Who Are The Big Five Kaiju In Gamera?

 

By Joe Gibson

 

Introduction

 

There is a specific category designation of certain kaiju in the Godzilla series: the Big Five. I guess it measures the fact that only these five have appeared in every era (though that is not exactly true and rendered irrelevant by the increasing amount of one-shot film continuities per era that only partially adapt that list of five) or maybe the marquee value compounded over a long time of these specific monsters topping the box office. In any case, many of the conversations and speculation surrounding the early Monsterverse was when and how Legendary would adapt these monsters, those being Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Rodan and Mechagodzilla. Only after Godzilla King of the Monsters had four of those in a film together did fancasts include secondary Godzilla kaiju like Gigan or Anguirus.

 

In my anecdotal experience, in terms of the influence on pop culture, Godzilla and Mechagodzilla have been the most common specific parody monster formats, but King Ghidorah has appeared as is in a surprising amount of cartoons, and the concept of insect and pteranodon monsters are disproportionately common for how many types of monsters one could make. (As the research I carried out for this article reveals though, Gamera as a turtle kaiju has also had a great deal of references and outright appearances in pop culture.) However, the concept of the Big Five goes back as long established fan knowledge, so any argument I make to reinforce it will necessarily be assuming the conclusion already and thus circular. 

 

For instance, the concept or specific character of a son of Godzilla appears as often as the 4 other costars, and King Kong technically should qualify for having a film contemporary to every Godzilla era. The utility of a “Big Five” is in comparison to the Godzilla series, for marquee value and a more focused vision for the franchise’s future based on which wild dart shots landed on the board for the public. Rather than justifying the Big Five, we will presuppose it in our replication, which will start very easy but end up a bit more difficult.

 

Gamera and Gyaos: The First Two Draft Picks

 

 

Unlike the Godzilla series, there are really only two kaiju that have appeared in every era of the franchise, that being Gamera himself and Gyaos. Gamera is an upright turtle with tusks (think the icon that appears on the Mountain Dew Code Red logo) that breathes fire and can fly like a UFO, while Gyaos is a batlike bird with a yellow beam called the sonic scalpel. Gyaos has actually gotten less humanoid as the technology for puppetry or CGI have improved in the series, and he largely exists as a horde monster though in most circumstances of a Gyaos horde, there will also exist one large specimen to fight Gamera one on one.

 

In case you doubt the obviousness of these picks, in the 12 Gamera films, Gamera has been in all of them, and Gyaos has had a major role in 6 of them. More than just “he’s here half the time,” Gyaos’ role often informs the themes of a particular film or contextualizes the kind of threat in the film. Space Gyaos represents the destruction via technological innovation of the Terans and establishes Guiron as a threat when he preys on them. Similarly, the Heisei Gyaos was a created species that destroyed their creators, and the reemergence of them alongside Iris in that film raises the stakes considerably. Four Gyaos star in the opening of Gamera The Brave, and apparently the authorial intent was to have Zedus, the villain of that film mutate by eating their carcass (though that is not only not shown in the film but high improbable given the timeskip the film does show), so this is a similar mid film torch-passing to the Guiron example.

 

Every other kaiju, at least in the movies, is locked into their specific era. Design cues from some monsters transcend the eras, but Iris was its own monster instead of an updated Viras, and S Gyaos was inspired from Super Gyaos and Zedus but is not either of those characters. 

 

The Third Slot

 

I am trying to be somewhat objective here without just relying on boosting my favorites. Gamera and Gyaos would be in the Big Five no matter what, but, from here on out, we probably need to consider the other reappearances. In the Showa series (counting the stock footage of Gamera Super Monster), Gamera had 8 films and Gyaos appeared in 3 but Barugon, Viras, Guiron Jiger and Zigra had their first film as well as Super Monster. Of these 7, all but Barugon also have now appeared in Gamera Rebirth, so there is the first exclusion. (Barugon, while Gamera’s first opponent, can fairly be excluded from a Big Five because Anguirus, Godzilla’s first foe, is not part of the original Big Five.) But how do we narrow it down from Viras, Guiron, Jiger or Zigra?

 

 

Ultimately, Viras is my first pick of these because, taking the Gamera series as a multimedia franchise, the television show Gamera Rebirth played him up as a Big Bad over the other kaiju, and the Dark Horse comics set in the Heisei timeline use him as a main villain. In the Nintendo Game Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Viras is the second opponent after Gyaos. From the angle of suit construction and design, director Yuasa was the most proud of Viras (the costume had multiple tentacles hanging that disguised the actor's legs as the two central tentacles). Also, as I'll touch on in an upcoming video on our YouTube channel, Viras is the connecting thread that inspired many of the lesser kaiju in the series and thus is important even beyond his own contributions.

 

Though this claim conflicts with previous reporting, Hiroyuki Seshita (the man behind Gamera Rebirth) recently stated that the 2015 proof of concept anniversary short’s unidentified tentacled monster was actually meant to be Viras and was a great inspiration on his own version of Viras. That short features Gyaos as a horde beast in the backstory but Viras as the main overarching villain, and we may be reaching a point where Viras as the big bad in a movie still featuring Gyaos is possible.

