Ultraman: Series One, Vol. 1 [DVD]

I have read all of the other reviews & I can assure you that of all the "versions" of the series you can buy, this is by far the best quality. And it's a legitimate release, not a bootleg.I have never been clear on whether a real Japanese DVD set has ever been made availible prior to this, just the laser discs & VHS tapes. I am going to guess that now there is, the Japanese versions on this collection are superb, I doubt you will find any better quality considering the age of the show. They are broadcast quality. I highly recommend viewing the Japanese versions on this set as you will see that the translations into English remained very faithful to the story & character names (except some monster names were translated phonetically). This is not "Gatchaman/Battle Of The Planets" where the translations & edits resulted in two completely different stories.I grew up on "Ultraman" in the 70's & early 80's. I was too young to remember whether or not anything was edited when "uncut" episodes surfaced on the trading market in the early 90's. I bought the entire series on VHS from 16mm prints for like $100 in 1995. NONE of the episodes had the title sequences at all. Here on DVD, you get the Japanese intro on both the Japanese & English versions for some reason. That is all the more reason to watch in Japanese as they also translate the theme song AND the credit details which reveal, by default, why so many alternate episode titles have existed in English. Prior bootleg DVD sets have generally used on title sequence per disc & it was just pulled from one of the four episodes on the anniversary VHS from about 10 years ago (referenced in other reviews). Watching the Japanese version with English subtitles will also eliminate the audio glitches.The original English dubs originally omitted Ultraman's vocal exclamations for the first 12-or-so episodes, the anniversary VHS attempted to restore this to the English dubs, hence a lot of inconsistencies. I remember getting a copy of several "restored" epsiodes after my initial series purchase in 1995 to find that the first couple minutes often were in Japanese before English. In those cases, missing footage had been restored & this appears to be the case with this DVD set. It is possible these restored episodes have been "in limbo" with copyrights for years, they seem to be working backwards when it comes to which version of Ultraman is released commercially (was floored when the Tiga series was released here in its entirety not too long ago).This set contains the legendary "Monster Dinosaur Base" episode (have heard a variety of alternate titles over the years) which features a creature called Jirass. It's simply the mid-1960's Godzilla costume with a frill ("Godzilla in drag" as the ad for the VHS tapes stated in 1993!) resembling a frilled water dragon. This is also one of the episodes that features a full "beta capsule" transformation that includes the swirling ray of light surrounding Ultraman's human host. Only a handful of episodes have this. Ultraman also laughs for the only time in the series when fighting Jirass (have heard this was edited in some markets when in syndication). Monsters from the series have been marketed as toys & kits throughout the years & Jirass is just about the rarest, having only been modeled faithfully a few times.The future franchise of Ultraman appears in "Brother From Another Planet" where an evil being assumes the form of the superhero & Ultraman is forced to fight himself. The most popular creature in the franchise, the Baltan, debuts in "Shoot The Invader". As the series progresses, you will notice that many creature costumes were recycled into other creatures, but the Baltan remains as is.The only inconsistency I didn't like was the episode numbering on the individual discs. While the packaging is correct, the discs number each episode per disc, not per the series.In conclusion, you will not find more "bang for your buck" anywhere in the US market. Period. This set is well worth the purchase. The menus are nice & you are guided by a Science Patrol logo when making your selections. The interview segments are edited poorly, VERY poorly, but if you can manage to sit thru them, you will hear the actors reinact some of their Ultraman dialogue & reflect on the series.The next DVD set will include the only two-part episode in the series & you will get to see Ultraman return his human host to his human form in that one. You will also see the only episode where Ultraman appears in human size. But most of you reading already know this...just can't wait to see the original Japanese versions. Even tho' the technology of today has made the more recent Ultraman series shine & sparke for TV, this original "where it all began" series remains my favourite of all. Will be interesting to see if they attempt to release "Ultraman Seven", the first "spin off", next.

