This video is sponsored by Tsuburaya Productions itself, because I
thirsted so hard about Ultraman on Twitter that they noticed me.
Have you ever heard of Ultraman?
Unless you're an Asian kid, you probably don't know much about it.
Even if you WERE an Asian kid, it might just be a vague
memory from your childhood.
But this face is at least a little bit familiar, isn't it?
That's because Ultraman is a cornerstone of Japanese pop culture.
If you're into anime, manga or video games made in Japan, you have absolutely
seen at least one Ultraman reference.
Unfortunately, Ultraman itself didn't quite stick a landing in the West
because of various issues, such as bad and poor timing, having the
American versions of the shows be too disconnected to stick in the cultural
consciousness, and questionable dubs.
And I mean, there was a legit a 4kids dub.
With the voice of Joey Wheeler from Yugioh voicing the protagonist, Daigo.
It is true.
That creature’s gotta be Melba.
Looks like my mother-in-law.
Yeah.
You’re right!
No, her nose is bigger.
But there's a resemblance!
But at least we got to hear the voice of Seto Kaiba chanting about Ultraman!
So anyway, Ultraman is criminally unknown in the West despite being
a huge household name in Asia.
But it's a legitimately thoughtful and classic sci-fi franchise.
I want to rank it on par with Star Trek.
So I am here to introduce you to the impact it's had on Japanese popular media.
And I'm telling you, this includes inspiring stuff from Pokemon
to many aspects of Evangelion.
But first, in case you have no idea what Ultraman is, let me explain.
Basically, they are gigantic heroes of light here to save humanity from
attacks by ferocious kaiju, and they either fuse with a human host or take
human form to blend into human society when the attacks aren't happening.
Usually, they use this disguise to join humanity's designated anti-kaiju
defense team, though not all shows in the franchise have the defense team gimmick.
Especially the shows made on smaller budgets.
But, all shows do give the Ultraman transformation a timed
limit of around three minutes.
This time limit, and the iconic colored timer on most Ultras chests, which will
start beeping when their time starts running out, was first created to save
production budget, because the fight scenes were very expensive to shoot.
And also it made the fight scenes more tense.
The usual in-universe explanation though is that Ultras derive energy
from sunlight, but the Earth's atmosphere is too polluted, so they
can only sustain their giant form for up to three minutes at most.
In the first few shows, the Ultras were aliens from a super sleek and
utopian civilization in the M78 nebula, but later shows have had
Ultras from different regions, such as far in the future, 30 million years
in the past, or as a manifestation of the will of the Earth itself.
But what they have in common is that when humanity is endangered by forces
beyond the scope of what they can handle, the Ultras will transform out of there
human disguise and battle the threat.
Usually in a set full of miniature buildings, shot at a low angle with
a wide lens to give the illusion of giants fighting in a city.
The use of specialized filming techniques like this is iconic
to the Japanese media genre of Tokusatsu, meaning "special filming."
A lot of sci-fi and fantasy stuff like Godzilla and Power Rangers, also
known as Super Sentai in original Japanese, fall under this genre.
In fact, Ultraman was created by one of Godzilla's creators,
the legendary Eiji Tsuburaya.
The very creation of Ultraman was actually partially motivated by his
studio wanting to do something with the expensive miniature sets left behind
after Godzilla finished shooting.
In one episode of the original 1966 Ultraman, a rubber suit of Godzilla
even gets repurposed as a kaiju by just adding a collar around it.
Totally not Godzilla, guys.
Also, yes, Ultraman was created in 1966.
That's exactly 55 years ago.
So when I say it's on the same level as Star Trek, I mean longevity-wise too.
And most entries in the franchise hold up well even if you watch them decades
later, no matter what age you are.
Because Tsuburaya Productions was a family company for most of those 55 years,
they're extremely committed to the ART of tokusatsu, constantly challenging
themselves and innovating their craft.
The first few Ultra shows, especially, are sci-fi classics.
They were produced by a generation of creators who either live through
World War II or its immediate after-effects.
Not to mention that the Cold War and space race were still going on.
So these creators had a lot to say about war, imperialism, and
foreign invasion, and they channeled it using kaiju as allegories.
Ultraman may seem like just a campy show about giant heroes wrestling
giant monsters at first glance, but trust me, watch a few episodes
and you'll realize that there is a LOT of social commentary going on.
They've done plenty of episodes that question humanity's tendency to judge
whatever it looks like "the other."
There was an episode where the kaiju turned out to be a mutated human astronaut
abandoned in space, an episode where the Ultra hero discovers that humans
may have conquered Earth from another species, and even an episode where
the Ultra almost gives up on humanity because of how cruelly they treated
someone they discovered was an alien.
There have also been thinly veiled critiques of Imperial Japan's actions
in World War II, the use of nuclear bombs, the dumping of medical waste,
and of course, climate change.
