Shin Ultraman

Lore & Background

In the summer of 2017, Hideaki Anno was tasked by Takayuki Tsukagoshi, then president of Tsuburaya Productions, to write a proposal for a single Ultraman film project; the trilogy plan was Anno's own proposal. Anno completed the plan on January 17, 2018, and wrote the first draft of the screenplay on February 5, 2019, though his participation was deferred until he finished Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021). Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, and Khara jointly announced production on August 1, 2019. Principal photography took place in late 2019 in Ibaraki Prefecture, Hiratsuka and Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kōfu and Minobu in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Ichihara in Chiba Prefecture, wrapping in November. Post-production was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, extending editing to about two and a half years.

Reader's Guide

Shin Ultraman premiered in Japan on May 13, 2022, after being delayed from a summer 2021 release due to the pandemic. Critics praised its direction, characters, editing, cinematography, visual effects, musical score, and action sequences, though some criticized the screenplay's structure and perceived lack of themes. The film received eight nominations at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize, including Picture of the Year, and won three. Its commercial success as the highest-grossing Ultraman film and its place in Anno and Higuchi's series of tokusatsu reimaginings underscore its significance in revitalizing the franchise for an adult audience, consistent with Anno's stated goal of creating 'entertainment for adults' that balances dreams and reality.

Did You Know?

• Hideaki Anno completed a draft for a reboot of the Ultraman franchise entitled Return of Ultraman Plot Memo on December 28, 2013, nine years before Shin Ultraman's release.
• The film's ensemble cast includes Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka, and Hidetoshi Nishijima, with Anno and Bin Furuya as Ultraman.
• Principal photography took place in Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, and Chiba prefectures in late 2019.
• The film's post-production editing took roughly two-and-a-half years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Origins and the World of the Ultras

The Ultraman franchise traces its roots to 1966, when Tsuburaya Productions launched Ultra Q, a Japanese science-fiction television series that would spawn one of the most enduring tokusatsu and kaiju properties in the world. At the heart of the mythology sits a fictional extraterrestrial collective known as the Ultras, a race spread across a multiverse with multiple origin stories. In the most familiar continuity, these warriors call home a planet nestled within the M78 nebula—a fictional region distinct from the real Messier 78—commonly called the Land of Light. That world is home to an estimated 18 billion inhabitants, of whom one million serve in the Inter Galactic Defence Force, a peacekeeping body tasked with repelling alien invaders and monstrous threats across the cosmos. When an Ultra is dispatched to another world, it carries a Color Timer, a glowing warning light that pulses faster as its energy reserves dwindle. This mechanic imposes a strict time limit of only a few minutes of active combat before the warrior must withdraw and recharge. Each main protagonist ultimately forms a bond with a human or takes on a human incarnation, with the host wielding a special device to channel the Ultra's unique powers.

A Global Cultural Phenomenon

Few fictional characters have achieved the kind of worldwide saturation that Ultraman has enjoyed over the decades. Between 1966 and 1987, the brand generated $7.4 billion in merchandising revenue—a figure that, adjusted for inflation, exceeds $21 billion—making it one of the highest-grossing media franchises in history. In the 1980s, Ultraman ranked as the world's third top-selling licensed character, a feat driven largely by his enormous popularity across Asia. Within Japan itself, references to the Ultra heroes are as ubiquitous as mentions of Superman in Western media. The franchise's global footprint extends to more than 100 countries, and Tsuburaya Productions has made its Ultraman and non-Ultraman content widely available on YouTube, where the channel has surpassed two million subscribers, often simulcasting series with English subtitles. In China alone, an Ultraman television series racked up 1.8 billion views on over-the-top streaming platforms between mid-2017 and early 2018. The Ultra Series was also cited in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2013 as the record-holder for the most spin-off shows, and as of 2025, Tsuburaya officially recognizes 51 distinct Ultras.

Creative Influence Across Media

Ultraman's impact radiates far beyond its own television and film output, leaving fingerprints on creators across anime, live-action cinema, and video games. Manga legend Akira Toriyama, the mind behind Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, has openly cited Ultraman as a formative influence on his work. In Hollywood, Peyton Reed, director of the Ant-Man films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acknowledged that the hero's costume design drew inspiration from Ultraman as well as Inframan, a Chinese tokusatsu superhero. Video game designer Hideki Kamiya, known for titles ranging from Resident Evil 2 to Bayonetta, recalled loving both Godzilla and Ultraman as a child. The franchise has also crossed into Western publishing: in November 2019, Marvel Comics announced a partnership with Tsuburaya to publish Ultraman comic books beginning in 2020. On the merchandise side, Bandai Namco has sold over 101 million Ultraman soft figures since 1983, while Bandai Namco Arts has moved 8.48 million home video units. The Ultraman manga, launched in 2011, has sold more than 2.8 million copies and received a Netflix anime adaptation.

Generational Evolution and Production History

Since its 1966 debut, the Ultraman franchise has cycled through distinct creative eras. The Shōwa era produced a steady stream of successors, beginning with Ultraseven in 1967 and running through Ultraman 80 in 1980, with entries like Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, and Ultraman Leo filling the years between. A second generation arrived in 1996 with Ultraman Tiga during the Heisei era, and the franchise continued on and off until the third generation kicked off with Ultraman Ginga in 2013. English-language adaptations have also played a notable role: Hanna-Barbera produced the 1987 animated film Ultraman: The Adventure Begins, a 1990 series was filmed in Australia, a 1993 series was shot in the United States, and Netflix released the animated film Ultraman: Rising in 2024. In 1993, Tsuburaya and Toei co-produced the direct-to-video crossover Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider, bringing together two of Japan's most iconic tokusatsu heroes under a shared copyright held by both studios and their subsidiaries.