Ada beberapa nama jalan (atau lebih tepatnya shopping district) di jepang yang diambil dari nama tokoh anime ataupun tokusatsu. walaupun ga menjadi nama jalan, tapi nama astroboy telah ditetapkan sebagai sebuah sistem perdagangan baru di daerah takadanobaba seperti yg udah gw bahas disini. tapi nama astroboy ga dijadikan sbg nama shopping district disana. nah sekarang gw pengen kasih liat contoh nyata dari sebuah tokoh tokusatsu yang namanya diabadikan sebagai nama jalan atau shopping district, yaitu ultraman!

Sebelumnya gw udah pernah nemuin sebuah nama jalan dari tokoh anime yang gw temui secara ga sengaja! waktu itu sempet selama 2 bulanan tiap weekend gw jalan2 utk explore daerah2 ga terkenal di tokyo tanpa cari tau ttg tempat yg gw datengin via internet hehe. nah tiba2 gw nemuin jalan tsb (blm gw angkat topiknya, ntar di postingan selanjutnya ya!). semenjak itu gw jadi semakin penasaran dgn nama2 jalan yg diambil dari tokoh2 anime/tokusatsu, sampe akhirnya gw temuin lah jalan ultraman ini di sebuah website (bahkan mereka punya blog resminya : klik).

Jalan ultraman terletak di daerah soshigaya-okura (odakyuu line), dari rumah gw butuh sekitar stengah jam perjalanan naik kereta. begitu gw sampe di soshigaya-okura station, gw udah ngeliat ada sebuah spanduk bergambar ultraman yang tulisannya “welcome to ultraman street!”. wah, begitu turun kereta aja udah disambut ultraman! haha. platform kereta ini ada di lantai 2, jadi gw harus turun ke lantai 1 utk keluar dari station, dan begitu gw turun ke lantai 1, ternyata banyak bgt poster ultraman di setiap pilar2 yg ada di dalam station! gila bener2 niat banget orang2 daerah sini, sampe segitunya ngasih apresiasi ke ultraman.

Begitu keluar station, gw lsg menuju ke sebuah peta utk nyari dimana lokasi ultraman shopping district. dan yg lucunya, petanya pun bergambar ultraman hahaha. oh iya sebelum jalan menelusuri shopping districtnya, gw juga nyari patung ultraman yg ada di sekitar station (menurut website), dan ternyata patung itu bener2 ada disebelah stationnya! dan di sebelah patung itu ada pos polisi. si polisi terus ngeliatin gw yg asik foto2 sendiri, kyknya dia kesian ngeliat gw + pengen ngambilin foto gw, tapi dia minta di tanya haha. pada akhirnya gw cuekin aja si polisi. abis itu gw lanjutin dgn menelusuri shopping districtnya.

Sayangnya, ga ada toko yang berhubungan dgn ultraman, mereka ngasih nama jalan “ultraman” hanya krn production house ultraman (tsuburaya) ada beberapa ratus meter dari daerah sana (masih di soshigaya-okura juga). jadilah mereka memberikan nama ultraman shopping district demi menaikkan angka penjualan sekaligus mempromosikan soshigaya-okura kpd orang2, dan terbukti sangat berhasil! gw adalah salah satu korbannya hahaha. oh iya, gw blm sempet jalan sampe ke production house-nya ultraman, tapi suatu saat gw pengen bgt ngeliat lsg kyk apa sih tempatnya.

About a year ago I decided I wanted a large Ultraman in the classic ‘Spacium Ray’ crossed arms pose for display…without paying too much $$$, I found this guy…

(Shown here with the M1 9″ Hyata for size reference)

This Chinese made electronic figure set me back about $40. Made by a company called Ruishi Culture Developing Co. (that’s a strange name) in 2004, under official license from Tsuburaya, I thought it looked pretty good regarding detail and proportion.

