Ultraman Movies: Future, no future, and not past?
I watched a few Ultraman movies. And I'm putting my scattered thoughts all in this post. Spoilers abound (even for the end of Dyna and sort of for Mebius and Cosmos).
Ultraman Saga and The Ultra Galaxy movie:
Ultraman Saga is fine, plot-wise, acting-wise, action-wise. I mean, I like it. (And I was just watching it for the promised sequel of UM Dyna, which we didn't get, exactly, but we did see what Super GUTS and TPC had become in the past 15 years since Asuka disappeared into the wormhole at the end of the series.) The story is kept simple, probably almost too simple, despite having quite a few interesting things that could have been explored more in-depth. I wouldn't say a missed opportunity, precisely, but maybe everything doesn't have to be resolved quite so tidily either. I blame the length. A TV series would be able to do more with those interesting things, I'm sure.
The Ultra Galaxy movie (the first Ultraman Zero movie) is fine, too. Probably helped that I wasn't fresh off any other Ultra series except UM Dyna (a more proper post coming if I'm not lazy, but man I love that show). I'm happy with Mebius' appearance, certainly, but I feel that he has moved on from his time on Earth (hey, I felt the same last I watched, and I was much more fresh off his series then). It makes perfect sense that he does so (IIRC, UG is like 60-70 years in the future after the events of Mebius), but I can't help thinking that the Earth friends he made seem to be so easily forgotten. Not that I am saying that he forgets them. I am sure he does not, but he is certainly distancing himself from Earth. Okay, this movie is not about Earth, so I'll just shut up about this now (and go write fanfic where Mirai is vacationing on Earth, again, and totally not dating anyone this time around).
I honestly didn't notice it the first time around, but, out of the original Ultra brothers, only Ultraman and Seven are blessed (or perhaps, in this case, cursed) with human forms. It meant other Ultras were taken out of the action too quickly for them to escape. In any case, Hayata and Dan are so very cool, of course (did anyone actually fear otherwise?). They bail out Rei and Mirai (who, through some carelessness (oh, all right, an accident), destroyed the Mebius brace). Rei didn't seem to recognize them at first (a given, since they were in Ultra forms when he saw them last), until they reminded him that they met before (in Rei's TV series).
But, sorry, it seems Ultraman Taro is the coolest one of them all this time around. He is the one who managed to save the remaining light of the Land of light.
Zero totally has an attitude. Not that I mind. Most Ultras are such good boy scouts that I am glad to see someone different, more rebel-ish, once in a while. (Hmm, but even though I said that, I don't think anyone of those other Ultras are good all the time. They certainly broke some rules while they were on Earth (going off on their own without the team, etc. etc.).) At any rate, Zero is good. He is no anti-hero, at least not now.
That last nod Zero exchanges with Rei? I now want to see them combine, perhaps just once. It's funny anyway since in Japanese, Zero = Rei.
Musashi's appearance still confuses me to these days. Who is he? Just someone with the same name and face? It's certainly possible, considering all these 'traveling across the parallel worlds' shenanigans. Then again, apparently that vehicle he's traveling in probably can cross dimensions, so maybe he's really that Musashi but just doesn't choose to involve himself for some reason ('Ultramen problem' 'I'm a pacifist, not a warrior' 'How should I know you need help if you don't tell me?' 'Cosmos already separated from me') Nah, I'm just being snarky. If he is really that Musashi, he just isn't aware that there is a problem, period. (I like to think people spare him, too, since he's a pacifist, by not forcing him to fight. Because by telling him, he would go help, even if it's against his nature.)
This Asuka seems closer to TV series Asuka than the one who appears in Ultraman Saga. (Just forget about the blond hair, really.) But honestly, why is he even here? No one seems to send a distress call that I remember. Or he just happened to pass through? What about continuity to UM Saga? Did Zero not remember him (or at least, Dyna)? (I was talking about the voice at the beginning of UM Saga (after opening credit), asking Zero to come help Earth. Why did anyone (the audience, I mean) even have to wonder whose voice that was? Geez, do you think Musashi talks/sounds like that?) Or maybe Zero didn't pay attention at all, since he was so busy with Belial.
Anyway, speaking of UM Saga, I did suspect it was a gattai experience (because of Cosmos. He started this 'conbining with other Ultraman' trend in movies). Not that I mind that it's not a separate Ultraman. If it's a one-off chara anyway, might as well use the characters I already know to make him. Not that I know Taiga (Nozomu Taiga, not the Ultraman with the same name, though I don't know that one either) all that well. Dude has chips on shoulders about Ultraman (well, Dyna) not saving his parents. But he did say that he didn't blame Dyna for that, just that he didn't want to rely on Ultraman (or maybe Zero worked this part out from what Taiga said, I don't know). And they all (well, maybe only Ryo) said he's like Asuka, but I'm not too sure I agree? I mean, Asuka didn't crash as many planes as he did toward the beginning, so they ought to remember more of that latter time where he was more careful. And honestly, Asuka in UM Saga seems almost like a different character. Everyone looks up to him here (whereas he got no real respect back home until his heroic sacrifice).
