The Ultraman

The Ultraman (ザ☆ウルトラマン, Za Urutoraman) is a Japanese animated television series co-produced by Tsuburaya Production and Tokyo Broadcasting System and animated by Sunrise. The series aired on TBS Television affiliates on the Wednesday 7:00 PM time slot from April 4, 1979 to March 26, 1980, lasting a total of 50 episodes. It was the eighth installment in the Ultra Series and began airing four years after the end of Ultraman Leo.[1][2]

The Ultraman
Cover artwork for the 2011 Japanese DVD release featuring Ultraman Joeneus, various monsters and the Science Guard's aircraft.
ザ☆ウルトラマン (Za Urutoraman)
Genre	Superhero, Kyodai Hero, Kaiju, science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Hisayuki Toriumi Takeyuki Kanda
Written by	Keiichi Abe Sōji Yoshikawa Hiroyuki Hoshiyama Bunzo Wakatsuki Yoshihisa Araki Keisuke Fujikawa Yasushi Hirano Kiyoshi Miyata
Studio	Sunrise
Licensed by	^NA Shout! Factory Mill Creek Entertainment
Original network	TBS
English network	^US Toku
Original run	April 4, 1979 – March 26, 1980
Episodes	50

The show was the first animated incarnation of Tsuburaya's iconic superhero Ultraman, as well as one of the earliest works of anime studio Nippon Sunrise (now known simply as Sunrise), who also worked on their now-iconic mecha series Mobile Suit Gundam during the same year.[1][2]

Story

In the 21st century, various mysterious events occur on Earth, causing monsters to appear all of a sudden. EGG3 officer Chōichirō Hikari was scouted to join the Science Guard on Earth but while on his way back, he was bonded to Ultraman Joneus, an Ultra Person of U40 who was sent by his brethren to fight against the monster threats and alien invasions. This allows the youth to become an Ultraman against countless enemies while keeping his identity a secret from his fellow members.[1][2] Almost in the middle of the series, both Hikari and Joneus lost their lives from fighting the Spirit Parasite. They were spirited to the Ultra Planet U40 by Elek, and discovered the Ultra People's connection to the Earth in the past. Hikari and Joneus were revived in said planet and helped foiled the invaders Badel Tribe to reclaim the stolen Ultra Mind.

Starting from episode 28, Daisuke Gondō becomes a new captain to the Science Guard. Despite their rocky start, the team learn to accept him due to his great intuition and brotherly instinct. Amia would return to Earth to warn Hikari and the Science Guard of the invasion of Heller Empire, a renegade faction of Ultra People that invaded their home world and saw Earth as their next target due to Joneus' involvement. The Heller Empire was led by Heller, who was banished due to his misuse of the Ultra Mind for immortality. The Science Guard were given the Ultria, an ancient battleship made by the Ultra People to counter invasion attempts made by the Heller Army. In the four final episodes, Heller sent a full-scale invasion on Earth to wipe humanity after fearing that they would cooperate with the remaining Ultra People. The Science Guard disobeyed the Earth Self Defense Army to go into space, joining forces with the remaining U40 resistances to form the U Fleet and attacked the Titan Base on Saturn to prevent more invasion forces from coming to Earth. On U40, the Science Guard made a risky attempt to sneak into the Heller City to weaken its defense as the U Fleet attacked Heller's forces in the planet's outer atmosphere. When the Science Guard were about to be killed by Mac Datar, Hikari's secret was exposed to save his comrades before joining the remaining seven Ultras in foiling Heller's attempts to escape. With Amia and the Great Sage being rescued, Heller died in the ensuing explosion as U40 celebrated their victory. Joneus finally separated from Hikari and spent several months to observe Earth with his sister Amia. Once assuring that peace had returned, they bid farewell to the Science Guard and promised to return when the Earth's safety is threatened once more.

