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Ultraman: Rising       review by Bobby Blakey

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I love all things kaiju, but even more so I am a massive fan of Ultraman. The superhero facing off against Kaju’s is the ultimate fun and I have dived into every iteration since the original series UltraQ in 1966. Now the famed kaiju fighting hero is getting an animated treatment with the new feature film Ultraman: Rising starring Christopher Sean, Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, Keone Young, and Julia Harriman from directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima. Could this be another great entry into the franchise, or will it fail to be able to rise to ultra status?

Ultraman: Rising follows baseball star Ken Sato who returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman with Tokyo under siege from rising monster attacks. But the titanic superhero meets his match when he reluctantly adopts a 35-foot-tall, fire-breathing baby kaiju. Sato must rise above his ego to balance work and parenthood while protecting the baby from forces bent on exploiting her for their own dark plans.

 

I must be honest that from the promotional art I was worried that this film was going to be played up in a silly kid way as opposed to fully embracing what Ultraman normally is. Despite that I was still excited to see a new version of Ultraman come to life and add Christoper Sean to the cast and I was willing to give it a shot. I am so glad I did as the film delivers. Sure, it does have elements that are clearly leaning towards a younger audience, but is it a bad thing to try and bring in a new generation? Absolutely not and this film has the chance to do just that.

 

Have no fear as outshining the kid tone is the focus on Ultraman and his ongoing fights with the kaiju. They pull no punches letting the action and hero do its thing bringing all the destruction you expect in this world. It keeps the tone of the ongoing franchise but takes some liberties to create a new direction

while not ignoring the original source material. At the heart of the film is the character drama and dilemma of taking on the mantle of Ultraman and the family dynamic it has affected.

 

The animation is chaotic and kind of cool with the only thing that threw me initially was Ultraman himself. The strange body shape and extra thinness of him looks weird but have to say that about halfway through it started growing on me and I was good with it. I give them credit for trying to stay true to the look while still having their own voice with the visuals. Much like the Spider-Verse films and The Bad Guys, they are trying to find their own look and it works in the end.  

 

Filled with plenty of action, laughs, worldbuilding and the promise of a sequel, this latest journey into the world of Ultraman brings it to the fans. I really had a great time with this film and hope we don’t have to wait for long for the next chapter.

 

Check out Ultraman: Rising streaming June 14th exclusively on Netflix.

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