Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

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

Post by eabaker »

Yeah, as I recall, the Mill Creek Ace set called him "Shin Man" in the subs, but by taro they'd switched it to "Jack."
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by o.supreme »

Just watched episodes 38 & 39. Pretty crazy to see a mini Ultraman civil-war going on, but it was something new for the time. Also now that we live in the time of deconstructing pop culture heroes, and it's almost the norm that they fight, there was a LOT of uncomfortable scenes in these two episodes. I never understood, even when the heroes DO stop to converse and reason, they resort to violence anyway. It's why i NVER understood the whole concept of Batman v Superman. Even if one of them was being coerced, you'd think there would be a conversation first, and reasoning, but oh well. The Ultra Brothers going straight to "We have to Kill Astra" was a tough pill to swallow. Also, I know Barbarue was supposed to be a major threat, but because he has become a comedy-relief character in recent Ultra series, it was difficult to take him seriously.

The speed with which the status quo is restored is a little jarring, especially in a series where we see Dan going through a lot, and there seems to be a progressive story him (I assume) getting his ability to turn back into Ultraseven restored at some point. This show is a mixed bag for me. I love the tone as opposed to Taro, but it just goes to all sorts of odd extremes at times. Also it appears, in the tradition of the original Ultraman, that every series has a pretty critical set of episodes around 38,39,40 etc.... I know they worked on 13 episode cycles, and this would be the end of the 3rd. But more often than not it seems like the writers of these shows only had 39 episodes planned, and then they end up going for a whole year, and the last 12-13 always feel haphazard, and the endings kind of lackluster (although I'll say Ultraseven's was satisfying). The Original Ultraman had pretty much the perfect ending. Jack,Ace, and Taro were all just meh... I guess we will see if Leo can stick it's landing when I get to it....


Also, speaking of Taro...where was he in these episodes???
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by eabaker »

o.supreme wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:25 am Also, speaking of Taro...where was he in these episodes???
Kotaro had vowed never to become Taro again. Since Taro's series had established that Taro and Kotaro actually were the same entity- not two characters sharing a life force - it wouldn't have made sense for him to return. His reappearing at all later was really facilitated by the ret-con of his origin in the Ultraman Story movie, but apparently the reason Kotaro has never returned is that Saburo Shinoda insists on respecting his character's decision.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by o.supreme »

Hmmm...I'll have to rewatch the last episode of Taro. I know that Kotaro vowed never to become Taro again, however I thought then that Mother of Ultra had Taro "Reborn" as his own person, seperate form Kotaro (and I've not seen The Ultraman Story yet, I want to, but can't find a fully english subbed version online).

I figured that was the main reason why in Taro's later appearances, he never reverted to human form, although the definition has been retconned a bit as you said. Hayata was clearly separate from Ultraman, but in later appearances, Ultraman appears as Hayata often. There's also cases like Zoffy and Ultraman Zero that have had multiple human hosts. Though I fear that would not go well for Taro fans, unless the original actor, Saburo Shinoda made an exception.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Saturndusk »

I think Shinoda has also said there was a point he would have been more open to returning for an appearance but it’s more off the table now because he wants people to remember Kotaro with his youthfulness and demeanor.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by gvamp »

Just finished off the series tonight. I have mixed feelings on it. I thought the first 16 episodes where kind of dull and repetitive i.e. Dan acts like a dick to Gen, Gen trains to get a new "skill" then defeats the monster/alien of the week. I really enjoyed the horror themed episodes then the series stayed decent for awhile. Then near the end of the series it felt repetitive but then the pacing picked back up. Overall its a decent series, the beginning episodes bring down my enjoyment of the show.

Not counting Ultra Q if I had to rate the Showa era so far it'd be this for me:

1. Return of Ultraman
2. Ultraman Taro
3. Ultraman
4.Ultraman Ace
5.Ultraman Leo
6.Ultraseven
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by o.supreme »

So I didn't want to do a write up for every episode but wow!, After episode 39, episode 40 takes a big swing. They kill off ALL of Mac, (except Gen of course), and all of Gen's friends, except the one young boy in the first half of the episode. They introduce a new enemy, Commander Black, who killed a TON of people with his new saucer Monster. I'm thinking they really should have just stopped at 39 episodes, because it's apparent they made all these cuts for budgetary reasons. Gen and the little kid go to live with some random nurse they met during the disaster, and after the commercial break, it's "Hey this is our new life all is good"....... whatthewhat????

