(no subject)
So while I horribly missed finishing my Mebi Gaiden fanart on the release day of Stage 1, I'm hoping I'll at least be able to make Stage 2. ...before all my inconsistencies with height and hair become a little too much to bear. IT'S LOOKING GOOD AT LEAST! I think. (I haven't even compiled it yet -- whoops)
Because I'm a desperate little fantwit, I've been stalking the internet in hopes of someone uploading a DVD rip of Gaiden. Not surprisingly, my predictions from before came true: no raw was in sight, and I was starting to think I may not even see it until I get the actual DVD (which isn't that bad, but, y'know, desperate). Because unlike Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, where the rental DVDs are snatched up and ripped mercilessly and shoved on the internet in less than 5 minutes, Ultraman is sadly left behind and no one bothers...
With a little persistence and a lot of whining, a Chinese sub was found. I happily picked it up at 5am, went to sleep for 5 hours, and woke up feeling incredibly refreshed and ready to squee.
So, spoilers obviously...
Running off of memory, so there will probably be inconsistencies. Only seen it once and plan to re-watch after this entry to make sure I didn't miss anything!
It starts off innocent enough: some clips of the final, I guess to set the scene.
Of course, what better way to officially start the story than with a kaijuu? Kanata (the new kid, and really the only member of Ryuu's crew they show) is experiencing the joys of flying at insane speeds, for what I think is his first time. I've always wondered that - the original team had no issues with it, so I just left it as one of those things toku doesn't touch on for sake of drama. All goes well, and they actually defeat Salamandora. Incredibly shocking, to me at least. Ryuu rightfully monologues to Mirai that they're able to protect Earth with their own hands. What toku team has ever been able to defeat monsters without the assistance of a special suit of armor, giant mecha, or gigantic being of light? He still has the charm Mirai gave him, too... it's faded. I don't know, I found that simultaneously sweet and sad. I guess since it's faded so badly, that means this is at least a year since the ending. Was an actual time ever given?
Kanata begins to ask Ryuu what's up with that charm he always has, and Ryuu gets a dreamy look in his eyes as he tells Kanata about his lover how awesome Mirai is/was. But Ryuu isn't really the type to be all emotional, so he quickly moves on to what I believe is him asking Kanata what he thought of Formation Yamato.
Sakomizu is observing safely from his room, having ascended to his proper role as Inspector General, and drinking some coffee. Never change Sakomizu ♥♥ He seems pretty satisfied with Aihara-taichou (doesn't sound as good as Ryuu, imho) and the new Crew. I'm sure after living through the days when they couldn't harm a kaijuu without Mebius, this Crew looks like a godsend. Misaki is there too, and happy to inform us that all is not sunshine and bunnies. Three recycled kaijuu have appeared! What do you do? Why, bust out more of the stock footage of course! (All of the above, even Salamandora, has been stock. Not like I'm complaining - I didn't notice until I read the talkback thread on HJU.)
Ryuu and Kanata, meanwhile, have stumbled upon something very curious - which Ryuu pretty much recognizes later on. Ryuu being Ryuu, however, they fly a little too close and end up inside what turns out to be Emperor-seijin's spaceship. (Odd spaceship, really, but whatever floats/floated his boat!) Sakomizu is quite distraught at this turn of events, allowing Toriyama and Maru to swoop in and start freaking out. Ryuu's remaining Crew continues to take care of the kaijuu, and I believe they eventually stop them (don't remember if the explosions are ever shown).
They don't actually show the rest of Ryuu's team, and they all sound pretty generic. No words like "amigo" in their responses. There appeared to be only one girl, but it could have been two voices. I'll have to listen better on the re-watch.
Flying in this dark land, Ryuu recalls Emperor-seijin's clouds of despair. Unfortunately, before they can do anything about it, they're attacked and GunWinger goes down for the count. I was happy to see that the glass was shattered on the cockpit window of the GunSpeeder. I appreciate the realistic touches.
And thus the main villain appears. I don't really understand his origins. Obviously this all has to do with Emperor-seijin's armor, but is this guy a manifestation of the armor itself, or just some guy who got lucky and stumbled upon this badass suit? Regardless of where he came from, he promptly begins to attack Ryuu and Kanata. Ryuu, being the loving captain he is, sends Kanata off on his way - and even throws Mirai's charm after him. I kinda sniffled a little bit there. Ryuu shoots at him, but naturally that has no effect. Armored Darkness' first attack is stopped briefly (BY THE POWER OF LOVE!! nah, not really), but one more try and we get an ambiguous explosion implying Ryuu's death. I don't believe he's gone for good, and the Stage 2 previews agree with me. Though the explanation of his return is up in the air.
