Shin Ultraman (2022)

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Shin Ultraman
See alternate titles
The Japanese poster for Shin Ultraman
Directed by Shinji Higuchi
Producer Hidetoshi Yamamoto, Minami Ichikawa,
Takayuki Tsukakoshi, Hideaki Anno,
Hiroyasu Matsuoka, Tomoyuki Ogata,
Masayuki Nagatake, et al.
Written by Hideaki Anno
Music by Shiro Sagisu, Kunio Miyauchi
Production companies TOHO Studios, Cine Bazar[note 1]
Distributor TohoJP
Rating GJP,[1] PG-13UAE[2]
Box office ¥4.38 billion[3]
Running time 112 minutes
(1 hour, 52 minutes)
Rate this film!
4.48
(23 votes)

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Have you become so fond of humans, Ultraman? (そんなに人間が好きになったのか、ウルトラマン。)
„ 

— Early tagline

Shin Ultraman (シン・ウルトラマン,   Shin Urutoraman) is a Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Shinji Higuchi and written by Hideaki Anno, with VFX supervised by Atsuki Sato and directed by Satoru Sasaki. Presented by Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, and khara, Inc. and produced by TOHO Studios and Cine Bazar,[note 1] it serves as a successor to Higuchi and Anno's previous tokusatsu endeavor Shin Godzilla, as well as a loose film adaptation of the 1966 series Ultraman. It was released to Japanese theaters by Toho on May 13, 2022 and had its United States premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival that July 23.

Description

The existence of Kaiju, giant unidentified lifeforms, has become commonplace in Japan. Designated as “S-Class Species” by the Japanese Government, these creatures have proven impervious to conventional weapons. Having exhausted all other options, the government issued the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol and gathered specialists to form an enforcement unit, known as the SSSP, to combat the evil beasts.

The members chosen for the unit are Team Leader Fumio Tamura (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima), Executive Strategy Officer Shinji Kaminaga (Takumi Saitoh), Unparticle Physicist Akihisa Taki (Daiki Arioka), and Universal Biologist Yume Funaberi (Akari Hayami).

As the threat of the S-Class Species worsens, a silver giant suddenly appears from beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Analyst Hiroko Asami (played by Masami Nagasawa) is newly appointed to the SSSP to deal with this giant and is partnered with Shinji Kaminaga.

In Hiroko’s report, she writes…

“Ultraman (tentative name), identity unknown”.[4]

Plot

X no sunglasses.PNG “I knew that『plot』wasn't up to much.”
This plot synopsis is missing or incomplete.
Please help by editing this section.

To be added.

Development

On August 1, 2019, Tsuburaya Productions announced that an Ultraman film helmed by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno was in the works, produced in association with Toho and khara and set for a 2021 release. Anno had already completed the first draft of the script on February 5.[5] The film will star Takumi Saito, Masami Nagasawa, and Hidetoshi Nishijima.[6] A later report from Japanese news outlet Natalie, which featured comments from Higuchi, Saito, Nagasawa, Nishijima, Tsuburaya chairman Takayuki Tsukagoshi, and Toho president Minami Ichikawa, revealed Saito's role as Ultraman's human host, with Nagasawa playing his partner.[7] In his statement, Higuchi remarked that "A baton has been entrusted to me that has been shining ever since I was a small child. I will solemnly strive to fulfill my responsibility to pass on that heavy, radiant baton created by my seniors."[7][8] On September 25, ten additional cast members were revealed, including names such as Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, and Tetsushi Tanaka.[9]

Kenjiro Tsuda was announced as part of the cast on April 25, 2022, providing the voice of the extraterrestrial Zarab.[10]

Production

A casting call for the film was posted on August 20, 2019, with filming set to begin sometime in the fall.[11] Shinji Higuchi made a surprise appearance at the 2nd Atami Kaiju Film Festival on November 23, announcing that shooting of the film had concluded.[12]

Marketing

Ultraman's design was revealed during the opening ceremony of Tsuburaya Convention 2019 on December 13. Though largely identical to the character's traditional look, it removed his Color Timer, reflecting Tohl Narita's original concept.[13] On November 2, 2020, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi showed off a new, much larger Ultraman statue outside the Sukagawa Archive Center, and confirmed a early summer release for the film.[14] A teaser trailer was released on January 28, 2021, featuring first looks at veteran kaiju Neronga and Gabora.

