Ultraman (The Original Series)
Ultraman is a personal Kaiju favorite. Not because I have any affinity for the character, but because the imagination on display. Nothing is more entertaining to me than Japan’s deep dive into Kaiju during the 1960s. Sure, America had the monster movies of the 1930s and 40s. But, the Kaiju and Giant Robots of the 1960s feel so intrinsically tied to their age.
Coming at a time when TOHO was making the Godzilla movies into more kid friendly fare, it was time for the TV Studios to match suit. Riding the early tide of Mecha fighting, it wasn’t long before kids could get entertained every afternoon. While the material got smoothed out in later iterations, there was a special magic on display in this original series. But, enough about that…let’s look at the other versions.
You get seven discs with the complete original series. Properly framed and supplied with a true DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track, it’s pretty impressive. So, what comes next now?
Ultra Q
Ultra Q was the precursor to the Ultraman series. Honestly, the whole thing was spurred on by Japan performing so well in gymnastics in the 64 Olympics. Don’t believe me? Look up Ultra C or Ultra C technique on Google. You won’t be disappointed.
Ultra Q hits Blu-ray with no supplements, but damn if it doesn’t look great.
Ultraman Orb
Ultraman Orb was something that I didn’t existed before Mill Creek. Now, I have all 25 episodes blaring in front of my eyeholes. The show was released in 2016 to capitalize on the Ultra Series’ 50th anniversary. Naturally, very few people in America cared. But, these are the same cats that chose not to embrace the PC Engine. That’s on them. My problem with the series is relegated to the fact that it’s super polished and everything feels overly serious.
I guess the movie event being included counts as a special feature.
Ultraman Geed
Ultraman Geed focuses heavily on the evil Ultraman Belial. Now his genes are bringing about new kinds of despair and terror. The film quickly turns into a look at the meaning of life and what it means to be a hero. 25 episodes and a movie later, no one is closer to an answer. But, you do get some decent killer mecha action to watch. If you expected this release to follow the format of the others, then you’re right.