It came boxed and attached to a stand with the Ultraman logo…I removed the stand by unscrewing the feet, it just took up too much room! Below is the picture from Ruishi’s website (in English too!)…browse through the ‘Toys’ section and you will see a massive amount of Ultra toys! They make everything from Ultra-underwear to Ultra cutlery!

Here’s a nice Ultra-Mask & Weapon ‘Assenbly’…

Now my one issue with this toy…like I mentioned, it’s electronic, so I popped in 4 AA’s and viola…

Well, besides Ultraman’s weird jerky ‘pop & lock‘ moves…wtf does he say? Sounds like a female voice to me. I do like the little Ultraman theme snipet though.

All in all, I’d say it’s pretty cool for a large display figure… and so what if my Ultraman speaks Chinese and sounds likes girl!

Hyata’s ‘Beta Capsule‘ … just for fun…

From the 1955 Japanese film ‘Jujin Yuki Otoko’ (Monster Snow Man) …that has been banned in Japan for decades!

I bought this figure some time ago and just released it from storage. I wasn’t quite sure what it was when I bought it…some strange Yeti looking dude holding a dead rabbit..??? Strange enough for me to pick up! Header card pictured above.

With a little research, I found out that it is one of two figures released by Osaka Japan’s X-Plus to commemorate the US version of the film entitled ‘Half Human’. The  X-Plus figures pictured below are the 12″ version of the adult ‘Abominable Snowman’ figure that included two interchangeable torsos that feature different facial expressions…but sans dead rabbit…

Why not just have 2 inter-changeable head sculpts? Odd.

The top figure  is the ‘Son’ of the Abominable snowman, complete with dead rabbit carcass…and as an added bonus the dead rabbit articulates at the waist…so you can twist it’s legs into unnatural positions…why???…I really don’t know, but it greatly adds to the bizarr0 factor imo.

The 7″  ‘Son’ figure was produced in 1998 and was available in another colorway (brown), the figure pictured is the ‘grey’ version.

The 1955 Film

I have yet to see this movie. It’s quite hard to come by, and I just refuse to watch the 1958 U.S. hack job called  ‘Half Human‘. The American version cuts appx. an hour of footage from the original and splices in David Carradine as the narrator and star.

The 1955 Japanese original film ‘Jujin Yuki Otoko‘ was made right on the heels of the succesful  ‘Gojira‘ by the legendary monster-movie-making super team:  Ishiro Honda (Dir.), Tomoyuki Tanaka (Prod.), and Eiji Tsuburaya (SFX).

The film was banned for public viewing  in Japan due to scenes in the film that  depict a ‘native tribe’ that too closely resembled Japan’s oldest indigenous inhabitants, living in the northernmost region of the country,…the Ainu,  who primarily reside in Hokkaido.

The ‘native tribe’ depicted  in the film is portrayed as mindless savages…which the Anui surely are not. There has been a long history of prejudice in Japan towards the native Japanese Ainu and Burakumin peoples.

Hopefully. I’ll run across a copy of this film in the near future and be able to give a better review and perhaps post a few scenes. I do dig the figures though!

I’m going to go pose my dead rabbit now…

Namco Bandai’s Daikaiju Battle Ultra Coliseum looks like a lot of fun!

Control Tsuburaya Ultra kaiju using you’re Wii remote…

Really an amazing array of monsters to choose from. I even glimpsed the Dino-Tank!

I love this commercial too… featuring Gomola & Zetton having a Wii battle…in the living room…

Too bad there is no release of the game in the U.S.

Link to the Namco/Bandai Daikaiju Ultra Coliseum main page HERE!

I was finally able to sink my teeth into the latest issue of G-FAN and it was such a great issue… I thought I’d post a little about it.
One of the reasons I loved this issue is the fantastic interview and tribute to living legend… Haruo Nakajima.
Mr. Nakajima was the first to don the iconic suit of Godzilla in 1954 and breath life into the legendary monster. And not just Godzilla, Nakajima portrayed many other well known tokusatsu characters as well, such as Gaira from War of the Gargantuas, Matango, King Kong, Baragon, & Moguera, just to name a few!

