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84 More Hours Of Ultraman

Thursday, May 15th, 2025

In my many prior review posts I had watched over 420 hours of Ultraman series. With this installment I’ve now watched every series I own and am now completely up to date with translated Ultraman. Or am I…

Ultraman Max (2005, 39 episodes, 16.5 hours)

After the unusual Ultraman Nexus, the series returned to the familiar format of an Ultraman helping to defend Earth against kaiju and alien threats. The weakest part of this show was the main actor, who I felt had low charisma, at least in the earlier episodes of the series. Thankfully the supporting cast was strong, especially robot-girl Elly, who stole every scene she was in. Actors from older Ultra-series also make appearances, and while they play different characters their presence suggests the world the show is set in may be somehow linked to ones we are familiar with.

About halfway through the show took a notable twist and the writing became tighter and took more risks. This led to some wonderful episodes, such as a very fourth-wall-breaking one about the Ultraman Max scriptwriter, and a few genuinely horrific episodes that I feel took inspiration from The X-Files. The last two episodes were magnificent, and ended the show perfectly. It started a bit weak, but I look back on Max with fondness.

The Ultraman (1979, 25 hours)

This was the first animated Ultraman series and is very much a product of its era. It is set on a future Earth where space travel and alien attacks aren’t unusual and the appearance of an Ultraman (retcon named ‘Joneus’) is taken for granted by the characters. The usual 1970s anime TV hijinks follow, including paper-thin plots, occasional inclusion of various -isms and reused animation. I watched much of this while doing other things, since to be honest it’s very slow by today’s standards. Fun fact: this is now canon, Joneus is one of the strongest Ultras, and his live-action appearance harkens back to the anime:

I’ll mention here that I own – but haven’t yet watched – another animated series called Ultraman Kids.

Ultraman Arc (2024, 12.5 hours)

This was the first series I watched live as it was simulcast on YouTube. Much like Blazar before it, Arc is not an M78 Ultra but instead a being of light sent to Earth to avert a disaster caused by his home planet. I liked the actor who played Arc’s host, as well as another guy who worked for the government, but overall I felt Arc’s basic setup a bit weak and the remainder of the crew a bit forgettable.

Despite this the series had some extraordinary episodes, including one that dealt with lost love and another (somewhat remake of an Ultraman Cosmos episode) about a hikikomori communicating with an alien. There was also a nice Blazar cameo, and the final episodes wrapped the story up nicely. Was it better than Blazar? Maybe.

Ultraman Mebius (2006, 50 episodes + 4 specials, 30 hours)

This was the 40 year anniversary series of Ultraman and immersed itself with nostalgia. As the last existent series I would watch I had high hopes, and wasn’t disappointed!

This series tells the story of Mebius, an Ultra sent to Earth to complete his training. It’s one of the very rare series where the Ultra doesn’t have a host – instead he takes a human form (named Mirai in this case). He joins an earth defense group names Guys and helps to save the planet from monsters and aliens.

Unusually, about halfway through the series his teammates learn he is Ultraman Mebius. But the surprises don’t stop, because from that point on the show became a celebration of the history of Ultraman. Episode after episode a total of ten old Showa-era ultras in the show (including Astra and Yulian) make cameos and they are all crafted with love and respect. My favourite was probably the ‘school reunion’ Ultraman 80 episode, which I’ll admit brought a tear to my eye (80’s host was a school teacher).

Mirai was one of the most charismatic Ultraman actors, and played the alien-in-human-form role well. The Guys crew was equally likeable, especially their mysterious captain who had a wonderful moment in the epic finale. I loved this show from beginning to end, and it’s easily in my top five Ultra series, maybe even top three!

In addition to these four I’ve also watched a couple of average films (Ultraman Blazar, Ultraman Trigger), one fantastic film (Ultraman Mebius) and this year’s bonkers YouTube anthology series, which interestingly focused on Ultraman Z.