As for Musashi, I wouldn't say he's a different character, precisely, but if I got interested in UM Cosmos TV series because of him, that would certainly be a false advertising. The Musashi here has, for lack of better words, grown up. (He should be, if he's already married and has a child.) He has 65 episodes and several movies to do so. Not many people find Musashi in the beginning of his series too endearing. And apparently, this is one of those times Ultraman Cosmos is content to let Musashi run the show (prabably related to what I said, that he's grown up enough to be trusted to handle things on his own, without UM Cosmos' advice/interference/judgment). For what it is worth, I like Musashi fine, even when he was quite a brat, so I'm happy with the way he's portrayed in this movie (such a good example for kids - come to think of it, Asuka is the same way, only that we don't get to see it in real time).
Not sure if that is all there is to it, but I wrote this some time ago, so I don't remember anymore until I can re-watch these movies (and the second Zero movie) later this year (hopefully in Blu-rays this time).
And, since I'm too lazy to make a separate post, I might as well have this tagged on, even though I wrote about this movie way after I watched the two movies above and it has nothing to do with them. Wait, that isn't true. Ultraman Zero is in it, so I guess it has something in common with the rest of the movies, after all... (Oh, Taro and Mebius also appear, sort of. ^^;;; Yes, I mean the fusion. I would scream with joy if it's them in the flesh.)
Ultraman Orb the Movie:
Okay, if you are looking at this for Ultraman Zero, he appears at the beginning in Hawaii, helping Orb fight Galactron (I still love those magic circles (and their sound effect) it casts) and at the end, after the credits, wanting Orb's help to fight some monster which got teased back in the Ultraman X movie (and X recounting that in this movie, too). As far as I know, nothing ever comes out of that adventure...
Now, I love Orb. Or more like I love Gai-san. But this movie is kind of a let down as a follow-up to the TV series. It has entirely too long fight scenes, and most of them make Orb look so incompetent compared to the other Ultras (especially UltraSeven). Then again, they are supposed to be his seniors, so naturally they would be more efficient. Still though, why bothers to give Orb a power-up and have him struggle so much, even more than in his other forms? Why not save Orb Trinity for last and have him do miracles like the upgrades are supposed to do? I have no answer. At least I can take comfort that Gai-san can still fight in human form way better than as Orb in this movie. And I really mean that. I would rather keep him human if being Orb means suffering.
(But I won't say no to Orb Trinity busting out Red King Knuckle and Cyber Gomora Armor (or part of it, anyway). I love those on the original Ultras (Ultraman Victory and Ultraman X, respectively), after all.)
The villains are not a serious threat. Well, they are supposed to be, but would you really be afraid of some space witch/sorceress who just wanted to turn you into a jewel, literally? I mean, she doesn't even want to kill you or anything so uncivilized. Oh, she does have some kind of motivation about keeping the world from being polluted or some such thing, but it's just an excuse that won't hold up anywhere. Then again, lots of Ultraman villains have that kind of self-serving motivation that masquerades as doing things for the greater good, so I guess I should at least applaud her for at least trying to come up with one.
I do like Juggler in this a lot, though. Love that butler look. He is easily one of the best parts of this movie, if not the best. Seriously, everyone would be in a world of trouble if Juggler is not around to bail them out. (His character is to be annoyingly contrary (whoa wait, doesn't that describe Gai too? No wonder these two chase each other across galaxies). I don't know if I want him to curb it even though sometimes it gets on my nerves. Better not. He would be so boring without being annoying.)
And the Something Search People (thereafter known as SSP) are their charming selves. ;) As in, they managed to get into trouble but somehow they kind of save themselves and even two Ultraman hosts. ;)
Oh, and I really don't know how many times I watched this movie before I noticed that Gai-san's ukulele most likely has Orb's Ultra Sign on the back of it*. Whoa. That kind of blew my mind. And he brought snacks from Hawaii - the ultra mango sweets or whatever they're called. That's really cute. :) I mean, he could have brought something else for the SSP, but he seems to love sharing food.
(*In lieu of a screencap (don't know how to take one from a Blu-ray), it is right after Gai chased off all those alien goons who only transformed their heads. Naomi is holding the ukulele with its back showing, and I'm like 'secret identity, what are you?' (maybe it helps that she is the one person who knows who he is - or maybe it does not help at all). Doesn't help that Ultraman X chooses that moment to thank Gai and like literally outs his secret, calling him the Ultraman of this world. X-san, not everyone knows who Ultraman is by the last episode like your series does. But then again, Gai-san, trying to keep your identity a secret at this point is kind of ridiculous. Must they all come tell you that they already know? Though maybe you sort of have a point. Alien Guts can use the SSP as hostages at all because they know about you. Or perhaps they would still be used anyway since you apparently care for them...)
