TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

For the discussion of any Ultraman related shows, movies, comics, video games, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
gvamp
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5707
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:54 pm
Location: Michigan

TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by gvamp »

Didn't see an existing thread for the first Animated Ultra show so I figured I'd create one.

I broke down and decided to get a trial to Toku via Amazon and watch the first episode today. Personally I didn't really care for it so I'm going to give a few more episodes a watch before making a final judgement One positive thing I'll say about the show is that the animation was amazing but other than that I didn't like the design for the first monster Jonias fights. Looked like a generic dinosaur with tusks.
Proud owner of a Xbox Series X, Switch OLED and PS5.

PC Specs
CPU: Intel i9 10900k, Motherboard: MSI Gaming Carbon Wi-Fi, Case: Corsair 4000D airflow, RAM: G.Skill DDR4 32GB (16GBx2), GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3080 Ti Vision, Storage: WD SN750 1TB, Mouse and Keyboard: Logitech G502 Lightspeed Mouse and Logitech G905 Keyboard.

User avatar
Cryptid_Liker
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5794
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 8:53 am

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by Cryptid_Liker »

Ah yes, Joneus. I wish he didn’t look so bad in the live-action suit but he looks really good animated. The kaiju are mixed bag for me. Some are really good some are mediocre and some are really Hanna Barbara-esque. I like the character sesigb though

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

The☆Ultraman

Post by o.supreme »

I figure now that The☆Ultraman is available on DVD in north America, we can start a thread of this series as well.

I am 2 discs in an really loving it!. After watching and owning the 2 VHS compilations for decades:ImageImage

It feels like I've found lost treasure. I understand that in animation, a lot more can be done because of it's versatility, but I find the great variety in the types of kaiju to be refreshing, also Joneius power set is pretty cool as well, and his fighting style is downright brutal! I cant wait to get into the later episodes with the Heller Empire and finally have it come full circle.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by o.supreme »

Just passed the halfway point. I am REALLY enjoying this series. The monster designs are pretty cool, and the fights look amazing in animation. Seeing some classic kaiju like Baltan look amazing! Red King was a little goofy but more on that in a bit...

I know some of the live action series changed cast members because of real life issues (didn't want to be in this show anymore, written out etc...), so it just seemed an odd choice to change the commander part way through on this animated one.

Just watched #27 "The Island of Monsters" episode. I knew Red King, Banilla and Aboras were in it, but I had no idea the other 3 were monsters from Return of Ultraman, their designs were wildly different.

About the subs, the reason why I again point out episode #27 is this was where I saw a significant drop off. The subs until now had been pretty good. Just a few minor errors, but #27 was just bad. Hopefully the rest of the episode translations are not as bad. Also about the DVD set. It's nice we got a booklet, but the synopsis are shorter, and each page is not tied to a specific disk as it was with previous sets. Also no monster encyclopedia. I mean I have 2 Ultraman books that have complete monster rosters and episode synopsis for every series, but they are all in Japanese. At least Ultraman 80 names each monster in its actual episode on screen, but for Joneus, I have to look most of them up on the Ultraman Wiki.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
LegendZilla
Sazer
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:57 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by LegendZilla »

One aspect I find interesting about anime from this show’s era is that more often than not, it was usually done with a bit of a western look to it. I mean when you look at a still image from a series such as this, you could easily mistake it for a western cartoon from the same era. This must be largely due to the fact that most American media companies at the time outsourced their animation production overseas in Japan as the case with Transformers, GI Joe, Inspector Gadget and the list goes on.

At times, the animation style in the series itself gives off a strong Hanna Barbera-vibe. I very much prefer the late 70’s/early 80’s anime look than anything done today. Makes me wish it had a revival.

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by Terasawa »

I couldn't disagree more. This looks very much like a typical late '70s anime -- Amia especially looks like she was lifted directly from a Leiji Matsumoto anime.
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by o.supreme »

Going to try to bridge the gulf here by starting with this statement:
LegendZilla wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:43 pm I very much prefer the late 70’s/early 80’s anime look than anything done today. Makes me wish it had a revival.
I agree. I love 70's ang 80's anime the best. The 90's is pretty great also, but anything 2000 and beyond I am very selective about. My first exposure to anime as a very small child was via Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets in the very early 1980's. Both were western edits of 70's anime. I love this era of Anime and The Ultraman fits right in, as Terasawa stated.

