I'm on an Ultra kick after binging all of Ultraman R/B in only a few days so I've decided to go back to the New Gen Ultra shows I started but never finished. First up: Ultraman Orb. I originally started watching Orb earlier this year because a friend of mine was raving about it and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I should note this review is only going to cover the series itself, not Orb Origin Saga or the Orb movie. Also, I will probably have to spoil some stuff in this review. Without further adieu...Fusion Up!
Premise: A wanderer arrives in town inside a refrigerator truck. Soon the town is besieged by tornados seemingly caused by a mysterious giant bird. A group of friends investigating these occurrences get caught up in a monster attack and are saved by a strange giant. The giant is revealed to be the wanderer, Gai Kurenai, and from then on he protects the town from various monster attacks.
Characters:
Gai Kurenai is a wanderer initially unable to stay in one place as he travels the world fighting monsters. This is mostly because he lost someone he cared about in a battle. He blamed himself for it and started drifting from place to place to avoid getting attached to people again. Gai kind of feels like a lone cowboy to me with the way he enters to save the day complete with that awesome yet sad harmonica tune. Even his musical cues make him feel like he stepped right out of a western. I'm actually rather curious if Gai is an homage to Kaiketsu Zubat because I kept getting a similar vibe from him here and there. Thunder Breaster's arc leading straight into Orb Origin's debut was the perfect choice. The entire time we get to see Gai struggling with the fact that Juggler might be right about him. It basically sums up Gai as a whole while being perfectly touching once he truly accepts himself. I'll be going into more detail in the favorite episode section.
The SSP are basically a group of friends (Jetta, Naomi, and Shin) who investigate stories of seemingly supernatural/alien events for their website. They're a pretty fun group and they play off each other rather well. Naomi is the leader of the group and tends to work other jobs to keep the group funded since their website doesn't exactly bring in the money. She started the group due to strange dreams about a giant of light she had as a child. I can't get into the specifics around her because it requires a rather large spoiler that I'd really rather let people experience on their own. I'll just say that she effectively becomes Gai's rock. Jetta is the driver and camera guy. Jetta starts out as if he is just in it for the scoops and potential popularity but episodes 3 and 9 show he is doing it because at his core he really wants to help people. Shin is the tech guy and a self-proclaimed genius. The Galactron episodes reveal his dream is to basically build robots that help people and thats why he is always trying to discover new things.
Ittetsu Shibukawa is a member of the show's actual investigation/defense team VTOL and he is Naomi's uncle. He worries about the SSP when they do their own investigations and he'll accompany them when he can just to make sure nothing happens. He tends to get played for comedy for the most part and he works well for that but episode 18 is a really good episode for him that shows off his skills as an investigator and as a fighter. Its a rather touching episode that centers around his daughter thinking he is useless and then getting to see him in action when she falls into an alien's plot. Its was a surprisingly tense episode overall and it kind of gave me Dekaranger vibes.
Villains:
Jugglus Juggler (I absolutely love that name) is just plain creepy. I'm not kidding, when I say that the dude kinda scares me. From his choice of words to his mannerisms and movements, the dude sends a chill up my spine. Every single thing he does is to attempt to prove that Gai isn't the hero he says he is. He took great joy in seeing Gai go berserk when he was forced to use Thunder Breaster for the first time. It really felt like Juggler might have been right about them being the same in the Galactron episodes. Him saying that takes on a whole new meaning by the time the final episode rolls around. Takaya Aoyagi plays the role really well and gives every single line the right amount of menace while getting across a hint of underlying sadness. His exasperation and frustration at always losing to Gai somehow makes him seem even scarier.
Favorite Episodes:
There will be some spoilers in this section. This is going to be cheating a bit but I'm picking episodes 11,12, and 14-17. These six episodes cover Thunder Breaster's debut, the Galactron episodes, and run right into Orb Origin's debut so they basically feel like one big multipart episode to me (I didn't include episode 13 because its a clip show). Its the main arc of the show and one of the hardest hitting stories of desperation that I've seen in toku. Gai's desperation hits a heartbreaking point starting from Thunder Breaster's debut. The Galactron episodes just push that knife in deeper when he goes nuts again from Thunder Breaster's power to the point where Naomi ends up in the hospital. He legitimately begins to question if Juggler is right about the darkness inside him and even begins to think that his very presence is causing the people around him to suffer. Its a pretty heartbreaking moment and it straight up lasts until Naomi tells him that she believes in him and to stop blaming himself. I was on the verge of tears by that point and Gai breaking down after finding a picture of the person he thought he lost and finding out what actually happened to her was enough to break me. Its a great moment because thanks to Naomi, that guilt gets lifted off his shoulders and he is finally able to accept himself for both the good and bad. Its a fantastic arc that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time from the sense of dread around Thunder Breaster to the hopeful acceptance that is Orb Origin.
Effects: The effects are top notch as is to be expected from this franchise and the sets are fantastic. The model cities are insanely detailed. They even added in the sound of car alarms when Orb gets slammed into the ground and its brief but the cars' lights go on and off. The city destruction during a few episodes is mesmerizing to look at, particularly in Thunder Breaster's initial episodes before Gai gets a handle on its power. One of my favorite simple practical effects in the show is from episode 18. Bemular slams Orb into the ground and the street under him just shatters. It was such a beautifully done effect that I had to rewatch that shot a few times. It completely sold the weight of that impact.
Action: The kaiju action is pretty good as usual and the show gives them the appropriate heavy feeling needed to make them work. The fusion angle gives Orb a nice variety of powers and abilities. The show keeps every fight interesting whether its the monster of the week or Orb using his powers in cool and unexpected ways in the early episodes, like having Specium Zeperion make a polished shield of light to reflect a strong laser or using Burnmite's explosions to snuff out a fireball. Thunder Breaster's early fights give a great sense of dread given the sheer amount of power that form has. Orb Origin's elemental abilities are pretty cool. The ground level fights between Gai and Juggler are great. They're pretty energetic and nicely choreographed.
Final Thoughts: My favorite line in the show is from episode 15..."You can't snuff out the darkness. You have to embrace it and shine within it. So no matter where you look, there will be no darkness". It sums up the Thunder Breaster arc pretty well as well as Orb's theme as a whole. It also puts a new angle on Gai and Juggler's relationship. Everyone has darkness inside them, its all a question of whether or not you let it consume you. In the end, Juggler was actually right about him and Gai being the same, just not in the way he thought. I also really like the message behind the episode "Imposter Blues". Its rather fitting that Orb Origin's bgm is a cheerier sounding version of the harmonica tune. That tune sounds so sweet yet sad when played normally so hearing a cheerier version of it alone made it feel like Gai had overcome what was holding him back. Orb Origin is a pretty neat take on the idea of an ultimate form since its not technically an upgrade, its actually Orb's original form. Overall, Ultraman Orb is a pretty good show. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. I'd also say its a pretty good entry point if you're new to Ultraman as you don't need to know much about the past Ultras that show up as cards.
Pretty good
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