 

The Fourth Slot

 

Okay, this is where it gets substantially harder and a bit more…mathematical. The Big Five is essentially a metric of the pop culture impact, and Gamera kaiju more so than even his films exist in the pop culture through cameos and references. Some of these are very subtle and obligatory; Pacific Rim Uprising shows icons for and lists Gamera, Gyaos, Guiron, Jiger and Zigra as existing kaiju in the universe. While it does nothing to advance these characters, that is fairly a feat under the names of Guiron, Jiger and possibly Zigra for consideration in this fourth slot.

 

Thankfully, Wikizilla has a page devoted to Gamera references in popular culture, so we can very easily measure the footprint of each of these kaiju. An episode of the cartoon series Franklin uses the likenesses of Gyaos, Jiger, Viras and Barugon, and an episode of Pani Poni Dash has Gyaos and Viras. It is actually more common for Gamera to appear alongside other series’ monsters than his own, grouped with Godzilla, Mothra and once even Alien Baltan from Ultraman (but Godzilla was still also there). It makes sense that Gamera’s most adapted costar would be Godzilla (everyone has their own idea for how that crossover should eventually be done including me), but we actually have enough data without considering him to select the Big Fourth.

 

Comparing the cameo line-ups, Jiger would be the remaining commonality, and I was a little disappointed I would not get to include Guiron (for reasons I will get to, the fifth and final pick has to be a Heisei kaiju). However, then I started to notice that despite not being in the crowd of adapted kaiju as often as one like Jiger, it turned out that Guiron had a lot of references by himself or set apart in some way, as I noted, something also true of King Ghidorah.

 

 

Badaxtra, from Dexter’s Laboratory, by virtue of being derived from a bladed weapon is as much a Guiron reference as he is a Godzilla one, and the kaiju toy from Turbo Fast (pictured above) is equal parts Godzilla, Gigan and Guiron. (Guiron does not even need Gamera present to appear or inspire pop culture.) Finally, the monster in issue 69 of The Powerpuff Girls comic is literally just Guiron in their artstyle with extra eyes and limbs; he has the same knife shape of the head, same green color, tusks for all that is holy and even the pattern of triangles down its back that are easy to forget if you are not just directly copying the film’s design. (Also, when it came time for Gamera to come to the game Gigabash, it was Guiron specifically that came with him.)

 

Okay so Guiron is a knifeheaded quadruped but previous concepts for the design included fish, and he can swim as well as he can walk and leap, so he is a triphibian monster that shoots shurikens and is second only to Gamera for acrobatics (Gamera Rebirth reinvisioned his more chunky body type into essentially a slinky with a knife on the end to really emphasize the agility of his leaps and precision of his cuts). People do not forget a demented fish knife lizard guard dog, because, as creature designer Akira Inoue put it, “Only Guiron is like this.” Guiron had his own movie (that featured him chopping up Gyaos, a helpful point of fact to his presence in a Big Five) and also reappeared in Gamera Super Monster same as the rest but may have partially inspired Legion’s design in Gamera’s Heisei trilogy. Kaiju fans’ common sense tells them he inspired the Pacific Rim kaiju Knifehead, but there are official statements to the contrary. Still, Guiron casts a long shadow and is a worthy pick here.

 

Ultimately, if you would prefer Jiger for this pick, that is your prerogative. Pop culture has codified Jiger as one of the members of Gamera’s supporting cast if you go far enough down the list, while Guiron has taken on his own genre of parody kaiju. However, this is because there is something undeniably captivating about the acrobatic knife-headed Guiron, and it is an easier sell getting people to care about Guiron any time Gamera gets rebooted than it is for Jiger. That is especially true after Rebirth Guiron stole the show by being Gamera’s toughest fight, and Rebirth Jiger got half of its absurd powers removed.

 

The Fifth Slot

 

 

When designing a Mount Rushmore, you need to consider not only founding and growth but also preservation and development, so, given that the Showa kaiju have been largely interchangeable in pop culture with Guiron only having an edge because of how bizarre he is, we need to pick a Heisei kaiju for this last slot. The only issue is there is really only one choice, and that is Legion, but we’ll get there in a second. 

 

Gyaos is the first villain of the Heisei series and is obviously already firmly in our second slot on this list. Iris, the final villain of the Heisei trilogy, was actually designed after Viras, which makes me think that if Kadokawa were to put out a version of Viras like Rebirth’s that actually resonates, Iris would be a redundancy. (A purist might say that Viras as the boss of an alien invasion is incompatible with the spiritual red herring of Iris, but I would counter that for the majority of Viras’ first film, a similar moral ambiguity exists thematically where you think Viras is not actually the villain, as well as the fact that both of these final fights involve the villain monster impaling Gamera.) As I have already put Viras on the list, there is no room for Iris. (They even rhyme if you say Viras correctly and Iris incorrectly.) 

 

I love Zedus from Gamera the Brave a lot, but not only has his pop culture impact been small, but he has neither preserved nor developed the franchise; his movie killed the franchise. Legion, as the most creative of the Heisei monsters, an invading alien army realized through a truly alien sense of biology and creature design, developed the trilogy’s themes through Gamera’s dependence on Mana to defeat it. A middle chapter kaiju also necessarily keeps a series’ momentum going, and, with the variety of forms, Legion could easily be its own season of Gamera Rebirth.