On March 26, Tsuburaya, Toho, and khara announced the film's release would be postponed from the summer of 2021 to an unspecified later date, citing "delays in the production schedule caused by COVID-19."[15] During Tsuburaya Convention 2021, Shin Ultraman's release date was revealed to be May 13, 2022. Additionally, a short teaser of Ultraman using his Specium Beam was unveiled. On March 16, 2022, a key poster and promotional banner were revealed. A third teaser trailer was released on April 15, with a longer preview playing exclusively in movie theaters and at the Hideaki Anno Exhibition at the Abeno Harukas Art Museum in Osaka.[16] The aforementioned extended trailer would later be released online on April 17.

A "special video" was released on April 22, featuring short behind-the-scenes clips as well as comments from select staff and cast members.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Shinji Higuchi
  • Associate director   Katsuro Onoue
  • Deputy director   Ikki Todoroki
  • Assistant director   Masayuki
  • Written and organized by   Hideaki Anno
  • Executive producers   Hidetoshi Yamamoto, Takayuki Tsukakoshi, Minami Ichikawa, Hideaki Anno
  • Co-executive producers   Hiroyasu Matsuoka, Tomoyuki Ogata, Masayuki Nagatake
  • Assistant executive producers   Hisashi Usui, Kei Kurosawa
  • Produced by   Hideaki Anno, Kazutoshi Wadakura, Takehiko Aoki, Tomoya Nishino, Masaki Kawashima
  • Associate producer   Akihiro Yamauchi
  • Music by   Kunio Miyauchi,[17] Shiro Sagisu[13]
  • Theme song "M87" written, performed, composed, and arranged by   Kenshi Yonezu
  • Cinematography by   Osamu Ichikawa, Keizo Suzuki
  • Edited by   Yohei Kurihara, Hideaki Anno
  • Production design by   Yuji Hayashida, Eri Sakushima
  • 1st assistant director   Gonsho Nakayama
  • VFX supervisor   Atsuki Sato
  • VFX director   Satoru Sasaki

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Takumi Saito   as   Shinji Kaminaga, SSSP strategic planner and Ultraman's host
  • Masami Nagasawa   as   Hiroko Asami, SSSP intelligence analyst
  • Hidetoshi Nishijima   as   Kimio Tamura, SSSP team captain
  • Daiki Arioka   as   Akihisa Taki, SSSP unparticle physicist
  • Akari Hayami   as   Yumi Funaberi, SSSP biologist
  • Tetsushi Tanaka   as   Tatsuhiko Munakata, SSSP Chief
  • Ryo Iwamatsu   as   Hajime Komuro, Disaster Prevention Agency Minister[18]
  • Kyusaku Shimada   as   Prime Minister Taishi Okuma[18]
  • Keishi Nagatsuka   as   Hayasaka
  • Toru Masuoka   as   Kunihiko Kariba, Minister of Defense
  • Hajime Yamazaki   as   Seiichi Nakanishi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Masami Horiuchi   as   Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan
  • Go Riju   as   Special Advisor to the Prime Minister
  • Soko Wada   as   Kagami
  • Yutaka Takenouchi   as   Government official
  • Katsuya Kobayashi
  • Yukio Tsukamoto
  • Masaaki Akahori
  • Asahi Yoshida
  • Nobuyoshi Hisamatsu
  • Shoken Kunimoto
  • Eiji Yokota
  • Yasumasa Oba
  • Yashiki Ayako
  • Kentaro Shimazu
  • Naoto Kaji
  • Daisuke Hibi
  • Seigo Nishihara
  • Tetsu Hirahara
  • Junichiro Nakano
  • Shingo Murakami
  • Mikiya Sanada
  • Yoshihiro Kasuya
  • Yohei Hosokawa
  • Ryo Yoshida
  • Yusaku Mori
  • Yuta Inoue
  • Shota Miyazaki
  • TERU
  • Akihisa Muramoto
  • Yoshinori Miyata
  • Tatsuya Ito
  • Satoshi Iwago
  • Taihei Nishi
  • Takahiro Araki
  • Yoshihiro Yamanaka
  • Isao Nakazawa
  • Shintaro Yonemoto
  • Kazuya Shiraishi
  • Nobuyuki Fukuda
  • Kota Taga
  • Yuta Motozawa
  • Daiki Kikuchi
  • Weigo Ikeuchi
  • Hideki Ebisawa
  • Toru Hirayama
  • Gotaro Koike
  • Ryo Ozone
  • Kei Maina
  • Kazuhiko Otomo
  • Yuki Fujiyama
  • Ken Komamizu
  • Kenji Miyamoto
  • Seitoku Fujitani
  • Atsushi Ideo
  • Mitsuo Sakai
  • Kota Iwase
  • Kenta Tanabe
  • Tatsuya Onodera
  • Naoki Hasegawa
  • Ryumi Shiga
  • Toyoda Ondai
  • Nana Okazaki
  • Keiji Inada
  • Yuki Arisawa
  • Erika Sugihara
  • Shoko Hotta
  • Yoto Honda
  • Kota Hosoi
  • Rento Oyama
  • Yuki Terauchi
  • Minoru Shimozawa
  • Yoshiko Ikunuma
  • Chinao Kato
  • Naoki Nakamura
  • Sekkaku Onoda
  • Taichi Abe
  • Noriyoshi Saito
  • Masahiko Fujiwara
  • Taiji Hitana
  • Koji Nagato
  • Nobuyuki Naito
  • Hiroyuki Furuta
  • Muneto Yuda
  • Koji Yamamoto   as   Mefilas[18]
  • Bin Furuya, Hideaki Anno   as   Ultraman (motion capture)[19]
  • Issei Takahashi   as   Ultraman (voice)[20]
  • Koichi Yamadera   as   Zōffy (voice)[20]
  • Kenjiro Tsuda   as   Zarab (voice)[10]

