Ultraman Leo (1974) - Ambitious, Despite Everything | Ultra Retrospective
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- čas přidán 2. 08. 2024
- Burn on, Leo! It's an extensive look at the penultimate live action entry in the Ultraman franchise's Showa era. Does it end on a bang or a whimper?
Support me on Patreon for videos like this one a week early.
/ zagorudan
0:00 - Intro (& a PSA)
1:32 - The first batch of episodes (characters, tone, music, etc)
11:52 - The dreaded middle portion
23:05 - How the final 12 episodes save the show
28:04 - Conclusion
30:21 - Leo's Legacy
Ultraman Leo (ウルトラマンレオ)
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."
For further reading, www.copyright.gov/title17/92c... - Krátké a kreslené filmy
Make sure to check out the Ultra Retrospective playlist for more videos like this!
czcams.com/play/PLiLVzRuysz88wWUAy5XObQ0iQaEHLVGCw.html
plot hole explained in ultraman regulos,alien magma have entire army,and the army get wiped by como beast fighter and regulos
Kinda crazy that Leo and Kamen Rider Amazon were running against each other, both being defined by their increased level of violence and weird tonal shifts.
And both are equally awesome in my opinion.
And both were followed by a brief hiatus that led to an even more brief return for both franchises before the next era
@@deathmetal271 Nah the hiatus didn't occur until after Stronger finished
@deathmetal271 why do ya'll think Sentai went without a hiatus I guess except for 78 with the spidaman. There's never been a hiatus of Super Sentai has there
What's funny about Sevenger is that he was added when a fanmail asked Tsuburaya why doesn't Seven use his capsule monsters to help Leo fight a monster.
The funny thing is that Dan's actor wasn't fond of how his character treated Gen, finding it unnecessarily cruel
and Gen's actor found his character heartless in ep40. Losing your entire team and fiance? Big deal, Imma eat this sandwich!
@@claudiachen3557 LOL I did not know that. I just assumed that there has been some time-skip after MAC and fiance died.
@@yuelinxie5721 yes that was the general interpretation, specially since in a later episode there's suddenly a 3-year friend of Gen who abandoned his fiance and went to become a photographer, but at the beginning of Leo it is stated that he only arrived on earth 3 months after the demolition of L77. It's all a lovely mess.
My favorite superhero, period.
His trials and tribulations are what make him so interesting, but most importantly; his will to get back up even when beaten to the brink of death.
It’s very inspiring.
I loved that abt Leo. I’m also a “Leo” which doesn’t rly matter but it made him even more relatable!
The Saucer Beast arc has some of the best Ultraman episodes ever made, the fact that those eps are in the same show as the Oni-On ep will forever confound me.
Makes me think of how in Return of Ultraman we had a farting monster get in an artillery battle with TAC, yes even switching around the position of his 'cannon' to fight off attacks from different directions from MAT.
Next episode: super depressing episode about an orphan being abused by a town because a kind alien is taking care of him.
The first Leo theme is an absolute banger, and his overall design is unique in on its own.
Leo is more realistic and somewhat more life encouraging in my eyes.
Often times life is just unfair, everything is stacked against you.
But as long as you don't give up and believe in what is truly important and crucial, keep on fighting. You might not succeed and reach your ideal goal, but you would harvest the fruits of what you worked hard for.
And even if u lose your friends you have to move on
Edit:referring to episodes 40 when silver bloom elimated mac spaceship
Whoever removed Ultraseven's ears, you caused this whole show to happen
I had no idea that the stubs that represents Ultraseven's ears were missing. No idea who made the that variant of Ultraseven's head and what it was intended for.
@@Isaac-gh5ku probably stage show related, the showa era cameos are very inconsistent with their source material
It's actually an old suit of Taro, and they took away the horns. So it's not Seven without ears but Taro Without horns.
@@claudiachen3557 I mean... taro does have an earless ultraseven once, but I dont know how they would turn Ultraman Taro into Ultraseven, considering the fin turning into an eyeslugger, it sounds complicated
@@Isaac-gh5ku Because this Seven mask was a mask of Taro, they simply removed the horns
I believe it was explained in an Ultraman Mebius Novel that Dan was rescued by Ultra Mother after Silverbloom destroyed the MAC base and subsequently, Dan's Ultra Eyes were repaired too but of course, all these details are from a book so no actual head cannon of what really happened to Dan. I agreed that when Leo is good and hardcore, it is really fun to watch. The Ultra Brothers two-parter was one of the dumbfound episodes with the Ultra Brothers wanting to straight-up murder Astra without thinking clearly. Leo is also dumb when he confronted Astra with the Ultra Key hiding behind him. Guys, the key is just behind him! Just get it!