In addition the 2025 series – Ultraman Omega – has been announced and will start in a couple of months, and of course I’ll be watching that one live:

While there’s no word yet on the two ‘forgotten’ Ultra series made in Australia (Toward The Future) and the USA (The Ultimate Hero) ever being released on DVD, I’ll remain optimistic. Until they do though, I’ve now watched it all: over 500 hours of Ultraman series spanning nearly 60 years! That’s an accomplishment worthy of pride 🙂

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60 More Hours Of Ultraman!

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

As of my last update I had watched over 360 hours of Ultraman series. Only a fool would have stopped, so let’s catch up with what I’ve seen since then…

Ultraman Z (2020, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This one has a fantastic cast with likable guys, lovable girls and the brilliant inclusion of ex-villian Jugglus Juggler as the captain of the defense force. It started very strong, but kept getting better and better until the very end. I loved the many cameos (Geed, Zero and Ace), the fact Z got the Beliarok sword, and that robot versions of famous kaiju were used as Earth defense vehicles. In addition to great characters and story, the special effects are great and the final ‘Zestium Beam’ in episode 25 may be the best ever in Ultra-history! The opening theme is great as well. This is one of my all-time favourite Ultra series.

Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy (2020, 2 hours)

This is a short web series (on YouTube) that introduces ‘The Absolutians’ led by the incredible powerful ‘Absolute Tartarus’; a sort of evil version of Ultramen with incredible visual design. The story is about Ultras investigating the universal threat of the Absolutians. In truth, this series is just an excuse for lots of over-the-top and CGI-heavy fights, and the plot is bonkers madness. Tartarus is super cool, and it was cool to see Belial and Tregear before they turned evil, but the highlight for me was the splash screens introducing every Ultra when they appeared. It was lovely to see 80 again! Overall a fun watch.

Ultraman Trigger (2021, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This was a heavily hyped series, since it’s the spiritual successor of Ultraman Tiga which remains one of the highest rated Ultra series of all time. Overall I enjoyed it, but not as much as Z. The plot is heavily based around the history of Trigger himself, who has a dark side (‘Trigger Dark’) and an evil ex-girlfriend! It was all a little weird but the cast is good and the chemistry between them – especially the flamboyant intergalactic thief character – was strong. The effects in this series evolved from ‘great’ to ‘extremely good’, and I think this was the first series where some of the CGI was essentially seamless to the live action. I liked the ending, but it was somewhat unsatisfying since there’s currently no translated way to watch the sequel film. Worth watching.

Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad (2022, 2 hours)

This is the sequel to the previous year’s Ultra Galaxy Fight series (and is also on YouTube) and the story continues on directly with the Absolutian threat. One notable element is the addition of a brand new ultra – named Regulos – who is held capture by the Absolutians and is a bit of a mystery. I wonder if we’ll find out who he is…? Plot aside, this is another endless series of high-powered fights between Ultras and all sorts of foes and since it includes dozens and dozens of Ultras it’s obviously red meat for a fan like me 🙂

Ultraman Decker (2022, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

Tsuburaya have been knocking them out of the park for a few years now, and this series from 2022 continued the high production values of Trigger and Z with a – once again – great cast with wonderful chemistry. The leader seems stilted at first but isn’t at all, the robot (Hane2) is fun but the girl (Kirino) is mesmerizingly cute and – for me – stole every scene she was in! There were a lot of nostalgic episodes in this one that gave me the feels, and more than once this story resonated with my past experiences visiting Japan. The future storyline segments involving the ‘original’ decker were especially good science fiction, and I’d love to see a series based around the human Decker from the future. I loved that I’ve got a bunch of the cards Decker uses to transform since they’re the same ones used by the Ultraman arcade game at that time (that I got addicted to in a couple of Japan trips). This is another wonderful Ultra series.

Ultraman Regulos (2019, 6 episodes, 1.5 hours)

This is a YouTube series about a mysterious Ultra who trains to become the grandmaster of ‘Cosmo Beast Style’ martial arts. It’s an unusual introduction to a new Ultra, and making him a martial artist is cool but it’s also a bit weird. This of course explains the character that was introduced in The Destined Crossroads, and it was clever that it’s also a backstory for Absolut Diavolo. Oh, and it’s bonkers as well.