Speaking of Hawaii, the trees there still manage to look totally plastic. I forgive that in Mebius, but I'm not sure I should forgive it here since a movie's budget should be way more than a TV episode's. Though come to think of it, the trees' appearances probably have nothing to do with money. It's kind of charming in a way if that's how they want trees on tropical islands to look.
Randomly, I chuckle at Naomi telling Gai that she (or maybe she means the SSP as a whole) always supports "you Ultraman" as if she knows there are more of them besides Orb. Now I wonder where she learned that other Ultras exist. Knowing her, probably in a dream. And I mean that seriously; she saw Orb in a dream, but that event actually happened a hundred years ago. Oh, and hey, that leads to Jetta coming in and asking about who is Ultraman and Gai just pops the ultra mango sweets in his mouth like it's Naomi's problem now to keep his secret. ^^;;
The visiting Ultras responding to the SSP's wishes to save Gai/Orb is kind of cheesy. But hey, if I don't love this kind of cheese, I wouldn't be here. And somehow that scene manages to feel completely serious (in contrast to the humor elsewhere, so maybe that (being serious) isn't difficult to do). I only see the cheese when I think about it. And only because power upgrades by way of bonds/wishes seems kind of mystical in a science-based series. (But this is a movie with a (perhaps fake) sorceress, so maybe it's fine with being more magic-based than usual.) Still, come to think of it, Ultra series world always gets powered by hopes and dreams and it is the way the science of their world works. I can never get enough of dreams, hopes, wishes and bonds giving birth to physical strengths, seriously. Cheese or not, that is a great scene, with Gai-san seeing the error of his way and thanking the SSP.
Daichi's appearance is not long enough, but he makes the most of it. I'm a bit bummed out. Although if the only problem I have with that is I want more of Daichi, I suppose that is a good thing. I can always re-watch Ultraman X, of course. (And as a total betrayal, compared to some other characters, I find Daichi pretty calm and peaceful. He never annoys me nor makes me impatient with him. Whether here or elsewhere. Can't really say that for anyone else, even for someone I might like more than Daichi.) And man, Daichi is very consistent. He saves someone from being turn into stone in his own series and he saves someone from being turn into a piece of jewel here. I mean, if I'd never watched X, I probably would assume Daichi learned to do that because someone else sacrificed themselves for him first. Not so.
And Gai-san, what happened to you? You never forbid the SSP to do things in the TV series. Or at least, I don't remember you doing it other than back in the beginning, perhaps? It made me think of them as naughty children, and they probably felt like that from being treated that way. (Naomi even throws in a 'Gai-san no baka' (Stupid Gai-san). I do sympathize and actually add my own. Oh, and agree with the space witch that Gai-san should just stay quiet.) Although, to be fair, you did say the enemy is different this time (and that made me think that you thought Juggler was okay as an enemy - like he was safe enough. Hopefully, that isn't what you mean. Or maybe, given your airheadedness, that is what you mean).
But seriously, mostly I just thought you don't have to regress back to when you didn't let people get close to you. I'm sure there is a way to have you learn that your comrades can help you even if they might be less competent than you in some way without having you be kind of a jerk to them. (You know, they did rescue you this time, so they are at least a little useful.) Really, I think you were kinder in expressing your disapproval in the TV series*. Not that I mind, of course, that Daichi has to tell you that his friends who support him (most likely the Xio people, but he did say only their smiles are enough ^__^) are the source of his strength (ah, another cheese, but it's Daichi. He can't do anything wrong in my eyes).
(*This is my old complaint of the Ultra movies usually make characters different from what they are in the TV series. But that might just be only me.)
But still, for all I said that, I think I understand where Gai-san was coming from, too. Whether he chose to be with them or not (I only mean it seems more like they chose him), Gai-san felt responsible for the SSP, so perhaps he was worried and harsher to them than he should. Well, I suppose they are like his family now. They are people he can return to after his wandering. And I might as well say it before I lost my courage...but...Gai-san really does remind me of someone with a similar-sounding name (whose series I haven't seen/read in years, so maybe I am just seeing things). Well, I suppose I lost my courage after all, if I buried the comment here and still did not name the character outright (I've never seen anyone else making this connection either, so it must be only me).
It's a good thing that I've seen this movie enough times that I don't scream 'Final Odyssey rip-off' anymore whenever I see that scene with the space witch Murnau dying. She is misguided and admits it, which is good for her, but too late. Normally, she is nothing to me, but I am able to muster up some sympathy for her at all because Gai-san apparently cares for her, a lot. He even plays his Orbnica for her. The melody feels kind of haunting, too, or just somehow different from the way he usually plays it.
