Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Jim Ballard
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Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by Jim Ballard »

Our web show SciFi JAPAN TV is releasing a 3-part interview throughout October with the principal staff of ULTRAMAN NEXUS, to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary.

The first episode, "Origins", is now available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6557cGaCmM
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by takenoko »

That's awesome Jim. Haven't heard from you in forever.

I notice you guys used Ultraman The Next whenever they referred to the movie. I thought that was just the name during production and they ended up dropping for just Ultraman?

Edit: Heh, I ended up filling a bunch of notes in our trivia section because of that interview:
http://wiki.tvnihon.com/wiki/Ultraman_Nexus#Trivia
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by DekaBreak »

Based on Hasegawa's remarks, I wonder how this'll affect KR Drive?

But anyways Nexus was my favorite and to see how the series was born from multiple inspirations was great to know. The reference to 9/11 also prompted me to question other Toku of that era, like Agito and Ryuki. Now we know how The Next and Nexus became one, I'm interested to see how Noa got involved to form the Ultra N Project trinity. It really did look like a more adult Ultraman show but it's surprising how the staff still call it a serious kid show. Thanks for the effort. When's part 2?
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by xiiliea »

What a pity if it could have been an even greater show. Hopefully Tsuburaya has plans for another similar series with more success and budget.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by takenoko »

Sometimes a fortunate accident is for the best. People say the last episode is rushed, but I loved it. It felt like the whole series built itself up for that moment, and it paid off.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by PHurricane »

That was a really enjoyable discussion. I vaguely remember reading discussions about Nexus being driven by changes in the budget/episode run/time slot, but it's interesting to hear how the production of the show influenced how the plot unfolded straight from the creative team. I was also surprised to hear them talk about CGI as a cost-saving measure, rather than something that eats up their budget.

I found it interesting that they acknowledged most Ultraman series (up to that point in time) focused more on monster-of-the-week stories and lacked an overarching plot to the extent that the various show writers might not even talk to each other. Unlike Rider and Sentai, watching most Ultraman series feels like a chore to me, which I always feel guilty about. I'm pretty sure Nexus was the first Ultraman series I finished, so the fact that it deviated from the norm (in plot and tone) probably distorted my expectations of the franchise.

I'll have to check out some of the older episodes. The web show itself has great production quality.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by Catastrophe »

This is one of my favourite series. I kind of liked the slightly bleak tone of it. That, and how the main character isn't actually the Ultraman.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by xiiliea »

Interesting. I would have liked to see extra episodes showing Komon's past and side stories of Ojiro and Takeshi.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by squashy »

Oh God, so many potentials of this series had to be cut off! Time loop, Ren's complete story, side characters' stories... Sometimes you really can't have everything nice :(
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by StereotypeAsian »

I'm still ass-hurt about Nexus being cut short. Like like how Gaim had all those tie-in stories.

Is there any plan on subbing the NEXT movie?
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by Catastrophe »

I like how they said they defended the core of the show. It seems like there was pressure to make changes to keep it going and they just told the network to shove it.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by takenoko »

StereotypeAsian wrote:Is there any plan on subbing the NEXT movie?
Ultraman the movie actually came with English subtitles (just not very good ones). I own the DVD so it's a possibility if we find ourselves with a surplus of time.
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by Jim Ballard »

Hey guys. Thanks for the positive feedback!

I've just uploaded the third and final part of our roundtable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QGJ4XxyT4I
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Re: Video interview series with NEXUS staff

Post by DekaBreak »

Thank you for this series. It's as Producer Shibuya said. When I was 10 years younger I couldn't understand the darkness, the drama and the emotion. Nexus, and more so, The Next seemed to be a really ugly Ultra (I hated his head shape) and the shots were so dark for the whole of the series that I really felt it wasn't for me and dropped the series. Coming back years later, I could feel all the darkness and the beauty of this series that was sadly shortened. Really one of the best Tokusatsu ever made, and it really was like Ultraman in the Kamen Rider worlds of Faiz and Blade. A really beautiful season and I'm glad you found the time to go look for these guys to learn more from them.

Maybe the next one should be on Cosmos, also Shibuya's work? I'd love to hear the story of the Anti-Nexus series. The very bright and cheerful series that was so lightheaded but spanned the largest season with 65 episodes, with a whole new dimension of co-existing with monsters and stuff. Any chance?
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