Ultraman is getting a brand new overhaul into an anime soon, but how soon? Not soon enough unfortunately, but at least it will premiere everywhere at the same time! 2019 can’t come soon enough.
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As reported by Anime News Network, the 12th volume of Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Ultraman manga revealed that the upcoming CG anime adaptation of the series will premiere worldwide on Netflix in 2019.
Kenji Kamiyama of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Shinji Aramaki of Appleseed Alpha will direct the series for Production I.G. as it follows the adventures of Shin Hayata, the son of the original Ultraman. Production I.G. should be a recognizable studio for anime fans as they have produced many popular anime series such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood: The Last Vampire, Patlabor, xxHolic, and The End of Evangelion. They know their way around CG animation.
The fact that it will be an CG adaptation might scare some fans away, but CG has been effective for telling stories that are usually made in live-action such as the recent Godzilla anime premiere. A fellow tokusatsu originally, Godzilla’s anime film debut was met with positive reviews from fans.
Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shiguchi’s ULTRAMAN manga is a sequel to the 1966 Ultraman television series and began running in Shogakukan’s Monthly Hero magazine November 2011, and has been collected into ten volumes as of 2017. The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in 2015 and is rated fifth in the “Best New Manga for Kids/Teens.”
The series follows Shinjiro Hayata, son of the original Ultraman. Shin Hayata of the Scientific Special Search Party saved the Earth from an invasion of Kaju decades earlier, so the world has been at peace. But as a new dark force appears, the world needs a new hero, a new Ultraman. Shinjiro learns that his father passed on the “Ultraman Factor” to him, and that he possesses incredible powers, and now must face the incoming threat.
For those unfamiliar with Ultraman, it is a tokusatsu series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. Running for a total of 39 episodes the series aired from July 1966 to April 1967. The second series of the Ultra Q franchise, it has since led to many sequels and spin-offs. Eiji Tsubuyara is also credited with being one of the co-creators of one of the most popular tokusatsu series of all time, Godzilla.