I mean, the limp thing could be explained by Seven's last episode, where he is already on the brink of death from old battle wounds and was ordered not to transform. It is likely that he is not fully healed from old wounds and the broken leg is just the last straw that rendered him, semi-permanently, unable to transform.
Apparently regulos is leo's and astra's childhood friend that occasionally spar with each other and it's said that both their planets are destroyed by alien magma. We may finally got the see just how the hell alien magma managed to destroy a planet full of ultra after almost 50 years
Hopefully it gets fleshed out in the show, because I like to think the one sent on earth is some grunt while the one that actually blew up the earth is still somewhere out there. Would make for a great story arc where the 3 finally get to fight the culprit behind their homes.
Its honestly amazing they were able to make the series the usual 50 episodes because of the Japanese oil crisis that was going on in the world. The black Star beast are some of my fav monsters. Black End is best boss monster too.
This series honestly feels like a live action shonen anime, what with its headstrong-to-the-point-of-being-reckless, hot-blooded protagonist who never gives up; constantly improving himself to confront impossible odds; Ultra Seven acting as a mentor figure; the colorful/wacky villains, are we sure Akira Toriyama didn't take some inspiration from this series? For God's sake, Leo is even the last of his freaking race, and is an expert martial artist!
"Too a much lesser extent"
he dropped boulders on them. Also regulos wasn't trained by leo, he was just trained in the same school of space martial arts. It's implied he died when magma did his diddly doo and he's a parallel isotope.
Surprised you didn't bring up the episode that brought back Anne from Ultraseven, and gave her a psychotic devil child. Or the fact that the Magma pinwheel episode has Susume Kurobe and Hiroko Sakurai in it.
What was up with those eps
Late showa tokusatsu are a trip
To be specific the mid 70s to late 70s
I absolutely loved the final arc of this series... even though I hated that they killed off Moroboshi.
Ultraman Leo is one of my favorite Ultra shows, even with its not so great middle portion.
When you mentioned you were going to cover this show, I really anticipated it. Leo really interested me as well and I was really curious to hear your thoughts on it. Having watched the video, I agree with basically everything you said.
In a time when watching the Showa Ultras was starting to get very stale, Leo was a breath of life that reinvigorated me. To this day I think it’s such an utter shame an Ultra series with this good a premise had to be bogged down by real world issues and financial hell. It feels like the writers didn’t get to tell all of the stories they wanted to.
As a final note, I’ll mention something Leo does that I really love, that I feel very few other Ultra series do, which is that the monster attacks have stakes. Often, when a monster attacks a city it’s just a set piece to move the plot forward and every single person miraculously survives, but not Leo. In Leo, monster/alien attacks have long-lasting consequences and the Gillas brothers, for example, feel like a force of destruction akin to a natural disaster, like Godzilla. It really gave the show some proper stakes and it didn’t feel like they were wearing a thick suit of plot armor.
All in all, I hold Leo dearly, myself. When a lot of the later Showa Ultra series really underwhelmed me, Leo compelled me and creative decisions it did made me really feel things. I think Regulos has some promise, if it builds on the concepts Leo started.
But enough rambling, this is another great video of your Ultra Retrospective. As somebody who’s been making his way through the Ultraman franchise for the first time basically since last May, it feels good to finish these shows and anticipate a retrospective on them, which give me newfound appreciation for them or consider certain flaws with them. Looking forward to the next one!
This is so on point my friend.
Not a fan of episodes 36 and 37? I like those quite a bit and think they're worth watching. They're really the first ones that signal the show's tonal shift back imo
I also did enjoy those episodes especially 36; I do feel that episodes 33 onward (with the exception of 35) signaled that they were starting to shift the tone back
His theme has the be the most catchy ones
Gen Otori: the dad who stepped up
Except when he fucked off in the last episode and ditched Toru.
Thanks for the caption! I'm pretty much appreciated it, especially me watching it with my brother since he doesn't fully understand English without subtitles.
Adding them is a very time-consuming process so I'm glad they were helpful, 🙏
Awesome review! I love the idea of an older Ultraman training the new comer. It gives off serious Manga/anime shonen Dbz etc. vibes haha. I can also see some of the similarities with the Evangelion angels when it comes to the saucer beasts too
That combo of dark, sober tone and endearingly bizarre production design during the first half is pure chocolate-meets-peanut butter shit.
Separately, they could easily grate on me if done poorly, but in this case, the two qualities enrich each other.
Leos original opening is my favorite showa opening and one of my favorite openings in general, Leos opening is a bop I've never seen Leo but if ever do watch it I'd probably do what you did and play the og opening over the later episodes just to pretend it's still in the show
after all
leo is a dark entry in the series💀
silverbloom is never be forgotten
Gen is the 7th member of MAC because Leo is the 7th Ultra Brother.