Seen in this rare photo…a visibly agitated King Caesar listens in while Eiji Tsuburaya directs Nakajima (in Godzilla legs). King Caesar feels he is not getting enough screen time…

If your interested in early TOHO Studios and tokusatsu history…definitely grab this issue! G-FAN magazine is unceasingly fun to read … I’m always anxious to get my quarterly issues!

Some other great reads that I recommend, that are not too hard to find,  on early TOHO, Godzilla & tokusatsu history…

• Eiji Tsuburaya. Master of Monsters…by August Ragone (‘Must have’ book btw!)
  
• Godzilla On My Mind…by William Tsutsui
• A Critical History and Filmography of TOHO’s Godzilla Series…by David Kalat
• Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star , The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G...by Steve Ryfle
• The TOHO Studios Story...by Stuart Galbraith
  

Oh… by the way… G-FAN was just named in the Chicago Tribune’s list of  their top 50 favorite magazines nationwide!!! God job and congratulations J.D.!

To subscribe to G-FAN…click the cover…

btw…Matango Custom is now finished, just gotta shoot some pics and will have it posted sometime Thursday!

Shown above is ‘Greenmons‘ …the giant flower monster from Ultraman – Episode 5: The Treasure of the Miloganda. I used a 2000 M1-Go mini for the shot. I used an extra light beaming in the side…hoping to create a glowing ‘Sun’ effect.

‘Greenmons’

First discovered by a botanical expedition to the remote Oilis Island, the irradiated Greenmons attacks a surprised team of botanists and reporters, luckily the angry plant is able to be put down by a team member’s revolver. Some time later, back in Japan, the same flowery beast that was presumed dead, returns in the dead of night to take more victims.

After a grisly killing spree, the monster is finally discovered after an attack on one of the Science Patrol’s own. Greenmons is shot again, only to fall and disappear into a reservoir. Dead? Oh…I don’t think so!

For the final showdown,  this time Greenmons returns as a towering flower beast that only Ultraman can stop!

Greenmons was not the first flowery monster to wreak havoc upon Tokyo… first there was…

‘Juran’ the Mammoth Flower from Ultra Q

Ultra Q – Episode 5 ‘The Mammoth Flower’ 1966

After a series of mysterious earthquakes shake Tokyo, ominous looking vines start appearing that are definitely not your typical houseplant variety. The Ultra Q team soon witness the vines mounting an
attack on a hapless human. With the help of a broken bottle and a fire extinguisher (?!) as weapons, the team are able to put a stop to the carnivorous plant…for the time being.

Soon the plant reemerges, though this time it has transformed into ‘Manmosu Furawā’ or ‘Mammoth Flower’, tearing through a building to allow it’s flower to extend. The 300 ft. tall flower soon wreaks more havoc… with deadly vines and a pollen that has the ability to cocoon it’s victims.

After much deliberation and close calls, the Ultra Q team along with a Dr. Ichitani, who’s theories of giant, city destroying flowers were previously scoffed at, decide to put to use the doctor’s plan for destroying the Mammoth Flower…Fixed Carbonic Acid.

Released from an airplane by Ultra Q’s pilot Jun and the doctor, the acid, along with flamethrowers, are able to put down the giant plant once and for all.

The narrator in the end of the program reminds us to be careful of the pretty flowers…as they may rise up to destroy us again….ok, that’s just weird.

…But I like pretty flowers!

…and so does Gabari…(shown with the little M1-Go Greenmons)

Now you have an excuse if your girfriend asks… “how come you never give me flowers anymore?”

“Well, because honey, flowers are evil and will grow hundreds of feet tall and destroy humanity. Now you wouldn’t want that would you?”

Click HERE to visit The Kaiju Art Collection and see the pic grow in size.

Harryhausen…the father of Kaiju? You bet!