I really can't recreate what Gai-san said about beauty passing through the ages, from generation to generation. People trusting that Spring would come, flowers would bloom - that is how beauty lives on for eternity. (And not how Murnau thought to preserve beauty - by turning people into jewels. I'm only inferring this because I'm sure he didn't say this part.) Obviously, I will have to re-watch at least that scene again, but I really do love what he said. (And this is not even an original idea in this franchise -- that people pass on their experiences, their learnings to the next generation, I mean, but I still like that Gai-san singled out beauty specifically and not talk about life experience as a whole so that Murnau would understand.)
Ah, they seem to know each other from whenever (given their ages, probably thousands of years ago). Murnau and her one minion - the muscled/half-cyborg hyper alien named Sadeath probably crossed paths with Gai-san at least once. Strangely enough, the fact that they have this kind of backstory that I never get to see doesn't bother me. They don't have to live and die only by the episodes/movie/specials I get to see. (I mean, each person who comes into my life has a past and a future that I never know anything of. Unless they want to tell me (or not even then), their life isn't my business, really.)
Speaking of Sadeath, he has like nine lives or something? (I mean, just how many times has Orb seemingly killed him already?) He apparently has at least four. It's probably a bit scary if I would rather have this guy as the main villain instead of Murnau. Or perhaps not. Main villains seem more focused on their lofty goals of defeating the heroes than their non-existent role of entertaining me.
This has roots back in the TV series, but since it's brought up again, I wonder about this law of conservation of mass. Shin-kun, if you are going to dismiss Gai-san from being Orb because of this law (he says something like 'Given his size, Orb weighs something like 50,000 tons, so it's impossible for a human to be Orb'), you have to dismiss everyone else, too. Okay, to be fair, it was Jetta who suspected other people separately of being Orb, but it was proven to him pretty conclusively in one episode that this law didn't apply. Did Jetta simply never talk to Shin about it?
Everyone comes into the bathhouse now, huh? Even Juggler. I almost think he comes in just to see what Gai finds so fascinating about it. Or maybe just to stalk Gai? I like to think it's both. (As an irrelevant side comment, other than in Orb, I rarely see bathhouses. Or maybe I just can't remember, but I think bathhouses are more common in Showa series.)
For all the SSP think that Shibukawa-san isn't that reliable, he actually is quite useful in this movie. He saves them from certain death, not just once. Even though he has time to hang out outside of base almost all the time, I guess I now don't mind seeing him as a captain of a defense team. (As an irrelevant side comment, does he know about Gai-san being Orb now? Or is he still clueless? To be fair, I don't think he is interested in Orb's identity one way or the other, so it's fine either way with me.)
Ultraman X is still so nerdishly adorable. Every time the other characters think he will add something deep to the conversation, he says the most common thing which makes them all do the equivalence of facepalming.
I am sort of happy that we only get voices for Ginga and Victory. No human forms means they don't get to demonstrate their toys. (Though I will never say no to Daichi doing so. He can demonstrate all he wants. They are either officially Xio items, government-supported, or the real artifacts from his world, so at least have some real reason to be in the show.) And then I'm sort of not happy that we get only their voices. Ah, I mean, I can pop in my Ultraman Ginga Blu-rays if I miss Hikaru and Sho that much, but it's just not the same.
UltraSeven appears out of nowhere, literally, and confirms once and for all that he is the original wandering Ultra. I mean, if I didn't realize that by the end of the Orb TV series, I would now. Even with no real reason for his appearance other than it being his 50th anniversary, for people who grew up watching Seven, I'm sure his appearance would be a treat. In any case, the way everyone is chanting 'Seven Seven Seven' in time for the song is still funny to me every time. ;) And he is here to show everyone how things were done in his days with no fancy weapons and add-ons. Strangely enough, he fits right in. (Well, he says it is trust and bond with the people on Earth that gives the Ultras their strengths, so this is a franchise that never changes its core message, be it now or fifty years ago.)
And it is probably a good thing that Orb needs Seven to remind him that he should use the power of bonds to fight. Because if Orb can remember that on his own, the movie would be cut in half. ;)
Naomi thanks the Ultras for saving Earth, and seeing all the crumbles around the SSP and Shibukawa-san, I kind of want to bust out the scene from the first episode of Mebius, where the town gets like half-destroyed, with Ryuu yelling at Mebius for not protecting anything. I guess I don't blame the other Ultras much -- this is not their world, their dimension. But what is Orb's excuse other than everyone forgets about Mebius episode 1 already? To be fair, it's already ten years ago by the time the movie was made.
(To be clear, I was just having fun with this. After all, it is true that the Ultras really did save Earth. Thanks to them, the world is spare the fate of being turned into beautiful jewels and living forever in that state.)
Hikaru's 'we are all connected under the stars/the sky' is always love. <333 We really are, aren't we? As long as we love and are kind to each other, our bond would grow and continue into the future.
