Ultraman Manga: Chapter Eighteen Review

Previously Shinjiro had an encounter with an alien called Red. Their battle is here in this great chapter of the Ultraman Manga. This one has everything the previous one lacked: Ultraman himself, a fantastic fight, and a major plot development. Moroboshi confirms that Shinjiro isn't the only one that can transform into Ultraman. This should open up for some pretty interesting things in the coming chapters. But first, Chapter Eighteen.

The story picks up where the previous chapter left off. Shinjiro has a fight with Red. Sadly he realizes he doesn't have the costume, so before he gets pummeled Moroboshi breaks up the fight and has him get away from the alien city. Later an investigation in a warehouse leads Moroboshi and Ultraman to run into a (pathetic) alien. The first part is centered around the fight between Shin and Red. It's fantastic, in both the actual blows thrown and art. Red actually has some of his dialogue translated, which was good. Hopefully we'll see him again in the near future.

The second act starts when Moroboshi gets Shin away from the alien city. Moroboshi reveals to him that he's not the only being that can change into Ultraman. It'll be intriguing to see everything surrounding what that means. The whole warehouse scene was good. The unnamed alien is pretty weak though, even begging for mercy. Shin (as Ultraman) spares him, which is a pretty interesting development. It shows he has a merciful heart. Rena returns for a short scene with her dad. He is becoming increasingly annoying, disliking Ultraman for no real good reason. Hopefully this won't evolve into some kind of petty grudge throughout the series.

Overall, Chapter Eighteen is a great chapter. It features a fantastic fight and some Ultraman action later on. The story itself doesn't move much though, hopefully Bemular returns soon.

4/5

Ultraman Manga: Chapter Seventeen Review

The Ultraman Manga continues with a pretty interesting chapter. One thing's for certain, the author is really great at crafting a long story. Here not really anything new is revealed, but there are two plot developments nonetheless. Shinjiro encounters a new alien while Moroboshi's investigation keeps on getting more complex.

The story as stated earlier focuses on two things, Moroboshi investigating and Shinjiro having a conversation with Jack before being confronted by an alien named Red. (More on that soon.) The chapter opens up with a pretty intriguing conversation between Moroboshi and Jack. It's cool because these two are complete opposites. Moroboshi is ultra serious with a zero sense of humor while Jack appears to be more of the laid back lazy type. The conversation with Jack and Shinjiro is just as good however, where we learn that Jack knows Shin is Ultraman.

Red is the new alien encountered. I don't know if the resemblance to Red King is intentional, but the name sort of confirms that. Sady his dialogue is written with alien words, so the reader has no idea what he's saying. We'll see in the next chapter if he's anything but a brute stooge.

Overall, the Seventeenth chapter is pretty solid. Not amazing, but there's enough interesting material to keep the reader invested.

3.5/5

Jack the Giant Slayer Review

Jack the Giant Slayer was not a very well hyped film. The trailers did nothing for people. The posters were incredibly lame, showcasing shots of the rather off-putting giants. I'll be honest, I didn't have any real expectations for it. Everything pointed to it being a very generic action movie, like Battleship. (And I didn't have kind words for that film.) Honestly, it should have been rewritten to be Jack and the Beanstalk. It doesn't really know what kind of movie it wants to be. The PG-13 rating keeps it from being called a kids movie, but with some rather odd comedy like a giant picking his nose and one cutting the cheese, you have to wonder what kind of audience the film was trying to attract. It has too little substance for adults to get into, yet Director Bryan Singer didn't seem to have a kids movie in mind either. Nonetheless, Jack the Giant Slayer was definitely better than expected. It's far from being good, but it's at least decent. (Which I really can't call Battleship.)

The story follows Jack, whom goes on a journey to rescue Princess Isabelle. Why does she need rescuing? Well, these magical beans sprouted into a giant beanstalk, taking the Princess into the Kingdom of the Giants. Things take a turn for the worst when the Giants figure out a way to come down and wage war with humanity. The story itself is decent enough. The giants early on are painted as legitimate threats. The whole CGI flashback was a bit odd in a live action movie, but it got the point across. At its core, the story is a fairy tale. It has a handsome young guy rescuing a lovely princess from perils and in the end they get married. (Which was very nice to see.) The best scene is the very first Giant scene. The camera angle, the way it moved and snatched up one of the men like nothing, it successfully captured the threat of these guys, Sadly after that they started to lose their mystique.

Jack, portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, is an alright protagonist. (Sadly despite the title calling him a Giant Slayer, he only slays three giants in the course of 114 minutes.) Though, the film doesn't really focus on character development at all. The movie is less about Jack and more about the events happening around him. This is not a bad thing, but character development is rather weak. The lovely Eleanor Tomlinson portrays Princess Isabelle, solid character. But, her plot of not wanting to do an arranged marriage has been done already recently in Brave. It's truly a shame the movie couldn't give her more of a role, she seems like a fighter but was caged up, then on the run for the majority of it. King Brahmwell was a pretty mediocre character. His lines sometimes felt forced, such as not appeasing his daughter. Elmont, the Captain of the Royal Guard, is definitely one of the best characters, with a fun personality. Roderick, the antagonist for half the film, was pretty generic. Thankfully he's killed off so there can be an actual villain to write home about.

The Giants is the main reason why we're here. They don't disappoint early on, but by the end you've just about had it with them. There's only two notable ones, Fallon and Fumm. Fallon is the true antagonist, and ironically had the best acting performance. His opening lines to the Princess were fantastic and pretty funny. Sadly, he is brought down by his second extremely annoying head. Seriously, was there a need for it? And that is the interesting problem with the film. The comedy scenes are greatly juvenile and pretty much out place in what should be a serious story. The climax is mildly exciting, the scene with all the Giants emerging from the forest was pretty cool. It is kind of anticlimactic when Jack comes out with the crown however. The soundtrack is pretty mediocre, you will not remember any of it after you're done watching.

Overall, Jack the Giant Slayer is this year's Battleship, just a little better than the latter. Some scenes are great, such as the beanstalk sprouting and taking Jacks house, the very first scene with a Giant, and some of the climax. Ultimately however it's just another action movie with little redeeming qualities. It's somewhat fun, but lacking substance.

3/5

Ultraman Manga: Chapter Sixteen Review

This chapter of the Ultraman Manga is very light on the action and instead focuses on explaining exactly what this mysterious city is. The previous chapter was also not action heavy, but still had some very interesting dialogue. The story is getting bigger by the chapter. No real monsters yet, this is more of an Ultra7-like story than Ultraman, which is fine of course. Here we have something that asks more questions than providing answers. It's interesting for sure, and the ending Ultra-fans will like. (Only they will understand.)

Moroboshi shows Shinjiro the 'city of aliens.' No one knows exactly where it is, it can be travelled only via portal. Here the former explains to the latter exactly what's the purpose of being there and takes him to the 'informer.' This informer is one of the most unexpected things to come out of the story. What I like about this manga is that even when there's no punches being thrown, it's exciting. As an Ultra-fan, it's interesting to see this expanded mythos tale. This city brings about another interesting plot point. This is where apparently non-'trying to take over your world' alien types hang around. I'm hoping we get to learn more about it. Beyond that, not much happens. The 'big' thing is the ending. It's similar to when Moroboshi first appeared, except this time the guy in question is named Jack. This is of course referring to Ultraman Jack, another Showa Ultra. This is exciting, it shows the author has big plans down the road and isn't afraid to take his time.

Overall, a solid chapter. We see a city full of aliens and the arrival of this Jack character. I'm very curious and interested in seeing where the story goes, the Ultra Manga has yet to falter.

4/5