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alchemicinkThis week: Zeztz amps up the action; Miss Scarlet struggles to keep a secret; the students of Starfleet Academy set sail for San Francisco; and friendship is forever with Ultraman Omega :)
Title quote comes from Omega today in honor of it being the series finale. As always, spoilers below:
Kamen Rider Zeztz (episode 17)
Usually, I talk about storylines and character developments in my reviews, but today I just really want to talk about the action. The fight between Zeztz and Nox (and then the subsequent fight against the Nightmare) in this episode was SO GOOD. My favorite of the season so far.
It had all the elements that I love in a good fight. The location was visually interesting. (They were outside of a big dam.) The music during their transformations was perfect to get you excited about the fight right before it begins. (Actually, I love the soundtrack for this show in general.) And we got a good showcase of what Nox's shadow powers can do. (Ok, my favorite Naruto character growing up was Shikamaru, so I'm partial to shadow users 😅)
Also, the "SHADOW REMDEMPTION" sound will be stuck in my head for ages 😂
The fights in the series so far have been mostly good, but this one was just on another level. It was very memorable to me. I hope the two of them continue to clash like this going forward. Nox doesn't seem like he'll be switching sides anytime soon, even if he did defeat the Nightmare for Baku this time... 🤔
Miss Scarlet (season 6, episode 1)
A new season with some new faces and some new complications.
I have to admit, this is not the most exciting season premiere this show has ever had. The case was a bit uninteresting honestly, and Eliza spends most of the episode incredibly out of sorts.
Why? Because for the first time in six seasons she's actually dating someone. Unfortunately that someone is Inspector Blake, so they're keeping it a secret because she's worried about how that looks when they work together. Honestly I'm not very thrilled with this storyline because it seems kind of out of character for Eliza. Not the having a boyfriend part -- I like her with Inspector Blake -- but that she's worried what other people think. She has always charged ahead with her work without letting anyone (or their opinions) hold her back, so I don't quite understand why she's doing it now. Perhaps this storyline will surprise me as the season continues, but I have doubts.
The other main thing this season is cast turnover. Long-time staple characters Fitzoy and Phelps are no longer around, so a new detective and new clerk are introduced. They are cute together but we don't get much of an impression about either of them in the first episode. (I've already forgotten the lady's name 😬)
At least Mr. Potts is still here, and surprisingly, his storyline is the most interesting to me so far. What's happening with his boss at the mortuary?? Is he gonna get his job back??
Starfleet Academy (episode 1)
So this was actually a lot of fun! Maybe I'm biased because I adore school settings and young adult characters, but I was hooked immediately with this episode. (I'm definitely going to have to mooch off my parents' Paramount+ subscription to keep watching. Hopefully I'll have reviews for episodes 2 and 3 next week 🤞)
As a pilot episode, there are a few moments of clunky exposition. But I didn't mind it very much. I was too excited by the lovely set design, which was more colorful than I expected thanks to some bland promotional posters I saw beforehand, and the storyline they set up. Chancellor Nahla Ake is trying to fix a mistake she made 15 years prior by helping reluctant cadet Caleb Mir find his missing mom. I'm interested in it.
But, most importantly, my favorite part so far is the characters. Particularly the students. Sam the overexcited hologram wanting to make friends is an absolute joy. And I can already tell that Jay-Den, the Klingon aspiring to be some sort of doctor, is gonna be my favorite. Klingons have always been my favorite of the franchise, but a Klingon who doesn't fit the typical mold? Even more interesting 👀 I shared more thoughts about specific characters in this post.
The series is set in the 32nd century, so it's got some overlap with Discovery, which I never finished watching. The biggest thing is The Burn, but I can just read up about that on Memory Alpha if I want the details. I probably missed a few more references to the current state of the Star Trek universe, but I didn't feel confused at all, so Discovery is not required viewing beforehand. (Though I'm sure it would help.)
Lastly, Ake sits weird in the captain chair. I love her already!
Ultraman Omega (episode 25) (final episode!)
A satisfying conclusion! We got one scene of Ayumu in a suit, and she looked amazing!! I am mad they didn't dress her like that sooner! We were missing out ðŸ˜
Now on to the actual review: Like the previous few episodes, this one was an emotional rollercoaster.
The part that stood out to me the most was actually Sorato's final fight back against his old self. I was just absolutely thrilled to see him come to the conclusion that he can't just sit back and watch things play out. It's not helpful for anyone. It felt like the perfect conclusion to his character arc: going from a neutral observer to taking what he's learned from Kosei to fight for a better future for everyone.
And, of course, the other really emotional part of the episode was Sorato and Kosei merging to become Ultraman together. That was the part that felt like the perfect conclusion for Kosei's character arc: going from an aimless person trying to find his place in the world to finding his purpose through saving people.
They're together forever now, and that seems like the right ending for them.
It wasn't a perfect finale -- I have a lot of issues with Kosei not telling Ayumu what really happened to Sorato -- but it ends on a good note with Kosei and Sorato running ahead together. Ultraman is at its best when it's a series that gives you hope :)
I will miss this one a lot.
