Skip to main content

Netflix Ultraman anime



So I finally finished watching season 1 of the Netflix Ultraman anime. The first thing I can say is that after the MASSIVE letdown that was the Godzilla anime trilogy, this was miles better! I know that several old school fans complained that it was basically like an updated version of Iron Man (with the heroes encased inside the armor suits), however, I didn’t mind that at all. I figure that they needed to update the show in order to make it appealing to mass audiences, as well as anime fans. I felt they did a good job in making it a continuation of Hayata’s story, this time focusing on his son Shinjiro.

 

It begins years later after Ultraman left the earth. Hayata is now much older. He soon discovers that his son possesses the same abilities that enable him to be an Ultraman. Ide recruits Shinjiro into the science patrol to fulfill his destiny of becoming an Ultraman.

 

In addition to Hayata and Ide, it also brings in Dan Moroboshi, who plays a bitchy, tough member of the science patrol and is also an Ultraman himself. Jack also returns, as a human who lives among aliens in Alien City. As for the monsters, they’re nicely updated and I enjoyed figuring out who was who (some were easy to spot, others it took me a while to get which kaiju/alien they were supposed to be). Bemular is a main character, he looks completely different than the goofy kaiju he’s based on. He’s now a cyborg style alien. Yapool at first glance I thought it was Quraso Seijin, but then the red face and small antenna made me realize it was Yapool. That was part of the fun for me, seeing how certain classic characters were updated and seeing how long it took me to “spot” them.

 
 

The storyline moves at a good pace (13 episodes in total), with some nice surprises and twists. I appreciated the fact that it didn't resort to predictable clichés that was I expecting (e.g. a female love interest does not get kidnapped by evil aliens and Ultraman must save her; Hayata does not get killed in order for Shinjiro to reach his full potential, etc). I found all the characters to be engaging (I watched the English dub and found it quite enjoyable; no annoying over-acting **cough cough… Haruo… cough**). The action sequences are where the series really shines, showing wonderfully choreographed fights, good use of slow motion, and lots of explosions, bloodshed, action. And the themes (what it means to be a hero, letting go of self-doubt and insecurities in order to achieve your full potential, revenge, xenophobia, etc.) all play out smoothly without coming off as preachy or lame.
 
 

It’s a very enjoyable show and I know that the manga that it’s based on had several chapters so I hope Netflix continues to do more seasons. It’s enjoyable enough to please both new and old fans, as well as appeal to older fans who have complained about the kiddie style humor and blatant toy advertising of the newer Tsuburaya Ultraman shows by having more serious, adult themes. I am a fan of this anime and plan on supporting it.

 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Titanic Creations Yongary 1967

This figure was released in late December, and I got it about 2 days before the New Year, so I'm counting it as a 2025 release. It is the Titanic Creations version of the Korean kaiju Yongary, Monster From The Deep. The film was released in 1967 as a Godzilla ripoff, with several ideas copied from the Gamera series, such as his tusks, his ability to fire a stream of flames from his mouth, and even firing a laser beam from his horn, similar to the slicing one used by Gyaos. The film is pretty goofy, but Yongary, like most of those Asian monsters, was pretty cool (to me, at least), so I was psyched that someone finally made a figure of this lesser known kaiju. When Titanic Creations put it up for pre-order, they announced a series of tiers, where they would add accessories when a certain number of orders were met. Enough fans ordered him, so that Yongary ended up with a shit ton of stuff, making him absolutely worth the price. In addition to the kaiju, you get a flame breath effect, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

RicSan Custom Toys Kyōrū Kaiju (Titanosaurus)

My latest kaiju figure purchase is the Titanosaurus made by Ricsan Custom Toys. I own and love the Varan & Gabara, so of course I had to preorder this one when it was available. He was delivered earlier this week. This kaiju hails from the last Godzilla film of the Showa era, 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla. The Black Hole aliens are back, rebuilding their robot in another effort to take over the planet. They enlist the help of an ostracized Earth scientist named Mafune and his daughter Katsura, who are able to control an aquatic dinosaur named Titanosaurus. They plan to use both kaiju and mecha to attack Japan. Titano was a cool monster, with his tail that opened into a fish fin, and he would use it to create whirlpools in the sea, and high winds on land. I'm hoping that S.H. Monsterarts makes one for the 50th anniversary of the film, but when I saw this Ricsan Custom version, I couldn't pass it up. Titanosaurus (called the Kyōrū Kaiju), comes in a white box, with its n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Help Me… I’m Possessed (1974) / #Missingcouple (2024)

I've watched some weird, obscure horror movies throughout my life. I can now add this lurid 1974 schlockfest to that growing list. In a castle in the desert, Dr. Arthur Blackwood runs a sanitarium filled with mentally disturbed patients (as well as staff). He claims to be working on finding a way to cure people of any violent tendencies they have, and brags about his younger sister, innocent, child-like Melanie, as evidence that his treatment works. When she was a child, their parents had to keep her locked up and chained in the basement, to control her violent fits. Now that he's cured her, Arthur has his wife Diane come to the castle to meet Melanie, so that they can be one big, happy family. Diane begins to grow suspicious that something is amiss after a Sheriff shows up investigating the murder of 2 local teens, and sets about on her own investigation, hoping to uncover the sinister secrets that she feels her husband is hiding. Help Me... I'm Possessed is an outrageous,...
Post a Comment
Read more