Ultraman (manga)

Ultraman (stylized as ULTRAMAN) is a Japanese manga series written by Eiichi Shimizu and drawn by Tomohiro Shimoguchi of Linebarrels of Iron fame. Published in Monthly Hero's since the magazine's inaugural issue. It is part of the Ultraman franchise and a manga sequel of the 1966 television series.[3][4] The series has been collected in 15 tankōbon volumes as of April 2020.

Ultraman
Cover of volume 1
GenreAdventure, science fiction,[1] superhero[2]
Manga
Written byEiichi Shimizu
Illustrated byTomohiro Shimoguchi
Published byHero's Inc.
English publisher
MagazineMonthly Hero's
DemographicSeinen
Original runOctober 1, 2011 – present
Volumes15
Original net animation
Directed by
Produced by
Written by
  • Ryō Higaki
  • Kurasumi Sunayama
  • Harumi Doki
Music by
  • Irone Toda
  • Kazuma Jinnouchi
Studio
Licensed byNetflix
Released April 1, 2019 – present
Runtime23–25 minutes
Episodes13

A 3DCG original net animation (ONA) anime adaptation co-produced by Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts was released on Netflix in April 2019. The series has been renewed for a second season.

Story
Main article: List of Ultraman manga characters

Several years have passed since the events of Ultraman, with the legendary "Giant of Light" (光の巨人, Hikari no Kyojin) now a memory, as it is believed he returned home after fighting the many giant aliens that invaded the Earth. Shin Hayata's son Shinjiro seems to possess a strange ability, and it is this ability, along with his father's revelation that he was Ultraman, that leads Shinjiro to battle the new aliens invading the Earth as the new Ultraman.

Media

Manga

The series began serialization in the first ever issue of Monthly Hero's magazine, published on November 1, 2011.[5] The first collected tankōbon volume was published on September 8, 2012.[6] In 2014, support videos were streamed at the official YouTube site of Monthly Hero's, featuring Ruriko Kojima, Takeshi Tsuruno (actor of Shin Asuka from Ultraman Dyna) and Susumu Kurobe (actor of Shin Hayata from Ultraman). The three were even interviewed, as well as reviewing chapter 4 of the manga themselves.[7][8][9]

A portal site for the Ultraman manga was announced and launched on October 16, 2014.[10] On May 1, 2015, an alien character design contest was announced for contestants to draw their respective aliens. Winning entries got their characters to appear in volume 7 of Ultraman.[11] The contest ended and the winning entries were announced on August 3, 2015. The winning entries are the grand prize Alien Nephentes (ネペンテス星人, Nepentesu Seijin, by Keisuke Watanabe), Ace Kiler Award (エースキラー賞, Ēsu Kirā-shō) goes to Alien Woovelve (ウヴェルヴ星人, Uveruvu Seijin, by Hiroyasu Okanaga) and Alien Megoma (メゴマ星人, Megoma Seijin, by Kirimoro). These aliens made their appearances in Volume 7 as members of the mercenary group the Ace Killer Squad.[12]

Several tankōbon volumes are also provided with extras, such as soft vinyl figures of Shinjiro's Ultraman Suit in Volume 5, Moroboshi's Ultraman Suit Version 7.2 in Volume 7, and a special edition Volume 8 bundled with a DVD, as well as commentaries, such as in Volume 1 by AKB48 member Sayaka Akimoto, Volume 4 by Hideo Kojima, Volume 5 by Koichi Sakamoto and Volume 9 by Hideo Ishiguro (Ultraman Orb).[13]

On June 23, 2015, Viz Media welcomed the creators of the Ultraman manga series, Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, at the 2015 Comic-Con International: San Diego.[14] Viz Media licensed the series for English language release in North America in February 2015, and the first volume was released on August 18, 2015.[15][16]

