Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, known as Ultraman Powered Tsuburaya Productions in the United States in 1993, running for 13 episodes. Following in the footsteps of the Australian-produced Ultraman: Towards the Future, this was the second live-action Ultraman Series produced outside Japan and the eleventh entry in the franchise overall.
in Japan, is a tokusatsu show co-produced by Major Havoc Entertainment (later renamed Steppin Stone Entertainment) andDespite being produced in America, the show was never broadcast there. In Japan, the series released on home video from December 16, 1993, and later aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 8 to July 1, 1995.
Although the costume designs are vastly considered impressive, the action was quite downplayed compared to other installments of the Ultraman Series and consisted mostly of the actors nudging each other and using attacks involving special effects with minimal physical contact, due to the costumes being fragile and fear by the production staff of damaging them after the hard work put into crafting them.
After this series, Tsuburaya has since focused on domestic productions.
Synopsis[]
The members of WINR (pronounced "Winner") respond when members of the alien Baltan race attack Earth, but the Baltans are only fended off when a gigantic alien, Ultraman Powered, joins with WINR member Kenichi Kai and gives him the power to metamorphose into Ultraman in times of danger. At the end of the first episode Ultraman declares that the Baltans were not completely defeated and that he will remain on Earth to continue the fight.
Characters[]
WINR[]
Others[]
- Officer Sam
- Officer Callahan
- Herlicki
- Roger Schecter
- Bamara
- Pete
- Katanga
- Kyle Morrison
- Keynes
- Windler
- Fenton
- Dr. Yusna
- Sean Malloy
- Mark Mitchell
- Dr. Whitaker
- Jesse
- Dennis
- Jamra Miller
- Karen Miller
- Patty Miller
- Colonel Essex
- Dan
- Potter
- Arturo Mendez
- Gurnaaz
- Dr. Hasegawa
- Sylvia Jackson
- General Garcia
Ultras[]
- Ultraman Powered: Simply called "Ultraman" in the original English version.
Kaiju[]
- Powered Alien Baltan
- Powered Kemular
- Powered Red King (male and female)
- Powered Chandlar
- Powered Pigmon
- Powered Telesdon
- The Sun People
- Powered Gabora
- Powered Dada (A, B & C)
- Powered Aboras
- Powered Banila
- Powered Jamila
- Powered Zumbolar
- Powered Pestar
- Powered Gomora
- Powered Dorako
- Psycho Baltan
- Powered Zetton
Cast[]
Character | English | Japanese Dub |
---|---|---|
Kenichi Kai | Kane Kosugi | Toshiyuki Morikawa |
Russel Edlund | Harrison Page | Kenji Utsumi |
Julie Young | Robyn Bliley | Aya Hisakawa |
Theresa Beck | Sandra Guibord | Keiko Toda |
Rick Sanders | Rob Roy Fitzgerald | Masashi Ebara |
Voice of Ultraman Powered | Unknown | Sho Kosugi (episode 1) Akio Otsuka (episode 13) |
Guest Cast[]
Character | English | Japanese Dub |
---|---|---|
Officer Callahan | Mari Weiss[1] | Mami Horikoshi |
Officer Sam | Steven R. Barnett[1] | Shigeru Ushiyama |
Herlicki | Conrad Bachmann[2] | Eken Mine |
Rancher | Ed Morgan[2] | Yu Shimaka |
Reporter | Patti Pelican[2] | Yuko Sasaki |
Roger Schecter | Jeffrey Combs[3] | Takayuki Sugo |
Bamara | Julie Uribe[3] | Yuko Sasaki |
Pete | Philip Tanzini[3] | Masaki Aizawa |
Katanga | Elias Gallegos[3] | Masayuki Omoro |
Kyle Morrison | Alex Nevil[4] | Ken Narita |
Seismologist | Judy Jean Berns[4] | Tamie Kubota |
Army Officer | John Towey[4] | Toshihiko Kojima |
Sun People's Leader | Bruce Spaulding Fuller[4] | |
Sun People | Jim Eustermann[4] Kevin Hudson[4] |
Masaaki Tsukada Others |
Mr. Keynes | Danny Hicks[5] | Toshihiko Kojima |
Windler | Kevin Page[5] | Nobuaki Fukuda |
Nuclear Power Plant Staff | Brenda Klemme[5] Ray Raglin[5] |
Atsuko Tanaka Ken Narita |
Mining Company Employee | Art Bonilla[5] | Masaaki Tsukada |
Fenton | Bill Mumy[5] | Naoki Bando |
Dr. Yusna | Jack Ong[6] | Takehiro Koyama |
Neuro Net Executive | Wendy Robie[6] | Kikuko Inoue |
Mark Mitchell | Wolf Muser[6] | Hiroaki Hirata |
Detective | Steve Eastin[6] | Takao Ohyama |
Sean Malloy | Jeffery Thomas Johnson[6] | |