Staff

Opening Credits

Producers	Noboru Tsuburaya, Kazuho Mitsuda, Masaru Tadakuma
Music by	Kunio Miyauchi & Toru Fuyuki
Lyrics	Yu Aku
Theme Song Performed by	Isao Sasaki
Published in	Shogakukan's "Tv-Kun" and Other Learning Magazines Kodansha's "Tv Magazine" and Other Learning Magazines
Animation Supervision & Character Design	Tsuneo Ninomiya
Designers / Monster Concept	Akihiko Takahashi & Osamu Yamaguchi
Chief Directors / Storyboarding	Hisayuki Toriumi, Takeyuki Kanda
Production Producer	Yasuo Shibue
Animation Produced by	Logi Studio
Produced by	Tsuburaya Productions, Tokyo Broadcasting System

End Credits

Written by	Keiichi Abe, Soji Yoshikawa, Hiroyuki Hoshiyama Bunzo Wakatsuki, Yoshihisa Araki, Keisuke Fujikawa Yasushi Hirano, Shiro Azusazawa, Yuki Miyata
Directed by	Masahisa Ishida, Junyasu Furukawa, Takao Shitsuji, Hideyoshi Oshika, Takashi Ano, Katsuyuki Tsuji, Masami Yagioka, Hiromichi Matano, Osamu Sekita
Storyboard	Yuji Nunokawa, Kazuo Terada, Asahi Yahiro Seiji Okuda, Soji Yoshikawa, Motosuke Takahashi Kohei Matsuura, Noboru Ishiguro, Toru Sakata Mitsuru Hikita, Takeshi Shirato, Tsutomu Yamaguchi Kazuho Mitsuda, Masaoka Fujioka, Toru Yoshida Kazuo Yamazaki, Ryosuke Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Tomino
In Charge of Literature	Kazuichi Tsurumi
Mechanical Design	Kunio Okakawa, Studio Nue
Art	Mitsuaki Nakamura, Nobuto Sakamoto, Kazuo Miyagawa, Shin Sato, Torio Arai
Director of Animation	Kazuo Nakamura
Animation by	Sunrise Studio, Waap, Green Box, Anime R, Tiger & Nakamura Productions
Monster Concept	Minoru Kujirai, Fumio Ogawa, Yoshio Tsuburaya, Yasumi Asahi, Seiichi Saito, Masahiko Watanabe
Color Designation	Hiroshi Wakao, Atsuko Oikawa, Shinichi Hatori, Kazumi Matsui, Hiroshi Hasegawa, Sachiyo Osawa, Yayoi Suzuki
Ink And Paint	Shaft, Green BOX, Studio Deen, Kuma Productions, Studio Juffs
Backgrounds	Mascot, Production Eye, Big Studios, Artland, Art Take 1, Magic House, Baku Productions, Studio Apple
Special Effects	Michiaki Doi, Masanori Yamazaki, Green Box, Takao Tanaka, Hiroshi Kazao
Rostrum Camera	Asahi Productions and Zenji Furukawa
Editing by	Tomoaki Tsurubuchi, Fumio Otachi, Tsurubuchi Films, Yukio Watanabe, Fumiei Kataishi
Titles	Studio Try
Film Processing	Tokyo Laboratories
Audio Director	Toshimi Toriumi
Mixing	Manji Nanbu
Production Coordinator	Hisayoshi Takahashi
Recorded at	Niisaka Recording
Production Managers	Noboru Mano, Keiichi Kobayashi, Akira Machida, Yoshihide Fujita, Eiichi Endo, Hideo Hayashi, Masahiko Matsuo, Eizo Takahashi, Masami Yagioka, Mashiro Ueda, Tadayoshi Kusari, Setsuo Fukada, Katsushi Kaniyama
Desk	Yoshiyuki Yoshina, Noboru Mano
Planning Desk	Naoyuki Eto
In Charge of Production	Yoshikazu Tochihira

English Dubbing Staff

A New Hero is Born!! ~ Chase The Mysterious Red Cloud!!

Staff
Executive Producer	Mark Cohen
Produced by	Sydney L. Caplan
Directed by	Tom Weiner
Voices	Tom Weiner, Joe Perry, Barbara Goodson, Steve Kramer
Screenplay	Sidney L. Caplan & Tom Weiner
Music	Screen Music West
Post Production Supervision	Wally Soul, Filmkraft
Sound	Quality Sound
Produced by	Associates Entertainment International

A Star of Evil is Coming!!

