Thursday, September 28, 2006
DVD Review: Ultraman - Series 1, Vol. 1
Many Americans who grew up in the 70's have strange, foggy memories of a swirl of psychedelic colors appearing on the TV screen, giving way to a show about a giant spaceman who fought googly-eyed rubber monsters. Some may even wonder whether they actually saw this show or just dreamed it. They need wonder no more.
The first Region 1 DVD of Ultraman has finally arrived. Debuting in Japan in 1966, under the creative leadership of Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects man responsible for Godzilla's look, Ultraman became a phenomenon in Japan, where it has spawned generations worth of sequels, spin-offs and rip-offs, and an empire of ancillary marketing that even makes George Lucas envious. The show centers around The Science Patrol, an elite group of government agents who get to carry rayguns and wear orange spacesuits and cool helmets made from amazing space-age polymers. Their primary job is to protect Japan from the constant onslaught of giant monsters invading their shores. They would, quite frankly, be hopelessly outmatched, except that one of their number, Hayata, was abducted by aliens and given the power to transform into Ultraman, a giant alien being who takes no shit from monsters.
Ultraman's fighting style is similar to that of a pro wrestler. He tackles, grapples, bodyslams and piledrives his rubber-suited foes without mercy. But there's a catch. When the light on his chest starts blinking (which always seems to be about one minute after his transformation), his power is running out, and he must rush through the fight quickly or "Ultraman will never rise again" (I can't figure out if that means Hayata will die, or just lose the power to turn into Ultraman). So he gathers what strength he has left and rallies his powers to defeat the giant lizard, fish or...What is that, some kind of lobster thing?
As for the transfer, it looks crisp on my TV screen, with the bright, dayglo colors popping out appropriately, although my attempts to get decent screencaps off the DVD may have revealed evidence of some cut corners in the process. For extras, you get the US opening credits that you remember from your childhood (the episodes have the Japanese credit sequence, which goes on too long if you ask me). A Kaiju Gallery, with pics and stats of all the monsters, provides useful information, such as that Balta is a "Space Ninja" with a "maximum flight speed of mach 5," Surfuran is "not considered a true kaiju monster by some scholars," and Gabon is the name of the monster in the episode that I always seemed to catch when I was a kid and never knew when Ultraman was on. The only major supplement is an interview with the team who dubbed the English voices (they also did Speed Racer and Astro Boy), which is about as interesting as that sort of thing could possibly be (the highlight is the Jewish guy who voices Ultraman relating a story of having dubbed a speech by the Pope).
Bottom line: I love Ultraman. It's perfect, from the swirling liquid effect that opens the show to the groovy theme song with its surf guitars and cheesy vocals, to the floppy rubber suits of the decidedly unfrightening monsters. I also know it's not very good. But I don't like it because it's "so bad it's good." That's a cop out if ever there was one. Yeah, Ultraman is bad, and so is a lot of the stuff I like, but I don't like it because I'm getting some ironic laugh out it. I like it because I have bad taste.
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God I loved UM as a kid. I need to revisit it. Great review!