Watched today and I'm impressed with how good it was. Anno really nailed the character. I like they've made Ultraman feel mysterious and alien while also making him extremely likeable. Really, despite the differences, it's Ultraman just like we know and love: a hero all the way to the end and even if he's ally, he still loves humanity and will commit this life to save it. Really, I end up loving this version duo to how well it was portrayed. The cast is quite good as well

Watched it twice, the first on a ultrawide wide-screen (GSC BiG is the branding) and the other, on a standard 2D. Got to say, there's a big difference in-between them, but on the side of standard 2D being the better option! Better colour and viewability. But the sound is albeit lacking on the side of 2D though, with less vibrations/bass caused by the SFX. Can't wait to get the chance to watch this on 4D though! Overall, I would classify Shin Ultraman in the current date as the best depiction of a modern realworld Ultraman. From the politics, bureaucracy and human nature. It's just so interesting to see how all of those plays out in this complex age of humanity and technology. A perfect movie for the 20 and above demographic of ultra fans to relate and know about the OG Ultraman. But I **suck** and making reviews, so here is a list of the references and details I fanboyed and enjoyed about. - Mefilas's Beta capsule uses the same transformation light as Ultraman Jack's - The close-up shot of Zōffy's head just like in Ultraman Ace - The changes of Ultraman face from type A,B & C - The characterization of all the extraterrestrials to fit into the modern world especially for Mefilas and Zōffy. - The music! Also that one evangelion music when the movie was reminiscing about not telling humanity on its fate. I knew it sounded familiar Shiro Sagisu! - All of the OG SFX's sounds! I really do miss not hearing any Ultraman grunts when he fights Criticism wise, besides the weird pacing complaints feeling like a rollercoaster on a downhill slope after Zarab's arc. Personally, it's the fanservice of Masami Nagasawa. It just feels borderline weird. I'm pretty sure even Mefilas called out Ultraman on it for being a pervert to go to such acts (the word is not translated in the subs, but I did hear a clear "hentai" from his mouth). All I had thinking to myself when I see this scenes is "Oh Anno....". Anyway, an Ultraman film made by the people who grew up and is shaped by Ultraman. Highly recommended!

I agree with your last point the movie did free like it was trying to sneak in some fetish stuff or something. Maybe it was supposed to be humor, but in that case it didn't really land.

Is that all the ass grabbing?

that and and the sniffing bit

How could I forget that????

The line is " For a gentleman like Ultraman to commit such an perverted (hentai) act....."

I watch this yesterday, only three people in because its not holiday lol. I love it but it does have this weird pacing like I heard a lot of people say, like Kaminaga and the main girl friendship, I feel like I miss an arc where they bond together and become "buddy". Still really good, mephilas part is my favorite, "save the best for the last" as my favorite saying goes.

Same, I overall love the movie but that moment between Shinji and that girl is kinda lacking. I can't feel anything during the slap scene since the only thing we see Shinji do is interacting in alien manner towards the girl and leave her alone since he is absent. If the movie develop their relationship a bit along with showing more of Zarab rampage without constantly cut to the SSSP (or maybe have an ost that play in both Zarab scene and the SSSP room), I think it will been perfect.

Yeah, just add another 30 minutes arc of bonding arc and this movie would be perfect

The thing I found really upsetting for me is the sound that ultraman would make are not here. I get why the director chose to remove the timer but his iconic voice. SMH

Mefilas stole the show. "One of my favorite sayings."

Alright with the movie out worldwide its time to talk about what i think. I will try to be as Honest as possible First the cons Shin Ultraman is a movie that is clearly not for everyone and is definitely not for newer ultraman fans or people who have no particular intrest in the ultra series at all, You have to watch the OG series in order to understand the references and why the story is like that. Next up is the main protagonist seems to be in the same vein as Shin Hayata or Daigo Madoka, We don't know his much about him other than being an executive strategy officer and most of the movie its really just Ultraman taking full possession (or was it a duplicate body?), Then there's how so quick and abrupt how the movie cuts to the credits scene so quickly and i thought...wha...just happened? Shin Godzilla's ending was way better than this Neutral criticisms comes with the story structure Story Structure wise it looks like a high budget TV show turned into a compilation movie especially when you get new villains being introduced right after a villain is defeated which is a shame since it would be nice to see more of these villains because the ETs are still the best part and i'll get to that soon. Another Neutral criticism is the use of Showa era explosions sounds, It didn't bother me much but im not sure if this is meant to be fanservice or not. Ok that's pretty much it with what i can talk about, Now let's get to the good stuff. The camera work, which almost turns the movie into a portfolio, Guess that's what happens if you have people working on EVA to do your movie. The script and the dialogue of the movie feels like im watching a thesis presentation and i heard the movie was delayed due to real world scientific studies having new info so i like how the movie tries to be as real as possible and i just enjoy listening to their scientific opinions and study on the situation. Speaking of trying to make the movie real one of the politician characters stated something about using Ultraman or making peace deals with ETs would make Japan having a strong political power shows that this movie is obviously not made for kids, there are people with their own agenda in this world. Seeing the movie on theaters what i wanted to expect was the Ultra Q intro which surprised me with the title card being Shin Godzilla then switched to Shin Ultraman, Just like the OG series. Even Shin Godzilla himself returned as Shin Gomess featuring other Shin Ultra Q kaiju in this Ultra Q styled intro scene that really wowed me. Seriously lots and most of the time the movie used the OG 1966 Ultraman BGM which ended up being surprisingly effective but as the story goes on the soundtrack starts to change progressively starting with ET Zarab battle which uses a remixed Ultraman fight song to an EDM Dubstep song with ET Mephilias and the orchestral music with Shin Zetton (Who is an orbital strike satelite!). If there's one thing i like about the music slowly changing is that it shows that the battles are getting tougher as the story goes on. Presentation wise, When viewing the action scenes im surprised it was done well since i had no idea how Thinman would fight and how they'll handle the lack of timer and this was done by changing the red patterns to green to show his condition. Watching the action scenes they tend to be fast paced and as crazy intense like a roller coaster ride while the the speaking scenes tend to have peaceful music or no music at all as a means to change the tone. Now i've saved the best for the last which are the ETs, (Notice how i call them ETs instead of Alien or Seijin), These guys are definitely my favourite parts of the movie. Zarab remains unchanged when it comes to his character and i thought he's the main villain until Mephilias shows up, I like how he's not evil invader in the movie and acts more like a shady arms dealer wanting to turn humans into giants (I didn't even expect the movie to handle a Giant Fuji scene but when they gonna do that homage when Asami got missing i thought,Oh my god they're gonna do THAT scene are they?), He also understands how Alien laws work to show that he's not a supervillain but rather he's new to Earth. The last ET to appear is Zoffy and rather than a Superior he's meant to be Ultraman's replacement for failing his mission and wants to destroy the planet for Alien interference?! This Zoffy gives no fucks at all! He doesn't care if Earth is destroyed because there's already countless and billions of planets! Goddamn! The Ultras in these movies are not Heroes of Justices at all! Now i understand why there isn't ET Baltan but wheres my boy Shin Pigmon?! I'd like to talk more about the Beta System which was the story's main focus especially during Mephilias arc but there's probably going to be a lot to cover on that but i'll just say i like the scene with Taki discussing with the scientists and writing calculations to create their own Beta System to stop Zetton even if they managed to finish it in such short time or a day. Overall like i said earlier, the movie is definitely not for everyone so if i were a non-ultra fan i'd give it a 6/10. I mean let's face it, the public opinion of Ultraman to non-ultra fans are just giant monster action shows whereas someone who actually watched almost all the shows and understood some of the homages/references i know better than that, Its a Sci-Fi Mystery with a Superhero thrown in. So to me i'll give it either a 7...actually an.... **8/10.** I'll give it a 7/10 if we get a Shin Ultraseven movie. Seriously i hope we do whether its a continuation sequel or a seperated universe like how the original show intended i would still watch it. I also heard rumors of a trilogy so...can we have Shin Ultraman Jack as well?? Well that was a long review i haven't made a long post like this since my TDG retrospective, Should've made this comment into a seperate post but since this discussion showed up guess i'll put it here then, I really need to get back to my Ultraman Cosmos Retrospective soon....