During all this, Sakomizu and co. are doing their best to figure out what to do. Sakomizu dons the captain uniform and appears ready to help the team out when Misaki, Toriyama and Maru show up to tell him off. Sakomizu doesn't buy it until they reveal the old Crew is back to help out, and not surprised that Ryuu got himself into trouble. I can't even begin to put into words the joy that I had in seeing them back again. ;-;
As a side note, notice the Aqua Project barrel behind Sakomizu when he turns around. I really hope GUYS has nothing to do with Seven X as I really don't think Ultraseven would be happy about it!
Armored Darkness moves on to attack Kanata, who has been knocked back by the explosion of GunSpeeder and is cowering in fear like all good newbies do. Armored Darkness raises his staff/pitchfork to attack when... light!
Mebius appears to save the day - or try, at least. Armored Darkness puts up quite the fight, and Mebi is stumped and losing until THE POWER OF LOV-- err, Hikari stops the armor long enough to tell Mebi the right course of action. Grab his sword for massive damage! Mebi obeys, and cuts a nice little chunk out of Armored Darkness' nifty hat/head. He flips out and prepares to attack... but suddenly falls still. Mebi, his ColorTimer beeping, disappears into light. Kanata is still upset from all of this, and is on the ground when a figure appears behind him. He turns to see Mirai, and knows who he is: Ultraman Mebius. I can only imagine all the stories Ryuu has told his new team about "the good ol' days". Kanata is still pretty sad, though, and begins to blame himself for the death of his captain...
Meanwhile, Marina, George, Teppei and Konomi suit up, preparing to go save their friend.
I'm terribly sad it felt so short, and I'm wondering how they're going to successfully wrap this up. Well, okay, not so much successfully as satisfactorily. Oh yes they'll defeat the armor but will the old team get a chance to talk much? Will Mirai and Ryuu hug?!
The wait for Stage 2 is going to be so painful! Ah, cliffhangers, why do you do this to me?
Can't wait to see the extras on the DVD, too. Looked like there was a little bit on the Toho Built where they filmed all the old movies and shows.
Guess I'm back to working on my fanart! And thinking about all the fic I'll probably never start writing... ):
VerusMaya II
Because I'm a desperate little fantwit, I've been stalking the internet in hopes of someone uploading a DVD rip of Gaiden. Not surprisingly, my predictions from before came true: no raw was in sight, and I was starting to think I may not even see it until I get the actual DVD (which isn't that bad, but, y'know, desperate). Because unlike Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, where the rental DVDs are snatched up and ripped mercilessly and shoved on the internet in less than 5 minutes, Ultraman is sadly left behind and no one bothers...
With a little persistence and a lot of whining, a Chinese sub was found. I happily picked it up at 5am, went to sleep for 5 hours, and woke up feeling incredibly refreshed and ready to squee.
So, spoilers obviously...
Running off of memory, so there will probably be inconsistencies. Only seen it once and plan to re-watch after this entry to make sure I didn't miss anything!
It starts off innocent enough: some clips of the final, I guess to set the scene.
Of course, what better way to officially start the story than with a kaijuu? Kanata (the new kid, and really the only member of Ryuu's crew they show) is experiencing the joys of flying at insane speeds, for what I think is his first time. I've always wondered that - the original team had no issues with it, so I just left it as one of those things toku doesn't touch on for sake of drama. All goes well, and they actually defeat Salamandora. Incredibly shocking, to me at least. Ryuu rightfully monologues to Mirai that they're able to protect Earth with their own hands. What toku team has ever been able to defeat monsters without the assistance of a special suit of armor, giant mecha, or gigantic being of light? He still has the charm Mirai gave him, too... it's faded. I don't know, I found that simultaneously sweet and sad. I guess since it's faded so badly, that means this is at least a year since the ending. Was an actual time ever given?
Kanata begins to ask Ryuu what's up with that charm he always has, and Ryuu gets a dreamy look in his eyes as he tells Kanata about his lover how awesome Mirai is/was. But Ryuu isn't really the type to be all emotional, so he quickly moves on to what I believe is him asking Kanata what he thought of Formation Yamato.