English version Presented by	WWOR TV
Introduced by	Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
Voice Director	William Ross
Produced by	Frontier Enterprises
Sponsored by	Bandai America

To The Ultra Star!!

Voices	Gary Morgan, Gladys Enright, Susan Harry Sprang, Sean Reily, Michael Guillian, Walter Schafer
Written and Directed by	Jeff Segal
Associate Producer	Ken Fukui
Casting Consultants	Buck and Margaret Kartalian
Dialogue, Music, Editing Assistants & Engineering	Terry Porter, Mike McDonald, Lee Williams, Denis Ricotta, Don Harris, Robert Miller
Music Composed & Performed by	Mark McKinniss, Bill Mutter, Ron Peters, Wade Short
P.A. & Production Secretary	Martyn Segal, Roberta Miles
ADR Production	Ryder Sound Services
Music Recorded at	Trax Recording Studios
Produced by	Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Episodes

1. The Birth of a New Hero!!
2. The Secret of the Shining Pendant
3. When the Weed Whistle Blows in the Evening...
4. Chase the Mysterious Red Cloud!!
5. The "Passenger"—Break Through the Underground!!
6. Challenge to the Burning Deep Sea
7. Orders to Attack! The Target is PDQ!!
8. The Secret of Chief Harris Is Stolen!?
9. Terror of the Awakened Ancient Creature!!
10. I Can See It!! The Phantom Monster...
11. Challenge to the Science Garrison!!
12. The Extraordinary Conversation Just Between PDQ and the Monster
13. The Sad Legend of the Revived Lake
14. A Star of Evil Has Come!!
15. You Are Ultraman
16. The Living Phantom Bird King Moa
17. The Betamie Has Disappeared!!
18. The Mysterious Monster Island
19. This is the Ultra Star!! Part 1
20. This is the Ultra Star!! Part 2
21. This is the Ultra Star!! Part 3
22. The Dubious Space of the South Sea
23. The Supersonic Battle
24. The Two Lieutenant Annes
25. The Flower Garden of Evil
26. Earth's Ultimate Crisis!!
27. Monster Island Rises to the Surface!!!
28. The New Captain Has Arrived!!
29. The Invasion of the Evil UFO
30. The Giant Fossil That Started to Move
31. The Female Ultra Warrior
32. Object X from Outer Space
33. GO! Magma Zone of Desperation
34. The Stolen Monster Asylum Planet Part 1
35. The Stolen Monster Asylum Planet Part 2
36. The Snow Woman from Space
37. Crisis of the Ultra Planet U40!!
38. Big Ultra War!!
39. The Targeted Giant Warship Ultoria
40. The Boy who Brought Along a Monster
41. Clash!! Ultraman vs. Ultraman
42. Ultraman Capture Strategy
43. Monkey Became a Monster!?
44. The Ultoria Broken in Half!?
45. The Bomb-Holding Pigu
46. Come Back to Life, Mutsumi
47. To the Ultra Star!! (Part 1: Intelligence from the Female Warrior)
48. To the Ultra Star!! (Part 2: Frontline Base Annihilated)
49. To the Ultra Star!! (Part 3: U Fleet Big Severe Battle)
50. To the Ultra Star!! (Conclusion: Victory Toward Peace)

Songs

Theme Songs

• Opening theme: "The Ultraman"
  • Song: Aku
  • Composition and Arrangement: Miyauchi Kunio
  • Song: Isao Sasaki and Columbia Yurikakai
• Ending theme: "Brave men of love"
  • Lyrics: Aku
  • Composition and Arrangement: Kunio Miyauchi
  • Songs: Isao Sasaki

This serves as the first case of an entry in the Ultra Series having an ending sequence. Performed by BGM staff who had previously composed the theme song for "Ultra Seven". Both songs were recorded in Los Angeles, as was the in-play music.

