Ultraman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ultra Series
Official logo
Creator	Eiji Tsuburaya Tetsuo Kinjo Tohl Narita Kazuho Mitsuta
Original work	Ultra Q (1966)
Owner	Tsuburaya Productions
Print publications
Books	List of books
Films and television
Films	List of films

The Ultra Series (Japanese: ウルトラシリーズ, Hepburn: Urutora Shirīzu), also known as Ultraman, is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series Ultra Q in 1966 and became an international pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, films, comic books, and other media publications, becoming one of the most prominent productions in the Japanese tokusatsu and kaiju genres and pioneering the Kyodai Hero subgenre. The Ultraman series is centered on a fictional alien race of superheroes who often combat kaiju or other aliens.

In Japan, the Ultraman brand generated US$ 7.4 billion in merchandising revenue from 1966 to 1987. This makes it one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Ultraman was the world's third top-selling licensed character in the 1980s, largely due to his popularity in Asia. References to Ultraman are abundant in Japanese popular culture, much like references to Superman in U.S. culture.

The Ultras

The Ultraman series is centered on a race of aliens nicknamed the "Ultras". As revealed in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, they are a technologically advanced civilization originating from a planet within the M78 nebula (M78星雲, Emu-Nanajūhachi seiun), three million light years away from Earth (not to be confused with the Messier 78 nebula)—colloquially called the Land of Light (光の国, Hikari no Kuni)—who were originally identical to humans. They had evolved into their current state of being following the activation of the Plasma Spark, which replaced their dead sun. Ultraman and his many kin are usually red-and-silver (although several color variations have been seen in recent years) and have glowing yellow almond-shaped dome eyes (although there are exceptions to both the shape and color) and various abilities, most notably firing energy beams from their crossed hands and flight. They share a strong cultural sense of justice and duty, a majority of Ultramen joining the Space Garrison (宇宙警備隊, Uchū Keibitai) to maintain peace in the universe from alien invaders and monsters.

The Ultras that are sent to other worlds are given Color Timers, or "warning lights", which blink with increasing frequency and turn from blue to red if an Ultra's energy supply dwindles or he is mortally wounded. Due to human pollution and the light filtering effects of the atmosphere, an Ultra can remain active on Earth for a limited span of minutes before its energy is depleted and they die. This forces an Ultra to either assume a human form or merge with a human host body. The latter process has healing properties that include reviving a recently dead person with their own life force.

Ultra beings also appear to be near-impossible to permanently kill, as several times an Ultra being has been killed, only to be revived by another member of their species. An Ultra being can be revived with a massive energy infusion, as when Mebius' allies revived him with their energy after his defeat by Alien Empera's army. Ultras always try to avoid battles in inhabited areas or near innocent bystanders and try to minimize collateral property damage. If these concerns cannot be met, a city like Tokyo could be destroyed.

The Ultraman phenomenon

The show Ultraman was followed by many other series. Sequels to the original series are: Ultraseven (1967, TBS), The Return of Ultraman (1971, TBS), Ultraman Ace (1972, TBS), Ultraman Taro (1973, TBS), Ultraman Leo (1974, TBS), Ultraman 80 (1980, TBS), Ultraman Tiga (1996, MBS), Ultraman Dyna (1997, MBS), Ultraman Gaia (1998, MBS), and Ultraman Cosmos (2001, MBS). After that, the studio tried a reinvention of the hero through the "Ultra N Project", which involved three heroes: Ultraman Noa (the "mascot" of the Ultra N Project, who appears in stage shows as well as in the final episode of Ultraman Nexus) in late 2003, Ultraman Nexus (2004, CBC), and ULTRAMAN (2004, Shochiku Productions). This was followed by a return to the old-school series' style in the form of Ultraman Max (2005, CBC). In the course of the Max series, another new hero known as Ultraman Xenon was also introduced. April 2006 saw the 40th anniversary series, Ultraman Mebius, which signaled a long-awaited return to the original universe. Another hero was also introduced: Ultraman Hikari, formerly known as Hunter Knight Tsurugi.

The franchise has also had Ultras introduced in movie theaters, starting with Ultraman Zearth and Ultraman Zearth 2 in 1996 and 1997 respectively, as well as ULTRAMAN in 2004.

Foreign productions include the 1987 Hanna-Barbera co-production Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (in Japanese, Ultraman USA), an animated movie; Ultraman: Towards the Future (in Japanese, Ultraman Great), produced in Australia in 1990 and Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (in Japanese, Ultraman Powered), produced in the United States in 1993. The Ultraman series have also been dubbed into various languages, including English (Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Max), Spanish (Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Great and Ultraman Tiga), Portuguese (Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman and Ultraman Tiga), French (only Ultraman). Also of note is the American English dub of Ultraman Tiga by 4Kids Entertainment that aired in 2002. The dub considerably distorted the characterization and general mood of the series, and it achieved only limited success.