Also, I cheated and read ahead wanting to know how Dan/Seven comes back (remember Jack took the Ultra Eye back to M78 in hopes of repairing it)...you think they are going to circle back around to that right?? NOPE. Dan/Seven is DEAD! He only appears in a dream in the last episode....so I wondered how the heck is Seven appearing in later series and movies?

Well apparently, the reason why the 90's Ultraseven OVA's were disconnected from the rest of the franchise was for this very reason, they wanted to ignore later events. But... I guess in a Mebius Novel (so I'm guessing this came out in 2006?) It is explained how Dan/Seven survived the destruction of the MAC Space Station. So for basically 30 years Seven really was dead, until they retconned that... :shock: .
Last edited by o.supreme on Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by StreamOfKaijuness »

I’m really liking Ultraman Leo. The martial-arts genre influence and the darker, grimmer tone are a nice change of pace from the shows that preceded it.

All I knew before I began watching was that this was the last show before the Ultra franchise went on hiatus and that TPC ran out of money to make this series before it was over. I also knew that Koji Moritsugu was part of the main cast reprising his role of Dan Moroboshi as the captain of the new defense team.

What I didn’t know was that Dan/Seven would lose the ability to transform back into his natural red-and-silver form in the first episode of Leo. I didn’t know that Leo’s human alter ego Gen Otori was not an existing human with whom Leo merged but rather a transformed disguise of Leo himself, like Dan/Seven and unlike the other Ultras of the classic shows. I also didn’t know that apparently every episode of Leo, based on the nine that I’ve watched so far, involves Dan putting Gen through some ridiculously over-the-top training which he must repeat again and again until he learns the correct way to complete the task, which allows him to then overcome the attacking monster or invading alien.

In the two-parter that opens the series, Gen has to cling to this machine on the ceiling that spins him around in circles at great speed.

In the following two-parter, Gen must train in the woods by performing leaping kicks with his right foot tethered to a tree, then he has to figure out the proper way to punch a waterfall before he can go into battle.

In episode 5 (Don’t Cry! You’re a Man), Dan arranges to have a bizarre machine installed at the dojo so that Gen can train overnight by dodging and countering the machine’s huge, bobbing metal claws.

In episode 6 (You’re a Man! Get Fired Up!), two large logs with pointed ends swing back and forth by ropes tied to trees, pummeling Gen as he counters them, much to the alarm of his friends who try to stop him as they wonder if MAC officers really have to do this.

In episode 7 (A Beautiful Man’s Will), Dan hurls boomerangs at Gen’s face over and over again, bloodying him up so he can learn how to take on the blades of the monster Kendoros.

It just keeps going like that. Seriously, it’s as if every episode of this show was made in the mold of Return of Ultraman episode 4 (Fatal Attack! Meteor Kick), when Ultraman initially lost to Kingsaurus III in battle and Go then spent the episode training for their rematch.

Maybe things will change up? Maybe they'll stay exactly like this? Either way I look forward to watching more and seeing the production values dwindle. I know that the Ultra brothers sans Taro are supposed to appear later in the series. I think it's cool that Leo comes from somewhere far away from Nebula M78.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Cryptid_Liker »

The training formula lasts about as long as the first intro. As soon as that goes, expect more plot variety.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by o.supreme »

Leo was pretty good overall, but I'd like to know what the heck happened with the last arc? Was it production issue based, or did they really just want to shake things up? Kind of unfortunate that Commander Black literally was wash/rinse/repeat for 12 episodes. Then the kids get him :lol: . Oddly enough, Leo ends similarly to Taro, with the exception of the fact that Gen doesn't give up being Leo, he just goes off to see the world, It is nice to know he appears in later series/films.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by MaxRebo320 »

o.supreme wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 12:17 pm Leo was pretty good overall, but I'd like to know what the heck happened with the last arc? Was it production issue based, or did they really just want to shake things up?
From what I've read, it was a mixture of it all - budgetary reasons (in part due to dwindling ratings),
Spoiler:
Kaoru's actress Miina Tominaga needing to leave the program due to her falling school grades (!)
and just an attempt to shake things up.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Megalon-5 »

o.supreme wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:17 am Also, I cheated and read ahead wanting to know how Dan/Seven comes back (remember Jack took the Ultra Eye back to M78 in hopes of repairing it)...you think they are going to circle back around to that right?? NOPE. Dan/Seven is DEAD! He only appears in a dream in the last episode....so I wondered how the heck is Seven appearing in later series and movies?

