Ultraman: Towards the Future / Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero Complete Series Combo
review by Bobby Blakey
Ever since I was a kid, I have loved all things Kaiju. Like most I sat around the TV watching Godzilla and all the other monsters do battle, destroying cities brought a smile to my face. When I discovered the world of Ultraman this changed everything. I still loved the monsters, but there was a superhero element to it and could not get enough of it and have dived into every iteration since the original series UltraQ in 1966. Now Alliance Entertainment is bringing yet another version to fans with the Ultraman: Towards the Future / Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero Complete Series Combo.
These entries are the 10th and 11th series overall and the last of the American and Australian foreign co-productions of the franchise. Despite their connections with other countries to get them made didn’t original air either America or Australia until later home releases.
Ultraman: Towards the Future follows an astronaut-turned UMA member Jack Shindo who transforms into a new Ultraman to defend the Earth. Every one of these series takes me right back to my childhood. I still love this show and seeing Ultraman in classic action brings a smile to my face. While I will always
be partial to the original Ultraman look it is still a load of fun to see all the different variations.
Sadly, this entry has been my least favorite so far. They bring along some classic fun with Ultraman himself, but it just feels flat. The man in suit kaiju outside of Ultraman himself are petty cheesy which is of course normal, but they just felt cheaper this time around. None of them were overly exciting and along with the stories that never brought all that much excitement, and the entire series is pretty forgettable. Maybe the co-production with Australia this time around gave it that different feel, but except for Ultraman being here and still awesome, it didn’t feel like the usual stories.
Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero follows WINR member Kenichi Kai who transforms into a new Ultraman to defend the Earth from giant monsters and aliens. Outside of my love of all things Ultraman my excitement was higher for this entry into the franchise with martial arts star Kane Kosugi in the lead role. Being a fan of his since starring in Revenge of the Ninja alongside his father Sho Kosugi in 1983.
After the previous series I kept my expectations low for this one, but right out the gate, the quality was already so much better. It seems to lean more into the Power Ranger-esque style in the costumes and backdrops while still trying to be serious. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, but it feels like a bigger budget and better quality overall. The kaiju are still cheesy fun, but thanks to the lighting and attention to detail they look so much better.
Ultraman himself is sporting the classic look which I love and is bringing back that classic feel to the character that sometimes gets lost in the other iterations. The effects are dated as expected but still work and bring the fun I wanted. Not all of the action works great with a lot pushing for style instead of substance, but it still brings what I wanted out of the franchise for the most part. Kosugi is great in the role and is always awesome to see him especially in these early post ninja films career.
This collection brings together all 26 episodes across both series and is a must have for fans of Ultraman for their collection. Decide for yourself and grab your copy of the Ultraman: Towards the Future / Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero Complete Series Combo when it hits Blu-ray on May 12th from Alliance Home Entertainment.