Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Ultraman Orb Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 26, 2019

Mill Creek has released 2016's 'Ultraman Orb' to Blu-ray. It's one of the newest programs in the 50-year history of the 'Ultraman' franchise, and was indeed released in celebration of that anniversary, yet the studio has chosen to bring it to the physical high definition format as one of the first releases as part of a long-term 'Ultraman' marketing strategy. The featureless release houses all 25 TV episodes on five discs and a sixth disc is home to the 'Orb' feature film. Technical specifications include native Japanese two-channel audio and English subtitles.

Below are brief reviews of the TV series and movie.

TV Series:

Official synopsis: Naomi has had the same strange dream since she was young: visions of a giant of light battling a giant monster. With her interest sparked by those dreams, she starts the paranormal phenomena tracking website called “SSP” with her friends Jetta and Shin. One day the trio is on the tail of a mysterious animal suspected of causing strange meteorological activity. They encounter the Cyclone Lord Monster, Maga-Basser! Naomi is blasted vicious winds but rescued by the vagabond, Gai Kuernai. By using his Orb Ring, Gai is able to Fusion Up into a warrior of light from a distant galaxy, Ultraman Orb!

The show follows the SSP (Something Search People) team and its near proximity to various monster attacks and unexplainable phenomena. Everything happening is orchestrated by the nefarious Jugglus Juggler, once an associate and friend of Gai, the mysterious vagabond hero who transforms into one of several variations of Ultraman Orb to save the day. Most episodes see Orb battling one of Jugglus Juggler's proxies, which he summons by way of his Kaiju cards. These include a collection of new and returning monsters operating within a fairly strict set of narrative parameters. But it's the battle between hero and villain -- Gai and Jugglus Juggler -- where the series finds its footing and excels in its narrative exploration. As the show borrows some of its beats (and beasts) from Ultraman series' past, it forges its own identity with its unique presentation of Gai and Orb being essentially the same individual rather than the merging of two separate entities. The gimmick is Gai's ability to essentially build an Orb variation by playing one of several Ultra Fusion Cards which give Orb the combined powers of other Ultraman variants, though he's still limited by his color timer. That puts Gai/Orb and Jugglus Juggler on fairly even footing, particularly in terms of how the giants are summoned and do battle.

The episodes are largely procedural but build and maintain a well balanced presentation for humor, heart, and plenty of action. The presentation blends modern and traditional quite nicely, updating the show for contemporary audiences, adding some mid-grade digital effects, and making it more accessible while still adhering to the more traditionally structured franchise presentation of suits, models, miniatures, and perspective photography. It's a very nice hybrid that maintains the essential Ultraman style and presentation while still finding new ways of advancing the presentation. The fights are clunky, the suits rubbery, the miniatures obvious, but it's fun and charming all the same, a perfect blend of traditional and modern that does a wonderful job of bringing joy to a new generation of fans while serving as a fitting tribute for the franchise's 50th anniversary.

Movie:

Official synopsis: A mysterious item is delivered to paranormal investigators SSP. SSP members Naomi, Jetta and Shin determine that it is a transformation device… the X Devizer that housed Ultraman X both during and after his merging with Xio agent Daichi Oozora (Kensuke Takahashi). Gai Kurenai (Hideo Ishiguro), the human form of Ultraman Orb returns from his wanderings to search for X… unaware that this is just the first sign of a new threat to the Earth. The villainous space witch Murnau has allied with Ultraman Orb’s arch enemy Jugglus Juggler to use the Dark Ring she now possesses.

Unfortunately the movie struggles to find an engaging distinction against the TV show, playing with the same feel for cadence and construction, only extending the length to what amounts to about 2.5-3 episodes worth of runtime. Make no mistake, the story is fine, the action is fine, the acting is fine, the visuals are fine...but "fine" doesn't really cut it, unless one's expectations for the movie are limited to an extended continuation of the television show with no broader scope or scale. The film does explore the universe by way of crossover guest appearances, which manages to give it something of a draw beyond the standard fare Orb television episode, but it's merely an expansion on what Orb has been about from the beginning rather than any kind of revelation. It's a fair send-off but fans might understandably be left frustrated if only by unfulfilled expectation.