Ultraman Blazar (2023, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This was the first post-Shin Ultraman series and it shows. For starters Blazar’s host is an adult with a wife and child, and the series is divorced from previous lore, with all-new kaiju and no crossovers at all. The team is much more believable and human than in any previous show, and they question events in the same way the characters of Shin did. The story is full of mystery, and slow-burning under the monster-of-the-week episodes is an unfolding conspiracy unlike anything in previous Ultra-series. Blazar himself is a very unusual Ultra, and if I have any criticism of the show it’s that we don’t learn enough about him. The special effects are extremely good, especially some of Blazar’s attacks. One of my all-time favourite Ultra series, and this will be my recommendation for a starting point for older viewers.

Ultraman Regulos: First Mission (2022, 20 minutes)

A short YouTube special where Regulos (and Ultraman Ribut) team up to defeat a threat. Basically an excuse for Regulos to show us his ‘Cosmo Beast’ powers, it’s silly fun and as with the others in this series heavy on lore and Ultra history.

Ultraman Rising (2024, 2 hours)

This Netflix Ultraman animated film just came out, and it tells a story of a young baseball hero who unwillingly inherited the mantle of Ultraman. The kid-friendly story involves a baby kaiju and occasionally gets a bit too cute, but the show is loaded with references to Ultra-history and is a labor of love by those who made it. The visuals are beautiful, and special mention must be given to ILM for the special attack effects which are breathtaking. I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would, and very much hope we get the teased sequel.

While I was watching the above main series, I also made the Bandai model kit for each Ultra! These were inexpensive, easy and fun to assemble, and all of them look great. I hope Bandai makes similar kits for older Ultramen.

That’s 420 hours of Ultraman so far! Am I done? Of course not! I’m currently watching Ultraman Max, have three other old series on DVD to watch, and the brand new series Ultraman Arc begins (on YouTube) this weekend! Guess who’ll be watching it on day one? 🙂

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28 Hours Of Gridman!

Tuesday, September 19th, 2023

In 1993 Tsubaraya, makers of Ultraman, released a show called ‘Lightning Superman Gridman’, also called ‘Gridman The Hyper Agent’, that I’ll here refer to simply as Gridman. Over the last few years I’ve watched the entire series, as well as a couple of truly extraordinary spinoffs. It’s time to discuss this mysterious show…

Gridman The Hyper Agent (1993, 39 episodes, 16.3 hours)

This series was created to capitalize on the popularity amongst children of home computers, and tells a story of a group of youngsters that – with the help of a mysterious being called Gridman – battle evil viruses in the ‘computer world’. It’s a bit like ‘Tron with kids’ except the humans never actually go into the computer world. Since it’s a Tsubaraya tokusatsu production, there is of course a battle in every episode between men in suits; in this case the hero Gridman and a ‘virus’ which is (of course) a giant kaiju monster. Humorously, these creatures are created by a being known as ‘Khan Digifer’, who manifests the monsters using the anger and frustration of an eternally (sort of) bullied almost-friend of the hero kids:

These are our heroes that work with Gridman to defeat him:

These days the computers on the show are hilariously dated, although it was fun to see such things as people playing games on PC-88 machines. The fight scenes are interesting since they’re always on the same set and therefore get creative with the kaiju suits to spice things up. But ultimately there’s a disconnect between the real-world and computer-world segments, and Gridman himself seems to take a back seat to the main story toward the end. I enjoyed it as a glimpse into early 1990s Japan since there’s so much on-location filming, but it doesn’t hold a candle to a good Ultraman series.

