Why I Love Ultraman

A love letter to Ultraman – the legend of light that raised my spirits and inadvertently saved my sight.

Ultraman, for those who don’t know, is a Japanese tokusatsu (or special effects) superhero show about a race of alien giants of light that patrol the galaxy, protect peace and fight massive monsters along the way. Each season focuses on a new Ultra that has found their way to Earth, just as the planet’s specialist team starts having a real issue combatting a new wave of colossal creatures. 

The show’s approach of having the Ultras all be connected but working in different universes is great. It allows the series to remain friendly to new viewers while also building a more expansive lore for long time fans. This also means that each new series is forced to find fresh and clever ways of reusing monsters from past series because, while new fans may not have any idea about the iconic monsters showing up, for veteran fans this could be the fifth time witnessing Ultraman battle this same foe. There’s only so much the reactions of the new Ultra can bring to the experience to keep it fresh but that’s enough with the general background information.

For me personally, the moment I went from just liking Ultraman to loving it came during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the very end of 2019, I had been diagnosed with an incurable eye condition that would slowly worsen my vision, leading to early on in the pandemic, when I was told by doctors that my right eye had gotten to the point where I needed an operation to stop things getting any worse. Due to the pandemic (and a number of factors caused by it), it would take a full year before I could finally have this operation. So with my family and I unsure on whether I’d be able to see 2021, literally, my spirits and mental wellbeing hit an all time low. I didn’t know what to do. 

It was at this point that I heard the news that Tsuburaya Productions, the creators of Ultraman, had decided that, as part of a grand push of their content outside of Japan, they would upload their latest season, Ultraman Z to YouTube for free, fully subbed in English as well as a number of other languages. In addition, they would do this mere hours after the episodes aired in Japan. 

This immediately had a huge impact on me. Knowing that if I could make it to the end of the week, I would be able to join thousands of other Ultra fans and watch the latest adventure of Z (pronounced Zett) and his human host, Haruki, not only became one of the things I looked forward to the most each week, it was also a sign that my eyes had not gotten notably worse. “I’m doing alright, things haven’t gotten that bad, yet. I’m still able to watch Z with everyone” is what I told myself when I was feeling low.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget having to try and contain my excited screams while watching the final episode to avoid waking the rest of my family up during the moments in the final battle when the villain’s trump card hits Z and Haruki so hard that they revert back into their basic form, leaving them motionless and collapsed on top of a building. It’s not until they hear the rest of the cast cheering them on do they get back up and win the day. Ultraman seasons normally run for 25-ish episodes a year so I knew I wouldn’t have my weekly Z episode to keep me going. This final note of never giving up and showing resilience especially when you have people cheering you on, resonated with me deeply. It felt like Z and Haruki were speaking to me directly, telling me not to give up just because they were leaving. Surely I’d be able to sort my eye operation out soon and, about 5 months after Z’s final episode aired, I did. 

Finding a show at just the right time, for it to emotionally land with you in a deeper way than no other show has, isn’t something many people get to experience. I’m extremely lucky to have had Z come out when it did because the bond I have with that season really embodies why I love Ultraman. While it tells grand sci-fi stories about giant aliens battling giant monsters, it always does so with heart and humanity. 

If you’re interested in checking out Ultraman yourself, here is a link to the official YouTube channel. Ultraman Z, Trigger, Decker and the currently airing Blazar are all there too. You can also watch on Ultraman Connection, This has been Ethan, writer and reviewer for The Toku Source, and I’ll see you next time.

Note: Originally, this was a personal blog post I wrote in November 2022, explaining why I love Ultraman and the personal story of how Ultraman Z came to mean so much to me. Minor changes have been made to update it.

Image Sources: Ultraman Connection, My Shiny Toy Robots

Original blog post edited by: Kwame Obiri-Addai