Where the disconnect may be is in the era's and animation companies behind the comparisons. 70's Hanna-Barbara was just bad, even some shows I have a nostalgia for just dont look good
Following the initial 1973 Super Friends TV series on ABC, the show returned to production in 1976, remaining on ABC through 1986 with continuations such as The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Super Friends, and The World's Greatest Super Friends. Hanna-Barbera's other 1970s series included Harlem Globetrotters, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, The Roman Holidays, Sealab 2020, Jeannie, The Addams Family, Partridge Family 2200 A.D., These Are The Days, Valley of the Dinosaurs, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, CB Bears, The Robonic Stooges, The All New Popeye Hour, Godzilla, Buford and the Galloping Ghost and Jana of the Jungle.
However LATER in the early to mid 80's other U.S. Animation studios such as Marvel/Sunbow, Ruby Spears, and Rankin Bass did start to farm out work to some Japanese studios such as Toei, TMS, and AKOM in Korea (just to name a few). Which is why you have a similar aesthetic to shows like Dungeons & Dragons, The Transformers, GI Joe, My Little Pony, Muppet Babies, The Inhumanoids etc... and they may have an ever so slight look of Japanese animation from the 80's, because they were often animated by such studios, but defintely for a western audience.

Basically just in summation, There is a BIG difference between 70's HB and 70's anime, as well as what other American Animation Studios were doing in the 1980's.

Perhaps it is a little ironic however that in 1987 TPC actually chose to partner with HB to produce the film "Ultraman The Adventure begins", which I actually enjoy very much, and has some decent animation for the time.
Last edited by o.supreme on Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by o.supreme »

I've been alternating between watching episodes of The Ultraman in my bedroom, and Ultraman 80 in the living room, but I'm at about episode 40 of each, I'll post about 80 later...

But I've still been enjoying The Ultraman. I'm in the home stretch now, with the last arc of episodes. I do have to admit though that Amia falling in love with Hikari ( the man who is the *host* for her brothers Ultra Form) is a little weird...I mean I know they are 2 separate beings, but still, they are currently sharing the same body... I don't have any siblings, and I know this is total sci-fi territory, but if my wife's mind was somehow *implanted* into my female cousin, or whatever... I don't think I could express my feelings, it would just be too weird. Glad it's just a cartoon ;) .

Also speaking of cartoons, I know fanservice moments in Anime is totaly a commonplace thing, but I was completely unprepared for Mutsumi's shower scene in episode #39 :lol: . I mean in comparison to Go Nagai, and a lot of other 70's anime, Ultraman is very tame when it comes to violence and there hasn't been even a hint of any romantic feelings between Mutsumi and any of her teammates, other than the occasional playful expression. But she was alone, well until the giant evil cat burst in, which Ultraman quickly deflected to another area. Well it will be interesting to see for the first time *properly* how this series comes to a conclusion.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by o.supreme »

Finally finished this series, and nit was quite satisfying. Unfortunately now, I don't think I'll ever watch the English dub of "The Adventures of Ultraman" ever again, because it was such a hack job of randomness. But I guess I wont need to, since I can watch the series proper again any time I wish. The last story arc with Heller was pretty good. Also the Battleship Ultria is now something I really want in a Super Robot Wars game. Heck if SSSS Gridman can get in there, maybe someday The Ultraman can as well 8-) .

So glad t have completed this, and I'll definitely rewatch many episodes in years to come.
Last edited by o.supreme on Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
Mac Daddy MM
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5045
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:27 pm

The Ultraman Thread - Not THAt Ultraman, THE ULTRAMAN - JONIAS!

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

Just got the DVD set from Mill Creek and figured this series is due a thread as well. I still (and will probably forever) spell the hero as "Jonias". I think this is my 3rd time going through the series since originally downloading it years upon years ago. I still like how they used animation to do monsters that just couldn't be done proper in live action, such as Spiral.


Quote of the Year:
plasmabeam wrote: Tue Dec 05, 2023 3:03 am Hear me out on this. What if Godzilla is actually Suko’s father? In GvK when Godzilla defeated Kong and they were roaring at each other, what if Godzilla inseminated Kong at that moment and that’s why they were screaming?

User avatar
Lecontinentperdu
Monsterland Worker
Posts: 155
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:50 am

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by Lecontinentperdu »

That aliasing on the Mill Creek set doesn't bother you ? Or is something wrong with my set up ?
Last edited by Lecontinentperdu on Fri Dec 10, 2021 11:37 am, edited 7 times in total.

