Ultraman R/B 25 released

[takenoko]

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Is Kamen Rider Rogue a big Ultraman R/B fan? Did he steal the shirt thing first?

What a bonkers twist. I appreciate it, since I was completely not expecting that. And even was thrown off by the fact that Mio acknowledged the mystery of Asahi a few episodes back.

Just skimmed through the first episode again. They really go through the whole episode before Asahi is suddenly introduced. I definitely remember thinking it was odd that the little sister didn't show up before hand, but attributed it to just poor world building. How wrong I was.

I'm guessing the Asahi twist doesn't hold under scrutiny. I mean, how did Asahi get those false memories into the family? But honestly, it's fine. It doesn't break anything, and it got me to rethink the first episode

Honestly, this show feels like it's both very simple, but also way better than it has any right of being. And it does so many things right that it feels like Toei toku is stumbling on recently.

Also, how refreshing is it that one of the subplots for the series is just a friendship between two girls?

Real enjoyable series. Definitely recommend a watch to the end! (Although if you're reading this, I'm guessing you watched the whole thing...)

[VerusMaya II]

Kinda feel bad for Asahi at the start here, she's clearly paralyzed by grief and shock from losing Tsuru-chan, but Katsumi and Isami just run off again. They obviously have things to take care of, but kinda funny for them to just be like "you ok? alright. now run!" and then just go off again while Asahi hardly even responds.

The jump out the window transformation was really cool! I like dynamic transformations like that. The "real time" form changes were also super dope.

I think all of Mio's fretting about Katsumi and Isami dying was for naught. I believe the future she saw already changed the moment Mitsurugi egged Katsumi and Isami on to become Ultraman R/B. At the time she seemed surprised that they could do it, which sorta implies to me that her brothers were never able to (or had a low success rate). The future Mio saw likely wasn't the one where Ultraman R/B existed.

Little bit disappointed with Leugocyte as a final boss. Compared to previous Ultra final bosses, he doesn't have much personality and doesn't do much in the fight itself (the suit was likely unwieldy). I think he worked extremely well as a plot hook dangling over the back half of the series, and I like the concept of a space leukocyte, but the actual thing just didn't wow me. As opposed to say, Ultraman X's Greeza, who had some incredibly unique movement in their fight!

Yes, the twist with Asahi is very good. Having rewatched the show twice now by working on it, I was able to catch several things that reference her existence and its oddity:
- the store being called Quattro M[inato], quattro being "four" in Italian
- Asahi's late/sudden appearance in the first episode
- Koma-nee calling them a family of four, before quickly correcting to five
- the various "dings" of Asahi sensing Crystals, or the Orb Ring NEO (which was created via Crystals)
- Mitsurugi appears to know what's up from the word go, and it informs her interactions with Asahi. The only time the show makes it super obvious, though, is when she flashes back to Mio's disappearance, and shows the candies Asahi carries

My theory for how everyone's memories were adjusted/modified is simply: Ultra power! The Crystals clearly have some of the power/essence of the Ultras, so Asahi being a suped up Crystal definitely has some Ultra power in her. R/B MOVIE SPOILERS:

Spoiler

This also helps explain why she's able to become Ultrawoman Grigio in the movie!

The ending was super sweet. I really like this show. It takes a different approach to Ultraman, by having two amateur Ultras (who honestly never really rise to be extremely talented or powerful) and a more granular viewpoint on one's immediate family. No big sweeping speeches about justice, or humanity. Just some kids trying to protect their family (and the Earth by association).

Thanks, Mr. Tsuburaya. Ya did good.

[takenoko]

What's this thing about Asahi sensing crystals? Does it play an audio cue or something?

[VerusMaya II]

The most notable example is episode 9, when Asahi strays off because she hears "someone calling her", and ends up leading Katsumi and Isami to the Earth Crystal. That's one of the few times when it doesn't make that "ding" sound though.

[takenoko]

Wow crazy, I didn't catch that at all. Seriously the Asahi stuff is completely subtle unless you know what to watch for, which is pretty fun. I mean you always know there's something off and not right, but I don't think I would have ever guessed she was a crystal. The mom going through and killing the typical theories when she first appears is pretty hilarious because of that.

[Phoenix512]

Asahi being an Ultra Crystal is rather underwhelming to me. I was hoping for something a bit more grander than the show provided. I don't know how it could be better but I definitely know it's not that.