TK's Official Ultraman 80 Thread

[gvamp]

I saw we didn't have a thread yet for Ultraman 80 so I figured I'd create one.

I just finished this show tonight and thought it was really well done. I think its my new favorite Ultra show for the Showa era. The monster designs were cool, the overall story was very engaging.

The only thing I didn't like is not even half way through the serious they dropped the whole school teacher thing for Yamato, I wish they would have explained that better. Other than that it was a very excellent show.

[o.supreme]

I finished a couple weeks ago. It's interesting to see, in just the 5 years in between Leo and 80 some of the advancements, and a couple missteps as well. Most of the Monster suits look really great (Although Gomora II looked bad IMHO, which was a shame), but there was defintely a bit of Super Sentai influence among some of the villains/aliens and that is ok. Also the visual effects were neat. As much as I love the original Ultraman, it seems aside from practical flame, and missiles, every on screen effect was just a variant of Godzilla's nuclear breath. In 80, the various beams and lasers have a wide variety of looks to them.

I was also a bit shocked that they killed off Emi so close to the series end. I don't think it was necessary, I mean both she and Ryoko/Yullian could have been there together , also Yullian only being in 2 episodes was a bit odd, I thought she would have been in more episodes based on appearances since. I defintely enjoyed it overall though, and glad Mebius took the time some 25 years later to bring closure to that School Arc with Yamato/80.

And with that...the showa era is officially complete (well except for Andro Melos which I don't think we will ever get a release of).

[gvamp]

Good to know about Mebius finishing off the Ultraman 80 arc. I just thought it was kind of odd they dropped it completely. I figured that they were going to take a few breaks from the school kids but then they never came. The closest we got was the UGM meteorologist who looked like Non-Chan from school.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Maaaan how good is the episode with Red Rose? As much as I wish they hung on to the school aspect (obviously) I feel like the show also really catches a stride a few episodes before the school disappears.
I will say this show has the most impressive sfx since Ultraseven.

[Lecontinentperdu]

I'm planning to start 80 today

[Lecontinentperdu]

Sixteen episodes in and that is a great show. I loved the school aspect but it was awkward to see our Ultra of the year having not one, but two jobs. I would have loved if, for once, he wasn't in the defense team. But the compromise was hard to sustain so i get why they moved on. Kaiju wise, it's great, cinematography is good (even if they abuse of night scenery early on just to show off they "electronics glow in the dark" toys). Miniature works are neat, especially UGM HQ and their planes, way above the goofiness of post-7. Evrything else si "same old", but nicely done. It ranks with RoU to me so far, on par with the anime.

[eabaker]

I'm 23 episodes into this show. While it doesn't have a lot of high-high episodes, it maintains a pretty consistent quality.

I am really bummed that they dropped the school element, as it served to set the show/character apart from other Ultras, and it was really a great lens for exploring the show's themes. That said, expanding the UGM cast and going a little deeper with them has enriched that side of the show enormously, so it's not like we didn't get anything out of the trade-off.

I'd say it was a pleasant surprise to see Masaaki Daimon added to the main cast, except he was such a bland character in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, there was nothing either pleasant or unpleasant about seeing him show up here. What has been a pleasant surprise is that he's actually compelling on Ultraman 80! It makes me wish he'd had more to do in Terror of Mechagodzilla.

[o.supreme]

I like Ultraman 80 for a variety of reasons,part of it is nostalgia though because of seeing an episode of the show probably around 1982, and blowing my young mind that there was more than one Ultraman . But also I see it as a transition of sorts.

Obviously the 9 year gap between Terror of MG, and RoG shows a huge difference in how SFX in a Kaiju film could be developed. 80 makes me think "what if" as it was the middle ground,and what an early 80s Godzilla film might have looked like.

[Angilasman]

I watched half of 80 when I first got the set, then took a break to watch the 90 shows, and just recently got back to 80 and finished the series.

I mean, it's obviously a lesser series, but I still enjoyed it. The lead actor being charming and the fact that the sets and monster costumes tend to be very impressive throughout helps a lot. Those practical effects are especially nice considering how
barebones and shoddy the builds of these things got during the 70s, and it's cool that several the staff ended up being important artists and technicians in the next generation of tokusatsu. The strongest the series is is at the beginning with its original status quo, although watching the man be both a full-time teacher and defense team member (and Ultraman) was anxiety inducing (man needs some sleep!). Once the series reboots it isn't as strong, but it's funny how several of the best episodes later on in the series are thematically similar to the early episodes, with the monster being representative of some kid's personal drama. Although now that he's not a teacher our hero, for plot reasons, inexplicably is on a first name basis with every kid in Tokyo!