So excited to watch this afterwork! You've definitely become one of my favorite content creators!
Hopefully the episode watch guide becomes a new addition to the ultra retrospective
The problem with doing those is that I'm always going to get comments like "Why not this episode? Or this episode?" and I'll almost always agree with them to some extent. I know it may be helpful to newcomers but I'm worried about forgetting anything worth seeing. I'm glad I did it for Leo but I'm still getting some comments wondering why I didn't talk about certain episodes, and I'm looking back and thinking, yeah, why didn't I?
33 minutes, you are spoiling us. I am loving the series and it's done a great job of getting me into Ultraman in general.
Leo being my first Showa show (I think it was available on Crunchyroll, like, a decade ago), made a really weird first impression on me, because that's how I was exposed to Ultraseven. There's a part of my brain that still thinks it's uncanny that Seven HAS ears in proper modern depictions.
Doesn't help that some of my formative memories was watching Neos as a wee lad. Seven 21 has ears, but it's not the protrusive nubs Seven does, so the smooth profile of the head feels _right_ to my mind.
1:07 I think that issue also happened with Return of Ultraman when it was re-release in CZcams. Most notably in one episode with the mushroom-like Kaiju that can conjure a powerful hurricane.
Very interesting and well-made retrospective. I share most of your opinions on the show and its inconsistent tone. I would disagree, however, on the ''skipping episodes'' portion.
I was surprised you didn't cover Episode 37, one of the most eerie of the Showa era and a episodes that adds layers to Kaoru's character. It should not be skipped.
I just started Leo, and even if it has some bad episodes, I want to watch all episodes.
Oh other than the first 15 episodes and the last 12 episodes, 22, 30, 36, are all very unique and intense and really gives back some ultraseven vibes.
The wiki said the manga had an explanation for ultraseven surviving
Bro THANK YOU for mentioning that audio problem! I knew I wasn’t the only one dealing with that😂😂😂
I'm happy to hear someone else just listened to the original leo theme over the new one to cope lol
32:10 And there's an implication that Regulos does hail from the same planet as Leo, but he suffered from amnesia.
Wildest thing is that thumbnail is like mine profile picture
I was born ready for this video
First Leo theme is great.
Leo was definitely my favorite Ultraman when I was growing up. I just wish his Ultraman Leo form's fighting style matches more of his human form's fighting style (karate). You can tell from a lot of episodes that Gen, when he is training, is fast and uses a mix of fists and kicks. But when he finally turns into Leo, it became a wrestling match lol...
I loved Commander Blacks cameo in Orb, didnt expect that!
A stellar review (LOL! 😆) Even though Ultraman Leo had a lot of dichotomy and confusing scripts in its episodes, the main theme was Gen initially screwing up in MAC, goes through a brutal training regimen, focuses his anger to his advantage, and never gives up until he gets it right, as Leo.
Without a doubt, this is one of the darker entries in the franchise. 😮
Ive really enjoyed watching your retrospectives. I finally finished watching leo and looked forward to seeing your thoughts. I anticipated that you would enjoy its good themes as much as i did and im glad i you did.
I find it funny that my last comment on one of your videos was saying my favorite part of your videos was the patreon and it got a heart
Astra is unique since he is the first secondary ultra in show
The Virgin Windon Vs The Chad Sevenger.
This is me once again asking for a retrospective on Ultraman Dyna. The underrated entry of the Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia trilogy.
Truth is, in episode 39, the King of Ultra asked seven, Dan, to go to star of Ultra together, but he refused and said he would like to die with Earth if the collision happens. Ok if this can't explain enough then, King of Ultra, the character was born for leo TV series like Ultra Father for Ace, Ultra Mother for Taro, King and Astra for saving Leo's rating at that time, so that is the only explanation in real-world why King protects predilect Leo brothers more， even now in new ultra galaxy fight shows.
love your videos keep them coming😍
Congrats on 20,000 subs!
now i kinda wish that we have another ultra series where the older ultra become the captain and the mentor of the mc.
Seeing the relationship between Gen and Toru develop in the last arc makes me want to accept my gay son. Bravo.
Thanks for the critique of ultraman leo
I will never forget the damage the penultimate episode did to my childhood.
Looking back as an adult its absolutely one of my favorite moments in Ultraman
Hope to see Ultraman 80 get one of these.
Ultraman Leo introduced Redshirts
Great review
for my opinion classic series from toku or tsuburaya was still vintage and awesome footage scene even there are so many out of context scene but it so majestic to watch the special effect in the show they put well not so futuristic like todays but still enjoying to watch until todays
Great review! It's been so long since I watched Leo, but it's probably my favorite Ultra series! I always knew it had an insane, all-over-the-place tone, but I didn't realize it was such an obviously gradual change. Still like the wild juxtaposition though; I think it adds to how completely bonkers the show gets, while also being genuinely good at parts.