Before there was a certain nuclear Japanese giant lizard, there was a burgeoning monster boom happening in Hollywood. With the great success in the U.S. of early monster films featuring Ray Harryhausen’s ground breaking stop motion techniques, Iwao Mori, the big time producer for TOHO studios, set forth to make Japan’s entry into the giant monster film arena.

The first draft for TOHO’s  monster film was called “The Giant Monster from 20,000 Miles beneath the Sea”, hmm…maybe a little too close to the title of Harryhausen’s 1953 “Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” . Despite the obvious title similarities and influence, TOHO’s beast would eventually morph into the most well known monster of all…Gojira!

…and keep a man named Eiji Tsuburaya busy for quite some time.

Why do I bring up Harryhausen today???  Because today is the release of a few choice Harryhausen monster films on Blu-Ray. I am excited about this because I love these films and grew up watching them…forging my passion for all things monsters! I’ve seen these films sooo many times that seeing them in HD is for me…well…Exciting!

If you don’t have a Blu-Ray player, get one if you can…it’s only a matter of time before we’ll see Japanese kaiju eiga classics appearing in Blu format. If you like films as much as I do, the HD experience is really worth checking out. So what if a recession is coming…bailout shmailout…we may not be able to afford food or gas, but at least you’ll have movies in HD, right???

Oh Yeah…

The Cyclops at the top is new for the Kaiju Art Collection. I used the 2001 X-Plus 12″ figure from my collection for the photograph. Cyclops is from Harryhausen’s wonderful “7th Voyage of Sinbad” Click Here to see a larger verion. I hope you like it!!!

Added three new Music files to the sidebar...

Symphonic themes to:

• Ultraman Ace
• Ultraman Taro
• Ultraman Leo

Enjoy!

Now here’s Ultraman Ace giving Metron Jr. a really bad day…

(4) Customs I’m working on now… a special one for Halloween too!

Happy October!

Monster Visionaries:

Ryosaku Takayama (1917-1982) earned the moniker “The Father of  Kaiju” for his work sketching, sculpting, and ultimately bringing to life many of the first wave of Japanese monsters we all recognize and hold dear.

Alongside SFX pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya and visionary artist Tohru Narita, Takayama was tasked with costuming the huge ‘monster boom’ of the late 1960’s, This boom in creativity sparked children’s imaginations and helped propel the television series and films they created into the world spotlight.

The uniquely Japanese aesthetic of the monsters created by Tsuburaya, Narita, and Takayama for shows such as Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultra Seven, and Lion Maru… just to name a few, are immediately recognizable and will always remain a deeply treasured part of Japan’s cultural history. The artist’s legacies carry on to this day by continuing to inspire TV shows, Films, Toys, Artists,…and of course a growing army of Kaiju Art Collectors!

Below is a rare video clip…taking you inside of Tsuburaya Studio’s costume department...

The clip is from the 2006 Documentary “Daybreak of the Kaiju“. Unfortunately this DVD was not released in the USA, so I have no subtitles… or a link to purchase. Definitely pick up this DVD if you can find it though!

How bad would you like to put on one of those Kaiju suits and smash some miniature buildings??!!

The smartly dressed, Cicada head, bad guy from Ultra Q!

Semi Ningen (Cicada-Human) is dispatched to earth, disguised as a human man, by his evil alien Cicada brethren and tasked with controlling (2) Garamon to create all kinds of general havoc in Tokyo.

Our intrepid Ultra Q team discovers a way to stop his source of control over the Garamon by placing a meteorite (Tilsonite) in a special covering that prevents it’s energy from reaching the Garamon…thus ending the attack.
It seems that Semi-Ningen’s alien comrades aren’t too happy with his failure…so they vaporize him.

Don’t Vaporize me Bro!

Here are the final moments from Ultra Q Episode 16 “The Revenge of Garamon”

Enjoy!…and look for actor Akihiko Hirata: Dr. Serizawa from the original 1954 ‘Gojira” and many other Kaiju classics!

For the Kaiju Art Collection Semi-Ningen, I used the 1991 M1Go orange version.