Appearances

Spoiler.png SPOILER WARNING: This section may contain major plot and/or ending details.
Proceed at your own discretion.

Ultras

Monsters


Weapons, vehicles, races, and organizations

Gallery

Main article: Shin Ultraman/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Shin Ultraman/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

  • Shin Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Film (シン・ウルトラマン空想特撮映画,   Shin Urutoraman Kūsō Tokusatsu Eiga, full Japanese title)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - May 13, 2022
  • Switzerland - July 2, 2022 (Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival)[21]
  • Canada - July 21, 2022 (Fantasia Festival)[22]
  • United States - July 23, 2022 (New York Asian Film Festival);[23] January 11, 2023[24]
  • Singapore - September 3, 2022 (Odex Film Festival)[25]
  • United Arab Emirates - September 15, 2022[2]
  • Taiwan - September 16, 2022[26]
  • Thailand - September 22, 2022 (Paragon Cineplex)[27]
  • India - September 23, 2022[28]
  • Malaysia - October 6, 2022[29]
  • Hong Kong - October 13, 2022[30]

On August 5, 2022, Tsuburaya Productions announced plans to release the films in "37 countries and regions in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa," as well as North America, South America, and Europe.[31]

U.S. release

Shin Ultraman premiered in the United States at the New York Asian Film Festival on July 23, 2022.[23] A screening in Hawaii followed on November 13 as part of the 42nd Hawaii International Film Festival.[32]

The film will be brought to theaters nationwide by Fathom Events on January 11 and 12, 2023.[24]

Box office

Shin Ultraman debuted #1 at the Japanese box office, grossing ¥730 million in its opening weekend with a three-day total of ¥993 million.[33] By its third day of release, it had become the highest-grossing Ultraman film, surpassing Superior 8 Ultraman Brothers.[33] The film had grossed ¥4.38 billion by the end of its theatrical release in Japan.[3]

Videos

Trailers

Japanese trailer
Teaser trailer #1
Regraded teaser #1
Updated teaser #1
Teaser trailer #2
Teaser trailer #3
TV spot #1
TV spot #2
TV spot #3
Special video
SSSP promotional video
Mefilas spot
Zarab spot
Zōffy & Zetton spot

Miscellaneous

Takumi Saito and Shinji Higuchi reveal Ultraman maquettes at TsubuCon 2019
Full television special
Kenshi Yonezu - M87 Music video
Kenshi Yonezu - M87 × Shin-Ultraman
VFX breakdown

