Topic: I was actually jonesing for Ultraman Moebius

[TheouAegis]

I've been working on downloading Ultraman Tiga. It had fewer dorks. I figured I'd like it. Nowhere near the low-brow comedy that Ultraman Moebius had. Adjutant Toriyama just annoyed the hell out of me; he was like Bulk & Skull all rolled up into one. And Mirai (Moebius' human form) was so unbearably dorky and a horrible actor. Watching him was almost unbearable. George was... awkward to watch. Japanese soccer player. Okay that's cool. He's a Spanish-freak. ... Okay... Marina was cool. I love Marina. She makes the show bearable. Captain Sakomizu, too; he's a bit too passive for a captain, but his character was acted out soooo well. And Deputy Inspector General Misaki was beautiful....... Teppei reminded me a lot of Billy from Power Rangers, in a way.

And that's the thing. Ultraman Moebius just reminds me so much of Power Rangers. It has that dorky, corny feel to it. The plot sometimes is just mind-numbingly immature. When I watched the first 12 or so episodes of Ultraman Moebius, I asked how any adult could even stand to sit through such a show, let alone enjoy it. Everything's so cliche and, well, stupid. Just like Power Rangers.

So why was it while I was watching Ultraman Tiga this weekend, I had a strong desire to continue Ultraman Moebius instead? Why didn't Ultraman Tiga captivate me? It was more mature. In many ways, I felt it was better written. But I was actually jonesing for more Ultraman Moebius, even though part of my brain tried to remind me how much I hate Mirai and Adjutant Toriyama.

Watching the next episode of Ultraman Moebius was maybe like how a nicotine addict feels after the first puff on a cig after trying to quit cold-turkey. I felt a kind of relief and an odd sense of happiness and completeness while watching it, feelings never present when watching Ultraman Tiga. It was then I understood -- maybe it was an epiphany -- why I like Ultraman Moebius so much. Not only that, I understood what made Power Rangers (at least pre-White Ranger -- Green Ranger saga ruled!) so entertaining for me, even though it was 1000x more retarded than Adjutant Toriyama on the whole. It was precisely because of stupid characters like Mirai and Toriyama and George -- and Bulk & Skull -- that Ultraman Moebius (and Power Rangers) was so captivating and entertaining. Such characters provide a dichotomy in the show.

While the Power Rangers themselves weren't all that entertaining, Bulk & Skull added peaks of excitement to the non-combat scenes. Tommy would have been forgettable if Bulk & Skull hadn't distracted your attention just enough to make Tommy's sinister side all the more memorable.

Adjutant Toriyama, George's butchered Spanish, and Mirai's dorkiness contrasted with all of Marina's and Konomi's personal conflicts. Mirai's personality contrasts with Ryuu's and this works really well in later episodes when their camaraderie was strained. It's this constant see-sawing of emotions and personalities that make shows like Ultraman Moebius and Power Rangers (old) so much more captivating than similar shows. (Remember Beetleborgs? No, I mean do you actually remember it? Probably not.)

And then there's just the whole script in general for Ultraman Moebius. Like near the end of Season 1 (or was it 2? I dunno where the breaks are) with the scientist trolling everyone. (And the one line I never thought I'd hear in a children's show: "My first time was worse than I imagined.") And the episode(s) when Moebius gets recalled and says his goodbyes to the crew of GUYS without actually telling them he's leaving, and when Ryuu finds out he goes off on him. Oh my god, that arc had me bawling my eyes out (won't spoil it for anyone else).

And then there's this episode which I just watched. Seriously heavy shit I don't think you'd find on a U.S. kids' TV show these days, not at this level at least:

Ultraman Mebius - Episode 32


Oh yeah. The other reason I couldn't stay away from Ultraman Moebius. OH MY GOD I FUCKING LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! I sing along with the intro ALL THE TIME! I was singing along by episode 2, even!

