For nearly 60 years, the iconic Japanese superhero Ultraman has been fighting giant Kaiju and gathering a massive audience across the globe. With decades-worth of TV series spin-offs, films, comics, video games, licensed products, and more already part of the beloved franchise, Ultraman is about to take the US by storm this June with the premiere of a new animated film Ultraman: Rising on Netflix. But even with a longstanding history within the pop culture world, you may be wondering “who is Ultraman?”
The Ultraman universe first debuted in 1966 in the television series Ultra Q and was created by Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer Eiji Tsuburaya.
Founder of Tsuburaya Production Company, Eiji Tsuburaya is also credited as the co-creator of Godzilla and a pioneer of Japan’s special effects industry. In creating Ultraman for the children of Japan, Eiji Tsuburaya understood that his heroes must embody the values and aspirations of courage, hope, and kindness. Ultraman always illustrates these values in his actions.
Ultraman embodies the highest level of human achievement to the Japanese civilization. Ultraman is the flip side to Tsuburaya’s invention of Godzilla. Where Godzilla warns us about our past selves, Ultraman beacons us toward our future selves.
Ultraman has been a staple in Japanese culture. In fact, over the last 58+ years, the franchise has spawned
- 34 Television Series
- 45 Films
- 17 Miniseries
- 97 Video Games
To get yourself prepared for the Netflix film, you can check out the TV show on The Ultraman Official YouTube Channel. The shows feature both sub and dub formats.
As far as the Netflix animated film, Ultraman: Rising is slated for release on June 14.
Netflix describes it as follows:
When Tokyo is threatened by rising monster attacks, an all-star athlete reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman, discovering that his greatest challenge isn’t fighting giant monsters: It’s raising one.
Souce: Email Correspondence from Netflix
