Ratings Poll: Ultraman Orb [Licensed]

Giants of Light.
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Ratings for Ultraman Orb?!

☆☆☆☆☆ Lend me all of your powers of light
2
50%
☆☆☆☆ Lend me your powers of light and darkness
2
50%
☆☆☆ Average
0
No votes
☆☆ Was it so bad as Juggler?
0
No votes
☆ Weak as fuck
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 4
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DaVinci030
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Ratings Poll: Ultraman Orb [Licensed]

Post by DaVinci030 »

I'm done with the first half (episodes 1-12). Well, I'm not gonna say about this show, whether it's good or bad. *bored*

The main writers: Nakano Takao and Kobayashi Yuuji are doing it again for this show (three consecutive shows?).

Here are Mxylv's thoughts and what do you rate on this show?

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Mxylv
The Eyes in the Skies
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Favorite series: Ultraman Nexus
2nd Favorite Series: Kamen Rider Gaim
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Quote: Where wisdom and valor fail, all that remains is faith. And it can overcome all.
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Re: Ratings Poll: Ultraman Orb [Licensed]

Post by Mxylv »

And that's the end of the series. I liked some of it, but a lot of it felt really disappointing. May as well get started:

The story:
Spoiler
I like the approach they went with: a more involved, evolving story arc that kept the MotW elements. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to know how to get around to the execution: after solving a major arc, they seem to have little to nothing of the antagonist and had several fillers in a row.

For the main arc, I liked it that we started with a human form instead of a host this time, and I also liked the fact that the show had an antagonist. I think the story truly picked up speed when the powerful but berzerking Thunder Breaster was introduced (come to think of it, I'm curious whether Ex-Aid got its L5 idea from that). The episodes after that are when the series reaches full speed for me, with Gai even hospitalizing Naomi. The climax of this arc, though, I found really quite unimpressive. Orb basically gets over it, and his half-darkness self gets under control. To me, it really took away the impact, the dilemma (lose to a monster or become one), and the consequences of using the form. The succeeding episodes reverted back to MotW, and while I liked the finale as well as episodes 12-16, it really wasn't enough to justify the rest of the series.

The MotW episodes themselves felt pretty dull to me. Many of them (especially at the beginning) had fairly simple lessons to them, primarily about the environment or morals. I like this, but a lot of the lessons (if not all of them) seemed almost word-for-word spelled out, and the occasional not-very-heroic sounding theme didn't help (one episode's lesson was literally to the effect of "Who cares what my family or loved ones think! What really matters is what I want!"). Perhaps they could get a few pointers from Nexus.


The characters:
Spoiler
With the exceptions of Gai and Juggler, the crew seemed to improve (or at least annoy me much less) throughout the series. That said, I'm not sure I really cared or empathized at any point in the series for any of them, with the exceptions of Gai and possibly Naomi. My impression of the main cast beats that of Ghost's (incredibly comical) or of Ex-Aid's (incredibly unlikable), but there isn't a lot about the cast that's really memorable. That said, I think Gai is one of the best protagonists we've had in the post-Saga era, with lots of inner conflict and emotion that I just didn't see in Hikaru or Daichi.


In addition to these, I feel like there was a lot of missed potential here. I was waiting for quite a while for Orb to gain Naomi as a host and have our first serious female Ultra host in around 36 years (both the finale and Episode 14 had me thinking this, but sadly, no). Probably related to toy sales or TV views, but it still feels like it had a lot of potential thrown at it that never came to pass. I also had other issues (really long rises, catchphrases, final forms) that really feel like they're only there because KR/SS do it, but some of those tropes may not be leaving soon. Overall, it was meant for a far younger age group, but it feels like an Ultra Series, if one of the lesser ones.


Favorite episodes: #14 and #15 (the mechanical beast bent on justice), #25 (the finale)
Other notes: "With less light, stuff becomes brighter!"
Watching:
Kamen Rider Kuuga, Gotchard

Watched:
KR W, Gaim, Ghost - Build, Geats
Ultraman '66, Leo, Great, Nexus - U7X, Ginga - Blazar
Donbrothers
GS Sho, Dogengers S1-4
When in doubt,
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