Click HERE to see the new Semi-Ningen much larger.

Rare 1968  ‘Destroy All Monsters/Atragon’ Promo series!

Spoiler warning: The clips basically show the whole ‘DAM’  and ‘Atragon‘ films in about 14 min. Most of the two film’s highlights are touched on.

Part 1…

EDIT: Having some embedding issues…if no vid CLICK HERE

Part 2…

EDIT: Having some embedding issues…if no vid CLICK HERE

One thing that always amazed me about DAM was the complex choreography involved in the final chapter of the film. We get to see Godzilla, Mothra larva, Rodan, Angilas, Kumonga, Gorosaurus, Minilla, and King Ghidorah (that’s a lot of guys in monster suits!) all in one epic showdown!  What a challenge this must have been for Tsuburaya’s SFX team!  I would’ve loved to have been on the set for this…hanging out with Varan on the sidelines.

Buy Destroy All Monsters HERE and Atragon HERE

Rodan/WotG DVD is available TODAY!

Two must-own Kaiju Films in one package! PLUS there is an amazing full length documentary included entitled: Bringing Godzilla Down to Size (link opens SciFi Japan’s great article). This well made doc is worth the purchase price alone. Classic Media has really put together an amazing package here…and all for around $15!!! Click cover art above to head over to Amazon if you want.

You go buy now!

…he can’t see very well.

It looks awfully hot in there too! It must be hard to choreograph kaiju battles when you’re sweating and can’t see!

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EDIT: Having some embedding issue…CLICK HERE if no video.

Yes, they did.

Godzilla’s little jig above will mark a camp turn for our atomic friend’s future.

Most of you have probably seen the famous, eye roll inducing, little dance before from 1965’s Godzilla vs the Astro Monster.  I came across the scene by accident today…and it made me laugh…so I had to post it.

The last Godzilla film by the talented tokusatsu team of Ishiro Honda (Director), Shinichi Sekizawa (Writer), and Eiji Tsuburaya (SFX), is definitely a favorite of mine… despite the tokusatsu two-step.

Released as ‘Godzilla vs Monster Zero‘ in the U.S. in 1970, Monster Zero actually stays pretty faithful to the 1965 Japanese version of the film, something not usually seen, as a lot of the earlier Godzilla and tokusatsu films were butchered incoherently.

It’s not clear why TOHO waited 5 years to release the film in the U.S., though it is commonly held that it was due to American star Nick Adam’s untimely death, shortly after it’s release in late ‘65.

Nick Adams, whom can be seen in quite a few Kaiju Eiga (Japanese monster films),  was also romantically linked to the movie’s stunning female lead, Kumi Mizuno (Miss Namikawa), off-screen.

Hey, we want cool glasses too!

The controversial little jig, called a ’shiee (she-ay) dance’ (performed begrudgingly by longtime, and original suitmation Godzilla: Haruo Nakajima)  was supposedly in honor of a Japanese comedian named Ahso Matsu-kun…a favorite of Tsuburaya’s. Though director Honda felt the dance was ‘disrespectful’ Tsuburaya, whom had become increasingly influential at TOHO by this time, won out and the victory jig stayed in. Tsuburaya had become incrementally more concerned with the ‘child pleasing’ aspects of the Godzilla films…this turn in tone will see some of the more campy, kid friendly Godzilla films throughout the 70’s.

Godzilla will not see a return as a true threat to the world again until… ‘Godzilla 1984′.

Classic Media offers an excellent release of Invasion of the Astro Monster on DVD. The disk features both versions, commentary, and a nice little biography of TOHO producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka,
The DVD is a must for G-fans and newcomers. The film showcases Tsuburaya’s SFX abilities, Honda’s excellent direction, and Sekizawa’s fun, imaginative, & action packed story…and yes, a small amount of dancing.

Surrender yourself to Planet X and get the DVD…

…are we not men

or this could happen to you…

That’s what happened to the castaways in 1963’s Matango!
Matango, also known as Attack of the Mushroom People, is directed by Ishiro Honda, with SFX provided by, the oft mentioned here, Eiji Tsuburaya.

