Ultraman Mebius Episodes 43 - 44 Reviews (Spoilers)
Well, it has been more than two years and a half since I last reviewed episodes 41 and 42 of Mebius. Anyway, these are reviews in name only. I just write whatever comes to mind, and what I don't remember, I make them up. So these can't be considered anything other than my opinions.
Ultraman Mebius Episode 43:
First, I am glad that I no longer find Hirukawa interesting. Took me long enough. It was surprising (and I was actually bothered) since I don't usually care for selfish characters, no matter whose side (or no one's, as often is the case) they are on. I don't dislike Hirukawa, however. He is just back to being utterly forgettable, as he should have been all along.
Anyway. Aya Jinguji comes to Phoenix Nest for something related to her work, and to visit her grandfather (Takenaka -- Sakomizu's old friend from ep 42), who she claims is always away in New York. And, in a swift move, she takes Mirai out on a date. (They know each other from the first Mebius movie. Which I still never properly review.)
Back at the base, they finally locate the source of space-time shift (or something that causes it) in the middle of the ocean (I think), so, using Phoenix Flight Mode, they waste no time in going after it. Due to some interference, it doesn't seem possible to contact Mirai, so they leave without him.
Of course, something that big would be caught on the news, so that is how Mirai learns that his teammates have totally abandoned him.
Oh, before that, there are scenes with Mirai trying Earth food: popcorn (which he seems to love), and ice cream (which he would probably also love if the aforementioned news doesn't destroy the mood). Aya says to his face that he is odd, but I think she means it in a positive way, that he has certain earnest aspects that most other people don't seem to have.
And somewhere in there, Hirukawa catches up to them and demands to know why a GUYS officer (Mirai) is not doing his job. Aya gets into Hirukawa's face (go Aya) and basically tells him to stay out of their affair.
I lose the sequence now (not that I'm sure what I've said in previous paragraphs are totally correct either), but a weird human in black hat with balloons (why oh why you remind me so much of a character in another Ultra series? Are you a knock-off version?) starts taunting Mebius. Mirai shouts, "Yapool!", then apparently remembers that he is not alone so talks to human form of Yapool in telepathy. (But, with scary expression on your face staring down Yapool, talking in telepathy probably does nothing to make you look any less weird, Mirai-kun.)
Yapool eventually gets tired of the conversation in his head so sends out a Mebius Killer. Hirukawa gets scared of it and runs away, knocking Aya to the ground in the process. (It looks on purpose to me. The push, not the fall. Probably a payback for her telling him off earlier.)
Mirai helps Aya up and tells her to hide. He runs forward and transforms into Mebius. With Aya right behind him the whole time. (Ah, Mirai-kun. You must really want to reveal your identity to your not!girlfriend since you make zero effort to hide...)
Mebius Vs Mebius Killer starts. Yapool must be afraid that Mebius Killer would get killed instead, so he put in that black smoke thing he used in ep 42 to equip Mebius Killer with Mebius' attack abilities. Mebius gets blasted by the same beam he has (or maybe Yapool reflects his own attack back to him. What can I say, I don't usually pay much attention to fight scenes), and falls down flat on the ground.
To make a long story short, Aya confesses that she wants to make sure that Mirai is really Mebius (because she senses the same kindness as the one from the time he saved her back in the Mebius movie). And tells him that he can't lose, etc. etc. I'm probably supposed to think her cheering up works. In any case, he goes into Burning Brave, and uses the Ultra Dynamite rip-off (I don't remember the name, okay? At least it's a good quality rip-off -- Ultraman Taro would be so proud) to finish off Mebius Killer.
Aya runs to the place Mebius vanished and finds Mirai lying face up on the ground. Hirukawa finds them again and accuses Mirai of being so scared of monster that he fainted. Aya is about shut Hirukawa up again, but the ground opens up and all three of them are falling and falling into wonderland...
Ultraman Mebius Episode 44:
The people in Phoenix Nest have been chasing the thing that might cause the space-time shift all the way to the moon. There, something or someone clearly doesn't want them to accomplish their mission so sends out interferences to power down most of Phoenix Nest.
