Talk:Ultraman Taiga (series)/@comment-27186083-20190717131425

Okay, a little bit of update on what I think about first Episode. Bout darn time, eh?

When I said it felt rushed, it’s more because I thought there wasn’t any down time to the pacing. In some ways, I was right about it being so because I couldn’t understand well. On the other, I guess I should have paid more attention.

What I mean by down time here is the moment where things slow down a bit. We did got that. The part where Hiro conversed with Kawazu. As if that wasn’t obvious enough. Another thing I liked about Hiroyuki is how he’s actually competent in CQC. For someone who isn’t over a thousand years old, that is.

But yeah, that’s what’s changed here. I thought it was actually a fair amount of time that we got with that scene.

I also said that other characters aren’t exactly complete. My brain isn’t complete.

For one, there’s Kana, whose first scene began with her getting a premonition. That’s pretty good, since it’s more of a foreshadow and it was touched on in a different way later on, too. She has an idea as to what’s going on behind the scenes and they showed us that.

I also like the little touch with her having just ought the car with a loan; it humanizes her and the whole team. It’s trying to communicate to us that the team, mostly on the two guys, that they’re doing this because they thought it’d actually bring about a greater good despite the situation of their team and such.

I also realized that I haven’t touched on fight scenes. It’s good. I really like how versatile they’ve made both sides by this point. Hellberos, like I commented on his page, has a really wide arsenal to use and that makes him really threatening. Portrayals aside, Zegan is really powerful, and him being one-shotted is an easy way to communicate to us on Hellberos’ strength.

Taiga himself is no slouch, starting off with acrobatics -he really is his dad’s son- and clearing a ring of fire just by landing in the middle of it. As if that wasn’t enough, he counters HB’s spike projectiles by firing off Swallow Blasts like it’s no big deal. It really is, but still.

The whole fight scene is just a treat, now that I’ve touched on it and thinking more about it.

Then, Tregear. Isn’t it enough that he’s already pulling the strings, but the only way he reacted to seeing the son of his arch-enemy returning to the battlefield is by simply smiling and waving to him? Not to mention, the neat little touch with his shadow.

That’s all for my revisit, if I missed anything that you want my thoughts on, do ask.

Now, time for the main course. Spoiler, obviously.

Alright, Episode, here we (Buddy) Go!

For one, it’s already off to a better start, one with your to-be-expected flashback scenes.

Also, Chibisuke’s got lip. Hope he doesn’t spit haht fire when he grows up. I mean, come on.

I know this is also something to be expected, but Villain Guild’s a real piece of dung.

Ok, to cut out to a more serious topic, though; while I thought Hiro’s being chosen by an Ultra scene is cool, it really could use just a little bit more weight to it.

A good alternative would be to give it a rainy setting, with Hiro coming in to offer Chibisuke some food. Then, after a short talk about how he’ll always stay by his side and never leave him, the Rekyum Man comes in, not by surprise, but by slowly coming into view so we can get that sweet unnerving factor in it. That’s all I’d consider changing, I guess.

At best, I’d give the scene to take about 3 minutes.

Smol Taiga. Adorable.

But I guess he’s also an idiot.

If I heard that correctly, Sakura is part of the cops. A fairly high-ranking one, at that. This really adds to things because it shows us that while it’s obvious that there are others who suspect the existence of aliens, they show us how they are suspecting by introducing us to Sakura who comes to them, who are directly involved in their affairs, for help. Good world-building, so far.

Alright, I thought for a bit that those aliens were bickering because one of them forgot to deactivate surveillance systems before sneaking in. Back during Special Movie, at least. Got my answer now that they’re just idiots.

So, EGIS; they deal with securities, stuffs, and cyber-stuffs? Cyber-crimes.

I’m sorry, is Hiroyuki 22 years old? Let’s fix that. 9 - 12 years old. Seriously, I know anyone would take that, but convinced the moment a treat is offered? This is our protagonist, folks.

Ah, nice day for patrol, innit boys? Clouds are pretty sparse, workers working, the alien bad guys are trying to lock on to their next buck-maker and look! Kirisaki’s paying a visit.

Kirisaki’s paying a visit.

Guess(ra) who?

I’ll be here all year long folks.

I really love how far they’ve gone with the composition works here, makes me glad I stuck to this franchise.

Also, I wanted to tackle this in my update of Taiga Episode 1, but I find it weird that Homare gets this kind of focus. Sure, he’s one of those perceptive people, but Episode 1 also brings us the possibility that he’s an alien, as many theorized.

Wonder how they’ll carry that.

Also, I felt somewhat betrayed that Homare isn’t the first person we see using the baton considering the kind of character we are led to understand about him and how frequently we see him using it in the PV.

Is that worker one of the staff members? He looks like he could be. Sure, an extra, but the possibility exists.

…I just realized the significance of Hiroyuki feeding Chibisuke chocolate. I was wondering if the warehouse was what I think it was. I guess I was right. Pretty much a no-brainer, I know.

Oh hey, Taiga is chastising Hiroyuki for not destroying the monster first, with the reasoning that by not doing that, he’ll cause more casualties. Just what I’d like to hear.

How these aliens not notice the dudes driving literally just under them?

Whatever, at least we got to see Homare kicking ‘em.

Nice, we finally have them meet again.

And there, that’s our second comedic moment in the series.

You know, it was nice seeing the reunion and all…

But I guess we really needed to see what Kirisaki is capable of doing, huh?

Oh, okay, 20 seconds. Nice. And it looks like the following scene with him dropping down will be commonplace. Wonder what the others’ will look like.

Man, what’s with these projectile attacks? They all look so vicious. I said this before Hell Slash. So, you can guess what I thought about that.

