Directed by Yuichi Abe. Written by Keiichi Hasegawa. Airdate Dec. 18, 2013.

We’ve reached the finale of the first New Generation Heroes show. It’s been a short journey: eleven episodes plus a special. We’ve spent most of that time hanging out at an abandoned elementary school, watching Ultraman Ginga and his allies fight monsters in a nearby field. It’s often been glaringly underfunded, even impoverished. The themes are uneven. The drama is frequently juvenile. But this last episode, the resolution of the Dark Spark Saga and confrontation with the Ruler of the Dark, is absolutely … pretty good. Good enough to keep the Ultra Series moving forward in this new era. That’s what Ultraman Ginga was trying to achieve in the first place, so congratulations.

Directed by Yoshikazu Ishii. Written by Kenichi Araki. Airdate Dec. 4, 2013.

The Ultraman Ginga team, aware they have only a few episodes remaining, goes all-out with an action-crammed half hour. Or as all-out as the budget permits. They also pack in some silly comedy and a few key revelations to set up the finale. It’s a scattershot episode, with six different giant combatants and all the major characters jostling for screen time, but it’s fast-moving and lively. I prefer that to some of the drab earlier outings.