This isn’t exactly recent news, but if you’re a fan of Japanese Sci-Fi like me, you’ll be thrilled to know that Shout! Factory released the show Ultraseven on DVD last month.
Just some background: Ultraseven was created by Tsuburaya Productions; founded by legendary effects master Eiji Tsuburaya. It was the third show in the Ultra series (the first being Ultra Q and the second being Ultraman). And while Ultraman continues to be a cultural icon in Japan the same way characters like Superman and Mickey Mouse are thought of here, some argue that Ultraseven was just as good as -if not better than - Ultraman.
In the show, Ultraseven comes to Earth, taking on the human identity of Dan Moroboshi. He quickly joins the Ultra Guard: an elite team of specialists assigned to protect Earth from would-be alien invaders. And with there already being six members, Dan becomes the seventh, hence the name “Ultraseven.”
There have actually been many Ultra shows over the years, but only a handful of them have ever been seen in the U.S. Aside from the original Ultraman, there’s been Ultraman: Towards the Future (known in Japan as Ultraman Great) and Ultraman Tiga. Ultraseven had some brief exposure in the 1990’s when it was run on TNT. But it was on very late at night, and the people who handled the English dubbing didn’t take the show seriously at all, playing the show instead as a farce. Considering that the show is regarded by fans to be a bit deeper and more mature than Ultraman, this really did the show a disservice.
This new release then is Japanese with English subtitles, which are very spot-on. If you’ve never seen Ultraseven before, or have seen Ultraman and want to get a good look at what this show was like, now’s your chance! You won’t regret it!
I got my copy from Ocelli as a late Christmas present, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it (I especially can’t get the theme song out of my head!) You can order it directly from Shout! Factory’s website. With any luck, if this sells well they’ll bring the other Ultra sereis to DVD as well (and rumor has it the next one may be Ultra Q!)
