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under General Tokusatsu News, TokuNation, TokuNation Spotlights, Ultraman

“Reddo Fight!”

In 1972, Tsuburaya Productions commissioned a new spin-off from their popular Ultra Series. Curious, quirky, and quite violent, Redman joined the Nippon TV Ohayo! Kodomo variety show.  Serialized in 138 5-minute episodes, Redman faced off against countless Kaiju from across the various Ultra series which had aired by this time. Mercilessly, Redman would dispatch these Kaiju with little to no context outside of what magazine text stories and interviews could provide.

Flash forward to 2018, the superstar creative team of Matt Frank & Goncalo Lopes have resurrected this red warrior for a brand new series of Graphic Novels. The first of which, Redman: The Kaiju Hunter Volume 1, was recently released in July. Taking this obscure but classic character and helping to re-imagine his backstory as so much more than it was previously, Frank & Lopes have crafted a modern classic.

Here at TokuNation we were fortunate enough to be provided a promotional copy of Volume 1 for review.  Click “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post and you can read our full review of Redman: The Kaiju Hunter! Let us know what you think of the series if you’ve had a chance to read it as well!

under Ultraman

In case you were let down by the S.H.Figuarts version of the Manga Ultraman character, Bandai may have an alternative for you with the recently revealed Figure-Rise Standard Ultraman B-Type model kit.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Figure-Rise Standard series: it’s a line of model kits that you build and sticker yourself ala Gundam or Minipla. The Figure-Rise Standard kits covers characters that are outside of the Gundam franchise, in the past we’ve seen a handful of Kamen Riders and Dragon Ball characters done up in this line. Figure Rise Standard Ultraman B Type is 1/12 scale so it shouldn’t look too badly when standing next to your S.H.Figuarts collection.

Accessories with this kit will include optional hand parts, effect parts, a big cannon, and an LED light that can switch from blue to red. All of this can be yours for 4500 yen and will see a release in November 2018.

under Ultraman

Rejoice Ultra fans!

Today is a landmark day in tokusatsu history as Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd announced their victory in US courts against UM Corporation (aka Chaiyo) for the international rights to the first six instalments in the Ultra Series. That’s right everyone, it’s been a long battle but Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro are finally home.

For those unaware the international rights for these six series have been in question for several years, after Chaiyo Productions founder Sompote Saengduenchai claimed that in 1976 Eiji Tsuburaya‘s son Noboru (who died in 1995) had provided him with a contract giving him rights to everything related to Ultraman outside Japanese territories, in exchange for a monetary loan. The legitimacy of the document was extremely questionable, however Japanese and Thai courts accepted this contract as real and binding due to supposed appearance of Noboru Tsuburaya’s hanko (signature stamp) in the document.

Headway was finally made November last year when a Californian jury deemed the document to be a fake and ruled in favour of Tsuburaya, but it isn’t until today that we have confirmation that the company’s long ordeal is finally over.

So what does this mean for the series in question? Will they be joining the rest of the Ultraman backcatalogue on Crunchyroll? New home releases with better quality masters? Who knows, but with Tsuburaya continuously looking to promote Ultraman on a worldwide scale we’ll find out soon enough.

 

under Ultraman

Even though the line has since moved on to both Ultraseven and The Return of Ultraman, Tamashii Nations continue to show their love to the original 1966 Ultraman series with the reveal of S.H. Figuarts Antlar! First appearing in episode 06 of the series, this insectoid monster terrorised the ancient civilisation of Baraji. Ultraman was able to put a stop to its rampages, thanks to the Stone of Baraji – an artefact left to them by Ultraman Noa many years ago.

S.H. Figuarts Antlar is a Tamashii web exclusive due for release September, priced at 7560 yen. It will come packaged with a burrow hole effect part that the top half of the figure can be connected to.

Will Antlar be joining your kaiju collection? Check out the images and let us know after the jump!

under Conventions, Other Conventions, Ultraman

After a rousing success in international print sales, numerous S.H.Figuarts, high end 1/6 scale figures, statues, busts, & other collectibles, the last barrier left to conquer for Eeichi Shimizu’s ULTRAMAN manga is of course, for it to be adapted to anime!

Headed our way in 2019 will be a full anime adaptation of the long running ULTRAMAN manga! A countdown had been ticking down on the series official website, without much further information until now. As more information about this series is revealed, such as the animation staff and voice cast, we’ll be sure to keep you up to date. If you’re unfamiliar with the ULTRAMAN Manga, here’s a handy summary of the plot from the series US publisher Viz:

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined Shin Hayata of the Scientific Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters known as Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero – a new kind of Ultraman…

Shinjiro is an ordinary teenager, but his father is the legendary Shin Hayata. When he learns that his father passed on the “Ultraman Factor” to him, and that he possesses incredible powers, nothing will ever be the same again.

under TokuNation, TokuNation Site Updates, TokuNation Spotlights, Ultraman

It’s time once again to check out a giant sized creature of epic proportions in another Ultraman S.H. Figuarts gallery! Dating back to the original TV series, episode 26 to be exact, is the immense creature Gomora! Though we’ve seen examples of this species many times since it’s debut, the most memorable for many is still the original.

