Soooooo, in case anyone didn't know, July 10th is 'officially' * Ultraman Day, marking the occasion of the first 'preview' live show which preceded the broadcast of the Ultraman television show in 1966 (which itself was premiered technically on the 17th). * as registered by the Japan Anniversary Association (how jealous am I NOT to have been in that crowd?!) This year there are a number of events, including a live stream on Twitch (I'll be honest, I don't know what that is, but letting everyone know). Follow the link for more details.
Also. If youve been on the fence with all the great Blu-ray box sets this site is running some great deals now https://www.deepdiscount.com/ultraman/b242086
So, I've just bumped into this yt ch that appears to have recent activity I haven't seen mentioned here: https://www.youtube.com/user/tsuburaya/playlists
Yeah it was back in june when they starting simulcasting ultraman Z. Good to bring it up again though as this is really the first time one of the studios has done one of these free simulcasts with english subtitles. Tsuburaya has been absolutely destroying the Toei with western releases lately. This is definitely the best time to be a fan in the west.
I’ve been joyfully watching the Blu-ray (steelbooks) of Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman and Ultraman Ace. I’m only up to the midway point with Ultraseven. Doing 2-3 episodes a day and loving it. Side note: Each of the Blu-ray Steelbook releases includes digital versions with Spree. Not a great streaming service IMO, but it’s nice to have these at my finger tips on my phone when I’m not near a tv.
AAAAAHHH IT’S HAPPENING I CAN’T WAIT! Admittedly the SFX are not as impressive as Shin Godzilla but still, Anno will show us the way...
Yeah that trailer has good energy. I'm hoping the effects are just not finished yet, but they had to show some kaiju shots for the trailer.
I have a feeling that's the intended style for the effects which I personally love. They have a really fun absurd, toylike quality. Kind of like in the Gantz:O movie. And Ultraman looks like he jumped right out of 1966 and into 2021. Excited for this one!
saw a lot of complaining on twitter from people saying it looked too much like shin godzilla.... ...but shin godzilla was amazing so i dont see the problem???
Well, if I have to accept navy blazers instead of orange jumpers, it's still far more preferable to dealing with taut, black leather in place of colorful spandex.
HLJ has the new sofubi up and the kaiju are listed as "in stock": https://www.hlj.com/movie-monster-series-shin-ultraman-bann51162 https://www.hlj.com/movie-monster-series-neronga-bann54212 https://www.hlj.com/movie-monster-series-gabora-bann54213
Among the many reasons that I was delighted that Tsuburaya won back their full right to Ultraman here in the US a couple of years ago was the potential for stateside companies to get in on the toymaking fun. Most of what I've seen has me as underwhelmed as I suppose I should have expected, but I figured I'd type out a brief report on the few pretties that caught and kept my eye --- In the world of fake Kenners, Mezco's 5 Points line has the first in what I hope to be a series of sets coming out:: Not all I could hope for in a 3&3/4 treatment, but they got way less wrong than the average US license holder of my beloved Japanese properties. What has me thumping my tail full-on is in the dress-up dollie department: Missed out on the Popy fun back in 70s, so Mego is finally making good on, at least for the top fella, the toy that I wanted most of all in the world to exist back when I was a tot. Seriously, I'd daydream about such a thing for years running. Rumor has it Taro is soon to follow. For those interested: Best deal I've found online for the bitties can be had at DeepDiscount, and ZLC! has the least rapey options to bring home the cloth-clads. Cheers, dorks!
Oh my gob oh my gob oh my gob oh my gob... Shin hits screens on May 13th. I'm not even cautiously hyped, just hyped.