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Title: Ultraman: The Complete Series 4-Disc Set
Region: One
Genre: Japanese Retro Television Children’s Sci-Fi
Starring The Voices Of English Dubbed Team Actors: Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr, and Earl Hammond
Created By: Eiji Tsuburaya
Extras: Interview With English Dub Team Actors Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr, and Earl Hammond, Kaiju (Monster) Profiles
Languages: Japanese and English Language Dubbed Stereo Sound
Subtitles: English Language Subtitles
Packaging: Four Disc Keepcase
Sound: Stereo Sound
Year of DVD Release: 2009
Home Video Distributor: Golden Media Group, Inc.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
I don’t remember Ultraman personally. I wasn’t even born yet when it first aired so I don’t have any fond memories attached to the show though I know some people who watched it growing up. The series has aired in eleven different incarnations in Japan from 1967 to the present and even had a theatrical film in Japan in 2006. Ultraman was created by Eiji Tsuburaya, a pioneer in special effects responsible for bringing Godzilla to life in 1954 and then went on to direct the special effects for over 100 films. The original Ultraman series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from July 17, 1966 to April 9, 1967, with a total of 39 episodes. A forerunner to popular Americanized imports originally from Japan such as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series focuses on the Science Patrol, an ultra-sophisticated police force equipped with high-tech weaponry to protect the Earth from enemy mutants, alien invaders, and giant prehistoric monsters. When the Science Patrol can’t stop a beast, team member Hayata (voiced by Earl Hammond) secretly transforms himself into the giant superhero from Nebula M78, Ultraman.
The show would not be called Ultraman if the Science Patrol didn’t need his help a lot and the series is more or less a somewhat innocent version of the classic Japanese monster pictures. At times the action is very campy and extremely laughable. Regardless of whether or not one watches it for nostalgia, excitement, laughs, or as something to share with one’s children, Ultraman is sure to entertain. The monster costumes for their time are quite elaborate and interesting to look at. The extra value materials within the set include an onscreen Kaiju or monster bio list that one can examine for all of the episodes in this four-disc set. One of the monsters named Jirasu from the episode “The Mysterious Dinosaur Base” is a redressed Godzilla complete with a slightly altered roar that sounds distinctly familiar to the class Godzilla.
The
average episode runs around 25 minutes each and is presented in a (1.33:1)
television broadcast aspect ratio and the source material has been digitally
remastered to reveal vibrant colors and a choice of either the original Japanese
Language Stereo Soundtrack or the original English Language Dubbed Stereo
Soundtrack along with optional English Language Subtitles for the Japanese
Language Version. The episodes in this set, some of which have never even aired
in the US., are the uncut Japanese versions with the lengthiest opening credits
I’ve ever seen for a kids TV show. A with a videotaped interview with the
American English Version Dubbed Voice Actors Peter
Fernandez, Corinne Orr, and Earl Hammond is included within the set as well.
This team also provided the voice dubbing for Speed Racer. Peter
Fernandez and Corrine Orr also worked together on the third series of Star
Blazers entitled The Bolar Wars based on the classic Japanese anime
space opera Space Battleship Yamato, which for me is something I have
great nostalgia for because I grew up watching that as a kid after school.
Fernandez makes an interesting point regarding the dubbing of films and
television programs, which is the fact that many foreign films he worked on were
actually voiced by the native language talent in post production and in some
cases the script was actually put together to match the action after the
production instead of before it. While there are poorly dubbed films out there,
he likens neglecting to see a well dubbed film and only seeing the subtitled
version as only seeing half the film since good voice actors can add character
and weight to a scene that could be lost in another language. Personally I think
he’s correct and I actually prefer to see the dubbed version of a foreign film
if possible because sometimes reading the subtitles gets distracting and
tiresome.
The
weak link in the set is the questionable packaging. The
DVD case is a doublewide DVD case, but there are no spindles/holders. The four
discs are each put in a black paper sleeve and are stacked on top of each other.
The sleeves don't move around because they are "held" in place by a
square shaped molding on the inside of the DVD case. I have seen thinner keep
case packaging that holds all four discs or more without envelopes. Still this
is a great deal anyway you slice it for fans of the series with a price point
well below twenty dollars at retailers like Amazon.com.
Ultraman: The Complete Series 4-Disc Set is available at retailers on and offline now courtesy of Golden Media Group Incorporated.
©
Copyright 2009 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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