Directed by Yoshikazu Ishii. Written by Hisako Kurosawa. Airdate Nov. 4, 2013.

Ultraman Ginga S returns after a two-month break to start its second half, and it has plenty on its agenda. One of the leads from Ultraman Ginga, Misuzu Isurugi (Miyatake Mio), drops in as a guest star. Alien Chibull openly plots to animate and control the corpse of Dark Lugiel on the Moon. Most importantly, Android One Zero is now liberated from Alien Chibull’s control after her master rejected her as a “useless piece.”

Directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi. Written by Yuji Kobayashi. Airdate Sep. 2, 2013.

The mid-show finale is a tradition in the New Generation Heroes era. Since these shows are semi-serialized, with ongoing villains and subplots, it’s natural to build to a peak midway through the run to shift the status quo, retire some characters, introduce others, and deliver a major revelation or two. Ultraman Ginga established this with a two-parter that was only a modest increase in spectacle. Ultraman Ginga S goes bigger, resulting in one of the most enjoyable action installments in the New Gen era so far. Best of all, it opens up a new avenue for a character who, until now, has been a literal device. 

Directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi. Written by Sotaro Hayashi. Airdate August 26, 2013.

Ultraman Ginga S ramps up toward its mid-season finale (followed by a two-month hiatus) with an action-filled episode that introduces a seemingly unbeatable kaiju and promises a reveal about the scheme driving Alien Chibull’s theft of Victorium Crystals. 

Directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi. Written by Hisako Kurosawa. Airdate August 19, 2013.

Shepardon, the giant monster defender of the Victorians, gets its first major role in the show. Shephardon has already taken part in several battles, but now it displays real personality as a pivotal part of a story about the history of the Victorians. Since Shepardon is one of the best parts of Ultraman Ginga S — a fantastic kaiju design that combines the friendliness of a cute dog with genuine dinosaurian menace — I approve of it getting more attention. I’m also glad to have more backstory on the Victorians, though the episode doesn’t go deep enough into what may have been an extremely dark epoch in their history.

Directed by Yoshikazu Ishii. Written by Aya Takei. Airdate August 6, 2013.

Although Sho is the co-lead of Ultraman Ginga S, this is the first episode to dig beneath his tough-guy loner exterior. Sho is a fundamentally different person from the gregarious Hikaru, and that difference risks turning him unlikable, even with two young sidekicks, Lepi and Sakuya, looking up to him. Sho needs a few dashes of doubt and maybe a major defeat to leaven his stubbornness.