"ULTRAMAN MAX" COMES STREAMING TO THE US! 2005 Ultra Series Premieres October 13, 2014

今『ウルトラマンマックス』は世界中でストリーミングされます！


One of the best of the post-1970s series will stream world-wide!

The Ultra Series goes streaming on premier anime streaming site, Crunchyroll, this Monday, October 13th with ULTRAMAN MAX! This announcement seems to be a two-sprong strategy by Tsuburaya Productions to breech the US market and establish the brand to English-speaking countries around the world — the first being the "Ultra Hawaii" travel campaign established in the Islands, coupled with the English Subtitled broadcast of ULTRAMAN LEO (1974) on Honolulu's KIKU-TV. The Crunchyroll presentation of ULTRAMAN MAX will be available in the United States, Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.


DASH agent Kaito Toma (Souta Aoyama) who transforms into Max!

ULTRAMAN MAX was originally aired on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting from July 2, 2005–April 1, 2006 with 39 episodes (and one "farewell special"), and while following the direction of the modern Ultraman series, such as ULTRAMAN TIGA (1996), also took a step back to its roots with references to the original Ultra Series from the 1960s, ULTRA Q, ULTRAMAN, and ULTRA SEVEN. This retro respect also included three actors Susumu Kurobe, Hiroko Sakurai, and Masanori Nihei, who were in the main cast of the original ULTRAMAN — Kurobe played Hayata, Sakurai played Fuji, and Nihei played Ide (Ito in the US version) of the Science Patrol.


Max gets a chokehold on old-time Ultra Kaiju favorite, Red King!

Many of the original Ultra Kaiju were brought back to life for ULTRAMAN MAX, in addition to all-new monsters and alien creatures (with Episode 29 being as a full-blown homage to ULTRA Q), although the series is set in its own unique universe. In addition to the familiar monsters, a number of guest stars from the long history of the franchise, including Kenji Sahara (ULTRA Q), Sandayu Dokumamushi (ULTRAMAN), Koji Morisugu (ULTRA SEVEN), Ryu Manatsu (ULTRAMAN LEO). Not to mention original ULTRAMAN directors Toshihiro Iijima (Baltan) and Akio Jissoji (Jamila), as well as modern directors including Shusuke Kaneko (Heisei Gamera Trilogy), Takashi Miike (AUDITION), Hirochika Muraishi (DENJIN ZABOGA) and Takeshi Yagi (ULTRAMAN NEXUS).


Director Kaneko behind-the-scenes with actress Hikari Mizushima.

In the very first episode, a strange visitor from space notices Kaito Toma's bravery when the young man risks his own life to help save a lost little boy from danger. The alien gives Toma (Souta Aoyama) the power to become the mighty superhero Ultraman Max, a towering red and silver giant 40 meters tall. When two gigantic monsters threaten the world, Toma uses his new powers to destroy them.

Captain Shigeru Hijikata (Kai Shishido) of Team DASH (Defense Action Squad Heroes), an elite squad of the United Defense Federation, learns of Toma's brave actions and invites him to join Team DASH. To defend from otherworldly dangers, their fantastic arsenal includes the fighter jets DASH Bird 1 and DASH Bird 2, located at their headquarters in Base Titan, a massive off-shore structure in Tokyo Bay.

The agents of DASH include Kenjiro Koba (Nobuyuki Ogawa), the hot-headed weapons expert, Mizuki Koishikawa (Hitomi Hasebe), DASH's ace pilot as brave as she is beautiful, American Sean White (Sean Nichols), and Ellie (Hikari Mizushima), who looks like a beautiful girl, but is really a high powered super android, who serves as Team DASH's operations officer.

Could this new break in North America lead to a possible DVD or Blu-ray release? Who knows, but hold fast to your Max Sparks and remember to set your browsers to Crunchyroll this coming Monday and schuwatch ULTRAMAN MAX!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ULTRAMAN! First Episode Broadcast July 17, 1966

お誕生日おめでとう、ウルトラマン様！


Ultraman: Protector of the World! ©1966 Tsuburaya Productions

CAN GIANT MAJIN TAKESHI "BEAT" KAIJU GUILALA? It's the Ultimate War of the Colossal Beasts!

何だ? 大魔神たけし対大怪獣ギララ!?


Coming to your galaxy this summer!

While the details surrounding Minoru Kawasaki’s upcoming MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G-8 SUMMIT (Girara-no Gyakushu Toyako Samitto-no Kiki Ippatsu), a spin off of the Shochiku Studio’s one-shot monster movie from 1967, THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (Uchu Daikaiju Girara), keep getting stranger and stranger — it’s also becoming bizarrely sublime in both the casting and the unveiling of a new colossal character to combat the giant space monster. But, is that any surprise coming from a Kawasaki film?