 

Optional Sixth and Seventh Rangers

 

At the beginning of this article, I identified that technically Godzilla’s Son and King Kong as icons technically should map onto the Big Five given the specific criteria, and we can extend that analogy here. A “Son Of” character appears for Gamera in Gamera the Brave and Gamera Rebirth, and Jiger’s offspring is important to its story in the debut film to the point that Rebirth’s portrayal opted out of an adult Jiger to include a horde of infants (that ate each other to become one massive survivor). The lifecycle of Gyaos is also significant in many adaptations of the character, as well as in the development of Iris.  Though the inherent contradiction of Gamera fighting newborn Barugon or a horde of baby Gyaos is never addressed, it is less common for there not to be child kaiju in some form at some point in the story. (We can also consider the Garasharp short where Gamera is scripted to kill the adult snake but then rescue and rehabilitate its young.)

 

As far as the King Kong IP’s proximity to the Godzilla franchise (where revivals tend to align with each other, and there are times where the same company makes the films for each), Gamera also has an analog: Daimaijin. To my knowledge, Daimaijin and Gamera have not crossed over to the same extent, but Daimajin has a trilogy of films from the 60s with attempts at revivals almost as often as Kong (originally envisioned as the design of Gamera’s first opponent, later planned for an Ishiro Honda led film in the 80s, two projects in the 90s, one in the early 2000s, etc). Daimajin did get a television show in 2010 and a cameo appearance in a Great Yokai War movie recently. Unlike Kong, nothing has come of these characters’ proximity to each other, but, assuming Kadokawa can find their audience this time, a Monsterverse type series crossing Daimajin with Gamera (and maybe even the Whale God or Pairan Seijin) is a natural franchise step.

 

With that, our line-up would be Gamera, Gyaos, Viras, Guiron and Legion (with the “Son of” trope and Daimaijin also important to the conversation). Because this project involved research into not only the pop culture appearances of the mainline kaiju but into other sources indicating the presence of more obscure kaiju, stay tuned for a more complete subjective ranking of all the Gamera kaiju, probably in video form (All 30 Gamera Kaiju Ranked, Except Iris Who Joe Forgot).

 

Some Truncated Thoughts On Ultraman Omega Episodes 1-9

 

By Joe Gibson

 

Intro

 

Ultraman Omega is the newest Ultraman show, airing as I have been writing this and when this will go up on the blog and probably after for a little bit. (These new Ultra shows will generally have 25 episodes and a movie.) I suspect some of our audience here has watched a few of the older Ultra shows when they aired on American sci-fi channels, but outside of whatever die-hard or new Ultra fans stumble upon this article, I think you could fairly call it a Herculean task to keep up to date on the Ultra series. Though I have long been a fan of Godzilla and tokusatsu in general, only recently have I begun to get into the Ultra series, and that is because of the sheer amount of content to sift through. After all, there are at least as many Ultraman shows as there are Godzilla movies, and, unlike the now 2-3 year gaps between Godzilla releases, a new Ultraman show comes out every year, and maybe they will slow down after the anniversary next year, but who really knows?

 

We are technically in the Reiwa era of tokusatsu entertainment, but New Generation is the subtitle most often applied to these new 21st century productions after the Showa series and Heisei series have passed. New Generation is not only a category grouping production cycles, season lengths, common creatives and common tropes, but it has also become a large part of the discourse given that some new shows have deliberately referenced previous shows as the “New Generation” version. As such, it kind of poisons the well to compare any new show to anything that came before in the fandom, which makes it simultaneously the best and worst time to jump into any new Ultraman show. At its worst, a show will be blatantly inspired by a previous one and/or have like 7 past Ultra heroes show up alluding to previous themes and conflicts, and, at its most unobtrusive, there will be an episodic crossover with the directly previous Ultra hero or possibly a secondary Ultra in the show that either has his own previous adventures or not. Ultraman Omega, thus far, is on the self-contained end of this spectrum, even downplaying the Ultraman part of Omega’s identity when he remembers his name (he is an amnesiac in the show).

 

As of right now, 9* episodes of the 25 have aired, mostly vague Monster of The Week filler episodes emphasizing the characters involved in the show, with the most recent episode being a recap episode (I usually skip these, but I especially like this cast compared to other Ultra shows, so I watched it as well). Based on the descriptions for the September batch of episodes, the show is about to pivot into more overarching plot considerations with an actual attack team, so, from almost every angle, now is the best time to come here and debrief on my thoughts on the show so far. (For American 20-26 episode television, there is usually a midseason break after the 9th episode anyway.) I have noticed a large variety of opinions on this show ranging from positive to negative, so my goal here is to influence you to watch a couple episodes from my coverage and add to the discourse or just to put my thoughts out there for those already watching it, since this is a somewhat unprecedented situation for me, being able to post and talk about a tokusatsu show as it is airing instead of years later. 

 

So, enjoy my recollection and impressions, as truncated as I can make them (still ultimately about 5000 words), of 9 episodes of television back to back.