Ultraman Orb Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ultraman Orb materializes on Blu-ray with a pleasant and faithful 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Mill Creek has spread the 25 episodes over five discs, providing adequate breathing room and a relatively healthy average bitrate that renders compression issues largely moot though at times faintly visible. The digital roots are plainly obvious: the picture is a highly detailed but a little flat overall. Still, it excels in revealing core skin and clothing details with sharp, pinpoint accuracy. Environments, ranging from the cluttered SSP interiors to broad city exteriors, enjoy solid foundational definition and detail. The Kaiju and Ultraman suits are perhaps a little too revealing of the materials used to construct them, but it's difficult to fault the inherent charm in them. Colors dazzle, particularly during Gai's transformation into Orb, and various bursts of light and lasers during his fights with many of the Kaiju offer additional blasts of brilliance. Essential tones -- clothes, city accents, odds and ends around SSP headquarters -- are well defined and maintain core integrity. Skin tones appear accurate and black levels are not overly raised. There's little obvious aesthetic variance between the TV show and the movie in terms of basic visual structure and Blu-ray presentation. Both are very good presentations from Mill Creek.

Screenshots 1-25 correspond to the TV show while 26-35 are sourced from the movie.

Ultraman Orb Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

What the TV show track lacks in surround integration and subwoofer engagement it more than makes up for with its impressively wide two-channel presentation. Mill Creek's audio track, in the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless configuration (in the native Japans only), pushes the front end beyond its limits, stretching music and effects to impressive elongated engagement. There's no feel for cramped spacing and the width is utilized properly, expanding as necessary but folding in more intimately as a scene warrants. Musical clarity is strong and pursues an active expansion across the front stage. Action effects likewise follow suit and the track is more than capable of identifying individual sounds with clear and distinct prioritization as necessary even amidst the jumble of action. Dialogue is clear and images perfectly to the center. Optional English subtitles are available and automatically toggle to "on."

Unfortunately the audio for the movie, also presented in the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 configuration, is a little more center-confined. The opening battle on the Hawaiian island lacks both width and muscle. It's not aggressive, not particularly loud or engaging at reference volume, sounding more shallow and cramped compared to the TV show. There's a fair feel for depth to stomps and gunfire during a fight in chapter three. Core definition is fine, music enjoys sound clarity and a modest effort at width, but expect little stray overall from the imaged center portion of the stage. Dialogue does benefit from the center localization and is adequately detailed and prioritized.

Ultraman Orb Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Ultraman Orb contains no supplemental content across any of the six discs, five for the TV series and one for the movie. The main menu screen on the TV show offers only the options to choose episodes individually or to play all as well as to toggle subtitles on and off. The movie disc, disc six in the set, offers only options to play the movie and to toggle subtitles on and off. This release does ship with a booklet, which is not quite of the same quality or thoroughness as those found with the Ultra Q or Ultraman releases, but it does include hero character profiles, a Kaiju character guide, episode summaries, and an outline for the movie. No DVD discs are included, but Mill Creek has bundled in a MovieSpree digital copy voucher. Unlike the afore-referenced Ultra Q and Ultraman releases, there is disappointingly no corresponding SteelBook.

Ultraman Orb Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ultraman Orb is a fun and fitting 50th anniversary tribute to the series. It folds in modern amenities while remaining true to the series roots. A few new ideas and directions intersect with some familiar faces and the series' basic cadence. It's well done and a great point of entry for new fans and contemporary audiences who might not be so keen on starting from the beginning. Mill Creek's six-disc set, which includes all 25 TV episodes and the Orb movie, is disappointingly featureless, but the video and audio presentations are very good. Recommended.