Ultraman Bluray review.

Story and Characters.

This.... almost feels unnecessary doesn't it? I mean Ultraman is such a well-known series to Toku peeps that it seems like most people know of these episodes just through osmosis. Not to mention Ultraman is a very simple show plot-wise so coverage is a bit of a challenge- that isn't to say it's not engaging- in fact, Ultraman is a really solid and consistent show that constantly improves with each episode. However it is very minimal, yet the show is not completely devoid of deeper thematics as Tsuburaya sought to make Ultraman a series about hope and the future. I see a lot of people refer to the prior series, Ultra Q as sort of a Japanese take on The Outer Limits. Granted, such statements are often shorthanded and oversimplified that ignore nuance at best and are insultingly misguided at worst. Although I understand the use and if I was to do such as well I would say Ultraman is akin to a more simplified version of Star Trek meshed with the Thunderbirds. Glorious 60s Sci-fi aesthetic aside, Ultraman carries that same sort of optimistic viewpoint Trek carried. No, it doesn't quite get into things like racial issues, but it does still use its fantastical setting to present messages at times. It features episodes that touch upon human nature and tragedy, even some of the monsters are tragic. The rest of the time it's usually just having fun.

But before I delve any further, if nothing than obligation, I feel I should relay the basic plot.





The series primarily focuses on the Science Special Search Party (SSSP) an international force that investigates and handles strange anomalies and phenomena.

Shin Hayata serves as the main protagonist, he's second in command to the SSSP Japanese branch. During a scouting mission on a UFO sighting, Hayata's jet collides with another UFO, mortally wounding him. The being inside the spherical craft is an alien from the M78 Nebula who was escorting the monster, Bemular, when the creature escaped to earth and subsequently resulted in Hayata colliding with the pursuing craft. Feeling sorry for Hayata, the alien merges with him, allowing Hayata to survive his injuries and also transform into the giant with the use of the beta capsule device given to him.
From then on the usual formula is the SSSP investigating something strange and then a big monster shows up and Hayata has to transform into the titular Alien being Ultraman to wrestle and destroy or at least incapacitate the beast, all while keeping his identity a secret. It's all very 60's sci-fi pulp with super-heroics.

Ultraman himself is very different than later interpretations and developments. He speaks with a slow echoing ethereal voice. More alien, if you will. There are only about three episodes in the entire series we hear an Ultra being talk, but it's always surreal to hear the original. This was after all the first series so a lot of lore wasn't established yet and wouldn't be for a long time. Although oddly enough Zoffy (who does appear in the series) speaks rather normally.

Yes, that is Akiji Kobayashi on the bottom left as Captain Mura. And Yes he is pretty much the exact same as Tachibana.

For the rest of the supporting characters they are frankly just that; supporting cast and little more than filling out roles. You're not exactly going to be getting a fully realized person out of Akiko Fuji, she's the communications officer and that's it, which is fine for this type of show and at this time. I wouldn't expect much more than that and even within the confines of the show, it works. It's more about the work itself rather than the characters' personal lives. You can probably count on one hand the number of episodes that give a glimpse into all the characters' personal problems. Even then, most episodes that do focus on the supporting cast are all work-related stuff. Their top marksman Daisuke Arashi missing a shot and causing issues on the team letting his feelings get in the way of following orders. Their comedic inventor Mitsuhiro Ide coming up with some new device but feeling wholly inadequate because Ultraman is more effective than his inventions, etc.

That last one I find very interesting. Every so often Ide would present a new weapon or gadget for the team to use most would continue to show up throughout the show. But usually, they would at some point come across a Kaiju that would just be immune to the effects and he'd have to craft something new or acquire something developed by the greater SSSP as a whole.
Episode 37, in particular, is a stand out because Ide, who, in about 90% of the show is comic relief, suddenly is utterly broken from constant pressure and stress to invent for the team to little avail.

To make it worse he's relaying all his sorrow to Hayata. It's probably the most interpersonal the show gets with the main cast. In a odd way Ide is almost a deeper character than one would be lead to believe due to this and a few other episodes which utilize him for more serious situations.