 

Episode 1

 

 

Ultraman Omega opens with an action set piece on some kind of moon involving a horde of insect type creatures whose suit has been repurposed from a previous kaiju. Actually, in this scene, CGI portrays these monsters, and you cannot really tell (but I also think they will come back in suit form for an episode later on), which is good because while I take the hardline stance that I think the Ultra series should stick to suitmation because they are the only ones still doing it, it is really only in the last couple decades that the CGI in kaiju media has been good especially on a television budget. Advancement in the genre is advancement in the genre. In any case, the name of these creatures puzzles me a little bit. 

 

Evidently, the creators wanted to mix the words bug and insect, and, for whatever reason the b turned into a v. Vugsect, depending on how you say it, can sound a little crude, but the other romanization of this word is Vagsect, which is closer to a yonic symbol than it is to the original pun (and again, especially in plural, the name sounds pretty crude). Anyway, Omega fights the horde of Vagsects, destroying the moon, and falling to Earth to lose his memory with no real context for all of this.

 

What happened with Omega and the Vagsects on that moon seems to be one of the main mysteries, especially insofar as Omega himself will also probably want to figure that out. I do not know where the show is going with this, but I am insistent one of the larger Vagsects will have to come back as either a MOTW or one of the final three foes. Since I have not seen anything officially identifying Omega as part of the Intergalactic Defense Force (the garrison most Ultras find themselves under serving in), I think it would be really interesting if the original Omega pre amnesia was more morally dubious, but given how quickly Omega in human form relearns empathy, I think he either is part of the garrison or will be offered a place there after the movie (Ultraman Orb notably refused to join their ranks when offered, but Omega wants to make friends and find his place in the world, so he probably will accept).

 

In any case, after he lands on Earth, he loses his memory, and, through very efficient character building scenes in his lodging with his favorite foods and childhood relics, we learn a lot about the other lead of this story, Kosei. Omega, in his amnesiac form, needs someone to play off to show the nuances in his Ultra instincts and growing humanity, and Kosei, especially when reacting to Omega relocating him through the air away from danger, is perfect for this. Kosei’s strong sense of morality also both endears him to the audience and keeps him relevant to the action as he refuses to abandon a crying girl in the danger multiple times. I am speeding past the nuances here because I do not want this to go on too long, but I encourage you to watch episodes one and two for the best showing of Kosei’s character and episode five for Omega’s.

 

The MOTW is not actually the Vagsects but a new creature and suit as far as I can tell named Graim, who has a drill on his nose and sharp claws. As a genuine threat to not only the small humans but amnesiac Omega, I find the fight compelling and not merely obligatory, though there is some debate on the choreography and intrigue of it. While I have my issue with the concept of the slugger (mohawk blade many Ultras have in order to detach and use as a knife), this episode shows the coolest use for one in what happens to Graim. (Though Graim dies, he does not blow up, which I found curious, and, sure enough, he will be back in the next batch of episodes.) The last important thing of note to this fight is that the English subtitles have an annoying habit of translating every sign and billboard whenever they are available, not even always in English. If you are the kind of viewer to make drinking games, take this into consideration*

 

Episode 2

 

I found the character work in this episode even better than the premiere, and that is because of the introduction of Ayumu, a researcher now part of the government’s effort to understand the kaiju, who chances upon Omega, the man who has all the answers but remembers them one vague hint at a time. Specifically, Omega, who Kosei names as his cousin Sorato as a cover, is too naive not to reveal his identity to Ayumu, and Kosei has to keep her from realizing the full magnitude of what Sorato has just done repeatedly. (In the coming episodes, Sorato will literally summon his slugger in front of Ayumu.) Though this bit has a shelf life and absolutely should not go on too long, it is gripping here. Arguably, stuff like this puts Kosei as not just co-lead and deuteragonist but as the main character and protagonist. 

 

I define the main character by having the most screen-time but protagonist as the most important character, like how a narrator and POV character is not necessarily who the story is about such as in the Great Gatsby or Attack on Titan. Sorato being a mostly content comedic vessel in these episodes contrasted against Kosei who is not only the POV character but the active character keeping a secret and befriending Ayumu tips these scales a certain way. However, it is also true that Ultraman Orb, very early on, seemed to have more screentime and perspective for Naomi than for Orb, reversing this gradually until it was fully Orb’s show, so we will have to watch the entire series closely to truly appoint a main character and protagonist.

 

Dugrid, an amphibious kaiju converted from a preexisting suit, actually deals the greatest damage to Omega, ripping the costume in the real world. But no uh, though this fight is on a technical level less original than Graim’s, the presence of a dam and the recollection of Omega’s beam keep this fight interesting. What I gravitated toward the most in this episode was the squelching sound effects placed over the fight that were near constant to communicate the beast’s texture. One criticism of the show I have heard is that the soundtrack is quite dull, and, since the only sound I can strongly remember is Dugrid’s sticky body, that might be true. As the obligatory counter, this episode does not have notable inexplicable billboard translation, so I thought they had fixed that, but it was just because there were no billboards present in this final fight (those intrusive translations will be back the next two episodes)*

 

Episode 3

 

 