Hirukawa, Aya, and Mirai wake up in some sort of a barren land/desert (a warped future of the town they were in? or just some land Yapool made up? It looks too normal to be Yapool dimension to me). Town is destroyed and no one is around. Hirukawa wants to escape, and blames Mirai (and GUYS) for his present predicament. Of course, nothing is ever Hirukawa's own fault since he is a normal civilian (and sticking around when no one wants you to is totally the right thing to do).
Apparently, Phoenix Nest is not completely without power -- Gun Speeders don't seem to be affected. However, the captain says they don't have enough power in Gun Speeder to destroy the stone pillar that they suspect interferes with Phoenix Nest. Oh, Marina keeps hearing voices in her head, telling her what to do about the pillar. Others (or just Ryuu) question her about the voice, but she says the owner of the voice is on their side. So they trust the voice (or better, they trust Marina) and go out on Gun Speeders.
Meanwhile, Yapool finds a favorite past time -- making Mebius hate humans. That seems to be a little harder to accomplish than Yapool suspects. Because, well, Ultramen love humans, and Mebius is no exception.
Yapool is bored with no progress of turning Mebius away from humans, so he tries recruiting Mebius to join him instead. It should work, right? After all, joining Yapool is totally a different thing from being against humans.
Surprise! It does not work. Yapool doesn't understand. Nothing is good with human (Hirukawa is the only kind of human Yapool is interested in), so why protect them? (I actually don't know either, but I think it has to do with Ace's wish.)
Yapool doesn't care anymore and turns into his true form. Mirai transforms into Mebius in full view of Hirukawa. They start fighting. Yapool doesn't let up with taunting Mebius.
Hirukawa scoffs that Mebius is just a punching bag. Aya takes offense at that, saying that his (Mebius') body is at its limit already.
Lots of stuff I don't bother to remember happen. Among them is Aya cheering up Mebius again, which doesn't seem to work well this time. No surprise. Taking in the same medicine repeatedly in rapid successions would lessen its effectiveness.
So it falls to Ultraman Ace to cheer up Mebius. Which is basically:
Do not lose your kindness. Even if you are betrayed hundreds of times, always keep on being willing to trust people, to help people, to be their friends.
(Not the full quote, and not the exact quote either (because I'm too lazy to go look it up).)
I think Mirai needs to hear it. Because while he heard it back in ep 36 (and has been following it even before that), I'm quite sure he has never heard it from Ace (i.e. the person who originated the quote) before. (Although is this quote made for Mebius? Or did it actually exist somewhere in Ace TV series? I'll have to find out somehow.)
(I can't decide whether to be happy or sad that Ace's message is probably the best one, imho, out of the ones imparted by the Ultra Brothers. Seriously*. As of now, I am in charity with Ace again (so just pretend I never said anything bad in previous entries).
*Just an example on the same DVD, Ultraman 80 is not teaching Mebius anything. He is preoccupied with his own problem (of deleting Minus energy). But, to be fair, that episode is not at all about Mirai (Sakomizu even says so).)
Taking directions from the voice in Marina's head, GUYS manage to get close and destroy the red spot that was sending out interferences. Power returns to Phoenix Nest. And Lunatix wakes up (or it is awake all along and just decides to attack now). Hokuto addresses his former partner ('Let's go, Yuko'), transforms into Ultraman Ace, and joins the fight on the moon.
Well, victories everywhere. Mebius beats Yapool easily enough, since while his friends are far away, their thoughts are always with him (or something -- sorry, Ace, I got your message mixed up. You say you are in a similar situation since Yuko is on the moon (and you on Earth)). Phoenix Nest, having defeated the enemy, is set to return to Earth. Yuko appears and talks to Hokuto a bit. (I don't imagine they had ever met after their own TV series.)
Back in the real world (since Yapool is no more), Hirukawa tells Mirai that he isn't going to keep quiet about Mirai being Mebius. I sort of wonder why he feels the need to say that? There is no real in-story reason for it other than to make him more despicable, perhaps. (Well, if that was the intention, it failed. All that did for me was making him more cardboard-cut and generic.)
Aya and Mirai get some time alone at last. Then Ryuu (via Mirai's memory display) has a bad sense to interrupt them. (Maybe Mirai is grateful for that, I don't know. At least he now knows Ryuu didn't willingly abandon him.)