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3235
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by o.supreme »

I talked about it quite a bit when it first came out, also there were several Youtube reviews also, around the time of its release. Now granted, I don't have a super-fancy set up, but on an LED 40 inch TV that is about a decade old, played on both a Sony Blu Ray player and a PS4 the presentation of The Ultraman looks fine, not any better/worse than any other DVD I watch at any given time.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
Lecontinentperdu
Monsterland Worker
Posts: 155
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:50 am

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by Lecontinentperdu »

If i could upload a pic I could show you, but I don't know how, I'm that dumb...

mikelcho
EDF Instructor
Posts: 2594
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:23 pm

Re: TK's Official The Ultraman Thread

Post by mikelcho »

o.supreme wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:06 pm Going to try to bridge the gulf here by starting with this statement:
LegendZilla wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:43 pm I very much prefer the late 70’s/early 80’s anime look than anything done today. Makes me wish it had a revival.
I agree. I love '70s and '80s anime the best. The '90s is pretty great also, but anything 2000 and beyond I am very selective about. My first exposure to anime as a very small child was via Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets in the very early 1980s. Both were Western edits of 70s anime. I love this era of anime and The Ultraman fits right in, as Terasawa stated.

Where the disconnect may be is in the eras and animation companies behind the comparisons. '70s Hanna-Barbara was just bad, even some shows I have a nostalgia for just don't look good.
Following the initial 1973 Super Friends TV series on ABC, the show returned to production in 1976, remaining on ABC through 1986 with continuations such as The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Super Friends, and The World's Greatest Super Friends. Hanna-Barbera's other 1970s series included Harlem Globetrotters, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Help!...It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, The Roman Holidays, Sealab 2020, Jeannie, The Addams Family, Partridge Family 2200 A.D., These Are The Days, Valley of the Dinosaurs, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, CB Bears, The Robonic Stooges, The All New Popeye Hour, Godzilla, Buford and the Galloping Ghost and Jana of the Jungle.
However, LATER in the early to mid-'80's, other U.S. animation studios such as Marvel/Sunbow, Ruby-Spears, and Rankin-Bass did start to farm out work to some Japanese studios such as Toei, TMS, and AKOM in Korea (just to name a few). Which is why you have a similar aesthetic to shows like Dungeons & Dragons, The Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Muppet Babies, The Inhumanoids, etc...and they may have an ever so slight look of Japanese animation from the '80s, because they were often animated by such studios, but defintely for a Western audience.

Basically just in summation, there is a BIG difference between '70s HB and '70s anime, as well as what other American animation studios were doing in the 1980s.

Perhaps it is a little ironic, however, that in 1987 TPC actually chose to partner with HB to produce the film "Ultraman: The Adventure Begins", which I actually enjoy very much, and has some decent animation for the time.
I can think of a few other Hanna-Barbera series from around that time period to add to that list:

*Wacky Races,
*Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines,
*The Perils of Penelope Pitstop,
*Yogi's Gang (including the pilot film, Yogi's Ark Lark),
*Yogi's Space Race,
*Galaxy Goof-Ups,
*Hong Kong Phooey,
*Where's Huddles?,
*Clue Club,
*Goober and the Ghost Chasers,
*Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids,
*Funky Phantom,
*Jabberjaw,
*The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan,
*Casper and the Angels,
*Josie and the Pussy Cats,
*Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space.

And did you notice that all the series listed here after Hong Kong Phooey are basically imitations of the first two Scooby-Doo series (i.e., Scooby-Doo, where Are You! and The New Scooby-Doo Movies)?

Oh, btw, Godzilla and Jana of the Jungle were both segments in the same series and Yogi's Space Race, Galaxy Goof-Ups and Buford and the Galloping Ghost were all originally four separate segments of one big series, Yogi's Space Race (i.e., Yogi's Space Race, Galaxy Goof-Ups, The Buford Files and The Galloping Ghost).

One more thing: all of these Hanna-Barbera TV series were on Saturday mornings, except for Wait 'Till Your Father Gets Home and Where's Huddles?, which were actually on prime-time TV, IIRC.
Last edited by mikelcho on Fri Dec 10, 2021 3:42 pm, edited 11 times in total.

Post Reply