So, ever since the third show in the Ultraseries, Ultraseven, the kaiju have not just been Monsters of the Week but have also been helpers to the main hero. Ultraseven had capsule monsters, Ultraman X had Cyber Gomora, Ultraman Z had Sevenger, Ultraman Blazar had the clearly Mechagodzilla-inspired Earth Garon, and Ultraman Omega has the Meteokaiju. This episode debuts his first helper kaiju, and, interesting enough, this monster bonds with Kosei, not Sorato. Though Omega struggled against Graim and Dugrid, to justify a team-up, this fight has to be even more difficult, and, so, the MOTW is Pegunos, a very impressive penguin that can fly…by using the power of cold. Rekiness is the name of the meteokaiju, so called because of his telekinesis, and, while I cannot necessarily argue that the choreography of the first two episodes is not as uninspired as other commentators have claimed, weaponizing its own flight inducing cold to restrain Omega and then being telekinetically attacked by rocks makes Pegunos’ one of the most interesting kaiju fight scenes I have ever seen. Pegunos is, of course, a heavily modified Peguila suit, Peguila also being a penguin with cold powers. In Peguila’s case, it was a monster from Ultra Q, and the first Ultraman season that came after modified that suit into Chandlar, so there is precedent for this specific instance of suit conversion.

 

Though there is progression in the trio’s dynamic (not necessarily enough yet since they are still keeping Ayumu in the dark; she ought to be the Hermione of the group yet more often than not has a cameo level appearance), Rekiness surprisingly steps up as a character with his specific fondness and connection to Kosei instead of Sorato as we might have expected*

 

Episode 4

 

 

In this episode, there is a rather childish split between Sorato and Kosei that somewhat infantilizes Kosei in the way it happens (especially how he needs a kind and warm father figure to explain the theme to him after having essentially a tantrum), but that is merely my perspective, and the vast majority of auto translated comments under the YouTube video found the plot inspiring. In any case, it codifies the friendship and partnership of Sorato as Omega and Kosei as Rekiness on the battlefield, so there is plot utility to these decisions even if I find it a waste of time. I think my issue is that, in the early episodes, the stakes were so high or weirdly specific for Kosei that to see a more down to earth simple conflict of feeling left out did not feel similar to my previous understanding of the character. Ayumu’s integration in the plot to investigate the MOTW with Sorato makes sense and follows up on her previous trajectory, but it is a little strange that she has not figured out Sorato’s secret yet especially when very little would change this point on if she learned it here (I guess that spoils that she is not that important in this batch of episodes despite third billing).

 

This week, the monster is an evolved dinosaur, a Therizinosaurus called Therizirus that can also turn invisible for as of yet unclear reasons. As you might have guessed, this suit is not new either, instead a converted Basser, a bird kaiju that has only appeared in special forms like Maga Basser or Rai Basser and never the actual base Basser. The suit’s conversion into Therizirus likely means we will never see normal Basser, but Therizirus is cooler anyway, with his birdlike movements, sharp claws and more fierce design. Rekiness has to condense himself into a weapon for Omega to use, a sword that he can slice with at superspeed, which is where the toyetic parts of the show come into play.

 

The meteokaiju will largely exist as armor/weapon pairings for Omega, and, as they are based on mythical creatures from Eastern culture, there will likely be four of them. Rekiness is the Azure Dragon, Trigaron from this same batch of episodes is the White Tiger, I believe I have seen art depicting the Vermillion Bird kaiju, and the Black Tortoise may appear in the show or the movie or the stage show or not at all. The episode reveals that Rekiness can function for 10 whole minutes, which debatably takes the cool factor away from Omega’s 3 minute capabilities, but the fact that he is a culture symbol and reference contextualizes why he is so darn cool (Western audiences have no problem with Jesus archetypes having cool special powers; in fact, we expect it)*

 

Episode 5

 

Episode 5 is the main thing holding me back from declaring Kosei the unambiguous main character and protagonist because this episode keeps the focus solely on Sorato encountering and learning to understand a specific human character conflict that happens to involve a monster. Teenager Miko, reacting to traumatic family circumstances gravitates toward a snake kaiju that subsists on metal, I think specifically iron because while alloys in farming equipment suffice, it also sucks the iron out of Miko’s blood or something to that effect. The episode is somewhat ambiguous about what Mikoto’s intentions are (it could be anything from a sinister parasite to a magical spirit), but, as we see this situation through Sorato, his emerging beliefs about friendship give a sympathetic reading of these events, even after Mikoto grows to giant size. The show is able to balance the power creep of Omega fairly well because the struggle in this fight for Sorato is emotional not really physical. I have less to say about this episode except that Mikoto is a new suit or I guess puppet, and I do not recall any billboards in the subtitles*

 

Episode 6

 

In this episode, Ayumu and a coworker inspect the fallen body of a pink mole kaiju that died mysteriously when its mate emerges and chases them into the forest, where Sorato and Kosei wind up. As I mentioned that Sorato playing off a more in-focus Kosei helps to visually develop the amnesia, I also appreciate how some episodes have Sorato and Kosei as a dynamic duo comedically crashing a different character’s focus episode to communicate that Kosei is also learning the Ultra side of things from Sorato, mastering his own capsule monsters like a hyper specialized Reionics. The issue here is that the focus ends up split between Ayumu, who sorely needs it, and her annoying coworker, who defies the very notion of a hero’s journey or story cycle to interject the same annoying personality flaws into every scene. I should clarify that my knee jerk reaction does not mean the episode is poorly written; the utility of a singularly annoying character would be to make Ayumu look better by comparison, very simply show off an antitheme, or just have a consistent character true to his core flaws (mainly this latter category). I just will rewatch this episode less because of that man.

