duh.<br />
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Despite Misuzu getting the literal spotlight, this episode is about Chigusa. She tried to offer herself for the photography session (that sounded kinda dirty), but the two guys didn't seem to even notice her. Chigusa is mostly a little quiet his time, which is honestly for the better considering her voice.There's a scene where Tomoya also pops up to make her day worse, and his dialogue doesn't really serve much purpose but make him look totally horrible. It was already clear that Chigusa was upset how Misuzu was getting the attention and was already further along the path of becoming an idol. Tomoya spelling that out, as well as the way he phrased it (at least, according to Over-Time's translation) doesn't tell us anything we couldn't guess already, but instead makes him look like an ass. I hope that was the intention, since the alternative would mean the writing treats the audience as really really stupid.<br />
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Anyway, the enemy of the week is a major step up as a character, compared to previous episodes. This time, Valkie targets Chigusa, exploiting her negative emotions in this episode (which I'm guessing are a mixture of jealousy and feeling inadequate). She's turned into the monster Ragon, which is like some sort of fish (wo)man-thing. This time, the monster was clearly seen by people besides Misuzu, so I'm assuming the whole thing will no longer be a secret to the rest of the main characters.<br />
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There isn't any actual fight scene in this episode. Hikaru lets himself get beat up as King Pandon, and as Ginga he just reverses Chigusa's transformation using a new ability called "Ginga comfort". You have to wonder why he couldn't have "cured" the previous enemies without actually injuring them. Hikaru's "fight scene" dialogue is in basically the same soft-spoken voice as the previous episode, which bugs me. Shouldn't he demonstrate noticeably different emotions when the opponent he's facing is actually one of his friends?<br />
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A bit of a twist after Chigusa/Ragon is "defeated": Jean Killer shows up, piloted by Tomoya. Ginga is continuously pelted with shots by the giant robot. The scene drags a little too much, almost as if they're trying to make up for a deficiency of explosions in this show. Jean Killer transforms into spaceship mode and flies off after Ginga is changed back into Hikaru. We even see his timer turn red for the first time. Finally, an actually threatening opponent!<br />
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So, that about sums up the episode. <i>Ultraman Ginga</i> is so far not a vey impressive show. I wouldn't blame that on a lack of good ideas, but rather unimpressive execution and low production values. The best thing about this show is that it has thematic consistency, which is enough to keep me watching, but that's not going to apply for everyone. The fact that dreams/aspirations is a major theme, along with more real world-ish setting reminds me quite a lot of <i>Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers</i>. It looks like Chigusa's dream of becoming an idol might get tied to Kenta's dream of being a photographer, judging by that shot of him making a frame with his fingers. Either that, or they'll be a couple. And in case anyone's wondering, Taro is still where he was left off. Next episode looks like it will involve a dark spark user transforming with (gasp!) the Ultraman Tiga doll! <br />
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Ultraman Ginga </i></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></i></span><br />
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Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-14182202405353612352013-08-01T07:03:00.000-07:002013-08-01T15:33:17.408-07:00Symphogear G episode 3 and 4Yeah, I'm still writing about this.<br />
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Episode 3 is mostly a bunch of revelations about things. It's explained how somebody was able to control the Noise during the assault in episode 1. Turns out, Dr. Ver had the Staff of Solomon all along and the thing wasn't actually in its case for much of the time. And yes, he's working for the Finé organization. He also has a method of weakening Symphogear users, apparently. Some sort of gas that reduces their synch ratios.*<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i1tqhycJAz0dsWGpruyYtKQ8tiYl_4Alk0AxCt4_zOIBTBSsC-AZC7PkdR4CbNZUa3W_PFkHxBWs58lobk4nG_uvLiikrYgNPHCGzc17z4GZEyfkXl6JO-AtxUuhyphenhyphenIeR-jVJZilQi8oE/s1600/symphogearg-nephilim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i1tqhycJAz0dsWGpruyYtKQ8tiYl_4Alk0AxCt4_zOIBTBSsC-AZC7PkdR4CbNZUa3W_PFkHxBWs58lobk4nG_uvLiikrYgNPHCGzc17z4GZEyfkXl6JO-AtxUuhyphenhyphenIeR-jVJZilQi8oE/s320/symphogearg-nephilim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also find out about the mysterious object that showed up in episode 1. Turns out it's a reature called Nephilim, which had grown somewhat by this point. I thought it initially resembled the Adam embryo of N<i>eon Genesis Evangelion</i>, and I guess that makes sense now. Nephilim doesn't really do much, and apparently the Fine organization's plans involve feeding it. Episode 3 is also the first we hear of Chris' new battle theme. It's not as in your face as "Makyuu: Ichaival", but that song was introduced in a "OH MY GOD SHE CAN ACTUALLY DO THAT?" moment, and this song... wasn't.<br />
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On a less important but still pretty cool note, turns out the Second Division's new base is a submarine. Mobile bases are neat. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCB9rBK4Ln6_rvYjBHzZ71veIE0G4fPUkbK_V-p-wDD1rz07zR6gJFPOtPfEot0UKhe2j6FWYiFmPvIfm4DzmUEzhREJ2GMKb-BIYHkp_QNmZH5gxYBBU_X8Htgixot0Q3SC-EQpbvrod/s1600/symphogearg-maria-fine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ryoko?" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCB9rBK4Ln6_rvYjBHzZ71veIE0G4fPUkbK_V-p-wDD1rz07zR6gJFPOtPfEot0UKhe2j6FWYiFmPvIfm4DzmUEzhREJ2GMKb-BIYHkp_QNmZH5gxYBBU_X8Htgixot0Q3SC-EQpbvrod/s400/symphogearg-maria-fine.jpg" title="Ryoko?" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nephilim is inside that little cage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I think the biggest revelation comes at the end of episode 3, when we find out that Maria is actually another reincarnation of Finé herself! I really don't like this revelation, mostly because I didn't want to see Fine again so soon. And her Hibiki's dialogue with her at the end of season 1 implied we weren't supposed to expect something like this to happen. Of course, that was back when anything after the first season basically came down to whether or not the viewer wanted to imagine what happens next. But as episode 4 shows, Finé has not actually reawakened, and Maria is still in direct control of her body... so long as she doesn't use her Symphogear too much.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV5EG59TDp6MKuY_lxN9NoN8qzbeTGJSc3Pvu-ub_O2kxSCS4tfYZztdqqujM6T_u4HhFfsXzbZbpyh1yjb4w7NdT4IH7XUtbMJx6J2E-bv9j38udrYWJLQDQ8c4efOAuLK-ZASBmV0w5/s1600/symphogearg-maria-spear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivV5EG59TDp6MKuY_lxN9NoN8qzbeTGJSc3Pvu-ub_O2kxSCS4tfYZztdqqujM6T_u4HhFfsXzbZbpyh1yjb4w7NdT4IH7XUtbMJx6J2E-bv9j38udrYWJLQDQ8c4efOAuLK-ZASBmV0w5/s320/symphogearg-maria-spear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alright, on to episode 4 itself. It has Gear against Gear (or should it be Valkyrie against Valkyrie?) battles, and each of them fight the one they're paired against in the opening sequence. Tsubasa againt Maria, Chris against Kirika, andd Hibiki against Shirabe. Actually, Hibiki pretty much just stands there and be useless, just like the previous time Shirabe goes against her. This is very disappointing. In the first season, while Hibiki was hesitant to fight another person (in that case being Chris), she at least put up some actual effort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IiRfq7xDjYO9ks-EXosr3sPuoTs7nB7tX2DPJAVekWhgCYJP8SWRFiA0HIm2ziSfsFkgkAz7TcXKPsbX5833o58f1HuxDDi6bXwzA5oHUGmsQDZL_meRf6J6THKxHzEMGjr_I0JO2y4I/s1600/symphogearg-itaba-group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="They even dressed up for this. Gotta admire that dedication." border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6IiRfq7xDjYO9ks-EXosr3sPuoTs7nB7tX2DPJAVekWhgCYJP8SWRFiA0HIm2ziSfsFkgkAz7TcXKPsbX5833o58f1HuxDDi6bXwzA5oHUGmsQDZL_meRf6J6THKxHzEMGjr_I0JO2y4I/s400/symphogearg-itaba-group.jpg" title="They even dressed up for this. Gotta admire that dedication." width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-1thWL51flvW519Vs5xg-NudWQaZt76HRiyOxToXAwQWudzAN2djVQG5qHl3cVX3EyQG3VMddu1K5-CsZeztnm4GZTa5AyPZaJbviHoTDTiA7O3yK132x0KaSCzVpH2wjSVN93BEdsdD/s1600/symphogearg-kirika-shirabe-at-lydian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Do they need glasses for reading, or was this a terrible attempt at disguise?" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-1thWL51flvW519Vs5xg-NudWQaZt76HRiyOxToXAwQWudzAN2djVQG5qHl3cVX3EyQG3VMddu1K5-CsZeztnm4GZTa5AyPZaJbviHoTDTiA7O3yK132x0KaSCzVpH2wjSVN93BEdsdD/s320/symphogearg-kirika-shirabe-at-lydian.jpg" title="Do they need glasses for reading, or was this a terrible attempt at disguise?" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rest of this episode felt odd for me. The Finé group escape less than halfway through the episode, and that was pretty much the climax of this episode. Afterwards, there's an awkward shift into lighthearted stuff that doesn't quite flow naturally. After short scenes of serious dialogue, we suddenly hear that Itaba (a.k.a. Anime-chan) and her posse are performing for the school festival. Afterwards, the episode just doesn't really settle into serious or lighthearted very well, and the character focus is just all over the place. Kirika and Shirabe get some amount of character interaction, and it bounces between serious and silly a little too quickly for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Kq2UOOd6-b6yDUMUEvBjFoA4wLnn7r9KpFB4U1mabp78cCYQuiK7B5nbWzXbHlmAa0F-pyNnOptKorcwApW6U8VYifONmK6Ui7DMDxX5BmSsWVskIUv37lTipRoK8pkVKaSx8nw_lhRl/s1600/symphogearg-chrisandothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="who are you people, anyway?" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Kq2UOOd6-b6yDUMUEvBjFoA4wLnn7r9KpFB4U1mabp78cCYQuiK7B5nbWzXbHlmAa0F-pyNnOptKorcwApW6U8VYifONmK6Ui7DMDxX5BmSsWVskIUv37lTipRoK8pkVKaSx8nw_lhRl/s320/symphogearg-chrisandothers.jpg" title="who are you people, anyway?" width="320" /></a></div>
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There's a special ending theme with this episode, with Chris performing at the school festival. The best I can put it is "why?" The sequence is clearly about how Chris has managed to acclimate to the school, and that she realizes how much she loves singing. But really, unlike the first season's special ending seqquence in its fourth episode, this one hardly received any build-up. Chris' involvement in the school festival, and whatever her relationship is like with her new classmates is supposed to be only had like, two scenes to build up on, and suddenly we have a new song for this. Really, I can't think of any reason for it to go like this except as an excuse to have Chris act cute for a while. Seriously, why would somebody really care about Chris' new school life here? Hardly anything was shown of it before this ending sequence, and her new friends are total non-characters. The first season's special ED sequence in it's own fourth episode was so much more interesting, and it was about as story-relevant as can be.<br />
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It's hard to say whether or not <i>Symphogear G</i> is getting better or worse now. The larger cast feels like something it struggles with, and I'm honestly underwhelmed by the music. Not that the new songs are bad, but because there has been so many of them so quickly and only Tsubasa's new battle song has actually been used more than once. I liked how the first season had battle songs used on multiple occasions in a short timespan. It gave them some sort of significance. Of course, that's harder to do now, with a larger number of Symphogear users. It's a little less exciting that most of the songs feel almost like one-off things... for now.<br />
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The number of Symphogear users (and plot-relevant characters in general) is probably not helping with the odd sense of focus either. Maybe this would be more enjoyable if the show followed Maria's group more closely than the main trio carried over from the previous season. Maria and co. are clearly not meant to be straightforward villains, and I might be able to sympathize with them better if this season focused more on their point of view. Instead, it's all a little vague so far on their part, even though they're honestly more interesting than the main trio now. Tsubasa doesn't have any internal struggles like in the first season, Hibiki is a little useless now, and I don't really care for Chris' new school life and her interaction with non-characters.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Senki Zesshō Symphogear G is © Project Symphogear G</i></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Genjuuro's Angels explains about the gas (among other things) <a href="http://symphogear.blogspot.com/2013/07/summary-of-new-keywords-from-g.html" target="_blank">here</a></span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-82190563052534040012013-07-30T12:08:00.002-07:002013-07-30T14:33:54.195-07:00Ultraman Ginga episode 3 (I suck at post titles)So now we're at episode 3. And the show is strarting to become satisfying. Like previously, images are from screencapping my browser window, and (although I didn't <i>specifically</i> mentioned this before) I only read Over-Time's translation using the script, without downloading the episode torrent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7VKpoLGkj9IZcf9KOKNbMGb8lVUSlC5lt_kAKPnKYlJ223OUjEusB0NHj8_0deTXB6Ijapieu0B1DTQeu4b6tkwPN5QaaKudk41kYdh71jNBzjXs8frZSGxkQ6UgdCJjzhTlijdj6kUM/s1600/ginga3-kenta_in_room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hikaru sure has an... interesting room" border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7VKpoLGkj9IZcf9KOKNbMGb8lVUSlC5lt_kAKPnKYlJ223OUjEusB0NHj8_0deTXB6Ijapieu0B1DTQeu4b6tkwPN5QaaKudk41kYdh71jNBzjXs8frZSGxkQ6UgdCJjzhTlijdj6kUM/s640/ginga3-kenta_in_room.jpg" title="Hikaru sure has an... interesting room" width="640" /></a></div>
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This episode focuses on Kenta and his dream of becoming a photographer. Unlike how the first episode dealt with Hikaru's dream of exploring the world just by having characters talk about it, this episode actually shows a person doing things relevant to said dream. The episode starts with Kenta looking at pictures in his digital camera. Apparently, his dream was to become a professional photographer, but he had given up on it at some point, until this week's villain convinced him otherwise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAZMEPMW84wpchD4kWoJVm2aMVn8e7_CoxoCQ-dAXUE3HOt_F2JDpFRT5Jbko0avY_wDTtPfc2b9nTLpA3aVUC6YfxHdobN8ouYhSiSNwJK9q-YIrQom3dl4IeFly0AWyEAxvVe3jLJ4T/s1600/ginga3-yuuka_flames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yuuka with a dark spark and King Pandon doll" border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAZMEPMW84wpchD4kWoJVm2aMVn8e7_CoxoCQ-dAXUE3HOt_F2JDpFRT5Jbko0avY_wDTtPfc2b9nTLpA3aVUC6YfxHdobN8ouYhSiSNwJK9q-YIrQom3dl4IeFly0AWyEAxvVe3jLJ4T/s400/ginga3-yuuka_flames.jpg" title="Yuuka with a dark spark and King Pandon doll" width="400" /></a></div>
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Speaking of the villain, she's some lady who named Yuuka, who used to go to the now abandoned school Hikaru currently stays at. Somehow, meeting her has rekindled Kenta's dream of becoming a photographer. He gets pretty excited about it, and demands to use Hikaru's makeshift bedroom as a makeshift photo studio. But Misuzu somehow senses something suspicious about Yuuka who, as it turns out, intends to burn down the school building.<br />
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She turns into King Pandon and Hikaru (who transformed into Kemur man/being/whatever) confronts her. There's some mildly interesting dialogue about Kenta's right to pursue his dream, even if he might not have what it takes, and nobody else can decide his path. I like it better than any talk about dreams in previous episodes because it does tie very much into the things the characters actually did in the episode. Yuuka does come across as incredibly mean-spirited for trying to burn down the building just to make a kid give up on his dreams, and it's honestly a little baffling as to why she would want to do that. But she's not really lamer than the previous villains so far.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXboiuMQVRE9VetnKfd3LvhWh4FbXOj1Zip6ZSvt2CoLIjB_ODlhAK7JTa4d6ghB9j6meDiBxT9kg6BwqluYr_MpdtJuTCC0QnhF3w1wgEDbgTTiFKHSMOGWnvvt40AyodvQUGZ8I44-x2/s1600/ginga3-pandon_ginga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="nice pond" border="0" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXboiuMQVRE9VetnKfd3LvhWh4FbXOj1Zip6ZSvt2CoLIjB_ODlhAK7JTa4d6ghB9j6meDiBxT9kg6BwqluYr_MpdtJuTCC0QnhF3w1wgEDbgTTiFKHSMOGWnvvt40AyodvQUGZ8I44-x2/s640/ginga3-pandon_ginga.jpg" title="nice pond" width="640" /></a></div>