SSSS.Gridman (2018, 12 episodes, 6 hours)

To everyone’s amazement, in 2017 Tsubaraya announced an anime sequel to Gridman! Or was it a sequel…? The show was SSSS.Gridman, and it took the anime world by storm when it screened in 2018, becoming one of the most popular series of the year. The story is based around an amnesiac boy named Yuta, who discovers Gridman (yes the same one from the 1993 show) on an old computer. Gridman tells him he has a mission to complete, and thus begins a rollercoaster of events as Yuta fights to save his town from Kaiju, all the while trying to work out the many mysteries going on around him.

This show is incredible. It’s one of the best anime series ever made, and a shockingly good retelling of the Gridman story from a different perspective. What are the kaiju? Why does no-one remember their attacks or even the people killed by them? Who is Akane, the frustrated girl who creates the Kaiju for a mysterious villian on her computer? And who are Gridman’s friends who eventually turn up to help Yuta?

The visuals are bright and colorful, and the battle scenes use tokusatsu motion capture methods which gives them Ultra-DNA. The show is a love letter to Gridman via Evangelion (which itself was a love letter to Ultraman…) and countless other giant robot series, and it’s so meticulously scripted and directed that when you get to the very last shot – one of the very best final shots of any anime – you immediately want more. I can’t recommend this enough.

SSSS.Dynazenon (2021, 12 episodes, 6 hours)

After the success of SSSS.Gridman, a sequel was inevitable, and when it came in 2021 it took the series in a new and unexpected direction. Nothing from the first series returned: here we had all-new characters, all-new heroes, all-new villians and all-new kaiju. Was this even Gridman?

The story tells of a young man, Yomogi, who is recruited by a mysterious man named Gauma to help fight off a kaiju attack. Gauma does this by summoning a giant robot named Dynazenon, which can split into several independent vehicles, each piloted by Yomogi and his (new) friends. They fight the ‘Kaiju Eugenicists’ for the sake of the world itself, but as the show progresses we learn that each pilot -and Gauma – has personal struggles of their own that make the conflict even more difficult…

This is another triumph of a series, with even more over the top action and characters. The transformation scenes of Dynazenon in particular are incredible, and if you’ve ever watched any giant robot anime from the 70s or 80s you’ll be laughing out loud at how good they are. At the same time the characters are charming and their struggles resonate even after the show has ended. This is not a happy-go-lucky story of kids saving the world, perhaps unsurprising since they attend Neon Genesis high school. The mystery quota of this series is high as well – including the links to Gridman – and you’ll be guessing at what will happen until the very end. Another highly recommended series.

And that would be that, except for the fact that SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon were followed up by a theatrically released film called Gridman Universe, which was released in Japan this past March. As is often the case, this has been slow leaving Japan, and with releases in other Asian countries still a month away who knows when it will make its way to the US?

Suffice to say as soon as I can I’ll be watching this, since I want to know more about the links between Gridman and Dynazenon, but more importantly I want to see these characters again, even if just for one last time. Both these anime series are amongst my favourites ever, and I think if you give them a chance you may love them too.

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89 More Hours Of Ultraman!

Wednesday, August 16th, 2023

My previous four posts covered 270 hours of ultra-series but only a fool would think that was enough. And I’m no fool. So let’s continue with dozens more hours over six series and a film…

Ultraman Gaia (1998, 51 episodes 20.5 hours)

This series had a somewhat tedious opening arc, despite the inclusion of a second antiheroic Ultraman (Agul) to introduce some tension. It got better mid-series, but the ‘big bad’ (some sort of ‘dark being’) was ill-defined, I was never a fan of the main character and the supporting cast lacked charm. Overall one of the weaker series.

Ultraman Neos (2000, 12 episodes, 5.2 hours)

This was a short direct-to-video series with a more adult tone. It had very impressive special effects for its era (mid 90s) and with no need for filler episodes it never outstayed its welcome. As a bonus the girls were cute and the fanservice addition of ‘Ultraseven 21’ was wonderful.

Ultraman Cosmos (2001, 65 episodes, 26 hours)

This was great! I loved the characters and the fx/monster suits were leagues beyond Gaia. The ‘pacifist Ultraman’ premise worked well enough, and the series included story arcs and returning guest characters that worked well. Some episodes were very poignant, and the ending a tear-jerker. My only negative: the prequel film isn’t great. One of the better ultra series.