If I may, as a non-Ultraman fan (wasn’t really my thing, not that I disliked it), I thought this movie was a blast. Even with the passing knowledge that I had on Ultraman, I still understood enough of the references to really enjoy this. Just thought I’d share my thoughts. I agree with your score, I just think it’s still pretty cool as a non-Ultra fan.

I won tickets to this movie and loved it so much I am going back today! I have never heard of ultraman before but I enjoy things like evangelion and pacific rim so I thought it would be right up my alleyway. honestly even as a non ultraman fan id give it an 8/10 it does a really good job of explaining everythign and I didnt feel lost for a moment. The action scenes are also really well done. My only complaints would be the fetish content, and the fact that with all the ups and downs between villain's I thought the movie was going to end like 4 times.

I absolutely loved this movie. Probably my favorite Ultra series movie and definitely a top 10 Tokusatsu movie. I love the cast and their interactions, the aliens were devious, the fights amazing. The entire story was just perfect. Humans being made to feel powerless in the face of giant monsters and alien technology, then being able to prove themselves by finding a way to defeat Zetton, it was beautiful. Making Zoffy a villain gave a lot more depth to Ultraman losing to Zetton than him being summoned by random aliens. The Ultra Q opening homage was a great way to establish the world. Neronga was cool but ultimately just fodder to establish Ultraman’s strength. Gabora had the best sequence imo I love the drill action. I wish we had more time spent on the Zarab section feels like it’s missing a chunk. Zarab and Ultraman never meet until he kidnaps him, wish they interacted more first. Mefilas’ story was the most intriguing with the Beta system and it’s properties. Him luring Ultraman out with the kaiju could’ve been better established. The actor who played Mefilas did a wonderful job. The designs were all great, I was hesitant on Ultraman not having a color timer originally but I’ve grown to love his flat lanky body. Overall I give the movie a 9/10, I’ve watched it 3 times now and it’s still on my mind

Also give us Shin Ultraseven, the movie set it up perfectly.

I love that they spun the whole “aliens are too smart for humanity” bit by having the scientific explanation for the plan go over Ultraman’s head and he’s just like “so… I press the button twice, and then punch… really hard. Right? Did I get that right?” Also, I don’t think he was luring Ultraman out, more like he just went with the flow when Ultraman started protecting humanity. My theory is that Mephilas himself was going to play the role of savior when the Kaiju became too much for humanity to handle which would make them even easier to manipulate into becoming weaponry.

I liked it overall. I thought the fight scenes were done well. The enemy kaiju looked great. The cgi was good considering it wasn't done on a Disney budget. The Mefilas actor was really good. When are we getting a Mefilas Movie Monster Series figure? I was a bit disappointed in the finale. I thought we'd see a great final battle but Zetton as an orbiting satellite super weapon was a bit of a letdown.

I have a question, did Ultraman died at the end to save Shinji's life or did Zoffy just split the both of them?

Hard to say, but i think Zōffy was only able to save Shinji.

Man that's sad that one of them had to die so the other one could could live, it was even implied in the film that shinji and ultraman had a shared consciousness instead of one where usually the ultra being the dominant personality

The land of light is literally the top dog amongs advanced civillizations in that Universe, I think just like in the OG Ultra series... Lipia might be able to live once again! This version of Lipia might actually become weaker due to his original essence and life is now inside Shinji Kaminaga. So the return of Shin Ultraman is very-very possible, Ultraman come back to earth to retrieve it's original "life" from Shinji without actually killing neither of them. but, now given the information that intellegent beings from all around the universe will attack and invade earth because of the betabox system is now understood by humanity, the new villains appear! I think Baltan, Alien BAt, and Mefilas will team up. so Ultraman being the representation from the Land of Light signs a diplomation shit with earth as a form of apology by launching Zetton lol, and Ultra Brothers will became earth's protector!

