Some general overall thoughts

Another month of Ultraman, though not as much Ultraman as usual. I cut back on some of my media consumption because I had to for my own kind of mind. But still, I am enjoying my Ultraman journey. I think cutting down how much Taro I watched has helped me to enjoy it a bit more because it feels much more special. Taro and Arc are good shows and Trigger is trying its best at the moment.

Ultraman Taro

This is the fifth Ultraman series and it’s pretty different. Like ZAT wearing mostly blue retro space outfits instead of orange like every super police kind of group wore when fighting kaiju. The main protagonist named Kotaro Higashi returned to Japan from wherever and wanted to become a boxer. Too bad he joined ZAT and then was killed in a plane crash so he was revived as Ultraman Taro. It’s a bit more goofy then the others and it kind of rocks.

You can watch Ultraman Taro on youtube here or tubi here.

Episode 43

Another episode that is both goofy but really emotional at the same time. I mean, the plot is about a young boy whose dad runs a vegetable grocery store. All of that boy’s life is centered on it because it’s his father’s business and that boy thinks his dad cares more about the store than food. So clearly the answer is the boy feeding a Kaiju who loves Vitamin C to make it grow it which then causes chaos through out the land. I loved that Taro’s answer was juicing

Episode 44

A pretty fun and comfortable episode. Especially considering how it’s a little mischievous tengu Kaiju that turned Kotaro and a young boy into beans. You know, because tengus don’t like having beans thrown at them. The general theme of big brothers taking care of younger brothers despite their differences was pretty nice. I also just enjoyed the ending of the Tengu having beans thrown at them in the end.

Episode 45

This was a great episode for the member ZAT Tetsuya Kitajima. One very huge for aliens seeking to destroy ZAT simply through this guy’s backstory. You know, the disappearance of his childhood friend as she was carried away. She controlled by an alien as she slowly infests Tetsuya Kitajima’s mind as he turns back to his younger self. Of course ZAT won’t let her in and Tetsuya suffers so much trying to kill her before she does turn into a kaiju and destroy everything. Kotaro once again saves the day as Taro since he is part of why this incident happened and it was amazing.

Ultraman Arc

This is the brand new Ultraman series that just came out. One where there is a history of Kaiju in which there is the infamous K-Day that happened 16 years ago in the show’s history. This series starts with the introduction of Yuma three months after he became an Ultraman (Ultraman Arc) and three months after he became the kaiju expert for the SKIP organization. It really is a good time too.

You can watch Ultraman Arc for free here: LINK

Episode 9

Yeah, this episode was a huge emotional one for Rin. One that regarded her dealing with adulthood for real the first time. It’s not getting the first job that does it, but seeing the fall of one of her people she idolized turning into a thief. In this case, a former university professor that accepted her in his class when she was in highschool and pushed her forward to live the life she is now as an engineer. Yeah, the guy turned into such a huge liar and scumbag. Also, there was a cool fight with Arc vs both Neronga and Pagos at the same time. Yeah, was just a great emotional episode with a huge amount of acting in it.

Episode 10

A sort of dangerous episode this week. Or should I say, another big and sad one. One of Yuma’s former classmates hanging onto the words of an alien who is about to die. It’s a signal from deeper in outerspace on a planet that is slowly disappearing from the world. Yet, the guy is hanging on every word the alien is saying. At the same time, it attracts a space kaiju which is why Yuma and Skip get involved in the first place. Pretty huge and emotional episode with some silly moments like Arc listening to Skip and then using the color timer as a weapon against the Kaiju. I guess it couldn’t get too serious.

Episode 11

Pretty big episode with cynicism vs optimism showing up once again. It was just a SKIP investigating of Hoshimoto City to the appearance of Okta-Gimula to the mysterious robot DIVAS showing up. A Kaiju battle and a first contact situation at the same time. A lot for ARC to deal with. Plus the reason that DIVAS is there while also being a huge threatening force but has shown some semblance of kindness complicates everything. It’s definitely splitting up Shu and Yuma after they became good friends. Nothing to do but to see how this arc ends next week.

Episode 12

I was pretty surprised to see Shu not being the asshole and actually helping SKIP to figure out what DIVAS is saying. Yuma was able to jump out of his depression for now, though I can’t help but picture that is apart of YUMA’s plot. Shu also helped Yuma to climb up DIVAs and interact with the last message of DIVAS’ owner. Such huge sentimental stuff all around there too. Plus Oka-Gimula showed up and ARC got in-between the two and his moon form saved the day. It’s some fantastic stuff all around. What a wonderful conclusion to this show’s first half. ARC has been much more lowkey then Blazar in a lot of ways, but it carries out its weight pretty well.

Ultraman Trigger: New Generational Tiga

It’s the future and humanity has expanded to mars. The episode introduces the Martian plant loving botanist Kengo and his mom who work for the same company. This man also gets visions from some mysterious forces beyond him until one day in the martian mines he merges with Ultraman Trigger. He also gets selected by the elite earth defense force Guts-select.

Watch these for free here: Link

Episode 8

I’m sad. Now that the crossover with Z has ended because it was so much fun. Haruka and Kengo bounced off each other very well. Plus the idea of this episode with aliens hacking the entire networks and GUTS Select pulling out old tech to fight against it. All the wires around the ship were pretty great as well as the commander staying in one spot until he did the most dramatic thing after his team pushed through the hacking. Plus seeing Trigger and Z against hacked King Joe was pretty fun too. Yeah, I am worried about what is going to happen now because I don’t enjoy the main plot of this episode at all.

Episode 9

Yeah, I was nervous about what would happen with the show now that Haruki and Z are gone. WAs kind of right, it was a very messy sort of lore episode. It’s Yuna’s birthday which Guts Select wants to celebrate. Yuna’s father as the Chariman is back now and gives her a treasure. Also there is some hidden backstory about Yuna’s father coming form the Tiga universe and Yuzure slowly taking over Yuna’s body as she awakens. Plus the backstory of Yuzure stopping the Gargorgon Kaiju by using its power against it and Yuna Yuzure trying to do the same thing. Kengo and Trigger kind of felt useless in the entire episode. It was alright, but pretty mess too.

Episode 10

The show is still being a bit of a kitchen sink of a franchise with all its plot it’s throwing around each episode. Still makes it pretty unfocused. It is hilarious to see Darrgon trying to do all sorts of romantic things towards Yuna. Yes, even if he doesn’t understand what love is yet. The Kaiju battle in-between just felt like something for GUTS-Select and eventually Trigger to fight against. That’s about it really. It’s good, but a huge mess at the same time.

Episode 11

This episode was certainly what it was…a lot. I mean, last episode has a reveal of Trigger being one of the giants of darkness. It was a bit annoying though. Like, the episode threw Kengo back in time to when Trigger was a giant of darkness working alongside the other three. At the same time, GUTS-Select is watching Trigger fight between darkness and light in their current time. Then through in the eternity core. It’s a good concept in general, but it feels like lore for lore’s sake. Also, really annoying that Trigger has no personality at all.