Volume list
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 September 8, 2012[6]978-4-86468-301-2August 18, 2015[17]978-1-4215-8182-8
2 March 5, 2013[18]978-4-86468-321-0November 17, 2015[19]978-1-4215-8183-5
3 September 5, 2015[20]978-4-86468-341-8February 16, 2016[21]978-1-4215-8184-2
4 March 5, 2014[22]978-4-86468-358-6May 17, 2016[23]978-1-4215-8185-9
5 November 5, 2014[24][25]978-4-86468-378-4
978-4-86468-377-7 (SE)[lower-alpha 1]		August 16, 2016[26]978-1-4215-8186-6
6 July 4, 2015[27]978-4-86468-420-0November 15, 2016[28]978-1-4215-8647-2
7 December 29, 2015[29][30]978-4-86468-422-4
978-4-86468-423-1 (SE)[lower-alpha 2]		February 21, 2017[31]978-1-4215-9060-8
8 July 5, 2016[32][33]978-4-86468-301-2
978-4-86468-466-8 (SE)[lower-alpha 3]		May 16, 2017[36]978-1-4215-9272-5
9 December 29, 2016[37]978-4-86468-486-6October 17, 2017[38]978-1-4215-9757-7
10 July 5, 2017[39]978-4-86468-507-8May 15, 2018[40]978-1-9747-0044-8
11 December 5, 2017[41]978-4-86468-529-0January 15, 2019[42]978-1-9747-0259-6
12 July 5, 2018[43][44]978-4-86468-537-5
978-4-86468-538-2 (SE)[lower-alpha 4]		June 18, 2019[45]978-1-9747-0518-4
13 March 5, 2019[46]978-4-86468-624-2April 21, 2020[47]978-1-9747-1055-3
14 November 5, 2019[48]978-4-86468-677-8October 20, 2020[49]978-1-9747-1487-2
15 April 5, 2020[50]978-4-86468-716-4——

Motion comic

To celebrate the fourth volume of Ultraman, Monthly Hero's announced the launch of Motion Comic (モーションコミック, Mōshon Komikku) in March 2014, which features the manga itself being partially animated with colors and voice actors. The first release was all six chapters from Volume 1 of the manga, with Ryōhei Kimura was the first cast to be announced and voicing the main character Shinjiro Hayata. Soon, more casts were added as well while the Motion Comic in progress.[10] Two special Motion Comics were bundled alongside a special release of Volume 8 of Ultraman manga alongside the ULTRASINGLES.[34]

Discography

A single titled as ULTRASINGLES was released alongside the special release of Volume 8. The single contains three songs by Maaya Uchida, all of them were sung by her character, Rena Sayama, in the Motion Comic, with the lyrics provided by Eiichi Shimizu. The third single, "Ultlove", was first released in the official YouTube site of Monthly Hero's in late December 2015.[35]

  • Lovely Me
    • Composer: Tomokazu Tashiro (田代 智一, Tashiro Tomokazu)
  • Authentic
    • Composer: Koji Igarashi (五十嵐広二, Igarashi Koji)
  • Ultlove (ウルトラブ, Urutorabu)
    • Composer/Tsugaru-jamisen: Shinjiro "MANI" Sakamoto (坂本マニ真二郎, Sakamoto Mani Shinjirō)
    • Guitar Player: Eiichi Shimizu

Anime

An anime adaptation of the manga was announced in November 2017,[51] which was later revealed to be a 3DCG anime co-produced by Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts. The anime will be co-directed by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki.[52] Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi are composing the music. The series was released on Netflix on April 1, 2019.[53] Oldcodex performed the series' ending theme song "Sight Over The Battle."[54] The series is also announced to get a TV broadcast in Japan during the "Tsuburaya Convention 2019".[55] and will schedule to air in Tokyo MX and BS11 in April 2020.[56]

During the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Netflix announced that a second season is in production. The staff are returning to reprise their roles.[57] Japanese voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki will voice the new character Ultraman Taro.[58]

Episode list
No.TitleOriginal release date
1"A Power That Shouldn't Be On This Earth"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
2"An Inescapable Fate"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
3"Being Ultraman Isn't Bad"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
4"Release the Limiter!"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
5"City of Aliens"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
6"The Curse of Ultraman"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
7"Hidden Thoughts"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
8"The Beginning of Truth"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
9"Nice To Meet You, Brother"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
10"Star Council"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
11"You As You Are"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
12"Ace Killer"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
13"A Real Ultraman"April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)

Note: These titles are translated from the Japanese titles. In other regions, they are simply labelled Episodes 1 to 13.

