The Sixtieth Anniversary of Ultraman has come and gone, and with it, a new episode of Ultraman Teo. The show has already set up an interesting multi-episode arc formula right out the gate, with the third episode resolving everything that the prior two have set up. Ultraman Teo is poised to face off against two kaiju, we have been introduced to our charmingly weird mini kaiju in the form of Pucchi, and there seems to be a great mystery building. Across these three episodes, there has been consistent quality amongst the tokustasu production, the character performances (in human, Ultra, and Kaiju alike), and there’s been some nice quiet moments to get to know our ensemble cast before jumping into the action.
Where Episode 2 slowed things down to focus on the Astronomy Club getting to know each other, this next installment throws us right into the fray. In an abrupt cliffhanger, we were left with Ultraman Teo outnumbered by two kaiju wanting nothing but his destruction, so Episode 3 picks up immediately after that moment with no time to waste. This opening fight is full of great angles, such as the shot where the winged monster shoots a jet out of the sky in the distance, with it landing right in front of the camera. I appreciated this fight a bit more than the closing fight, as it gave us a chance to see two kaiju face off in mortal combat, something the franchise has no doubt done before, but it’s always fun to see. It’s worth a watch for this sequence alone, in my opinion, as it clearly demonstrates the cinematic language that the Ultraman Teo team understands. This fight is frantic, barbaric, and primitive, shown by a more handicam-esque sequence rather than the cinematic, dynamic, and stylish cinematography when Teo is on screen.
It took a little bit, but Pucchi is growing on me. I will be honest, some of these side mini kaiju that are there for the kids can kind of get jarring (with YouPi in Ultraman Arc being of particular hinderance to the series), but this kaiju seems rather centric to the story being told, even wanting to assist Teo in this episode, despite being a small, cuddly little creature. We’ve seen that Pucchi will be able to turn massive, but it’s nice that the show is taking its time to lead us there, dropping little character hints along the way. That to me shows that Ultraman Teo has a purpose; there’s effort found within. Everyone in the cast is fairly likeable, nobody’s an annoying, bombastic archetype, which is unfortunately common in tokustasu shows like these. They’re made for kids, but it seems to me that Ultraman Teo might lean for an audience a bit older (not R-Rated or anything major like that, but think of a PG-13-type ordeal).
For full transparency to our readers, my biggest worry going into this series was that it wouldn’t live up to the “60th Anniversary Series” moniker that was bestowed upon it, but to my surprise, Ultraman Teo seems to be doing so slowly and surely with some thought and care put into the cast, production, and more. It’s clear that this new Ambassador of Light needs to make it count for both the show’s overall longevity, making a mark for the franchise, and to do something unique and memorable. I’m optimistic that the series will, since it has maintained a consistent and solid bar of quality, but has not yet reached the greatest heights of shows like Return of Ultraman or Ultraman Z just yet.