I'm sure there is more I can't remember, but this should be plenty enough. Seriously, thank you if you read it all.
Ultraman Saga and The Ultra Galaxy movie:
Ultraman Saga is fine, plot-wise, acting-wise, action-wise. I mean, I like it. (And I was just watching it for the promised sequel of UM Dyna, which we didn't get, exactly, but we did see what Super GUTS and TPC had become in the past 15 years since Asuka disappeared into the wormhole at the end of the series.) The story is kept simple, probably almost too simple, despite having quite a few interesting things that could have been explored more in-depth. I wouldn't say a missed opportunity, precisely, but maybe everything doesn't have to be resolved quite so tidily either. I blame the length. A TV series would be able to do more with those interesting things, I'm sure.
The Ultra Galaxy movie (the first Ultraman Zero movie) is fine, too. Probably helped that I wasn't fresh off any other Ultra series except UM Dyna (a more proper post coming if I'm not lazy, but man I love that show). I'm happy with Mebius' appearance, certainly, but I feel that he has moved on from his time on Earth (hey, I felt the same last I watched, and I was much more fresh off his series then). It makes perfect sense that he does so (IIRC, UG is like 60-70 years in the future after the events of Mebius), but I can't help thinking that the Earth friends he made seem to be so easily forgotten. Not that I am saying that he forgets them. I am sure he does not, but he is certainly distancing himself from Earth. Okay, this movie is not about Earth, so I'll just shut up about this now (and go write fanfic where Mirai is vacationing on Earth, again, and totally not dating anyone this time around).
I honestly didn't notice it the first time around, but, out of the original Ultra brothers, only Ultraman and Seven are blessed (or perhaps, in this case, cursed) with human forms. It meant other Ultras were taken out of the action too quickly for them to escape. In any case, Hayata and Dan are so very cool, of course (did anyone actually fear otherwise?). They bail out Rei and Mirai (who, through some carelessness (oh, all right, an accident), destroyed the Mebius brace). Rei didn't seem to recognize them at first (a given, since they were in Ultra forms when he saw them last), until they reminded him that they met before (in Rei's TV series).
But, sorry, it seems Ultraman Taro is the coolest one of them all this time around. He is the one who managed to save the remaining light of the Land of light.
Zero totally has an attitude. Not that I mind. Most Ultras are such good boy scouts that I am glad to see someone different, more rebel-ish, once in a while. (Hmm, but even though I said that, I don't think anyone of those other Ultras are good all the time. They certainly broke some rules while they were on Earth (going off on their own without the team, etc. etc.).) At any rate, Zero is good. He is no anti-hero, at least not now.
That last nod Zero exchanges with Rei? I now want to see them combine, perhaps just once. It's funny anyway since in Japanese, Zero = Rei.
Musashi's appearance still confuses me to these days. Who is he? Just someone with the same name and face? It's certainly possible, considering all these 'traveling across the parallel worlds' shenanigans. Then again, apparently that vehicle he's traveling in probably can cross dimensions, so maybe he's really that Musashi but just doesn't choose to involve himself for some reason ('Ultramen problem' 'I'm a pacifist, not a warrior' 'How should I know you need help if you don't tell me?' 'Cosmos already separated from me') Nah, I'm just being snarky. If he is really that Musashi, he just isn't aware that there is a problem, period. (I like to think people spare him, too, since he's a pacifist, by not forcing him to fight. Because by telling him, he would go help, even if it's against his nature.)
This Asuka seems closer to TV series Asuka than the one who appears in Ultraman Saga. (Just forget about the blond hair, really.) But honestly, why is he even here? No one seems to send a distress call that I remember. Or he just happened to pass through? What about continuity to UM Saga? Did Zero not remember him (or at least, Dyna)? (I was talking about the voice at the beginning of UM Saga (after opening credit), asking Zero to come help Earth. Why did anyone (the audience, I mean) even have to wonder whose voice that was? Geez, do you think Musashi talks/sounds like that?) Or maybe Zero didn't pay attention at all, since he was so busy with Belial.
Anyway, speaking of UM Saga, I did suspect it was a gattai experience (because of Cosmos. He started this 'conbining with other Ultraman' trend in movies). Not that I mind that it's not a separate Ultraman. If it's a one-off chara anyway, might as well use the characters I already know to make him. Not that I know Taiga (Nozomu Taiga, not the Ultraman with the same name, though I don't know that one either) all that well. Dude has chips on shoulders about Ultraman (well, Dyna) not saving his parents. But he did say that he didn't blame Dyna for that, just that he didn't want to rely on Ultraman (or maybe Zero worked this part out from what Taiga said, I don't know). And they all (well, maybe only Ryo) said he's like Asuka, but I'm not too sure I agree? I mean, Asuka didn't crash as many planes as he did toward the beginning, so they ought to remember more of that latter time where he was more careful. And honestly, Asuka in UM Saga seems almost like a different character. Everyone looks up to him here (whereas he got no real respect back home until his heroic sacrifice).
