Kyuu
Catfish
Coming-of-age story for Ultraman's son. Official sequel to the original Ultraman series.
Animation Quality: 4.5/5 = The CGI is amazingly done especially the particle and light effects during fights. There are minimal out-of-place moments, mostly in low-light environments that require the display of both metallic and organic textures on the same character model.
Fight Choreography: 3.5/5 = Mostly a lot of punching, kicking and flying, as you'd expect from any Ultraman fight scenes. There are some awesome moments. That said, I found no boring fights at all.
Storytelling: 5/5 = Mostly fast-paced with no irrelevant, wasteful moments. Even a scene with two teenagers out on a "date" leads to an important revelation.
I have followed this manga since its release. Unlike certain titles that reboot the original or just branch out to a different path altogether, this actually continues the story of the original. Information from the 1960s Ultraman are acknowledged, and certain characters and events are driving forces in the modern manga's plot. So when I saw the ad for its anime on Netflix, I was like "ARE YOU FOR REAL?!"... didn't help that the release date was set for April 1 (LOL!)
The anime followed the manga's story as closely as possible. Certain things were changed but that's spoilerish so I will put it in the spoiler tag. Regardless, I recommend you to watch this one. I'm looking forward to Season 2!
THEY KILLED RED!
For me, one of the strengths of the Ultraman manga was that it kept the heart of the series, that Ultraman was very strong and pretty much the ultimate weapon, but the support characters were just as important. They weren't just for show, they actually helped the hero a lot. The manga had many powerful supporting characters that literally save the main characters from certain death a few times. They were also the catalysts for some changes that the titular character goes through. The anime does not just relegate the support characters, it actually killed off a very important and powerful one: Red, who was so-called because he resembled the Red King from the original Ultraman series. He was also one of my favorites. In the scene where he was just supposed to fight the titular character and cause him to unlock his ability to fly, he was decapitated and killed off. While I understand the technical limitations of computer imagery thus requiring a condensed story and smaller pool of characters, they didn't have to kill him off
THEY TURNED RENA SAYAMA TO AN ANNOYING HEARTLESS LITTLE WHINY AIRHEAD
I don't particularly like pop idols especially with the way they are characterized as one-dimensional eye-candy. However, Rena Sayama in the Ultraman manga was actually well-written. She was a thoughtful, sweet girl who genuinely cared for and loved her fans and family. She looked up to Ultraman because he once saved her father's life. Rena was devastated when her fans were put in danger and although she accepted the fact that her career might be over because of what happened, she still cried about it which made her human and flawed- not just an eye-candy, possible-love-interest doll.
The anime kept the general storyline but changed almost everything else. Even though she was saved by the hero at the beginning of the story (in the manga, it was not Rena but a different girl), she easily forgot who he was. She also faked being an Ultraman fan just for popularity's sake even though the truth was that she hated him and blamed him for her mother's death. Anime Rena also didn't bat an eyelash when her manager said that her tour was cancelled due to the event at her first concert, instead she kept scrolling through her phone as if nothing eventful happened. She also thought that wearing eyeglasses was a good "disguise" and was surprised when her manager said that it was not... what a fcking moron.
THEY REMOVED SHIN HAYATA AND DAN MOROBOSHI'S SUPPORT SUBPLOT
In the manga, even after Shin Hayata, the original Ultraman, was wounded, he still struggled to assist his son Shinjiro. In fact, he supported his son in combat during the final battle of the first arc. He wasn't just an old man shouting directives through a receiver, he was actually in the middle of the battlefield with his son. The anime changed this by not giving any supporting characters during the final Season 1 battle.
Dan Moroboshi is one of those rival-type characters who's full of himself. In the anime, he was just that until he was almost cut down to size. Few reasons are given as to why he is such an asshole. In the manga, however, there are scenes which show how hard he trains just to be able to use his Ultraman suit. He has a lab-support lady who seems to be a motherly figure that reminds him not to push himself too much, etc. That is, Dan in the manga was actually shown to have a reason to be jealous of Shinjiro. Dan has to work hard every single day to be able to use his suit but then some kid who just inherited the Ultraman Factor walks in and is instantly able to use an Ultraman suit.
