UltraSeven X - Code Name "R"

[sennetari]

It seems like forever since I last watched an episode of this series.

Definitely reminded me of the X-Files--not that I'd watched much of that series--with the UFO. Yes, there are other shows that have UFOs in them, but none that I personally know (admittedly I don't watch much TV or movie for that matter) that portrays UFO this way--as this large mysterious impersonal being. No, I cannot say that the UFO here is realistic, but it is not treated as a funny flying saucer or a curiosity either. You just know the UFO means business and would not think twice of eliminating anything in its path (as R found out too late).

I mentioned once before it was aired that this show hardly needed an Ultraman. Seven X's appearance was almost negligible in this episode.

Anyway, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, social-commentary is a fascinating subject for me. On the other hand, this is still a tokusatsu show, or is supposed to be one at any rate. However, for most of this episode, I didn't feel like I was watching Ultraman or any toku at all. (First episode is more toku-like, in my opinion.)

The very dark and gloomy atmosphere continues. This is one dead town. People seem incapable of showing their feelings or prefer not to, except K. To me, perhaps this is the reason he stands out in this series, because he is a refreshing change in the sea of emotion-deprived people, whereas in the normal course of thing I might have found K tedious or even obnoxious (doesn't help by the fact that I am normally drawn to cold, solitary, almost emotionless characters).

Still, this is definitely not the episode that develops the main characters. It seems almost like they are there to just do their job. You could swap them with someones else and I wouldn't really notice or complain.

And speaking of solitude, this episode somehow reminded me of episode 40 of Mebius (which is the episode I probably never run out of things to talk about, even though I may prefer some other episodes more). Oh, not in tone, but both are eerily similar in that there are overworked people and/or people who are dissatisfied with their lives. Apparently, deep down in their subconscious, these people seek to escape to some kind of Utopia, even though they might not know it consciously. So when the aliens arrive and use whatever means (forces) to take these humans away, they go along and don't care to return to their former lives.

I smiled when R took Jin's glass. True, that action amounted to nothing in the end, but I don't care. It seems like tradition that the UltraEye must be stolen or lost somehow over the course of an UltraSeven series or movie.

I did wonder if R knew that Jin was Seven X, otherwise I couldn't really explain why R would take a personal interest in Jin.

This is the information I got from reading and not from noticing it myself...but the woman at the beginning of this episode was played by same actress who played Mizuo, one of the memory polices in Ultraman Nexus. I confess that even after seeing the pictures comparing the two, I still have trouble recognizing them as being portrayed by the same actress. Also, according to the same source, the actor for Agent R was in an Ultraman Max episode (36?).

So, even though we are already two episodes in, I still don't really know my feeling toward this series at this point. Although, if pressed, I would say I like it more than I dislike it. I would probably continue to post about future episodes if I can find something to say that is not entirely a repeat of what other people say.