Video Games

On January 10, 2020, an Ultraman mobile game based on the manga has been announced for released on iOS and Android devices. The game, titled Ultraman: Be Ultra, is due to Launch on Spring 2020 in Japan.[59][60]

Reception

In the week of June 29 to July 5, 2015, Japanese site Oricon revealed that the Chapter 6 of Ultraman was placed at 33rd in a ranking with a total of estimated 26,214 sold copies.[61] From July 6 to 12 of that year, Volume 6's selling was boosted to number with an estimated number of 73,673 copies.[62] On December 28, 2015 to January 3, 2016, the Volume 7 of Ultraman was placed 20th rank with an estimated total of 43,969 copies.[63] The ranking dropped to 38 in the week January 4–10 with a total of 68,100 copies.[64] In the week of July 4–10, Volume 8 was ranked 20 with an estimated 41,077 sold.[65] During the 2016 annual Comic-Con International, Ultraman is ranked 5th in "Best New Manga for Kids/Teens".[66] In early 2017, Volume 9 was ranked 24th with a total of 59,898 copies.[67]

The manga sold over 2.4 million copies by 2017.[68] As of 2018, the manga has sold more than 2.8 million copies.[69]

Rebecca Silverman of the Anime News Network reviews volume 1 of the manga and praises Shinjiro for his plot involvements in the storyline, although highlighting that "the timeskip is a bit abrupt, as is Bemular's introduction".[70]

Merchandise

On April 30, 2016, a 1:1 scale FRP version of Dan Moroboshi/Ultraman Suit Version 7.2's Spacium Sword was announced to be released at August 2016 and pre-orders were made available at 55,000 Yen (59,400 Yen if tax is included) in Eikoh.[71][72]

In October 2015, an articulated action figure of Shinjiro Hayata in his Ultraman Suit, which was made by a collaboration between Ultra Act (Tsuburaya's own figure line) and S.H. Figuarts. The figure is sold under the price of 6,840 Yen and pre-orders were made from October 23, 2015, while shipping started in May 2016.[73] In 2016, Gecco Corp. produced a 1/6 scale diorama of Shinjiro Hayata in his Ultraman Suit, which has a removable head to switch between either Shinjiro or Ultraman Suit helmet.[74] Another collaboration merchandise was made with Pioneer SE-MX9-K in releasing headphones themed after Shinjiro's Ultraman Suit helmet.[75]

Notes
  1. This release is bundled with a soft vinyl figure of Shinjiro's Ultraman suit.
  2. This release is bundled with a soft vinyl figure of Moroboshi's Ultraman suit version 7.2.
  3. This version is bundled with a DVD special and ULTRASINGLES.[34] The DVD contains:[35]
    • Motion Comic Volume 1: Truth (実態, Jittai)
    • Motion Comic Volume 2: Hokuto (北斗)
    • Music Video: "Ultlove" (ウルトラブ, Urutorabu) by Maaya Uchida
    • Music Video: NO ONE KNOWS by Megumi Han
  4. This release is bundled with a soft vinyl figure of Shinjiro's Ultraman suit B-type.