 

The pink moles are called Gedrago, and, even though they are yet another reused suit, this new monster is interesting on its own, demonstrating an iconic mating dance the entire time during the fight because it only emerged to reproduce with its now dead mate. As Ayumu is nominally the main character of this episode, she is the one that figures out that Gedrago is basically a larger version of a fictional mole in that universe that does the dance, and Sorato listens to her because she is his friend and again nominally the main character this episode. (I really hope she figures out that Sorato is Omega soon.)*

 

Episode 7

 

 

While this episode deals with the arrival of the second Meteokaiju Trigaron and a vile streamer trying to discredit Omega, it would be disingenuous for me to start with anything but the reappearance of Gomora, a classic kaiju from the original 1966 Ultraman show who has made intermittent reappearances since Ultraman 80, because everything in this episode points back to Gomora or makes him look good in some way (which I appreciate because he is a good kaiju, one of the best, in fact). The episode begins with a fight against Gomora where Omega thoroughly loses (it is technically because Sorato has just contracted his first cold), and Gomora even shakes off Rekiness’ telekiness (he’s just that strong). Finally, the meteokaiju, for whatever reason, is inside of a meteor that resembles Gomora’s distinctive horns for no reason other than to make us think Gomora has something to do with Trigaron (he does not). The only thing that gives me pause about this episode’s reverence for Gomora is that he is usually a more sympathetic kaiju than this (even a hero sometimes), but that is probably the tradeoff of coming right after two sympathetic kaiju and being the kaiju that forces a team-up. Also, they wanted to reference the “Gomora gets his tail cut off again” bit, which works a little better if we are rooting against him.

 

While I can give apologetics for Ayumu’s coworker’s minimal characterization last episode, the main human antagonist of this episode, clickbait streamer Wolfy, is a very shallow caricature of the worst human being (rude to people on the street, farms for content with clickbait and also generative AI misinformation) but holds this episode back from being a thorough interrogation of the trust society places in Omega. There just is not sufficient time in the episode for the confrontation between him and Kosei in the episode to make more than one or two points, and the show resolves it with Kosei’s rock turning into a kaiju in front of an entire crowd with nobody commenting on that. Ideally, Wolfy would have been a more serious character interrogating the trust Kosei and society have in Omega a little more effectively, which I think means that it would have been a two parter, something Gomora is no stranger to starring as MOTW in*

 

Episode 8

 

 

It is interesting to reread the script up to this point and realize just how much better this episode is than the last few consecutive ones. I almost want to review it by itself. It manages to avoid many of the issues with the previous episodes, while also being one of the most bizarre homages I have ever seen. This is the Brigadoon episode, essentially where time and space separates a specific town from the outside world, only accessible under irregular circumstances, but Mons Ahgar, a monster from previous shows, is trapped there with the spirit of a little boy that warns travelers away.

 

A group of college kids with absurdly advanced technology and very eccentric personalities called the Ghost Riders contact Ayumu to aid in their investigation. Ayumu, who is a more active character than usual, drags Sorato and Kosei along with her, very driven to investigate this phenomenon, which follows up on her development in the episode with Gedrago (committing herself more seriously to her work). When the little boy spirit warns her not to go forward, she still does because she wants to understand what is happening and help the child, which mirrors Kosei in episode one and seems like an important step to elevating her to full tritagonist.

 

The Ghost Riders show exactly how insane the SSP from Ultraman Orb would seem if they were not the main characters, and, also, just like that show, the writers seem to be hinting at Omega’s backstory through an episodic adventure that involves a ghost who seems to know Omega and may come back later in a more important capacity.  But even though the Ghost Riders are actually insane, putting way too much trust into an AI that immediately malfunctions and almost sucks Mons Ahgar into the real world, the show takes otherwise annoying characters and makes them funny with how both Kosei and Ayumu are confused at their behavior, but Sorato finds them so amusing he joins in. This is the kind of trio dynamic that the show needs, and also, with how Ayumu witnesses Omega in giant size doing the Yippie Yi Aye dance of the Ghost Riders, she should have everything she needs to figure out who Omega is in the near future.

 

The show finds a way to implement its gimmicks (drinking game list) of Sorato sniffing the kaiju, funny Kosei and Sorato banter, Ayumu musing aloud about the episodic mystery, Sorato randomly remembering the kaiju’s name and pulling off a new ability out of instinct really tightly back to back in the quintessential episode thus far.

