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"Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

~Ephesians 5:16

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Ultraman Manga: Chapter Four Review


This is the big payoff chapter in the Ultraman manga. This story has been taking its time with developing the characters and situation. It's done a pretty solid job using the classic series as a backdrop. Sadly Shin, the main character, has yet to leave any type of impression. He's been just a depressed kid for no apparent reason and now in this chapter he's emo for revenge. We're still early on of course, and if I know how mangas work, we can expect plenty of character development as the story progresses. The last chapter had Hayata confront the mysterious alien and on the final page Ito unveiled the armor for Shin. This chapter demonstrates how awesome the action can be.

It starts out with the alien and Hayata battling it out. Sadly the former Ultraman is beginning to lose steam, but is saved by Shin, whom is now in the armor. What follows is a huge fight. First, I just want to say that the armor itself is pretty cool, except it doesn't look like Ultraman at all. You could place it in a Gundam or Robotech manga and nobody would know the difference. That aside, this chapter was a blast. You thought the fight previously was good? Here we have a full blown battle encompassing the entire chapter. Obviously the story itself doesn't progress too much, but we could always use a good chapter fight.


Now of course the major thing here is that we finally get to see Shin in the Ultraman armor. Once again he fails to leave an impression. So far we've seen him in emo depressed mode, surprised and yelling mode, now we have him in revenge mode. He has yet to become a solid protagonist. Of course, like I've stated, this is just the prologue to the bigger event, I'm sure he will improve. The art demonstrates how epic it can do the fights. Blows are felt, it's really good stuff. I know it's a manga, but the opening colorized pages are a tease of what the whole thing could look like within, they look great. Still, the artwork has improved since Chapter One.

Overall, a very action-packed chapter of the Ultraman manga. The first three were about developing the story, here it's one big fight. We finally get to see what Shin in the armor is going to be like, plus this mysterious alien is always a blast to see. I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in Chapter 5.

4.5/5

5 comments:

  1. Shin Hayate...In the case of Shinjiro...You are...NOT THE FATHER!
    >w> Still shocked at that development, I wonder how that will progress later on within the manga.

    And come on, Shinjiro isn't really emo. Being emo would be hating everything, and constantly depressed about stuff.

    He's pretty much a normal teenager from what I can tell. He has friends, which means that at least he's social, open enough and approachable. And is man enough to go out and defend someone from being bullied or potentially sexual harassed.(Hey, that main bully wanted to make that girl his, so the latter fits) We may not know why he shut down his father in the beginning of chapter two. But its probably due to having trouble in finding out what he is, and why he's so different compared to everyone else. Plus the stressful dealing in keeping dad proud with a great educational standing, while balancing your own life. if you were Shin, you probably snap a bit too from that kind of pressure. ^.^

    Still a very well structured review, I haven't encountered anyone who has reviewed this manga and its chapters openly. (Haven't found a forum that talks about the manga except for a few that are scattered greatly around the net)

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    1. I agree a bit with the teenager part. In my opinion Shin has been a flat teenager protagonist. Of course with some manga-styled development, I think he'll get better.

      Yeah it does seem rather hard to find people talking about it around the interwebs sadly.

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  2. Solid review there Destroyer!

    Hey there, Revenge Mode is beast! And justified for obvious reasons of course, seriously you mess with the Hayate, your getting screwed from all sides! Skreeonk yeah!

    The colorized opening page just screams "Make me an anime adaption, now!"
    Which hopefully this year, we'll hear an answer to that! :D And this Alien...Don't know why he's so appealing, but shockingly in Japan, every fan following this manga loves him! Only third to Shinjiro and a other special character coming up in Chapter 8 ^w^

    He has that cold calculating kind of personality, and his shroud of mystery only makes him more interesting. Of course, when his identity is revealed, you'll be greatly surprised Destroyer!


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    1. Thanks! Now I'm very much looking forward to seeing this guy's identity.

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  3. Alright, now the series is really in the zone! Nothing screams epic like a lengthy fight and the main character is definitely getting more hardcore. This series may have a bright future ahead of it

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