One of the advantages of the show being episodic is that there were many different writers taking hold, leading to a lot of variety, some even being very comedic. Perhaps most famously is in episode 34 where Hayata holds a soup spoon in the air rather than the beta capsule. Director Akio Jissoji was responsible for many of the more humorous aspects- which apparently was a source of great infighting within the production. Jissoji was brilliant when it came to visuals and not just for gags- but we'll get back to that. Others, such as writer Mamoru Sasaki, wanted a more serious approach and would sometimes feature stories dealing with topical issues that were surprisingly more complex than most kids shows at the time. Honestly, though, I think having so many different takes helps the show feel diverse in what it has to offer which is exactly what's needed for this format. Sure, a lot of shows attempting the same don't necessarily come out as well- comedy, if not done correctly, can undermine a serious tone or result in tonal dissonance. Likewise too serious can be off-putting. But because there isn't exactly an overarching narrative and most episodes can be viewed stand-alone, this is never really a problem for the series. About the only type of episodes I truly did not care for was when characters break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. Those felt very out of place from everything else. But even then some of those same episodes are fantastic and I'd be hard-pressed to find an episode of Ultraman I would call bad, there's an incessant charm about the whole thing.



Ultraman laid a lot of groundwork for future Tokusatsu shows and was willing to present of a lot of big concepts for kids in it's writing.
However, as previously stated they only touched upon certain topics pertaining to issues of the day. More willing to talk about environmental issues and human greed than say xenophobia.

Its sequels would dive headfirst into broader social issues like that, but that's for another time.

Although if I was to suggest an episode to perfectly illustrate Ultraman's writing as it's best, that would be ep. 23 Earth is my Home, a really fantastic episode all around. The episode is about a cosmonaut that returns to earth after an accident in space that turned him into a Kaiju now seeking revenge upon the earth. The entire thing explores the need to reach for the stars but the dangers and sacrifices it entails. The episode is sad and bittersweet and certainly one of the more serious Ultraman episodes, a damn fine one at that. Chances are you've probably even been made aware of this episode just because it is one of the more famous ones for how much it's influenced pop culture with the visuals alone. It's one of my favorites and I believe to be the perfect amalgamation of the best the series has to offer.

As a whole, I think that the series should be viewed not only for historical significance to the genre but because it's still really enjoyable. The only knock I can really give is that it doesn't take the concept to its furthest potential, but that's only to be expected because this was the first series. Interestingly enough I've read the station was interested in producing more- similar to Ultra Q, but Tsuburaya and his team were tired and wanted to move on, which I do think was for the best, Ultraman had a solid run and ended just when it needed to.

Visuals/SFX

This is probably the most famous thing Ultraman is known for and with good reason. Eiji Tsuburaya was already a master craftsman and knew how to make effects work even on a budget. When the series first started some of the effects were rough but still impressive for what was often seen on TV at the time. Before Ultraman, you could really only get giant monster fights at the movies, now they were weekly and free.
But despite limitations early on, the crew crafted some incredible stuff. I cannot stress this point enough, Tsuburaya and his team created some of the most iconic and well designed monsters ever. Zarab, Baltan, Dada, Alien Mefilas, Red King, Gomora.

Just look at that. All iconic designs, all easily recognizable from just a silhouette.
Some were even recycled into or from other monsters such as Zarab being made from the monster Ragon.


Hell, some were monsters in Ultra Q, like Baltan being a modified Cicada Human. That's just how good the design team was. They could take something and even if there were similarities they would become radically different and often better.

Although I should point out it's not as if every episode has a monster that became iconic and sometimes corners were cut. Pigmon- which ironically became iconic through Ultraman, is almost exactly the same as a creature from Ultra Q called Garamon and it's hardly the only reuse. No one's really gonna brag about creatures like Gamakujira, Skydon or Gigass either, original or not. But goddamn, most shows can't get a fraction of this level of iconography. Many Monsters of the week on kids' shows are disposable, even if they're well made and a lot of effort put into them- they're not something with staying power and are usually at best things that get homages down the road, like Spiders and Bats for Kamen Rider. Ultra Kaijus I guess are a completely different beast.