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The fight in this episode was... well, not much of one. Ginga still takes his sweet time to let Hikaru use his doll, and afterwards Hikaru easily deals with his opponent. They looked less gigantic in this episode, considering their sizes in relative to the trees. Which brings me to the miniature work, which is overall still not all that impressive. Sure, they had large prop trees, but the fact that Ginga and King Pandon were standing in a strangely clear patch of land somehow bugs me. Ginga has yet another finishing move in this episode, using a sword reminiscent of the <i>Mebius</i> duo, or maybe Ultraman Agul. Yuuka survives, like the previous weekly villains. But she immediately showed regret over her actions, and did not demonstrate memory loss, unlike the previous ones.<br />
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Overall, this was a pretty good episode. It delivers on the "hopes and dreams" aspect mentioned in that press conference thingy* with the cast, and that was really my main expectation for the show. The production values do leave something to be desired, but I can live with that. The episode ends with Taro (still in doll form) getting kidnapped by Tomoya, and both of them are inside the body of Jean Killer!<br />
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The next episode will apparently focus on Chigusa and her dream of
becoming an idol. I almost want to go "why?" at the thought of that, but
then I'm reminded of the actors in <i>Ultraman Saga</i> and how <i>Ultraman Tiga's</i> lead actor was from a boy band.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i>
Ultraman Ginga </i></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* <span style="font-size: x-small;">See <a href="http://shynilyte.blogspot.com/2013/04/ultraman-ginga-new-ultraman-retsuden.html" target="_blank">this old post.</a></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-91554804099974006652013-07-22T16:55:00.000-07:002013-07-23T18:10:21.517-07:00Ultraman Ginga episode 2<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45XwRRlFHZE" target="_blank">Tsuburaya put up the second episode of <i>Ultraman Ginga</i> on their YouTube channel</a>. Most likely only temporaily, but it's still a nice move on their part. Looks like they might put up the show in its entirety, or at least the non-special episodes.<br />
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The images here, like last time are still from cropping screencaps of my browser window, but unlike last time, I got to look at Over-Time's translation before posting this.<br />
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So this is episode 2. The villain of the week is some obnoxious biker dude who chases/harasses people on his motorbike. He's more unpleasant than the litterbugs from earlier, sure, but he's still not threatening enough as an action show villain, even a one-off baddie. Although it appears that he used the Dark Spark on his own volition this time, and seems to genuinely enjoy it (despite apparently having no recollection of it afterward). He uses the thing to transform into Kemur man/person/being, a creature from <i>Ultra Q</i>, which I am terribly unfamiliar with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRFt4XrOudacuPm4Me0EWc134PKMZ9miQvlznR3kbidEGJLygkJgKca4z1L322f11ZK_Z5au38GKKR3W2nXQxFZLemElSy47Fl8-V6nMBtyg0DOy7soA4HtcFeTbT8B8Nof9hLXzLg4PW/s1600/ginga2-Darambia-Kemur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Darambia vs. Kemur" border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxRFt4XrOudacuPm4Me0EWc134PKMZ9miQvlznR3kbidEGJLygkJgKca4z1L322f11ZK_Z5au38GKKR3W2nXQxFZLemElSy47Fl8-V6nMBtyg0DOy7soA4HtcFeTbT8B8Nof9hLXzLg4PW/s400/ginga2-Darambia-Kemur.jpg" title="Darambia vs. Kemur" width="400" /></a></div>
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The fight scene in this episode is... okay. Miniatures are a definite step up from the plain forest area in episode one (although a proper cityscape would be even better, but I guess that would throw out the whole "keeping things secret" angle). The fighting itself still follows the pattern of having Hikaru transform into a monster before becoming Ultraman Ginga, because apparently the Ginga doll only appears when it really needs to. This strikes me as a little dumb. Will we have to see a monster's powers prove ineffectual before Hikaru turns into Ginga during every episode for the rest of the summer arc? Admittedly, it was still neat to see Hikaru use Thunder Darambia's powers. Biker guy Kemur went a little overboard with the comedy. Shoving a tree into Hikaru/Darambia's mouth is one thing, but farting on him is a little much. As for Ginga himself, I like the transformation sequence, and the "aaah" playing. And the fireball/meteor finisher was cool.<br />
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On a minor note, the visuals make it look like Hikaru and his opponent aren't so much transformed into Ginga and Kemur, but instead are controlling the bodies from the inside, except maybe when Kemur was still human-sized. Seeing the two of them talk makes me think of mecha pilots.<br />
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As for the main characters, Kenta and Chigusa still don't actually do anything. Tomoya is introduced, but doesn't really do anything either, sadly.<br />
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Hikaru and Misuzu are still the leads in this episode, and the show is pretty blatantly seting them up as a couple. Because what else would Misuzu's role be? Having no defense force for leaves the cast with less to do than usual. Hikaru himself strikes me as a little plain so far, and I'm a little bugged by how he just carries the Ginga Spark around. Sure, it makes sense to have it with him in case he needs it, but someone might notice it's no longer in the shrine cabinet.<br />
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So far, <i>Ultraman Ginga</i> is still underwhelming for me. I don't hate it, and the premise alone is enough to keep me interested, but I'm not blown away (yet?). The preview for next episode looks promising, and the weekly villain might prove more threatening next time. Also, the opening theme is starting to grow on me, but the song, "Legend of Galaxy" feels a little weak coming after "Final Wars". <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i>
Ultraman Ginga </i></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><i><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></i></span><br />
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Special thanks to <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1674386&postcount=68" target="_blank">okunohoshimichi at Henshin Justice Unlimited</a> for helping explain things before Over-Time's translation was finished.<i><i> </i></i>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-78952990549580256812013-07-16T00:17:00.003-07:002013-07-16T08:52:36.910-07:00Ultraman Ginga: First ImpressionsSo Ultraman Ginga's first episode was up on Tsuburaya's YouTube channel. At first after finding out that Grown Ups In Spandex <a href="https://twitter.com/virushopper/status/353977293858799616" target="_blank">won't be fansubbing this series</a>, I decided to just wait for the DVD or Blu-ray release, because whatever, I had other things to watch anyway, and I was planning to buy regardless. But turns out the first episode was up on Tsuburaya's YouTube channel (although it's probably only temporarily available, like these episode videos on Tsuburaya's YouTube channel tend to be), so I was "eh, why not?".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmO3ajPw69Kcx8nlYrOhVHOHqIWLju-zXnVG-vddF4LUeHiVlNObQbCwGLupilOAf_LIPo-nP5WNom3PAIR80fziGxCW2Jp0h_HeHw2IZzmKqlmVk_vy6tEFRufGNyp28KNYRFWdjfcO1/s1600/UM_Ginga-ginga-hikaru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hikaru doesn't look all that cool here, to be honest" border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmO3ajPw69Kcx8nlYrOhVHOHqIWLju-zXnVG-vddF4LUeHiVlNObQbCwGLupilOAf_LIPo-nP5WNom3PAIR80fziGxCW2Jp0h_HeHw2IZzmKqlmVk_vy6tEFRufGNyp28KNYRFWdjfcO1/s400/UM_Ginga-ginga-hikaru.jpg" title="Hikaru doesn't look all that cool here, to be honest" width="400" /></a></div>
Please keep in mind that I a) do not speak Japanese, so I don't completely understand the dialogue, even though the stuff that happens isn't hard to follow and b) took these pictures by screencapping my browser when viewing the video on YouTube, then cropping the screenshots.<br />
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update: Well, looks like fansub group Over-Time suddenly released a sub of <i>Ginga</i>'s first episode, possibly right after or exactly during the time I was writing this blog post. (I'm not sure since I don't know what timezone their site is on) Pretty surprising, considering they previously announced they had no plans for this show. I have not seen their sub as of this writing, so this post is still based on my viewing of the untranslated episode.<br />
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The episode starts of really... calm. A little too calm and rather slow, and it spends a little too long in that mood. The main cast is introduced, with Hikaru and Misuzu established as the leads. Kenta and Chigusa don't actually do much. Chigusa has a squeaky voice. Wonder if that's gonna get annoying.<br />
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Ultraman Taro looks to be a recurring character too. While he is in doll form, he seems to be the only doll with a consciousness. But he is able to speak, and has access to a few powers, like Ultra Willpower (which he used to deflect a soccer ball for some reason) and some sort of teleporting ability. Also unlike the other dolls, the Ginga Spark (so far) doesn't have any effect on him. It doesn't restore him, nor does it allow Hikaru to use his powers. Taro's situation, and his apparent role of mentor might be reminiscent of Dan Moroboshi (a.k.a. Ultra Seven)'s role in <i>Ultraman Leo</i>, although I'm not completely sure since I haven't seen <i>Leo</i>. <span style="font-size: x-small;">I know, I need to fix that.</span><br />
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One thing I don't really "get" is that the Ginga Spark was apparently stored at a Shinto(?) shrine as if it were a sacred object. Maybe Tsuburaya want to make Ultraman seem more mystical. Or maybe it's something in the dialogue that I couldn't understand.<br />
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The Spark Dolls in the show are pretty blatant product placement, but it doesn't bother me that much. Although seeing that the mysterious villain doesn't seem to possess anything besides the Dark Spark (pretty much an evil version of Hikaru's Ginga Spark) and <b>a room full of dolls</b> makes him seem a little unthreatening. Alien Valkie (originally from <i>Ultraman Taro</i>) is apparently a recurring minion here, passing about the Dark Spark for whomever this mysterious villain is. Strangely, despite having been restored from a doll, he appears to have a consciousness of his own. He also demonstrates a few goofy mannerisms, which I am neutral toward.<br />
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Speaking of the Dark Spark, it seems to works somewhat differently from Hikaru's Ginga Spark. When the two guys who were earlier throwing garbage in the forest get transformed into Thunder Darambia, they appear to be under someone (or something) else's control, while Hikaru was still himself, even when he transformed into the monster called Black King.<br />
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Yes, Hikaru first transforms into a monster. The transformation sequence was a little amusing, but this is just blatant advertising for how the Ginga Spark has sound effects for both monsters and Ultras. Obviously, Black King couldn't defeat Thunder Darambia, and the Ultreaman Ginga doll suddenly appears. At this point, the episode gets more exciting. Even the music gets pretty good.<br />
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All in all, most of this episode was a little underwhelming for me. It's pretty quiet for a good portion, and Hikaru facing a pair of litter bugs was a little lame, even though they were throwing rather large pieces of garbage. Having the two of them change into a monster, and change back once defeated reminds me a lot of the Dopants of <i>Kamen Rider Double</i>, who generally revert to human form after being defeated. Killing the two litterbugs would have been waaaaaay too extreme, anyway. But it seems in this case, unlike in KR Double, the Spark Dolls stay intact, whereas the Dopant's Gaia Memories would break.<br />
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Also underwhelming so far is the talk of dreams in this episode, at least from what I can gather based on <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1673475&postcount=23" target="_blank">this post</a> on Henshin Justice Unlimited. Hikaru has apparently been carrying out (or perhaps working toward?) his dream of becoming an adventurer and seeing the world, and he gets his determination after recalling that Misuzu is motivated to follow her dreams because of him, but we don't really see any of this adventure/travel stuff that's apparently so important to him. It's just talked about, but none of it is actually shown. Just underwhelming.<br />
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edit: Based on <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1673488&postcount=26" target="_blank">further explanation</a>, Hikaru's dream is exploring unknown parts of the world, which apparently he hasn't done, although he apparently has been outside Japan before. Still, none of this is actually shown or even alluded to except in dialogue, so it's still underwhelming. <br />
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I'm still looking forward to the rest of this series, though. The next episode preview suggests that it will introduce the rival character, Tomoya.*<br />
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There's also a puppet theater-type segment at the end. At least based on <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1673049&postcount=11" target="_blank">this translation</a>, the one on this episode doesn't really tell you anything besides that Taro doesn't really know anything about Ginga, but you could have already guessed that based on how confused he sounded seeing Ginga.<br />
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I'm not really sure if this series will impress me very much, and I'm more than a little worried about the main casts' acting ability (although I'm probably not a good judge of acting) Hopefully, the rest of the episodes will be more exciting (and available on YouTube). Ginga's powers are at least neat to see, and I'd like to know more of this strange alternate universe's backstory<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> and whatnot. Also, Thunder Darambia was pretty cool.</span><i><br /></i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="st"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1eGHfrbARy3tl1UFEXo6FKi2nRMVLMLI3UgSfMLxvP0jZ4Gl6e6mUsK_6Dj8F-zvRdD0f7oVpevfmBqtVed3XTLzdBTbsGPkN1j9ApXxoW5sUJChaUbj_niXYUbuCaquA2isiquZyuef/s1600/UM_Ginga-shield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1eGHfrbARy3tl1UFEXo6FKi2nRMVLMLI3UgSfMLxvP0jZ4Gl6e6mUsK_6Dj8F-zvRdD0f7oVpevfmBqtVed3XTLzdBTbsGPkN1j9ApXxoW5sUJChaUbj_niXYUbuCaquA2isiquZyuef/s640/UM_Ginga-shield.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span class="st">Ultraman Ginga is © </span>Tsuburaya Productions </i></span>
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*His name isn't mentioned in the preview, but it's already known from <a href="http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2013/04/13/tsuburaya-pro-announces-new-ultraman-and-series/" target="_blank">press material and such</a>.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-32043063324133557172013-07-15T17:37:00.002-07:002013-07-15T17:42:06.762-07:00Symphogear G episode 2Because I felt like writing about this. No summary of events this time, but still spoilery.<br />
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Picking up where the previous episode left off, we get to see Tsubasa in
action again. I like her costume's redesign too. Less "busy". Also cool
is that her twin fiery swords get quite a bit of use this time. They