Also, I gotta defend Ultraseven X a little bit after 6:14 lol. I actually thought that show was bizarrely mature despite its aesthetics, what with multiple episodes featuring NO combat since the aliens or whatever weren't a threat. A nice change from a lot of the arbitrary misunderstandings and not-evil monster murder you'd get in the older Ultras (like Leo!)
I agree with a lot of what was said. The theme song was so good. I don’t understand why they changed it. Leo and Return of Ultraman are my two favourite Ultraman shows. Where I disagree is I love most of the episodes, except 4 of them and even they have a charm. Why can’t Gen have episodes that are less intense. Aliens eating donuts is funny. This is a really underrated series. Got me through a rough time which is continuing. wish we could have seen it as kids. Just grew up watching the original Ultraman. Thanks for video.
3:40 they explained in promotional materials and books for the Ultraman Mebous & Ultra Brothers movie, as well as the official website of Ultraman Mebius TV that Seven was saved by Mother of Ultra, but well thats all they said, I coul donly imagine it was similar with how Hunter Knight saved the former Crew GUYS captain
If King did not cure Seven's injury while having the power of making a dismembered Leo alive,
and ShinMan or any Ultra Brothers could have taken him back to Land of Light in any episode,
then Mother of Ultra secided saving Seven but not the other MAC members does not feel too strange
Astra:Brother leooooooooooooo
Leo:shut up slaps
Astra:screams: aghhhhhhhhhhh mama aghhhhhhhh
Leo:your trash astra
When I watched the series on Tubi. I don’t remember it having that overlapping music problem.
0:33 his appearinr (rise up) scene is actually the explosion of his home planet and his fellowmen...
My favorite ultraman.
❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉😂👍👍💯 One of my favorite Ultraman themes.
Wait a minute, there are *major* spoilers in this! I thought the warning was kidding. The warning should have said "I'm not kidding, there are major spoilers in this!" Unforgivable.
(just kidding)
6:42 Dan: What? No more pizza ?
it's funny how what you do during opening here is what I always do with Tiga. where I mute the DVD opening and just play "take me higher."
a ad popped up with the title DreamBot L10s Ultra - Global
This makes me sad when the first dark episodes of leo
Ultraseven in Ultraman Leo actually survive due to Ultra mother save him at the last moment before he actually got killed. It explained in Ultraman Mebius magazine
Any chance putting watch guides in the descriptions of previous ultra retrospective videos
King: Heals Leo. :)
Leo: Y U no heal Seven? :O
King: I sleep. XD
Leo: XD XD XD
I love how they want us to forget ron leo's pet
Very interested in what season you review next. I'm also curious, could Rider or Sentai Retrospective be a thing in the future?
I'm admittedly not as entrenched in those properties as I am with Ultraman. I'd be happy to do a video recommending Kamen Rider Black though, seeing as it's the only show I've finished.
Yeah the first few batches of episodes of Leo was just downright dark and it just like you say, watered down until the Terror of Saucer Race finale.
I keep trying to find this scene but i can't find it at 16:38
Taro, episode 43
@@ZaGorudan oh wow wasn't expecting a response, thank you very much
I can't agree with you more, a lot of it felt like rejected Taro scripts. And HOLY FUCK YES, SOMEONE ELSE POINTING OUT THE TERRIBLE SUBTITLES OF THE ULTRAMAN
6:42 What???!! No more pizzas!???
*LEOOOOO*
Should do a video like this on Nexus or Mebius man
stick around for the new video this thursday
1:16
Everyone favorite punching bag
Wait so is Leo a different species?
I stop watching Leo on ep 25 cause of the jarring tonal change should I skip to ep 39 since it had the same tone of the early eps that I really missed?
I made a watch guide at the end of the video.
From where you are, I recommend episodes 29, 34, then 38-51.
This was commented before I saw the 30 min mark thank u for answering
Mebius next
Do a retrospective on ultraman kids
This series was so stressful to watch man... Ootori had it rough.
Do ultraman mebuis and dyna and gaia
Ultraman King always look like the Burger King mascot.
BORDERLINE abusive!?!?!?!?!?!
what if commander black is alien magma's human disguise
huh....if Dan died in Leo.....then how did he returns later?
Why did you describe him as a fitness instructor instead of a kung fu guy?
Saying Leo used scrapped Taro episodes is exactly what I felt watching these fairy tale-inspired episodes.
The overall show was anger-inducing from Dan Moroboshi's characterization and the repeated training methods he used were big turn-offs and the many missed opportunities in storytelling
But the last arc was honestly at its best.
Ultraman Vs Meme