S.H. Figuarts Gomora is a pretty beefy figure when you get right down to it. A beast fit to fight your Ultramen figures. Gomora lacks some of the better articulation we’ve come to expect with Kaiju figuarts, but does make up for things with his wonderfully segmented tail. Pair him up with your S.H. Figuarts Ultraman, or in my case the old Ultra-Act V2, and you can see just why Kaiju figuarts continue to go strong. He even includes some special accessories to replicate his severed tail and horn from his battle with Ultraman!

We’ve attached the full 70 image gallery to this post but you can also check out our full length review of S.H. Figuarts Gomora by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. Next time we’ll be back to “Start our mission” with a brand new gallery from Kamen Rider Drive!

under Kamen Rider, Ultraman

We’ve seen both on display recently at the Tamashii Nations Akiba showroom as well as the Tamashii Nations World Tour. Now both of these new figures are slated for actual release! Thanks to a handful of new magazine scans we can confirm both.

S.H. Figuarts kamen Rider Drive Type Special, Drives unique movie from from Surprise Future, is set for release in November. Type Special will be a Tamashii Web Exclusive and retail for 6264 yen.

S.H. Figuarts Dada or as he was originally known Agent #271, is an infamously weird villain from the original Ultraman TV series. While not as prolific as Baltan this Kaiju is definitely looking good as Bandai continues their productive line of Kaiju figuarts. Dada will be released in November for 7344 yen.

under Godzilla, Ultraman

Last year, Bandai Namco Games announced City Shrouded in Shadow: a  game where you survive a giant monster attack was in development and we’ve finally been given an update thanks to Famitsu magazine with translation courtesy of Silconera.

City Shrouded in Shadow will feature characters from Ultraman, Godzilla, and Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise and while we won’t see them crossover the game will generate scenarios based on one of those series each will be generated one stage at a time. Here’s a list of who we know will be in the game thus far:

Giant Shadow 1

Ultraman
NisUltraman
Alien Zarab
Giant Shadow 2
Godzilla
King Ghidorah

Giant Shadow 3
Evangelion Unit-01
The Fourth Angel

Giant Shadow 4
Gamera
Soldier Legion

Players will be able to choose between a male or female protagonist everything from clothes, hairstyle, and even job title can be changed.  The game will also have multiple dialogue choices, some of which can affect your relationship with your significant other.

While no solid release date was given as of yet, we do know that the game is currently 75% completed and will come out Fall 2017 in Japan for PS4 and PS3 consoles The Vita version has sadly been reported as canceled.

under Ultraman

In a very awesome nod to the 50th anniversary of Ultraman, Shout! Factory and Shout! Factory TV will be doing a live-stream of Ultraman starting at 12pm PST on Sunday, July 31st. You can watch the live-stream yourself directly at www.ShoutFactoryTV.com.

The live-stream will be hosted by the man, the myth, and the legend himself – August Ragone! Check out the full list of hand-selected episodes that will be live-streaming tomorrow:

~12:00 p.m. –Ultraman 101 – an opening segment with host August Ragone
~12:15 p.m. – Episode 01: Ultra Operation No. 1
~12:45 p.m. – Episode 03: Science Patrol, Move Out!
~1:10 p.m. – Episode 07: The Blue Stone of Villarge
~1:40 p.m. – Episode 15: Terror of the Cosmic Rays
~2:10 p.m. – Episode 16: Science Patrol into Space
~2:40 p.m. – Episode 17: Passport to Infinity
~3:10 p.m. – Episode 25: Cyphon, the Mysterious Comet
~3:40 p.m. – Episode 27: Monster Majesty
~4:00 p.m. – Episode 28: Human Specimens 5 and 6
~4:30 p.m. – Episode 33: The Forbidden Words
~5:00 p.m. – Episode 36: Arashi, Don’t Shoot!
~5:30 p.m. – Episode 39: Farewell, Ultraman!
*Times listed are Pacific time, approximate and subject to change.

Check out the promotional video below! We’ll remind you on Twitter of the event as it starts!

under Ultraman

A new copyright has been filed by Tsuburaya Productions, the parent company of giant tokusatsu hero Ultraman.

The name Ultraman X appears in recent copyright filing, suggesting a new series in the near future!

Sadly, no other details regarding Ultraman X are available at this time. Stay tuned to TokuNation as we try to keep you up to date on all Ultra news!