Here at last: a proper review of Ultraman Mebius episodes 48 - 50 (DVD)
After numerous false starts, I finally have the review for Mebius 48 - 50, completed with random spoilers.
48. I feel this episode is more of a sequel of 45 than 46 and 47 are. (48 should follow directly after 45, I mean.) Probably because of all the crowd in this episode and 45, as opposed to the isolation from the ordinary people in 46 and 47.
I don't like that Hirukawa is not dealt with (other than that reporter sort of put him down). Not that I hate him or anything. In fact, he is one of my favorite characters, so I expect more, I guess. But I'm sure I'm in the minority who actually cares about him. As a whole, after episodes 43-44, his character kind of disappoints me in this episode. Or maybe he's just good at threatening innocent, bright-eyed, idealistic heroes but not as skilled at intimidating other human beings.
I've finally lost count of how many times Mirai ended up on the sick bed. (Really don't remember any other Ultra host spending much time in the ICU. Either Mirai/Mebius was really inexperienced, or they just never showed other Ultra hosts recuperating.)
And yeah, Toriyama is far from annoying in this episode (and the next), even though the shift in his conducts seem a bit unbelievable (but they did the same thing for his character (and Maru's) in 16 too, so...)
Sakomizu as the director of GUYS Japan? I was almost sure of it after episode 20. Then 26 misled me. Oh well, still doesn't come as a great surprise.
Sako's speech appears to be as moving as one could wish. Still, can't help thinking that the people here are like sheep or herd. They change their minds so easily...
49. Oh, stock footages galore. Which would be fine if I've never watched other (heisei) Ultra series, but as it is, it's more than a few times I've seen them and that kind of brings me out of the story a bit. You have CGI, Tsuburaya; vary those blowing up scenes a bit, will you? (Okay, it is an unreasonable demand for a tv series and admittedly a minor gripe, but I just don't want to feel like I'm watching anything other than Mebius.)
And...whatever happened to those Imperizers stationed at various countries around the world? Were they destroyed? By Emperor Seijin? By international GUYS branches?
I really love that (sort of) tired but sweet smile Mirai gives the little kid who runs up to thank him. ^_^
Jamusha is a freakingly cool character. I thought so in episode 16. I still think so now.
And hey, Hikari is awesome in this episode (he sort of was in 16). I wish there is more of Serizawa than his voice, though.
Old-fashioned jets are back. Of course it makes perfect sense for Ryuu to pilot it. Like other people mentioned, this sequence is a great nod to episode 1 and the older series.
Okay, Mirai can cry loudly like the best of them. This is a payback for Ryuu having to shout for him repeatedly in 29, I suppose.
See one of the wires holding the interior of Phoenix Nest together. That sort of makes me go "wah?" The DVD picture quality must be so clear then, because I've never noticed this before. (In fact, I normally don't notice this kind of stuff, until told to look for them. Maybe not even then.)
Happy to see Mirai's sister and Phanton Seijin. (Irrelevantly, why were the two of them together?)
50. Mebius Phoenix Brave: I haven't forgotten how much the toy version of this form scared me (jeez, those hideous color schemes). So I'm happy that the form looks much better in the episode.
Very randomly, I kind of wish GUYS has an odd number of members (not including the captain), just so Mirai could stand in the middle while they were in Phoenix Brave mode.
So Mirai can't transform when they all would be certain to die, but yet he can when the danger is not even to him. Are they trying to tell me something here? Oh well, think Kako says something about it that I don't catch.
(As an irrelevant side note, Phoenix Nest should be obliterated to the ground even before the beginning of this episode. It didn't seem to have anything to protect itself after the silver-shark G were all destroyed. Not that I want to kill our heroes off or anything, but it just doesn't make much sense for the base to be standing long after suffering that much damage.)
Sakomizu = Zoffy. Hmm, not the way I expected, and in fact was disappointed that they tricked me about Sako (sort of found that out in episode 42), but it probably makes me love Sako all the more because while he is human, he is an extraordinary one.
I'm never clear whether Emperor Seijin disappeared/died/disintegrated before or after the Ultras succeeded in clearing up the sun. I think one action effects the other, just not sure which happened first.
I'm fine with Mebius leaving earth (seen that coming since episode 1), but I wish the send-off lasts a bit more. (Come on, these guys have 50 episodes together. I feel they did a longer leave taking of Hikari in 17.)
