59 More Hours of Ultraman!

June 3rd, 2021

I’ve been continuing with the Ultraman series, watching each as they have been released. Here’s an update with what I’ve seen since the last post.

Ultraman Taro (1973, 53 episodes 22.5 hours)

This was the first ultra-series made after I was born! As with all others, it tells the story of an alien superhero that possesses the body of an earthling to protect the planet against extraterrestrial threats. By now the format was established and the series had won the hearts of Japanese children, and as such most episodes featured a child-in-peril who is then saved by Ultraman Taro. Many kaiju return from earlier series, and overall the production quality felt higher than it was for Ultraman Ace.

Once again much of the series is shot outdoors and on location, and as with earlier series I loved seeing the ‘normal’ Japan of the early 1070s. I always enjoyed glimpses into peoples apartments, shops, tourist sites (even an unusual amusement park!) and restaurants. The fashions are great as well, as with most media created in the 1970s!

What made Taro particularly good was the frequent cameos by other Ultras. Not only does this series introduce Mother of Ultra, but Father of Ultra makes a few appearances as well. Better yet, all previous Ultramen (including Zoffy) feature more than once, and there’s a wonderful two-part episode that even features the original actors of the human hosts from all previous series. I imagine this was incredible special for parents watching the show with their kids back in 1973, seeing Shin Hayata and Dan Moroboshi returning to the series for cameos.

I enjoyed this series quite a bit, and can see why it’s one of the more beloved of the original Heisei-era Ultraman series.

Ultraman Ginga/Ginga S (2013, 27 episodes, 13.5 hours)

This is a strange series, since (more than any other Ultra series) it seems to exist in a world unconcerned by the goings-on. Hikari Raido awakens to the power of Ultraman Ginga, an Ultra ‘from the future’ and uses the power to defend the Earth from evil aliens. Except mostly he’s defending an abandoned school, which he randomly visited in episode 1 for nostalgic reasons. He has a few friends that assist him, but the lack of any concerted government response to the attacks from giant kaiju feels more unusual here than in other series.ย  It’s extremely fast-paced as well, wrapping itself up in only 11 episodes. I wonder if even the creators felt the show lacked a bit of spark as they were making it?

The solution: a quickie sequel! Ultraman Ginga S came out the following year, and added a second new Ultraman to the show: Ultraman Victory. In almost every way he’s cooler than Ginga and the dynamic between the two (first jealousy, then brotherhood) works well as they battle off the evil Alien Chibull, who is trying to steal resources from Earth. Ginga S as a series works much better than Ginga, and the two followup movies wisely include both Ultramen. Ginga S also includes Japanese idol Moga Mogami in a guest role as an android named Mana, and she steals the scenes every time she turns up ๐Ÿ™‚

Overall Ginga is a little weak, but Ginga S is great and redeems Ginga quite a bit.

Ultraman Geed (2017, 27 episodes, 11.5 hours)

This is a great series. Rika Asakura (played by a 16-year-old) is Ultraman Geed (pronounced ‘jeed’) who we eventually learn is the son of the evil Ultraman Belial. Through the usual hijinks, he lives in a teleporting base with an alien and a cute girl, and collectively the three fight off the efforts of Ultraman Belial to destroy the universe. It’s an absurd setup to be sure, but the show is so fast-paced and insane it doesn’t matter.

There’s lots to love here. Belial’s host is an author specializing in books about mysteries (such as lost cities, unexplained phenomena etc) and the actor plays the role very well. Riku’s got a childhood friend who pretends to sell insurance but is actually a space policewoman with an (extremely cool) android boss, and there’s some great episodes where she is jealous of the girl Riku is living with. But the best inclusion is an office worker who is the unwilling host of Ultraman Zero (historic nemesis of Belial and all-around badass Ultraman). This guy does the whole Clark Kent/Superman thing perfectly – down to the glasses – and his transformation into Zero is always grand. He’s not just a cameo either, and is in almost every episode (as is his family). They could have just as easily called this Ultraman Geed/Zero!