As for Musashi, I wouldn't say he's a different character, precisely, but if I got interested in UM Cosmos TV series because of him, that would certainly be a false advertising. The Musashi here has, for lack of better words, grown up. (He should be, if he's already married and has a child.) He has 65 episodes and several movies to do so. Not many people find Musashi in the beginning of his series too endearing. And apparently, this is one of those times Ultraman Cosmos is content to let Musashi run the show (prabably related to what I said, that he's grown up enough to be trusted to handle things on his own, without UM Cosmos' advice/interference/judgment). For what it is worth, I like Musashi fine, even when he was quite a brat, so I'm happy with the way he's portrayed in this movie (such a good example for kids - come to think of it, Asuka is the same way, only that we don't get to see it in real time).
Not sure if that is all there is to it, but I wrote this some time ago, so I don't remember anymore until I can re-watch these movies (and the second Zero movie) later this year (hopefully in Blu-rays this time).
And, since I'm too lazy to make a separate post, I might as well have this tagged on, even though I wrote about this movie way after I watched the two movies above and it has nothing to do with them. Wait, that isn't true. Ultraman Zero is in it, so I guess it has something in common with the rest of the movies, after all... (Oh, Taro and Mebius also appear, sort of. ^^;;; Yes, I mean the fusion. I would scream with joy if it's them in the flesh.)
Ultraman Orb the Movie:
Okay, if you are looking at this for Ultraman Zero, he appears at the beginning in Hawaii, helping Orb fight Galactron (I still love those magic circles (and their sound effect) it casts) and at the end, after the credits, wanting Orb's help to fight some monster which got teased back in the Ultraman X movie (and X recounting that in this movie, too). As far as I know, nothing ever comes out of that adventure...
Now, I love Orb. Or more like I love Gai-san. But this movie is kind of a let down as a follow-up to the TV series. It has entirely too long fight scenes, and most of them make Orb look so incompetent compared to the other Ultras (especially UltraSeven). Then again, they are supposed to be his seniors, so naturally they would be more efficient. Still though, why bothers to give Orb a power-up and have him struggle so much, even more than in his other forms? Why not save Orb Trinity for last and have him do miracles like the upgrades are supposed to do? I have no answer. At least I can take comfort that Gai-san can still fight in human form way better than as Orb in this movie. And I really mean that. I would rather keep him human if being Orb means suffering.
(But I won't say no to Orb Trinity busting out Red King Knuckle and Cyber Gomora Armor (or part of it, anyway). I love those on the original Ultras (Ultraman Victory and Ultraman X, respectively), after all.)
The villains are not a serious threat. Well, they are supposed to be, but would you really be afraid of some space witch/sorceress who just wanted to turn you into a jewel, literally? I mean, she doesn't even want to kill you or anything so uncivilized. Oh, she does have some kind of motivation about keeping the world from being polluted or some such thing, but it's just an excuse that won't hold up anywhere. Then again, lots of Ultraman villains have that kind of self-serving motivation that masquerades as doing things for the greater good, so I guess I should at least applaud her for at least trying to come up with one.
I do like Juggler in this a lot, though. Love that butler look. He is easily one of the best parts of this movie, if not the best. Seriously, everyone would be in a world of trouble if Juggler is not around to bail them out. (His character is to be annoyingly contrary (whoa wait, doesn't that describe Gai too? No wonder these two chase each other across galaxies). I don't know if I want him to curb it even though sometimes it gets on my nerves. Better not. He would be so boring without being annoying.)
And the Something Search People (thereafter known as SSP) are their charming selves. ;) As in, they managed to get into trouble but somehow they kind of save themselves and even two Ultraman hosts. ;)
Oh, and I really don't know how many times I watched this movie before I noticed that Gai-san's ukulele most likely has Orb's Ultra Sign on the back of it*. Whoa. That kind of blew my mind. And he brought snacks from Hawaii - the ultra mango sweets or whatever they're called. That's really cute. :) I mean, he could have brought something else for the SSP, but he seems to love sharing food.
(*In lieu of a screencap (don't know how to take one from a Blu-ray), it is right after Gai chased off all those alien goons who only transformed their heads. Naomi is holding the ukulele with its back showing, and I'm like 'secret identity, what are you?' (maybe it helps that she is the one person who knows who he is - or maybe it does not help at all). Doesn't help that Ultraman X chooses that moment to thank Gai and like literally outs his secret, calling him the Ultraman of this world. X-san, not everyone knows who Ultraman is by the last episode like your series does. But then again, Gai-san, trying to keep your identity a secret at this point is kind of ridiculous. Must they all come tell you that they already know? Though maybe you sort of have a point. Alien Guts can use the SSP as hostages at all because they know about you. Or perhaps they would still be used anyway since you apparently care for them...)