weren't very prominent in the previous season.<br />
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Maria gets to show off some of her fighting style, and so far it's at least neat to look at. The way she uses her cape for attack and defense is very... Kamen Rider Knight. Except that spinning it doesn't turn it into a drill weapon... so far.<br />
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Her actual Armed Gear, which is a spear like Kanade's only appears briefly. It is a lot like Kanade's, appearance-wise. It also shoots a beam. I'm a little perplexed at why Tsubasa seemed to initially not believe her Gungnir is the real deal. Hers and Hibiki's are both just fragments, and it's not hard to believe they both ended up with separate pieces.<br />
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More importantly, this episode introduces a few new characters. Shirabe and Kirika are Maria's teammates, and it's very, very blatant that they're not actually evil. It would hardly be surprising if they end up joining Hibiki and the Second Division later on. There's a three-on-three battle after their introduction, and it shows off a nice variety of fighting styles.<br />
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While Kirika and Shirabe don't do horribly in action, I'm reminded again of the main problem I have with the Gear outfits in general. Why does the center of the torso look so sheer? Why do their navels have to be oddly visible? But I guess tight super hero(-esque) outfits tend to look like they're just painted on anyway.<br />
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There's a "swan song" in this episode by Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris. And it's a little underwhelming, considering that it doesn't seem to cause physical strain to any of them. But <a href="http://symphogear.blogspot.com/2013/07/death-of-swan-song.html" target="_blank">"z</a><span class="st"><a href="http://symphogear.blogspot.com/2013/07/death-of-swan-song.html" target="_blank">esshō" doesn't <i>really</i> mean "swan song"</a>, and the three of them have greater mastery over their Gears than they used to, so it's not really a disappointment. And Hibiki's new punch attack is pretty cool. If there's going to be a Figma of her in the redesigned Gear, I hope the figure will have parts to recreate this. Ogawa (Tsubasa's manager) explains that pulling together power from the three of them like that is something only Hibiki can do, because her Armed Gear is her "ability to hold hands". On one hand (heh), it's consistent with what was said in the previous season. On the other, that line didn't sound like it was supposed to be literal, so Ogawa's explanation is more than a little cheesy. </span><br />
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<span class="st">Maria doesn't directly witness Hibiki and co.'s show of power, but from what she did see, she's clearly intimidated.</span><br />
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<span class="st">This episode still doesn't tell us anything about the </span>Finé group, and what relation they might have to Finé herself. Dr. Ver is seen holding Solomon's Cane, so he's probably involved.<br />
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Interestingly, Hibiki now seems to have some sort of backstory which might be explored. It's only somewhat alluded to, but it most likely involves something tragic.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Senki Zesshō Symphogear G is © Project Symphogear G, which I assume means "Satelight and others".</i></span><br />
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And oh yeah, the opening and ending sequences debut in this episode. I'm not completely sure what to say about the OP, but I think I prefer "Synchrogazer" from the first season. Not really sure about the ED either, but the footage is at least better in that it doesn't make the show look like a <i>Madoka Magica</i> knockoff.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-60027367977829745492013-07-09T17:57:00.000-07:002013-07-09T23:35:30.511-07:00Symphogear G episode 1!<i>Senki Zesshō Symphogear G</i> has started. And damn this was an awesome first episode of a new season. It seems the only English-language fansub group translating this is Commie, so theirs is the version I watched/am watching.<br />
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(And yes, if you haven't finished the first season, this post will contain spoilers.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RCh4hrFl7WVzYtaMLP6kJk2yNlCZPYyj7f7djAT8Pya9djnwQQT5BlcfIJYNRh6qR2ki2j4dVCIlat86YmoucTPJpKJbu1KP-wskh1j3r_CGiVVI_15ULjJxoqkGdvSmp0cxbmdAngHu/s1600/symphogearg-possiblyserena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="it looks a lot like that time Tsubasa had blood pouring from her face in season 1" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RCh4hrFl7WVzYtaMLP6kJk2yNlCZPYyj7f7djAT8Pya9djnwQQT5BlcfIJYNRh6qR2ki2j4dVCIlat86YmoucTPJpKJbu1KP-wskh1j3r_CGiVVI_15ULjJxoqkGdvSmp0cxbmdAngHu/s320/symphogearg-possiblyserena.jpg" title="it looks a lot like that time Tsubasa had blood pouring from her face in season 1" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An oddly familiar sight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK5gzHgvMy43qPc7FxHzZaoiXZtaZBcPRs748A3rt-CC3tA8QkILSVFa4acnK9Ku66CXoyQcUa3og4TyvmcoT8B7SouB7DiH5HKcJ5v_fRjWGk-fg15SDlBUdXmkwSfP4TSSXRLVUmhF9/s1600/symphogearg-mysteriousobject.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK5gzHgvMy43qPc7FxHzZaoiXZtaZBcPRs748A3rt-CC3tA8QkILSVFa4acnK9Ku66CXoyQcUa3og4TyvmcoT8B7SouB7DiH5HKcJ5v_fRjWGk-fg15SDlBUdXmkwSfP4TSSXRLVUmhF9/s320/symphogearg-mysteriousobject.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">important-looking object</td></tr>
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The episode begins with a prologue animated in monochrome. A girl who is presumably Serena Cadenzavna Eve* is singing a song, and she appears to possess a Symphogear transformation, although we don't get a clear look at her Valkyrie outfit. She appears to be holding some sort of strange object that looks like it will be important. This seems to be a flashback instead of a flash forward, unlike the scene at Hibiki's tombstone from the first episode of the first season.<br />
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Baack to the present. Hibiki and Chris fight off a Noise attack. The Noise appear to be controlled by somebody trying to procure the Staff of Solomon. This is odd, because the Staff of Solomon is so far the only known way to direct the Noise in such a manner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeL4veq3_YwxXk-HL6EmtE5Y0JGyNtT5LPOrFVTplEe6rvSRq0R6WnWWPX1JKVzqChnzWxYyQ3SiaWQZbOi57DP-chBG5BWbnchJm1UGgtwY_C4G2C6-2yjCMGhookDkfcf3n-k-2x8uSA/s1600/symphogearg-hibikinewlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="and fancier-looking boots" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeL4veq3_YwxXk-HL6EmtE5Y0JGyNtT5LPOrFVTplEe6rvSRq0R6WnWWPX1JKVzqChnzWxYyQ3SiaWQZbOi57DP-chBG5BWbnchJm1UGgtwY_C4G2C6-2yjCMGhookDkfcf3n-k-2x8uSA/s640/symphogearg-hibikinewlook.jpg" title="and fancier-looking boots" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now with scarves!</td></tr>
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I really liked this fight scene. It shows off the redesigns for Chris and Hibiki, and I do like how they look. I don't really "get" Hibiki's big scarves, but they do work. I like Hibiki's new song here too. She comes of as stronger and more confident compared to when she sang "Gekishou: Gungnir", (although it might not be as catchy) but maybe that's just me. On a minor note, her new song has a part that goes "Kimi dake o... (Mamoritai...)" which I found kinda cool for a pretty stupid reason, specifically that the phrase reminds me of <a href="http://shynilyte.blogspot.com/2013/02/ultraman-saga-dyna-stuff.html" target="_blank">something else I love</a>. Like I said, probably a stupid reason there.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrMLlOArl9nAwENuj4abpo3XNWvCl7Nm3_9E2L_4SH5jjTgj4LY4tEHdoYZbtMd4NRmraKjhx0Syeq87krnPAkjtyKnbXocPBEAbNf29lRyONpuf5v3xoqLnmdNDbB3tCcqHzjMmUl3Pj/s1600/symphogearg-hibikipunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Also, saying/singing the phrase "kimi dake o mamoritai" followed by a flying forward punch is oddly reminiscent of that scene in Ultraman Dyna episode 50" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrMLlOArl9nAwENuj4abpo3XNWvCl7Nm3_9E2L_4SH5jjTgj4LY4tEHdoYZbtMd4NRmraKjhx0Syeq87krnPAkjtyKnbXocPBEAbNf29lRyONpuf5v3xoqLnmdNDbB3tCcqHzjMmUl3Pj/s640/symphogearg-hibikipunch.jpg" title="Also, saying/singing the phrase "kimi dake o mamoritai" followed by a flying forward punch is oddly reminiscent of that scene in Ultraman Dyna episode 50" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love how this looks</td></tr>
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Despite the efforts of the two Gear users, and the staff having been successfully delivered to its intended location, whomever was behind the attack was probably successful, as the staff, along with new character Dr. Ver disappear after said location is attacked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrnL7DxV8EmHAR7n-au3iFzpMT3cCNO19_A6ny9-oW316ELfbaebo4hyphenhyphenXihxIrQN7EshGQKsdePftzGSkMY0sdu68sN5Uie3zCzdPDbQnYOIoyDvYr7NlGXCi9lAPmB-s2fHniuXaJC7Q/s1600/symphogearg-duet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrnL7DxV8EmHAR7n-au3iFzpMT3cCNO19_A6ny9-oW316ELfbaebo4hyphenhyphenXihxIrQN7EshGQKsdePftzGSkMY0sdu68sN5Uie3zCzdPDbQnYOIoyDvYr7NlGXCi9lAPmB-s2fHniuXaJC7Q/s320/symphogearg-duet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The next scene brings us to a big concert, attended by Hibiki's friends Miku, That Girl Who Keeps Talking About Anime, and Those Other Two Girls. Hibiki herself is late due to the Noise attack(s) earlier. This concert is apparently a big deal because Tsubasa performs a duet with Maria Cadenzavna Eve, who is apparently a major international superstar. The performance doesn't feel as interesting as Tsubasa and Kanade's performance in the previous season's episode one concert, despite the better animation budget. But this performance was taking a different angle anyway. After one song, the concert area is swarmed by Noise, and Maria transforms.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMhsA9H-MuxbcBUF0r6_eS7TUoHHvXMQ2i2aU9ZhpdWphQS234k7kX3ADRERRCXIkx3dDNJMRXsFQVpPhEuO9wngLWu60Ep_gk0mRLOF-fM9Hm3c6xk_jYgN4Ot2GLAkUojyWMgaAkK7J/s1600/symphogearg-mariagungnir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="so very Evil looking" border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMhsA9H-MuxbcBUF0r6_eS7TUoHHvXMQ2i2aU9ZhpdWphQS234k7kX3ADRERRCXIkx3dDNJMRXsFQVpPhEuO9wngLWu60Ep_gk0mRLOF-fM9Hm3c6xk_jYgN4Ot2GLAkUojyWMgaAkK7J/s400/symphogearg-mariagungnir.jpg" title="so very Evil looking" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Gungnir</td></tr>
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Yep, her outfit looks a lot like Kanade's, and her relic is another piece of Gungnir. Her transformation is accompanied by some chanting in a deep voice, which I don't really get, but it works! Speaking of transformations, we only see the two Gunir transformation sequences, and they are more elaborate than the first season had, but also somewhat more... fanservice-y, which I... don't really think was necessary.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeMudBgYlkEa6S2ekKgGR04yba_mnlDTwERWPfwY7WeQFleuzMAcss5ywp5S_Cy6Q0ZLcHpB_tawHQsBhX_13OUNODbVepdD5OC1Nt3Yi4Pay4YII3szzcXeebnzBvp0QQTnB_9DHPq26/s1600/symphogearg-something.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeMudBgYlkEa6S2ekKgGR04yba_mnlDTwERWPfwY7WeQFleuzMAcss5ywp5S_Cy6Q0ZLcHpB_tawHQsBhX_13OUNODbVepdD5OC1Nt3Yi4Pay4YII3szzcXeebnzBvp0QQTnB_9DHPq26/s400/symphogearg-something.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What's more interesting, and grabs more of my interest is Maria announcing that she's part of a group interested in ruling the world or something, and that they're called "(the) Finé". Does this mean there's another reincarnation of Finé is in the group, or was? Finé wasn't the type to just go away after a defeat, so further influence, if not direct involvement from her is to be expected. Although I hope she only has influence over the new antagonists, but won't be directly involved again. She isn't a character I want to see back. And hopefully Maria's group aren't just straightforward "take over the world" types.<br />
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Anyway, this is a very promising start. The redesigns are good, the animation looks better, and the new antagonists are pretty interesting. The Noise look even more otherworldly now, with a sort of "TV static" effect going on sometimes. Character dynamics might be changing. For example, Miku hanging out with Anime-chan's posse without Hibiki might be a thing she does from now on (although probably not intentionally), and that can easily mean significant change considering Miku's importance to Hibiki. Or maybe I'm reading too much into that. I'll just have to see how this goes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlssG0dvslZNVxDo9DaypxzyUeWpIir9BjOT44BxnpPro3rv34Xz4j_rAm8w5J1r3H6s3ubRtfnuAf1KmK-8l4PeG3Vggim1Q2irdVJ4RRdbcQuwLdWkz0dfzn9SdNr7b8_IWBW2w0bM7/s1600/symphogearg-mysteriousobjectagain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="the image of Mysterious Object shows up again at the very end of the episode" border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlssG0dvslZNVxDo9DaypxzyUeWpIir9BjOT44BxnpPro3rv34Xz4j_rAm8w5J1r3H6s3ubRtfnuAf1KmK-8l4PeG3Vggim1Q2irdVJ4RRdbcQuwLdWkz0dfzn9SdNr7b8_IWBW2w0bM7/s320/symphogearg-mysteriousobjectagain.jpg" title="the image of Mysterious Object shows up again at the very end of the episode" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Important-looking and mysterious</td></tr>
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So, that was <i>Symphogear G</i>'s first episode. I'm really looking forward to the rest of it.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Senki Zesshō Symphogear G is © Project Symphogear G, which I assume means "Satelight and others".</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*<a href="http://symphogear.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-character-introductions.html"> She has been named in promo materials</a>, but the episode itself doesn't mention her name.</span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-34575745754335445672013-07-06T10:35:00.001-07:002013-07-06T10:35:30.525-07:00Chojin Sentai Jetman: How Can an Epilogue be so Awful?Recently, I finished the 1991 <i>Super Sentai</i> installment, <i>Chōjin Sentai Jetman</i> (translated as "Winged Squadron Jetman" by the fansub group Grown Ups in Spandex). While I really can't say whether I agree with the "best Sentai ever" label that I've heard regarding <i>Jetman</i>, (due to lack of familiarity with Super Sentai) I can honestly say that the epilogue was far from good.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The epilogue does start off pretty well, and it makes up for a problem I had with some of the early-to-middle episodes, specifically that it felt like the writers forgot about Raita's childhood friend/girlfriend Satsuki, instead making him act like he had a crush on Kaori. Which just needlessly complicated the romance subplot with Gai, Kaori and Ryu. Seeing Satsuki again felt like they actually remembered Raita already had a perfectly serviceable love interest.<br />
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But, that brings us to the bad. Raita and Satsuki join Ako to attend Kaori's wedding. Kaori and <i>Ryu</i>'s wedding, even though there was nothing to suggest she ever broke up with Gai. Yes, at first she was in love with Ryu, and suddenly started feeling that way towards Gai instead after he endangers himself trying to save her in episode 30. But it was never established that her feelings had changed <i>yet again</i>. It just suddenly happens, and we had to just accept that with no reason given.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbvbYmt41xwtmAz91CqkjKL-sHhJDqoW_5nrN60mIc4hDbw9_3GXiBF-CG9_nyrpPPHCWcxI69W2NCTm5DajCprBXaJ2Xj5mqBtTvfHyXKa_05YxN6cpSn2gUoCfZ6ZZiTNHq80KVaALr/s1600/jetman-wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="(subtitles by GUIS)" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbvbYmt41xwtmAz91CqkjKL-sHhJDqoW_5nrN60mIc4hDbw9_3GXiBF-CG9_nyrpPPHCWcxI69W2NCTm5DajCprBXaJ2Xj5mqBtTvfHyXKa_05YxN6cpSn2gUoCfZ6ZZiTNHq80KVaALr/s400/jetman-wedding.jpg" title="(subtitles by GUIS)" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"This man" being Ryu instead of Gai, despite the direction this subplot was taking</td></tr>