The fungus fueled film tells the story of a group of wealthy castaways who find themselves stranded on a tropical Pacific Island after their luxury yacht wrecks due to a storm.
The castaways soon find remnants of a previous shipwreck…but no survivors. Though it is apparent that the previous survivors were able to stay alive for some time… what happened to them????

Succumbing to starvation, the pitiful castaways are reduced to eating the native mushrooms… not heeding the warning of their own yacht Captain… and a warning of ingesting the shrooms found on the previous wreck’s logbook.

The film descends into psychedelic imagery, and psilocybin induced paranoia, as the castaways come to terms with the discovery of the fate of the former castaways… and glimpse their own.

Click poster for the original trailer…

A darker film for the era, Matango is a study of the dangers of our human excesses and disrespect of nature…a nature that will ultimately and defiantly return the human race to it primordial origins.

Of course I highly recommend this film!
Exciting direction, SFX, and imagery…and yeah…Mushroom Monsters!

For the Kaiju Art Collection ‘Matango’, I used the M1-Go, Hawaiian colorway figure.

Click the Matango coloring page below and visit the gallery! (The coloring sheet came with the figure..and I made the scan large so you can print your own!)

Here’s a little video thingy I made set to music!
If you’ve never seen Ultra Q (the FIRST X-Files), this video will hopefully introduce you to the look and feel of the show.
I was really surprised to find a lack of Ultra Q on youtube!

I posted about Garamon earlier… so I used his debut episode to make this little musical 1:25 tribute video…

EDIT: Well… Tsuburaya Productions didn’t like my little music video and it got taken down…sorry.

Unfortunately the series has yet to be subtitled or dubbed for release in the U.S…. to my knowledge.
The ingenious Ultra Q was created by Eiji Tsuburaya and had a run of 28 episodes in 1966.
The episode used for the video: Episode 13 ‘Garadama’

I wish I could just start uploading episodes… but that would probably get me in trouble.

Click the Ultra Q logo to visit the gallery and look at some monsters!

It’s Woo from Ultraman…Blue Woo!

Woo by  M1-IchiGo is one of my all time favorite (you’re gonna hear that a lot! ) kaiju vinyl’s. The 2001 M1-IchiGo version (used for both Kaiju Art Photographs in this post) is a wonderfully stylized representation of the Snow monster…and it glows in the dark!

Well, at least one vinyl version of M1’s Woo does. M1Go also released a ‘Lucky Bag’ unpainted version, and a very rare special mail-away version (you would send in the unpainted version and M1Go would paint Woo and then mail it back to you). There are also Woos by Bandai, Marmi,t & others.

I’ll be sure to do an article about M1-IchiGo toy co. soon…stay tuned.

Here’s the previous O.G. Kaiju Art Woo I did using the M1…Click to enlarge in the gallery!

Woo makes his debut in 1967’s Ultraman – Episode 30: “The Phantom Snow Mountain” as the misunderstood snow monster who befriends an orphaned girl named Yuki.

Kind of a sad ending in this episode, but you do get to see the Science Patrol go skiing!

A great original Ultraman episode… and you can own it here!

Woo Trivia:

Before the talented Eiji Tsuburaya gave the world Ultra Q and Ultraman…there was ‘Woo’.

‘Woo’ was to be a  television series about a benevolent alien (Woo) who comes to Earth after it’s home planet is destroyed. Woo would eventually befriend the initially hostile humans, and become Earth’s protector from alien and monster invasion. Japan’s Fuji TV wanted an output similar to America’s popular ‘Outer Limits’ & ‘Twilight Zone’ series of the time.

Though Woo was never filmed due to it’s scope, and the demanding technical achievements necessary, it’s essence would live on. Soon after Woo’s dissolution, Tsuburaya’s talents were tapped again to envision a series called ‘Unbalance’. In short… the Sci-Fi, SFX series ‘Unbalance’ would eventually morph into Ultra Q…and from there the rest is Ultra history!

