After Ultraseven, the Ultra series was set to end. Eiji had plans to move in an entirely different direction with his career. He was smitten by Western cinema and television with unique special effects. He had a strong desire to replicate what he saw in his favorite western shows and put his own spin on them. This is reflected in Eiji’s crowning achievement, Mighty Jack, as well as other shows he produced such as Operation Mystery. This is what seemed to be his future. However, Eiji Tsuburaya was up there in years and after finishing work on those two shows, he sadly passed away in 1970. Leaving behind Tsupro in a predicament. Due to being focused on assisting studios with SFXs in 1969 and not having any original content lined up or properly planned for the near future, things began to look grim for the company. Without its leader, the company’s already weakened state grew worse. Hajime Tsuburaya thought there was only one thing that could save the company, save what was his father’s dream and legacy, save the creativity his family held dear, and that was a return to their groundbreaking franchise.
However, before we get deep into the discussion on why Ultra had to return, we need to understand the pressures Hajime Tsuburaya was under. Tsuburaya Productions, despite its highly successful Ultra series, was not a big company that was constantly raking in the profits. They were still rather under Toho’s umbrella and needed their help to get a lot of stuff done; ranging from filming to financing. Despite the failures of Mighty Jack, Toho was able to let it slide because of their trust in Eiji. When Eiji died, that trust had disappeared. They weren’t confident in Hajime at all, despite him being a talented creator in his own right. What came down to it was the fact he hadn’t had the same relationship with Toho as Eiji did, nor was his career as illustrious. To Toho he could’ve just been some nobody. Toho had also known that no future projects were planned and that Tsupro had very little funding. With these factors in mind, Toho felt Tsuburaya Productions was dead in the water and they needed to pull out. So to prove that Tsupro was still viable and still could produce content profitable content without Eiji, Hajime had to work fast and that’s when it hit him.
What he needed was a zero cost show. It had to be able to hold onto public interest, keep the relationship with TBS alive, and buy time for him to think of a much better show. This led him to the idea of using old fight footage from previous Ultra shows, and get an extremely popular TBS sports commentator to dub over the footage as if it was a boxing match. The only flaw in this plan was that they lacked enough fight footage to do all 130 planned episodes of the show using only stock footage. So they had to produce some new footage for a minor cost. Hajime did not have high hopes for his new venture, now named Ultra Fight. He had just wanted it to be enough to buy time for him to make something better. So color him surprised when it was a breakout success, rekindling and firing up new interest in the Ultra series. Between that and the growing fanbase for the series as it aired through reruns, Hajime knew what he had to do to assure the success of his company, he had to bring back Ultra and bring it back for real.
Luckily for him, before his father passed away he left behind an idea for an Ultraman show to act as the sequel for the original series. It is important to note that this is apparently the only concept they used as the base for the series. The rumors saying that there were tons of ideas for sequels for Ultraman and Ultraseven seem to be fabrications. There were never plans for Ultraman’s son to come and save the Earth, or a squad of Seven-like alien to come and take his place on Earth. In fact, Eiji’s idea was rather simple. After some years of healing and training, Ultraman would return to Earth and reunite with Shin Hayata. However, Hayata had grown too old to effectively be the title hero alongside Ultraman, so he decides to pass on the power to his young protege in the SSSP. Together Ultraman and the protege would be heroes for a new generation. The show would be similar to Ultraman in tone and storytelling, the aesthetic wouldn’t have been changed at all, and the original cast members from Ultraman would return to their past roles (except for Captain Muramatsu, Akiji Kobayashi).
The problem was that this concept was very much a direct sequel to Ultraman. It would’ve been hard to get the cast together at this point, it excluded aspects from Ultraseven entirely, and was based in the retro aesthetic of Ultraman. Hajime felt that he needed to shift up the concept a little bit for it to be profitable and get rid of some of the limitations that came with working in the original show’s backyard. He decided to drop the SSSP aspect entirely and have a new defense team, named MAT, which would modernize the SSSP aesthetic for the early 70s. Instead of Hayata being a mentor figure in the show, it would just be the young protege now named Goh Hideki. Though the idea of him having mentor figures would remain in the form of the captain of MAT as well as the oldest brother of the Sakata family, Ken, who he would be friends with. To set this show apart from the previous entries in the series, the writers decided to focus on a simpler tale of a human that gained the powers of Ultraman. The story would be about how he as an individual would cope with his new duties and powers. Being more about human drama and struggles over grand sci-fi concepts. The show would still have sci-fi aspects, but it would be focused on Goh’s heroic journey to truly become “Ultraman” above all else.