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And what about Gai himself? He gets stabbed by a snatch thief on the way to the wedding. While he does make it there, he eventually dies on a bench when everybody else were having photos taken. It's a really, really terrible way to go out. But he does look genuinely happy about everything he's went through with the team, and saving the world together. A nice step up from somebody who was reluctant to even care. So why did he have to die like this? Couldn't the scene at least have played the death as something more tragic?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1CQzejNyn-BPxas1FeiASMvAgI7DCSPY1O-qccDXP7M1bnrYNellZi9vUDBTuhXSUlyGG2WLrstypVaXkY-5OSHFP_8dKKNW3_W8SVqfOI2Ie-7rvwSNi8I3MW-XtPXM8f0mRYRTxppZ/s1600/jetman-gai-death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1CQzejNyn-BPxas1FeiASMvAgI7DCSPY1O-qccDXP7M1bnrYNellZi9vUDBTuhXSUlyGG2WLrstypVaXkY-5OSHFP_8dKKNW3_W8SVqfOI2Ie-7rvwSNi8I3MW-XtPXM8f0mRYRTxppZ/s320/jetman-gai-death.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There <i>might</i> have been some intention to make his death somewhat ambiguous, as he looks almost like he just fell asleep, and it's not very clear how badly he was wounded, as there's no blood visible. But that almost feels like making light of it.<br />
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As for the wedding, the intention might have been to show how Ryu has finally gotten over losing Rie, after she spends most of the series as the Vyram commander Maria. But the fact that we never see Kaori and Gai's relationship actually ending, or Ryu ever having romantic interest in Kaori whatsoever prior to this just makes the already poorly-handled romantic plotline even worse.<br />
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All in all, I thought Jetman wasn't really that bad, with the romace subplot being one major exception (although I'm probably not a good judge of romance). Which makes this epilogue all the more jarring.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Chōjin Sentai Jetman (and Super Sentai in general) is <span class="st">©</span> Toei.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(And in case anyone's wondering, no, I have not seen the <i>Jetman</i> tribute episode of <i>Gokai</i><i>ger</i>. Or any episode of <i>Gokaiger</i>.)</span></span></span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-36829985231771041982013-07-01T03:15:00.003-07:002013-07-06T10:38:53.091-07:00So, Ultraman Retsuden has ended<a href="http://blog.m-78.jp/2013/06/28/%E7%84%A1%E5%8D%B0%E3%80%8C%E5%88%97%E4%BC%9D%E3%80%8D%E6%9C%80%E7%B5%82%EF%BC%91%EF%BC%90%EF%BC%94%E8%A9%B1%E3%82%92-youtube-%E9%85%8D%E4%BF%A1%EF%BC%81/" target="_blank">After (I think) 104 weekly episodes, <i>Ultraman Biographies</i> (or Ultraman <i>Retsuden</i>) has come to an end</a>. I guess you can count it as the longest-running show in <i>Ultraman</i>, except that it hardly counts as a "show" anyway.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(and by the way, this post contains a spoiler for the related <i>Ultra Zer</i>o Fight storyline) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCrFwlnU3YoLVxmdqUUviHlA0O1CrstAsa2rgT_Y9tSYGlrrO-SsPjxIaiF-zjnhvAMzdY4l9Qbpmj5817L3Z6DS4gNDqnBaLaLYWA4L426D-FTSkZbPYoWTrTKZn-amBf6ouPKTLuyWuv/s640/Retsuden-Final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCrFwlnU3YoLVxmdqUUviHlA0O1CrstAsa2rgT_Y9tSYGlrrO-SsPjxIaiF-zjnhvAMzdY4l9Qbpmj5817L3Z6DS4gNDqnBaLaLYWA4L426D-FTSkZbPYoWTrTKZn-amBf6ouPKTLuyWuv/s320/Retsuden-Final.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The final episode (which is up on YouTube, as of this writing, but who knows how long it'll actually stay up) is just a summary of <i>Ultra Zero Fight</i>'s second arc, presented as a dialogue between Zero and Glenfire. probably because it was the last (as in most recent) actual story they can cover. It just doesn't feel like a good "farewell" to the previous Ultra universes, (especially the main universe) considering Ultra Zero Fight itself didn't end on a very "conclusive" note, in my opinion. The villains are still out there, not captured or dead. Then again, considering that the main Ultra universe is never short on major threats, this is pretty appropriate.<br />
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More importantly, <i>New Ultraman Biographies</i> (a title which I find a little questionable), featuring Ultraman Ginga will premiere very, very soon, taking <i>Retsuden</i>'s timeslot. I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm probably not going to blog about it straight away once it starts, though. And while it is a new universe, old characters will be returning in some capacity. <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1666617&postcount=199" target="_blank">Ultraman Taro is already confirmed to play a role.</a><br />
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One thing I haven't found out yet is what will occupy the usual timeslot during the major gap in <i>NUB</i>'s broadcast schedule. From the sound of it, there aren't any further episodes planned for the regular <i>Ultraman Biographies</i>, so maybe it will just be a few months or so with no <i>Ultraman</i> content<br />
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Update: Argh, how did I forget/miss this? <i>New Ultraman Biographies</i> still follows the clip show/rerun format, with Ginga's adventures being the exception. <a href="http://risingsuntokusatsu.com/?p=8484" target="_blank">This was already known,</a> and it does explain what's going to fill that gap. But Zero's run as navigator, or at least his role as the face of the Ultra franchise <a href="http://forums.henshinjustice.com/showpost.php?p=1671719&postcount=274" target="_blank">does look to be over</a>. <i>Ultra Zero Fight</i> and the <i>Retsuden</i> episodes that sort of follow up on it are still odd as a (most likely temporary) closing chapter to the main Ultra universe, though.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Ultra Series </i></span><span class="st"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>© Tsuburaya Productions</i></span></span><br />
<br />Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-77507374603296042412013-04-14T02:15:00.001-07:002013-04-16T07:43:44.016-07:00Ultraman Ginga: New Ultraman Retsuden?So, we finally have a new Ultraman for television after all these years. According to all information seen so far, the series will be called <i>New Ultraman Retsuden </i>(off all things) and the main hero is called Ultraman Ginga.<br />
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The premise is <a href="http://henshinjustice.com/2013/04/12/new-ultraman-tv-series-new-ultraman-retsuden/" target="_blank">supposedly</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc;">A long time ago in outer space, a certain evil caused all Ultra heroes and giant monsters to turn into small dolls. These dolls where scattered all over the universe, until they arrived on Earth through a meteor shower. In present time, a young boy finds the Ginga Spark, that allows him to help the dolls revert into their true form. With the Ginga Spark, he can “UltraLive” to merge with the dolls.</span></blockquote>
It sounds a lot like <i>Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger</i> (which I haven't actually seen), and that's a little odd since <i>Mebius</i> was already the <i>Ultra Series</i> equivalent of <i>Gokaiger</i>. HJU's report claims that it will be set in present-time Japan, which (I'm guessing) could either mean "2013 in the main <i>Ultra</i> universe" or a world not unlike our own. If it's the latter, then that would mean a situation similar to <i>Battle in Hyperspace</i>.<br />
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I'm not really sure how to feel about this. I don't quite like the design, but I guess they're intentionally going for something different. The high school setting also sounds like they're trying to be experimental with this series, which is not a bad thing, although I'm guessing this means the non-powered characters won't be much help in combat, since they aren't a defense team. But it is quite far from the full reboot I was hoping for, and that's disappointing. I do hope Tsuburaya actually remember that they can do a complete reboot. And another thing: if you look at the promo picture at the top of this post, Ultraman Tiga is among the dolls floating there. I have no idea how this would work for continuity, due to the whole "separate universes" thing. I really, <i>really</i>, <b>really</b> hope this doesn't mean that Tsuburaya will just ignore the whole multiverse concept. But maybe Tiga won't appear in the story <i>at all</i>, and I'm just worrying a little too much.<br />
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From the sound of it, the show will only be 11 episodes with 2 specials, and there will be some sort of break between episodes 6 and 7. Far from a full-length series, but I'll have to see what Tsuburaya will be able to do before I can judge. There was a translated press conference with the cast on YouTube, which has now been removed. But it did make the series sound a little promising, especially a line at around the end of the conference:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc;">Ultraman Ginga will be brought to you by a new and fresh cast. Full of hopes and dreams, I hope you'll enjoy it</span></blockquote>
If "full of hopes and dreams" is correct, I'm cool with this. No doubt I'll at least give this a try, and possibly watch all the way through.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ultra Series and New Ultraman Retsuden </span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="st">© </span>Tsuburaya Productions </span></i>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-37535467610571031982013-03-28T06:30:00.000-07:002013-03-28T07:07:36.874-07:00Ultra-Act Ultraman Nexus Junis review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This figure represents the eponymous character of the 2004 series, <i>Ultraman Nexus</i>. <i>Nexus</i> was a... different Ultra show, so to speak, and it's pretty awesome. Junis mode is the first Ultra-Act released for this Ultra hero, but it's actually not his "default" form. Junis mode is actually his first "power-up" form, but he had a tendency to power up straight away, so the default mode, Anphans isn't used as much as other default forms. Also, Nexus was actually just called "Ultraman" for most, if not the entire show, but I'm using "Nexus" here, to distinguish him from any other Ultraman. But anyway, on to the figure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS1QmHn8S4CS05Cs2Tc_uRIm4xV82JUJbZEwn1c8cgyTsPk8emp1Cba72hnBeeDHY4cPEyxty6uo49I1SNXdwG6gWXwnUT7NWE5oW03MHkErciScWcBlviiFIb2z5b-62g0B_fTVKjvpV/s1600/UA-NexusJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS1QmHn8S4CS05Cs2Tc_uRIm4xV82JUJbZEwn1c8cgyTsPk8emp1Cba72hnBeeDHY4cPEyxty6uo49I1SNXdwG6gWXwnUT7NWE5oW03MHkErciScWcBlviiFIb2z5b-62g0B_fTVKjvpV/s320/UA-NexusJ.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
First off, no denying this thing <i>looks good</i>. Details are pretty much spot-on, as far as I can tell, so nothing really surprising for current Ultra-Act standards, except that the Nexus Junis design is noticeably more intricate than your regular Ultraman. Most of the figure is colored red, silver and black, but the arm braces (which I think are called "Armed Nexus") has gold, orange and blue detail as well. Of course, there's also the yellowish eyes, and the color timer made of translucent blue plastic. Speaking of which, there's a big piece of translucent red plastic underneath he color timer, called the energy core, which is a distinguishing feature of Nexus. There are also two tiny spots on the figure's back painted metallic red, which look nice too.<br />
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Much of the details are sculpted in. Areas of different colors are outlined by little sculpted lines, and most of the black stripes are slightly raised. Nexus is about 17 centimeters (over 6-and-a-half inches) tall from the feet to the tip of his head fin,<br />
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Articulation is... acceptable, for an Ultra-Act. By more general standards, it's great. The head can look left, right, up, and down, the shoulders have a mechanism similar to the "inner balljoint" thing S.H. Figuarts uses, attached to another balljoint on a hinged stem, while the arms have upper arm swivels, double-hinged elbows, and a balljoint + universal joint combination at the wrists, basically like any other Ultra-Act. The torso's balljoint has rather limited range, but that's not really an issue, since Nexus isn't known for hunched poses like the original Ultraman. And the waist has two balljoints connected on a stem, so it's still comes out good. The hips have balljoints attached to hinged stems, which work pretty well, and are standard for Ultramen in this line. There's also double-hinged knees, and the ankles have similar articulation as the wrists. Lastly, hinged toe sections are present at the tip of each foot/shoe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwWB928_gpG8G1JZR5EMj7OWwYj4lGS8I8DFAfFZx5SUq_pm9iU2vZSWTG7eFtW2B0EttDKeNcjKeQpOMLWctXg5V98y3T9CHBlDfwUeS0ho5Q8t6I1NbyJ2R_W5kvzNllU1rsXUCRC0A/s1600/nexus-poses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwWB928_gpG8G1JZR5EMj7OWwYj4lGS8I8DFAfFZx5SUq_pm9iU2vZSWTG7eFtW2B0EttDKeNcjKeQpOMLWctXg5V98y3T9CHBlDfwUeS0ho5Q8t6I1NbyJ2R_W5kvzNllU1rsXUCRC0A/s400/nexus-poses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Promo images also included <a href="http://tamashii.jp/images/item/item_0000010185_05.jpg" target="_blank">a picture</a> showing the figure in a pose similar to the "Iron Man floor punch" pose, and the figure <i>is</i> capable of posing like that. I think it's an attempt to approximate a few poses <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHLloosoIcXx-Q_3dEk3t8gKTlwHCg9O7H924VVedNNN2JBVADHBs7j71xaUTnO0Pe5YRRWkXkdG8yOmybjDjljbrLdIbfXvNS6gBbAp0ntk3vN_rAi8Q0vTmoMHbBc_OECK4Offf-eZL/s1600/nexus-crouch.jpg" target="_blank">seen in the series' opening sequence</a>.<br />
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Articulation still isn't quite as good as I'd like, though. The shoulderpads prevent the arms from being raised very high, and that sucks since you need them to do so to enact the arm motions Nexus performs when summoning his "meta field". Those shoulderpads really should have either been designed to move with the shoulders themselves, or just made out of softer, more flexible plastic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA4x1KQYVrPuuEvoiCyxrfpKE9PlgcczJzNCQRULITINMk-db4yU2fZ7hckvpuGwJwz7_ZiWZO9ikGI5U4fAwbdLUr1nhwr1fA71i_rdy55TcJybomEeFeJH2HYpviDlzYZOd66XZoPLz/s1600/nexus-accessories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA4x1KQYVrPuuEvoiCyxrfpKE9PlgcczJzNCQRULITINMk-db4yU2fZ7hckvpuGwJwz7_ZiWZO9ikGI5U4fAwbdLUr1nhwr1fA71i_rdy55TcJybomEeFeJH2HYpviDlzYZOd66XZoPLz/s400/nexus-accessories.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As for accessories, Nexus Junis comes with all the things picture here. Two pairs of hands are included aside from the default fists, specifically "chopping" hands, and splayed open hands. I don't mind the somewhat small number of hands here, since Nexus doesn't need anything like say, a thumbs up hand. The figure also comes with a red color timer, a Tamashii stage adaptor piece, an effect part representing the Over Ray Strom attack (although I've seen that spelled with "Schtrom" instead*), and these two thin pieces, which are really a single effect part you need to put together.<br />
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The color timer should have been a brighter, more pinkish red to not <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT66-ysj422rEpHMw4Z4m8UqXMCfk4YoVvjpKAMdZ9FR6ZaW85VXC7YbIGRW4h_YtQnX2Gi1a3wO2V9noQZbigGQ87hLWlttmF3ZSwtNyftJzoQ1-KBLKJToyv7cPtw2iZS0ckHI-L_1I/s1600/nexus-timer.jpg" target="_blank">blend in too much with the energy core</a>, but it's still acceptable. The Over Ray Strom effect is nice, especially with the areas of white breaking up the blue, although it's not completely show accurate. It attaches to one of Nexus' arm blades, and it stays on well enough.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysiCethuhzPTHK6eg1712yU-KJnP1cz-Zd-6Sp4kQafYNbEIl2NgkEL41bM6V2Nsd3X2wbvXEZGKNb_DVkME7PTIqCAAvyUw0TWqxxZBhV3weZlevODaWxxifLIZomSDg13bh6nLIDiHq/s1600/nexus-strom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysiCethuhzPTHK6eg1712yU-KJnP1cz-Zd-6Sp4kQafYNbEIl2NgkEL41bM6V2Nsd3X2wbvXEZGKNb_DVkME7PTIqCAAvyUw0TWqxxZBhV3weZlevODaWxxifLIZomSDg13bh6nLIDiHq/s320/nexus-strom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The other two effect parts are supposed to combine into one, and the promo pictures suggest they're meant to represent the visual effect of Nexus charging up before unleashing the Over Ray Strom. Problem is, they are not even <i>remotely</i> show-accurate, aside from being blue. They're also, not comfortable to work with, being thin pieces of hard plastic (and thus, at risk of breakage), and kind of sharp. Plus they don't really hold together very well. Really, if the sculptors, designers or whoever couldn't make them even vaguely look right, they could have just included something else instead. Perhaps Nexus' small, wedge-shaped energy projectiles, his Cross Ray Strom, or even an energy shield. The selection of effect parts is the area where this figure could have very, very easily been improved. Seriously, there is no reason Bandai couldn't have just included something else. You could try and repurpose the "charge-up" effect as some generic energy blast or something, if you don't want it to go to waste.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfBIz34UqdWj6jMDEbRflseKKbolnGw7rCkxqqrdv2wfol9DjUgFg5i-2Nb1gCC2QbWaxtl1gVYHyeyCpkM0mOfsOAuC-n-Nbk21GFFKliOJ1iL0ncldutAt4EIHpSOUScd1QmDZ8Rjpe/s1600/nexus-chargeup-comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="seriously, it just looks wrong way" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfBIz34UqdWj6jMDEbRflseKKbolnGw7rCkxqqrdv2wfol9DjUgFg5i-2Nb1gCC2QbWaxtl1gVYHyeyCpkM0mOfsOAuC-n-Nbk21GFFKliOJ1iL0ncldutAt4EIHpSOUScd1QmDZ8Rjpe/s400/nexus-chargeup-comparison.jpg" title="seriously, it just looks wrong that way" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you have Ultra-Act Ultraman Mebius, it might be possible to somewhat compensate for the effect parts by borrowing the Mebium Shoot effect, since that attack looks quite a bit like the Cross Ray Strom. I say "might" since I don't have Mebius, and I'm not quite sure if the hands are compatible with Nexus.<br />