Speaking of Hawaii, the trees there still manage to look totally plastic. I forgive that in Mebius, but I'm not sure I should forgive it here since a movie's budget should be way more than a TV episode's. Though come to think of it, the trees' appearances probably have nothing to do with money. It's kind of charming in a way if that's how they want trees on tropical islands to look.
Randomly, I chuckle at Naomi telling Gai that she (or maybe she means the SSP as a whole) always supports "you Ultraman" as if she knows there are more of them besides Orb. Now I wonder where she learned that other Ultras exist. Knowing her, probably in a dream. And I mean that seriously; she saw Orb in a dream, but that event actually happened a hundred years ago. Oh, and hey, that leads to Jetta coming in and asking about who is Ultraman and Gai just pops the ultra mango sweets in his mouth like it's Naomi's problem now to keep his secret. ^^;;
The visiting Ultras responding to the SSP's wishes to save Gai/Orb is kind of cheesy. But hey, if I don't love this kind of cheese, I wouldn't be here. And somehow that scene manages to feel completely serious (in contrast to the humor elsewhere, so maybe that (being serious) isn't difficult to do). I only see the cheese when I think about it. And only because power upgrades by way of bonds/wishes seems kind of mystical in a science-based series. (But this is a movie with a (perhaps fake) sorceress, so maybe it's fine with being more magic-based than usual.) Still, come to think of it, Ultra series world always gets powered by hopes and dreams and it is the way the science of their world works. I can never get enough of dreams, hopes, wishes and bonds giving birth to physical strengths, seriously. Cheese or not, that is a great scene, with Gai-san seeing the error of his way and thanking the SSP.
Daichi's appearance is not long enough, but he makes the most of it. I'm a bit bummed out. Although if the only problem I have with that is I want more of Daichi, I suppose that is a good thing. I can always re-watch Ultraman X, of course. (And as a total betrayal, compared to some other characters, I find Daichi pretty calm and peaceful. He never annoys me nor makes me impatient with him. Whether here or elsewhere. Can't really say that for anyone else, even for someone I might like more than Daichi.) And man, Daichi is very consistent. He saves someone from being turn into stone in his own series and he saves someone from being turn into a piece of jewel here. I mean, if I'd never watched X, I probably would assume Daichi learned to do that because someone else sacrificed themselves for him first. Not so.
And Gai-san, what happened to you? You never forbid the SSP to do things in the TV series. Or at least, I don't remember you doing it other than back in the beginning, perhaps? It made me think of them as naughty children, and they probably felt like that from being treated that way. (Naomi even throws in a 'Gai-san no baka' (Stupid Gai-san). I do sympathize and actually add my own. Oh, and agree with the space witch that Gai-san should just stay quiet.) Although, to be fair, you did say the enemy is different this time (and that made me think that you thought Juggler was okay as an enemy - like he was safe enough. Hopefully, that isn't what you mean. Or maybe, given your airheadedness, that is what you mean).
But seriously, mostly I just thought you don't have to regress back to when you didn't let people get close to you. I'm sure there is a way to have you learn that your comrades can help you even if they might be less competent than you in some way without having you be kind of a jerk to them. (You know, they did rescue you this time, so they are at least a little useful.) Really, I think you were kinder in expressing your disapproval in the TV series*. Not that I mind, of course, that Daichi has to tell you that his friends who support him (most likely the Xio people, but he did say only their smiles are enough ^__^) are the source of his strength (ah, another cheese, but it's Daichi. He can't do anything wrong in my eyes).
(*This is my old complaint of the Ultra movies usually make characters different from what they are in the TV series. But that might just be only me.)
But still, for all I said that, I think I understand where Gai-san was coming from, too. Whether he chose to be with them or not (I only mean it seems more like they chose him), Gai-san felt responsible for the SSP, so perhaps he was worried and harsher to them than he should. Well, I suppose they are like his family now. They are people he can return to after his wandering. And I might as well say it before I lost my courage...but...Gai-san really does remind me of someone with a similar-sounding name (whose series I haven't seen/read in years, so maybe I am just seeing things). Well, I suppose I lost my courage after all, if I buried the comment here and still did not name the character outright (I've never seen anyone else making this connection either, so it must be only me).
It's a good thing that I've seen this movie enough times that I don't scream 'Final Odyssey rip-off' anymore whenever I see that scene with the space witch Murnau dying. She is misguided and admits it, which is good for her, but too late. Normally, she is nothing to me, but I am able to muster up some sympathy for her at all because Gai-san apparently cares for her, a lot. He even plays his Orbnica for her. The melody feels kind of haunting, too, or just somehow different from the way he usually plays it.
