Ultraman Series: Heisei Era

In 2001, the Ultra Series was cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the record-holder for the most number of spin-off shows.

Ultraman Tiga (9/8/96 - 8/30/97)
Tiga is the first Ultraman with multiple combat modes and non-red colors. Because of Tiga's popularity, he had more exposure on TV and movies than any other Heisei Ultraman. Ultraman Tiga was dubbed in English by 4Kids Entertainment and broadcast in the United States as part of the Fox Box programming block, the third Ultra Series to air in the United States.

Ultraman Dyna (9/6/97 - 8/29/98)
In the year AD 2017 (nine years after the final episode of Ultraman Tiga), TPC has advanced beyond earth, and has created a new GUTS team, "Super GUTS". In contrast to the serious tone of Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna is a far more light hearted show, featuring more upbeat stories and goofy character personalities for its cast.

Ultraman Gaia (9/5/98 - 8/28/99)
Ultraman Gaia takes place in yet another universe, one that is totally different from the world of the original Ultramen, as well as world of Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna. In a departure from most of the other series, there are two Ultramen as the main characters. In this series, Gaia is the lead, but Ultraman Agul, makes many appearances. They are often at odds with each other in the beginning of the series.

Ultraman Neos (2000)
Being the 17th show in the Ultra Series, it was released direct-to-video in 2000, with a total of 12 episodes.

Ultraman Cosmos (7/7/01 to 9/28/02)
It had total of 65 episodes, which currently makes it the longest running Ultra Show to date. Its film Ultraman Cosmos: First Contact celebrated the 35th anniversary of the franchise. It is direct prequel to the original Ultraman Cosmos television series. he TV series takes place eight years after the events in the movie, when monsters are once again plaguing humanity.This series is followed by the feature film, Ultraman Cosmos: The Blue Planet (2002), in which Cosmos gains a couple of new modes (Space Corona and Phantom Corona). This in turn is followed by Ultraman Cosmos vs Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003).

Ultraman (2004)
Ultraman: The Next, released in Japan simply titled ULTRAMAN. It is part of the Ultra Series' experimental Ultra N Project, and features an Ultraman character codenamed "The Next". It was released on December 18, 2004, distributed by Shochiku. Eventually, this sets the tone for the TV series, Ultraman Nexus (Urutoraman Nekkusasu, 2004) as Maki's power is passed on to protect humanity from the darkness.

Ultraman Nexus (10/2/04 - 6/25/05)
Ultraman Nexus was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. The series aired on TBS, CBC, MBS, etc. There was 37 episodes, subsequent DVD releases from Bandai Visual and a brand new 45-minute Episode EX and an extended 45-minute Directors Cut of Episode 29. Three months after its initial run, it was re-run in a new time slot. Following the ULTRAMAN movie, Tsuburaya ran a teaser trailer for Ultraman 2 Requiem. Due to the performance of Ultraman Nexus, the film (Ultraman 2) was cancelled, and Tsuburaya moved ahead with a theatrical version of the then-current television series, Ultraman Mebius.

Ultraman Max (7/2/05 – 3/25/06)
The show tried to return to the true formula of new monsters every week and being a fast paced show like previous series with the exception of Ultraman Nexus. The show is full of homages to past series by having three of the original cast members from the first Ultraman series (and one original cast member from Ultraseven being featured in an episode), updated versions of classic monsters like Red King, Eleking and Pigmon among others. Episode 29 revolves around the filming of the 1964 program Ultra Q.

Ultraman Mebius (4/8/06 – 3/31/07)
The series is set 40 years after the shows of Ultraman), and makes many references from Ultra Q through to Ultraman 80. Mebius is a rookie Ultra Warrior and has a lot to live up to. This series is set in the same universe as the original timeline

Ultraseven X (10/5/07-12/21/07)
It is the 23rd entry in the Tsuburaya Productions' long-running Ultra Series. It is a revival of the 1967 classic Ultra Seven, and is the first in Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra hero series to be exclusively for an adult audience.

Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle (12/1/07 – 2/23/08)
It is the first season of its series that is the 24th entry in the Tsuburaya Productions' long-running Ultra Series. It is an adaption of the video game Mega Monster Battle: ULTRA MONSTERS. The show first aired on December 1, 2007 and concluded on February 23, 2008. On December 20, 2008, the second season titled Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey premiered. Ultra Galaxy was the first Ultra Series to be shown as a pay-per-view service.


