The☆Ultraman
Format:	Science Fiction Superhero Animation
Created by:	Tsuburaya Production Nippon Sunrise
Starring:	Takeshi Toyama
Opening Theme:	The Ultraman
Ending Theme:	Heroes of love
Country Of Origin	Japan
Number Of Episode	50
Running Time	24 Minutes (per episode)
Original Channel	TBS
Original Air Date	April 4, 1979 – March 26, 1980
Preceed by	Ultraman Leo
Succeed	Ultraman 80

The☆Ultraman (ザ☆ウルトラマン, Za☆Urutoraman^?) is a Japanese animated television series co-produced by Tsuburaya Production and Tokyo Broadcasting System. The series aired on TBS Television affiliates on the Wednesday 7:00 PM time slot from April 4, 1979 to March 26, 1980, lasting a total of 50 episodes. It was the eighth installment in the Ultra Series and aired four years after the end of Ultraman Leo. The show was the first animated incarnation of Tsuburaya's iconic superhero Ultraman, as well as one of the earliest works of anime studio Nippon Sunrise (now known simply as Sunrise), who also worked on their now-iconic mecha series Mobile Suit Gundam during the same year.

Scientific Defense GuardEdit

The Scientific Defense Guard (科学警備隊Kagaku Keibitai^?) is a branch of the Earth Defense Force.

• Tetsuo Akiyama (アキヤマ 徹男Akiyama Tetsuo^?): The first captain of the Far East Zone. He is transferred to the America Zone in Episode 26.
• Daisuke Gondo (ゴンドウ 大助Gondō Daisuke^?): The second captain of the Far East Zone, who takes over Akiyama's duties from Episode 27 and onward.
• Kei Marume (マルメ 敬Marume Kei^?): A strongman and an expert marksman.
• Hiroaki Tobe (トベ 博明Tobe Hiroaki^?): A weapons developer.
• Mutsumi Hoshikawa (星川 ムツミHoshikawa Mutsumi^?): A female member.
• Choichiro Hikari (ヒカリ 超一郎Hikari Chōichirō^?): He encounters Joeneus on his way from a space station to the earth, and merges with Joeneus.

English versions[edit]Edit

In the United States, there have been two feature-length movie compilationsEdit

• The Adventures of Ultraman (1981), a featured-length movie produced by Tsuburaya Productions specifically for the English-language market. The movie is composed of edited footage from several episodes at the end of the series. The storyline was rewritten for this adaptation with a new script by Jeff Segal and music composed by Mark McKinniss.
• Ultraman II: The Further Adventures of Ultraman (1983), a dub of the first four episodes co-produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Associates Entertainment International. Despite the title, it has no continuity with the previous English dub of the series. Although the translation is closer to the original Japanese scripts than the first movie, the characters' names were still changed (the names given to the characters are not the same ones used in the previous dub, although a few are very similar). The order of the third and fourth episodes were also switched.