On Ultraman himself, the idea of it being the original Ultraman returning hadn’t changed at first. The biggest objections were raised by the marketing department who felt they couldn’t sell any new merchandise if it was just the original Ultraman returning. They requested something different and visually catching, so they could have something new on the merch they had sold time and time before. I.E they wanted to just reissue product lines they used before for Ultraman and Ultraseven but with a fresh face. The showrunners thought that slightly modifying the Ultraman design would be enough to satisfy the marketing department, but it wasn’t because now marketing had a new stance. That stance was that they would be able to sell a lot more merchandise with three Ultra heroes (Ultraman, Ultraseven, and this new Ultra) than with just two. So it was decided to keep Ultraman as his own separate character and have this Returning Ultraman, be an entirely new one. An entirely new one they did not give a real name to, until 1984.
For simplicity’s sake, we shall call him Jack. In all honesty, there isn’t much to the pre-production of Jack’s show. Return of Ultraman already had a very invested and profitable audience, meaning they just had to modernize the feel. Which was reflected in MAT having a blend between the more militaristic aesthetic of the Ultra Guard and the more colorful and bouncy look of the SSSP, put into a smooth 70s package. The decision to focus on human drama was also a result of them now being in the 70s. The Kaiju Boom was practically dried out at this point and pulp sci-fi had fallen out of the public’s eye. Now mangas and televised works were about more straightforward superheroes with aspects of melodrama in them. Trying to cash in on these more dramatic tales felt logical to Tsupro. Another factor in the decision to shift to human drama was the large adult viewership Ultra had gained in reruns. While younger children were the primary audience of 1970’s Ultra Fight, it was the adults that were watching Ultraman and Ultraseven as they ran through syndication. At the moment adults were the biggest, most stable audience for the series. Aiming towards them and their tastes felt like a priority.
With the feel of the show covered, the design of the new hero and exactly who he was settled (kind of), and no notable issues to talk about in regards to getting the show to air (TBS was more than happy to host another Ultra program). Return of Ultraman hit the airwaves and despite the strong start, the ratings quickly declined. In their attempt to make a show for the adults of the 70s, they made a show that was extremely unattractive to the children of the time. While the adults did like the serious drama of the show and the deeper characters, all it was to the children was a very dry and boring show. Another thing that drove off the kids was the fact that they couldn’t have a lot of interesting settings to fight in at first. Having to mostly stick to forests and mountains due to budgetary reasons. To much of the youth of Japan, RoU started off as a show where people sat around and talked until it was time to walk around in the woods for the rest of the episode.
Thankfully for RoU, this wouldn’t always be the case, since Return of Ultraman had an advantage over its predecessors. The vast majority of the show wasn’t filmed in advanced, meaning they could react to criticism quickly and adjust the show as they went on. Since kids felt the show was boring and slow, the showrunners decided to spend the extra money they got after a profitable premiere on a highly dynamic two-parter. Where Jack would fight off a tsunami along with the monsters Seamons and Seagrorath. The tsunami effect was famed back in the day for being one of the most costly and elaborate effects of the time, but it brought in tons of viewers and revived interest in the series which was already starting to come off as a bit dry. It also once again proved Tsupro’s domination of the special effect arts, which caused more companies to call them for assists on their SFX projects.