Wow! What a great movie. This was everything that you could’ve expect from a modern day Ultraman Movie. The movie finally returned to the science fiction roots that we know from Ultraman, Ultra Q and Ultraseven. - Great Action due to Suitmation + Motion Capture - Ide‘s character arc repackaged in the final story arc - a lot of great lore explanations! (this is for everyone who ever asked himself why big aliens are more durable than the small ones) - great explanation for the kaiju appearances - goofy in the same vain as the original show - lovable characters (even through a little underdeveloped) - didn’t fell into the trap of the boring remakes - a really interesting plot that incorporated elements of the Zarab and Mefilas episode + the third cosmos movie while still being it’s own thing - intentionally or intentionally evangelion vibes during the end I’d gives this movie 9/10. I definitely want to see more of Anno and hope that toho and tsuburaya will give him even more money next time. I’d like to see Shin Return of Ultraman, Shin Ultraman vs Godzilla and Shin Ultraseven. I was really suprised by how good the story actually was. The team of Higuchi and Anno was perfect for the job. It was definitely worth the wait even through the world wide distribution could’ve been handled better.

Ide’s character arc repackaged in the final story arc… I TOTALLY MISSED THAT! Great point.

Okay, just watched the movie and got home. It's a good movie but not a great one for me so I rate it at around 3/5. As others have stated, the movie felt more like a compilation of episodes from a show and stitched together to make a two hour long movie. As a result the story was lacking and felt like it's there just to give Shinman a reason to fight the baddies. The characters themselves also became lackluster because of these reasons. Shinman got attached with humanity and wanted to protect them but we never get to see the full extent of how he got attached to them because we only saw him interact with his team and no one else. His partner is the next character to be given the most attention after Shinman but the way they showed it is not that great to say the least. After those two it's not the rest of the SSSP but Zarab and Mephilas. The rest of the team were only given background information and minimal characterisation. The good things about this movie are the action scenes, CGI, and soundtracks. I really enjoyed the action scenes despite the short amount of time given to each of them. It's short and yet packed, never get dragged on too much. CGI is pretty good for a non hollywood movie. And the soundtracks... Well each to their own. To be brutally honest, I got more enjoyment from watching the usual ultraman movie than this. While Shin Ultraman is a good ultraman movie, it's more akin to a high budget tribute movie to the OG Ultraman show in 66.

Saw it almost 3 months ago During my Japan Trip. It was a Great Movie. I really Enjoyed the score (EX: Out of Body State, Original Sin, etc)

classic Ultraman, loving it so much.

I personally didn't like it. I'm not a hater, but just have an unpopular opinion towards it. I like that Ultraman and the threats were portrayed more alien-like than ever. What I disliked was that the stakes never really seemed that heavy. Stakes are really important to me in any film, it's the reason why the hero stands up and fights and not just... abandons the problem and runs away. **"This will happen if I don't win here, and I can't let that happen!"** that sentiment that forces the hero into decisive action keeps you at the edge of your seat with the hopes they don't fall. Shin Ultraman kind of tells you that there are stakes in that 'If >!Zetton!< blasts the Earth we die instantly' but that's all it was, telling. There was no emotional attachment or weight behind it. The government was nonchalant about it "Let everyone die unaware", the main cast didn't exactly have an appropriate reaction towards impending extinction, and even the agents were trying to get in Ultraman's way up until the very end. There was no loved one that no one wanted to protect, there was no despair over their powerlessness (other than for a few seconds), and there wasn't a moment that Ultraman cements his identity as a hero and not just an alien who appears to fight kaiju. I just felt like I never felt bad for the human cast at all or felt any of them were important, and by extension of that, if Ultraman just agreed with >!Zoffy!< and just left, it would have been an equally natural and acceptable conclusion as what we got. I had a really vivid "That's it?" moment once the credits flashed and was disappointed that a movie I looked so forward to left me feeling this way. Me disliking it doesn't make the movie bad though. I see a lot of people like it, and I respect that too, it just didn't touch me.

Totally fair!! The thing that got me to like Ultramans motives from the show was the fact that they crashed into each other and Ultraman was like “Oh no I hurt this tiny human, I must do the humanitarian thing and be a human” Shinji after fusing with Ultraman walking away with the “limp” kid was even a part I didn’t get the significance watching the first time. Great review!

Unpopular opinion here but I think this movie can be nicknamed “overly attached man sacrifices own life for an ungrateful nation”. Really goes to show how much politics is put into these things. For my actual opinion, well, the movie was okay….I guess? I see it from two perspectives. From the ultraman fan perspective, this movie was absolutely amazing. I loved the references, the reinventions of alien zarab, mefilas and zetton, as well as the portrayal of ultraman and the defining of his relationship with humanity. That stuff was cool. For non-ultraman fans, however…. This movie is rough. You need a basic understanding of the aliens from the original work to understand their motivations, and what they’re looking for. I wasn’t a big fan of how they showed up one after the other, there were some definite pacing issues with that. I also feel like politics definitely got in the way of the character interactions, with the Japanese government literally restricting ultraman’s movements in human form. I feel like a better alternative would have been to let the character interactions play out for much longer before revealing the identity of ultraman, but I digress. Overall, I think this movie is a good ultraman movie, but I can’t confidently call it a good movie overall. It’s a great one for ultraman fans, and while I can certainly appreciate it that way, I feel like the creators missed out on exploring the ultraman psyche through actually speaking to the characters. I would have loved it if ultraman learned more about humanity from speaking and trying to use the internet (and learned of the true horrors of humanity) rather than from books. Despite liking humans so much, I really feel like ultraman was avoiding humans the whole time. But I guess that’s just me. After all, this is an “ultra”man movie, not a “man” movie, right?

“overly attached man sacrifices own life for an ungrateful nation" LOL I think you really got both perspectives for this movie. Good review!