I’ll post more about Unbalance, Woo, and the beginning’s of Ultraman as this blog moves on… but, if you’re interested in the subject, I could never do the job as well as author and tokusatsu expert August Ragone.

To really get the story of Eiji Tsuburaya… the father of all things Ultra…and the SFX wizard behind a certain giant, Atomic, Tokyo hating, lizard… pick up August’s indispensable tome to everything Eiji:

Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters

Even if you’re not into monster movies or Ultraman…you will be after reading this book!

Woo Hoo!

…and speaking of Pigmon, here is my Kaiju Art Collection photograph of the curious creature.

The Pigmon character is actually a repurposed suit from the ground breaking Tsuburaya tokusatsu series ‘Ultra Q’.
In Ultra Q, Pigmon was not the friendly, pint sized kaiju that we’ll see in the more widely known Ultraman series.

In the kaiju’s first UQ appearance, he is a terrifying, alien controlled, 100 ft. tall robot, named ‘Garamon’.
The unsightly robot comes to Earth via an asteroid called ‘Garadama‘ …which is also the name of the episode.

Garamon… actually two Garamon (Garamen??… just kidding) will appear in one more episode of Ultra Q called “Garamon’s Counter Attack“.

Trivia:

• In the Ultra Q credits for Garadama, Garamon’s vocal credit is just given as ‘The Monster‘
• The Bullmark figure, used in the Kaiju Art at the top of the post, is actually ‘Garamon’ …not Pigmon.
• The little symbol seen clearly on the chest of the figure, was removed from the Ultra Q Garamon suit for the character’s use as ‘Pigumon’ or ‘Pigmon’ in the Ultraman series.
• Garamon’s facial features are rumored to be modeled from the sourpuss face of the Scorpion Fish.

First Appearance:

The fiendish ‘Reddo Kingu’ or ‘Red King’ first appears in 1966’s ‘Ultraman: Episode 8′.

The crazed kaiju is discovered on a remote Pacific Island… full of other giant monsters and perils for the Science Patrol.

At the start of the episode, a team of four people are dispatched to the island for a scientific research mission…unaware of the dangers that await. Shortly after their arrival, all but one of the doomed scientists will be killed by the freakish residents. The surviving scientist will be saved and cared for by a friendly, human sized kaiju, named Pygmon…
aka Garamon from Ultra Q

Without a doubt, the most fearsome resident of this island is our 150 ft. tall subject…Red King. In this action packed episode we find out that Red King seems to be quite territorial as well, as the temperamental beast will attack any other monster that comes near him!

First battle: Red King defeats kaiju Chandler…first by ripping off one of the monster’s wings, then pelting it in rage with the wounded beast’s own detached limb… and some boulders…as the dying kaiju flees.

Next contest: Kaiju Magara, who narrowly escapes Red King by burrowing in the ground, but is later killed by the Science Patrol.

Finally, In a sad twist, the benevolent Kaiju Pygmon is crushed and killed by boulders… thrown by the enraged Red King. Little Pygmon dies in an act of self sacrifice…trying to distract Red King from the Science Patrol.

Ultraman will engage Red King in the final moments of the show, tossing him about mercilessly… but, in the end… Ultraman will only succeed in knocking Red King out cold.

Red King II:

We’ll see the unsightly monster rear it’s tiny head again in ‘Ultraman: Episode 25′.

Early on, we find out that the mighty Red King II is now even more lethal… he has swallowed an Atomic Weapon! This encore appearance also sees Red King terrorizing two more kaiju…Dorako & Gigas.

A massive three-way battle is witnessed! …First to lose it’s limbs (wings), by the hand of the green menace, will be Dorako. Gigas will escape death from Red King by fleeing, but again…Gigas will be slain later by the Science Patrol.

