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 🙂