Sakomizu is observing safely from his room, having ascended to his proper role as Inspector General, and drinking some coffee. Never change Sakomizu ♥♥ He seems pretty satisfied with Aihara-taichou (doesn't sound as good as Ryuu, imho) and the new Crew. I'm sure after living through the days when they couldn't harm a kaijuu without Mebius, this Crew looks like a godsend. Misaki is there too, and happy to inform us that all is not sunshine and bunnies. Three recycled kaijuu have appeared! What do you do? Why, bust out more of the stock footage of course! (All of the above, even Salamandora, has been stock. Not like I'm complaining - I didn't notice until I read the talkback thread on HJU.)
Ryuu and Kanata, meanwhile, have stumbled upon something very curious - which Ryuu pretty much recognizes later on. Ryuu being Ryuu, however, they fly a little too close and end up inside what turns out to be Emperor-seijin's spaceship. (Odd spaceship, really, but whatever floats/floated his boat!) Sakomizu is quite distraught at this turn of events, allowing Toriyama and Maru to swoop in and start freaking out. Ryuu's remaining Crew continues to take care of the kaijuu, and I believe they eventually stop them (don't remember if the explosions are ever shown).
They don't actually show the rest of Ryuu's team, and they all sound pretty generic. No words like "amigo" in their responses. There appeared to be only one girl, but it could have been two voices. I'll have to listen better on the re-watch.
Flying in this dark land, Ryuu recalls Emperor-seijin's clouds of despair. Unfortunately, before they can do anything about it, they're attacked and GunWinger goes down for the count. I was happy to see that the glass was shattered on the cockpit window of the GunSpeeder. I appreciate the realistic touches.
And thus the main villain appears. I don't really understand his origins. Obviously this all has to do with Emperor-seijin's armor, but is this guy a manifestation of the armor itself, or just some guy who got lucky and stumbled upon this badass suit? Regardless of where he came from, he promptly begins to attack Ryuu and Kanata. Ryuu, being the loving captain he is, sends Kanata off on his way - and even throws Mirai's charm after him. I kinda sniffled a little bit there. Ryuu shoots at him, but naturally that has no effect. Armored Darkness' first attack is stopped briefly (BY THE POWER OF LOVE!! nah, not really), but one more try and we get an ambiguous explosion implying Ryuu's death. I don't believe he's gone for good, and the Stage 2 previews agree with me. Though the explanation of his return is up in the air.
During all this, Sakomizu and co. are doing their best to figure out what to do. Sakomizu dons the captain uniform and appears ready to help the team out when Misaki, Toriyama and Maru show up to tell him off. Sakomizu doesn't buy it until they reveal the old Crew is back to help out, and not surprised that Ryuu got himself into trouble. I can't even begin to put into words the joy that I had in seeing them back again. ;-;
As a side note, notice the Aqua Project barrel behind Sakomizu when he turns around. I really hope GUYS has nothing to do with Seven X as I really don't think Ultraseven would be happy about it!
Armored Darkness moves on to attack Kanata, who has been knocked back by the explosion of GunSpeeder and is cowering in fear like all good newbies do. Armored Darkness raises his staff/pitchfork to attack when... light!
Mebius appears to save the day - or try, at least. Armored Darkness puts up quite the fight, and Mebi is stumped and losing until THE POWER OF LOV-- err, Hikari stops the armor long enough to tell Mebi the right course of action. Grab his sword for massive damage! Mebi obeys, and cuts a nice little chunk out of Armored Darkness' nifty hat/head. He flips out and prepares to attack... but suddenly falls still. Mebi, his ColorTimer beeping, disappears into light. Kanata is still upset from all of this, and is on the ground when a figure appears behind him. He turns to see Mirai, and knows who he is: Ultraman Mebius. I can only imagine all the stories Ryuu has told his new team about "the good ol' days". Kanata is still pretty sad, though, and begins to blame himself for the death of his captain...
Meanwhile, Marina, George, Teppei and Konomi suit up, preparing to go save their friend.
I'm terribly sad it felt so short, and I'm wondering how they're going to successfully wrap this up. Well, okay, not so much successfully as satisfactorily. Oh yes they'll defeat the armor but will the old team get a chance to talk much? Will Mirai and Ryuu hug?!
The wait for Stage 2 is going to be so painful! Ah, cliffhangers, why do you do this to me?
Can't wait to see the extras on the DVD, too. Looked like there was a little bit on the Toho Built where they filmed all the old movies and shows.
Guess I'm back to working on my fanart! And thinking about all the fic I'll probably never start writing... ):
VerusMaya II