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alchemicinkUltraman Arc has sparked my interest lately (and sucked me back into the tokusatsu rabbit hole lol). So, as mentioned in my first Blazar writeup, I wanted to write up some thoughts on this series as we go too. It's my first Ultraman series that I'll be watching weekly as it's airing!
A hodgepodge of semi-coherent spoilery thoughts (and one image) for episodes 1 and 2 below the cut:
Things I loved:
☆ the first episode isn't an origin story! It's apparently been about three months since Arc first appeared, so Yuma isn't a complete novice but he's still getting used to things. I enjoy this set up for the story so we can get that first meeting in a flashback later. It's just a nice change from the norm (I'm burnt out on superhero origin stories at the moment lol. At least this series mixes up the format a little)
☆ easy to follow! As a new person to Ultraman, I appreciate that this story isn't too complicated or confusing. Pretty much everything you need to know about the setting and plot are explained well in episode 1.
☆ the team! Yuma is such a charming and optimistic protagonist. I'm just naturally drawn to those kinds of characters. The Chief and Rin both seem like nice supportive supporting characters. (Loved that moment in episode 1 when Yuma asks the Chief for a boost to get closer to the Monohorn, and he's just like, "uh, okay!" without question 😂) I hope they'll get more moments to shine as the story continues. And Ishido is a nice balance to the others, especially as a newcomer to the team.
☆ COFFEE TIME! (That bit in episode one was so funny 😂)
☆ actually, I just love how fun the whole show is in general. That scene in episode 2 when everyone has to lean over and turn their heads to see the image onscreen was adorably funny.
☆ I love that Arc just sounds like he's a video game character when he fights. (I think this is typical for Ultraman from what I've seen discussed in passing? Either way, I love it.) (I like it more than Blazar's growling thing lol)
☆ the visuals in the fights are quite nice too. I especially enjoyed that our first glimpse of Arc was from the perspective of someone looking up and seeing him looming overhead. And then it was cool to see the big fight in episode 1 framed as a cellphone video! The fight in episode 2 was so fun too. Like, imagine beating a kaiju because you made him sneeze 😂 (Also, sometimes Arc does cartwheels and that cracks me up every time too)
☆ the music! It's all really good (including the opening and ending songs) but I really liked the background music when Leodo wakes up in episode 2. Very ominous.
Things I didn't like as much:
☆ whispering very quietly: Youpi (He's cute but I don't think I'm in the demographic to really enjoy his presence)
☆ they gotta stop filming in front of that one window in the SKIP office that adds so much glare you can't see the person's face anymore 😂
☆ I loved the acknowledgement in episode 2 that they need to build more housing for people affected by kaiju attacks, but I wish we'd gotten to explore that idea a little more!
Serious and not-so-serious questions I hope get answered at some point:
☆ Why has the kaiju activity been increasing the past year in Hoshimoto City? 🤔
☆ How did Yuma get to specialize in "kaiju biology"? Who's teaching that?? 😂
☆ Why is the GDF so specifically tight-lipped about space kaiju?
☆ How long before the team notices that Yuma is Arc? 👀 Please, I just wanna know how Ishido will react to that
☆ What's the story behind K-day?
☆ Is anyone else in the office actually going to use Ishido's coffeemaker??
Anyway, that's it!
If you wanna watch Arc as well, the English dub playlist is here and the Japanese version is here.
I'm off to get ready for episode 3 now! 😁
A hodgepodge of semi-coherent spoilery thoughts (and one image) for episodes 1 and 2 below the cut:
Things I loved:
☆ the first episode isn't an origin story! It's apparently been about three months since Arc first appeared, so Yuma isn't a complete novice but he's still getting used to things. I enjoy this set up for the story so we can get that first meeting in a flashback later. It's just a nice change from the norm (I'm burnt out on superhero origin stories at the moment lol. At least this series mixes up the format a little)
☆ easy to follow! As a new person to Ultraman, I appreciate that this story isn't too complicated or confusing. Pretty much everything you need to know about the setting and plot are explained well in episode 1.
☆ the team! Yuma is such a charming and optimistic protagonist. I'm just naturally drawn to those kinds of characters. The Chief and Rin both seem like nice supportive supporting characters. (Loved that moment in episode 1 when Yuma asks the Chief for a boost to get closer to the Monohorn, and he's just like, "uh, okay!" without question 😂) I hope they'll get more moments to shine as the story continues. And Ishido is a nice balance to the others, especially as a newcomer to the team.
☆ COFFEE TIME! (That bit in episode one was so funny 😂)
☆ actually, I just love how fun the whole show is in general. That scene in episode 2 when everyone has to lean over and turn their heads to see the image onscreen was adorably funny.
☆ I love that Arc just sounds like he's a video game character when he fights. (I think this is typical for Ultraman from what I've seen discussed in passing? Either way, I love it.) (I like it more than Blazar's growling thing lol)
☆ the visuals in the fights are quite nice too. I especially enjoyed that our first glimpse of Arc was from the perspective of someone looking up and seeing him looming overhead. And then it was cool to see the big fight in episode 1 framed as a cellphone video! The fight in episode 2 was so fun too. Like, imagine beating a kaiju because you made him sneeze 😂 (Also, sometimes Arc does cartwheels and that cracks me up every time too)
☆ the music! It's all really good (including the opening and ending songs) but I really liked the background music when Leodo wakes up in episode 2. Very ominous.
Things I didn't like as much:
☆ whispering very quietly: Youpi (He's cute but I don't think I'm in the demographic to really enjoy his presence)
☆ they gotta stop filming in front of that one window in the SKIP office that adds so much glare you can't see the person's face anymore 😂
☆ I loved the acknowledgement in episode 2 that they need to build more housing for people affected by kaiju attacks, but I wish we'd gotten to explore that idea a little more!
Serious and not-so-serious questions I hope get answered at some point:
☆ Why has the kaiju activity been increasing the past year in Hoshimoto City? 🤔
☆ How did Yuma get to specialize in "kaiju biology"? Who's teaching that?? 😂
☆ Why is the GDF so specifically tight-lipped about space kaiju?
☆ How long before the team notices that Yuma is Arc? 👀 Please, I just wanna know how Ishido will react to that
☆ What's the story behind K-day?
☆ Is anyone else in the office actually going to use Ishido's coffeemaker??
Anyway, that's it!
If you wanna watch Arc as well, the English dub playlist is here and the Japanese version is here.
I'm off to get ready for episode 3 now! 😁