Okay, I admit, I nearly forgot Tregear exists, and this is before he appears. Let’s see what will happen next…

Oh god… he’s here. And the VG knows about him, too. I mean, who wouldn’t?

Alright, Taiga… lesson one: Do not approach Tregear. Lesson two: Do not throw a look at him. Lesson three: Run.

Remember how last time the Cheir Phos basically killed you, Taiga? Now that he’s still playing, it’d be best that you high-tail it.

What? Oh you thought Episode 1 with HB beating up on Zandrias was bad, oh… well, here’s Tregear. Beating up Gesura while laughing and mockingly calling him by the name Hiroyuki gave.

…

That’s a dark aura.

I like the overlapping voice. This, is how you get the main character to join the fight.

Look at Tregear, look at him.

Strike two, Taiga. Get outta there.

I said get out, not clear up the entire block. This is only Episode 2.

…and now, you have officially carried it too far, Tregear.

Now, I’m excited for Episode 3. Looks like Titas will deliver the finishing blow in space or something.

--IM--

Rewatching Episode 2 to get more on things before giving out final thoughts.

--IM--

Ah, so Taiga yearns for those “Wow!” reactions.

The part where Pirika made that joke felt so weird, yet so genuine. It’s odd.

I also forgot that I like how they decide to have Hiroyuki use the “boku” pronoun. I guess I just like it when they fit with their established personality.

So, Chibisuke, while a monster, is still pretty sentient compared to regular monsters. A theme in this series, I see. Which means that he does still have a mind almost as potent as a human given that he’s capable of recognition and protective desires towards other species. The chip implanted within him is also strong enough to override most of his basic instincts. Kirisaki is capable of overriding the chip.

Says a lot about his power, doesn’t it?

The music when Taiga appears in Episode 2, and the one used during Hiroyuki’s moment of truth back in 1. That alone is already so much better than anything in R/B. Rivaling Geed, even. With a slight tilt in its favor.

I guess I should also take not of Taiga’s fighting ability there. While it’s no Koichi, we still get enough from him through that. The way he fights, despite there being no doubt having gotten training in the same caliber as his father’s what with his desire and all, still has sprinkles of him just being sloppy overall.

Examples:


 * Ep. 1: Punches Hellberos and gets his hand hurt.


 * Ep. 2: Fights in a brutish manner without the elegance that experienced Ultras have.

I said this before, that I liked how Taiga and Hiroyuki’s voices overlapped with each others’, but I think I need to reaffirm that fact.

This is my second time watching this and it still gave me goosebumps; the weight and the emotion of that one bit alone was just… amazing.

Unfortunately, however, there will soon be a problem that I’ll address.

There’s also Tregear’s words. Cdr and the others addressed it, but I think I should also give it my own take.

Hoo. Tregear, boy, I like ya. But what was that?

The part where he parrots Taiga’s own words mockingly was great, definitely something he’d say, but the following line about justice n’ evil, vacuum of space yada-yada. Come on, man. Come on. Sort of irrelevant if I must say. Not only that, but there’s a feeling that something’s out of place there.

Aren’t we supposed to be exposed to his past a bit more and how it distorted his perspective before we can hear him say something like that?

If it’s just to piss off, Taiga, then I would have let it slide. But sometimes the context can be a little weird.

So, the problem I spoke of before. Hiroyuki’s reaction after Tregear left.

Somewhat underwhelming. Just moments before that curbstomping, he saw Chibisuke basically getting murdered right before his eyes. Then here he is, just asking Taiga who Mr. Blue Man is. I guess I can forgive this one a little bit since I can actually detect that distraught shakiness in his voice and his expression is shown pretty clearly.

While I think the aftermath was the right place Taiga to spill it regarding Tregear, I feel like he could at least hint that he wasn’t alone prior to him being turned to space sparkles.

Again, last scene. I thought that Kirisaki would have just disappeared after giving the balloon. This guy, I tell you.

Finally, final thoughts of finality.

Heh.

Since all the problems are already addressed, I’ll give only summaries of what I think.

As per my request on Episode 1, we actually got a very calm scene to begin the episode with, and that’s really good, because personal taste. Really, though, it’s because when these are present, it allows for the second half of the episode to really explode and provide a proper juxtaposition for it.

For the episode itself, I think it’s a sensible continuation from where Episode 1 left off. Not only that, it’s also paced very well; the sequence of events, though will be vague, viewers can piece them together in a fairly correct order. This means that the episode is coherent enough for viewers to follow and recount what happens in it.

Directing? I thought Ryuichi could only go for the basic styles, but thankfully, I was proven wrong and I am glad that’s what happened because if the early episodes are like these, then there’s definitely something to look forward to in later episodes and by the end of the series. Framing, although nothing too special, helps us to see what’s what.

Characters? I think this one definitely helps in fleshing them out a bit more;


 * Hiroyuki’s a good guy even since a kid, but that doesn’t mean things have always gone his way


 * Homare is the tough guy, takes his job seriously, but isn’t one to get mad just because


 * Pirika is that weird tech girl, making jokes and just overall someone fun to be around with


 * Kana is not a stern boss, but she takes her job seriously, as one would


 * Sakurai is your typical hard-worker, having too much on his plate at once, but never one to resort to unnecessary strictness or abuse his implied authority


 * Taiga, while also a good guy, stands more on a slightly distorted stance on it, expecting a reaction of awe regarding his presence but having little to nothing on his resume to actually justify that

Oh yeah, last minute shoehorn, but I initially thought that the ending sounded too off for me. Of course, that has since changed.

That’s all for my review and analysis, I’ll see you guys on the next dish. From what we were allowed to see of it, sounds like it’s gonna be a pretty savory one.