So ends Mirai and Aya's eventful date. But it's only a start of another adventure with those Heavenly Four (well, three now).
Ultraman Mebius Episode 43:
First, I am glad that I no longer find Hirukawa interesting. Took me long enough. It was surprising (and I was actually bothered) since I don't usually care for selfish characters, no matter whose side (or no one's, as often is the case) they are on. I don't dislike Hirukawa, however. He is just back to being utterly forgettable, as he should have been all along.
Anyway. Aya Jinguji comes to Phoenix Nest for something related to her work, and to visit her grandfather (Takenaka -- Sakomizu's old friend from ep 42), who she claims is always away in New York. And, in a swift move, she takes Mirai out on a date. (They know each other from the first Mebius movie. Which I still never properly review.)
Back at the base, they finally locate the source of space-time shift (or something that causes it) in the middle of the ocean (I think), so, using Phoenix Flight Mode, they waste no time in going after it. Due to some interference, it doesn't seem possible to contact Mirai, so they leave without him.
Of course, something that big would be caught on the news, so that is how Mirai learns that his teammates have totally abandoned him.
Oh, before that, there are scenes with Mirai trying Earth food: popcorn (which he seems to love), and ice cream (which he would probably also love if the aforementioned news doesn't destroy the mood). Aya says to his face that he is odd, but I think she means it in a positive way, that he has certain earnest aspects that most other people don't seem to have.
And somewhere in there, Hirukawa catches up to them and demands to know why a GUYS officer (Mirai) is not doing his job. Aya gets into Hirukawa's face (go Aya) and basically tells him to stay out of their affair.
I lose the sequence now (not that I'm sure what I've said in previous paragraphs are totally correct either), but a weird human in black hat with balloons (why oh why you remind me so much of a character in another Ultra series? Are you a knock-off version?) starts taunting Mebius. Mirai shouts, "Yapool!", then apparently remembers that he is not alone so talks to human form of Yapool in telepathy. (But, with scary expression on your face staring down Yapool, talking in telepathy probably does nothing to make you look any less weird, Mirai-kun.)
Yapool eventually gets tired of the conversation in his head so sends out a Mebius Killer. Hirukawa gets scared of it and runs away, knocking Aya to the ground in the process. (It looks on purpose to me. The push, not the fall. Probably a payback for her telling him off earlier.)
Mirai helps Aya up and tells her to hide. He runs forward and transforms into Mebius. With Aya right behind him the whole time. (Ah, Mirai-kun. You must really want to reveal your identity to your not!girlfriend since you make zero effort to hide...)
Mebius Vs Mebius Killer starts. Yapool must be afraid that Mebius Killer would get killed instead, so he put in that black smoke thing he used in ep 42 to equip Mebius Killer with Mebius' attack abilities. Mebius gets blasted by the same beam he has (or maybe Yapool reflects his own attack back to him. What can I say, I don't usually pay much attention to fight scenes), and falls down flat on the ground.
To make a long story short, Aya confesses that she wants to make sure that Mirai is really Mebius (because she senses the same kindness as the one from the time he saved her back in the Mebius movie). And tells him that he can't lose, etc. etc. I'm probably supposed to think her cheering up works. In any case, he goes into Burning Brave, and uses the Ultra Dynamite rip-off (I don't remember the name, okay? At least it's a good quality rip-off -- Ultraman Taro would be so proud) to finish off Mebius Killer.
Aya runs to the place Mebius vanished and finds Mirai lying face up on the ground. Hirukawa finds them again and accuses Mirai of being so scared of monster that he fainted. Aya is about shut Hirukawa up again, but the ground opens up and all three of them are falling and falling into wonderland...
Ultraman Mebius Episode 44:
The people in Phoenix Nest have been chasing the thing that might cause the space-time shift all the way to the moon. There, something or someone clearly doesn't want them to accomplish their mission so sends out interferences to power down most of Phoenix Nest.
Hirukawa, Aya, and Mirai wake up in some sort of a barren land/desert (a warped future of the town they were in? or just some land Yapool made up? It looks too normal to be Yapool dimension to me). Town is destroyed and no one is around. Hirukawa wants to escape, and blames Mirai (and GUYS) for his present predicament. Of course, nothing is ever Hirukawa's own fault since he is a normal civilian (and sticking around when no one wants you to is totally the right thing to do).