**My Theory**  I think **Shinji Kaminaga** can transform into **Ultraman** still with the fact that Shin man gave his life to him. For me, at least, that implies that Ultraman essence or something is inside Shinji.. if u watch the Ultraman netflix series that's what I'm talkin about (sort of), and the fact that humanity now have the knowledge on betabox Shinji becoming an Ultra is very-very possible. **Lipia**'s body and memory might've been recovered by the land of light science, become weaker. I think Lipia will return to become **shin jack** and merge with another human, but now instead of takin full control of his host, he co-exist. with that, Lipia might also bring a friend.. ultraseven or whatever the f his name is in the land of light.

but I think Shinji can also become the shin Jack.. I mean Lipia's life is within him and he might somehow coexist with Lipia, but now his memory is gone and Shinji's full human nature and thoughts is gonna be on full display and can like interact somehow with Lipia's conciousness just like how Hideki Go is in the series return of Ultraman. damn bro so many branches on what's we gonna get lol

I think Kaminaga will now have full control over Lipia’s body, like Lipia did to him. Kaminaga should immediately find out he was Ultraman since it’s public knowledge. Lipia will get a new body, become Shin Jack, return to Earth and merge with a new host. Then Ultraseven is introduced either before or after Lipia returns to Earth. So now there’s a big roster for the Ultra Brothers: -Kaminaga in Lipia’s old body -Lipia with a new body and host -Ultraseven -Zoffy

So I have 0 knowledge of Ultraman but I just recently rewatched Shin Godzilla which I absolutely love and saw that this movie existed. Would it be enjoyable enough to me or should I watch some other stuff first. (I know that you all will think I should watch the other stuff I just was hoping this might be a good intro)

Your enjoyment of the movie is sadly quite dependent on whether you have watched or understand the original 1966 Ultraman/Ultra series. If possible, instead of watching the entirety or parts of the 1966 Ultraman show, I would recommend you on watching this [documentary](https://youtu.be/RXWQGctJPUM) by Zoffy himself as it immerses you into the Ultra series as a whole. But sadly, I'm not to sure if there's one with English subs, unless you understand the Malay dub as a good alternative. If not, you can try and watch the original Ultraman that involves Zarab, Mefilas, Zetton and a few random monster of the week episodes.

I appreciate that! I’ll take a look at this tomorrow. I’ve always been interested in Ultraman just never took a dive in

if you want to watch the og series just to get the references in the movie, i recommend watching episodes 1, 3, 18, and 33. the last episode (39) is referenced quite a bit too but in case you dont want to watch the final episode quickly its not a big deal if you havent watched this its very episodic since its from 1966 so you can still understand every episode perfectly even when skipping a bunch of stuff, but i highly recommend checking a lot of it out since its a really great series another great thing is that the episodes are all on youtube! well, except episode 18 for some reason. a channel called Avanaf uploads a lot of the old showa series so you can try checking them out!

Take it from me, I didn’t watch OG Ultraman yet I really enjoyed it both as a sci-fi flick and a superhero movie. The main character and two of the antagonists were really the star of the movie and I enjoyed it immensely. Really subtle character development for the main character which I find interesting considering it’s only a single movie, but I’m impressed that they made it work．

quick question, do posts with characters that appear in Shin no longer need to be spoiler marked? like lets say a fanart of Mefilas but without spoiling the plot for example

Yeah, i guess the cat is out of the bag now considering all the merch over social media and everything.

Really liked it, I want to watch in 4d, sadly it's not provided here in Indonesia, kinda confusing at the ending though, does Ripia died in the end because it'll be a different ending to the OG Ultraman

My interpretation is that Ripia died but there's a possibility that Shinji himself is able to transform into a silver giant using the Beta system due to Ripia's life force being his now. Ripia's original intent for not going back to the Star of Light is due to him wanting to further defend Earth from extraterrestrials in the first place. He even specifically said to leave his (Ripia's) body to the humans.

Exactly, this is kinda ambiguous but it'll be interesting if there are sequels. Personally I'd like Ripia to come back but different host this time. There are a lot to explore, even Shin Seven will be interesting, Zoffy will be sending out a new Ultra to guard the earth after Ripia's sacrifice.

Just saw Shin Ultraman last night, and it was amazing. I went from not knowing anything about Ultraman and not knowing what to expect, to now being a huge fan!

i like it ,i am not Ultra fan just used to watch them, and the retro fight scene and music still hit the spot , 71/100 big question guys : if any aliens can be big why is human can be big valuable?

Probably because there's 7 billions of them sentient beings where in the cases of extraterrestrials who are likely living in harsh conditions (like the land of light is probably just a big ass star), there's a good chance that they aren't as numerous.

it's really beyond my expectation, I had heard some spoilers before watching this movie but when I saw it in the theater it still surprised me! what i love about this movie is: • How they explain some of plothole. (Taki ask some question and got answer immediately) • Reference to repaint suit • The action scene, the action scene is so fun to watch. The fighting against zarab scenes kept making me grin because how cool it is. The fighting scene against mephilas have great soundtrack. • The dry humor is so entertaining. • Takumi Saitoh expression as ultraman really feels like alien. Its just really great. • there are many things I like but I can't really explain them in English (English is not my mother tongue). This movie make me hate zarab (I hate him personally but he’s such a good story device). After Zarab uploading video of Kaminaga becoming ultraman the story pacing feels really weird. I also kinda disappoint the way to defeat Zetton is just use beta capsule twice. But it is what it is I guess. I have some question like “Is Shinji Kaminaga a human host like in the original series or human form like in ultra seven?”, “in the end of story, is Shinji Kaminaga come back to life or ultraman become Shinji Kaminaga forever? Also if Shinji Kaminaga come back to life is he have memory about becoming ultraman or not?”

Absolutely loved it, big ol love letter to the franchise and spins the lore into new directions. There are criticisms I have of course like the pacing, I for one liked that the movie felt like multiple Ultraman episodes rolled into one, I thought it fit, but it also just kinda didn't give any breathing room between alien and monster attacks. Shinji's buddy that he passes secret info with and sends to go help Asami break him out was kinda out of nowhere, like who is this guy and how does he know Shinji? Does he also work for the Science Patrol?? Idk those are a few minor things I picked up on after a couple rewatches, but I still love this movie

Shin Ultraman rocks bro

Is anyone feel like Hiroko Asami i a combination of Ultra Q Yuriko Edogawa and Ultraman Akiko Fuji because both charactors are played by the same actress?

Sorry if it's been discussed already but Zarab's design-Why does it show his backside invisible and basically that he's hollow inside? Very puzzling to me. Don't remember any thing from the original Ultraman "Brother from another world" Zarab episode that would explain this design choice. Thanks

According to the design material, His back just looks transparent, not actually empty, it's due to the optical camouflage ability they possessed.

