Urutoraman: Kûsô tokusatsu shirîzu

As a kid growing up in the 70's, I would rush home from school to watch Ultraman. My family cared not for this show and would frequently undermine my attempts to watch it. Sometimes through sheer force, I would get the television to myself and would revel in the exploits of the Science Patrol and Shin Hayata's alter ego/superhero Ultraman.

Every episode featured the same scenario. Alien invaders and or a giant monster would arrive and threaten Earths survival. It was up to the Science Patrol to counter this threat with their scientific knowhow. In most cases, this knowhow was not enough and Hayata/Ultraman would save the day.

By todays standards, this 'special effects fantasy series' will come off as cheap and primitive. It must be noted this was made in 1966 by Eiji Tsuburaya Productions. Tsuburaya was the special effects master behind the Godzilla movies and his expertise is in full swing. For the kids who watched this show, this was not some cheap entertainment. Ultraman was very real. Hayata was very real. The Science Patrol was a team worth rooting for. Some of the episodes are very advanced in terms of theme and story content.

There are two sets that can be purchased on DVD. Series One, Volume 1 and 2 is the set I own. The picture and sound quality are superb. The viewer has the option of watching this classic series dubbed in English or in Japanese with English subtitles. All episode are full length and uncut. The English dubs will have some scenes with Japanese language and subtitles. This is unavoidable and should not be too bothersome for the viewer. Better to watch Ultraman in it's original Japanese language.

Ultraman ran for one season with 39 episodes. Over the years, this show has garnered cult status. There is the Ultra Q series which came before and a slew of series spin-offs that followed. There are a number of Ultraman movies as well. In all, Ultraman has become a cultural pop phenomenon. If you remember this from childhood and wish to relive that childhood, or are looking for great entertainment for you own children, Ultraman comes highly recommended.

They simply do not make televisions shows like this anymore.

Even compared to such masterpieces as Ultraseven and Ultraman Mebius, the original still holds up after all these years!

There's great character development (especially for Ide) for the S. S. S. P. and the extras, Kunio Miayuchi's score is wonderful, the special effects are eye-popping, the designs for the kaiju are very unique and appealing, and it has some of the best episodes of the whole franchise( such as "My home is earth", "The Forbidden Words", "The Monster Graveyard", and "The Small Hero" just to name a few.

And it all culminates in a wonderfully satisfying finale which puts the entire earth at stake!

If you love sci-fi, old Godzilla movies, Star Wars, or if your already a fan of the franchise, i cannot recommend this show enough.

This was one of my favorite shows that from when I was a kid. Being a fan of the "kaiju eiga" genre, I really loved the fact that they had a super hero fighting all sorts of giant monsters. The only thing that I didn't like about the show was the fact that Ultra Man never talked to any of the other cast members. Too bad this show isn't on television anymore to thrill a new generation of viewers.

I'm 24, going on 25. I know that since I can remember, I have always loved Japanese monster movies (kaiju-eiga), and the films in that genre that featured Godzilla and Gamera. I know that for much of my life, I've always had a fascination with Japan in general. As far as Japanese superheroes are concerned, Ultraman was my second favorite (behind The Guyver, created by Manga artist Yoshiki Takaya).

"Ultraman," which debuted on television in 1966 in Japan, was one of those shows that I loved when I was a kid, but for some reason I could never watch it because it was hardly ever on, but I knew what it was about because I collected the action figures. Luckily, TV-on-DVD has worked wonders for TV shows long forgotten in the annals of showbiz history, which is how I came across "Ultraman" in all its original Japanese-language/bad-English-dubbed glory four years ago.

"Ultraman" features the members of Earth's (mainly Japan's) Science Patrol, who go around investigating all sorts of bizarre scientific phenomena. One of its members, Shin Hayata (Susumu Korobe), has a lethal close encounter of the third kind with an alien being that costs him his life, but said being resurrects him and gives him its powers, thus becoming the gigantic alien superhero Ultraman. Hayata is pretty adept at keeping his super-heroics a secret from his team members, since he conveniently disappears whenever Ultraman shows up to defeat some giant monster or giant monsters (one of whom, I understand, was actually a modified Godzilla costume). (Shame that his members never pick up on Hayata's dual life, but hey, it's a kid's show, after all.)

This is a great show, not just for those who love Japanese monster movies but those who love fantasy, science fiction, and comic books. In fact, Japan is notorious for putting sci-fi/fantasy spins on a lot of their Manga and Anime' material, so the most rabid sci-fi and fantasy fans are most likely to be pleased by "Ultraman." I know it's cheesy, the English-language dubbing is hilariously awful, and the special effects pale in comparison to today's overblown CGI effects-laden spectacles. Like most kaiju-eiga spectacles from that time, however, if you can put CGI out of your mind for 30 minutes, the fight scenes will simply take your breath away because of their "realism" and awesome displays of unparalleled monster-mashing destruction.

I have no idea why this show only lasted one season in Japan, yet during its time it still somehow managed to spark a massive pop culture phenomenon in the country that would later spark a world-wide craze for all things related to Ultraman. That craze has lasted all the way up to the time of this writing. I'm glad that I got this show on DVD four years ago. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to watch it, but guarantee that just writing about "Ultraman" right now is making me eager to break out the DVD set right now.

I hope that us greedy Americans don't get the idea to do an American update.

10/10

This is probably the best Japanese super hero, and it's better than a majority of American superheroes.

Acting is great, lovable characters, decent camerawork, and amazing special effects for a TV budget.

I think why this show is so good and memorable is the monsters. The roster is packed with weirdos and the designs are so memorable. Every single monster has a unique style and theme, except for Greenmon, that's just a giant plant.

This show follows a guy working for the SSSP named Hayata. Hayata is given the power to turn into Ultraman, a being from the land of light, and every week he fights off a unique but dangerous Kaiju.

The biggest problem I have with this show is Hayata, they didn't do the best job picking the protagonist. Hayata is the blandest character of the group and I think Ide should've been the protagonist.

But overall, fantastic show!