ultraman is one of the most revered superhero franchises in Japan. It has had several iterations over the years, but when it comes to its modern versions, none have held up as one might think. Since his debut in 1966, one of the most exciting incarnations of the character is Hideaki Anno’s live-action. Shin Ultramanbut there haven’t been many great attempts to bring it to the animated world.
There’s now such a big gap between those who recognize the hero from childhood and new fans that there’s tons of chance to start over, and it looks like that’s exactly what’s been done with Ultraman rising. And it’s a good idea to go into this movie with reinvention in mind, because that’s exactly what it does. It brings the character into the modern world with a completely new vision, for better or worse.
ULTRAMAN RISE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The essence: Baseball star Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) grew up with the desire to become a sports star while also harboring a deep love for Ultraman. Now that he has assumed the name Ultraman in honor of his father (Gedde Watanabe), he plays for the Giants in Tokyo while continuing his baseball career. With the recent disappearance of his mother (Tamlyn Tomita) and the fact that his father has put everything he had into being Japan’s hero, Ken has complicated feelings now that he is an adult and finds himself in the middle of saving people on a daily basis. .
Ken and his father must come together and work together to continue protecting Tokyo from evil despite their strained relationship during Ken’s childhood. Things get even more complicated when Ken encounters a baby kaiju after a particularly grueling battle. He will have to look into his heart and make the decision about what makes a hero, how to deal with making important decisions about the world and the hero business, and how to move forward in his relationship with his father, all while fighting. like Ultraman.
What movies will it remind you of?: There is no other animated project that looks or feels like Ultraman risingbut of course you might remember the other more recent 2019. ultraman Anime series following high school student Shinjiro Hayata and his own “special powers.” The two are very different in tone, of course, but the fact that they are both Netflix creations unites them. I would go so far as to say that this, however, is the first project that looks a bit like something Pixar or Disney might release, which is very interesting.
Performance worth seeing: Professor Sato (Gedde Watanabe) is a kind and loving father who is clearly unhappy with his life choice of having to protect Tokyo when his son was young. Watanabe brings warmth to his voice with vulnerability when needed. He is not an omniscient man who has all the answers, and his voice actor makes it clear that that is the case.
Memorable dialogue: “Kenji, if you could be anyone, what would you choose?” Professor Sato asks his son before chaos breaks out in Tokyo. He holds a baseball and an Ultraman figure. While Kenji’s mother dismisses this as too important a question for her son, the answer is prophetic as he ends up becoming both.
Sex and skin: None at all. This is as pure as the world of ultraman (if it was ever obscene) it gets.
Our opinion: This may be one of the most paint-by-numbers shots. ultraman that we have seen, but that does not make it bad. In fact, it may be the best way to attract younger viewers to the franchise, as it draws inspiration from many modern animated and superhero films. The animation can be a little off-putting at times, as it’s also the most stylized we’ve seen for this character, but that only seems to work in his favor, giving the human characters a unique appearance and Ultraman his ethereal glow that sets him apart. distinguishes. apart from many of the other kaiju fighting heroes in the world.
If you go in with an open mind and aren’t so wedded to the source material that you have to resist every liberty taken and every trope updated and rewritten, you’ll find a family-focused adventure that has a good message. in the heart. And here we mock, of course, we are critics. But sometimes there’s really nothing wrong with that, especially if it brings a classic character back into the fold in a good way.
Our call: TRANSMIT IT. This family-friendly version of Ultraman is a fun, light-hearted adventure that anyone can enjoy, whether they’re familiar with the character or not. You may end up turning you and your brood into new Ultraman fans, especially if you catch them young. After all, the world needs more of them.
Brittany Vincent (@MolotovCupcake) has been covering video games and technology for over a decade for publications including G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot and more. When he’s not writing or gaming, he collects consoles and retro technology..