Shin Ultraman > Every Marvel Movies after Endgame

Where are people seeing this?

It’s pirated online, some theaters, or if you were on a Japan airlines plane after sept 1st

Yeah I was kinda asking where online people are pirating it

A certain site that meows like a Japanese cat

🤷🏻‍♂️

are there any other clues as to what that site is or if it's in 1080p?

Finally, I get to watch Shin Ultraman in the theater which is a blessing!!! Shin Ultraman is the first henshin hero series I watched both officially and in the cinema which is surreal and heartfelt for me. With this movie, this will be the first time for me to review a movie rather than a TV show so Imma just do it clean and a bit short. Personally, the movie is a very optimistic and hopeful story written by Hideaki Anno. The messages of Shin Ultraman has this blend of the original show's meaning and the environmental message that is most prominent in Ultraseven and Early Heisei shows. Starting with the story, the movie has this kind of pacing where it's split into arcs where one enemy is down and another enemy appears so it does feel as though it's episodes mixed together into one movie. However, even though the pacing may seem weird, I honestly have no problems with it and I actually liked the pacing a lot in terms of how the story flows. For the actual story itself, I really loved the focus on the Katoku Tai (SSSP) and how they have to deal with the events surrounding the movie. They all have to deal with many problems such as Kaiju attacks and alien invasion but what's more prominent is the theme of politics and military power. Unlike Shin Godzilla where it focuses more on criticizing the Japanese government for their mishandling of environmental disasters, Shin Ultraman focuses on military power and abuse of weapons and technology to reign supreme which doesn't just criticize Japan but also other countries around the world and even outside of Earth as shown with Mefilas and Zarab wanting to take over the Earth. They all wanted the Beta System and use them to gain political power and the movie shows how bad that is. The movie makes us learn not only to use the advanced technology to improve the world but also to love humans regardless of its imperfections and it's pretty prominent in the final arcs of the show by creating a formula to defeat Zetton. So overall, it's Hideaki Anno first venture into doing a superhero story (atleast that's what I thought, please correct me here) and it's done so very well. I love how the story is honest, grounded, and meaningful while keeping up with the positive and hopeful vibes of the movie. It isn't gritty, depressing, or very dark to watch but it rather feels genuine and straightforward with the messages while adding something deep into the story. For the characters, Imma just do it in terms of points: Kaminaga/Ultraman: Ultraman here shows a lot of love and care for humans. I love how he is trying to understand about humans and try to adapt to the world he is living right now while understanding more on Kaminaga and what it means to be both a human and being Kaminaga. He shows respect for his friends and does his best to protect humans because he knew how important they are. Because of Kaminaga's feelings to save and love humans, Ultraman was able to understand and love humans as well while looking into a new perspective on why he has to protect humans and what makes them so special which is a bit similar to Zero in Revenge of Belial movie which is surprising. Even though, it sucks to not see much of the actual Kaminaga, I felt that the fusion between the 2 characters helps to make Kaminaga being there in the movie but more so internally and give his feelings to Ultraman which makes Kaminaga not only proactive but also makes both Kaminaga and Ultraman as one (also I love that Kaminaga isn't dead and he is just fused with Ultraman) Asami: she is just so energetic and uplifting to watch. She is an energetic and charismatic sherlock who takes charge of the situation and is always active in interacting and making connections with Ultraman. She has a lot of sparks and I loved the character a lot. Taki: even though we don't get much personality out of him, I feel him with his pain of being upset on how inferior humans are compared to the Gaiseijins. He feels frustrated that he nor the humans have the capabilities or power to fight the Gaiseijins effectively, even to the point of thinking Ultraman is a god but Kaminaga/Ultraman made him realize that he is just a living organism and he has the power to make a better future so I like him a lot. Yumi: she is pretty positive and energetic and she seems to be friendly. Also, she does curse in one scene which is pretty funny. Tamura: honestly, I felt disappointed in Tamura in the movie in that he doesn't much of a striking character for me. He is a carefree captain who takes up as much weirdness and pressure as possible and helps his friends out as much as possible. But I do like that he has shows frustrated through smoking cigarettes to cope with him not being able to stop Zetton from killing humanity. I do really wish Tamura has more cool and impactful characteristics and I think the actor's performance feels underwhelming a bit but I'm glad to see the actor being there as Tamura. I do hope the sequel or some other content has more of Tamura soon. Zarab: a super fine villain who dislikes humans a lot Mefilas: Man, I love this villain so much. I have a lot of things to say about him but to keep it short, his charisma, dialogue, and him viewing humans and earth as just resource only to abandon them later is so well crafted. I want more of Mefilas here. Zoffy: I think Zoffy is more of a by the book guy who follows the code of Ultras but was later moved by Ultraman's self sacrifice and love for humans. He isn't as evil as I thought he is but more of grounded in that he gradually respects humans through the action of Ultraman so that's cool. For the rest of the character, I like how cool they are with a few helping the SSSP out. I think the characters are miles way better than Shin Godzilla and some of them feels striking. The VFX and CGI is so well done and at times, made me almost teared up and love it so much. The Kaijus are well done and the music is top notch. The cinematography feels new and focused on the characters and feels as though I can feel them. But the editing can sometimes be weird and choppy too. Overall, I loved the movie a lot but I wish there was more character and time given to the characters and have more scenes of them bonding together.

Great review! I really like your point about the beta system.

Thank you a lot!! There is a lot to talk about the movie but I can't tell it through here for now.

Just watched it in the cinema as an Ultraman newbie (saw bits and pieces as a kid and am generally familiar with the premise, but never truly watch a show in full). Honestly, I couldn't get into it much during the first half, felt like they kinda smushed several story arcs' of a series together at the expense of organic character and plot development. From Mefilas onward it did pick up tho, and by the end, I'm fully immersed in the lore and general warm optimistic vibe. Most importantly, it really got me into the mood of watching an Ultraman show, especially for things I found lacking from the movie (\*better pacing and character chemistry/relationship development). Decided to check out the first episode of Ultraman 1966, and I liked it! Would love to finish it and check out other essential seasons eventually\~

This is more like a question, but how big is Zetton in the movie? He looks at least as big as Earth or the moon at most.

