Ultra-cool: There’s nothing cooler than a group of Ultramen firing a rainbow of specium beams.
Brush up on your Ultraman-lore before you go watch the superhero live in Genting next year. When it comes to Japanese superheroes, they don’t get any bigger than Ultraman.
For over 40 years, the giant red and silver being with the egg-shaped head and yellow eyes has been entertaining children and adults alike with his battles against giant kaiju monsters. His “Specium Beam” – where he shoots energy beams out of his arms by simply crossing them – is one of the most iconic poses in global pop culture, and the Ultra Series (as the franchise is known) is the Guinness Book of Record holder for the franchise with the most number of spin-off shows, with a total of 27.
From Feb 19 to March 22, Resorts World Genting will be staging Ultraman Live in Genting 2015, the biggest Ultraman live show outside of Japan, featuring the original Japanese cast from Japan’s annual Ultraman Festival (yes, Ultraman is so big in Japan that he even has his own festival!).
(From left) Ultraseven, Ultraman, and Ultraman Tiga join forces during an episode of Ultraman Ginga.
The show will feature some of the most popular Ultraman characters over the past 40 years, including the original Ultraman and his Ultra brothers – Ultraseven, Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Zero, Ultraman Cosmos, Ultraman Mebius, and the latest addition to the family, Ultraman Ginga.
The “Ultra” series started with Ultra Q in 1966, and was the first successful TV series created by Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. (called Tsuburaya Special Effects Productions back then), which was founded by Eiji Tsuburaya, Japan’s “father of special effects”, and one of the co-creators of Godzilla.
Ultra Q was a distinctly Ultraman-less science fiction show that was inspired by American shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. It was a black and white drama that had standalone episodes focusing on supernatural phenomena such as aliens, ghosts, and of course, kaiju (giant monsters).
The success of Ultra Q led to the creation of Ultraman, an effects-laden full-colour production with some of the most impressive and state-of-the-art visuals for its day.
It revolved around the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), a team of five special agents who investigate bizarre cases and engage kaiju in open combat.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the squad, one of the members, Shin Hayata, was actually killed when a Travel Sphere piloted by a red and silver giant alien being called Ultraman crashed into his plane. Feeling remorse for killing Hayata, Ultraman merged his essense with the human, reviving him, and granting him the ability to transform into Ultraman with an object called a Beta Capsule.
The original Ultraman series ran for 39 episodes from July 1966 to April 1967, after which Tsuburaya released Ultraseven, which turned out to be one of the most popular versions of Ultraman ever.
Since then, the Ultra Series has expanded to include an official count of 36 Ultramen, a list that includes names like Ultraman Chuck (from the American cartoon Ultraman: The Adventure Begins), Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Ginga, Ultraman Zero, and even a Father of Ultra and Mother of Ultra. A staggering number of TV shows, movies and kid shows have also been made over the span of 40 years, with the latest, Ultraman Ginga, released in 2013, on the 50th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that there is actually a live Ultraman show going around. The Ultraman Live In Genting 2014 show will be a one-hour performance that utilises the same state-of-the-art visual effects that are used in the TV show.
Seventeen crewmember from the original series will be travelling all the way from Japan for the show, which is customised for Malaysian audiences.
My, what big horns you have, Father Of Ultra.
The show will also be an interactive one, where children will get to actively participate in the story and help Ultraman vanquish the kaiju monsters. For the adults, it’s a chance to go down memory lane and relive your childhood days of watching the Ultraman series on TV, as well as enjoy the high-tech stagecraft and production.
With so many different Ultramen around, how did the folks at Tsuburaya select the ones for the live show?
“The most popular Ultraman depends on the person and which generation you ask. Each generation has their favourite and it really does depend on which hero you saw when you were a child. In Japan, the original Ultraman is always the standard, but for the older generation, Ultraseven is the one,” said Kei Minamitani, Tsuburaya’s manager of international business affairs.
“For the live show, we will be introducing a wide range to cover all generations – from the original to the newest – so that everyone in the family, from children the grandparents, are able to enjoy the show.”
Ultraman Live In Genting 2014 will be held from Feb 19 to March 22 at the Genting International Showroom, Resorts World Genting. Tickets are priced at RM48, RM68 and RM88, available in two time slots of 4pm and 8pm. Early bird discounts are currently available until Nov 27: 30% for Genting Rewards members (VIP and PS1 only); and 15% for non-members. For more details, visit www.rwgenting.com or call 03-27181118.
Ultraman and Ultra Brothers Coming to Malaysia | Resorts World Genting Next Year 19 February
Source : thestar / NTV7 / Youtube
