Ultraman ~ The Ultimate Japanese Superhero

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If you know anything about Japanese pop culture, you've probably heard the name Ultraman. Ultraman is the most popular Japanese superhero. Superheroes, actually, as there are many of them, with a new one appearing every year.

Ultraman is a giant alien who merges with a human host, allowing them to summon him at will to fight giant monsters who seem to show up in every show. He has all the basic superhero powers: flight, super strength, energy beams, etc. But he has one big weakness: limited time! After just a few minutes, a button on his chest will start flashing red which means his time is up; if he doesn't win and leave soon, he will die. A pretty big weakness! But he usually manages to beat the monster at the last minute and get away.

Let's ask our friend OpenAI about the show!

Please explain Ultraman briefly.

Ultraman is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. The show follows the adventures of Ultraman, a giant alien warrior who fights against monsters and other threats to protect the earth. The show was first aired in Japan in 1966 and has since become a beloved and iconic part of Japanese popular culture.

In the show, Ultraman is the alter ego of Shin Hayata, a scientist who works for the United Science Patrol. Hayata gains the ability to transform into Ultraman when he merges with the alien being Bemular. As Ultraman, he is able to use a variety of powers and abilities, including super strength, flight, and the ability to shoot energy beams from his eyes.

The show was known for its high-quality special effects, which were achieved through the use of scale models, miniature sets, and suitmation techniques. It was also notable for its use of color-timing techniques, which allowed the show to create a wide range of vibrant and distinctive color schemes.

Ultraman has been extremely popular in Japan and has spawned numerous spin-off series, films, and merchandise. It has also been widely exported and has gained a significant following around the world.

The show paused at one point for the later 70s, have back for a season in the 80s, then paused again until 1996 with Ultraman Tiga and has been on almost every year since.

Most Japanese boys love the show. My son is no exception. He goes absolutely nuts for the show. He knows all the various Ultramen, all the monsters, and can tell me in what series each monster first appears and how many times they've come back and so on. I have no idea where he finds out all this info. Boys on the school playground I suppose, or Youtube.

Lately he has gone absolutely nuts for the 1973 Ultraman, Ultraman Taro. Taro was in one of the movies he watched (a movie featuring the current year's Ultraman usually comes out following completion of the episodes for the year) and he loved him so much he looked up the info on YouTube. He fell in love with the song, so guess what I've been hearing around the house almost nonstop for the past few weeks? Yep, you guessed it. This:

In fairness, it is pretty catchy so I can see why he likes it. Much better than the recent Ultraman theme songs, which are usually done by pop groups. I tease my son and tell him the Ultraman Taro song is good, but not nearly as good as the Ultraman Leo song. Just listen to it!

Oh man, I'm getting chills! Just listen to that!

獅子の瞳が輝やいて 
ウルトラマンレオ
レオ レオ レオ レオ レオ
燃えろ レオ 燃えろよ

Or in English:

The eye of the lion is shining!
Ultraman Leo
Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo
Burn on Leo, Burn on!

Actually I don't know anything about him. But I heard that song somewhere in the past and thought it was pretty good, so I always bring it up when my son starts talking about Ultraman Taro. Gotta give the kids a hard time, y'know. Leo is better than Taro!

In case you are wondering, the current year's Ultraman is Ultraman Decker. My son tells me Decker is a kind of new version of Ultraman Dyna. Wikipedia seems to back that up, proving to me that I don't need to look this stuff up anymore, I can just either ask my son or ChatAI. Anyway, here's Ultraman Decker's opening:

See, like I told you, it's done by some pop group. A decent enough song, but not like the old theme songs for this type of show. No wonder my son likes the Ultraman Taro song better.

The company behind Ultraman, Tsubaraya, has started offering the shows for free on their YouTube channel, by the way. Both in English and Japanese. I guess the motivation for this is in Japan most of their money probably comes from toys. So might as well give the shows away to sell more toys. And might as well give it away to foreign fans just to increase awareness of the series and hype for it.

You can find their channel here

So go ahead and watch some episodes of Ultraman Decker and see what you think. Or look up some clips from the recent movie remake of the original Ultraman, called Shin Ultraman. My son gives the movie two thumbs up, by the way.

Most popular Ultramen?

I asked ChatAI which Ultramen were the most popular. It answered

  1. Ultraman: The first Ultraman and the most well-known member of the team. He is the alter ego of Shin Hayata, a scientist who works for the United Science Patrol.

  2. Ultra Seven: The second Ultraman to appear in the series. He is the alter ego of Dan Moroboshi, an agent who works for the Ultra Guard.

  3. Ultraman Taro: The son of Ultraman and a member of the Ultra Brothers. He appears in the show "Ultraman Taro" and is the alter ego of Kotaro Higashi, a member of the Ultra Guard.

  4. Ultraman Tiga: An Ultraman who appears in the show "Ultraman Tiga." He is the alter ego of Daigo Madoka, a member of the Ultra Guard.

  5. Ultraman Zero: A member of the Ultra Brothers who appears in the show "Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial." He is the alter ego of Zero, a member of the Ultra Guard.

Quite a comprehensive answer!

I asked my son if he agreed with that list. He said "no way" and he listed his favorites:

  1. Ultraman Tiga
  2. Ultraman Taro
  3. Ultraman Z
  4. Ultraman Tigger

Hmm... three of those start with T. Maybe there is something to that. And it seems like despite the "no way!" he did agree on two of the choices.

Ah well, anyway, that is all. If you are still reading, thanks for following along. Enjoy the videos and the info. It's a silly show, but fun for kids. Like I said almost all boys like it and continue to have fond memories of it when they grow to adults, and many girls like it too. My wife was a big fan when she was young. See if you enjoy it too!




Hi there! David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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    3 comments
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    Happy new year !!

    Glad to hear that your son and wife are Ultraman fans. I am the same way, especially love Ultra Seven. You are right, Ultraman Leo's theme song is fantastic. By the way, Leo's master is Seven.
    I know very little about Ultraman in the Heisei and Reiwa eras, but I watched all the Ultraman series in the Showa era anyway. Hmmm, now I want to watch them again...!

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    I think if I had seen it when I was a kid, I would have loved it too just like my kids, my wife, and you. Even now I can enjoy it through my son's eyes. I like that Showa superhero music. Like the Gatchaman song, Ultraman Leo's song, and superhero songs like that. The superhero TV shows in America when I was a child used the same style of music, so it's very nostalgic to me.

    Hope you had a great New Year! Good luck in the new year!