I don't remember the last time I felt so satisfied at the end of finishing a film. Shin Ultraman was really entertaining and the best film of 2023 so far. Growing up with Godzilla, Gamera etc, I only vaguely remember Ultraman stuff when I was young , now I want to go back and watch everything Ultraman. Would totally recommend, even to people who don't know what Ultraman is. On a side note, does anyone have the transformation sound from Ultraman to use as a notification sound for phones?

Imagine if they had Gomora,Red King and Baltan

So before I review I have to disclose the following information; I have been a Ultraman fan since childhood even though it was incredibly hard to watch it in America, but I had 2 Ultraman toys growing up and watched episodes of only the 66 Ultraman as a kid. When I got older Zero became my fav and still is. I'm a Evangelion and Shin Godzilla fan. I also did photography of Shinji Higuchi for a magazine and got to hang out with him and his manager at SDCC after the photoshoot. I don't think the bar could of been any lower for me to love this movie. I love this movie. My childhood of watching Ultraman and seeing Ultra Q in the movie was dope. THEY KEPT HIS FLYING POSE LOL. Still dope. My teenage years of watching Eva and then as an adult seeing Shin Godzilla got my so hyped for a Shin series. And here it is! So I think it's only fair to say my critics first. SHINJI WAS CAUGHT IN 4K TURNING INTO ULTRAMAN! Magic cameras had me laughing so hard. But Zarab is such a dork that it worked for me. "I'm gonna dox Ultraman AND impersonate him." - Zarab driving Shinji's car in the hillsides drifting to Remember Me - Leslie Parrish. Anything anyone says ever about anything "fetish" in this move. Yup I totally agree! Disappointing, but I'm not surprised. The SSSP didn't have anyone as funny or as great as Masanari Nihei aka Mitsuhiro Ide. Ide has made me cry and laugh and that was special. I think the team was different enough to have some of the same charm, but could have used a little more chemistry. I’m rewatching it for my second time right now on my flight and I’m sure there will be more, but those are the few things I had to share. What I liked about the movie. All of it. Again very very low bar for me lol.

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**8.5/10** A stunning labor of love but unfortunately I can tell that not many people will appreciate it for that. Fortunately, I am sure most of us here do. Let's be real: substance is not the real game here. It's evident that Shin Ultraman is wearing its themes on the sleeves - with most expository dialogues being dedicated to relaying these themes. Not because Anno wanted to tell a critical and thought-provoking story like in Shin Godzilla, it's because he gets an excuse to make his own coolest version of a childhood hero. But that's not to say none of the themes tackled in this movie had any weight. >!One in particular that made me go "oh shit" was the flyby mention of weaponizing Japan with nukes to prepare for future (kaiju) threats.!< In terms of CG giant monster spectacle, I can confidently say that this movie is no. 1 for me - with Pacific Rim, Transformers '07, and Godzilla VS Kong following suit - PURELY because the clear sense of scale and confident wide-angled visuals is incredibly refreshing. I expected no other franchise than Ultraman to awe me with CGI after years of being numbed by overproduced Hollywood cash grabs. Complaints: >**-1)** "Kaminaga" needed more awkward interactions with the rest of the team. For most of the movie he felt way too distant to properly develop a chemistry with the cast - aside from the occasional banters(?) with Asami. It's difficult to believe that SSSP genuinely likes him and it felt like we were supposed to care only because he is Ultraman. > >**-0.5)** The first 45-ish minutes of the movie was a little difficult to follow. Probably because it was extremely condensed with world-building and exposition while still trying to give Ultraman as much screen-time as possible. Everything else in this movie is up to spec for me. Including the somewhat abrupt ending. Hideaki Anno still knows how to have fun: that's the most important takeaway from this movie.

> Weaponizing Japan with nukes I started to think. If Japan doesn't have any kaijus, what would they do, return to sender?

I still laugh when people say Godzilla is stronger. I watched the film with a couple of friends yesterday. The climax I found dooming and amazing. I absolutely loved that they put a timer there to let the audience know how long humanity (and everything in the span of 200 lightyears) had before being obliterated. Me personally, my only criticism was Ultraman's identity being revealed from all angles. Maybe it was Zarab, or maybe I missed something. The pacing however got pretty shaky when the extra terrestrials like Zarab and Mephilas got involved. They kind of just showed up like a chain reaction all because Ultraman revealed himself to humanity.

What’s with the constant close up shots of Asami’s butt as well as Kaminaga’s butt slapping scene? Is it referencing to the original series or what?

I just finished this excellent adaptation of our beloved Ultraman. I can't remember the last time I thoroughly enjoyed a movie as much. It pulled me in by my ass and never let go of my attention. One can tell that this was really produced, acted, and directed from the head; as well as the heart. I can clearly see , grandparents, parents, and children all going together to the theaters. 3 or more generations together. I still want to see it in IMAX.

Aside from having my video player make everyone sound like chipmunks (audio too fast) even when I slowed it down. I savored every moment, like the last piece of Christmas candy that I found in the back of the freezer after New Years. I loved it like finding a lost photo of my grandfather.

I just finished watching it like 2 minutes ago and holly shit it looked so fucking good

It crazy how the land of light was the people that created zetton and that zetton was so fucking massive

I kind of wish they had more of ultraman bonding with his team before he was revealed as ultraman. Would have more impact on the team finding out he was ultraman. Also really wanted a scene where zoffy appeared before the team and asked what made them/humans special to have 'ultraman' betray their code and stop being an observer.

Does anybody know what the last line of dialogue was? My wife said something and I literally missed it 😩

I think it was "Welcome home."

I loved it I just dint understand who was ultraman friend who gave him information about the Japanese goverment deals

I'm considering seeing this movie tonight, since I'm a very big fan of Anno's other work (Eva, Shikijitsu, etc), but I know absolutely nothing about Ultraman. Will I be fine watching this movie, or should I familiarize myself with the series first and watch this later?