Ultraman Zero appears in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie.

(2008-12-20)Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (12/20/08 – 3/14/09)
It is the second season and the 25th entry in Tsuburaya Productions' long-running Ultra Series. Like its predecessor Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle, NEO is a pay-per-view service. The first episode was distributed for free online for a month. The series was followed by Mega Monster Battle Exercises, with Rei being the only returning cast character.

In 1993, Tsuburaya Productions and Toei Company co-produced Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider (direct to video), a crossover with the original Ultraman and Toei's Kamen Rider 1. At present, Tsuburaya Productions accepts 36 Ultramen as official (counting Ultraman Legend--the combined form of Ultramen Cosmos and Justice---as a separate entity). This doesn't count for Thai-produced Ultramen.

Ultraman Series: International Collaborations

Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (1989)
Ultraman: The Adventure Begins was an animated movie joint produced by Hanna-Barbera and Tsuburaya Productions in 1987. The movie was titled Ultraman USA for its Japanese release in 1989. The characters in the movie had no special devices to transform into their super-powered identities, unlike most Ultramen. Their transformations were an automatic defense mechanism when in life-threatening danger. Tsuburaya Productions originally approached Hanna-Barbera to do this feature as a live-action pilot for a possible TV series, but Hanna-Barbera talked them into doing an animated feature instead.

Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990)
Ultraman: Towards the Future was produced in 1990 in Australia by the South Australian Film Corporation and Japan's Tsuburaya Productions (the creators of the Ultraman character). There were 13 episodes filmed (the first 6 episodes were the "Goudes Threat" story arc). Titled Ultraman Great for its Japanese release, the 13-episode show was released on home video in Japan, and was later broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System from July 8 to September 30, 1995. A comic book sequel to the series was printed in the United States. Howeverk, the comic treats Ultraman Great as the same Ultraman from the original 1966 series. The comic has also been known to confuse "Ultraman: Towards the Future" with the subsequent American-made series, "Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero". This was the 10th Ultra Series and the first produced in the Heisei era.

Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1993)
Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero was an ambitious production. 13 episodes were produced in the US in 1993 by Major Havoc Entertainment (later renamed Steppin Stone Entertainment) and Tsuburaya Productions. Following the footsteps of the Australian-produced Ultraman: Towards the Future, this was the second live-action Ultra Series produced outside Japan. It is considered to be a remake to the original Ultraman show by many fans. Titled Ultraman Powered for Japanese release, the show was released on home video there in December of 1993, and later aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 8 to July 1, 1995. This was the 11th Ultra Series. However, despite being produced in America, the show was never broadcast there. Although having impressive costume designs, the action was quite weak compared to other installments of the Ultra Series, due to the costumes being fragile. After this series, Tsuburaya has since focused on domestic productions.

Ultraman Series: Showa Era

I have to admit that I am not much a fan of Ultraman, I never saw it as a kid, I wasn't aware of it. Ultraman has been dubbed several times in the United States and was quite popular in Latin America. I think maybe why Ultraman is not so popular with American Tokusatsu fans these days is probably because Ultraman didn't last long, Power Rangers has lasted over 17 years. Basically Ultraman is probably the oldest Tokusatsu series, being 44 years old. In 2016, it will be 50 years old! I don't know the real reason why Ultraman is not that popular among us.

The original Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series show was produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System and Tsuburaya Productions, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from July 17, 1966 to 1967, with a total of 39 episodes. Although Ultraman is the first series to feature an Ultra-being, this is actually the second Ultra Series. Ultra Q was the first.

Ultra Q (1/2/66 – 7/3/66)

Although series creator Eiji Tsuburaya intended this series to be more like The Twilight Zone and focus less on the monsters, TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) convinced Eiji to add more monsters onto the show, as Godzilla was popular. The original planned title of this project was UNBALANCE, and was subsequently renamed Ultra Q (inspired by "Oba-Q", the nickname of the title character of the then-popular anime series Obake no Q-Taro, and "Ultra C", a popular term used for women's gymnastics during the 1964 Summer Olympics, where a Russian gymnast created an extremely difficult maneuver called the "Ultra C").

Ultraman (7/17/66 - 4/9/67)
Ultraman's creator was Eiji Tsuburaya from Tsuburaya Productions, a pioneer in special effects who was responsible for bringing Godzilla to life in 1954. Ultraman was from "The Land Of Light," Nebula M78 and used the Beta Capsule to transform. The Ultraman series used various monster costumes, known as kaiju in Japan, before Kamen Rider and Himitsu Sentai Goranger.