Shortly after the epic two-parter, the next big move to garner interest was made. That next move was the introduction of space monsters, the Ultra Bracelet, and confirming that this show existed in a shared universe. A complaint against RoU was that outside of some notable exceptions such as Gudon and Twintail or the like, RoU lacked strong/unique monsters. So what they thought of to counter this criticism was to have an episode where a powerful monster from space named Bemstar would descend from the stars and wreck shop, following Bemstar would be more menacing monsters from space of course. In this episode, they also had planned to have Ultraseven appear and give Jack a new weapon, The Ultra Bracelet. This was a move to please fans of the older series who were dying to know if this was a proper continuation and to gain the attention of children who liked flashy weapons. The move was very successful and also went into strengthening the overall lore and feel of the Ultra universe, which would become more of a priority in future shows (such as Ace).
The next event that helped the show wasn’t planned at all. This event was having to suddenly change the Captain of MAT. The actor playing Captain Katsuhiro Kato had gotten involved in a scheduling crisis due to being allowed to act on multiple shows, he couldn’t keep up with the filming schedule of Return of Ultraman and decided to leave the work. An actor suddenly leaving the program was unheard of for Tsupro at the time, but they decided to take advantage of the change and said that a bold new captain that would shake up MAT forever was on their way. The original actor meant to play the new Captain Ryū Ibuki was an ensemble actor with no real major name to him besides his history of acting in Toho special effect films. The producer however felt that this wouldn’t do in the slightest, this was their chance to boost Ultra’s public image and prove that it was more than a children’s show in the eyes of the masses. At this time SFX dramas were looked down upon in the filming community and in a move to garner respect, he wanted to obtain a big name actor that could boost the show’s public image. Tsupro searched around and finally found their new star, legendary Japanese film actor Jun Negami (who was associated with one of Tsupro’s business partners). Negami’s name being attached to the show was huge. Not only did it garner respect from the film community, but it also brought in a new group of viewers who would’ve never watched the show before.
While it is not as huge as the previously mentioned events, the next publicity boosting move Tsupro pulled was to get a pro-athlete on the show. Specifically, a professional kickboxer, because kickboxing was huge in Japan at the time. Especially after a popular manga and program on the sport came out two years earlier. From 1969 to 1973, kickboxing was on the rise across the nation. For episode 27 they had legendary kickboxer, Tadashi Sawamura (“The Kicking Demon”), guest star, and have Jack use many kickboxing inspired moves in the main fight of the episode. Like previous publicity stunts the show had pulled, it increased viewership and seemed successful.
All of these events greatly strengthened the reputation of the show and brought in a wide variety of viewers, ranging from children to drama fans. Though perhaps the biggest reason why the show grew so much in popularity towards the end of its run was a patch of episodes from episode 31 to the Alien Nackle Two Parter (episode 37 and 38). This patch of the show is called the “Autumn Masterpiece Series” by Japanese fans due to many of them considering this the peak of the show in terms of quality and content. This is reflected in the high amount of critical praise and fantastic ratings garnered during the airing of this set of episodes. Episode 33, The Monster User and the Boy, was one of the most praised episodes of the show and considered an all-time classic among Japanese television due to the approach and depiction of its themes of discrimination and hate. Episode 34 is also of note, due to being written by a high school student who had gotten a chance to get one of their screenplays adapted into an episode of the show. This high schooler was Shinichiro Kobayashi who would go on to make the story for Godzilla vs Biollante. Episode 35, Cruel! Light Monster Pris-Ma, is another major episode that was written by the actor of Ken Sakata, the legendary Shin Kishida (who would go on to act in Fireman, Godzilla, and Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan). Episode 35 was praised for its groundbreaking and trippy special effects that were normally reserved for big-screen horror movies.
On the subject of Ken Sakata’s actor, he and the actress playing Aki Sakata had to leave the show soon. Budgetary and scheduling concerns were forcing them to leave, but instead of unceremoniously kicking them off the show, they once again decided to make their departure a crucial aspect of the work. I cannot explain what exactly they did without spoiling important elements of episodes 37 and 38. However, what went down in episode 37 and 38 regarding them was one of the key moments in the show, alongside other events that I don’t wish to spoil. What we should know for this article is that the build-up caused by the Autumn Masterpiece Series and the culmination of it in the Alien Nackle 2-Parter resulted in some of the highest ratings in Ultra series history.