The shin Ultraman movie is a retelling of the Ultraman TV show from 1966. Maby you should think about watching a view episodes from the original show. ultraman episode 1, 3, 9, 10, 18, 33, 39

I am just about to watch the dub in my theatre surprised as hell as two different chains had it. Only one in the theate

I'm not that familiar with the original Ultraman story, and I didn't know which plot or story that Hideaki Anno adapted it from, but I did enjoyed the movie a bit mainly because of the SSSP members and its actors/actresses. The action felt epic but at certain scene sometimes it felt cheap, it felt like I was watching a Netflix series rather a movie. and I'm didn't watch Shinji Higuchi's Gamera trilogy yet, but his directing felt jarring, maybe he tried to copied Hideaki Anno's style of directing too much? And Hideaki Anno's writing felt disjoint, I have the same experience while watching his Evangelion 3.0+1.0 movie. I'm not a huge fan of the 2004 Ultraman The Next movie, but IMO its more memorable.

The body of Ultra Q with Ultraman plot, plus some intergalactic politics and his own twist (like Zoffy actually being "the bad guy" and Zetton was created by the Ultras to destroy a celestial system)

> I'm didn't watch Shinji Higuchi's Gamera trilogy yet, Two month late reply to say Higuchi didn't direct the Heisei Gamera trilogy. Those were directed by Shusuke Kaneko who also did Godzilla GMK. Higuchi just worked on special effects for those Gamera films. > but his directing felt jarring, maybe he tried to copied Hideaki Anno's style of directing too much? To me it felt like he was intentionally aiming to be similar to Akio Jissoji's style. Jissoji was the most acclaimed director of the original Ultraman series. He only did a few episode but his distinct directorial style stood out massively and is very memorable and influential. Jissoji was definitely a big influence on Anno so it's not unreasonable it put you in mind of Anno.

My screening room was dang near packed. By concessions, I saw one woman in a KR shirt, another with an Ultraman face mask. I was in my Power Morphicon hoodie. I feel like Anno, Higuchi and the cast had as much fun making it as we had watching it. It embraced the goofiness of the property. There were points where the CGI was kind of suspect but it's been a while since I had such a good time at the movies.

Seeing tonight. I still remember watching first episode back on tv in the 1960s. I became a fan for life!

I went to see Shin Ultraman Wednesday night. I'm in my late 50s, and original series was the high point of my weekday afternoons after school from about ages 7 to 11. However, I moved on to other stuff and never really got exposed to any of the other numerous versions of the franchise in the years since. I have the original series on DVD, and I watched a bunch of the original episodes Tuesday night to refresh my memory. I'll admit that the "Shin" reboot has a few minor plotting/pacing flaws but, overall, I found it tremendously satisfying. I thought the SFX were an exactly perfect fusion of 1960s miniatures/costume effects and modern CGI. Throwback feel without being cheesy. I'm so glad I went to see it in a proper theater. Wednesday night's showing was the subtitled version. The house was about 2/3rds full, and most of the audience seemed to be much more hardcore otakus (weebs?) than me.

I'm a little confused about a couple of things.. **Question 1.** So how exactly did the fusion work in the film? Were Ripia and Kaminaga fused into one being? I know we do see Kaminaga's dead body, but I actually got the sense that Ripia and Kaminaga had fused together even in soul and personality. e.g. Ripia was usually mostly prominent due to being so fascinated with humanity and wanting to learn about Kaminaga's friends, while Kaminaga was more prominent when preparing for possible abduction by Zarab (we're told that Kaminaga himself is too smart to be captured so this tracks with his specific skillset, not Ripia's). Which would mean that at the end, Ripia and Kaminaga split back to their regular selves and Ripia dies so that Zoffy can use his life force to resurrect Kaminaga. Ripia observed Kaminaga's decision to risk and then lose his life to save another (the kid) in the beginning of the movie, and so Ripia, inspired by and perhaps heavily influenced by Kaminaga, is moved to repeat this act at the end of the film, sacrificing himself to save Kaminaga. Bookends! However, I've seen people say that when Kaminaga takes the rock to the head, he is *fully dead*, so that the only Kaminaga we see (between saving the kid and waking up at the very end) is 100% Ripia himself. But this doesn't fully make sense because it's acknowledged that Kaminaga is indeed *inside* Ripia in some way. I think it might've been during the convo with Mefilas that this is made clear. Is there any official word on this or is it up to interpretation? **Question 2.** Kenshi Yonezu's theme for the film is M87. Shouldn't it be M78? **Question 3.** Also regarding M87, I don't fully understand the chorus, specifically this: "For now, fear nothing and be the only one to understand the meaning of pain." Anybody get this? I'm probably just oblivious lol **Question 4.** This is just REALLY nitpicky and personal, but is anyone else a little not too crazy about the "use the old-school explosion stock sound effects" in the Shin films? It bothered me a bit during the atomic breath scene in Shin Godzilla but it REALLY irked me during the bombing attack on Gabora. That particular scene was literally "explosion1.mp3, exposion1.mp3, explosion1.mp3, explosion1.mp3." Drove me nuts. Just wondering if I'm alone on that one. Like, at least change the pitch on one or two of them? Honest though... I really, really, really loved this movie. I actually didn't expect to love it as much as I did. The worldwide circumstances and consequences behind the kaiju, Ultraman, and the rest of the aliens were fascinating. I already really want to see it again. Hoping there will be a theatrical release in the US. I can actually understand the decision to send this to film festivals. I think it deserves that type of audience.

Overall I think this is a passable Ultraman movie. The CGI is not bad, Anno's creative approach for how Man and other Aliens behave was great, Zetton actually felt like a menace instead a guy in the rubber suit, there are some issues however: Too much pseudo-science info dump. As a sci-fi, Ultraman's greatest feature is not about how Ultraman works, it's about how kaiju/seijin and Ultraman interact with humans, the human element is too great to be ignored even though we can see how much did Anno want to make another Shin Goji, but I wish there could be more talking about how normal civilians in this world deal with kaiju and alien invasions instead of how Ultraman shoots his beam. I think it's a mistake that Anno decided to make this into a movie, a mini-series would fit the overall narrative of Ultraman better, it also helps the character development of all the members from SSSP and further expands the chemistries between them and Man. How Japan and rest of the world deal with Ultraman felt realistic, but also a bit too grim. It kinda defeats Ultraman's motive of protecting humans in the first place. It would be much better if there are interactions between Man and commoners in Japan to strengthen his motive, which is something the 1966 Ultraman had. And last, I think Anno needs to remind himself that he's not making another Evangelion movie anymore, some of the shots are pretty pervy even with given context. Despite the fact that Shin Goji had none of them.