Trivia

Spoiler.png SPOILER WARNING: This section may contain major plot and/or ending details.
Proceed at your own discretion.
  • Shin Ultraman marks the first Ultra Series film to be produced by Toho; the company previously provided theatrical distribution for a number of TV episodes and compilation movies of the Ultra Series.
  • Hideaki Anno is a longtime fan of the Ultraman franchise, and previously directed and starred in a 1983 parody of Tsuburaya Productions' Return of Ultraman. Shinji Higuchi first met Anno at a screening of his film.[34]
  • The film's first tagline was spoken by Zoffy in the final episode of Ultraman.
  • Models of FAB 1, Fireflash, the Mole, and Thunderbird 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 from the TV series Thunderbirds, in addition to a number of smaller models depicting the other Pod Vehicles from it, appear in the background of a shot of Daiki Arioka's character. The show influenced Ultraseven and subsequent entries in the Ultra Series.[citation needed]
  • The CG model of Gomess is a modified version of Godzilla's model in Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno's previous film Shin Godzilla. This is a reference to how Gomess was originally portrayed by a modified Godzilla suit in episode 1 of Ultra Q.[35]
  • The designs for Pagos, Neronga, and Gabora all share traits, referencing the use of the original 1965 Baragon suit to portray them in Ultra Q and Ultraman.[36]
  • As was the case with Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman features an original score composed by Hideaki Anno's frequent collaborator Shiro Sagisu. Much like how Shin Godzilla featured extensive stock music from past Godzilla films composed by the late Akira Ifukube, who was credited as co-composer on the score, Shin Ultraman includes much of the late Kunio Miyauchi's score for the original Ultraman series. Miyauchi is even credited as the film's composer in front of Sagisu.
  • The book Shin Ultraman Design Works states that, while the "worldviews" of Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman "may be somehow connected," copyright considerations prevented Shin Ultraman from being explicitly billed as a sequel.[37] Some connections are still present in the film, however, such as an unnamed government official portrayed by Yutaka Takanouchi (Hideki Akasaka in Shin Godzilla), the use of the term "Giant Unidentified Lifeform" to describe the monsters, and the fictitious MOPII bombs dropped by a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. Still, the numbering of the monsters would seem to contradict Godzilla actually existing in the universe of Shin Ultraman.
    • The title sequence for Shin Ultraman also incorporates Shin Godzilla, with the title of the former exploding out of the title for the latter. This references the title sequence for the original Ultraman.
  • The shots of M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems firing reuse footage from Shin Godzilla, although the scenery around the vehicles was altered.

External links

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 The film was originally announced to be a co-production between Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar. Toho Pictures merged with another subsidiary of Toho to form TOHO Studios on December 1 of 2020, by which point filming had already been completed. The film's end credits nonetheless list TOHO Pictures retroactively as producer, though the classic "A Toho Pictures production" logo appears at the beginning.

