(no subject)
to put it bluntly, ULTRAMAN is the Doctor Who of Japan, an iconic children's sci-fi adventure tv series that has been on the air (without any breaks) since 1966. It is the precusor of the genre known as 'Tokusatsu' monster stories, which have been expanded in other series such as Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and have inspired recent films such as Pacific Rim.
The main premise was based on the story of a future Japan with an International 'Science Patrol' which keeps the planet earth from danger. On a routine mission, the jet of one of it's members Hayate, is crashed into by the spaceship of Ultraman (who is an intersteller policeman, chasing an evil alien) Hayate is killed in the crash. (incidentally Hayate is 'falcon' in Japanese)
In recompense, Ultraman gives Hayate his life force, restoring him, and gives him the use of his form (a silver giant) to fight monsters. The rest of the Science Patrol, (consisting of a Captain Muramatsu, three other crew Ide, Arashi, Fuji and her younger brother Hoshino, have no idea Hayate is Ultraman (a nice Clark Kent twist) Eventually, Ultraman will be called back to his home planet (the 'Land of Light') and will leave Hayate alive and restored, with no memory of becoming Ultraman.
Ultraman's design is angel-like, with large downward pointed eyes, which the original designers feared might be considered too scary for children, so they were made light yellow. The angel theme has expanded in later years, to the point of making Evil Ultra's black or red with flame designs, with names like 'Belial' after Christian mythology.
The monsters have become as beloved as Ultraman, and come back over the years in new designs, there have been friendly monsters, as well as ghosts of monsters, and poignant stories of humans (such as an astronaut) who became monsters. In one episode the Science Patrol hold a Buddhist funeral service for the monsters they have slain.
My son in his Ultraman Halloween costume. :D
Every season the Ultraman premise was revised, having the elements of a) a human host for Ultra b) who is a member of - or joins a monster fighting human team c) holds a capsule which calls him into Ultra form d) the host can only remain in Ultraform for a short amount of time.
With so many versions of the character, there is now literally a planet of Ultras, including an Ultra Mom and Dad, and Ultra King, and sometimes the franchise creates films of the UltraBrothers, so fans can see all their faves interacting, and now there are new female Ultra characters. In a lovely homage, the recent films feature cameos of the original Ultraman actors.
Incidentally, at the time Ultraman was created in 1966, (by Tsuburaya Eiji the same man also created Gojira (Godzilla) the special effects were state of the art, over and above what Disney was doing with it's feature films. This trend has continued in the latest feature films of Ultra, with beautiful CGI, while keeping to the tradition of highly trained suit actors, who now combine martial arts and acrobatics with the wrestling styles of early Ultraman.
Why have we never gotten Ultraman over to the US (other than local broadcasts in the early 70's) There was a legal fight over who owned Ultraman, but recently the rights were given back to Tsubraya Productions in Japan, so hopefully (cross fingers) we can see a new international expansion of Ultraman around the world. Many fans across the world have provided good quality dubs and subs which you can find in google searches.
And yes, my goal in life is to visit Japan and go to the Ultraman Theme Park. Personal faves are Ultraman(original), Ultraseven, Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Zero. I also enjoy Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Den-o, Kamen Rider Kiva, Kamen Rider Decade and Super Sentai Samurai.
*OHNOES! They closed the Ultraman Theme Park this year! After 17 years! Agh, on the 50th anniversary too, hopefully they will get another one going. *sigh*
Original Ultra fan homage (with English dubbing)
modern incarnation (Ultraman Zero Movie) Japanese
The main premise was based on the story of a future Japan with an International 'Science Patrol' which keeps the planet earth from danger. On a routine mission, the jet of one of it's members Hayate, is crashed into by the spaceship of Ultraman (who is an intersteller policeman, chasing an evil alien) Hayate is killed in the crash. (incidentally Hayate is 'falcon' in Japanese)
In recompense, Ultraman gives Hayate his life force, restoring him, and gives him the use of his form (a silver giant) to fight monsters. The rest of the Science Patrol, (consisting of a Captain Muramatsu, three other crew Ide, Arashi, Fuji and her younger brother Hoshino, have no idea Hayate is Ultraman (a nice Clark Kent twist) Eventually, Ultraman will be called back to his home planet (the 'Land of Light') and will leave Hayate alive and restored, with no memory of becoming Ultraman.
Ultraman's design is angel-like, with large downward pointed eyes, which the original designers feared might be considered too scary for children, so they were made light yellow. The angel theme has expanded in later years, to the point of making Evil Ultra's black or red with flame designs, with names like 'Belial' after Christian mythology.
The monsters have become as beloved as Ultraman, and come back over the years in new designs, there have been friendly monsters, as well as ghosts of monsters, and poignant stories of humans (such as an astronaut) who became monsters. In one episode the Science Patrol hold a Buddhist funeral service for the monsters they have slain.
My son in his Ultraman Halloween costume. :D
Every season the Ultraman premise was revised, having the elements of a) a human host for Ultra b) who is a member of - or joins a monster fighting human team c) holds a capsule which calls him into Ultra form d) the host can only remain in Ultraform for a short amount of time.
With so many versions of the character, there is now literally a planet of Ultras, including an Ultra Mom and Dad, and Ultra King, and sometimes the franchise creates films of the UltraBrothers, so fans can see all their faves interacting, and now there are new female Ultra characters. In a lovely homage, the recent films feature cameos of the original Ultraman actors.
Incidentally, at the time Ultraman was created in 1966, (by Tsuburaya Eiji the same man also created Gojira (Godzilla) the special effects were state of the art, over and above what Disney was doing with it's feature films. This trend has continued in the latest feature films of Ultra, with beautiful CGI, while keeping to the tradition of highly trained suit actors, who now combine martial arts and acrobatics with the wrestling styles of early Ultraman.
Why have we never gotten Ultraman over to the US (other than local broadcasts in the early 70's) There was a legal fight over who owned Ultraman, but recently the rights were given back to Tsubraya Productions in Japan, so hopefully (cross fingers) we can see a new international expansion of Ultraman around the world. Many fans across the world have provided good quality dubs and subs which you can find in google searches.
And yes, my goal in life is to visit Japan and go to the Ultraman Theme Park. Personal faves are Ultraman(original), Ultraseven, Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Zero. I also enjoy Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Den-o, Kamen Rider Kiva, Kamen Rider Decade and Super Sentai Samurai.
*OHNOES! They closed the Ultraman Theme Park this year! After 17 years! Agh, on the 50th anniversary too, hopefully they will get another one going. *sigh*
Original Ultra fan homage (with English dubbing)
modern incarnation (Ultraman Zero Movie) Japanese