Apparently, Phoenix Nest is not completely without power -- Gun Speeders don't seem to be affected. However, the captain says they don't have enough power in Gun Speeder to destroy the stone pillar that they suspect interferes with Phoenix Nest. Oh, Marina keeps hearing voices in her head, telling her what to do about the pillar. Others (or just Ryuu) question her about the voice, but she says the owner of the voice is on their side. So they trust the voice (or better, they trust Marina) and go out on Gun Speeders.
Meanwhile, Yapool finds a favorite past time -- making Mebius hate humans. That seems to be a little harder to accomplish than Yapool suspects. Because, well, Ultramen love humans, and Mebius is no exception.
Yapool is bored with no progress of turning Mebius away from humans, so he tries recruiting Mebius to join him instead. It should work, right? After all, joining Yapool is totally a different thing from being against humans.
Surprise! It does not work. Yapool doesn't understand. Nothing is good with human (Hirukawa is the only kind of human Yapool is interested in), so why protect them? (I actually don't know either, but I think it has to do with Ace's wish.)
Yapool doesn't care anymore and turns into his true form. Mirai transforms into Mebius in full view of Hirukawa. They start fighting. Yapool doesn't let up with taunting Mebius.
Hirukawa scoffs that Mebius is just a punching bag. Aya takes offense at that, saying that his (Mebius') body is at its limit already.
Lots of stuff I don't bother to remember happen. Among them is Aya cheering up Mebius again, which doesn't seem to work well this time. No surprise. Taking in the same medicine repeatedly in rapid successions would lessen its effectiveness.
So it falls to Ultraman Ace to cheer up Mebius. Which is basically:
Do not lose your kindness. Even if you are betrayed hundreds of times, always keep on being willing to trust people, to help people, to be their friends.
(Not the full quote, and not the exact quote either (because I'm too lazy to go look it up).)
I think Mirai needs to hear it. Because while he heard it back in ep 36 (and has been following it even before that), I'm quite sure he has never heard it from Ace (i.e. the person who originated the quote) before. (Although is this quote made for Mebius? Or did it actually exist somewhere in Ace TV series? I'll have to find out somehow.)
(I can't decide whether to be happy or sad that Ace's message is probably the best one, imho, out of the ones imparted by the Ultra Brothers. Seriously*. As of now, I am in charity with Ace again (so just pretend I never said anything bad in previous entries).
*Just an example on the same DVD, Ultraman 80 is not teaching Mebius anything. He is preoccupied with his own problem (of deleting Minus energy). But, to be fair, that episode is not at all about Mirai (Sakomizu even says so).)
Taking directions from the voice in Marina's head, GUYS manage to get close and destroy the red spot that was sending out interferences. Power returns to Phoenix Nest. And Lunatix wakes up (or it is awake all along and just decides to attack now). Hokuto addresses his former partner ('Let's go, Yuko'), transforms into Ultraman Ace, and joins the fight on the moon.
Well, victories everywhere. Mebius beats Yapool easily enough, since while his friends are far away, their thoughts are always with him (or something -- sorry, Ace, I got your message mixed up. You say you are in a similar situation since Yuko is on the moon (and you on Earth)). Phoenix Nest, having defeated the enemy, is set to return to Earth. Yuko appears and talks to Hokuto a bit. (I don't imagine they had ever met after their own TV series.)
Back in the real world (since Yapool is no more), Hirukawa tells Mirai that he isn't going to keep quiet about Mirai being Mebius. I sort of wonder why he feels the need to say that? There is no real in-story reason for it other than to make him more despicable, perhaps. (Well, if that was the intention, it failed. All that did for me was making him more cardboard-cut and generic.)
Aya and Mirai get some time alone at last. Then Ryuu (via Mirai's memory display) has a bad sense to interrupt them. (Maybe Mirai is grateful for that, I don't know. At least he now knows Ryuu didn't willingly abandon him.)
So ends Mirai and Aya's eventful date. But it's only a start of another adventure with those Heavenly Four (well, three now).