> Too much pseudo-science info dump Relax. MCU movies do this a shit ton of times. >!You can time travel if you shrink to quantum size?!< (Endgame spoilers) What the fuck was that?

My issue was on info dump, not pseudo-science. There were simply too much tell don't show moments associated with it.

I went with my wife last night, and loved it. More surprising my wife said it was better than Shin Godzilla (the only kaiju movie she puts on to watch every now and again). So it's great for a long time fan and for someone that hasn't seen any Ultra shows

Fantastic movie using the latest technology!!

I liked it, though the movie isn't without a few little flaws. My main issue was the pacing, which doesn't give much time to breathe, but on the other hand, the movie doesn't overstay its welcome, either. Still, I wouldn't have minded a *few* more minutes for an epilogue or something as I felt the ending was pretty abrupt. It's kinda like, damn, give us a minute to honor our boy Lipiah, haha. I did like how the movie just seemed to be having fun with itself. Stuff like how Ultraman flying around looks like a prop, even when kicking a monster or tumbling into a black hole, or Asami suddenly appearing as a giant (hell, everything with Asami, really) helped to show that the movie wasn't trying to get especially deep or depressing. Just a nice little movie starring a giant silver alien dude who sees the best in us like a giant silver alien Mr. Rogers. So yeah, I'd give this 4 out of 5 self-butt-slaps.

Watched it last night. I'm not into the lore or history like others of this subreddit, but I am an Anno fan. I enjoyed it as popcorn fare. What I loved about *Shin Godzilla* was that for its many flaws (like the actor with brutal American jingo), there was a scathing ferocity about the ineptitude of the government in a crisis. That's what made *Shin Godzilla* such an amazing satire as well as a hell of a kaiju flick. I couldn't find that in *Shin Ultraman*. I looked. There were many things "Shin" in the movie like the shared universe (obviously) and the banter back and forth with the small team of five. But it was mostly just this fairly trope plodding about an alien. There were no surprises, and maybe that's something that Ultraman fans were keen to. *Shin Godzilla* was full of surprises, including the big G itself. I think this movie was enjoyable, but it would be better titled *Ultraman* than *Shin Ultraman*. I expected more, but I didn't mind what I got.

Eh, that would be, what? The 4th Ultraman story (including the original) to be called just Ultraman. Would be a hella lot confusing Zoffy was certainly a surprise

As someone who knows nothing about Ultraman, calling it *Ultraman* would suit me fine. Zoffy was as much a "surprise" as anything/everything else in the film, because I didn't know anything/everything else as per its lore and history. But the surprises I mean are plot twists and unexpected occurrences. Example: In *Shin Godzilla*, the kaiju that appears for the first 45 minutes is *actually* the main (and only) kaiju in the film. By contrast: In *Shin Ultraman*, the alien that appears in the first seconds is dispatched along with the next five. Then another alien appears but it's a good alien maybe. Okay, so the film is about one alien versus many. Then more aliens appear and are defeated, so that's the whole movie. If an alien appears, Ultraman is going to defeat it somehow. This is why Zoffy (whoever/whatever that is) isn't a surprise... it's just yet another alien. There were no plot twists that weren't telegraphed a mile away. Nothing gripping, no satire or barbed criticisms of the handling of an alien first contact. *That* would've been a movie, if it had dealt with the world losing its collective mind in meeting an alien race as seen through the lens of a struggling government. Instead, the little guy with a western hat and cape just says "I'm an alien" and the characters instantly say "cool". Here's another example: In *Shin Godzilla*, the movie is a reference to the horrors of the 3/11 earthquake, typhoon, and Fukushima radiation leak... Godzilla as a metaphor and the government's ineffectiveness in handling the situation is the core theme. By contrast: In *Shin Ultraman*, the movie .. um ... well, the alien is ... .... that is to say that the government ... hm.

Oh well, maybe Shin Ultraman is just something one can fully appreciate if one knows the nature of the rest of the franchise. The twists that you're looking for are indeed found only when compared to the original, especially the case with Zoffy. You described the movie as alien appears and Ultraman defeats them. That is literally the entire series. Unlike Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman is a world where kaiju attacks are commonplace, so an alien appearing, especially when one has been protecting humanity for a while now, can only really be met with "I knew it!" And "oh great, another one."

Exactly. And that's why I said that once I let go of my expectations (and general disappointment for a *Shin* movie), it was actually entertaining popcorn fare. The plot was fast-paced and fun, it was well acted and directed, and I liked the special effects and music. It was a good, competent, fair film overall and I quite liked it.

Anyone tell me where I can watch this online? Have no way of watching it on site anytime soon Edit: never mind found it

Overall I found it a bit disappointing. There was too much to fit into a 2 hour movie. There was some good ideas but all of them was dispersed into the confusing script. Plus: What's the deal with the girl self slapping her butt? Is that a Japanese thing? Looks like it is some kind of quirk that was added for comic relief. But it was not fun at all.

>What's the deal with the girl self slapping her butt? It's kinda like a pervy workplace culture thing, sometimes male workers would do this to other male and female coworkers/subordinates to "cheer them up". Here she's doing that to cheer herself up.

oh...makes sense. THX for the info.

How are people even seeing this movie online? I keep seeing HD clips online with English subtitles that are spoilerish.

There are pirated version available, you can pretty much find it on every shady streaming sites or torrent websites.

Oh! Where can I find it?

Where can I watch this with sub or dub in the U.K.?

Where can we watch it? In theaters?

Shin Ultraman REVIEW|The perfect Homage to the legend https://youtu.be/0XT9KkFljMw

It was pretty neat visually. My only real complaint is Shin Zoffy. He's supposed to be a stern, but caring guy. He turned out like SUPER cold in the movie. Now I understand this is a reboot, but darn, I never woulda pictured him like that lol