Overview:
Ultraman Nexus was the 20th entry in the famous Ultra series. In 2004 Tsuburaya Productions was looking to breath new life into their TV series. This plan was called the Ultra N Project. To kick this off they created a new Ultra, Ultraman Noa for stage shows. In 2004 the movie ULTRAMAN (THE NEXT) was released to Japanese theaters, with mild success. The final step was this TV show, which unfortunately was ended early, at only 37 episodes. It failed to meet its target demographic, adults, because of the early morning Saturday time slot it was put on.
Plot:
Kazuki Komon is fired from his old job after panicking in fog during a rescue attempt. He is them approached by someone from a secret organization called Terrestrial Liberation Trust, who fight monsters called Space Beasts. On his way to the base he is attacked by a Space Beast, but is saved by Ultraman Nexus.
Characters:
Komon Kazuki -
The main character of the series. He is a new recruit of TLT squad, the Night Raiders, and helps fight off Space Beasts. Komon is very kind and compassionate, and because of this he usually doesn't get along with Nagi.
Nagi Saijyo -
The unofficial second in command of the Night Raiders. She is ruthless and cold to everyone. Nagi also is willing to destroy everyone in her way.
Eisuke Wakura -
The captain of the Night Raiders. He gives the commands to the rest of the team and usually is the first to offer Komon advice. Even though he is kind to Komon he isn't soft.
Mitsuhiko Ishibori -
The third male of the Night Raiders, and is great with computers. He often studies the footage from old fights to see how the Space Beasts work, and to then help formulate a counter attack.
Shiori Hiraki -
The final member of the team. When Komon joins she uses her extensive knowledge of TLT weaponry to help him train. She and Ishibori are usually seen together.
Himeya Jun -
The Second Duanamist (someone who carries the power of Ultraman). Jun uses the power of the Ultras to fight the Space Beasts. He used to be a photographer, and after he became world famous he realized the ugliness of the world. He now battles to protect the beauty of the world.
Reasons to Watch:
This is arguably the darkest Ultra show in the entire series. It combines the drama and the action seamlessly. The special effects are so-so, just enough to make you forget that you are watching the events unfold. The characters are, for the most part, memorable and entirely believable.
The action scenes between the Ultras and the Space Monsters rarely resort to the campy fighting of 60s and 70s Godzilla movies, with them just rolling on the ground.
It shatters the monster-of-the-week formula to small pieces. Instead it's more of a 3 arc series, and many characters and enemies return a few times.
To begin with I started watching this series just for the pure tokusatsu feel, but I stayed for the drama.
