Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie is the Greatest Monster Extravaganza since Godzilla Final Wars!

Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie came out on December 12th. 2009. Ultraman is a franchise I've recently gotten into. I started with the Original Series, (more on that here) and just two months ago I purchased the complete Ultra-Max series. Last week on Ebay I was browsing through and decided that I wanted to try out the Mega Monster Battle Series. It's divided into two seasons, Mega Monster Battle, and Never Ending Odyssey. I managed to find a subbed DVD, (approved by the Malaysia board, so it's not some cheap bootleg) but sadly I couldn't find a subbed DVD for Never Ending Odyssey. However, another thing came to mind, the Mega Monster Battle movie. I had originally seen some of it on YouTube, but I really wanted to see this thing officially on my TV. So I squeezed in the movie for purchase along with the first season of Mega Monster Battle. (Only $15 plus $3 shipping, you cannot go wrong at all.) I really meant to watch the series first then the film, but the latter arrived in the mail today. (The series is apparently going to be coming in July, international shipping could really be awful sometimes.) A few hours ago I popped it into my PS3 player. The menu was pretty confusing, everything was in Japanese. I had to practically guess how to get to English subtitles! After not picking it and having to go back to the menu, I finally managed to watch it. This movie is the coolest thing since Godzilla Final Wars, I don't think I've seen a film with so many fights! But do you know what the real kicker is?

100 MONSTERS!

Godzilla Final Wars had 15 monsters, pretty awesome huh? This film had ONE HUNDRED. It's an Ultraman fan's dream to see all the familiar faces. Even if we have an overpowered Gomora, it's all awesome. Of course, many would consider it its downfall in the same way they do Final Wars. The latter had so many monsters, but they aren't really portrayed as 'threats.' We have an overpowered Godzilla taking out Gigan in one hit, and then we have an overpowered Gomora where he's able to plow through Red King and Telesdon without even breaking a sweat. It's definitely more of a fan service to see all these guys. I mean, the very first opponent they have Gomora run into is Red King, since these two are pretty much the most popular of the Ultra monsters. Then they have Zetton of course lasting pretty much the whole time without getting one-shot KO'd (until Zero came along) because, y'know, he's Zetton. Even my main man Antlar pops in to grab the original Ultraman as a tribute to when they first fought 43 years ago. Then Ultraman somehow takes out Antlar in one blast. What was that? They pretty much overpowered the Ultramen like they did with Godzillla. But you know what? The film doesn't descend into American Hollywood realm, it doesn't rely on gimmicks, it's just monsters, Ultramen, and a few humans with EDF suits. Even if the monsters are undermined, it's still hard not to smile when you see 100 of them vs. a bunch of Ultramen.

Did I mention that Alien Zarab shows up in his Fake Ultraman form? Nostalgia at its finest. He's the one that releases the film's antagonist, Ultraman Belial. I crossed out the Ultraman part because he was once an Ultra, but then he's merged with a demonic entity, he's no longer an Ultra warrior. He's pretty much the hotshot villain who wants to keep getting more power. A 'dark Ultraman,' y'know, what Japan likes doing to their characters in giving them an evil counterpart. (Dark MegaMan, Dark Samus, etc.) He's the one that summons the 100 monster army. So basically he was going to use them to reign the universe. The monsters are pawns for this humanoid villain. It's similar to the way Final Wars uses its hotshot Xilien villain. He also uses the monsters as pawns in the grand scheme of things. (Though Belial obviously wins out here.) Not to mention that all the monsters merge to create this thing called Baryudora (looks like Destoroyah mixed with Balrog) that is perhaps the largest monster ever. Pretty awesome design, but an but anti-climatic battle. Then again, not much could be done with this extremely giant thing against these little guys. (When compared to it of course.)

C'mon, the original Ultraman, Ultra-7, Ultraman Mebius, and more?! This is what people like me dream about. All of them get their fair amount of screen time, I like how they made the original Ultraman do the best against the battle with Belial near the beginning. My only complaint here is that they kinda left Ultra-Max in the dust after Belial knocked him out. But really, it's just a blast to see them all together fighting hordes of monsters from throughout the years. We also get to see M78, the planet of the Ultras. What I didn't expect to see was that the Ultras were a whole race. So that was some fascinating insight. This film also introduces a new Ultra: Ultraman Zero, son of Seven. It's the same thing as usual, a hotshot kid who learns what it means to be a true warrior by the end. Generic, but this film isn't exactly deep or anything. But that's okay, because this film has what Final Wars has: heart. While some may disagree with me on the latter, I stand by it. Mega Monster Battle is the new Final Wars.

This being made in 2009, I was expecting really good fights, but this, this was just amazing. The very first monster fight between Gomora and Zaragas was just amazing. This is a modern Japanese kaiju film with some of the best fights I've ever seen. The only modern movie that I could think of that likes to show off some amazingly choreographed fights is Marvel's The Avengers. This film's fights are just extreme, it's what Japanese kaiju battles are all about. However, it also has its fair share of humanoid fights between the Ultras and Belial. In that way, this and Final Wars are similar. While the latter is obviously built more around the monsters, a lot of the focus is on the hotshot Xilien villain. The majority of the focus in this film is on Belial. You know, there are a few similarities between Rei and Ozaki. Both are brothers, just like with Ozaki and the Xilien kid, and both are controlled by the antagonist near the end. 

I'm seeing quite a few similarities between these two films. Maybe it's cause I've seen Final Wars five times and its my favorite film ever, but Mega Monster Battle is a special movie. While it was not not billed as a 'so-and-so anniversary' special, it might as well have been. There are so many things that longtime Ultra fans will appreciate. We have 100 monsters from throughout the years and pretty much all the Ultramen make appeareances. This is one of those rare films where there's no moments to buy time or develop the characters, they do that in flashbacks. In that way also it's similar to Final Wars. So what exactly was this article about? Was it a review, a comparison with Final Wars, or just to talk about the film? I'd like to say it has a little bit of each. This film is a blast from the start, the whole beginning features an epic battle between Mebius and Bemular, a monster not seen since the very first episode of the Original Series. The film's opening credits is good for newcomers, so even if you don't know what the heck Ultraman is aside you thinking he's a Power Ranger, this film I highly recommend. Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie is the coolest thing to come out of Japan since Godzilla Final Wars.