I really can't recreate what Gai-san said about beauty passing through the ages, from generation to generation. People trusting that Spring would come, flowers would bloom - that is how beauty lives on for eternity. (And not how Murnau thought to preserve beauty - by turning people into jewels. I'm only inferring this because I'm sure he didn't say this part.) Obviously, I will have to re-watch at least that scene again, but I really do love what he said. (And this is not even an original idea in this franchise -- that people pass on their experiences, their learnings to the next generation, I mean, but I still like that Gai-san singled out beauty specifically and not talk about life experience as a whole so that Murnau would understand.)
Ah, they seem to know each other from whenever (given their ages, probably thousands of years ago). Murnau and her one minion - the muscled/half-cyborg hyper alien named Sadeath probably crossed paths with Gai-san at least once. Strangely enough, the fact that they have this kind of backstory that I never get to see doesn't bother me. They don't have to live and die only by the episodes/movie/specials I get to see. (I mean, each person who comes into my life has a past and a future that I never know anything of. Unless they want to tell me (or not even then), their life isn't my business, really.)
Speaking of Sadeath, he has like nine lives or something? (I mean, just how many times has Orb seemingly killed him already?) He apparently has at least four. It's probably a bit scary if I would rather have this guy as the main villain instead of Murnau. Or perhaps not. Main villains seem more focused on their lofty goals of defeating the heroes than their non-existent role of entertaining me.
This has roots back in the TV series, but since it's brought up again, I wonder about this law of conservation of mass. Shin-kun, if you are going to dismiss Gai-san from being Orb because of this law (he says something like 'Given his size, Orb weighs something like 50,000 tons, so it's impossible for a human to be Orb'), you have to dismiss everyone else, too. Okay, to be fair, it was Jetta who suspected other people separately of being Orb, but it was proven to him pretty conclusively in one episode that this law didn't apply. Did Jetta simply never talk to Shin about it?
Everyone comes into the bathhouse now, huh? Even Juggler. I almost think he comes in just to see what Gai finds so fascinating about it. Or maybe just to stalk Gai? I like to think it's both. (As an irrelevant side comment, other than in Orb, I rarely see bathhouses. Or maybe I just can't remember, but I think bathhouses are more common in Showa series.)
For all the SSP think that Shibukawa-san isn't that reliable, he actually is quite useful in this movie. He saves them from certain death, not just once. Even though he has time to hang out outside of base almost all the time, I guess I now don't mind seeing him as a captain of a defense team. (As an irrelevant side comment, does he know about Gai-san being Orb now? Or is he still clueless? To be fair, I don't think he is interested in Orb's identity one way or the other, so it's fine either way with me.)
Ultraman X is still so nerdishly adorable. Every time the other characters think he will add something deep to the conversation, he says the most common thing which makes them all do the equivalence of facepalming.
I am sort of happy that we only get voices for Ginga and Victory. No human forms means they don't get to demonstrate their toys. (Though I will never say no to Daichi doing so. He can demonstrate all he wants. They are either officially Xio items, government-supported, or the real artifacts from his world, so at least have some real reason to be in the show.) And then I'm sort of not happy that we get only their voices. Ah, I mean, I can pop in my Ultraman Ginga Blu-rays if I miss Hikaru and Sho that much, but it's just not the same.
UltraSeven appears out of nowhere, literally, and confirms once and for all that he is the original wandering Ultra. I mean, if I didn't realize that by the end of the Orb TV series, I would now. Even with no real reason for his appearance other than it being his 50th anniversary, for people who grew up watching Seven, I'm sure his appearance would be a treat. In any case, the way everyone is chanting 'Seven Seven Seven' in time for the song is still funny to me every time. ;) And he is here to show everyone how things were done in his days with no fancy weapons and add-ons. Strangely enough, he fits right in. (Well, he says it is trust and bond with the people on Earth that gives the Ultras their strengths, so this is a franchise that never changes its core message, be it now or fifty years ago.)
And it is probably a good thing that Orb needs Seven to remind him that he should use the power of bonds to fight. Because if Orb can remember that on his own, the movie would be cut in half. ;)
Naomi thanks the Ultras for saving Earth, and seeing all the crumbles around the SSP and Shibukawa-san, I kind of want to bust out the scene from the first episode of Mebius, where the town gets like half-destroyed, with Ryuu yelling at Mebius for not protecting anything. I guess I don't blame the other Ultras much -- this is not their world, their dimension. But what is Orb's excuse other than everyone forgets about Mebius episode 1 already? To be fair, it's already ten years ago by the time the movie was made.
(To be clear, I was just having fun with this. After all, it is true that the Ultras really did save Earth. Thanks to them, the world is spare the fate of being turned into beautiful jewels and living forever in that state.)
Hikaru's 'we are all connected under the stars/the sky' is always love. <333 We really are, aren't we? As long as we love and are kind to each other, our bond would grow and continue into the future.
I'm sure there is more I can't remember, but this should be plenty enough. Seriously, thank you if you read it all.