Nobody Knows Nobody Knows
Jul
13
2006

Ultraman Review

Posted by Todd Brown at 8:23am.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Cult, Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Asia, USA & Canada.

ultraman.jpeg

The word classic is all too often tossed about far too freely but if ever a television show deserved the label the original 1966 Ultraman is one such show. Created and produced by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya – the man behind the original Godzilla and stacks of classic Toho sci-fi and kaiju films – Ultraman brought the kaiju genre from the big screen to the small in a big, big way spawning hosts of imitators around the world and laying down a template that has been adhered to faithfully for subsequent editions of Ultraman right up to the present day. But beyond being a legitimate pop culture icon and likely the most recognizable Japanese screen icon behind Godzilla, Ultraman deserves to be considered a classic for one very simple reason: forty years later it still works just as well as it did when it was made. Forget the kaiju label, forget the geek appeal, forget the niche marketing: Ultraman is simply one of the greatest kid’s adventure shows ever made. For proof just ask my five year old who, despite being very picky about these things, was singing along to the theme song and loudly lamenting his lack of Ultraman toys just three episodes in. No matter how you slice it superheroes and giant monsters are just plain cool and this offers some of the best of both worlds.

For those unfamiliar with the premise, here’s how it works. In a post nuclear, pollution plagued Japan science and technology have reaped unexpected and often catastrophic consequences for humanity. To contain, battle and clean up the chaos Japan has created the Science Patrol, an orange clad, paramilitary squad of scientific warriors, armed with the latest gadgets to protect humanity from the consequences of their own folly. In episode one a Science Patrol jet is sent to investigate the appearance of two mysterious flying orbs. The jet is blown from the sky and Hayata, its pilot, fatally wounded but in the crash he encounters the alien presence within one of the orbs, a beneficent force that heals him and lives symbiotically within his body, granting him the ability to become Ultraman, a powerful masked hero who can change size up to a height of fifty meters to battle the monsters plaguing the land. Not only can Ultraman grow to match his opponents’ size but he can also fly and shoot energy beams from his hands but there is a catch: the alien presence is weakened by our atmosphere so Hayata can be Ultraman only in short bursts, if his energy runs out before the battle is complete Ultraman will be lost. Every episode introduces at least one new monster and there is at least as much emphasis placed on the other members of Science Patrol – who remain blissfully and hilariously oblivious to Ultraman’s true identity – as on Hayata himself. Though the host human for Ultraman has changed from series to series this basic formula has never seen any significant alteration since these very first shows.

Critics of Ultraman and other shows like it may knock it for its predictability but I say those folk must be blind to the quirks and foibles of their own childhood entertainments. Growing up on a steady diet of Gilligan’s Island re-runs was the experience ever dampened by the fact that you knew that no matter what else may happen, whatever the plan may be, the show would end with the castaways still stuck on the island? Not a bit, watching plans inevitably fail was half of the fun: you knew what was coming and the show delivered. Likewise here. Ultraman promises one very basic thing, that every episode will feature a giant metallic superhero battling a man in a rubber monster suit and crushing vast swathes of miniaturized real estate in the process and it never fails to deliver. If you can’t see the beauty inherent in that then there is no hope for you and I wash my hands of the whole affair.

This new release from BCI gets it right everywhere it counts. The show has been restored and remastered and looks as good as it would have on original broadcast. The first twenty of the original thirty nine episodes are included in this set, playing uncut with the original Japanese title sequence. Though the Japanese audio is included, along with English subtitles, playback defaults to the English dub prepared for the show’s US broadcasts and, in a rare turn of events, this is one that I prefer to watch dubbed. Call it nostalgia or whatever else you may like but the voice actors are unusually good the faked accents and slightly off lip synch just add to the goofy charm. Extras are minimal, limited to only the US title sequence, an interview with three of the English dub cast and an encyclopedia of all the kaiju to appear in the show. The included booklet gives a detailed breakdown of the show’s development and early history.

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Reader Comments

  1. James Maruyama 07/13/2006 @ 10:35am

    Great review! I’m eagerly awaiting the release of this set next week as I’m a big fan of the original series (even though I still consider Ultra Seven the best by far, Ultraman is still a cut above all the other Ultra series including the newest ones). I definitely look forward to finally watching the series with the original Japanese audio although I am curious to hear the dubbed version again out of nostalgia. I wonder if they kept the dubbed Ultraman opening with that odd Americanized song.

  2. Elliot of Tokyomonsters 07/13/2006 @ 10:56am

    Nice review. I won’t be buying this unfortunately, as a result of Chaiyo’s hand in the matter, but it’s still nice that moe people will get the chance to experience the original Ultraman.

  3. rd 07/13/2006 @ 12:18pm

    Todd, have you seen the Panasonic remastered Ultraman discs from Japan because those look spectacular. Does this BCI set compare in quality?

    Bright colors, sharp, crisp images, deep blacks, etc?

    Please comment more on the video quality. ALOT of fans are wondering about it.

    Thanks!

  4. Todd Brown 07/13/2006 @ 8:06pm

    I haven’t seen the Japanese discs, but these look great. You get some grain from the film stock, which is to be expected, but the image is perfectly clean and clear, color contrasts seem good, etc. I didn’t notice any obvious problems, though I’m admittedly not particularly a tech head when it comes to video transfer. If there’s interest for them I could make some screen captures and post them up tomorrow.

  5. rd 07/13/2006 @ 10:15pm

    Todd,

    Thanks for the response! Nice review btw. I’d definately be interested(as I’m sure others would) in seeing screen captures to gauge the quality.

    Thanks again!

  6. rd 07/14/2006 @ 9:20am

    Todd,

    I picked up the set today. Great stuff. However, I did not get the “12 page kaiju encyclopedia nor the 2 collectible cards” that were advertised as being in the set. Did you got those? All that I saw was a flyer for anime releases and the 8 page booklet detailing the Ultraman series. I’m thinking it was either a production mistake and I simply didn’t get them in my set or legalities forced them to drop those 2 items.

    Thanks

  7. Todd Brown 07/14/2006 @ 10:10am

    Nope. Those weren’t in my set either ... I’ll go make some screen caps now ...

  8. Shawn Darrin 07/23/2006 @ 10:40am

    My mom got me the DVD box set for an early birthday gift, as I started watching the first episode, with english Dub, and not sub titles, I got up to the point were Ultraman grabs Bemlars tail, and his color timer is flashing, a scene after that is in the Cockpit of the VTOL, The actors were speaking japanese, and there were sub titles at the bottom, untill the fight was over, it went back to normal when Ito opens the ship door, and says” That’s strange he’s gone”, I’ll have to view the other episodes for errors!!

  9. George Kenney 09/08/2006 @ 4:49pm

    dear sir hi i would like to know if you might know of someone on your web site that i could ask them if they could put up on their web site some DVD SCREENCAP PICTURES of MRS HOWELL (NATALIE SCHAFER) as CINDERELLA of that she play in a episode of GILLIGANS ISLAND title LOVERY,S SECRET ADMRER so if anyone out there could do it please e.mail me at [removed]
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    //]]>
    [removed] to let me know where your web site is to see them that is if you could do it at all sincerely yours George Kenney 8 Dix Ave Johnston Rhode Island USA 02919
    -----

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