[Gunlord]

Another toku fan? :thumbsup:

[Neobelmont]

Another toku fan? :thumbsup:

There are a number of toku fans here gunlord. I tend to like the old school kamen riders like rx and shin and some of the new ones like ryuki, kugga, agito, sentai like zyuranger and liveman, and even some metal heros like B-fighters

[Lelygax]

I like Ultraman Tiga (maybe because I like serious Toku too, like Kamen Rider, Jiraya, Jaspion, etc.).

[Shiroi Koumori]

Moebius started badly with me. I was in Japan then when it was first shown and i had no idea that it would be eating Gundam Seed Destiny's timeslot. That gundam is not that great but I was like, what? They inserted an ultraman show. Well, since i had nothing to do, i just watched it for a few episodes then i did not care anymore.

[TheouAegis]

Season 2 (or is it 3 and 4?) picks up. Mirai isn't quite as dorky. Mirai's defeat at the end of season 1 and his going against Ultra Father marked a semi-drastic change in tone of the show. There still were some really corny episodes, but they were enjoyable.

I liked episode 39 ("Muteki no Mama" or "Invincible Mom") even though it was really corny because it took the focus off of Mebius and Crew GUYS, putting it on the lunch lady Hinode (who never appeared before then). Also, Hinode is a milf, IMHO. Furthermore, she looks fucking badass in Serpent Alien armor.


And then there was episode 41. I must have had habanero pepper residue still on my fingers when I rubbed my eye while watching that episode...

(click to show/hide)

It was a tribute episode to Ultraman 80. I know the Ultra series has had kaiju babies, but this was the first time I've seen a kaiju cry. It was a melancholic episode. The school from Ultraman 80 was going to be shut down and consolidated with another school in the district. Two of the former students (now adults) visit the school and meet with one of their classmates who became a teacher there. The three decide to host a class reunion at the school and while they're planning it Mirai passes by investigating some Minus Energy readings on the school grounds. They ask him to try to send a message to Yamato Takeshi (assuming because Mirai is part of GUYS he'd have access to UGM records), who was Ultraman 80's human alternate. Mebius tells 80 his students would like him to show up at the reunion, but 80 declines, ashamed that he was unable to counter Minus Energy. The alumni hold their party, reuniting some of the original cast from "Ultraman 80". Just then the school building itself emits high levels of Minus Energy, causing the monster Hoh to appear. Mebius attacks Hoh, who is actually excited to see an Ultraman but is then disappointed that it's Mebius. Ryuu shoots Hoh but the attack passes right through; only Mebius can harm Hoh for some reason. Hoh soon pins Mebius to the ground, pummeling him repeatedly... WITH TEARS. Suddenly 80 appears and throws Hoh off of Mebius. Hoh is excited to see 80 and lets 80 blast him to smithereens without ever putting up a fight. The alumni cheer for 80 and then thank him for all their teacher had done for them. 80 flies off then returns to the school as Mr. Yamato. Mebius realizes Hoh was really just a ploy (by the school building itself) to get 80 to come back to Earth for a day.

[Lelygax]

Wow, I need to check it some day, its something that I never expected to happen.

[TheouAegis]

I fall asleep through Ultraman Tiga, but I have to admit it has its charm at times. It is much more serious. Hell, episode 15 I was like, "What the fuck? You can't kill her fiance off like that! That's a douchebag move right there!" And Kagetatsu, the samurai, was funny but a bit much for a family show.

"I didn't slice to cut."
"BUT HE'S BLEEDING!"

That was funny. And the Sukuna Monster was kinda creepy. I know Ultraman has had graphic death scenes, but man cutting off heads is a bit much for me.

But even though Tiga bores me to sleep, it has little moments that make it fun to watch. Like how Daigo broke his arm and for the next two episodes whenever he turned into Tiga he'd check his hand to make sure it's okay. The first time he fought with a broken hand he was like, "Oh wow! It's fine!"

