It’s that time of year again! The time where we get our new Ultraman show! Following Decker, I’m sure we were all expecting “New Generation Gaia”, right? Well, we were all pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that Ultraman Blazar would be this years instalment of the long running Ultra Series.
Alongside a good friend of mine, we watched the first episode of Blazar, and allow me to give you my thoughts on a few things.
The Atmosphere
“I’ll Go.”
The atmosphere of the show, based on this first episode, seems to be a bit darker and more grounded than previous New-Gen Ultraman shows and, based on some things we already know, kaiju attacks in this universe are a regular occurrence. The name ‘Ultraman’ is a legend among astronauts, and a codename for the unidentified giant alien.
The atmosphere of the show honestly reminds me of Shin Ultraman, and honestly, I love that.
The Main Character
The episode introduces us to several unnamed members of the GGF (Global Guardian Force), but the main focus is Captain Gento Hiruma, who, while saving a GGF Soldier has a strange device mysteriously appear on his wrist, with it forcing him to insert a coin like stone into it, which transforms him into the titular Ultraman Blazar.
Gento is shown a few times in the episode to be a thinker, calculating and planning what he’s going to do, fitting for his role as captain. We even get a Sherlock Holmes like view into Gento’s mind, as he calculates the best way to deal with Bazanga.
The Monster Of The Day
The Monster of the premier episode, and Blazar’s first opponent is Bazanga! Subtitled ‘Space Crustacean Monster’, he has various abilities, such as shooting projectiles and using the blades on its arms as weapons. My friend Nathan pointed out that Bazanga resembled Destoroyah from Godzilla VS Destoroyah, as well as the more obscure Godzilla kaiju, Bagan.
Also, insert Big Bang Theory joke here.
Ultraman Blazar
Last, and by no means least, we have our titular giant, Ultraman Blazar. While Gento was saving an injured GGF member, a spiral of crimson and violet randomly occurred, causing a strange device to appear on his wrist. The device, as well as a coin like stone, transformed Gento into Ultraman Blazar.
Blazar is solely referred to as ‘Ultraman’ in this episode, due to the name being used by astronauts to refer to a legendary giant alien. The first fight shows whenever either Blazar or Gento is in control, Blazar acting more feral and animalistic, while when Gento is in control, Blazar acts more confused and scared.
Blazar has a caveman like way of fighting, being extremely brutal when fighting Bazanga. Blazar’s special attack is the Spiral Blade, an energy javelin that Blazar summons from a black hole and throws at his opponents. Blazar’s colour timer has a more buzzing sound to it.
Conclusion
All in all, I really enjoyed Ultraman Blazar’s first episode and I can’t wait to see more as the show comes along.
You can watch the first episode yourself, for free, on the Ultraman Official YouTube page, as embedded below. English subtitles are available, as well as a complete English dub of the episode.
But what do you think? Did you enjoy the premiere of Ultraman Blazar? Let us know in the comments. This has been Sean, signing off once again.