Well apparently, the reason why the 90's Ultraseven OVA's were disconnected from the rest of the franchise was for this very reason, they wanted to ignore later events. But... I guess in a Mebius Novel (so I'm guessing this came out in 2006?) It is explained how Dan/Seven survived the destruction of the MAC Space Station. So for basically 30 years Seven really was dead, until they retconned that...
There was also the Mamoru Uchiyama Andro Melos manga which was considered canon at the time that revived Seven and the other brothers at the end of the Jackal arc, but then wasn't canon, which leaves us in a period where up until Mebius, Seven is either dead or alive. That being said, with Melos, Fightas and Aura being mentioned in one of the recent Z voice dramas, I'm under the impression that Uchiyama's stuff might be considered canon again.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

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Spoiler:
Regardless of how exactly his revival occurred, I guess its safe to assume that being an Ultra, Dan was able to survive just drifting in space for a while, until eventually being recovered by his brethren. Pretty frightening concept, really.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by o.supreme »

Well, having just watched Ultra Galaxy, and seeing what happened to Ultraman at the end. I guess they may truly be *immortal*. I mean has an Ultraman ever truly died? They've been defeated, stripped of their powers, literally ripped limb-from-limb (Taro & Leo), turned to statues, gone into hibernation for thousands of years etc...but they always get a do-over from Ultra Mother, Father, or King 8-) . It doesn't make the franchise any less fun, but I think it would be actually kind of shocking now if an Ultraman did die.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Leo was a very mixed bag. The mythology series wasn't as good as Ace's horror series, Taro had much better character stuff, and the twist in the last arc was done better in Return of Ultraman.
However, Leo had the best "lore" episodes with Astra and the Ultra Key. I actually liked the first batch of episodes.
If I had to rank Showa Ultraman so far:
Ultraman
Return of Ultraman
Ultraseven
Ultraman Taro
Ultraman Leo
Ultraman Ace

Safe to say Jack is the undisputed king of the 70s.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by eabaker »

I just got through the first flat-out comedic episode of the series. I half expected them to kill Officer Sato off towards the end, just to keep with the show's terrible cruelty towards kind people, but was pleased that they actually let the tone stay light all the way through the end. I was a little disappointed that they didn't keep Sato around; I can imagine him being an amusing supporting player, in the Ide mold. It would have been a weird fit for the show, but possibly a nice counter-balance to all the grimdark.
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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by StreamOfKaijuness »

I’ve watched through episode 39 of Ultraman Leo and this show is insane!

A Man Covered In Mud (ep.11) presents a villainous alien without any introduction or context. After the opening scene in the dojo, the second scene of the episode is just the MAC officers chasing Alien Kettle on foot at a construction site.

The Adventure Boy Arrives (ep.12) plays like an unused script from Ultraman Taro with a similar live-action cartoon vibe.

After Return of Ultraman’s 2-episode Winter Horror Series in January 1972, Ace followed that up with a 3-episode Summer Horror Series in July 1972 and then a 3-episode Winter Horror Series in January 1973. Taro didn’t feature any Horror Series of episodes but Leo brought that tradition back with a 5-episode Ultra Horror Series in August 1974 (eps.17-21). This is where Leo’s lower-grade production values really become glaring, as the Alien Wolf in The Werewolf’s Bride and the bat monster Batton in Vampire! Bat Girl look like the kind of cheap creature costumes that were prevalent on Kamen Rider.

The Beautiful Virgo Maiden (ep.24) is a thought-provoking episode, and it guest-stars Hideyo Amamoto as the Alien Sarlin.