Love the extras. The total running time is almost as long as the running time for the episodes themselves. (They can sell the extras on a separate DVD and I'll buy it. In fact, I think that was what I did with the Mebi movie...)
Do take a look at this video if you missed it the last two times around. (Why don't I do a more obvious pimpage? 1. I'm shy. 2. Not my work, so I'm a bit worried. 3. The rip quality is not that good. 4. Rather people support Tsuburaya by buying the DVDs.) Even if you don't watch Mebius, just go see it if you are a fan of Shunji Igarashi or in anyway interested in anything related to him.
I talked a little about the DVD extras last month. Here are things in additional to that entry...
- There is a behind the scene segment (I think it is called light vs. dark?) that shows off mostly the scenes from episode 50. For example, the part where Hikari and Mebius were facing Emperor Seijin and he fired his dark ray at Mebius (but this scene is shown without the effect added in yet). And the part where the Ultras working at the sun, also without the CGI effect added in. Of note to me is the scene when Mebius finally flew away. (They got a platform and maybe 9-10 people lifted it with Mebius on it.)
- There is a segment devoted completely to CGI stuff. Among the bloopers, I like the part where Lim fell off Toriyama's head. (Sorry, Lim, that must have hurt, but I can't help wondering about the slipperiness of Tori-pi's head, ha ha.) And also where Lim wore UltraSeven's ultra eye (so cute ^^).
The waterfall in 13, when Marina & co. climb down the cliff, is digitally added in. I would never have guessed.
- There is a collection of silhouettes of monsters from the first episode to last. (Sort of like the one they did at the end of the OP of each episode, but without anything else in the background.)
- There is also the usual textless opening. The last segment is the PV for something which I don't understand, but it contains mostly scenes from last few episodes of Mebius.
- Of almost unrelated note: Although I don't really play video game (haven't for years), I want that Ultra Monsters game they advertised. (Reminds me a little of Mebius 27.)
Well, thank you for reading this and for being patient with me. I don't know if I'll go back and do proper reviews for discs 1-6 and the movie. Maybe I will, but I can't promise. Anyway, hope this series of reviews had been enjoyable.
48. I feel this episode is more of a sequel of 45 than 46 and 47 are. (48 should follow directly after 45, I mean.) Probably because of all the crowd in this episode and 45, as opposed to the isolation from the ordinary people in 46 and 47.
I don't like that Hirukawa is not dealt with (other than that reporter sort of put him down). Not that I hate him or anything. In fact, he is one of my favorite characters, so I expect more, I guess. But I'm sure I'm in the minority who actually cares about him. As a whole, after episodes 43-44, his character kind of disappoints me in this episode. Or maybe he's just good at threatening innocent, bright-eyed, idealistic heroes but not as skilled at intimidating other human beings.
I've finally lost count of how many times Mirai ended up on the sick bed. (Really don't remember any other Ultra host spending much time in the ICU. Either Mirai/Mebius was really inexperienced, or they just never showed other Ultra hosts recuperating.)
And yeah, Toriyama is far from annoying in this episode (and the next), even though the shift in his conducts seem a bit unbelievable (but they did the same thing for his character (and Maru's) in 16 too, so...)
Sakomizu as the director of GUYS Japan? I was almost sure of it after episode 20. Then 26 misled me. Oh well, still doesn't come as a great surprise.
Sako's speech appears to be as moving as one could wish. Still, can't help thinking that the people here are like sheep or herd. They change their minds so easily...
49. Oh, stock footages galore. Which would be fine if I've never watched other (heisei) Ultra series, but as it is, it's more than a few times I've seen them and that kind of brings me out of the story a bit. You have CGI, Tsuburaya; vary those blowing up scenes a bit, will you? (Okay, it is an unreasonable demand for a tv series and admittedly a minor gripe, but I just don't want to feel like I'm watching anything other than Mebius.)
And...whatever happened to those Imperizers stationed at various countries around the world? Were they destroyed? By Emperor Seijin? By international GUYS branches?
I really love that (sort of) tired but sweet smile Mirai gives the little kid who runs up to thank him. ^_^
Jamusha is a freakingly cool character. I thought so in episode 16. I still think so now.
