Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-152.26.211.31-20161128163041/@comment-27186083-20181205124924

US X = UltraSeven X (I had to abbreviate it somehow).

I get why you would want a series that actually leans into the darker side of things, I do. I mean, as someone who finally get to witness the true glory of the series that is Gaia, I felt like they could really do with more of that kind. But I suppose if I was to give my own personal reason as to why a darker series works in Ultraman, it would be because of the underlying theme of hope that they always have. I'm just a sucker for that.

Geed has good pacing? Excuso mi jose. I think Geed may actually be some of the worst offender of that. Sure, X got the worst of it with having little to no semblance of a story that is directly tied to the plot, but Geed? I dunno man, there's just some things about it that made it feel strange. For one, Riku isn't exactly an active protagonist. By that, I mean that he isn't really finding ways to unravel things. Unfortunately, R/B is also an offender in that. Most of the time, they rely on "prompts" to really get the plot going. but that's not the whole deal with all of this.

Reasons why Geed didn't quite work out for me once I started using my brain better.

I think, it's more that they didn't distribute the focus on characters all too well. The show was clearly building on the idea that despite his roots, Riku is his own person and has friends who will back him up when he really needs it. Guess how well that went.


 * Moa never moves on. Laiha gets sidelined for most of the time unless Kei is directly involved.


 * REM? Miss Exposition.


 * Pega, just doesn't really work. What's the point of having an alien character who is clearly disliked by the public if you're not going to use that well as a development point for him?


 * Kume Haruo, the store manager, could have been a good father figure but nobody remembers him. Literally thrown out after Episode 7. Dude's smile was brighter than a Koichi-supervised VFX.


 * Zena is wasted, too, never really got anything else to do past his backstory 2-parter episodes. Sure, he got to help with the Kei deal, but nothing else. Him using Zegan in the last episode did jack-crapp. They clearly built him up as a sort of failed mentor to his previous students, but saw success with Moa. Know how to end his story? Kill him off. I think.


 * Leito is really the only other person than Riku who had notable development. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have been around had it not been for Zero being there who, in turn, was there to be juxtaposed with Geed.


 * Kei did well. Too bad his backstory didn't add more impact to him.

I have to admit though, @Manfeild, the Little Star gimmick at least makes sense in that it served to move the plot along. It was an essential part to the overall plot, which was a good decision on the producers' part. I mean, it moved us along all the way until the halfway point of the series.

As for the tones and themes? You know, for a story that has the theme of someone finding their own individuality, the series as a whole really didn't do much to address and have riku overcome that obstacle. Not even his friends ever pondered about it. What's that? My best friend who has been with me for the past 6 years is the son of an evil corrupted Ultra who has attempted to destroy the universe before? Yeah, okay.

It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't only discuss it when the plot demands so. Literally Episode 11 is the only time where they truly think about it. Didn't go anywhere as far as I'm concerned. Sure, Episode 16 came 4 weeks later, but it never really had Geed wondering about the problems he felt. As far as I could tell, he was only angry because Geed only found out then that his "dad" is a massive jerk. Literally.

Remember when I mentioned character development? I mean, '''what was that about!? '''Seriously, think about it. How many of the characters are truly changed once things started happening? I can think of only 3 characters with notable amounts of change in them. Riku: Became more skilled as time went on, boosted confidence is also visible with how he tackles things. I mean, instead of questioning how he can do things, Episode 3 for example, he actually tries to do something. Like in Episode 19 where he tried to snap REM out of Kei's trance.

Laiha used to be cold towards Riku, and she became less of that and actually more caring towards her newfound friends. She was also a bit of a pessimist in the beginning. Example; Episode 3, again. While Geed was fighting against the Capsule Darklops, instead of cheering for Riku, she tries to convince the boy to get away while Geed buys them time. Episode 23's end? Wow, she actually tells Riku to not set out on his own like that, and that he has them to support them all the way through.

Leito would probably be the easiest guess in all of this. At first, he's a timid guy and pretty much worthless. In a narrative sense. But with Zero's arrival, his life saw massive changes. At first, he is very reluctant to do anything until Zero takes over. This feeling of worthlessness saw its peak in Episode 8, where he literally runs out crying about his inability to do anything. Also outright states that he is scared to do anything. In spite of that, he actually doubts if he shouldn't do anything. That doubt is what led to his development in changing from the cowering salaryman he used to be, to the true family man that he is now. It's just a shame that Leito doesn't get much meaningful interactions with Zero. Episode 20 comes to mind with that, when he got the paralysis spark from Gubila's Little Star.

I would continue on with why this meant bad for the other characters, but as it is right now, this post is an essay.

Actually... one character just can't seem to escape my head when it comes to the failed development department. Moa. From beginning to end, she is this bumbling idiot who cannot seem to get the affection she yearns from Riku and can't stand the fact that someone is able to get so close to him. And when things go wrong, she just pretty much breaks down. Except. For. Episode 11.

Is it not weird that I give praise to Episode 11 the most? That's because it deserves it. Episode 11 is the only that truly puts into action everything that was developed since the first episode. We see that at that point that:


 * Riku hasn't really grown much, but still definitely does think about his whole existence.


 * Laiha was becoming friendlier as she had faced her inner demons 2 episodes prior.


 * REM didn't need much things about her in this episode, I have to say, so she is clear of any charges I've put on her.


 * Pega also didn't do much... but it is the one time we see his alien nature being put to actual use. I mean, Kei was never really aware of him, so it makes sense that the Bado Sniper was not able to see interruption coming.


 * Leito and Zero? The former has actually been more assertive as of then, attempting, although fruitlessly, to reject Zero's control over him. Zero delayed Belial's approach, so it makes sense at least that Belial would be delayed. But that's a thing in a narrative standpoint, so, doesn't really count I guess.


 * Kei also faced the greatest change in here. We see that he has since become more hostile towards Riku, and it's shown that he actually hates him due to his desire in wanting to be held highest in Belial's eyes. His character does a lot of work here; with him being able to set-up the temporary setback in a date between Laiha's sword and his neck, as well as his demeanor being used to its fullest in how he taunts Riku the whole time he talks about him. From the revelation of Geed's existence, all the way to his fight, Kei attempted to get to Riku's mind in trying to defeat him and break his spirit. It worked. the only problem was that his overconfidence got the best of him, leading to his delayed execution of Riku, which subsequently resulted in him losing the Zero Capsule.

Excuse me, am I talking about the worst Ultra Series, or am I analyzing the series I supposedly call one of the worst? Anyway, that's enough for now, I suppose. But you guys can try putting two and two together in figuring things out with my reasons as to why Geed kinda flopped at the end.