But then you have moments where people aren't scared about aliens. The boxer trying to fight an alien. And the other alien staying in an old woman's house.

"You're a Standelan? Never heard of that. I've heard of Americans and French..."

But the show is just too rushed at times. Scenes skip around. You expect a scene to build up to something then suddently it's at another scene. Then before that scene even has anything happen, you're at another scene again. That really bugs me about Ultraman Tiga. And the climaxes aren't climactic. Most of the episodes are just ... They build up, up, up and then nothing. I think over all it's just a poorly made show. While Ultraman Moebius is retarded, it has better scripting and/or directing. I like the comedy in Tigra more than the comedy in Mebius, but Moebius is just the better show.

[TheouAegis]

Okay, I've been getting into Tiga a little bit more lately. Horii is loveable. I thought he was stupid at first, but as the series went on I started to like his character more. It's simple enough -- wholesome, pure-hearted scientist. I think after his friend died I my feelings for him changed; I accepted him out of pity. Then Daigo and Rena hooked up and I think their romance added to the show considerably. Captain Megumi always seems bland, but the backstory about having to abandon her son with his grandmother so she can focus on her job whilst the son still admired her was nice.

But what the fuck man?! Episode 32 (I think it was 32) was the most depressing Ultraman episode I've seen by far! Obiko was depressing enough as it was, but at least it had funny moments and plenty of moments to make you smile. Episode 32 was just plain depressing from start to finish, though. The scientist is dying from exposure to the gas he's researching, but he's determined to continue on trying to find a method to safely dispose of the gas he once researched as a means of clean power. He does this out of a sense of obligation after a vial of the gas broke open and the volatile reaction immolated his house and killed his daughter. The explosion irradiated the daughter's pet cockatiel, which mutated into a monster and went into morose hibernation, thinking always of the final moments with the girl when she saved it from the fire. Yes, it's another episode with a crying monster. The monster bird suddenly comes out of hibernation and makes its way to where the rest of the gas is stored. The scientist warns if the bird reaches the gas, the results would be catastrophic, wiping out most of Japan. GUTS and Tiga are unable to stop the bird but a fatal shot from the GUTS Winger slows the creature enough for the scientist to get into the storage center and retrieve the gas. Before the scientist can flee, the bird approaches him and readies an attack, but instead of attacking it creates a sort of tractor beam. The scientist and GUTS members realize the bird was simply trying to help get rid of the gas. With his dying breath, the scientist hands the vials over to the bird and collapses on the ground dead. Tiga and the GUTS crew then attach cables to the bird and escort it safely out of Earth's atmosphere, where it turns into a golden cockatiel and flies off into the distance.

Seriously, the whole entire fucking episode I was depressed. I wasn't really sad, just depressed. There wasn't one single fucking happy moment in the entire episode. The whole time I was just sitting there thinking, "Oh my god this is the most depressing episode I've seen. Somebody tell a joke or something!"

[TheouAegis]

So I finally watched all of Ultraman Tiga, including the movies. I didn't particularly care for Final Odyssey, it was a bit cheesy for me. Rena's a cutie, though and Final Odyssey gave her a lot of screen time, so I was happy.

And Captain Iruma is pretty hot too.

I ended up deleting most of the first season from my comp, but conversely kept most of the second season. The story improved and I was actually drawn in more by Rena's and Daigo's romance. I grew to despise Shinjou and with each episode Horii became more loveable. I was happy when he got married. Compared to, say, Mirai, I found Daigo to be one of the more likeable Ultras. He wasn't too corny and I thought his actor was pretty good. Other than Shinjou, I also couldn't stand Yazumi because of his voice and Professor Tango because he was just so damned annoying. For the most part I liked the rest of the main cast. I'm kinda too scared to watch the 4Kids version. I mean, the show wasn't really FOR KIDS, it had a lot of adult stuff. And the actresses are gorgeous nude models too!