Geed has some insane transformations, especially once he assumes the powers of Ultraman King. Zero also goes through various levels of upgrades in this series, and the battles in the last few episodes (and the movies) feature all sorts of dazzling effects and special attacks. As a very recent series the kaiju suits are often breathtaking as well, and many times I wondered if they were all physical effects or enhanced with CG.

A truly wonderful Ultra series. Maybe it’s even better than Ultraman Orb ๐Ÿ™‚

Ultraman R/B (2018, 25 episodes, 11.5 hours)

The followup series to Geed (yes they make a new one every year) features not one but two Ultramen! Brothers Katsumi and Isami are Ultraman R and B, who together must fight against the machinations of Aizentech president Makoto Aizen, who is using a dark alien power to turn himself into an evil Ultraman…

…except that doesn’t last long and mid-series we find that the true villian is extremely cute gothic princess Saki Mitsurugi, who wants to destroy the world and just may have the power to do it!

Without giving too much away there’s more to the story than I just described, and it’s got quite a few twists and turns to keep you guessing down to the very last episode. The two brothers start a bit irritating, but quickly endear themselves as they realize there’s strength in brotherhood, which they point out to each other (ie. the audience) almost every episode! The villians are great, but goth-girl Saki has such screen presence that you will almost completely forget the first-half villian as soon as she appears! This series has a lot of comedy as well, including the few (usual) comedy episodes some of which break the fourth wall as they joke with Ultra conventions.

Of course R/B eventually learn to individually power up and when that’s not enough they actually merge together to create Ultraman Reube. Even that’s not enough for the final boss, so Reube himself powers up via special crystals. It’s all bonkers and a means to sell toys to kids, but it gives me a laugh every time. In a great surprise the movie introduces an extremely unique new Ultra as well, but I can’t say more without spoiling it ๐Ÿ˜‰

The effects are great, the story is interesting, and the characters likeable: another fun and enjoyable Ultra series.

So that’s another 60-odd hours down, but of course there’s loads more. I don’t even think I’m halfway through all the Ultra series that will eventually be released, and indeed I already have Ultraman Leo in my possession and Mega Monster Battle and Ultraman Zero Chronicles are soon to be released. Look for another set of reviews in a year or so ๐Ÿ™‚

Oh yes that last pic? That’s from the upcoming film Shin Ultraman, which I’m looking forward to more than any other film. If it’s anywhere near as good as Shin Godzilla was, it promises to be something special indeed.

Loppi Update

June 1st, 2021

We’ve had Loppi for a couple of months now and it’s time for an update!

Short version: she’s great ๐Ÿ™‚

While she was a little more nervous than most when we got her, this only lasted a few days and before we knew it she followed us everywhere. We are both fascinating to her and this quickly overcame her nervousness.

She spends about half her time playing and the rest watching critters out the window. Her favorite ‘toy’ is Zoffy, and thankfully Zoffy thinks Loppi is a lot of fun as well. They play together every day!

Loppi has grown quite a bit since we got her, and is probably about 7 lbs now. She’s got a way to go to catch up to Zoffy (who is about 11.5) but since Loppi loves food I don’t doubt she’ll get there one day.

She didn’t take long to become a lap cat either, and spends many evenings sleeping in Kristins lap. Isn’t she cute?

Berserker

May 20th, 2021

Kentaro Miura, artist and writer, has died. He is world famous for Berserk, one of the greatest manga series of all time. He was only 54.

Miura was a master of both storytelling and art and through the 40 volumes of Berserk created an original and compelling fantasy saga that hooked millions of readers worldwide. It has spawned novels and films and anime series, and inspired countless other properties from manga to movies to video games. Berserk is currently still being serialized, and the story is unfinished.

As a lifelong fan of fantasy worlds Berserk grabbed me from the first moment I watched the first anime (which was released in the USA before the manga was translated). In time I would eventually own all the manga and various anime/movie series and I loved all of it. Much manga is disposable, forgotten about almost as soon as you close the book. Berserk is the very opposite – a work of importance that transcends it’s medium.