Ultraman not only has some of the most diverse and Iconic monster designs but also settings. Mountains, lakes, shipping yards, industrial areas, spiraling urban cities, underwater laboratories, space stations, snowy arctic environments, underground cave systems. It is absolutely insane how much they had over the course of the show when most nowadays struggle to even be able to have more than a handful of settings due to ordnance and budget constraints, be it on-site, a built set, or a scale model.

Speaking of, the craftsmanship that goes into these sets is equally phenomenal to everything else on offer. Like the monsters, the quality of the scale models is outstanding on a television budget and perhaps only second to the creature design.

Through it all there's a fantastic 60's sci-fi aesthetic.-- Obviously that's a minor part and not intentional, that's just how the genre looked at the time, yet I still adore it none the less. There's just something about atomic design that tickles my fancy, especially Sci-fi with needlessly complicated arrangments of buttons that light up, or smooth yet sharp designed aircraft.

It also wasn't just the environments that looked great, but how they shot them. Ultraman is very ambitious for its time with how it frames scenes- even the regular sized stuff for that matter. Most kids' shows would be flat and stilted, but not Ultraman. You have captivating images or simply interesting compositions utilizing the locations.

These shots are from just one episode. One.
ep. 23 as a matter of fact.



In addition to the more practical, there was a large investment in an Oxberry 1200 optical printer, which was used in post production for everything from composite and layering shots to fade-ins and out. This was actually purchased for Ultra Q with TBS picking up the tab. At the time only two studios in the world owned said machine, Tsuburaya, and Disney. It was a hefty but wise investment. Most of the footage utilizing the machine looks miles better than shows made years and sometimes decades later.

Take for instance this shot. Sure you can tell it's composited, the lighting is a bit off, it doesn't look seamless. But then take a look at Gavan made 16 years later:

By the end, Ultraman was pumping out quality equal if not surpassing what studios like TOHO and Daiei were putting out at the time.

Music

This is really the only segment I don't really have a lot to say on. The musical composition for Ultraman is quite nice, it's done by previous Tsuburaya collaborator Kunio Miyauchi, who worked on Ultra Q. He does a fine job, everything is memorable, in particular, the SSSP's theme. Though the placement and utilization of some tracks are truly puzzling.
I've stated before I'm not huge on most pre 80s toku tracks. If I'm being completely honest I think Ultraman might be the weakest toku franchise musically in general. Leo and 80 are the only things from the Showa era I really enjoy from that era of Ultraman.

Packaging.

I have the standard version here and they did a great job on it. We have a cardboard sleeve that holds the plastic case and a little booklet that I'll get to in a moment.
The cover has Ultraman front and center with the font being slightly reminiscent of that used on the toys released in North America by Bandai and DreamWorks back in '91.

The back has a synopsis and frankly a very saturated photo of Ultraman and Baltan.

But my favorite thing about the package design is the back spine. You'll notice that Seven's arm is partially seen and if you have Ultra Q you'll see Ultraman's arm reaching over the Ultra Q creatures. We can probably expect Seven to also feature part of Ultraman Jack on his packaging and so forth.

Pulling the main case out we once again have another image of Ultraman, this time on a very pretty background of stars.

On the back we have Red King, Baltan and Seabozu.

Opening it up we have the logo featured on the inner cover, Ultraman in the back, and the discs nicely separated- each with a different Ultra Kaiju; Baltan, Pigmon, Hydra, Gomora, Mefilas, and Zetton respectively. By the way, the images on the inner sleeve is in black and white.

As for that booklet, it's exactly as it says; a handy Information and episode guide. It has a screenshot for each episode, lists the director and writer of that episode, and gives a short synopsis.

And yes, it is more than just an episode guide. Indeed, it includes a brief but informative overview of the production written by Keith Aiken of SciFi Japan (More than pictured). Additionally, there's a bio for Ultraman listing all his stats and moves, a bestiary containing some the most famous Ultra Kaiju within the show, listing their height, weight, backstory and episode appearances. Finally, there's a gallery of all the monsters and a bio section for the main characters and their gear. This is a really nice presentation and the guide is really useful.