Building on Taro’s four consecutive episodes that were based on Japanese nursery songs, Leo offers up seven episodes based on Japanese folklore (eps.26-32) which are among the craziest that I’ve seen so far. Fated Reunion! Dan and Anne features the return of Yuriko Hishimi as Anne from UltraSeven, while Monster’s Return of Favor has Susumu Kurobe playing a new character rather than reprising Hayata from Ultraman.

The Ultra Brothers’ Eternal Vow (ep.34) features Jiro Dan reprising his role as Hideki Go from Return of Ultraman in a fun crossover adventure.

Episodes 38 & 39 close the series’ third cours with a two-part showdown between the Leo brothers and the Ultra brothers. These are inspired episodes with a creative story.

Now it’s time for me to start the series’ fourth cours, The Terrifying Saucer Creature Series that makes up the final 12 episodes. This quote from Akira Tsuburaya from page 115 of Stuart Galbraith’s book Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! makes me very interested to see how this show wraps up:

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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by LegendZilla »

I think it could've helped a lot if Gen Otori started out selfish, arrogant and rude, giving a reason for Dan to act the way he did towards him. Over time, both develop a mutual respect towards each other.

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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Lecontinentperdu »

I must confess an Ultraman fatigue, right now.

Just finished the first disc of Leo, and it's becoming quite tiresome (as a whole, it being the seventh series for me in a row).

The tone, the sparks between Gen and Dan, the martial arts theme are nice. It brings something new on the table, like Minami in Ace (that didn't live long) or the "family situation" in RoU (that didn't live *kof kof* that long either). So I guess it will stop at some point.
Trouble is: it's new, it's good, but it should be done once in a while.

Ultraman is repetitive. But the tone, the subject, the development can change from episode to another: slapstick, morality (with kids), horror, space fantasy, folklore, pure science-fiction, romantic drama... It all depends on where do the kaiju / seijin come from, what does it want and what does it does to people.

And here is the trouble since Ace and it's awful Yapool (those chojus were ugly and random for the most part, and Taro followed that style): now, monsters are there and are mean, just because (most of the time). So on a drama level, it's quite minimalistic. In the great First Four (from Q to RoU), we could still see the Twilight zone heritage, a good middle point somewhere between anthology series and formulaic series.

Since Ace, things seems to be done the easy way, because they crammed to much episodes in a season, and the seasons were back to back.
Miniatures are still great, some of the action too (like POV shots in planes), but the direction is less polished and inventive than before. Just see the infamous banned UltraSeven: great Jissoji magic, and he was not the only one to bring style to the show.

From Ace and on, it doesn't seem much better than your average cheap 70's/80's tokusatsu. And I don't like cheap toku that much. Super sentai, San ku kai and space sheriffs bored me to tears when I was young (only exception being the wonderful X-Bomber, but it's supermarionation), and still are: not enough artistic value and production value. Maybe that Ultra series was still top tier at the time, but I won't delve in toku kingdom to find out.

So I will go through Leo. But I don't know if I want to go further. 90's toku on video and early CGI don't appeal to me. And what seemed groundbreaking in 1966 can't be as groundbreaking in 1996. 30 years later! That's something... (yes, you could figure that my big question is: Tiga and co or not??)

So my top right now:

Ultra Q (gorgeous 35 mm B&W, quite interesting ideas that will flourish)
UltraSeven (great production design, good action, a real background with characters and organisation that seems more plausible than "dudes in a room", wonderful foes)
Ultraman (short, quite innovative, some poetry on the way)
.
Return of Ultraman (great mix of the first three + Ultra mythology. Not the best, but if you want to see only one, it should be that one)
.
.
.
Ace (I loved the dynamic duo, i did not love the chojus. Guess who went to diner letting me there? And by that show it became clear that planes were HIGHLY expendables)
Leo (so far, a nice change, if repetitive by itself. Kaijus are still rather generic, though)
Taro (the one thing that blew my mind served no purpose: the tower base. And those vehicles / uniforms... WHYYYYYYY????)

Of course, I love all those shows anyway ;)

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Re: Official "Ultraman Leo" thread

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

I have a question regarding Dan's role (spoiler tagged for those who haven't finished the show)
Spoiler:
have they ever explained how Dan comes back after being exploded into space dust?
I guess it doesn't really need an explanation, but uh... Where Leo leaves him vs picking up with Cowboy Dan in Mebius does pique my curiosity.
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