References
  1. "The Official Website for Ultraman". Viz Media. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  2. "Viz Media Launches The New Ultraman Manga Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  3. コミックナタリー - ヒーローズのウルトラマン本、夏コミ企業ブースで頒布決定. Natalie. August 2, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  4. コミックナタリー - ヒーローズ創刊、ラインバレルコンビがウルトラマン描く. Natalie. November 1, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  5. コミックナタリー - 「鉄のラインバレル」コンビが描く新たなウルトラマン始動. Natalie. July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  6. ULTRAMAN 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. ULTRAMAN 第4巻発売記念 特別インタビュー 第１弾 小島 瑠璃子. heros-ultraman.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  8. ULTRAMAN 第4巻発売記念 特別インタビュー 第２弾 つるの 剛士. heros-ultraman.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  9. ULTRAMAN 第4巻発売記念 特別インタビュー 第3弾 黒部 進. heros-ultraman.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  10. ニュース・イベント 2014. heros-web.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  11. "ニュース・イベント 2015". heros-web.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  12. "マンガ『ULTRAMAN』公式怪獣・異星人キャラデザ大募集企画の受賞作品発表！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. August 3, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  13. "クイズに答えてニューヨーク旅行へ！マンガ『ULTRAMAN』9巻発売記念キャンペーン続々開催！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  14. "Viz Media Welcomes The Creators of New Ultraman Manga Series to 2015 Comic-Con International: San Diego". Anime News Network. June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  15. "VIZ MEDIA ACQUIRES ULTRAMAN MANGA SERIES". Viz Media. February 18, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  16. "Viz Media Launches The New Ultraman Manga Series". Anime News Network. August 12, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  17. "Ultraman, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  18. ULTRAMAN 2 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  19. "Ultraman, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  20. ULTRAMAN 3 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  21. "Ultraman, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  22. ULTRAMAN 4 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  23. "Ultraman, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  24. ULTRAMAN 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  25. ULTRAMAN 限定 特装版 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  26. "Ultraman, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  27. ULTRAMAN 6 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  28. "Ultraman, Vol. 6". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  29. ULTRAMAN 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  30. ULTRAMAN 限定 特装版 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  31. "Ultraman, Vol. 7". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  32. ULTRAMAN 8 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  33. ULTRAMAN 限定 特装版 8 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  34. DVD付特装版も！『ULTRAMAN』第8巻が本日7月5日(火)にいよいよ発売開始！ (in Japanese). m-78.jp. July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  35. 「ULTRAMAN」モーションコミック観れる新刊、内田真礼演じる佐山レナのCDも (in Japanese). natalie.mu. July 1, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  36. "Ultraman, Vol. 8". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  37. ULTRAMAN 9 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  38. "Ultraman, Vol. 9". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  39. ULTRAMAN 10 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  40. "Ultraman, Vol. 10". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  41. ULTRAMAN 11 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  42. "Ultraman, Vol. 11". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  43. ULTRAMAN 12 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  44. ULTRAMAN 限定特装版 12 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  45. "Ultraman, Vol. 12". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  46. ULTRAMAN 13 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  47. "Ultraman, Vol. 13". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  48. ULTRAMAN 14 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  49. "Ultraman, Vol. 14". Viz Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  50. ULTRAMAN 15 (in Japanese). Shogakukan Creative. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  51. "Ultraman Manga Gets Anime in 2019". Anime News Network. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  52. "Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Appleseed Directors Helm Ultraman 3D CG Anime". Anime News Network. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  53. "Ultraman Anime Unveils Cast, Composers, Trailer, April 1 Premiere". Anime News Network. November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  54. "OLDCODEX to Perform Ultraman Anime's Theme Song". Anime News Network. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  55. https://mantan-web.jp/article/20191213dog00m200088000c.html
  56. "Oldcodex to Perform New Theme Song for Ultraman Anime's April TV Broadcast". Anime News Network. December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  57. "Ultraman Anime Gets 2nd Season With Returning Staff". Anime News Network. June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  58. "Ultraman Season 2 release date predictions for Netflix U.S.: Is 2021 sequel likely?". Monsters and Critics. July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  59. "「ULTRAMAN BE ULTRA」公式サイト". Ultraman (in Japanese). Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  60. "Ultraman Manga Gets Smartphone Game this Spring". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  61. "Japanese Comic Ranking, June 29-July 5". Anime News Network. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  62. "Japanese Comic Ranking, July 6–12". Anime News Network. July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  63. "Japanese Comic Ranking, December 28-January 3". Anime News Network. January 7, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  64. "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 4–10". Anime News Network. January 14, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  65. "Japanese Comic Ranking, July 4–10". Anime News Network. July 14, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  66. "Best and Worst Manga of 2016 Results - Comic-Con International". Anime News Network. July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  67. "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 2–8". Anime News Network. January 12, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  68. http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/11/27/ultraman-manga-site-starts-mysterious-countdown-to-december-1
  69. "A comic that sold 2.8 million copies comes back as an animation! Anime "ULTRAMAN" to be Released Worldwide on Netflix from Spring 2019! Announcement made at the Anime Expo 2018 as one of the featured animation". Tsuburaya Productions. July 6, 2018.
  70. "Ultraman G1 Review". Anime News Network. July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  71. "マンガ『ULTRAMAN』登場「セブン」実物大ソードの予約開始！最新話を掲載した月刊ヒーローズ2016年6月号が本日発売！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. April 30, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  72. "【エイこれット限定販売】「ULTRAMAN」1/1スペシウムソード【8月発送予定】【代引・コンビニ決済不可】【送料無料】【同梱不可】" (in Japanese). eikoretto.jp. April 22, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  73. "コミック『ULTRAMAN』登場のウルトラマンスーツがフル可動アクションフィギュア化！「魂ウェブ商店」にて受注受付スタート！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. October 23, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  74. "Gecco製「ULTRAMAN」1/6サイズフィギュアの予約受付開始！清水栄一×下口智裕先生 完全監修！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. June 1, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  75. "【DVD付特装版】潘めぐみさんが歌う「北斗」のキャラソン！取材に行ってきました！" (in Japanese). heros-ultraman.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.