Ultraman has never been afraid to go places.
Being one of the most popular and enduring franchises in Japan, the
ideas in Ultraman have had widespread influence on Japanese popular media.
First off, Pokemon!
One of its major inspirations was the capsule kaiju used by Ultraseven,
the second Ultra hero created and my current fictional crush.
Yes, that's right.
My man Ultraseven was the ancestor of all Pokemon trainers.
Funny thing is, capsule kaiju weren't even that big of a part of the show.
Like, they were only used occasionally when Seven couldn't
fight himself for whatever reason.
The Ultra franchise never treated it like a big deal, but Nintendo took the
idea 30 years later and ran with it.
This speaks to the sheer sci-fi imagination of Ultraseven. Unlike
Hayata in Ultraman who was just a human host, Ultraseven transforms directly
into the protagonist Dan Moroboshi.
It was the first Japanese show to feature an alien as the protagonist.
And it really is… something else.
Like, half its episodes are wacky monster-of-the-week escapades,
while the other half are committed to wrecking you psychologically.
Since Seven comes from a much more utopic and peaceful civilization, he
basically views things from a semi-divine perspective, and some of the stuff
he watches humans do, like engaging in arms races, really gets to him.
He’s like, “Oh.”
“Oh no, what are you doing?”
The show dares to ask the question,
“Are humans really worth protecting, with all the cruel and destructive things
we do to each other and every other species?”
Ultraseven was a huge inspiration on Hideaki Anno,
the creator of Evangelion, especially.
A lot of his stark lighting choices and ways of framing scenes to visually
express suffocating emotions have clear parallels with Ultraseven episodes,
especially those directed by Akio Jissoji.
Jissoji was a 1960s New Wave director with a distinct style of framing scenes in a
very theatrical way and playing with light and shadow for extreme dramatic effect.
The first few Ultra shows actually lean more toward horror and mystery
than the vibrant, action heavy superhero style we think of now.
Oh, and all the Christian imagery in Evangelion?
Probably Ultraman's fault as well.
Eiji Tsuburaya was Catholic, and some might argue that Ultraman is basically
a giant silver alien allegory for Jesus.
I mean, Tsuburaya really liked to crucify the Ultras.
Not to mention though when Ultraman shoots his signature beam,
he literally makes a cross with his hands.
Like he is just exorcizing his kaiju!
Every time you see an anime or tokusatsu character getting crucified, it's
probably more of an Ultraman reference than a genuine Christian tribute.
Some of you like to write whole damn master's theses on the Christian
symbolism in Evangelion, when it could very well just be
Hideaki Anno being an Ultraman nerd.
He also liked to sneak direct Ultraman references into his works, such as this
shot, where the position of the dots mirror the first four Ultra heroes.
And also this shot, where their names are literally written on
the ground in the Ultra language.
When Anno was in college, he even shot a half hour long Ultraman fan film that you
can find right here on YouTube by the way.
Anyway, here's a list of Anno's favorite Ultraman episodes if you
want to check them out for yourself.
But I have to warn you, getting into the really old Ultra shows really takes,
it's a very specific taste to be able to sit through like 50 year old shows.
So, try for yourself and see.
Some other prominent Japanese creators that have either talked about being
a huge Ultraman fan or put references into their works include
Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball.
Chi Chi's original outfit is an obvious Ultraseven reference.
And then Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is just straight up an Ultraman parody.
Then there's Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear Solid.
He's a huge Ultraman fan.
He found inspiration in the more hopeful messages of the franchise,
such as legacies being passed down from generation to generation, war and
peace, making bonds and connections with others, and the cost of doing one's duty.
Here's him showing off the Ultra merch he bought.
And him talking about having a cameo in the newest Ultraman movie then.
And here's him talking about getting traumatized by a certain
episode of the Return of Ultraman.
Ultraman just does not leave this man's mind for long.
And neither does it leave the mind of Hideki Kamiya, the director of Bayonetta.
He's a huge fan of the tokusatsu genre, even trying to dress like a
toku hero when he was a teenager.
See, you don't actually have to grow out of your nerd phase.
Just make it your career and you can nerd out for the rest of your life.
His upcoming game Project GG is pretty clearly inspired by Ultraman.
Then there's Shu Takumi, creator of Ace Attorney.
Another blatant Ultraman reference in Steel Samurai.
Next up is Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Inuyasha and Ranma.
She likes to throw in Ultraman references too.
Then there's Mamoru Oshii, director of the 1995 Ghost in the Shell,
where the Major is not white.
He thinks Ultraseven was one of the most important TV shows ever
made and was heavily inspired by the themes of espionage in it.
Good taste.
He also loves throwing Ultraman parodies into his content.