Ultra Seven (10/1/67-9/8/68)
Ultra Seven is sometimes incorrectly called "Ultraman Seven" by many sources outside Japan. Both the series and its hero can also be called Ultraseven (without a space), which is generally the form used when romanized.

The Return of Ultrman (April 21, 1971 – March 31, 1972)
This series is a follow up to the original Ultraman and Ultraseven. Ultraman Jack is also the only Ultraman to suffer many types of humiliation, from having his Color Timer ripped off to decapitation. Featured in this show is a new Ultraman named "New Ultraman", or like the show's title. In 1984, however, he was renamed "Ultraman Jack" due to licensing issues, after Tsuburaya and Bandai (which had just bought the Ultraman toy license in Japan) held a contest for children to pick a new name for this Ultraman. Although he is called "Ultraman Jack" for licensing in and out of Japan, he is still sometimes referred to as "New Ultraman", by some fans according to Wikipedia.

Ultraman Ace (4/7/72-3/30/73)
Starting with this show, the Ultra Series went in a different direction, slowly shifting from a sci-fi/mystery adventure to full-tilt superhero fantasy fare. Also, all previous Ultraman like Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack and also with Zoffy make more frequent appearances here. Male Seiji Hokuto and Female Yuhko Minami both transformed to become the one entity known as Ultraman Ace.

Ultraman Taro (4/6/73 to 4/5/74)
Taro is one of the most typical name of a boy in otogi-banashis, or, Japanese fairy tales. The producer said, 'Ultraman Taro is going to be the fairy tale in the Ultra Series.'

Ultraman Leo (4/12/74 – 3/28/75)
He comes from Nebula L-77 and Ultraseven is beat up on Earth and Leo comes to the rescue.

The Ultraman (4/4/79 to 3/26/80)
The Ultraman was the first-ever animated version of the famous superhero Ultraman. The Ultraman featured in this animation is "Ultraman Jonias", also known as "Ultraman J(Joe)" and he hails from the Planet U40. The series, produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Sunrise (which released the now-famous Mobile Suit Gundam the same year). A real life suit has been created for Meets and Greets.


Ultraman 80 (4/2/80 to 3/25/81)
It is the 8th season in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman 80 was aired between, with a total of 50 episodes. 80 was the last Ultraman produced for TV in Japan until Ultraman Tiga, 16 years later.

Non Power Rangers / Super Sentai Week

It has don on me I haven't done enough about the more obscure Tokusatsu like Metal Hero, the Seiyu series, Rescue Hero, Ultraman and etc., also hoping that there is no new Power Rangers new this week (I am assuming it won't come until mid-September), I announce Non Power Rangers / Super Sentai Week!

Summaries of Metal Hero Series

I realized after doing the grunts of the villains of the Metal Heroes, maybe not everyone know them all. There were two 'triologies' within the series, which were the Space Sherrifs (Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider), the Rescue Heroes (Winspector, SolBrain and Exceedraft) and to some extent, the B-Fighters, which only lasted two 'seasons'. The Metal Hero Series' protagonists were primarily space police who were androids, cyborgs, or humans that transform into metallic armor. The shows were produced by Toei from 1982 through 1999 along with their other Tokusatsu superhero shows, such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Currently, the Metal Hero Series are a defunct genre in place of Super Sentai and Kamen Rider Series of shows. The Kamen Rider Series itself has adopted many of the Metal Hero Series' traits. Today, the present versions of these types of heroes are merged in with the Henshin Heroes description. Some occasionally appear in stage shows and video games.

Space Sheriff Gavan (1982)
The first of the three Space Sheriff Series. Earth is invaded by the Makuu Empire, which first destroyed a space colony near Earth. It was being dominated because their leader Don Horror wanted to dominate the whole universe. Gavan from the Galactic Union Patrol, arrives as he was asked to defend the Earth, which is his mother's planet of origin. Gavan is helped by Mimi, the daughter of Commander Qom, and is given information by Qom, assisted by Marin on his home planet.