 

One of the main draws of the episode is the mythology it insinuates that many years ago a crimson giant Daidarabotchi sealed away a celestial evil Aga (likely this is Omega and Mons Ahgar given how the child recognizes Omega and uses Omega’s same hand sign that he uses against all the kaiju to keep Mons Ahgar in place, and also how Omega is able to close the ensuing portals barehanded in the first place). This could mean reappearance for the child to give Omega some kind of additional power-up, but it would be more unique if due to some timey-wimey Brigadoon shenanigans, the little boy spirit is in fact Omega through his missing memories or maybe an impression of a previous time he visited Earth and sealed the monsters. I am not saying that speculation is canon to the show. I don’t know exactly the kind of story they are telling, but there are many directions they could go with it. We also should not forget that Mikoto also legitimately could be some kind of deity in this pantheon.

 

The battle is also the most inventive since the Pegunos fight. While Mons Ahgar is essentially just very strong and able to spontaneously harden the soft spot of his head, the Ghost Rider’s AI is constantly creating portals around them that Omega has to stop from sucking them in. The meteokaiju in play this time is Trigaron because he got introduced recently, and they need to follow up that momentum. Given what happens in the fight, Rekiness would be the better choice, but Kosei tries to use both and realizes he can only use one at a time, an organic implementation of important exposition. 

 

In this episode, Trigaron communicates to Kosei that he also has a weapons mode, but I don’t even care to frontload the review with that part because I find it really well done how visibly tired Sorato got from resisting the portals even before his color timer started blinking and how well the battle flowed into these points. The sincerity of the show and this battles shines through in moments like when he puts down his weapon to do a thumbs up and then speed-blitzes Mons-Ahgar to death.

 

In the wrap-up, Ayumu chews out the Ghost Riders for using science as a toy, keeping the commentary on AI in this show largely negative, and she goes back to Kosei’s lodgings with them to hang out, sharing an “older sister advice” moment with Kosei (he has previously referred to her as that kind of figure to him, but this is the first episode to show that in an efficient way). As of yet, this is the best episode to understand Ayumu and what she can bring to the show*

 

Episode 9

 

Do you remember how Gomora’s episode gave the most shallow exploration of how the public views Omega that it possibly could by having a one dimensional villain fake independent news in a subplot?

Well, the recap episode, rather than the traditional clip show episode set-up, actually ostensibly follows up on that premise (you’ll learn why I say ostensibly; though the episode trailer promised this, it leaves something to be desired). If they were going to do this, they should have led naturally from that episode into this one because I feel like after Brigadoon and ghost children, I am the only one still thinking about Wolfy and the crowd he incited.

 

Kosei works and lives in the Taiyo Warehouse, somewhat noncommittally looking for another job and residence while benefitting from the generosity of his boss. In the same building, on the level above lives Nariaki Akaji. He listens to the radio and essentially has an “As You Know” dialogue between himself and the Radio hosts that overlays the stock footage. Fictional radio hosts actually do narrate the episode previews every week, but, as you know, I think “As You Know” dialogue is bad writing done any way except satire, so….

 

Nariaki looks back fondly on those first two battles, even modeling Omega’s slugger and beam attack (I am choosing to believe childish Nariaki Akaji is a parody of childish Gamera director Noriaki Yuasa; it is up to you if you want to believe that as well). However, he is surprised to learn of the incident with Mikoto in the countryside as he could not directly witness that (or implicitly either of the previous ones). It is interesting that the radio program jumps straight from Mikoto to the Ghost Riders, but, in universe, they sent a lot of reports about Mons Ahgar and the Brigadoon, so they would reach out to a radio show.

 

Nariaki actually reflects on Sorato’s contemporaneous arrival to Japan with the kaiju and even models Sorato’s physique and style in the same way as he does for Omega. This all implies that this absolute moron is closer to figuring out Sorato’s secret than Ayumu without even being in the field with them. Kosei and Nariaki actually are friends that go out to lunch, and Kosei has apparently explained much of the relevant backstory to Nariaki, hence how he can flirt with this conclusion. Nariaki is also strangely attracted to Ayumu, but it is a more childish hero worship akin to how he feels about Omega than a sexual thing.

 

The episode finally gets to exploring the actual premise of “how do the civilians feel about Omega” in its final three minutes, when the mother of the crying girl Kosei and Omega saved in episode one calls in and (unknowingly) commends Omega (and Kosei). Nariaki finds it very moving, and though he is acting in an annoying over the top way, we are not really meant to look down on him for this. That’s why my mind jumps to Noriaki Yuasa: a very simple eccentric man communicating an earnest point in a weirdly passionate way. I like his movies more than I like this episode.

 

The stock footage for the Dugrid fight had the music, so, upon another watch, I maintain the squelching sound effects are more impressive, but the track goes from whimsy to tense buildup to an exciting rock chorus. Finally, the radio episode preview reveals next week’s episode to be horned whale Gubila’s inevitable appearance (Gubila being another kaiju from the original Ultraman that I like but is one of the most overused Ultra kaiju ever). Though there were nice moments brushing the surface level of this premise, the episode did not explore the general public’s opinion on Omega. For what it is worth, the episode’s YouTube description clarifies, it is just Nariaki’s biases and opinions explored in the episode, but still.