And so does Shoji Kawamori, creator of the Macross franchise,
and the Visions of Escaflowne, and the design of Optimus Prime.
He actually designed some stuff for the Ultraman franchise itself.
Another fan turned contributor to the Ultraman franchise is
Chiaki J. Konaka,
the writer of Digimon Tamers and Serial Experiments Lain.
He got his start in the industry writing for Tsuburaya Productions,
then created Ultraman Gaia for them, which is considered to be
the best-produced Ultraman show.
I highly recommend it for newcomers to the franchise who aren't quite
used to episodic shows, because it has a really good running plot.
Anyway, those are just some big names.
We'd be here all day if I listed every single creator who
likes to reference Ultraman.
To catch the references yourself, look out for alien characters with eyes like
eggs, or human characters putting spoons over their eyes, or raising something
into the air like they're about to transform, or putting on their glasses
very dramatically, or suddenly rising with their fist really big,
or doing the cross arm beam pose, or shooting a beam out of their forehead,
or doing Ultraman's battle cry of
SHUWATCH
Or fighting against the sunset as silhouettes with very theatrical staging.
That's all iconic to the Ultraman franchise.
Oh, and there are some Western artists who like to sneak in
Ultraman references too,
like Derek J. Wyatt, showrunner for Ben 10 and Transformers Animated,
and Thomas Perkins, a Ben 10 character designer.
Once you learn about Ultraman, you can no longer escape.
That's not a bad thing though, because it's a good time to get
into the franchise right now.
The latest show that finished airing, Ultraman Z, is a really
good gateway into the series.
If you don't know where to start, just start there.
It's available free and legally right on YouTube!
I mean, depending on your region.
But if it's region-locked for you, I bet you know what to do
from my previous videos.
Ultraman Z has amazing cinematography, special effects,
and a critically acclaimed story.
The beginning might be a bit confusing because you're missing some context of the
wider franchise, but just power through it and you should understand the story
just fine.
Tsuburaya Productions treats its fan base really well, so I would love to
see more fans in the Western fandom!
I highly recommended it for fans of Superheroes, Yugioh, Gundam, old
sci-fi in general, and of course, Kamen Rider, Power Rangers, and Godzilla.
There's a lot of overlap among these fandoms.
Basically, if you tend to like media that is usually geared towards
7-year old boys, Ultraman is for you.
Another good place to watch Ultra series legally is Shout Factory, where they
have most of the classic Ultra shows, including the original and Ultraseven,
and they have a few newer shows too.
I recommend Ultraman X if you're into cyberpunk, Ultraman Orb if you're into
cool guy protagonists, and Ultraman Geed if you're into the idea of a dorky teen
protagonist who's secretly the son of the biggest villain in the Ultra franchise.
Or the idea of an office worker who regularly gets
possessed by an alien superhero.
I watched the entirety of Ultraman Geed because of that one clip.
Also, since it's Ultraman's 55th anniversary, so much exciting
stuff is about to happen on July 10th, Ultraman Day!
Tsuburaya Productions is doing a special 4-hour livestream event for the Western
fans, from 5:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST.
Mr. Susumu Kurobe and Ms. Hiroko Sakurai,
the actors of the hero and heroine of the original Ultraman
are going to be there!
And so will Bin Furuya, Ultraman's first suit actor.
They'll be answering fan questions and commentating on iconic Ultraman episodes.
This is a truly once in a lifetime chance, and you definitely shouldn't miss it!
I will be there in chat, so I will see you there!
Get your tickets at ultramanconnection.com
or enter my giveaway for 5 tickets
on Instagram and Twitter!
I'll link the posts in the description below.
Also on July 10th is the premier of a new Ultra series,
Ultraman Trigger!
It's an alternate universe reimagining of the award-winning
Ultraman Tiga, which came out in 1996.
It's among the greatest shows in the franchise, and it was especially
huge in China for my generation.
I've probably seen it like HUNDREDS of times,
and so have all my Chinese classmates.
And the amazing thing is, it holds up!
It's so full of hope and optimism for science and humanity, yet it has so
many episodes that will make you cry.
Here's hoping Trigger can live up to it.
Anyway, watch Ultraman.
That's all I have to say.
It will make you feel good and have hope in the future, even as the world
seems to be falling apart around us.
Thanks again to Tsuburaya Productions for sponsoring this video!
Special shoutouts to my Patreon, Guardian Lions, Benji Sudolcan, Darion,
Do-it-out-of-spite, jasonnebulaar, Jose Velasquez, Kytes Universe,
Molly McAllister, Nikolas Coates, and Skye Doto.
Also a special thanks to Triblast for helping me with this video script,
and Mike Dent for giving me permission to use his stuff from his article on
Evangelion's connection to Ultraman.
I'll link the article in the description.
Seriously, just go.
What are you waiting for?
It's on YouTube.
Go!