Ultraman Ace
Ultraman Ace (ウルトラマンA（エース）, Urutoraman Ēsu) is the 5th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 8, 1972 to March 31, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes.
| Ultraman Ace | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Tsuburaya Productions |
| Developed by | Shinichi Ichikawa |
| Directed by | Masanori Kakehi |
| Starring |
|
| Voices of | Gorō Naya |
| Composer | Tōru Fuyuki |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes (per episode) |
| Distributor | Krantz Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Original release | April 8, 1972 – March 31, 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Return of Ultraman |
| Followed by | Ultraman Taro |
Starting from this show, the Ultra Series begins to shift from a sci-fi/mystery adventure to superhero fantasy fare. All previous Ultramen (Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack and Zoffy) make regular appearances in this series, whereas they only made guest appearances in the previous show The Return of Ultraman.
Plot
From another dimension, Yapool orchestrated attacks on Earth using biological weapons called "Terrible-Monsters" (超獣, Chōjū) that surpassed ordinary monsters. The first Terrible-Monster Verokron managed to destroy a city and the Earth Defense Force (地球防衛軍, Chikyū Bōeigun) that was dispatched to fight it. A pair of youths Seiji Hokuto and Yuko Minami lost their lives in protecting nearby civilians as the fifth Ultra from M78, Ultraman Ace fused with them. The pair were given Ultra Rings (ウルトラリング, Urutora Ringu) each per person and transforms into Ace whenever they perform the Ultra Touch (ウルトラタッチ, Urutora Tatchi).[1] Ever since Ultraman Ace fought on Earth, Seiji and Yuko were enlisted into TAC (Terrible-monster Attacking Crew) with the Ultra Brothers and Father of Ultra occasionally appeared to help them. Yapool on the other hand would send more Terrible-Monsters, including external help from various forces and occasionally went face-to-face with TAC and Ace themselves.
In the middle of the series, Yuko was revealed to be one of the last natives from the moon and gave her Ultra Ring to Hokuto, leaving the Earth in episode 28 as Hokuto was on his own in succeeding episodes. In the final episode, Yapool masqueraded as the child of Alien Simon and combined several of his past Terrible-Monsters into Jumbo King. When Yapool allowed himself to be killed as the children lost their faith in Seiji, the latter exposed his identity to them and fought the chimeric monster, eventually triumphing over Jumbo King. With Yapool's first (of what would become many) attempts at taking over the Earth thwarted at last, Ace departed the Earth to return home.
Cast
- Seiji Hokuto (北斗 星司, Hokuto Seiji)： Keiji Takamine (高峰 圭二, Takamine Keiji)[1]
- Yuko Minami (南 夕子, Minami Yūko): Mitsuko Hoshi (星 光子, Hoshi Mitsuko)[1]
- Gorō Ryū (竜 五郎, Ryū Gorō): Tetsurō Sagawa (瑳川 哲朗, Sagawa Tetsurō)[1]
- Ichirō Yamanaka (山中 一郎, Yamanaka Ichirō): Shunichi Okita (沖田 駿一, Okita Shun'ichi)[1]
- Tsutomu Konno (今野 勉, Kon'no Tsutomu): Masaaki Yamamoto (山本 正明, Yamamoto Masaaki)[1]
- Noriko Mikawa (美川 のり子, Mikawa Noriko): Keiko Nishi (西 恵子, Nishi Keiko)[1]
- Kōzō Yoshimura (吉村 公三, Yoshimura Kōzō): Mitsuhiro Sano (佐野 光洋, Sano Mitsuhiro)[1]
- Yōichi Kaji (梶 洋一, Kaji Yōichi): Katsumi Nakayama (中山 克己, Nakayama Katsumi)
- Dan Umezu (梅津 ダン, Umezu Dan): Akinori Umezu (梅津 昭典, Umezu Akinori)
- Kayoko Umezu (梅津 香代子, Umezu Kayoko): Rie Miyano (宮野 リエ, Miyano Rie)
- Ultraman Ace (ウルトラマンA, Urutoraman Ēsu, Voice): Gorō Naya (納谷 悟朗, Naya Gorō)
- Yapool (ヤプール人, Yapūru-jin, Voice), Alien Antira (アンチラ星人, Anchira Seijin, Voice; 10): Hirofumi Takada (高田 裕史, Takada Hirofumi)[2]
- Narrator: Shin Kishida (岸田 森, Kishida Shin)[1]
Episodes
| Nº | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shine! The Five Ultra Brothers" | April 7, 1972 |
| 2 | "Surpass the Giant Terrible-Monster!" | April 14, 1972 |
| 3 | "Go Up in Flames! Terrible-Monster Hell" | April 21, 1972 |
| 4 | "A 300-Million-Year-Old Terrible-Monster Appears!" | April 28, 1972 |
| 5 | "Giant Ant Terrible-Monster vs. The Ultra Brothers" | May 5, 1972 |
| 6 | "Solve the Mystery of the Transforming Terrible-Monster" | May 12, 1972 |
| 7 | "Monster vs. Terrible-Monster vs. Alien" | May 19, 1972 |
| 8 | "Life of the Sun is the Life of Ace" | May 26, 1972 |
