Very quick notes on Ultraman Mebius 14, 15
15 first, this is just a silly mistake I made so I don't even know why I'm typing it in. When Ryuu and Araiso have their first clash, I keep thinking about why Mirai seems to stay out of it (not rushing to help holding Ryuu back, I mean). I have it all worked out that he doesn't meddle in human's affair (not applying to what happened in 12, of course, since that episode is pure crack and people are allowed to behave out of character). But then I re-watched it and there he was, on Ryuu's left. There went my half-baked theory out the window. ::sobs::
(But he does stay mostly out of it at the end of the episode, out of confusion, probably, that humans can bicker while not hating each other at all.)
14: Teppei episode. Um...what can I say, other than his relationship with his parents is not so healthy if he has to hide what he does from them? I don't know, for someone of Teppei's obvious intelligence, he seems remarkably obtuse about all this. His teammates are not helping either by going along with his attempt to cover up. Only George seems to have some sense. (I'm not blaming Mirai since he probably doesn't know any better; this is human's affair, after all.)
Umm...after all is said and done, I feel this episode's conflict is resolved too tidily. Still, I have to remember this show is mostly for kids. They can't have Teppei at odds with his parents, well, not forever, but longer than one episode. Kids will lose patience fast otherwise. They signed on for monster fighting, not human conflict.
(Anyway, I think that is a compromise most tokusatsu shows seem to have to make, whether to focus on human drama, or super hero fighting. I don't see many shows that can balance both well. Too much of the former, and you risk alienating the kids. Too much of the latter, and you risk making the show bland with no meaningful character development and its only appeal is the fighting/special effects.)