In 1993, Tsuburaya Productions and Toei Company co-produced Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider, a crossover with the original Ultraman and Toei's Kamen Rider. This direct-to-video feature is co-copyrighted by both Toei (and its subordinates, Toei Video and Ishinomori Productions) and Tsuburaya Productions.

As of 2013^[update], Tsuburaya Productions accepts 36 Ultramen as official (counting Ultraman Legend, the combined form of Ultramen Cosmos and Justice, as a separate entity). This figure does not account for Thai-produced Ultramen (the figure is 38 if Next, Noa, and Nexus are counted as separate entities — it has been revealed in Nexus that all three are a single being with various modes used by different hosts). In 2013, the Ultra Series was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the record-holder for the most spin-off shows. The Ultraman brand generated $7.4 billion in merchandising revenue from 1966 to 1987, equivalent to more than $19 billion adjusted for inflation. Ultraman was the world's third top-selling licensed character in the 1980s, largely due to his popularity in Asia.

The Ultraman manga, which began in 2011, has sold more than 2.8 million copies as of 2018. At the Tokyo Comic Con on 7 December 2017, Tsuburaya Productions revealed that an anime adaptation of the manga was planned for release in 2019. It was released by Netflix.

Ultraman content, products and services have been distributed in more than 100 countries worldwide,as of March 2018^[update]. Tsuburaya has officially made their Ultraman and non-Ultraman content widely available on their YouTube channel, even simulcasting several of their series with English subtitles, the channel has reached over 2 million subscribers. In China, an Ultraman television series received 1.8 billion views on over-the-top media services between July 2017 and March 2018.

The manga author Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, cited Ultraman as a formative influence on his work. Peyton Reed, the director of the Ant-Man films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, said that Ant-Man's costume design was influenced by Ultraman along with Inframan, another tokusatsu superhero from China. Video game designer Hideki Kamiya (known for games such as Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101) said he loved Godzilla and Ultraman as a child.

It was announced in November 2019 that Marvel Comics has partnered with Tsuburaya Productions to publish Ultraman comic books in 2020. As of March 2021^[update], Bandai Namco has sold 101.87 million Ultraman soft figures (heroes and monsters) since 1983, while Bandai Namco Arts (including Bandai Visual) has sold 8.48 million Ultraman home video units between January 1988 and March 2021.

Television

Series

Showa era

• Ultra Q (1966)
• Ultraman (1966–1967)
• Ultraseven (1967–1968)
• Return of Ultraman (1971–1972)
• Ultraman Ace (1972–1973)
• Ultraman Taro (1973–1974)
• Ultraman Leo (1974–1975)
• The Ultraman (1979–1980)
• Ultraman 80 (1980–1981)

Heisei era

• Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990)
• Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1995)
• Ultraman Tiga (1996–1997)
• Ultraman Dyna (1997–1998)
• Ultraman Gaia (1998–1999)
• Ultraman Neos (2000–2001)
• Ultraman Cosmos (2001–2002)
• Ultraman Nexus (2004–2005)
• Ultraman Max (2005–2006)
• Ultraman Mebius (2006–2007)
• Ultraseven X (October 2007–December 2007)
• Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle (2007–2008)
• Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008–2009)
• Ultraman Ginga (July 2013–December 2013)
• Ultraman Ginga S (July 2014–December 2014)
• Ultraman X (July 2015– December 2015)
• Ultraman Orb (July 2016–December 2016)
• Ultraman Geed (July 2017–December 2017)
• Ultraman R/B (July 2018–December 2018)

Reiwa era

• Ultraman Taiga (July 2019–December 2019)
• Ultraman Z (June 2020–December 2020)
• Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga (2021–2022)
• Ultraman Decker (2022–2023)
• Ultraman Blazar (2023–2024)
• Ultraman Arc (2024)

Films

Specials

Miniseries

Video games

Books

Comics

Harvey Comics series

Between 1993 and 1994, Harvey Comics published two comic book series based on the 1966 Ultraman television series.

Dark Horse Comics series

In 2003, Dark Horse Comics published a comic book based on Ultraman Tiga.

Marvel Comics series

Since 2020, Marvel Comics started publishing an initial new Ultraman comic book limited series titled The Rise of Ultraman, written by Kyle Higgins & Matt Groom with art by Francesco Manna. It debuted in September 2020 and concluded in January 2021.

A second series titled The Trials of Ultraman premiered in March 2021, with Higgins, Groom and Manna returning and concluded in August of the same year.

A third series titled The Mystery of Ultraseven, which will be written by Higgins and Groom, and drawn by Davide Tinto, David Lopez, and Gurihiru, was released on August 17, 2022.

During Anime Expo 2022, Groom announced a crossover event between the current Ultraman comics with the Marvel Universe for 2023. In May 2024, Marvel and Tsubaraya officially announced the Ultraman x Avengers limited series to debut for release in August 14, 2024.

Manga

See also

In Spanish: Ultraseries para niños