 

I hope there was not tonal whiplash from me gushing about one episode and heavily criticizing the next, but, for one thing, the recap episodes generally aren’t good, and I actually lied to you earlier; this was not episode 9 but a special episode, so it is just barely above a stage show in terms of importance. You can easily skip this one if you want to, but Nariaki is still a better character than Ayumu’s coworker from the Gedrago episode*

 

Conclusion

 

So far, I love this show, and, while I am trying to be more clinical in my breakdown of the show here, I enjoy every episode exceedingly and might count it as my favorite Ultra show so far. I may or may not cover the rest of the show in a blog post or on the YouTube channel (I am about to get a lot more busy with school), and you can let us know if you like the show, if you do not like the show or if you want us to give more thoughts on it. As I said, I would encourage you to give the show a chance. I find it to be quite special, and you might too. I would rank the monsters thus far from best to worst: Pegunos, Rekiness, Gedrago, Therizirus, Graim, Trigaron, Mikoto, Dugrid, Gomora, Mons Ahgar, and the Vagsects. The thing is though I love almost all of those kaiju, hence Gomora, one of the all-time greats being that low. It truly is impressive for a monster show to create such a compelling monster cast with mostly recycled suits, and, with that, I will leave you with some of the best intrusive billboard subtitle moments.

 

Down and Out in Paris and London, a review

         

        Editor's note: George Orwell is known primarily for two novels: 1984 and Animal Farm. But Orwell was a prolific writer, one who deservedly has a cult following. Other novels include Coming Up for Air, Burmese Days, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, and The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell wrote many essays, including How the Poor Die and Killing an Elephant. Your author has penned a review of his favorite Orwell novel, Down and Out in London and Paris.

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        George Orwell was more than just a novelist and an essayist. He was also a skilled reporter and observer who, through his experiences, crafted several books that reveal styles of life distinct from most 1930s readers. In “Homage to Catalonia,” he brings the failed Spanish revolution to readers. The hard life of coal miners is the subject of “The Road to Wigan Pier.”

        Orwell’s finest piece of reportage, however, is captured in “Down and Out in Paris and London.” Inspired by “People of the Abyss,” Jack London’s melodramatic tale of turn-of-the-century London slums, Orwell entered the life of the poor in Paris and London. “Down and Out...” is likely a blend of Orwell’s experiences, observances, and literary license. In Paris, he was a penniless writer who worked 17-hour days as a dishwasher to afford rent, drinks and food. In London, while waiting for a job, he existed as a tramp, walking miles a day with other unfortunates, sleeping on the public dole, or when he had a few cents, in lodging houses that were semi-flop houses.

        Orwell’s tales in the different cities are a fascinating mix of narrative and social commentary. In Paris, the first-hand reports of a high-class restaurant in an expensive hotel is great reading. The employees, horribly overworked and underpaid, exist in a frenzy of organized chaos. The appearance of great service -- rather than great service -- is the goal of these workers. As a result, a smart looking, six-course turkey dinner may look great on a waiter’s tray, but its origins were more dirty. It was produced in a filthy subterranean portion of the hotel infested with cockroaches and rats. As Orwell puts it, “Everywhere in the service quarters dirt festered -- a secret vein of dirt, running through the great garish hotel like the intestines through a man’s body.”

        Life in the Paris slums is described in great detail. From the bug-infested rentals, to small, dark bistros, to Saturday night drinking “blowouts” and desperate visits to officious pawnbrokers to sell shabby clothes for food. Sprinkled throughout the narratives are great life anecdotes of the characters the young Orwell meets. Charlie, a shiftless youth, recalls a visit to a high-priced brothel. An old miser dies of regret and misery after he discovers that cocaine he purchased to sell is face powder.

         There is a funny scene where two Mormon missionaries try to deal with a rowdy crowd while preaching in Tower Hill. Orwell’s writing style is calm, sometimes with amused skepticism. After enduring a religious service in a lodging house in London, Orwell writes, “It is curious how people take it for granted that they have a right to preach at you and pray over you as soon as your income falls below a certain level.”

        A Paris scene has Orwell and a buddy, Boris, go to see about becoming circus hands. The job involves allowing lions to jump through your legs. When they arrive, there is a long line of applicants already waiting. “There is some attraction in lions, evidently,” Orwell dryly observes.

        The London scenes are memorable for the reports of the dirty conditions of the “shilling” lodging houses in London of that time. Also, Orwell brings readers into the lives of the unfortunate men who were forced -- through unemployment and lack of funds -- to tramp the English countryside for miles each day just to sleep in a charitable “spike” -- free lodging in a workhouse. Their many depredations are calmly described: forced religious services in return for a free meal; the petty shortchanging done by clerks at tea shops when they used a “food ticket”; the impersonal, bullying treatment at a “spike”; and the refusal of London police to allow a homeless person to sit down or sleep on the ground or the bench while outside.

    Orwell writes, “A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a business man, getting his living like other business man, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honor; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to get rich.”

    As mentioned, Orwell detours from his narrative at different times to offer his theories on why hotel workers are underpaid and why thousands of homeless men are forced to tramp the countryside. He also offers some solutions to the problems. His solutions are a blend of socialism and common sense. “Down and Out in Paris and London” is great reporting and one envies readers who get the opportunity to explore this a first time.

- Doug Gibson

Originally published a generation plus ago in the now-defunct Salt Lake City alternative weekly, The Event.