Ultraman (Season 3) (2023, 12 episodes, 4.6 hours)

The third and final series of the Netflix animated series (based on the comic) was phenomenal. It has a wonderful story with nice twists, and the final villian reveal, although not unexpected, was magnificent. It introduced a new Ultra and – even better – a new suit for the hero, and the last episode is one of the best anime episodes I have ever seen. Fantastic!

Ultraman Nexus (2004, 37 episodes, 18.5 hours)

This is a strange show. Tsuburaya wanted an ultra series for an older viewer, and Nexus was the result. It departs from the usual setup in many ways, such as having multiple hosts for Nexus throughout the series, and monsters that stick around for several weeks. In some episodes Nexus barely appears! Unfortunately it mostly fails due to flat characters and a too-slow story. The last third redeems it somewhat, but I see why this was canceled early.

Ultraman Taiga (2019, 36 episodes, 13 hours)

The first of the Reiwa era Ultras! Taiga is a fast paced show full of colour and energy. There’s a lot to love here: a very likeable ultra, a mysterious and charismatic villian, fantastic and flashy special effects, cute girls and some wonderful self-referential writing. This is a series for fans of all ages and I loved every moment of it!

Shin Ultraman (2022, 2 hours)

Hideaki Anno drew obvious inspiration from Ultraman in his famous Evangelion series, and I knew when it was announced he was writing this film (and especially after his superb Shin Godzilla) that it would be something special. I was not disappointed! Everything here is crafted with style and care and love, from the first appearance of the redesigned Ultraman, through the episodic sequences that reimagine familiar (to a fan) foes in interesting ways, and finally to the confrontation with the ultimate antagonist. Absolutely sublime, and immediately one of my favourite ever films.

If you’re keeping track, I’m at about 360 hours of Ultraman series watched so far, but I’m not done yet. In the next installment there’ll be at least six additional full series, and maybe a film or two. And depending how long that takes me, maybe even the US-made animated film may be out as well?!

But before then I think it’s time for a review of some Ultraman-adjacent material. I’ll probably get to that soon…

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61 More Hours Of Ultraman!

Saturday, November 19th, 2022

I said it would be a year between updates, but I haven’t slowed down in my watching of the entire Ultra franchise. So here, reviews of the last five series/movies I’ve watched.

Ultraman Tiga (1996, 52 episodes 20.4 hours)

Ultraman Tiga was the first new series in 15 years, and was a relaunch of the entire franchise in Japan. It was a phenomenon when it came out and to this day Tiga remains one of the more popular Ultramen of all time.

Set in a new universe from the original Ultras, Tiga tells a familiar story of Earth threatened by giant monsters and aliens. A defense force called ‘GUTS’ works to save humanity, and one member (Daigo) has the ability to transform into the giant Ultraman Tiga and send the aliens packing.

The writing is very abbreviated, because they try to fit hour-long stories into half hour episodes. The characters know nothing about the enemies one episode and the next say something like “oh that must be the true devil from the hell realm” seconds after sighting a foe. It’s all a bit bonkers and out-of-control but it’s heart is in the right place and it grabbed me fairly quickly. The second half is much better, with a fantastic episode featuring the original Ultraman and a very strong series ending. I loved the romance in particular, which is expanded upon in the various films in which Tiga would eventually appear.

As a late 90s show the early CGI effects are slightly embarrassing today, but this series is acclaimed for its music with a notable theme song and track reserved for the romantic scenes.

Tiga was the first Ultra series I watched on TV, since it was dubbed and screened in the US in the late 1990s. In time I bought a few DVDs (which I still own), but the licensor in those days changed the characterization and didn’t release every episode so this new release of the series was long-awaited.