References

This is a list of references for Shin Ultraman. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. "シン・ウルトラマン". Eiga.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "SHIN ULTRAMAN". Khaleej Times. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Komatsu, Mikikazu (6 September 2022). "Japan Box Office: One Piece Film: Red Stays on No.1 for 5 Consecutive Weekends". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. "SHIN ULTRAMAN Photo Gallery From Toho". SciFi Japan. 9 May 2022.
  5. "『シン・ウルトラマン』映画化に関するお知らせ". khara. 1 August 2019.
  6. "An opening to a new page of the History of ULTRAMAN is underway! "SHIN ULTRAMAN", a dawning of a brand new entertainment presented for everyone around the world has just began!". Tsuburaya Productions. 1 August 2019.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "庵野秀明×樋口真嗣「シン・ウルトラマン」製作!出演は斎藤工、長澤まさみ、西島秀俊". Natalie. 1 August 2019.
  8. Schilling, Mark (1 August 2019). "'Shin Ultraman' in the Works Through Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi". Variety.
  9. "庵野秀明&樋口真嗣『シン・ウルトラマン』新キャスト発表!有岡大貴ら10名". Cinema Today. 25 September 2019.
  10. 10.0 10.1 @shin_ultraman (25 April 2022). "【新情報】映画『#シンウルトラマン』予告映像にも映り込み本作での登場が明らかになった‟外星人(ガイセイジン)#ザラブ"の声を#津田健次郎 が担当!津田さんからのコメントも到着!ザラブの声はぜひ劇場で!どうぞご期待ください!https://shin-ultraman.jp/news/ #5月13日公開". Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. External link in |title= (help)
  11. "エキストラ募集【メルマガ登録】映画<樋口真嗣監督作品>⇒『シン・ゴジラ』製作チームが再集結!⇒出演:斎藤工、長澤まさみ、西島秀俊 ほか". Tokyo Extra NOTES. 20 August 2019.
  12. "「シン・ウルトラマン」撮り終えた樋口真嗣監督も「ゴジラ伝説」ライブに感激". ENCOUNT. 23 November 2019.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "SHIN ULTRAMAN Revealed!". SciFi Japan. 13 December 2019.
  14. 2021年初夏公開決定!『シン・ウルトラマン』立像が初お披露目、“特撮の神様”円谷英二の出身地・須賀川にてシン・ウルトラマンの“スペシウム光線ポーズ”が明らかに!
  15. Harding, Daryl (26 March 2021). "Anno and Higuchi's Shin Ultraman Film Postponed Due to COVID-19". Crunchyroll.
  16. @shin_ultraman (15 April 2022). "さらに、全国の劇場にて 4/15(金)より、長尺82秒間の予告映像を上映中! 4/16(土)より 大阪・ #あべのハルカス美術館 で 開催される「#庵野秀明展」においても 同予告映像の上映が決定!是非ご注目ください!#シンウルトラマン #5月13日公開". Twitter. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
  17. "Shin Ultraman". Toho. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Toho Stella 2022, p. 12.
  19. Anno 2022, p. 74.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Toho Stella 2022, p. 38.
  21. "Shin Ultraman". Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  22. "Shin Ultraman". Fantasia Festival. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  23. 23.0 23.1 "New York Asian Film Festival 2022 Films". New York Asian Film Festival. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  24. 24.0 24.1 "FATHOM EVENTS & TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE THE U.S. THEATRICAL RELEASE OF SHIN ULTRAMAN". Ultraman Connection. 19 November 2022.
  25. ODEX_SG (27 July 2022). "🎉 Get set for an entire weekend of movies, cosplay, creators and more! 🏮 Don't miss The ODEX Film Festival x Anime Matsuri starting 2nd, 3rd & 4th September 2022! 🎬 Check out fan screenings, stage performances, and various activities featuring blockbuster anime films at Cathay Cineplex Downtown East and D'Marquee @ Downtown East! 👋 See ya all there! 🎥 The ODEX Film Festival Anime Matsuri 📅 2,3 & 4 September 2022 📍 Downtown East • One Piece Film Red • Shin Ultraman • Isekai Quartet The Movie: Another World • The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie *Interested Creators may now sign up for booths here: https://bit.ly/TOFFAnimeMatsuri **Commercial booths & partners may contact [email protected] #anime #ODEX #odex #onepiece #onepiecefan #onepieceanime #ultraman #ShinUltraman #isekaiquartet #isekaiquartet #cosplay #animematsuri". Instagram. External link in |title= (help)
  26. ULTRAMAN Global (5 August 2022). "#ShinUltraman will arrive in Taiwan cinemas on September 16th this year!". Twitter. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022.
  27. "ชิน อุลตร้าแมน". Major Cineplex. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  28. Hazra, Adrian (6 September 2022). "Shin Ultraman Film Opens in India on September 23". Anime News Network. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  29. GSC (26 July 2022). "JUST ANNOUNCED: #ShinUltraman is finally coming exclusively to GSC! See you in GSC this 6 October! 💥". Twitter.
  30. "SHIN ULTRAMAN is Coming to Hong Kong Cinemas from October 13!". Tsuburaya Productions. 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. ""Shin Ultraman" will be released overseas one after another!". Shin Ultraman official site. 5 August 2022.
  32. "SHIN ULTRAMAN Screened at the 42nd Hawaii International Film Festival with Fans Showing Love to Star Takumi Saitoh!". Tsuburaya Productions. 18 November 2022.
  33. 33.0 33.1 Komatsu, Mikikazu (16 May 2022). "Japan Box Office: Shin Ultraman Beats Conan, Making Impressive No.1 Debut". Crunchyroll.
  34. Kawarada, Tsuyoshi (13 May 2022). "Interview with director Shinji Higuchi on Hideaki Anno and the "dissolution of the disconnect" he aims to create with Shin Ultraman". Business + IT.
  35. Anno 2022, p. 25.
  36. Anno 2022, p. 19.
  37. Anno 2022, p. 73-75.

Bibliography

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