‘Ultraman’ Flies to Netflix: 10 Little-Known Facts About the Original Series

In 1966, a silver-suited extraterrestrial named Ultraman came to earth from Planet M-78 of the 40th Galaxy. Though “Ultraman” has long had a devoted following in Japan and across the world, Netflix is introducing the hero from the stars to younger American audiences on April 1, with their new Netflix Original Anime series. Here are some little-known facts about how the classic Japanese superhero came to be.

1. The Original Series Premiered in 1966 The first episode of”Ultraman” aired in Japan on July 17, 1966. Though the original series only aired for one year, it’s had countless sequels and spinoffs. The first episode finds our hero crashing down to earth after doing battle in space with an alien monster named Bemler. In the chaos, Ultraman accidentally destroys Shin Hayata’s plane. To save the pilot’s life, Ultraman merges their life forces into one. How the Hero Got His Name The word “ultra” became something of a buzzword in Japan in 1964 when gymnast Yukio Endo named a bar-maneuver that won him 3 Olympic gold medals “Ultra C.” The english word gained household popularity when an announcer named Bunya Suzuki shouted “ULTRA!” ever time Endo got a high score. The Man Who Started It All: Eiji Tsuburaya Ultraman’s creator, Tsuburaya is something of a legend in Japanese film and television. Known as the God of Tokusatsu (the Japanese word for special effects), Tsuburaya was known for his simple yet effective approach to making monsters who breathed fire using the technology available at the time. He also invented “suitmation,” a simple form of animation that uses regular-sized men in rubber monster suits, surrounding them by miniature-sized buildings to make them look giant. The Creator Also Made Godzilla EijiTsuburaya also had a hand in creating another famous sci-fi character…Godzilla! Developed in 1954 at Toho Studios, Godzilla was the first “kaiju eiga,” or Japanese monster movie. The reptilian create was originally inspired by King Kong — when Tsuburaya first saw Kong in 1933, he knew he would one day create a monster like that. Other creatures to Tsuburaya’s name include Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah. There Are More Monsters Where That Came From Tsuburaya also created scary monster creations like Mothra, the dragon-creature Rodan, the three-headed Ghidorah, who and even the cute, noodle eating children’s character Booska. 4. There Would Be No “Ultraman” Without “The Twilight Zone” Before there was “Ultraman,” there was 1964’s “Ultra Q,” EijiTsuburaya’s first foray into television. Inspired by “The Twilight Zone” and “Outer Limits,” the plot involved a team of aviators, reporters and scientists who investigated monsters and otherworldly phenomena. 5. The Creator Was Accused of Espionage Long before “Ultraman,” Tsuburaya made WWII propaganda films for the Japanese Imperial Government. After Pearl Harbor, his studio Toho made a film called “The War at Sea From Hawaii to Malaya,” to show the Japanese public that Japan could win the war. When the U.S. military saw his special-effects recreation of the attack, they thought the footage was so detailed that he must be a spy. As a result, he was forced to leave Toho Studios until the U.S. ceased to occupy Japan in 1952. His footage was later used in American MovieTone newsreels depicting the attack. 6. “Ultraman” Held 2013’s Guinness World Record for Most Spinoff Shows Tsubaraya Productions recognizes 36 of the spinoffs. 7. “Ultraman Land Was Once a Theme Park” Though it closed its doors in 2013, “Ultraman Land” was at one time a bustling theme park run by Tsuburaya Productions in Sunshine City, Japan. Ultraman Was On “The Simpsons” In episode 320, “Tis the Fifteenth Season,” the Simpson’s couch is a street bench in Japan and each member of the family is a famous character: Homer is Ultraman, Marge is Jun from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Lisa is Sailor Moon, Bart is Astro Boy and Maggie is Pikachu.

Though Eiji Tsuburaya died in 1970 just four years after creating Ultraman, his many monster creations live on nearly 50 years later. Catch Netflix’s reimagining the the series April 1, which finds high school student Shinjiro Hayata — whose father donned the Ultraman suit many years before — taking up his father’s mantle (and all of its worries) to become the next generation’s hero.

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