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There are also have a few quality control issues that I'm guessing are somewhat specific to my figure. The right arm has some red paint sticking on the areas of silver, but that's not too noticeable. More importantly, the Tamashii Stage adaptor piece doesn't stay on as well as it needs to, rendering it pretty much useless.<br />
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All in all, Ultra-Act Ultrman Nexus Junis is an alright figure, for an Ultra-Act. A few aspects are unsatisfying, especially the effect parts, but I don't regret buying this. Also, an Ultra-Act of Junis Blue is scheduled for <a href="http://tamashii.jp/special/pickup/201307/" target="_blank">a July release</a> this year, (hurray!) so it looks like Nexus won't be as neglected for alternate forms like Dyna was.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ultraman Nexus</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="st"> ©</span> Tsuburaya Productions and CBC</span></i>
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* <span style="font-size: x-small;">specifically, on the packaging of the Ultra Chogokin Nexus Junis figure. Or rather, scans/p<span style="font-size: x-small;">ictures</span> of it.</span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-52964168174082990262013-03-25T08:46:00.002-07:002013-03-27T22:08:07.049-07:00Toy Haul: Bandai MadokasI'll probably write up posts like this every time I get a bunch of toys I want to talk about, but don't feel like posting reviews for all of them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH4qxo7w_73NgAViz9sTJp8SpR5jwxros-TRO3DEFmToNcfYAWaMYjWeDMgo3PIszNbT5M9056FjN210ZMJoMq6i4zJvQqoTtWrCcIej9vbB9rU6TSbbjMzUQlNaefyN9ioTMJMuuc9xb/s1600/figurehaul-march2013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Vox Aura was the first one I unboxed" border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGH4qxo7w_73NgAViz9sTJp8SpR5jwxros-TRO3DEFmToNcfYAWaMYjWeDMgo3PIszNbT5M9056FjN210ZMJoMq6i4zJvQqoTtWrCcIej9vbB9rU6TSbbjMzUQlNaefyN9ioTMJMuuc9xb/s320/figurehaul-march2013.JPG" title="Vox Aura was the first one I unboxed" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Ultra-Act Ultraman Tiga Power Type</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74dHCAjDEbmAB2cUcuvHOeD13jU46ozZjn9ynr0T9cWwITKj5HD5Kw-aMbfDAsLtRJ4O7oVrcBicB9RWXvvyHzHHhxuFFmMbvOibTSRV8fhfxCgOXI2cKkwLMPqAaBc-lvgmLzfTlQFkR/s1600/tiga-power.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74dHCAjDEbmAB2cUcuvHOeD13jU46ozZjn9ynr0T9cWwITKj5HD5Kw-aMbfDAsLtRJ4O7oVrcBicB9RWXvvyHzHHhxuFFmMbvOibTSRV8fhfxCgOXI2cKkwLMPqAaBc-lvgmLzfTlQFkR/s320/tiga-power.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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An alternate form of Ultraman Tiga, aka Daigo Madoka. From pictures I've seen, this is the Ultra-Act of him that looks best, since the golden thingy on the chest is actually aligned properly, and the face is less... off compared to the other releases. The only other Ultra-Act of this character that I have is Sky Type, and I plan to get Multi Type at some point.<br />
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The figure itself is alright, except that the balljointed ankles are rather weak, and one of the hip joints is even worse. But those are fixable problems. The selection of effect parts is nice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuu_dxvQ1pyeQYS-pCuMMbdJcinlopQ-ztv7r87QiM_Ix4yZEsBpHZAWIWWH6aLdQyFlNrAbl8KlAMiECB6WlLXvlEd7Pr26pCNrKzKyt0zmJ9t_gjXzidwSvTdsSFJifHoQAFQ0zNfN9R/s1600/voxaura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuu_dxvQ1pyeQYS-pCuMMbdJcinlopQ-ztv7r87QiM_Ix4yZEsBpHZAWIWWH6aLdQyFlNrAbl8KlAMiECB6WlLXvlEd7Pr26pCNrKzKyt0zmJ9t_gjXzidwSvTdsSFJifHoQAFQ0zNfN9R/s320/voxaura.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Robot Spirits Vox Aura</b><br />
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A rather erm, unique giant robot design from the anime <i>Lagrange: the Flower of Rin-ne</i> and piloted by the main character Madoka Kyouno. This is my first, and currently only Robot Spirits/Damashii figure, so I can't really say all that much regarding the actual quality of the thing. But the high heels (which you can't really see in the pictures) are kinda dumb since they make even standing up a little difficult, and I found posing to be limited and tricky despite the actual number of joints, likely due to the design rather than Robot Spirits engineering. The accessories included are good enough, though, and I'm glad I got it on sale, at least. It still <i>is </i><a href="http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN976272" target="_blank">on sale</a>, actually.<br />
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<b>Ultra-Act Ultraman Nexus Junis</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9x0vtbdsbjTNwTPB8BUPVCeTkkYzvKHAiLRwT5q_gavq4QthvgR6EWUsI6Yi8Qz2dzlDH-xjjdC-90yANCbaQkIjHvxXZ6cYIESeEDzxJB59FkuqLPw5NWTm4mYaML54rGkYPXeYvq1_V/s1600/nexus-junis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9x0vtbdsbjTNwTPB8BUPVCeTkkYzvKHAiLRwT5q_gavq4QthvgR6EWUsI6Yi8Qz2dzlDH-xjjdC-90yANCbaQkIjHvxXZ6cYIESeEDzxJB59FkuqLPw5NWTm4mYaML54rGkYPXeYvq1_V/s200/nexus-junis.JPG" width="145" /></a>Okay, this has nothing to do with anybody with Madoka in their name, but I guess you can consider <i>Ultraman Nexus</i> to be the Ultra Series equivalent of <i>Puella Magi Madoka Magica</i>, in a way, maybe. It's a cool figure, and looks good, but some of the accessories are not satisfying enough for me. This one I'll actually post a review for, unless I suddenly die within the next few days or so.<br />
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As for something perhaps much closer to <i>Madoka Magica</i>, the S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Ryuki and Dragredder set is among the Tamashii Nations items scheduled for a reissue in <a href="http://tamashii.jp/item_schedule/201305/" target="_blank">May</a>, although the preorders seem to be already sold out. Hopefully, I'll still be able to get one, when the reissue comes out, somehow.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-27621252307828287272013-03-07T00:36:00.000-08:002013-03-26T12:45:27.181-07:00somewhat quick review: Figma Tsubasa KazanariThis character uses swords, dresses in blue, has a surname that starts with K and is partnered with somebody whose last name is Tachibana. If you guessed Kamen Rider Blade, you probably didn't see the post title. If you don't know who I'm talking about, Tsubasa Kazanari is a major character from <i>Senki Zesshou Symphogear</i>, an anime by Satelight and Encourage Films. Her figure is Figma #158.<br />
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Now, on to the actual review!<br />
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Tsubasa <s>Kenzaki</s> Kazanari comes with all these accessories pictured here. It's pretty much all the figure could've come with, except maybe a lightning effect part. Overall, not lacking at all, but not surprisingly amazing either. The black round thing is a decoration for the Figma base, with slits for to stick her small knife in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0VgFYse0Z6O5_hYSAbb5Q1i2G8E26IhmBAiJWttcpTmv1oiFBUzAV5W9j7Gn9nyylZB33l1eMqC_F7fxhhwYuVRayfOoOWdcDgxSuHFVxw0VIu5CidGmqkNvx7ZbLSrSX8t8KPNvONhO/s1600/tsubasa01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE0VgFYse0Z6O5_hYSAbb5Q1i2G8E26IhmBAiJWttcpTmv1oiFBUzAV5W9j7Gn9nyylZB33l1eMqC_F7fxhhwYuVRayfOoOWdcDgxSuHFVxw0VIu5CidGmqkNvx7ZbLSrSX8t8KPNvONhO/s320/tsubasa01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Articulation on this figure is underwhelming. The elbows don't bend as far as I'd like them to, and there's no waist joint <i>at all</i>. And one pair of hands, specificaly the pair for holding the huge sword, lacks wrist hinges, for some reason. Which puts the peg under a little stress when in use. Be careful to avoid warping. But besides those issues, pretty much the articulation you'd expect from Figma. So it's not <i>offensively</i> disappointing, at least.<br />
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This is still less annoying a figure than Hibiki Tachibana, though. A few pieces sticking out of her costume are thankfully adjustable, so they're less bothersome, and not as distressingly breakable. Although you should keep in mind this isn't a child's toy.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwUtgGqg-59vr32ThhOzguINe4R1huz0Mu16rfkNUxxUi1fQWl90iQ5-fBDlJJN8aRWj7sgawrxn9z99OMDn8gyniQvQKrAxQpNn8VCERM79WV5d3nGk-7l3BUOEGQ0HKh88uaWeKsO0M/s1600/tsubasa02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvnmArT3QcrjyiY5r6EE5VzptCn6GF6BmwAHFG9bz6hnEaXoZBDPXcUQbsGO-_eg48ouq02HvLPpobG_h20qNwSOMs7-cZkSBqMHSslb4cHF9TUS1VMAe6-Mdr37vXQQ0NcyuQSaJLYIz/s1600/tsubasa02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wait, wrong Hibiki" border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvnmArT3QcrjyiY5r6EE5VzptCn6GF6BmwAHFG9bz6hnEaXoZBDPXcUQbsGO-_eg48ouq02HvLPpobG_h20qNwSOMs7-cZkSBqMHSslb4cHF9TUS1VMAe6-Mdr37vXQQ0NcyuQSaJLYIz/s200/tsubasa02.jpg" title="wait, wrong Hibiki" width="200" /></a></div>
All in all, if you were already planning on getting this figure, there's nothing I can say to change your mind. Likewise, if you weren't planning to, it's not quite impressive enough for me to recommend to somebody who doesn't like the character or design enough to spend money on this thing. I like her enough, although the way the skintightness of her costume somehow makes her navel pretty noticeable bugs me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzoVEqd-bcEJKlYSm6rklPrxiULS5sdV6CIkrWtIfVWbQclkDyMTfn3-Y81cH3tQfeue8BQK9AvAWc0eL-vb0e5_YJibKqiUBoaThrOhykf0xTIw86oCGy1iVTYWVZLSyj7sOS922hyd-/s1600/tsubasa03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="close enough?" border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTzoVEqd-bcEJKlYSm6rklPrxiULS5sdV6CIkrWtIfVWbQclkDyMTfn3-Y81cH3tQfeue8BQK9AvAWc0eL-vb0e5_YJibKqiUBoaThrOhykf0xTIw86oCGy1iVTYWVZLSyj7sOS922hyd-/s320/tsubasa03.JPG" title="close enough?" width="320" /></a></div>
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Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-78103287344437425752013-02-28T20:51:00.001-08:002013-03-02T07:02:15.620-08:00Ultraman Saga: the Dyna stuffNot a post about the overall quality of the movie, just how <i>Dyna</i>-related stuff is handled. Little to no actual spoilers in this post, too. (Note:"<i>Dyna</i>" with italics refers to <i>Ultraman Dyna</i>, the series, while without italics refers to the character.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_rlFGuLK1CAShxPoKbpfO8wSXFi62HbwzTMYsGyGmJhOb2Qogls2TJK_5Pc6UpvzC1RJwZ3DW6gCAEnNr60Ob8ZD2A5PurU8OHPaYmOKtgT_meIkYLrIYn1Mbo2PugUZcRTqUi8C_dPN/s1600/Saga-Dyna-thumbsup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Because I wanted to have some sort of picture here" border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_rlFGuLK1CAShxPoKbpfO8wSXFi62HbwzTMYsGyGmJhOb2Qogls2TJK_5Pc6UpvzC1RJwZ3DW6gCAEnNr60Ob8ZD2A5PurU8OHPaYmOKtgT_meIkYLrIYn1Mbo2PugUZcRTqUi8C_dPN/s320/Saga-Dyna-thumbsup.jpg" title="Because I wanted to have some sort of picture here" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dyna gets to be absolutely awesome in this movie. Even in the opening scene, he's presented in such a grand manner. It's also a nice reminder of the sheer size and power of an Ultraman. Really, a good chunk of the movie tells you just how awesome Dyna is. Which would probably be a little confusing for anybody who hasn't seen Dyna's series. The movie talks him up so much, and I imagine it could be a little hard to really care about him if you haven't seen his show.<br />
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But anyway, what Dyna/Asuka actually does in the movie is pretty cool, and its enough reason to at least watch the movie once. Well, at least for me, but then I'm biased. Amongst all the Ultramen in this movie, Dyna is really the one who gets the most attention and respect here. Even though the audience follows Zero and his new human host, the movie really devotes more energy to convincing you how cool Dyna is. It's like the script itself is a major fanboy. And I'm okay with that. Dyna/Asuka is actually absent for a good chunk of the movie but even when he's not there, he really shines. <br />
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Speaking of Zero's new host: he's Taiga, a new member of Super GUTS. The movie pretty blatantly tries to present him as somebody a lot like how Asuka was, which just didn't go very well. For one thing, it makes him more than a little overshadowed by you know, <i>Asuka himself</i>. He also comes off as annoying, mainly because of how the character was handled, and his lame voice. He could have been more likeable if he actually had teammates to interact with, or something.<br />
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As for the characters who were Super GUTS members during <i>Dyna</i> itself, they appear in the movie, except for Mai and Hanejiro. Kohda and Hibiki apparently have been promoted to positions separate from the team, while Ryoh is apparently the captain. There's a scene during the credits with (most of) them, and it's sort of of a follow-up to the "Urutora no Hoshi" scene from Dyna's finale. Speaking of which, this movie does have a big spoiler for it.<br />
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There's a minor appearance by the Spheres (spelled "SPHIA" for some reason), but it felt kinda pointless as they could have used some other enemy for the scene.<br />
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Besides the characters, there's some nice use of <i>Dyna</i>-related music. We get <i>two</i> covers of "Kimi Dake o Mamoritai" in this movie. The first is by one of the Team U girls, and it has an almost lullaby-like feel to it. I find that suitable, considering the lyrical content (the translation of which I only know from the old <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040208120155/http://www.waynebrain.com/ultra/songs/dyna_songs.html" target="_blank">Absolute Ultraman!</a> website). Quite a bit of the song is basically "don't be scared, I will keep you safe," which works for the somewhat maternal quality. Later in the movie, there's a more "heroic" cover by Takeshi Tsuruno, aka Ultraman Dyna himself. It's kinda kick-ass, but really one of those things you can only appreciate if you already like <i>Dyna</i>. Honestly, I can't help but feel that the movie could have been improved if they used even more <i>Dyna</i>-related music. Maybe have "Ultra High" playing during Zero's fight against the Legionoids, or use "Takeoff! Super GUTS" when Taiga pilots the Guts Eagle Alpha.<br />
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Overall, <i>Ultraman Saga</i> may not be all that great an <i>Ultra</i> movie, but for somebody with a degree of attachment to <i>Ultraman Dyna</i>, some aspects of the movie are delightful. You'd probably be less disappointed if you watch this for Dyna compared to watching it for Zero or Cosmos.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ultraman Saga is </span><span class="st"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Tsuburaya Productions </span></span><br />
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Minor note: why is Asuka still wearing (what appears to be) the exact same outfit he was in when he disappeared more than a decade ago?Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-34365620960747325812013-02-21T07:32:00.003-08:002013-02-22T16:43:25.686-08:00Ultraman Dyna - Final Chapter (final thoughts)Yep, final post for this finale.<br />
