Ultraman Omega 03 DUB Review |Going Ultra – Going Ultra – Presented by Henshin Inspection
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Ultraman Omega 03 Review – A Different Kind of Boring
Sometimes in Power Rangers and Super Sentai, I cannot wait for the big mecha battle to be over. It is the same thing every single time, and even though I love the genre, the repetition just wears me down.
In Ultraman Omega episode 3, I hit a different kind of boring. And it threw me off, because I honestly did not remember disliking this episode as much as I did. Watching the dub this time might be the difference. Losing the mystique of hearing Japanese performances and reading subtitles exposed just how dry this episode actually is.
This surprised me because Tsuburaya is the classiest outfit in tokusatsu. Their hero shows never rely on flashy gimmicks or over-the-top style. The human world is deliberately plain. Vanilla. Grounded. And then you drop a giant of light and a kaiju into it and let the contrast create the magic.
I like that approach. I like seeing extraordinary things rise out of an ordinary world. It’d cute because Ultraman uses “Rise” as part of its identity, and that’s what we get to see the Ultra and the human cast do pretty much every week.
I have been excited about this setting, where kaiju are a brand new phenomenon. I wanted to see how a kaiju-less world reacts when monsters suddenly appear. But after this episode, I am questioning that desire a little.
Ultraman is rarely boring… but this was boring.
Ultraman episodes can be low action or low stakes. Sometimes there is barely a fight. That is fine. A lot of my favorite episodes across the franchise are quiet character stories.
But this episode was quiet in a way that did not feel intentional or emotional. It was just subdued.
Which is strange, because on paper this episode should be great:
- Rekiness, a kaiju that looks like he stepped out of ancient Chinese carvings
- Pegunos, the enemy kaiju
- Omega and Rekiness teaming up
- Personal backstory for Kosei, who used to run track
This should be a standout. But it ends up feeling flat.
I remember liking this one more in the sub. In Japanese, it felt like a “literary” worldbuilding episode. In the dub, the dryness becomes more obvious. Even Rekiness, who looks incredible, gets lost in the muted energy of the episode.
Pegunos himself is not very exciting either. I like bird kaiju, but penguins do not fire that same part of my brain. Nothing about his portrayal elevated him.
Is this really for kids?
That was my main question. Is this going to keep the attention of the kids? I do not know. It feels slow even for adults. I have not tested it with my kids yet, but I have a feeling they would enjoy Rekiness more than Pegunos and still get bored halfway through.
I have seen up through episode 7, and even the more emotional, personal episodes later have more spark than this. Episode 3 still feels like the low point so far.
Trying to pull something good out of it
There are interesting ideas buried under the pacing:
- Rekiness being found
- Pegunos possibly tracking Rekiness
- Sorato sensing something and pulling Kosei and Ayumu into danger
- The implication that kaiju are gathering for a deeper reason
But none of it hits with energy.
The one thing that is exciting to talk about is the theory this episode reinforces.
My theory: Omega arrived on Earth carrying kaiju inside him
I have hinted at this before, but here is the full version.
Rekiness has the same pentagonal crest that Omega has. That cannot be an accident. My theory is that Omega:
- was transporting kaiju
- or containing kaiju
- or escorting them across space
When he blew up that planet for some reason… the explosion scattered his gear and his memory. The kaiju stored inside him were forced out. Now he will slowly recover his items, his memories, and his mission.
Eventually that mission is going to collide with Earth in a big way.
This theory is honestly more exciting than anything the episode itself does.
Wrapping up
I like slow burns. I like rational worldbuilding. But you still have to maintain momentum. Episode 3 did not quite do that. Even with Rekiness’s amazing design. Even with Omega and Rekiness teaming up. Even with the mystery it is trying to build.
So what did you think?
- Was the sub better than the dub?
- Does Rekiness work for you?
- And do you think Omega really is linked to these kaiju in a deeper way?
Let me know. I want to hear your take.
You can find my full Omega playlist, plus Zeztz, Project R.E.D., and more, in the links below.
Bonus Insight: Omega’s Strange Curiosity
One thing I did not mention earlier, but really stood out to me on the rewatch, is how weird Sorato Omega is acting in episode 3. And I mean weird in an interesting way. I don’t know if it is because he is an amnesiac Ultra or because the show is trying to tell us something about his nature, but his whole vibe is unusual compared to other Ultras.
In this episode he approaches Rekiness with zero urgency. Pegunos is still around, the situation is dangerous, but Omega just strolls up to Rekiness, crouches down, tilts his body, studies him. There is this almost animal-like curiosity to the way he moves. He even pokes the little meteor crest on Rekiness’s chest, the one that matches his own.
It is a tiny moment, but it says a lot.
Even with his memory gone, something inside him recognizes Rekiness. Something instinctive. Something familiar. And that curiosity may be a core part of who Omega is as an Ultra, not just a result of amnesia.
So even though the episode felt flat overall, scenes like that hint at a deeper character mystery. Omega is not just a guy who transforms and fights monsters. He is trying to understand what the kaiju are, what they mean, and maybe what they mean to him.
And that makes me even more confident in my theory that Omega has a much deeper connection to these creatures than we have been told yet.
Bonus Insight: Rekiness’s Strange Ancient Chinese Aesthetic
One thing I keep circling back to is Rekiness’s design. It is striking, but also strange. For a meteor kaiju from another world, he has a very strong ancient Chinese aesthetic baked into his silhouette. The blue swirls, the ornament-like ridges, the decorative lines — they look like something lifted straight out of old Chinese carvings.
Now, a lot of his design works beautifully. The blade horn is great. The white spikes with the red tips look feral and bony. The overall creature silhouette is solid. But those blue swirls keep pulling me out of it. They make Rekiness feel like either:
- A literal ancient Chinese monster that influenced human mythology
or - A kaiju whose look was shaped for real-world cultural recognition, not in-world logic
And neither explanation fits the established lore, because the world of Omega is supposed to have no past kaiju history at all.
Maybe this is a calculated marketing decision. Ultraman is huge in China, and Rekiness’s design might be intentionally familiar to that audience. Maybe kids in China recognize the motifs and feel drawn to the character. That is possible.
But from a story perspective, it feels like a slight misalignment. The red, blue, and white all look great, but the stylization pushes him too far into a cultural aesthetic for a creature that should feel alien.
Still, he remains one of the most unique-looking kaiju in the show, and I am curious whether later episodes add context or if this is simply a one-off stylistic choice.
Drop a comment below or tag me @MJ_Scribe on Twitter. Let’s have some fun talking about this.
If you enjoy thoughtful stories for kids and families, check out my book Mockwing Mayhem. Its a heartfelt adventure about magical bugs battling monsters and protecting children.
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MJ Muñoz 