Ultraman has his hands full fighting the Atomic Red King…but in the end, Ultraman finally cuts the monster down to size (in thirds to be exact) by using his energy beams. The head/neck of Red King will be flown into space where the Atomic Weapon inside it detonates without harm.

You can see other incarnations of this popular kaiju resurrected in quite a few of the various ‘Ultra’ series episodes that come later on as well.

The brash Red King is definitely a favorite kaiju of mine. The battles which feature him are some of the funnest to watch in the first Ultraman Series!

Click the ‘Kaiju Art Collection‘ Red King above to see him full size!

…and check out the original Ultraman on DVD to see the green behemouth in action!

The Series:

1971 gets a third installment of the ‘Ultra’ series (4th if you count Ultra Q) called  ‘Kaettekita Urutoraman‘ or ‘Ultraman Returns’.
After SFX pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya’s passing in 1970, his first son Hajime takes over the legendary Tsuburaya Productions and ‘Ultraman Returns’ takes shape.
The new Ultra-series will span 51 exciting episodes between April 1971-March 1972.
Ultraman Returns will keep to basically the same formula of it’s successful predecessors… ‘Ultraman‘ & ‘Ultra Seven’.

Plot: In short…

Our hero, a race car driver named Hedeki Goh, is killed while saving a young boy during a monster attack.  An ‘Ultraman’ witnesses Hedeki’s sacrifice and bestows his life energy and powers to the driver.

Goh is now alive and well and able to transform into the towering New Ultraman by will alone. The previous hero’s needed a ‘beta capsule’ or some other means to make the transformation.
Goh will also join the Monster Attack Team or MAT and help protect Japan from it’s non-stop monster onslaught throughout the series.

Ultraman Returns is christened Ultraman ‘Jack’ by a contest, held in the early 80’s by toy giant Bandai & Tsuburaya productions, to name the character.

The Crucifixion:

My artwork above is a manipulated photograph of the figure I received from Japan in July.

This exceptional figure, made by CCP Toy Co. in Japan (Character Content Productions) and licensed by Tsuburaya,  depicts a famous scene from much later in the ‘Ultra’ series (Episode 13 of Ultraman Ace).
There are 4 ‘crucified’ Ultra Brothers in this CCP series plus 3 other figures, including the 5th brother: Ultra Ace, that complete the scene from the show.

The  crucifixion ‘episode 13′ is explained, exceptionally well I might add, on the box…

“The Four Ultra Brothers are gathered by the fake Ultra Signs and died on the cross on the planet Golgota by the Yapool. They are deprived their energy and skill by The Ace Killer which is made by the Yapool and they are in squeeze. They are in a real pinch! What’s next!?”

Hmmm…being crucified really does put you in a pinch doesn’t it!

Click any Ultra Bro above to watch the scene in poor quality …

with the funniest bad dubbing I’ve ever heard!!

The box art also feature Davinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man‘ on the top…??
I guess that’s better than showing a picture of Jesus.

This was a must have figure for me due to the uniqueness of the ‘crucifixion’ pose. My space constraints will keep me from getting the complete set…not that I could find or afford them all anyways!

The base & cross are appx. 12″ high, while Ultraman Jack is about 7″ and fixed in his ‘crucified’ pose.
The figure is exceptionally well constructed and feels quite sturdy. The sets are packaged as ‘weathered’ versions and the paint reflects a more muted colorway with a nicely accomplished weathering effect.
The painting of Jack and the ‘rock’ base are very well done. All of the sets also feature LED’s, that fit in an opening in their respective Ultra backs,… to light the eyes and chest timers.

I was disappointed to find out that my LED’s did not function. The included LED’s also have no on/off switch…once you pull out the tab that completes the battery contact…they are just on…until the batteries are removed or drain…Lame.
That fault considered… I’m still very pleased with the look of this stunning figure.

Definitely a conversation piece!

Click the ‘CCP’ links above to see the figures in more detail.

It’s made for a nice ‘religious‘ Kaiju Art  Photograph as well…

what do you think???