| 9 | "100,000 Terrible-Monster! Surprise Attack Plan" | June 2, 1972 |
| 10 | "Duel! Ultraman Ace vs. Hideki Go" | June 9, 1972 |
| 11 | "Terrible-Monster Is Ten Women?" | June 16, 1972 |
| 12 | "The Red Flower of Vicious Cactus" | June 23, 1972 |
| 13 | "Execution! Five Ultra Brothers." | June 30, 1972 |
| 14 | "5 Stars Scattered in the Galaxy" | July 7, 1972 |
| 15 | "Summer Horror Story: Curse of the Black Crab" | July 14, 1972 |
| 16 | "Summer Horror Story: Scary Story of the Cattle God-Man" | July 21, 1972 |
| 17 | "Summer Horror Story: The Demon Woman of Hotarugawara" | July 28, 1972 |
| 18 | "Give the Pigeon Back" | August 4, 1972 |
| 19 | "Mystery of the Haunted Kappa Mansion" | August 11, 1972 |
| 20 | "The Star of Youth Is the Star of Two" | August 18, 1972 |
| 21 | "I Saw a Vision of the Celestial Maiden" | August 25, 1972 |
| 22 | "Vengeance Demon Yapool" | September 1, 1972 |
| 23 | "A Game Changer! Here Comes Zoffy" | September 8, 1972 |
| 24 | "Behold! Midnight transformation" | September 15, 1972 |
| 25 | "Pyramid Is a Terrible-Monster's Nest!" | September 22, 1972 |
| 26 | "Annihilation! The 5 Ultra Brothers" | September 29, 1972 |
| 27 | "Miracle! Ultra Father" | October 6, 1972 |
| 28 | "Farewell Yuko, Sister of the Moon" | October 13, 1972 |
| 29 | "The 6th Ultra Brother" | October 20, 1972 |
| 30 | "You Can See the Star of Ultra" | October 27, 1972 |
| 31 | "From Ultraseven to Ultraman Ace" | November 3, 1972 |
| 32 | "With Hopes in the Star of Ultra" | November 10, 1972 |
| 33 | "Shoot That Hot-Air Balloon" | November 17, 1972 |
| 34 | "A Terrible-Monster Dances on a Rainbow Over the Sea" | November 24, 1972 |
| 35 | "A Gift from Zoffy" | December 1, 1972 |
| 36 | "A Terrible-Monster Registering 10,000 Phons?" | December 8, 1972 |
| 37 | "Star of Friendship Forever" | December 15, 1972 |
| 38 | "Resurrection! Father of Ultra" | December 22, 1972 |
| 39 | "Seven's Life! Ace's Life!" | December 29, 1972 |
| 40 | "Return the Panda!" | January 5, 1973 |
| 41 | "Winter Horror Series: Scary Story! Lion Drum" | January 12, 1973 |
| 42 | "Winter Horror Series: Mystery! Monster Woo Rises Again" | January 19, 1973 |
| 43 | "Winter Horror Series: Scary Story! Yeti's Cry" | January 26, 1973 |
| 44 | "Setsubun Scary Story! Sparkling Beans" | February 2, 1973 |
| 45 | "A Desperate Situation! Save Ace!" | February 9, 1973 |
| 46 | "Ride Over the Time Machine!" | February 16, 1973 |
| 47 | "Salamander's Curse" | February 23, 1973 |
| 48 | "Revenge of Verokron" | March 2, 1973 |
| 49 | "The Flying Jellyfish" | March 9, 1973 |
| 50 | "Tokyo Great Panic! The Mad Traffic Signals" | March 16, 1973 |
| 51 | "The Life-Sucking Sound" | March 23, 1973 |
| 52 | "You Are the Ace of Tomorrow!" | March 30, 1973 |
Songs
Opening Theme
- "Ultraman Ace" (ウルトラマンエース, Urutoraman Ēsu)
- Lyrics: Kyōichi Azuma (東 京一, Azuma Kyōichi)
- Composition & Arrangement: Masahiko Aoi (葵 まさひこ, Aoi Masahiko)
- Artist: Honey Knights (ハニー・ナイツ, Hanī Naitsu), Misuzu Children's Choral Group (みすず児童合唱団, Misuzu Jidō Gasshōdan)
Insert Song
- "Song of TAC"
- Lyrics: Tokyo Ichi
- Composition & Arrangement: Touki Fuoki
- Artist: Honey Knights, Misuzu Children's Choir
- "One week of TAC"
- Lyrics: Tokyo Ichi
- Composition & Arrangement: Touki Toki
- Artist: Ace Mennen Call
Home media
In July 2019, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that it had acquired most of the Ultraman library from Tsuburaya Productions through Indigo Entertainment, including 1,100 episodes and 20 films.[3] Mill Creek released the series on Blu-ray and digital on May 12, 2020 in standard and steelbook sets.[4]
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. Ultraman Ace, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.[5]
References
- "ウルトラマンA Blu-ray BOX Standard Edition" (in Japanese). Bandai Visual. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- 円谷プロ画報. 第1巻. Takeshobo. 2013. pp. 216–217. ISBN 978-4-8124-9491-2.
- "Exclusive – Mill Creek Entertainment Acquires the Ultraman Library For Physical and Digital Home Entertainment Distribution Across North America". SciFi Japan. July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- "Mill Creek Entertainment To Bring Ultraman Ace And Ultraman X On Blu-ray In Spring 2020". SciFi Japan. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- 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.