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| Ultraman Series One / Vol 2 : 4 of 5 | |
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8.03.2007
6:35 AM | Link |
 This DVD set finishes off the original classic series from 1966-67 in all its rubber suit glory, and even though I had a great time watching the first DVD set, I enjoyed these episodes even more! I think the monster fighting scenes are a little longer, and they definitely involve more destruction with better special effects. For example, a few of the creatures have a really convincing fire breath (which must have been dangerous to film!), and Ultraman himself gets to use many more weapons (I especially like the Ultra Slash, which is like a spinning saw blade!). Once again, I still feel sorry for the monsters, since they always meet a violent end - one of them is even blown into a million chunks of monster meat this time! Several episodes feature unusual settings - there are battles underwater, in the midst of snowy mountains, and even in outer space (with some cool space station docking effects). Near the end of the series, the episodes get even sillier than usual, almost like a new writing team was hired, but things definitely get serious for the final episode, where Ultraman actually loses and has to be rescued by another being from Nebula M78. Both Hayata and Ultraman are allowed to live after they are separated, and we get to see the big red ball from the first episode flying away to the Land of Light (with the Science Patrol on the ground screaming their goodbyes). Speaking of the Science Patrol, there was much more characterization in this set, even for goofball Ide, who fights off being depressed about their constant monster fighting. This was a fantastic series (best watched in Japanese, of course!), and I'd love to get into more Ultraman in the future!
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| Ultraman Series One / Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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2.25.2007
9:07 PM | Link |
 Along with Speed Racer, watching Ultraman was another one of my first exposures to Japanese entertainment that eventually led to my culture-obsessed life today! There have been tons of Ultraman series, but this DVD set is the original classic from 1966 (and of course, I'm watching it in Japanese). Most of my childhood memories only involve Ultraman's Color Timer (which blinks on his chest when he's running out of energy), but now that I've watched three DVDs full of episodes I'm excited about learning more and becoming a fan all over again. Each episode features a giant monster (all with insanely imaginative designs) that Ultraman must vanquish, after Science Patrol officer Hayata transforms using the Beta Capsule. Sometimes I feel sorry for the monsters, because Ultraman can get pretty violent (sometimes there's even monster blood!). The rest of the Science Patrol is cool as well, flying around in their VTOL aircraft, shooting beasts with the Spider Shot gun, and talking on their little lapel communicators. The effects were state of the art for 1966, since the studio used one of only a handful of optical printers in existence at the time. My only problem with the show is there's almost no character development at all (I guess I'm spoiled on the emotional impact of Kikaida), which means there's not much connection between episodes. But now that I've seen the first half of the series, nothing can stop me from buying the next DVD set!
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