I don’t know much about Miura himself since he hid from the public eye and rarely gave interviews, and when he did he didn’t talk much about himself. But I’ve read him refer to himself as a massive otaku, and a manga fan from a very early age. He was apparently somewhat of a hikikomori as well (a shut-in) and enjoyed video games and reading other manga. The creation of Berserk was his life: he started in 1989 and rarely worked on anything else. Despite its length it’s clear the story was very considered and planned in advance, and I don’t doubt he had an ending in mind. In 2019 he said in an interview that the Guts and Casca arc ‘was over’ and that ‘the story is nearing it’s final chapter’, which would presumably have been the decades-long-awaited final confrontation between Guts and Griffith.

And now we may never see that happen, and I’m ok with that. Miura crafted a world so intricate and real that maybe it’s left to us – his readers – to imagine our own endings. Or perhaps we can imagine that it never ends, and the story continues forever, as Muira’s magnum opus will.

Rest in peace Kentaro Miura.

Letโ€™s Trade Cards (Part 2)!

May 19th, 2021

Time for some more trading cards from that random selection…

I’m sure I’ve seen Shrek 2 but I don’t remember it. These cards from 2004 are unremarkable but have fairly high production quality. I got one foil card (the last shot) but the set also had autograph and sketch cards available by mailing in rare redemption cards. Aside from the autographs, these cards are mostly worthless today.

These Bone cards (1994) are based on the comic and feature seemingly unrelated images of the (in my opinion) ugly title character. They’re boring and clearly of interest only to fans of the comic. Chase cards included an extremely rare ‘medallion’. The set is worthless today.

Back in 2000 when these Backstreet Boys cards were released the band was at the height of their fame. You’d think therefore that the company buying the rights to a trading card set would have done a better job that this awful set. The photos are blurry and ugly, the text on the back is trite and the stickers extremely boring. In my pack was one ‘chrome’ chase card which was as blurry as the rest.

Interestingly there seems to be quite a few different BSB card sets released in different languages, and some look of higher quality than these. So if the topic interests you, seek out a newer release ๐Ÿ™‚

These Skeleton Warriors cards (1995) are based on a Saturday morning cartoon and feature some really, really bad artwork. I suspect it’s an early example of computer-assisted art but the character all look deformed and repulsive to me. I would have liked to have gotten one of the transparent or glow-in-the-dark chase cards in my pack, but alas was not so lucky. A well produced set crippled by hideous art.

Toxic High (1992) was a Topps set in the same vein as Garbage Pail Kids, and like those sets I hate it. The cards feature near-photorealistic artwork depicting gross-out topics related to (American) high school life. Funny if you like vomit or pee jokes I suppose. The card at bottom right has four stickers designed like yearbook photos. If they still stick I may use them on postcards!

Another from the ‘they printed anything in those days’ are these Guinness Book of Records cards (1992). It’s a soporific collection of stock artwork with pithy ‘records’ on the back. As a kid I may have liked this, but I’m guessing as a card set it failed utterly since I once passed on an entire box of these cards for under $5!

Cracker Shop

May 16th, 2021

We drove to the fireworks shop yesterday. It was a beautiful day for a drive through the woods of Vermont. We didn’t get the chance to do this last year due to covid.

As usual, the store (which is just over the New Hampshire border) didn’t disappoint and the array of products was mesmerizing.

4000 crackers in one go! $100 up in smoke! I wonder how long this would take to go off? I’d love to hear the noise. This was hardly the biggest they had; there was a 16000 cracker version as well!

The art on the packaging was as bizarre as ever and liberally infringed on various copyrights.

I think that’s based on Nicholas Cage?

These were new: fireworks houses in plastic containers. In retrospect we should have bought one…

That’s one of the $400 multipacks they had. You could even buy prepacked selections for $1200!

Except… the prices were all discounted! We couldn’t see any sign for it anywhere but what we bought came to only about $20, which seemed to be a deep discount. Mostly we bought a few light launchers (Roman candles) because only fountains are legal here but had I know how cheap it all was I may have purchased more.

Of course I’ll also buy a bunch of ‘fountains’ from the local sellers once they set up their tents. July 4 promises to be a good one once again this year ๐Ÿ™‚