Insert Songs

• "Ultraman Hymn"
  • Lyrics: Kazuho Mitsuda
  • Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
  • Song: Isao Sasaki

Sasaki, who was in charge of the song, made it the most difficult song he had ever sung.

• "Star of Ultra"
  • Lyrics: Tani Noboru
  • Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
  • Song: Columbia Torigokai
• "Song of Mutsumi"
  • Lyrics-Kazuho Mitsuda
  • Composition: Tani Noboru
  • Arrangement: Takada Hiroshi
  • Song: Horie Mitsuko
• "Super Murdoch"
  • Lyrics and Composition: Tani Noboru
  • Arrangement: Hirotaka Takada
  • Song: Isao Sasaki
• "Our Science Garrison"
  • Lyrics: Kazuho Mitsuda
  • Composition: Tani Noboru
  • Arrangement: Hirotaka Takada
  • Songs: Isao Sasaki
• "Robot Pig's Song"
  • Lyrics: Tani Noboru
  • Composition: Fuoki Toru
  • Arrangement: Maruyama Masahito
  • Song: Takiguchi Junpei
• "Tomorrow ..."
  • Lyrics and Composition: Tani Noboru
  • Arrangement: Takada Hiroshi
  • Song: Toyama Takashi

It was used in Episode 18, and in Episode 23, the instrument was used.

• "Monster Requiem"
  • Lyrics: Kazuho Mitsuda
  • Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
  • Songs: Isao Sasaki

In the 15th episode of the next series, Ultraman 80, Emi Johno was used in the scene singing a lullaby to the monster Mue and in 44 the instrument was used in the scene where 80 and the Delusion Ultra Seven fight. In addition, the "popular monster large parade" of "5 Nights Series Super TV" (March 26–30, 1984, Ultraman Taro, Mirrorman, Fireman, Jumborg Ace) digest version had been featured. It is also used as an ending.

English versions

In the United States, there have been two feature-length movie compilations: The Adventures of Ultraman (1981), and Ultraman II: The Further Adventures of Ultraman (1983). The Adventures of Ultraman was a feature-length film produced by Tsuburaya Productions specifically for the English-language market. The film is composed of edited footage from several episodes of the series. The storyline was rewritten for this adaptation with a new script by Jeff Segal and music composed by Mark McKinniss. Ultraman II was a dub of the first four episodes co-produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Associates Entertainment International. Despite the title, it has no continuity with the previous English dub of the series. Although the translation is closer to the original Japanese scripts than the first movie, the characters' names were still changed (although, the names given to the characters are not the same ones used in the previous dub). The order of the third and fourth episodes were also switched.

On April 5, 1980, episode 14 of The Ultraman aired on U.S. national television when New York superstation WOR-TV Channel 9 (now WWOR) aired it as the first part of "Japan Tonight!", a special seven-hour block of programming from TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System), hosted by actor Telly Savalas. Japanese actress/author/talk show host Tetsuko Kuroyanagi introduced the episode surrounded by assorted Ultraman toys and merchandise while explaining to the American audience just who Ultraman is, "It's very, very popular in Japan - He's like your Superman". The episode was dubbed into English by William Ross (Frontier Enterprises) in Japan and was sponsored by Bandai America.

Home media

In 2018, the series was released on the streaming service Toku.[3]

In July 2020, Shout! Factory announced to have struck a multi-year deal with Alliance Entertainment and Mill Creek, with the blessings of Tsuburaya and Indigo, that granted them the exclusive SVOD and AVOD digital rights to the Ultra series and films (1,100 episodes and 20 film) acquired by Mill Creek the previous year. The Ultraman, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.[4]

References

1. "ザ★ウルトラマン　1" (in Japanese). Bandai Visual. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
2. "EMOTION the Best　ザ★ウルトラマン　DVD-BOX" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 April 2019.
3. "Toku Premieres Ultra Series Titles in USA". SciFi Japan. January 22, 2018. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
4. Patrick Frater (July 10, 2020). "Shout! Factory Strikes 'Ultraman' Digital Distribution Deal With Mill Creek". Variety. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.

External links

• The Ultraman (TV) from Anime News Network website