And hey, Hikari is awesome in this episode (he sort of was in 16). I wish there is more of Serizawa than his voice, though.
Old-fashioned jets are back. Of course it makes perfect sense for Ryuu to pilot it. Like other people mentioned, this sequence is a great nod to episode 1 and the older series.
Okay, Mirai can cry loudly like the best of them. This is a payback for Ryuu having to shout for him repeatedly in 29, I suppose.
See one of the wires holding the interior of Phoenix Nest together. That sort of makes me go "wah?" The DVD picture quality must be so clear then, because I've never noticed this before. (In fact, I normally don't notice this kind of stuff, until told to look for them. Maybe not even then.)
Happy to see Mirai's sister and Phanton Seijin. (Irrelevantly, why were the two of them together?)
50. Mebius Phoenix Brave: I haven't forgotten how much the toy version of this form scared me (jeez, those hideous color schemes). So I'm happy that the form looks much better in the episode.
Very randomly, I kind of wish GUYS has an odd number of members (not including the captain), just so Mirai could stand in the middle while they were in Phoenix Brave mode.
So Mirai can't transform when they all would be certain to die, but yet he can when the danger is not even to him. Are they trying to tell me something here? Oh well, think Kako says something about it that I don't catch.
(As an irrelevant side note, Phoenix Nest should be obliterated to the ground even before the beginning of this episode. It didn't seem to have anything to protect itself after the silver-shark G were all destroyed. Not that I want to kill our heroes off or anything, but it just doesn't make much sense for the base to be standing long after suffering that much damage.)
Sakomizu = Zoffy. Hmm, not the way I expected, and in fact was disappointed that they tricked me about Sako (sort of found that out in episode 42), but it probably makes me love Sako all the more because while he is human, he is an extraordinary one.
I'm never clear whether Emperor Seijin disappeared/died/disintegrated before or after the Ultras succeeded in clearing up the sun. I think one action effects the other, just not sure which happened first.
I'm fine with Mebius leaving earth (seen that coming since episode 1), but I wish the send-off lasts a bit more. (Come on, these guys have 50 episodes together. I feel they did a longer leave taking of Hikari in 17.)
Love the extras. The total running time is almost as long as the running time for the episodes themselves. (They can sell the extras on a separate DVD and I'll buy it. In fact, I think that was what I did with the Mebi movie...)
Do take a look at this video if you missed it the last two times around. (Why don't I do a more obvious pimpage? 1. I'm shy. 2. Not my work, so I'm a bit worried. 3. The rip quality is not that good. 4. Rather people support Tsuburaya by buying the DVDs.) Even if you don't watch Mebius, just go see it if you are a fan of Shunji Igarashi or in anyway interested in anything related to him.
I talked a little about the DVD extras last month. Here are things in additional to that entry...
- There is a behind the scene segment (I think it is called light vs. dark?) that shows off mostly the scenes from episode 50. For example, the part where Hikari and Mebius were facing Emperor Seijin and he fired his dark ray at Mebius (but this scene is shown without the effect added in yet). And the part where the Ultras working at the sun, also without the CGI effect added in. Of note to me is the scene when Mebius finally flew away. (They got a platform and maybe 9-10 people lifted it with Mebius on it.)
- There is a segment devoted completely to CGI stuff. Among the bloopers, I like the part where Lim fell off Toriyama's head. (Sorry, Lim, that must have hurt, but I can't help wondering about the slipperiness of Tori-pi's head, ha ha.) And also where Lim wore UltraSeven's ultra eye (so cute ^^).
The waterfall in 13, when Marina & co. climb down the cliff, is digitally added in. I would never have guessed.
- There is a collection of silhouettes of monsters from the first episode to last. (Sort of like the one they did at the end of the OP of each episode, but without anything else in the background.)
- There is also the usual textless opening. The last segment is the PV for something which I don't understand, but it contains mostly scenes from last few episodes of Mebius.
- Of almost unrelated note: Although I don't really play video game (haven't for years), I want that Ultra Monsters game they advertised. (Reminds me a little of Mebius 27.)
Well, thank you for reading this and for being patient with me. I don't know if I'll go back and do proper reviews for discs 1-6 and the movie. Maybe I will, but I can't promise. Anyway, hope this series of reviews had been enjoyable.