Space Sheriff Sharivan-1983
Den Iga, a forest patrolman, is attacked by a member of the space crime organization Makuu Empirei. Den is seriously injured in the attack. Gavan, who was visiting Mount Tsurugi in order to search for his father, assists Den, giving him medical treatment at Bird Planet. Chief Com of the Galactic Union Patrol is impressed by Den's courage and trains him to become Space Sheriff Sharivan. Gavan, who is able to ultimately bring down the Makuu Empire, is promoted to captain of the Galactic Union Patrol and takes charge of the whole solar system. Sharivan is appointed as the Space Sheriff of Earth. Later, he returns to protect the Earth with female sheriff Lily.

Space Sheriff Shaider-1984
In college studying archaeology, Dai Sawamura deciphered the figures on the Nazca Plain in Peru. Impressed by this feat, the Galactic Union Police recruited him and trained him to be Earth's third Space Sheriff, after which he was given the code name 'Shaider' in memory of an ancient warrior who defeated the villain Emperor Kubilai and brought down the Fuuma Empire 12,000 years ago. When the Fuuma returns, Dai is deputized as he returns to Earth to battle the Fuuma. He was the last of the three Space Sheriff. Footage of show (Hero, Monsters, Grunts and Villains) was used for Season 2 of the VR Troopers.

Giant Beast Investigator Juspion (1985)
The name Juspion is a portmanteau of the words "Justice" and "Champion". While reading the Galaxy Bible, Ejin learns of a shocking prophecy: When the dark god Satan Goss awakens, the universe will be ravaged by the giant monsters filled with rage. When Satan Goss appears, Juspion sets off under orders from his mentor Ejin to stop him and combat the corrupted Megabeasts with the giant warrior robot Daileon and his friends.

Dimensional Warrior Speilban-1986)
The Wahrer Empire destroys the planet Clin in search of water for its' deity. Two Clinian children, Spielban and Diana, escape to Earth aboard the Gran Nasca. Having grown up during the long journey, the two don High Tech Crystal Suits to defeat Wahrer, who have come to Earth in search of more water. Spielban must avenge his homeworld and find his missing father Ben and missing older sister Helen. Overtime, they learned that Clin was really Earth and that they were 10,000 years in the past. Footage of the show (Heroes, Grunts and Monsters, not Villains) was used for VR Troopers, both seasons.

Super-human Machine Metalder-1987
Dr. Ryūichirō Kōga designed Metalder as a top-secret weapon for the Japanese Imperial Army for use in the Pacific War, modeling it after his late son, Second Sub-lieutenant Tatsuo Kōga. Dr. Kōga put Metalder to sleep in the Silver Carcass base. Dr. Kōga's former colleague Major Muraki, became the evil God Neros, ruler of Neros Empire. God Neros sends out his massive armies to kill Dr. Kōga and returned to Japan to activate Metalder in his human form Ryūsei. Kōga desperately tries to activate his android creation but the android is unable to understand what he should do. Kōga is killed and Ryūsei is beaten by Neros' troops and after that, he is fueled with rage, evoking the conversion to his 'true' form, the android known as Metalder. Footage (Hero, monsters, and main villain) of this show was used only for the first season od VR Troopers. The concept of the dog friend was used as well.

Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya Jiraiya-1988
The series centers around a young ninja master named Toha Yamaji, who must face against numerous ninja masters from different parts of the world by donning a special armor to become his alter-ego Jiraiya. The English title given by Toei's international sales department was Ninja Olympiad,a reference the Seoul Olympics that was held at the time the series was airing.

Mobile Detective Jiban (1989)
This was bascially a Japanese Robocop, as Robocop came out in 1987. Tamura, a new detective in Central City was killed by a Bioron and brought the man back to life as a robot detective, Jiban.

Special Rescue Police Winspector (1990)
The series follows the adventures and missions of a special "Rescue Police" team known as Special Police Winspector, as they stop crimes and respond to dangerous events where regular police force is not sufficient. The team is made up of one human and two robotic assistants.

Super Rescue Solbrain (1991)
After Winspector police team leaves Japan to fight crime in France, Chief Shunsuke Masaki realizes he must create a new police team to defend Tokyo from the criminality menaces. He then creates Solbrain, a group of high-technology special rescue force, expert in missions that requires firepower and human life rescue. Their leader is Daiki Nishio, a rookie detective who is able to use the Plus Up command in his car to transform into SolBraver. Other members include Reiko Higuchi, who is also able to use Plus Up command to transform into SolJeanne, SolBraver's female counterpart, and SolDozer, a yellow dozer robot.