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"Final Chapter" is a good enough ending. The seriousness was upped to the point that we see very little of <i>Dyna</i>'s lightheartedness, which is a good thing. Asuka is at his least annoying here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2-YcNlNwJgCUSyiXTTtVpzxRXJ9pDn93A40GKYrKAfayZx61D-xfNQKMPjF66DOZ60pcJC95hJzU9_R8iONdlinAMby7hCMZchwB2xCVtaQiTs0sPNf_4D6rvCF9ZAKN54kJI1JkxtJr/s1600/gransphere-collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2-YcNlNwJgCUSyiXTTtVpzxRXJ9pDn93A40GKYrKAfayZx61D-xfNQKMPjF66DOZ60pcJC95hJzU9_R8iONdlinAMby7hCMZchwB2xCVtaQiTs0sPNf_4D6rvCF9ZAKN54kJI1JkxtJr/s400/gransphere-collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As for the villain, Gransphere is a pretty cool antagonist. It's a bizarre, intimidating, and inhuman agent of darkness, but not a rehash of Gatanozoa. Basically, a good counter to an Ultraman. And the way it appeared before humanity all over the world (pictured) was uh, grand. True, the giant glowy space balls aren't visually impressive, especially given the visual effects used.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhYlKJer9wwVkDzGplIrYZ2I8LLkjVDXVAW25-W1rlNPad3VNaAAMz9hBRZnvAQiSTOZCpQCTfNXv1s9NOxaP9wAjEIQqCfgJFKlviZP-GdP-lBUsOL6Edwj7MJmzFLW21SjAhFTDmUrL/s1600/SuperGUTSthing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhYlKJer9wwVkDzGplIrYZ2I8LLkjVDXVAW25-W1rlNPad3VNaAAMz9hBRZnvAQiSTOZCpQCTfNXv1s9NOxaP9wAjEIQqCfgJFKlviZP-GdP-lBUsOL6Edwj7MJmzFLW21SjAhFTDmUrL/s400/SuperGUTSthing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I love the spaceship/base thing Super GUTS used (pictured right, from different angles). It's much cooler than <i>Tiga</i>'s Art Dessei. It's some sort of X-shaped mobile platform thing that folds up when it lands. I wish I knew what it was called. It shows up outside the finale, but it was used very well here.<br />
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You get the sense that these episodes try to imbue <i>Dyna</i> with a sense of humanity. Things like Asuka recalling his father talking about ancient peoples, and mentioning that he does things because he's human, and that when Dyna speaks, it's actually Asuka. It works, given that this is a sequel to <i>Ultraman Tiga</i>, which really gave Ultraman a sense of humanity as well.<br />
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The music used in the finale ranges in quality from generic, but alright to absolutely amazing. I can't help but feel the lack of "Takeoff! Super GUTS" in these episodes to be a minus point.<br />
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<i>Ultraman Dyna</i> may not hold a place in any list of greatest tokusatsu ever, but it's worth watching if you are a super hero tokusatsu fan. At least for the Gransphere-related episodes, and watching <i>Tiga</i> beforehand isn't really necessary. (no, I'm not recommending <i>Dyna</i> <b>over</b> <i>Tiga</i>, just that watching them in sequence isn't really necessary)<br />
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I'm gonna use this as an opportunity to talk about the DVD I watched this on. It's the Malaysia release by Speedy Video Distributors and it is <b>awful</b>. Not just the disc containing the final episodes, but their <i>Dyna</i> DVDs in general. The default aspect ratio is set at 16:9, but you actually just get a stretched out 4:3 image. Fortunately, this can be fixed when viewed on a computer, but it shouldn't be an issue at all. And that's not even getting into image <i>clarity</i> yet, (notice that none of my screencaps are at full DVD resolution). although I haven't really sat down and compared video quality on Speedy's <i>Ultraman</i> DVDs, so maybe that's a topic for another time, if ever. The Malay audio track is muffled on at least some <i>Dyna </i>episodes (although not episode 50, at least), and that includes the music, so watching the Malay dub is a more painful experience than usual with the <i>Dyna </i>DVDs. I loved the finale, but I had to watch each episode at least twice to review. Once to experience the episode in a non-painful way, and once to understand the dialogue. Malay dubbing tends to be so awkward that my mind blocks out specific details and wording, anyway. One flub that stands out hilariously is where an old guy from Asuka's former flight school sees Asuka's GUTS Eagle Superior and says something that basically means "look, honey, that's our son". He was referring to Asuka's father in the Japanese audio, but I'm pretty sure the "honey" and "our" part shouldn't be there.<br />
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My understanding of these episodes has been a combination of guesswork, the Malay dub, and what I've read online. I really, really wish I could find subtitles for this show that I could understand. English subs do exist, (or so I've been told) from <i>Ultraman Dyna</i>'s broadcast in California a while back.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ultraman Dyna is <span class="st"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Tsuburaya Productions</span></span></i></span>Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-62115004529345428942013-02-16T10:24:00.001-08:002013-02-28T23:10:42.223-08:00Ultraman Dyna - Final Chapter (III)<h3>
Final Chapter III: Toward Tomorrow...</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDx5RyFazaxh43RX93zi5mGeZobLe-cdSS3PMu4crlo6faNQkpUW2xTQFqLPZRseyR1AhE4hdk535jiGDJc4rwkfCUQW7c5xHtymoLsgcWrp_QX7a7Szga6_6b95be7SA-LcWzx4Ry7Ie/s1600/Dyna-SolgentRay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZDx5RyFazaxh43RX93zi5mGeZobLe-cdSS3PMu4crlo6faNQkpUW2xTQFqLPZRseyR1AhE4hdk535jiGDJc4rwkfCUQW7c5xHtymoLsgcWrp_QX7a7Szga6_6b95be7SA-LcWzx4Ry7Ie/s320/Dyna-SolgentRay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, the ellipses is there in the title.<br />
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<b>Disclaimer (again): I do not speak Japanese, so my understanding of these
episodes is a little flawed, even when I refer to the Malay dub (which I <i>only</i> use for reference), since it's not all that great.</b><br />
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Alright, final part of the finale. Dyna and Super GUTS retreat once their attack fails. There's another mushy scene with Ryoh and Asuka as they get onboard the spaceship/base, with a romantic instrumental version of "Kimi Dake o Mamoritai" playing. I love that song.<br />
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This episode is a departure from the heavy action of the previous two. Most of the highlights are emotional moments with Super GUTS members. Besides Ryoh's mushy scenes and dialogue, we have Captain Hibiki revealing that he already knew of Dyna's true identity. Nakajima has a long-ish scene talking about his father's role in shaping him as who he is, which I guess is supposed to relate to Asuka's situation somehow. It's emotional, I'll give it that. Mai gets a scene talking about the context of Dyna's name, and there is, what appears to be a pun (Dynamite Dyna, Dynamic Dyna... daisuki Dyna), while Kohda's bit is a little more professional than the others, since its partially him speaking as Deputy Captain. Basically, there's a little individual focus for every Super GUTS member except Kariya, although he seems to be rather bland anyway. But, my descriptions here do not do justice to these bits. They really need to be experienced instead of just described to you. <br />
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Gransphere gets to be imposing and talk kinda creepy, which prompts some philosophizing from Captain Hibiki.<br />
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The music (and in some parts, lack thereof) helps with the emotion too. And this episode's strength really does lie with the heartfelt bits, despite containing the final battle. The fight itself doesn't really get the blood pumping, and its really more of a "this is who I am" moment for Asuka/Dyna than a glorious fight scene. <br />
Anyone who's seen this, and/or <i>Ultraman Saga</i> knows what comes next: The destruction of Gransphere by the Neo Maxima cannon and Dyna's Solgent Ray creates a wormhole-thingy and Dyna falls inside. Seems they couldn't decide what kind of music should accompamny this scene, or just decided it works best without music. Either way, it works. The solar system is saved, the nightmare of Gransphere is over, but Dyna is gone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIrikCGJ079DR9L9ezNB_Wz0HsGkWpEWQt2yIwvnzP5zOHuFWF1wKuIYIHik_h9tGVjYi3S55MXhxm0RG6NAoLSvtdfUgd4uewwEfkd3NxpkZKdC74Rrt-DjFMWrDLzv6pERTRrTHZb09/s1600/Dyna-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIrikCGJ079DR9L9ezNB_Wz0HsGkWpEWQt2yIwvnzP5zOHuFWF1wKuIYIHik_h9tGVjYi3S55MXhxm0RG6NAoLSvtdfUgd4uewwEfkd3NxpkZKdC74Rrt-DjFMWrDLzv6pERTRrTHZb09/s320/Dyna-final.jpg" width="320" /></a>Which brings us to the final sequence, with Asuka inside his GUTS Eagle Superior, flying through some trippy light show, where he sees his father, somehow still in the same spacecraft he disappeared in all those years ago. The music is very strong and emotional here. I agree with this review by Lawrence Tuczynski <a href="http://www.godzillamonstermusic.com/TYCY-5615.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. The specific track used does convey a vague sense of hope regarding Asuka. The basic melody of this track has shown up previously in the series. In fact, the first music played in Dyna (not counting the opening theme) during episode 1 shared the same basic melody, so this is some nice bookending. But having much of this track proper be vocal instead of instrumental comes off as trying a little too hard. Just a little. Anyway, the Super GUTS members also convey a sense of hope in their final scenes. I don't quite get whether they know of Asuka's fate either, and I can't help but be a little bit confused with the talk of "Urutora no Hoshi" or Ultra Star. It's not like they know of the homeworld of Ultramen in Nebula M78. This isn't the right continuity for that! And I doubt they're referring to the object from <i>Tiga</i> episode 49, titled "The Ultra Star" either. And the way they're talking while facing the camera all together like that looks a little awkward.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77vuhYBMMH7_Cg340BFAWUjBntYVP8zBkBL0XcMBBLzBkrVdSVu30j2xyEdMpxrdxfPGUoyIjRmpSJ5HVWLujPRsW3lghF0tB77XtkSW5eqyF-zmCalmMCU_4cpZMVQcdZs4d4Pf3UJZN/s1600/Dyna-SuperGUTS-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="They're gesturing at... something" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77vuhYBMMH7_Cg340BFAWUjBntYVP8zBkBL0XcMBBLzBkrVdSVu30j2xyEdMpxrdxfPGUoyIjRmpSJ5HVWLujPRsW3lghF0tB77XtkSW5eqyF-zmCalmMCU_4cpZMVQcdZs4d4Pf3UJZN/s320/Dyna-SuperGUTS-final.jpg" title="They're gesturing at... something" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have to wonder: what was it like when people first saw this ending, long before <i>Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy</i> came out? Just from the episode itself, Asuka's fate is not completely clear, so how did the sense of hope come through? I can't really say much about that since I saw this after <i>MMB: UG</i>, so I already knew that Asuka survives. Ignoring anything post-series, you can take this scene as Asuka having truly come to terms with his father's disappearance so long ago. <br />
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Overall, a really good final episode, with good character moments, and a final battle that, while not very action-heavy, and less memorable than what happens directly following it, works pretty well. Certainly less cheesy than <i>Tiga</i>'s final battle, and better than the original <i>Ultraman</i>'s finale where Ultraman was basically useless against the monster, yet Ide suddenly comes with a new weapon that gave the Science Patrol an instant win. Instead, here we have the Ultra and his human teammates working together against a huge threat, both playing a major part. It's funny how by the end of it, the combat team has more firepower than the Ultraman, but it totally works, anyway. I don't realy like how "Ultra High" is used for the end credits again, though. The song is lively and hot-blooded, which doesn't go well with the final scene. "Kimi dake o Mamoritai" would have been a better choice.<br />
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I might do a "final thoughts" post for these episodes soon.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ultraman Dyna is <span class="st"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Tsuburaya Productions</span></span></i></span><br />
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<br />Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-77862687799243184342013-02-10T06:12:00.001-08:002013-02-28T23:12:30.455-08:00Ultraman Dyna - Final Chapter (parts I and II)Why review these episodes? They deserve a little more recognition on the English-language web, that's why. Strange for me to just jump into end of the series, perhaps, but these episodes are already very old. I won't actually summarize the events of the episodes, but spoilers will be here and there. This post focuses on parts I and II. Hopefully I'll get to covering part III afterwards.<br />
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<b>Disclaimer: I do not speak Japanese, so my understanding of these episodes is a little flawed, even when I refer to the Malay dub (which I pretty much <i>only</i> use for reference), since it's not all that great.</b><br />
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Final Chapter I: A New Shadow</h3>
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Anyway, Final Chapter is split into three parts. The first one being A New Shadow. The (sub)title recalls that of the show's first episode, A New Light.<br />
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There's a lot going on in this episode. Literally the beginning of the end here. Asuka reminisces about his father who disappeared 15 years ago, and receives an apocalyptic vision of Gransphere, the series' biggest baddie. The main plot of this episode relates to the artificial Ultraman, Terranoid, and the absolute mess its creation leads to, once its body is hijacked by the Spheres to form Zelganoid. We get a lot out of TPC (Terrestrial Peaceable Consortium) officer Gondoh, the man responsible for all this, whose dissatisfaction at mankind's reliance on the "alien" entity that is Ultraman Dyna acts as his main motivation. (The disaster of the Prometheus project he was involved in during the <i>Tiga & Dyna</i> film probably contributes to this.)<br />
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At first, he's very confident with his F-Plan to place the power of Ultraman under TPC's control. To the extent of approaching hubris, actually. He ends up sacrificing himself to fix the huge mess after everything goes wrong, and its done pretty well.<br />
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The whole Terranoid plot, not only connected to the Evil Tiga incident of <i>Ultraman Tiga</i> (former GUTS captain Iruma appears in the episode to explain that) touches on a somewhat interesting theme, being mankind's desire to place things under its own control.<i> Ultraman Nexus</i> explores this theme with the TLT doing something with basically the same goal, but is (in my opinion, at least) less ridiculous than creating an artificial Ultraman. Anyway, To quote the old <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20040208111512/http://www.waynebrain.com/ultra/fake/terranoid.html" target="_blank">Absolute Ultraman!</a> site:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Who would have thought that there would be a deep philosophical message buried somewhere in a tale about an ersatz version of a guy in a rubber suit?</span></blockquote>
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I find the whole "science creation goes out of control" thing sounds a little cliche, though. But I do like Terranoid's design. The dark grey gives it a vaguely sinister feel, without looking outright evil. The Zelganoid design is more freaky and evil-looking, especially with the spikes on the back, and that's cool too.<br />
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In a sense, this episode does "mirror" the series premiere, with the action taking place on Mars, and the birth of a new Ultraman. Except for the latter being a bad thing, hence the switch from "Light" to "Shadow". I assume Terranoid being a copy of Dyna, despite how the show already provided an Imitation/Fake Dyna previously, was to reinforce the idea of being a shadow. The fact that the monster Dyna battles in the beginning of this episode is a copy of the first monster he fought drives this point home a little.<br />
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There are some dark moments in this episode aside from Gondoh's sacrifice, like Asuka's vision-thingy regarding Gransphere, and Zelganoid shooting down some aircraft, with no indication that the pilots managed to eject.