Title quote comes from Omega today in honor of it being the series finale. As always, spoilers below:
Kamen Rider Zeztz (episode 17)
Usually, I talk about storylines and character developments in my reviews, but today I just really want to talk about the action. The fight between Zeztz and Nox (and then the subsequent fight against the Nightmare) in this episode was SO GOOD. My favorite of the season so far.
It had all the elements that I love in a good fight. The location was visually interesting. (They were outside of a big dam.) The music during their transformations was perfect to get you excited about the fight right before it begins. (Actually, I love the soundtrack for this show in general.) And we got a good showcase of what Nox's shadow powers can do. (Ok, my favorite Naruto character growing up was Shikamaru, so I'm partial to shadow users 😅)
Also, the "SHADOW REMDEMPTION" sound will be stuck in my head for ages 😂
The fights in the series so far have been mostly good, but this one was just on another level. It was very memorable to me. I hope the two of them continue to clash like this going forward. Nox doesn't seem like he'll be switching sides anytime soon, even if he did defeat the Nightmare for Baku this time... 🤔
Miss Scarlet (season 6, episode 1)
A new season with some new faces and some new complications.
I have to admit, this is not the most exciting season premiere this show has ever had. The case was a bit uninteresting honestly, and Eliza spends most of the episode incredibly out of sorts.
Why? Because for the first time in six seasons she's actually dating someone. Unfortunately that someone is Inspector Blake, so they're keeping it a secret because she's worried about how that looks when they work together. Honestly I'm not very thrilled with this storyline because it seems kind of out of character for Eliza. Not the having a boyfriend part -- I like her with Inspector Blake -- but that she's worried what other people think. She has always charged ahead with her work without letting anyone (or their opinions) hold her back, so I don't quite understand why she's doing it now. Perhaps this storyline will surprise me as the season continues, but I have doubts.
The other main thing this season is cast turnover. Long-time staple characters Fitzoy and Phelps are no longer around, so a new detective and new clerk are introduced. They are cute together but we don't get much of an impression about either of them in the first episode. (I've already forgotten the lady's name 😬)
At least Mr. Potts is still here, and surprisingly, his storyline is the most interesting to me so far. What's happening with his boss at the mortuary?? Is he gonna get his job back??
Starfleet Academy (episode 1)
So this was actually a lot of fun! Maybe I'm biased because I adore school settings and young adult characters, but I was hooked immediately with this episode. (I'm definitely going to have to mooch off my parents' Paramount+ subscription to keep watching. Hopefully I'll have reviews for episodes 2 and 3 next week 🤞)
As a pilot episode, there are a few moments of clunky exposition. But I didn't mind it very much. I was too excited by the lovely set design, which was more colorful than I expected thanks to some bland promotional posters I saw beforehand, and the storyline they set up. Chancellor Nahla Ake is trying to fix a mistake she made 15 years prior by helping reluctant cadet Caleb Mir find his missing mom. I'm interested in it.
But, most importantly, my favorite part so far is the characters. Particularly the students. Sam the overexcited hologram wanting to make friends is an absolute joy. And I can already tell that Jay-Den, the Klingon aspiring to be some sort of doctor, is gonna be my favorite. Klingons have always been my favorite of the franchise, but a Klingon who doesn't fit the typical mold? Even more interesting 👀 I shared more thoughts about specific characters in this post.
The series is set in the 32nd century, so it's got some overlap with Discovery, which I never finished watching. The biggest thing is The Burn, but I can just read up about that on Memory Alpha if I want the details. I probably missed a few more references to the current state of the Star Trek universe, but I didn't feel confused at all, so Discovery is not required viewing beforehand. (Though I'm sure it would help.)
Lastly, Ake sits weird in the captain chair. I love her already!
Ultraman Omega (episode 25) (final episode!)
A satisfying conclusion! We got one scene of Ayumu in a suit, and she looked amazing!! I am mad they didn't dress her like that sooner! We were missing out ðŸ˜
Now on to the actual review: Like the previous few episodes, this one was an emotional rollercoaster.
The part that stood out to me the most was actually Sorato's final fight back against his old self. I was just absolutely thrilled to see him come to the conclusion that he can't just sit back and watch things play out. It's not helpful for anyone. It felt like the perfect conclusion to his character arc: going from a neutral observer to taking what he's learned from Kosei to fight for a better future for everyone.
And, of course, the other really emotional part of the episode was Sorato and Kosei merging to become Ultraman together. That was the part that felt like the perfect conclusion for Kosei's character arc: going from an aimless person trying to find his place in the world to finding his purpose through saving people.
They're together forever now, and that seems like the right ending for them.
It wasn't a perfect finale -- I have a lot of issues with Kosei not telling Ayumu what really happened to Sorato -- but it ends on a good note with Kosei and Sorato running ahead together. Ultraman is at its best when it's a series that gives you hope :)
I will miss this one a lot.
