Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

For the discussion of any Ultraman related shows, movies, comics, video games, etc.
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Angilasman
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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Angilasman »

^ Maybe a gimmick like that would work better with less episodes? You could dig down and chart out at the beginning that there'll be x-number of episodes where they can't reach each other to transform, one episode where one of them tries to transform by themselves and almost dies as a semitransparent Ultraman writhing in pain only for the other person to merge with them and save them in the nick of time, and (of course) the finale where one of them is in a hospital bed near death unable to merge and it becomes a ticking clock to save the world.

You could easily hit all those beats in 25 episodes without tiring those tropes out.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by daveblackeye15 »

I got to say I'm a little amused how people criticize the modern shows for having NEW WEAPON or NEW POWER UP FORM, yeah sometimes I think they do some of those poorly. But the Showa shows had their version of deus ex machina solutions.

Like one of the better episodes to delve into the shared hosting is the deadly comet Metron Jr. two parter. Minami gets seriously hurt and could die if she transforms again. Okay good drama....but then miraculously blowing up the comet revives her. WHAT!? I'd try to work that into the retcon of her being a moon being or something. Or Ultra Seven showing up to give a jolt of energy to Ace in one of the latter episodes. Yeah the one with the flaming sword Choji.

I'm just saying...a little hypocritical to give the Showa series a pass on deus ex machina solutions but criticize each time it happens in a modern show.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Saturndusk »

Not to mention the assortment of one-off abilities/attacks
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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by daveblackeye15 »

There's a right way and wrong way to do new one time attacks. I think of Z's Space Z attack from episode 19 of his series. That felt pretty earned, looked cool and it's not like Ace appeared again to help him pull that move during the finale.
Still I one wonder if Space Z could have one-shot Destrudos?

It seems like they like to shoot fire at Ace and he flips/cartwheels away from it pretty often? Enough that the episode he appeared in Z had him do it.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Angilasman »

Just finished this series and WOW that last stretch of episodes was really good. They veered wildly into Ultraseven-style eeriness a bit there! In spite of its chaotic flaws (not having confidence in the core premise, then rebooting the entire premise and becoming Return of Ultraman-lite for a dozen episodes, then veering back into seriousness at the end) I ended up really enjoying this show!

Revenge of Verokron is my favorite episode, and I almost wish it could have been the finale. I like the finale, but there's something about wn episode that connects directly to the first episode in such a satisfying way... Has there ever been an Ultraman show where the final monster is the returned first monster?

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Hm wonder how Dan felt when he saw Taro was the sixth Ultra brother.
Zoffy: This is Taro and now he is the 6th Ultra brother. *Starts to look at Dan the human and Taro* Yes number 6. Yes number 6 of the Ultra Brothers. There is no other individual in the whole universe or many many dimensions that has a 6th Ultra brother but Taro here! Yep Taro is not the 7th but the 6th.
Ace: *Fidgets nervously as Dan glares at him*

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by StreamOfKaijuness »

Angilasman wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:45 pm Just finished this series and WOW that last stretch of episodes was really good. They veered wildly into Ultraseven-style eeriness a bit there! In spite of its chaotic flaws (not having confidence in the core premise, then rebooting the entire premise and becoming Return of Ultraman-lite for a dozen episodes, then veering back into seriousness at the end) I ended up really enjoying this show!

Revenge of Verokron is my favorite episode, and I almost wish it could have been the finale. I like the finale, but there's something about wn episode that connects directly to the first episode in such a satisfying way... Has there ever been an Ultraman show where the final monster is the returned first monster?
Revenge of Verokron is an awesome episode! It and the finale are the only two that Shinichi Ichikawa wrote beyond episode 14.

You Are the Ace of Tomorrow! is a poignant finale, even though it is a bit forced.
Spoiler:
Apparently if Hokuto lets anyone find out that he's Ultraman Ace, then the next time he transforms into Ace he can never transform back into Hokuto. He ends up accepting that very fate so as not to break any children's faith in kindness. It's similar to what Go does at the end of Return of Ultraman but with heavier stakes, and it works in its own meaningful way despite how shoehorned that rule is. The need for Hokuto to protect his secret identity wasn't mentioned at all prior to this 52nd and final episode, and neither he nor Minami ever behaved like they were trying to avoid being seen when they transformed into Ace. Heck, the Christmas episode (Resurrection! Father of Ultra) had a scene in which children were singing the show's theme song in unison, including the lyric where they mention Hokuto and Minami by name!