Ultraman Dyna (1997, 51 episodes, 21.5 hours)

Ultraman Dyna followed on from Tiga – literally starting the week after the final Tiga episode! We have a new team (Super GUTS), a new hero (Asuka) and a new Ultraman (Dyna). At first I was a bit put off: Asuka is a very different character from Daigo in Tiga, but the writing is strong and the charm of the characters won me over fairly quickly.

The effects are better, the quality of the writing better and in general I’d say this is a better show than Tiga. Despite Tiga resurrecting the series for a new generation (and let’s be clear, this is very much a kids show), many of the Dyna scripts dealt with adult themes including aging and loss and the pathos was high. The ending was magnificent, and it may have even brought a single tear to a 50-year-old eye. Overall one of my favourite Ultra series so far.

Superior 8 Ultra Brothers (2008, 1.5 hours)

This film was a monster hit when it was released in Japan and tells the tale of an alternate Earth in which seven very normal men learn than in an alternate universe they are the hosts of Ultramen. When a threat comes to their Earth, can they transform and save the world?

I loved the hell out of this. It stars the original actors from the first four Ultra series as well as the from Tiga, Dyna and Ultraman Gaia. They all play their original characters, and it’s great to see them all interacting as ‘normal’ people in what seems to be our world. The slow-burn before they transform into their respective Ultras is fantastic, and the 8 giants defeating the mega-villian is very satisfying. It’s basically just two hours of fan-service for anyone that has ever enjoyed Ultraman, and an easy recommendation.

Ultraman Zearth 1 & 2 (1996/7, 2 hours)

Here we have a two-film series of a ‘joke’ Ultraman! He’s afraid of dirt, uses an electric toothbrush to transform, and the secret team that defends earth uses a gas station as its base.

Everything about this show is silly, and it’s incredible that it was made as a cinematic feature! There’s a lot of very dry jokes, and I suspect many more than were lost on me since they’re based on Japanese culture. Was it funny? No. Was it good? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but only out of a bizarre fascination of its weirdness.

Ultraseven X (2007, 12 episodes, 5 hours)

This was a ‘darker’ series made for adults that played late-nights in Japan. It’s easily the strangest Ultra series I’ve seen, given that there’s very little actual Ultraman and most of what is happening isn’t explained until the last episode.

In short: a dystopian Earth is being controlled behind the scenes by weird aliens, and when they open a portal to another Earth and try to invade Ultraseven comes through, possesses a dying man, and fights the aliens. The show is a bit like Ultra-Q since it’s a series of monster-of-the-weeks with the true villains only being revealed at the very end.

Even stranger are the fight scenes: when Ultraseven turns up, he usually defeats the monsters in seconds. One quick beam or blade attack and they’re dead. No wrestling; very few punches. His strength is off the charts and he doesn’t mess around! This is very interesting for an Ultraman show, and I liked they took the chance to do this.

Ultimately the show once again seemed to have a bolder idea than it could convey, but it wraps up fairly well with some nice fan-service in the final episode.

Ultraman (2019/22, 19 episodes, 10.5 hours)

This Netflix series is based on the Ultraman manga that has been running for over a decade now. It’s yet another retelling: now the Ultraman are not ‘giants of light’ from another star, they are suits worn by young men that seem to have extraordinary abilities. Or are they…?

This cgi-animated series is fantastic, with tight storytelling and incredible fight scenes. At first I was (very!) put off by the Ultra’s being suits, but this becomes a non-issue fairly quickly as the intrigue and mystery – not to mention action – caught me. The characters are great, especially Ultraseven and the unusual Bemular, and I couldn’t wait for season two.

And then, last year, it arrived. While it was half the length of season one, it ramped up the stakes and action tenfold and even added a few new Ultras. I binged the whole thing in one go and absolutely loved it. A third and final season has been announced, and I can hardly wait!

So what’s next? Well I’m already well into Ultraman Gaia, have about 5 or 6 other series already in-hand ready to watch, as well as more on the way. But what I really want to see is the film Shin Ultraman, which has only recently been announced for a US cinematic release in January. Will it be the film that finally gets me into a cinema again, or will I watch it while I’m in Japan. Wait and see…

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