Actor/Singer Kazuki Kato.

Under the radar of most people outside of Japan are the starring roles, filled by two veteran tokusatsu television actors. 24 year-old actor-singer Kazuki Kato plays a photojournalist caught up in covering the onslaught of the monster Guilala. The popular Kato rose in fame playing Keigo Atobe in the stage presentations based on "The Prince of Tennis" manga and his television role as Daisuke Kazama/Kamen Rider Drake in KAMEN RIDER KABUTO (2006-07). He most recently played Shiro Kazami/Kamen Rider V3 in Ryuta Tasaki’s KAMEN RIDER: THE NEXT (2007).


Actress/Model Natsuki Kato.

His love interest in the film is a plucky news reporter played by 22-year old actress (and professed anime fan), Natsuki Kato, who first appeared in BURN! ROBOCON (1999-00) and was prominently featured in Kenta Fukasaku’s BATTLE ROYALE II: REQUIEM (2003). She can also been seen in Naoyuki Tomomatsu's STACY (2001) and Atsushi Muroga's GUN CRAZY 4: REQUIEM FOR A BODYGUARD (2002). Kato is also notable for playing the first official female Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Femme, in Ryuta Tasaki’s KAMEN RIDER RYUKI: EPISODE FINAL (2002).


Recent photo of actor Susumu Kurobe.

Kawasaki has also sprinkled in a couple of old veterans, who are no strangers to fans around the world — Susumu Kurobe, who is best remembered as Hayata from the original ULTRAMAN series from 1966 has a prominent role as a military official (Kurobe also appeared in similar brief cameos in the recent series of Godzilla films). Kurobe also recently reprised his role as Hayata in the ULTRAMAN MOEBIUS television series and two feature film spin-offs, the latest of which, Takeshi Yagi's DECISIVE BATTLE! THE SUPER 8 ULTRA BROTHERS, opens in Japanese theaters this September. Mr. Kurobe has always been one of my heroes.


Recent photo of actor Yosuke Natsuki.

While his last role in a visual effects film was more than two decades ago, as Professor Hayashida in Koji Hashimoto’s RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984), Yosuke Natsuki has been cast in a featured role in the new film. Under contract with Toho in the late 1950s, Natsuki was a popular young actor whom appeared in everything from comedy programmers to dramatic war films, as well as action potboilers and period dramas, such as Kengo Furusawa’s SIEGE ON FORT BISMARCK (1963) and Hiroshi Inagaki’s CHUSHINGURA (1962). He also appeared in two classic monster movies directed by Ishiro Honda, GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED and MONSTER and DOGORA: THE SPACE MONSTER (both 1964). Natsuki recently played Shibahara, the Karate Master in Shunichi Nagasaki's excellent BLACK BELT (Kuro-obi, 2007).

But wait! There’s more!

Japanese press sources have just announced that world-renown actor and director, “Beat” Takeshi Kitano, is appearing in the film as “Takemajin” (pronounced “tah-kay mah-gene”) — a guardian deity who grows to enormous proportions to take on the intergalactic interloper. Loosely based on the deity Fudomuyo-Oh, the new character first appears in the film as a 50 cm edifice (holding an umbrella in one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other). But, when things look their darkest, the statue comes to life as a 50-meter tall, 10,000-ton colossus. Kitano will actually don the suit of Takemajin.


Early design for Takemajin.

Director Kawasaki thought that this would be a perfect role for Kitano, who is no stranger to comedy or elaborate costuming, since he used to play the Ultraman-like character, “Take-chan Man,” on the old “Ultra Quiz” game show, as well as wrote and starred in the “Uchimura Seven” sketches, which were parodies of the old ULTRAMAN television series. Kitano is also known by Japanese audiences for his penchant for dressing up in wacky costumes on the most inconspicuous (or inappropriate) occasions.


Kitano's mug on the statue of Takemajin.

In the story, the mystery surrounding Takemajin — which is also a take-off of Daiei Studio’s beloved DAIMAJIN trilogy from the 1960s — is at the center of the drama, and the avenging deity will make his dramatic appearance at the climax of the film. Kawasaki teased, “This is the culmination of Takeshi-san’s professional career... and in the last scene, there will be a shock similar to [the final duel] in Akira Kurosawa’s SANJURO.”


Who will prevail? Takemajin or Guilala?

MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G-8 SUMMIT goes into nationwide release in Japan this July. Personally, I can’t wait to see this film — it’s either going to be glorious or a glorious mess!