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Saturndusk »

StreamOfKaijuness wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 8:25 pm
Angilasman wrote: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:45 pm Just finished this series and WOW that last stretch of episodes was really good. They veered wildly into Ultraseven-style eeriness a bit there! In spite of its chaotic flaws (not having confidence in the core premise, then rebooting the entire premise and becoming Return of Ultraman-lite for a dozen episodes, then veering back into seriousness at the end) I ended up really enjoying this show!

Revenge of Verokron is my favorite episode, and I almost wish it could have been the finale. I like the finale, but there's something about wn episode that connects directly to the first episode in such a satisfying way... Has there ever been an Ultraman show where the final monster is the returned first monster?
Revenge of Verokron is an awesome episode! It and the finale are the only two that Shinichi Ichikawa wrote beyond episode 14.

You Are the Ace of Tomorrow! is a poignant finale, even though it is a bit forced.
Spoiler:
Apparently if Hokuto lets anyone find out that he's Ultraman Ace, then the next time he transforms into Ace he can never transform back into Hokuto. He ends up accepting that very fate so as not to break any children's faith in kindness. It's similar to what Go does at the end of Return of Ultraman but with heavier stakes, and it works in its own meaningful way despite how shoehorned that rule is. The need for Hokuto to protect his secret identity wasn't mentioned at all prior to this 52nd and final episode, and neither he nor Minami ever behaved like they were trying to avoid being seen when they transformed into Ace. Heck, the Christmas episode (Resurrection! Father of Ultra) had a scene in which children were singing the show's theme song in unison, including the lyric where they mention Hokuto and Minami by name!
Spoiler:
And this is further made bad when all the other Ultra Brothers are seen in human forms during Taro and later Mebius
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Angilasman
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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Angilasman »

^ the central premise of the finale is outta nowhere, but thematically serves the episode. It's a such a challenging and complex moral for kids, that you shouldn't be racist and always operate on compassion even though individual people may betray you. Giving Hokuto/Ace a moral conundrum instead of just another strong alien or monster was smart.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by eabaker »

On a show that was expected to be viewed week-by-week, primarily by children, before there was any serious consideration of "home media" collections, I can forgive the episode's premise not having been previously established. It makes for good drama in the moment.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Yeah I got to remind myself that these were shown on television and re-runs at a time when there was no home media release.
Anyway...the Dan the Sixth Ultra brother 'arc' is over it seems...I like this episode with the red beans that remove your strength. Okay what is the Choji's plan? Make some people weaker? Just make random people around TAC weaker? Whatever it was a nice change of pace.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Ugh wow last episode I watched was January. Just watched the Revenge of Vekron episode and it was really good. The first design was better but this one wasn't too bad. Lots of great filming shots and atmosphere. And here I thought Yapool's speech about 'winners carrying the old malice' was going to be said in the final episode.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by LegendZilla »

I miss the days in which Ultras would viciously dismember a kaiju.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

LegendZilla wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:59 pm I miss the days in which Ultras would viciously dismember a kaiju.
Here here.
Spoiler:
Image
Last edited by Major sssspielberg! on Tue May 25, 2021 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:05 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:59 pm I miss the days in which Ultras would viciously dismember a kaiju.
Here here.
Spoiler:
Image
That was back in the Showa era. Sadly they would never do anything like that nowadays.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Cryptid_Liker »

LegendZilla wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 3:18 pm
Major sssspielberg! wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:05 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 7:59 pm I miss the days in which Ultras would viciously dismember a kaiju.
Here here.
Spoiler:
Image
That was back in the Showa era. Sadly they would never do anything like that nowadays.
At least, we got a bit of a taste with Baraba's death in Z.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Just something I noticed, the Ace suit is really bad. Every time it ends up in the water you can see the paint washing off. There's also often noticeable cracks and breaks in the suit. I have not noticed that in any of the other Showa series so far, at least not to the extent it happens in Leo.
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Angilasman
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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Angilasman »

I'm kinda amazed the original Ultraman often looks so sleek and perfect, because maintaining the suits seemed to get really spotty a few years later!

Jack is interesting, because his suit gets these subtle cracks and wear that look organic. I'd intentionally try to put that into a design if I were making an Ultraman movie - more detail needed because of the big screen presentation!

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

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Angilasman wrote: Sun May 30, 2021 10:52 am I'm kinda amazed the original Ultraman often looks so sleek and perfect, because maintaining the suits seemed to get really spotty a few years later!
Well, they did go through three suits over the course of the series. As far as I know, the subsequent shows always made one suit last their entire run (though I m open to correction).
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Ace" thread

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Ace's bodysuit looks to have more foam rubber involved than Ultraman, Seven, Jack or Taro, for instance.
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