Thirty Five years ago, in the age of Superfriends and Johnny Quest, there was a small TV station in Atlanta called channel 17, which was owned by a guy named Ted Turner. Day after day my friends and I would watch this station after school and on Saturday mornings, receiving a daily fix of entertainment gems like Clutch Cargo and the Banana Splits. It was also here that I received my first taste of Japanese culture, in the form of Speed Racer and Ultraman.If you are the parent of a small child, whatever you do, don't expose your children to this or any show originating in Japan. Seriously. It will screw your child's head up, just as it did mine. Some people may think that a show featuring a bunch of guys in cheap latex suits smashing cardboard buildings and toy planes in just harmless entertainment. Think again. The truth is obvious. The Japanese, still smarting over their defeat at the hands of the allies, sought and found an insidious way to get even. By striking at the youngest and most vunerable of us; namely our children. You may think I'm joking here, but seriously, I'm not. This show, and other shows from Japan like Pokemon or Power Rangers, will warp your child's brain.Ultraman is a space opera set in a dystopian near future, a nightmare world where a virtually helpless civilian population lives in a state of constant fear, as rampaging monsters, over 50 foot high, regularly appear to reek havoc on major cities. The only thing standing between civilization and a complete social breakdown is an elite fighting force known as The Science Patrol (which sounds a lot cooler if spoken in the original Japanese). They have at their disposal an arsenal of the most sophisticated weapons known to man. In fact, they've allocated so much towards their miltary budget that they literally didn't have enough funds left to purchase a decent automobile. What's most disturbing is the fact that in the near future, Japan has become fully remilitarized.The Science Patrol's cast of main characters has been imitated in numerous ensemble action films and TV series, most recently "Armegeddon" and "Team America". There's the elderly leader (who frequently takes orders from Hiyata rather than gives them...strange), two slightly goofy members who provide comic relief from time to time, the hot female member named Fuji, and Hiyata, the lead charcter who is the Clark Kent of the show.Each episode follows a basic formula. A monster appears, the Science Patrol promptly picks a fight with it, gets in over their heads, and then Ultraman shows up to bail them out. While this may seem like an innocent premise, there are some very dark and disturbing underlying messages. What parents may find troubling is the xenophobia that still permeated Japanese culture at the time that this show was made. Some of these monsters are clearly sentient beings, yet the Science Patrol rarely makes any attempt to resolve their conflicts diplomatically. Like the Japanese of the pre-colonial era, outsiders are usually considered an enemy who must be dealt with in a violent fashion. And like the Japanese military during the second World War, the Science Patrol typically find themselves in over their heads and unable to finish the fight that they started.Ultraman himself is an obvious metaphore for the Japanese army. Although he comes out swinging, he's unable to stick in the fight for the long haul. If he does not defeat his enemy quickly, his warning light begins to blink. If it stops, he dies. I won't use this forum to debate the logic of having a warning light on your chest that tells your enemies that you are getting tired. The light itself obviously represents the Japanese rising sun.The most insidious thing about this show is that it encourages young people not to utilize their critical thinking skills. In most forms of narrative fiction, be it print or film, the plot details are slowly revealed through the actions and the dialogue. Here, a narrarator clearly explains everything to the viewer. This is clearly a Japanese plot to make our young people stupid, and we are only now starting to see the bitter fruit that this has produced. Just look at our elections of 2000 and 2004. No doubt many of these voters grew up watching Ultraman and Speed Racer. With the advent of Power Rangers and Pokemon, we have probably lost another generation as well.But now that I'm old enough to handle it, I can view Ultraman with a fresh perspective. So, what do I think of goofy mosters smashing cardboard buildings an model airplanes? I freaking love it! I must admit. I LOVE IT! Now that I have the collection on DVD, and will gladly embrace the horror time after time after time.For those out there with short attention spans: if you don't want to sit through the entire episode and just want to see "the good parts", Ultraman does not actually appear in any episode until the clock is between 21:00 and 22:00, without exception.Episodes of note:Episode 1: Not very good. "I am Ultraman" is cheesy even by this show's standards. But it is the debut.Episode 2: Not nearly as good as Episode 16, but it is the debut of the crab people.Episode 4: This one really freaked me out when I was 5. The monster looking in the window. It stuck with me.Episode 5: Plant Monster smashes church. Blasphemous.Episode 8: Ultraman visits Monster Island. Way cool!Episode 10: Ultraman vs. Godzilla. 'nuff said.Episode 16: The Crab People are Back!!! One of the absolute best! Debut of the lazor saw.Episode 20: Wow!!! Aeial dogfights! Some of the absolute best action of the entire collection. Ultraman amost gets his a** kicked. A very good episode.Disapointment: this collection did not feature the moster who looked just like R. Shulman, from elementary school. You know who you are, dude. The moster with big broad shoulders looks just like you. I was disappointed that this episode wasn't on this collection. I was looking foward to laughing at you.Special Effects: I love them. If you judge them against today's standards, you're totally missing the point. The filmakers obviously loved what they were doing and took their craft very seriously, and it comes through. And they do get better as the series progresses.About the DVD transfers: all the negative comments about the DVD quality is justified. I don't really care that much, though. Its not "Lord of the Rings", after all. All the restoration in the world isn't going to change the fact that this is a forty year old TV show with really bad (and by bad I mean "AWESOME") special effects.

I've been collecting videos for 25 years. Ultraman is one of my all time favorite TV shows and it's been a priority of mine to acquire from day one.Ultraman has become a bit of a frustration: No TV market I was ever part of broadcast it while I owned a VCR. The only way I've been able to reminisce about this series was through a friend's japanese laserdiscs. There was one overpriced 4-episode VHS in the late 80s but the prospect of chucking that amount 10 times was pretty discouraging.The incomplete dialogue comes from the simple fact that episodes got trimmed by about 2 minutes per episodefor US distribution. The most obvious evidence of those trims comes during the opening credits where the english theme song is repeated in order to accomodate the running time.This makes having an english soundtrack that perfectly matches an impossibility. Frankly, I prefer the paste up job done here as it retains the original dub (which is part of the nostalgia value of the show) while providing us with with the full content of the japanese versions- gory bits and all. Recent "redubs" of "Giant Robo" and "Mysterians" have been disappointing.This release also favors using the original japanese soundtrack in the monster fight scenes which is another bonus as , for some reason, Ultraman's "grunts" as well as his famous battle cry "Suwatch!" were not part of the sound effects track.This release isn't perfect - but given the circumstances- it's M78 sent.If you require 5.1 state of the art sound- skip this release.If you're nostalgic about the show - get it!I can't wait for volume 2.

The flaws are numerous. But who cares..... This is a cult serie in the true sense of the word. Put it on your TV, while guys in their 40s and 50s are in the room and you will get an instant winner. It just HAD to be re-issued. THis one features the rarely seen 1st episode of the serie.4/5 stars is due to the lack of extras to the package.

Männer in Gummianzügen werfen sich in Miniaturlandschaften. Erinnert an Godzilla und die Augsburger Puppenkiste. Die 2-Disc-Edition ist nichts für FreundInnen gestochen scharfer Bilder, aber geht für einen Oldschool-TV-Abend völlig in Ordnung. Die ersten 20 Episoden der japanischen Fernsehserie von 1966. Jeweils 25 Minuten.

Loved it, brings back childhood memories....lots of fun to watch with special effects of the era...

It is a classic sci-fi from my youth and full of great memories.