The Ultraman action is pretty good, although Super GUTS were pretty much useless in this episode. You could easily forget that any of the members besides Asuka and Ryoh (who discovers Dyna's true identity in this episode) were even there. Another lame thing about this episode is that Asuka actually decided to fly to Mars by himself, without telling anybody just because he received a mysterious invitation. I know he isn't all too bright, but it's a bit hard to swallow that he just took one of the team's jets to Mars like that.<br />
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The episode ends on a somewhat grim cliffhanger, Asuka vanishes in the explosion of Terranoid's demise, and Ryoh picks up the Reflasher.<br />
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Final Chapter II: Solar System Annihilation </h3>
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Part II is titled Solar System Destruction, as you can see from the heading there. Quite a few major highlights. When Asuka collapses after getting lost in the Martian landscape, he's rescued by none other than Daigo Madoka, formerly Ultraman Tiga. We get to see what Daigo and Rena have been up to since retiring from combat. Apparently, besides raising their daughter, they're running a "biopark", growing flowering plants on Mars. A teensy bit ironic, considering that one of Tiga's more dangerous enemies was a flowering plant. There's a nice scene where Daigo talks about motivations and reasons for stuff, and it's pretty clear he's talking about what it means to be Ultraman, even though his wording is vague when taken out of context. <br />
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There's another flashback regarding Asuka's father in this episode. He compares his career of space exploration to the earliest humans exploring the world. He tells Asuka the reason people do these things is because they are human. An interesting message to put forth, I guess.<br />
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Now for the main deal of this episode: the (sub)title refers to the true extent of the threat of Gransphere. Super GUTS and TPC now know that the entire solar system is at risk. Aside from swallowing space jets and celestial bodies and shooting lightning, Gransphere sends out the kaiju Neo Gaigareid to menace a TPC base. I'm not sure where it is, but it's probably around the outer planets. The original Gaigareid appeared and episode 29, which centered on the legacy/memory of Asuka's father. Ryoh and Asuka rejoin the action with the former piloting the GUTS Shadow and the latter as Dyna, (however, note that Ryoh doesn't tell anybody that Asuka and Dyna are the same being) deflecting the kaiju's attack. It's a pretty cool fight, if you're okay with how much more reliant on special effects it is than usual. There's very little brawling. Neo Gaigareid has quite a few special tricks to match against Dyna, most prominently its force field. The landscape and models depicting... where ever the TPC base in this episode is located looks pretty cool, if a little bare.<br />
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After being rather useless in the previous episode, Super GUTS are really stepping up their game here. Professor Kisaragai (from the <i>Tiga & Dyna</i> movie) helps them install a Neo Maxima cannon on their mobile spaceship base thing. And there's former GUTS member Yazumi too!<br />
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A rather emotional scene with the Super GUTS members occurs near the end of the episode, which somewhat recalls events from episode 34, except with Ryoh in Captain Hibiki's place. Which brings us to another highlight of this episode: Asuka (as Dyna) gets a nice part as he rescues her, with a line that references the title of <i>Dyna</i>'s first ending theme, "Kimi Dake o Mamoritai". It sorta translates as "Only You Do I Wish to Protect", or something like that. The exchange between Asuka and Ryoh is... sweet, but not all <i>that</i> romantic. The scenes between Daigo and Rena in <i>Tiga</i>'s 50th episode were much more romantic, and the reference to a song title was done a little bit better in that episode, at least in my opinion. Speaking of the song, "Kimi Dake o Mamoritai" is used as the ending theme for this episode, even though most of Dyna's second half uses a different theme ("Ultra High"). The episode itself ends with Super GUTS firing the Neo Maxima cannon, but the effect of that is not shown until the next episode.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Special thanks to the old Absolute Ultraman! site for translations of episode titles. </span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ultraman Dyna is <span class="st"><span style="font-size: x-small;">© Tsuburaya Productions</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-63315665501031753112012-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:002013-03-25T08:47:22.287-07:00Ultra-Act Ultraman review!After... however long it has been since I done anything with this blog: a review of an action figure! Why not?
Anyway, Ultra-Act Ultraman (Renewal Version).<br />
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The figure is a representation of the original Ultraman (who can also be referred to as "Ultraman Hayata" to distinguish him further) and as the "Renewal Version" phrase implies, this is not the first figure of Ultraman to be released in Ultra-Act, but actually the <i>second</i>. I don't have the previous version to compare with, but this one is supposed to be a major improvement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rfv0Bcu74ZaEP0VfsSSWv9owg2jX7DIgbdIN3rFmI2NgA_OnXMtXMupRGQ2BBzwRjG-dGI8QcoxDVOHvDWZmbBaQVL3EhvxTwxQ3dsbwHo76rAyX1iILLmam3sMJaJwrKA0iUSN8ILQk/s1600/Ultraman_with_box.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Rfv0Bcu74ZaEP0VfsSSWv9owg2jX7DIgbdIN3rFmI2NgA_OnXMtXMupRGQ2BBzwRjG-dGI8QcoxDVOHvDWZmbBaQVL3EhvxTwxQ3dsbwHo76rAyX1iILLmam3sMJaJwrKA0iUSN8ILQk/s320/Ultraman_with_box.JPG" title="Urutoraman!" width="233" /></a></div>
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Just getting the packaging out of the way first. While the packaging style is unimportant, this particular packaging is alright for me. The early Ultra-Acts had black packaging with a "starburst-esque" illustration of a character, but this one is packaged in a box with vibrant colors, and a touched-up image of the actual toy. I say the colors work, at least for Ultraman here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVd4BEs0MEMVLtGlh8UWOMicXPczWbVhBCKvqD-DBFhaEccsjVjejBlZNOWBQOTPw7At8qUeF0w1E0Eg2YD3Af0TugFrPaEERHushTzR8vMoQ8tJqo0-KwKD8y2md5JJ7glML6q4T85OU/s1600/Ultraman_figure1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVd4BEs0MEMVLtGlh8UWOMicXPczWbVhBCKvqD-DBFhaEccsjVjejBlZNOWBQOTPw7At8qUeF0w1E0Eg2YD3Af0TugFrPaEERHushTzR8vMoQ8tJqo0-KwKD8y2md5JJ7glML6q4T85OU/s320/Ultraman_figure1.JPG" title="The abdomen details are there, but not that pronounced" width="252" /></a></div>
Sculpt-wise, the figure is designed to look like somebody fit, but not overly muscular. Appropriate, considering that Ultraman is represented on-screen by a stuntman in a costume. Although I don't think the figure's physique is based on any particular stuntman. The biceps and abdomen are sculpted to show a bit of muscle detail. Ultraman's face seems to be based on that of the "C type" iteration of the character's costume, which is also how Ultraman usually looks during appearances after his series. The paint is pretty good, but Ultraman's design is just too simple for Bandai to screw up anyway. The lines between Ultraman's red and silver areas are sculpted in, which is a nice (but really simple) detail. In a show of slightly more impressive detail, there are tiny black dots at the bottom of Ultraman's eyes, as that's a detail one tends to see on the costume.<br />
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Articulation is where figure truly shines in, which is standard for most any Ultra-Act of an Ultra hero. The "Iron Man floor punch" pose is a good standard test of articulation, and this figure can assume an approximation of that pose. The shoulders are similar to S.H. Figuarts since there's a stem protruding from each of them, and on the end of that stem, is a balljoint that's "stuffed" into the torso. This allows for some subtle shoulder-adjusting, for more natural movement. Other than that, Ultraman's head is articulated, and so is the base of his neck, while each arm possesses a "universal" shoulder (this is a separate joint from the aforementioned "balljoints stuffed into the torso"), upper arm swivel, double-jointed elbows, and a sort of multi-joint combo for the wrist. Ultraman's torso is designed to hunch over to a good extent, as that is important for Ultraman's default battle stance. The figure has good tilt and rotation at the waist and mid-torso as well. The legs are attached to the body via balljoint, and said balljoint is attached to a hinged stem. The rest of the legs are articulated similarly to the arms, with the addition of a hinge for the toe portion of each foot/shoe. Making the figure balance on its own can get tricky for certain poses, so a support stand (such as a Tamashii Stage) helps a lot. A small portion on the upper part of Ultraman's back is removable to
attach Bandai's Ultra Brothers Mantle, sold separately, which I don't
have.