And last but not least, there's a little slip of paper with a code on it to redeem a digital version of the series on MillCreek's streaming service. It's free and you only have to create an account. The service is very smooth and is how I managed to get screenshots for this review. (also why I can't turn subs off)

Features.

I know what everyone is really wanting to know, the Bluray quality itself. After all, a box is just a box and great production quality in the show doesn't mean much if they're not presented well on screen. Although it's rare for anyone to get a one to one release in visual quality to original Japanese BluRay releases, I am very happy to say this looks gorgeous and is as good as the Blurays Tsuburaya put out in their native land. The stark contrast of the old NA release and the new one is staggering.

You've already seen plenty of fantastic shots up until now, but seeing it next to the old set is outright embarrassing.

This is not how it was paused, it just looks this way.

Not only is the screen vibrant, clean, and not as zoomed in now, it really allows an even better appreciation of how good everything looks. This was made in a time when TV sets were rarely over 15 inches and still tube-based, hell most watching Ultraman didn't even see it in color. While you can see things like the wires more easily now, they're still hidden shockingly well. You'd expect such an old show being seen in higher quality might actually reveal some flaws- and while there are moments like that it really does more to deepen a love for the craft. Hell, some things I never even noticed like Baltan's eyes moving and spinning. They didn't have to be this detailed, but they were.

Now, I have seen one or two complaints that say the video quality in Ultraman doesn't look as good as Ultra Q and that maybe the transfer wasn't as good, or Ultraman has degraded more over time.
The only reason I can find why Ultra Q looks better is that it was supposedly shot entirely on 35mm, that's movie quality. Ultraman we know was shot on 16mm stock with optical effects on 35mm. Ultra Q was always going to look better in that scenario. The only part of this set that looks a bit rough is about the first few moments of the intro when the Ultra Q logo explodes into the Ultraman logo and that's probably because that footage was colorized from B&W and downgraded to a 16mm format- it probably never looked all that great, to begin with.
The bottom line is the quality concerns are bullshit, this is fantastic and probably one of the very best quality Toku releases.


Everything was also re-subbed in this release to make it both more accurate and also easier to read. There are no timing issues that I've seen, unlike the prior regular DVD which had the infamous underwater base episode with subs appearing long after anyone was talking.

On that note, I should mention that the English Dub is not included- which I suppose is a slight shame if only for preservation reasons, but I also understand why it wouldn't. The American airing made cuts to the episodes, so there wouldn't really be a way to do it without taking the Bluray footage and then re-editing it to match the original cuts made and then syncing the voices up with the footage and then putting it on separate discs- not to mention rights issues with actually getting the dub. That's just a very expensive process that would not be worth it in the long run.

If there is one thing I'll truly criticize the Bluray release for it's actually not this version but the steel book edition. I don't like steel books anyway because they tend to hold onto the discs way too hard and it's an anxiety-inducing event just to remove the bloody things. The Ultraman set is particularly egregious because they also stack the discs atop one another. Blurays are more resistant to scratches than regular DVDs, but that's still a big no-no if nothing more than the act of having to remove multiple discs before getting the one you want. The standard BluRay release like I have doesn't feature these problems at all, so I highly suggest avoiding the Steel book versions because they're usually a tiny bit higher for half the quality and the exclusive cover simply isn't worth that.

Steel book version aside, everything about this release is extremely well done and is probably the nicest recent Toku release I've seen thus far. I'm inclined to say the only thing that could top this is the Criterion Godzilla set- which even then is something that has a couple issues. It's great that Tsuburaya can come out swinging so strongly after years of their show being mishandled.

Oh, and despite what the back says, it's multi-region. So all those Toku fans in the EU can import no problem. There's really no reason not to pick this release up. My only word of caution is do not confuse it with the old MillCreek Bluray release waaay back when Tsuburaya still didn't have the global rights, that was just the old shitty release split across two BluRay sets, so be sure all 39 eps are in one package.