THEY REVEALED BEMULAR'S SPACIUM RAY EARLY
What a gigantic spoiler. This was supposed to happen only on the New York arc and its usage led to an important revelation.
Regardless, Ultraman 2019 is still a good anime to watch even if you do not read the manga at all. I just wonder how in the world they will make a Season 2 when a large part of it revolves around the support characters that they threw aside.
For me, one of the strengths of the Ultraman manga was that it kept the heart of the series, that Ultraman was very strong and pretty much the ultimate weapon, but the support characters were just as important. They weren't just for show, they actually helped the hero a lot. The manga had many powerful supporting characters that literally save the main characters from certain death a few times. They were also the catalysts for some changes that the titular character goes through. The anime does not just relegate the support characters, it actually killed off a very important and powerful one: Red, who was so-called because he resembled the Red King from the original Ultraman series. He was also one of my favorites. In the scene where he was just supposed to fight the titular character and cause him to unlock his ability to fly, he was decapitated and killed off. While I understand the technical limitations of computer imagery thus requiring a condensed story and smaller pool of characters, they didn't have to kill him off
THEY TURNED RENA SAYAMA TO AN ANNOYING HEARTLESS LITTLE WHINY AIRHEAD
I don't particularly like pop idols especially with the way they are characterized as one-dimensional eye-candy. However, Rena Sayama in the Ultraman manga was actually well-written. She was a thoughtful, sweet girl who genuinely cared for and loved her fans and family. She looked up to Ultraman because he once saved her father's life. Rena was devastated when her fans were put in danger and although she accepted the fact that her career might be over because of what happened, she still cried about it which made her human and flawed- not just an eye-candy, possible-love-interest doll.
The anime kept the general storyline but changed almost everything else. Even though she was saved by the hero at the beginning of the story (in the manga, it was not Rena but a different girl), she easily forgot who he was. She also faked being an Ultraman fan just for popularity's sake even though the truth was that she hated him and blamed him for her mother's death. Anime Rena also didn't bat an eyelash when her manager said that her tour was cancelled due to the event at her first concert, instead she kept scrolling through her phone as if nothing eventful happened. She also thought that wearing eyeglasses was a good "disguise" and was surprised when her manager said that it was not... what a fcking moron.
THEY REMOVED SHIN HAYATA AND DAN MOROBOSHI'S SUPPORT SUBPLOT
In the manga, even after Shin Hayata, the original Ultraman, was wounded, he still struggled to assist his son Shinjiro. In fact, he supported his son in combat during the final battle of the first arc. He wasn't just an old man shouting directives through a receiver, he was actually in the middle of the battlefield with his son. The anime changed this by not giving any supporting characters during the final Season 1 battle.
Dan Moroboshi is one of those rival-type characters who's full of himself. In the anime, he was just that until he was almost cut down to size. Few reasons are given as to why he is such an asshole. In the manga, however, there are scenes which show how hard he trains just to be able to use his Ultraman suit. He has a lab-support lady who seems to be a motherly figure that reminds him not to push himself too much, etc. That is, Dan in the manga was actually shown to have a reason to be jealous of Shinjiro. Dan has to work hard every single day to be able to use his suit but then some kid who just inherited the Ultraman Factor walks in and is instantly able to use an Ultraman suit.
THEY REVEALED BEMULAR'S SPACIUM RAY EARLY
What a gigantic spoiler. This was supposed to happen only on the New York arc and its usage led to an important revelation.
Regardless, Ultraman 2019 is still a good anime to watch even if you do not read the manga at all. I just wonder how in the world they will make a Season 2 when a large part of it revolves around the support characters that they threw aside.