Mark Mitchell's Neighbor | Rose Marie[6] | Ai Sato |
Voice of Dada | Aruno Tahara | |
Dr. Whitaker | Jason Todd Majik[7] | Takao Ohyama |
Jesse | Catherine Nagan[7] | Kikuko Inoue |
Dennis | John G. Hertzler[7] | Hiroaki Hirata |
Waterworks Employee | Steve Monarque[7] | Takehiro Koyama |
Whitaker's Assistant | Shano Palovich[7] | Ai Sato |
Jamra Miller | Phillip Stewart[8] | Shinpachi Tsuji |
Karen Miller | Marisa Theodore[8] | Akemi Okamura |
Colonel Essex | John McCann[8] | Kinryuu Arimoto |
Patty Miller | Kimberly Beck[8] | Keiko Aizawa |
Potter | Jesse Goins[8] | Taro Arakawa |
Dan | Steven Kramer[8] | Ryuji Mizuno |
Firefighters | Michael Hungerford[9] Greg Callahan[9] Will Jeffries[9] Michael R. Long[9] |
Ryuji Mizuno |
Arturo Mendez | Jaime P. Gomez[10] | Shigeki Kagemaru |
Inspector | Tom Finnegan[10] | Yuzuru Fujimoto |
Gurnaaz | Millie Novak[10] | Rica Fukami |
Oil Company Employees | E.E. Bell[10] Martin Brinton[10] |
Yuichi Nagashima |
Reporter | Judy Louise Johnson[10] | Kyoko Hikami |
Dr. Hasegawa | Danny Kamekona[11] | Yuzuru Fujimoto |
Sylvia Jackson | Sandra Spriggs[11] | Rica Fukami |
Newscaster | Warren Stanhope[11] | Shinpachi Tsuji |
Weather Forecaster | Dan Lorgé[11] | Yuichi Nagashima |
Security Guard | Tracey Walter[11] | Masaaki Tsukada |
Helicopter Pilots | Ted Prior[12] Karl A. Lucht[12] |
Nobuyuki Furuta Akio Otsuka |
General Garcia | Harold Cannon-Lopez | Tamio Ohki |
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraman Powered: Scott Rogers
Staff[]
Veteran makeup artist and Ultraman Series fan Steve Wang was briefly involved with the production of the show. He and his team created a miniature suit model of Ultraman which Tsuburaya Productions approved.
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Ultraman Powered : The opening theme. The US version uses an instrumental version.
- Lyrics: Goro Matsui
- Composition: Suzuki Kisaburo
- Arrangement: Tatsumi Yano
- Artist: Tatsuya Maeda
- Ending Themes
- Kono Uchu no Doko ka ni
- Lyrics: Goro Matsui
- Composition: Suzuki Kisaburo
- Arrangement: Tatsumi Yano
- Artist: Tatsuya Maeda
- STARLIGHT FANTASY
- Lyrics: MoriYuki KoreSusumu C
- Composition: YoMinoru Akihiro
- Arrangement: Y2
- Artist: Hitomi Sudo
Gallery[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Trivia[]
- When broadcast in Japan in 1995, episodes 6 to 9 were aired in a different order: 8, 9, 6, 7.
- As seen in the Blu-ray release, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is the only Heisei Ultra Series to be shot in high definition.
- Like Ultraman: Towards the Future, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is one of the few Ultraman Series not to have an official DVD release.
- The show spawned a video game, called Ultraman Powered, released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.
- Sho Kosugi, who provides Ultraman Powered's voice in the first episode of the Japanese dub, is the father of Kane Kosugi, who plays Kenichi Kai.
- This series marks the first time a Red King that is actually red appeared (as opposed to gold and blue).
- Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is one of the shows that has not yet been released as part of TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION's streaming list.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Episode 1 credits
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 2 credits
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Episode 3 credits
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Episode 4 credits
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Episode 5 credits
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Episode 6 credits
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Episode 7 credits
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Episode 8 credits
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Episode 9 credits
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Episode 10 credits
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Episode 11 credits
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Episode 12 credits