Tokusou Exceedraft (1992)
The last piece of the Rescue Heroes Trilogy. The human race to face the increasingly complex threats such as crime, pollution, natural disasters and sophisticated. The Police, Fire Department, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Health specialists have gathered from various fields such as special police Winspector and Solbrain.

Special Investigation Robot Janperson (1993)
The series revolved around Janperson, a robotic detective who patrolled the streets of Tokyo and fought against three different underworld organizations who used super technology to subjugate the masses. Unlike most Metal Heroes, a monster-of-the-week was rarely shown and most of the villains are criminals akin to television police dramas.

Blue Swat (1994)
I forgot about this, the suits weren't even full suits. Blue SWAT devitated from the Metal Hero aspects by using a realistic vibe for the series instead of fantastic, over-the-top action by focusing on the martial arts and gunplay. While the mood of the series appealed to the genre's adult fanbase and older viewers, the show wasn't well-received by children, which resulted in a change in to a lighter tone midway through the series.

Juukou B-Fighter (1995)
Takuya Kai journeyed into the jungle and meets Guru who gives him and two others powers to fight the invading Jamhal. Footage was used for Big Bad Beetleborgs.

B-Fighter Kabuto (1996)
Sequel to B-Fighter, a new team of three rises up ten years later to fight the Melzard Tribe. They are later by four other multi-culture individuals. Footage was used for Beetleborg Metalix.

The last two were geared towards younger children.
B-Robo Kabutack (1997)
It is the first of the kiddie shows made by Toei in the Metal Hero Series line. The program is a partial sequel to B-Fighter Kabuto, as the B-Fighters show up in the series.

Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack (1998)
The series is the final installment of the Metal Hero Series and the partial sequel to B-Robo Kabutack. It aired after Seiju Sentai Gingaman on TV Asahi.

Metal Hero Villain Footsoldiers

After doing the Footsoldiers for Kamen Rider, I remembered VR Troopers had footosliders and did some research into the footsoldiers to Metal Heroes.

UPDATED 9/6/10 1:30 AM EST

Crushers (Gavan - 1982)
The villains of Gavan (1982), the Space Crime Organization Makuu had the Crushers. Picture thanks to a commenter. Apparently they wore motorcycle jackets and had red-yellow helmets (I kind of like them).

Soldier Psychoers (Sharivan-1983)
Space Crime Syndicate Madou's Grunts. This is the only picture I could find. They had faces a bit like the Golem Hei (mind you this series aired in 1984 and Zyuranger aired in 1992) and had black uniforms with what seems to be blue lighting and chains and armed with halberds.

Soldier Miraclers (Shaider-1984)
Fuuma followers who wear Rangda-style masks with big round eyes and fanged mouths armed with hatchets and rifles. They appeared on VR Troopers as Ultra Skugs for season two.

Juspion (1985) had the Commanders, I think this are them, not sure, let me know.

Kinclons (Speilban-1986)
Wahrer's mass-produced Battle Machine Soldiers, garbed in black tights with gold stripes, smiling gold masks with red eye slits, and black and gold capes. There were Kinclon with a robotic head which was revealed upon being struck by Spielban's Twin Saber. In VR Troopers, they called Skugs and were the footsoldiers in Speilban. For some reason, some fans believed the Skugs were American, but weren't.

Shadow Light Fighters (Metalder-1987)
A group of grunts trained in ninjutsu. They dressed in mostly black with silver thing on their right thigh and white arm band and strange masks. Grnrngr.com says they appeared as Mutant Scouts on VR Troopers.


Light Fighter Blue Kid appeared as a unnamed warrior in VR Troopers.

Shadow Mutant Scouts said to appear in VR Troopers as well.

Bird Ninjas Karasutengu (Jiraiya-1988)
They spoke, they flew and Their weapons include calthrop bombs and dart-shooting blowguns.

Masques (Jiban-1989)
Jiban's villains, the Criminal Syndicate Bioron had the Masques footsoliders. Picture thanks to a commenter.

Jansperson (1993), I don't know if they had footsoliders. The Metal Hero series Winspector, Solbrain, Exceedraft and Blue Swat didn't have big villain sects.

Jamar (B-Fighter-1995)
Faceless soldiers that served and worshipped Gaohm. They flew fighter jets and were often given menial tasks. They did appear in BBB, they were called Scabs.


Shineitai (B-Fighter Kabuto-1996)
The Melzard's footsoliders, two different types for Raija and Dezzle. They were called Dregs in Beetleborgs Metallix.