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Just with all that articulation, Ultraman is already looking pretty good. But it doesn't end there, of course. This figure is packaged with loads of acessories.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQR2F4QEOZHRA_NFTtZIwfWOlm1RCnQkyyPXBC6xGz9qx8a51EuhfW1yan45feteIOtUGeNLsQGjtrD-iX_0BFYPWLSPh24opp-zcqWpcbEjs5aQOOHBTzxd49gDcM8MUwEqbXlPiKucR/s1600/Ultraman_hands_and_parts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQR2F4QEOZHRA_NFTtZIwfWOlm1RCnQkyyPXBC6xGz9qx8a51EuhfW1yan45feteIOtUGeNLsQGjtrD-iX_0BFYPWLSPh24opp-zcqWpcbEjs5aQOOHBTzxd49gDcM8MUwEqbXlPiKucR/s400/Ultraman_hands_and_parts.JPG" title="Hands and stuff" width="400" /></a></div>
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Alternate hands are a prerequisite for Tamashii Nations product such as this, and Ultraman has a plethora of them. Aside from the default closed fists, Ultraman includes slapping/karate chopping hands, splayed open hands, "calm" open hands (they look like he's gesturing for a handshake), and even a peace sign right hand, for some reason. The alternate hands can really be used for whatever purpose your imagination deems fit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3f8iJJseRCAxsHw7k0OOPcgWLYLYNbNTq2NvDT7hkO4gYQZrUzupbzeMo6d3mYuriR57nuIT9OdLwkpY5AzU4HPu4wRpZGz-HD39SAg7xD-cj62QjFc9qKCX8zwRiwIsFDEHBFKiYV3V/s1600/Ultraman_poking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3f8iJJseRCAxsHw7k0OOPcgWLYLYNbNTq2NvDT7hkO4gYQZrUzupbzeMo6d3mYuriR57nuIT9OdLwkpY5AzU4HPu4wRpZGz-HD39SAg7xD-cj62QjFc9qKCX8zwRiwIsFDEHBFKiYV3V/s400/Ultraman_poking.JPG" title="Sadly, it may be a bit hard to see that, due to Ultraman's hand being the same color as Magma-seijin's face." width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace sign, or a poke in the eyes</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpi0yjl5-22_lh714n-ESAaXAp3TWhkLWBT2ah31B_Tyv5wMQWd2HkG4D3l8iYfgw0nkeCJtB-JcB6yui6RwVkkC0rWKGfot3sqASXfUd8B9Pdcslcdqh7OH2ONyFU0qLNVD5dLDw58J7/s1600/Ultraman_weapons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpi0yjl5-22_lh714n-ESAaXAp3TWhkLWBT2ah31B_Tyv5wMQWd2HkG4D3l8iYfgw0nkeCJtB-JcB6yui6RwVkkC0rWKGfot3sqASXfUd8B9Pdcslcdqh7OH2ONyFU0qLNVD5dLDw58J7/s400/Ultraman_weapons.jpg" title="LAZAH WEAPONS" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehrXZUYEHMazwFH3PWkFkknaGDKyiopILPXvQIb_rCiQy2DEsYvbGuJek4t-Xj2W4jep5PDQOZlz_Q2hyeidovsDaaENMzWBEBdHd4o2lWzfmimR08pH-mhXxRD2LH9F-pkv29GBWC4oR/s1600/Ultraman_running.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehrXZUYEHMazwFH3PWkFkknaGDKyiopILPXvQIb_rCiQy2DEsYvbGuJek4t-Xj2W4jep5PDQOZlz_Q2hyeidovsDaaENMzWBEBdHd4o2lWzfmimR08pH-mhXxRD2LH9F-pkv29GBWC4oR/s400/Ultraman_running.JPG" title="He's running. Whatever." width="400" /></a></div>
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Ultraman also comes with effect parts representing the Specium Ray and Ultra Slash, along with two "running explosion" pieces, which, while intended to make Ultraman look more dramatic in a running pose, can be used for whatever other purpose you might imagine for them. The Specium Ray and Ultra Slash can be equipped like any alternate right hand, while the running explosion pieces just sit there, not actually attached to anything. The Specium Ray is colored a somewhat odd shade of blue, considering that general media depictions give it a more whitish color, at least in my experience. Maybe that might not look as good in plastic form, but I'd prefer at least a lighter shade of blue. Also included are an alternate red Color Timer, and an "adaptor" piece to attach Ultraman to a Tamashii Stage, without needing to use the Stage's claw hands. I find it a rather tricky piece to use, and it has a couple of sharp points. The effect parts also have some sharp points, and the Color Timers can be tricky to properly install and remove. Plus they're really small, so be careful with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarVfS2_s_KG1ydX5WdjbD2IXbgctzH_hkz-QROFtJNiYT3v3Zinc58A1i9t1Va4ZZGI-FpLmG1UMQX1jYbYdlkkj0Fih1iXsD9DtCY7Q3Q2owEXe9AJxYqyN0fq7GdWG4hi73-TZKElTY/s1600/DYNA_composite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarVfS2_s_KG1ydX5WdjbD2IXbgctzH_hkz-QROFtJNiYT3v3Zinc58A1i9t1Va4ZZGI-FpLmG1UMQX1jYbYdlkkj0Fih1iXsD9DtCY7Q3Q2owEXe9AJxYqyN0fq7GdWG4hi73-TZKElTY/s400/DYNA_composite.JPG" title="Dyna being Dyna" width="400" /></a></div>
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The alternate hands and effect parts are compatible with pretty much any Ultra-Act with silver hands, and I like using them for Dyna (Flash Type), which I felt was rather lacking in accessories. The "handshake"-looking hands work better for Dyna's hunched fighting stance than the more splayed hands Dyna actually came with, while the peace sign is a gesture that works for the character, and the Ultra Slash works as Dyna had a similar attack (which was not represented among Dyna's own acessories).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxtydLQ6E_Ts1M_DED8eCT9KxQiqm1kttxfCq_81W66bnoXBpNobfm3SdbcuLbg5kLeM14WYFGPwOZudEcPeYvAwPv44jdkA_lb5eKTpoHdE5hn4lQmCDwb-oyYCB1NaJF035mKuPvBd9/s1600/Ultraman_and_Zero.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicxtydLQ6E_Ts1M_DED8eCT9KxQiqm1kttxfCq_81W66bnoXBpNobfm3SdbcuLbg5kLeM14WYFGPwOZudEcPeYvAwPv44jdkA_lb5eKTpoHdE5hn4lQmCDwb-oyYCB1NaJF035mKuPvBd9/s400/Ultraman_and_Zero.JPG" title="Young and old" width="400" /></a></div>
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Overall, Ultra-Act Ultraman is not merely a good toy. It's an <i>amazing</i> toy. Being a Tamashii Nations product, this figure is not designed for child safety, so you have small parts and sharp points to worry about. Still, it's a very well-articulated, nicely accessorized figure of an iconic character, and looks pretty good to boot. If any Ultra-Act can be described as "must have", it's this one. However, it's been a while since this figure was released, so finding one can be tricky nowadays. <a href="http://www.cstoysjapan.com/servlet/the-2390/Ultra-Act-cln--ULTRAMAN/Detail">CS Toys seems to still have it in stock</a> as of this writing, but I am yet to have any experience purchasing from that store, so I can't exactly vouch for it or whatever.<br />
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edit: Forgot to mention that the figure stands at around 6-and-a-half
inches or 16.5 centimeters. Maybe not exactly at those numbers, but
they're a good approximate. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Ultraman, along with related characters and concepts are <span class="st">©</span> Tsuburaya Productions. </i></span><br />
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So far, the only antagonists from the 1966-67 <i>Ultraman</i> series that have been released in Ultra-Act are Gomora, Baltan II and Red King (edit: and Fake Ultraman, which used the original Ultra-Act Ultraman body). A prototype of Zetton, Ultraman's opponent in the final episode has been seen at a Tamashii Nations event. At least in my opinion, Zetton will be a more important enemy to have as an Ultra-Act than the rest of the monsters and aliens from <i>Ultraman's</i> (the show's) 39 episodes.<br />
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<b>Update, March 13th</b>: Ultraman is scheduled for another reissue sometime during June 2013. See <a href="http://tamashii.jp/item_schedule/201306/" target="_blank">Tamashii Nations's list of scheduled releases for that month</a>, and scroll down. Although I imagine anybody reading this by now would already know.<br />
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<br />Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-47853236768985129242012-10-16T09:33:00.001-07:002012-10-19T06:14:29.754-07:00Going forward with this blogYes, a post about the blog itself, mmhmm.<br />
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To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'll be doing with this blog, just that I'll be doing stuff. But hey, a good way to express any thoughts i have, and that's what counts, right? Eh, whatever. Don't hold your breath for anything to happen here.<br />
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On an unrelated note, the nebula M78 looks <i>gorgeous</i>, even if it might not actually be populated by giant super heroes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCeb2mR85kM3jelkuhgla1UUftfd16w2cken_8-IW-TSHb2l9R0fJwYKOW0BvF5YGxrMcwbY7R2N-L3_1RQlIQNnX5Nc6ngKaYZse1YZD7SNOnglsGnJRDmEioZB1-ePTrlYH4l_VcKQ1/s1600/M78_byEuropeanSouthernObservatory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCeb2mR85kM3jelkuhgla1UUftfd16w2cken_8-IW-TSHb2l9R0fJwYKOW0BvF5YGxrMcwbY7R2N-L3_1RQlIQNnX5Nc6ngKaYZse1YZD7SNOnglsGnJRDmEioZB1-ePTrlYH4l_VcKQ1/s320/M78_byEuropeanSouthernObservatory.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image by the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1105a/">European Southern Observatory</a>, available under the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.</a></i></td></tr>
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Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042150928025619970.post-41413324979665783692012-10-15T12:25:00.004-07:002013-04-14T03:48:46.853-07:00On the subject of Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Alright, my first blog post here. I figured it would be a good idea to start with <br />
something big so here: my thoughts on the 2009 <i>Ultra Serie</i>s film, <i>Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy</i>. I guess you can call this a review. Some amount of spoilers are to be found within, as I make known my opinion of various aspects of the film. However, I will not actually summarize the plot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanglElGXMgzBiCIQyRiApwkYSQbj-OV8BSOmocXwagSuAMkHJ_l9r9lKqY7Me4DLwgOZwDXsoFi_9YbSeN_Zv7HESdtnneb2ysPZKG_d-E0RYDr1j1hPIc_ndQeHhkiP9iDXE4K1Oc6Vl/s1600/ultra_galaxy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanglElGXMgzBiCIQyRiApwkYSQbj-OV8BSOmocXwagSuAMkHJ_l9r9lKqY7Me4DLwgOZwDXsoFi_9YbSeN_Zv7HESdtnneb2ysPZKG_d-E0RYDr1j1hPIc_ndQeHhkiP9iDXE4K1Oc6Vl/s320/ultra_galaxy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I say big, I mean it. The conflict is on an amazingly grand scale, with the <br />
Ultra homeworld itself being threatened, as well as featuring numerous Ultra heroes, <br />
including one crossing over from a different universe, and (as the title suggests) quite a large host of Ultra monsters, mainly as part of the main villain's monster army. Suffice to say, the principle of "bigger is better" is at work here, to some extent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHd7w07HyuwPYwVxmb6s66XVXscLEWnnX_HGtFRC46djicYp3E_QFgoorCPJr8gxFpCjHrExh3KCoqxtk7by38xsI3RQiry8y7bfavBSpp4Pwt8BTmCfcR9dVRiudsRH8hRiKu94cIn_2/s1600/ugl_intro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHd7w07HyuwPYwVxmb6s66XVXscLEWnnX_HGtFRC46djicYp3E_QFgoorCPJr8gxFpCjHrExh3KCoqxtk7by38xsI3RQiry8y7bfavBSpp4Pwt8BTmCfcR9dVRiudsRH8hRiKu94cIn_2/s320/ugl_intro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from the opening sequence</td></tr>
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The movie has an opening sequence, explaining the concept of Ultramen, as well as somewhat summing up Rei's story without actually going into detail. I assume this sequence must have been very important, as the Ultra Galaxy TV series was only broadcast on pay-per-view in Japan, so probably very few people had known about Rei's story before viewing this film, moreso for people outside of Japan. I know I <br />
hadn't. (Although I have seen it since, both the first season, and <i>Never Ending Odyssey</i>.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskHcyFuAG6frNVhIfwqbdU-N091vACBgbhgcsea9SHECOISV600HB2RE8inGCXYtRbVgRbcKmVcoQ4rDplXlXSDC-IiF8TN6l9S_4ciRLck5c5sIlgNbMa3tJMs-Qtz18f0LM2UzQhciC/s1600/ug_mebius_hikari_vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhskHcyFuAG6frNVhIfwqbdU-N091vACBgbhgcsea9SHECOISV600HB2RE8inGCXYtRbVgRbcKmVcoQ4rDplXlXSDC-IiF8TN6l9S_4ciRLck5c5sIlgNbMa3tJMs-Qtz18f0LM2UzQhciC/s320/ug_mebius_hikari_vs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mebius and Hikari face Belial in battle</td></tr>
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The main plot kicks off as the film's villain, the Dark Ultra Warrior, Ultraman Belial is freed from space prison which he was (of course) imprisoned in. I have to say, Belial is an interesting addition to the "classic" Ultraman universe, being the first true evil Ultraman of this continuity, and a Reionyx too. Despite that, he didn't quite feel like an Ultraman to me during his fight sequences, as his combat style mainly relied on his staff, the Giga Battle Nizer. It's not a very Ultraman-like fighting style. However, I must admit, he's an impressive villain nonetheless. His attack on the Land of Light is a glorious and amazing large scale battle, with a large scale result as he succeeds in taking the Ultra homeworld's power source, the Plasma Spark.<br />
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The two heroes most highlighted in this film are newer characters, Rei the earthling Reionyx and crew member of the ship Space Pendragon from the <i>Ultra Galaxy</i> series, who possesses the ability to control monsters (mainly his Gomora), and Ultraman Zero, a new character introduced in this movie. As for Rei, I find that the first actual scene to feature him did not establish his importance, or his strength very well. Despite the scene coming right after Mebius is told that his help is required in defeating Belial, it doesn't do too much to support that. Rei shows quite little fighting ability as he struggled to defeat even a single monster. I cannot quite remember how I felt, but I imagine people would have trouble buying that he would prove much help against Belial, considering that the latter had successfully fought through a large number of Ultramen. As for Zero, he leaves a great impression as a character, despite only being involved in the struggle against Belial quite late into the film.<br />
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An important aspect of these two heroes, which I found interesting is that <br />
comparisons are drawn between Belial and each of them. As Mirai/Mebius explains the situation to Rei, the latter compares how Belial represents the dangers of "power without justice" to his own dark side, his"Reionyx Burst" form. Belial's attempt to gain power in his youth, which led to his original banishment from the Land of Light and being discovered by Reiblood, is compared to an act Zero had commited. The key difference being that Zero had a mentor figure to train and guide him during his banishment. Said figure being Ultraman Leo.<br />
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The various other characters featured in this film are not given much focus. The senior Ultras demonstrate the "never give up" attitude so commonly seen in <i>Ultra</i> media, as they maintain a sense of hope despite their planet and its people having been plunged into a frozen near-death state. The only Ultras present during Belial's attack that did not get frozen were Ultraman, Ultraseven and Mebius, and they are amongst the ones to confront Belial and his army in the film's climax. The Space Pendragon crew are mainly focused on as Rei's group of friends rather than individual characters. An intereting addition to this film is the involvement of Shin Asuka, also known as Ultraman Dyna, who lends a hand to the Space Pendragon crew before transporting them to the location of the film's climactic battle.<br />
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I found this movie really entertaining. The action is fast-paced, well-choreographed <br />
and keeps going almost non-stop throughout the film to drive the story along. The <br />
accompanying soundtrack helps quite a lot.It has a nice, grand feel to it. Indeed, if you want an <i>Ultra</i> film with impressive fight sequences and action, this one is undoubtedly a great pick. I would not say that action is the biggest draw of the <i>Ultra Series</i> for me. Not in general. It's just that this film does it really well. It's also an interesting departure from the usual settings of earth and human-populated areas for the<i> Ultra Series</i>. The computer-generated landscapes look cool, and for this film, CGI is almost only used when it would work best. Unlike the 2006 and 2008 Ultra films that preceded it, <i>Mega Monster Battle</i> avoids the more inappropriate uses of CGI. No weird portions of battles where the Ultramen themselves are sudddenly (not-so-great) CGI.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-suMsDvNSLs26K_Z3_yZ3PUigS3uS-2MBlb_0dJ_grhreejx-9eFBSo9MbxcHZcFHL27Ecn9l3zPxXTkU7JhTp6JCNE7s-MZIeU06HCv7ddiRUwA_F9lqgV0bdZTdaRyo7tStimLVcJt/s1600/ug_groups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA-suMsDvNSLs26K_Z3_yZ3PUigS3uS-2MBlb_0dJ_grhreejx-9eFBSo9MbxcHZcFHL27Ecn9l3zPxXTkU7JhTp6JCNE7s-MZIeU06HCv7ddiRUwA_F9lqgV0bdZTdaRyo7tStimLVcJt/s320/ug_groups.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dream team-up, or random choices?</td></tr>
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As an Ultra fan, I have to also discuss this film's context in relation to greater <i>Ultra Series</i> continuity. The history of the "classic" <i>Ultra</i> universe gets explored to an extent, most especially the history of the Ultras as a people, as Mirai's explanation to Rei also depicted the origin of Ultramen and the Plasma Spark. The appearance off Asuka/Dyna is clearly intended to connect with the events of the Dyna series finale, which I found to be a nice touch. This film is actually a direct continuation of three stories. Yes, <i>three</i>. Aside from continuing from the <i>Ultra Galaxy</i> TV series and the events of <i>Ultraman Dyna</i>'s final episode, the movie'sevents directly pick up after the third <i>Ultraman Mebius</i> side story, "Ghost Rebirth",which introduced the Giga Battle Nizer. Despite that, you won't really get lost in the movie if you haven't seen those. Indeed, watching this film is not a bad introduction to Rei and his friends, as the events of the <i>Ultra Galaxy</i> series are only referred to in vague terms, without ever going into detail.<br />
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I must admit, what really drew my attention to this movie was the inclusion of <i>so damn many Ultramen</i>. It's a great team-up of heroes across generations of <i>Ultra Series</i>. There are also loads of cameos that while enjoyable, get odd for continuity reasons, such as Musashi of Ultraman Cosmos showing up as a ZAP Spacy member. This movie is like a big fandom treat, with this sort of dream team up between the heroes (depending on what your dreams are like, I guess).The scenes at the land of Light provide a nice glimpse of the society which the Ultras came from.The new Ultras are pretty cool too, at least visually, even if Belial does not use Ultra-like attacks here (although the following film sort of fixes that). Zero is especially impressive in this film, as he pretty much steals the show when he finally takes part in the climactic For anybody is completely new to Ultra Series, this movie might not be a bad starting point. True, a lot of characters are involved in this movie, but for most of them, you don't really need to know who they are, as their involvement is hardly great. Plus, the opening narration does help explain things, even if it's just a way of telling without showing. Just don't expect other <i>Ultraman</i> media to have so much fast-paced action after seeing this.<br />
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In the <i>Ultra Galaxy</i> series, a profile screen is displayed for every monster that appears. Thankfully, this film does not do that <i>at all</i>. It was already tiring during the series itself. Plus, it would have taken needlessly long.Shynilytehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07915984333579095659noreply@blogger.com0