The period following episode 38 is noted for its consistently high ratings and stable viewership. RoU had taken over the entire nation. It was the highest watched program in its timeslot. It was the highest watched special effects drama airing at the moment. Any molasses and doubt put on Tsupro before this was gone. Everyone wanted be Tsupro right cause it seemed like they could get anyone to appear and watch their show. It even kept skyrocketing in viewership with episode 44 which featured a romance plot for one of the members of MAT. The episode attracted many female viewers, which was an audience Tsupro had been trying to break into and wanted to keep around for their future shows. It was also at this point the merchandise sales were through the roof. The kids that didn’t dare touch the show at first were now eating up Ultra Bracelets like candy. There were even four mangas for Return of Ultraman running at the same time! RoU turned the nation into huge Ultra fans. The popularity and marketability of the Ultra series had been cemented thanks to Return of Ultraman. Thanks to its success, Ultra had become a cornerstone of Japanese pop-culture, not just for the moment, but perhaps for the rest of time if they decide to keep pushing it. By the end of the show, the name Goh Hideki became a synonym for the word “ideal hero” in the vocabulary of Japan.
The biggest effect of RoU, in the long run, was doing more than just restarting the Ultra series and establishing it as a franchise. It started the Henshin Hero Boom as we know it. Without Goh Hideki fighting for world peace in each episode of the show, the Tokusatsu genre wouldn’t have formed in the way it did. Rival companies wanted their own Goh Hideki after the show finished airing. They wanted a hero that could survive for ages and live on forever in the heart of Japan. It didn’t just reach the companies however, it hit the people too. Thousands of creators from the generation that was alive when RoU first aired, to beyond wanted to make their own icon of heroism like Jack and Goh. The Henshin Hero Boom as we knew it was a result of everyone wanting what RoU had, in the best possible way. Thousands of Japanese superheroes were born out of Goh’s willpower, pushing him forward and giving him the ability to do good.
The success of RoU didn’t just end with heroes though. It brought back the kaiju too. The second Kaiju Film Boom was a result of RoU bring monsters back into center stage. Proving that they still had a place in Japanese media. Return of Ultraman was a trendsetter, a trailblazer! The booming era Showa era of Tokusatsu might’ve never existed without Return. The Ultra series as we know it for sure wouldn’t exist if Hajime didn’t take the plunge with Return. Through its constant pursuit of popularity and desire to give stability and success to Tsupro, it changed Japanese pop culture forever. Thousands of shows, mangas, and movies would never existed without RoU touching the hearts and creative minds of the nation. When you get a chance, loudly cheer out the Five Ultra Vows as a way to say thanks to Jack and Goh Hideki for their valiant struggles. For without their brave fight, that age of heroes and monsters we love, might’ve never came to be.
RoU at the end of the day stemmed out of Hajime’s desire to keep his father’s legacy alive to inspire generations to come. Each day we create something with these giants of light lingering in the back of our minds, we are honoring this legacy. We are sharing a bond with all of these creators that came before us. We are pushing forward a legacy first continued in the Return of Ultraman.
Sources
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A6%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%86%E8%B0%B7%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%80%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%86%86%E8%B0%B7%E4%B8%80
- https://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E5%86%86%E8%B0%B7%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%80%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B8%B0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8D%E3%81%9F%E3%82%A6%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3
- https://dic.pixiv.net/a/%E5%B8%B0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8D%E3%81%9F%E3%82%A6%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_Ultraman
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184152/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuburaya_Productions
- https://w.atwiki.jp/aniwotawiki/?cmd=word&word=%E5%B8%B0%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8D%E3%81%9F%E3%82%A6%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3&type=&pageid=2887
ULTRA BLOG DX 
A very touching read, well done!
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Thanks for this post. I’ve been watching RoU (at times struggling with it) and until reading this I’ve only been able to find worthless reddit platitudes like “not a single bad episode” and “it’s Anno’s favorite series.” I’m currently in the middle of the “Autumn Masterpiece” episodes and was wondering what was really going on with this show. I appreciate your writing and analysis (and not spoiling the thing that literally everyone else on the internet spoils immediately).
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