"The silver meteor...descends"
- ―Movie tagline
Production[]
The project proposal for YELLOW EYES.
The project was first conceived in 2000. Producer Kiyoshi Suzuki from Tsuburaya Productions proposed an original film rather than a television series, aiming to create a more grounded work of science fiction. The project was initially titled YELLOW EYES, a name that referred both to "the eyes of Ultraman" and to "a warning signal." The story followed a young man who gained extraordinary powers and struggled to control his violent impulses during irrational battles, eventually awakening a sense of justice. However, after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the team found it difficult to portray violence in the same way, leading them to rework the story and explore new themes.[1]
To reflect ideas such as "realistic simulation," "biological meaning," and "the rebirth of Ultraman," the protagonist was reimagined as a father fighting to protect his child.[2] This version retained the feel of real-world monster disasters while paying homage to Ultra Q and Ultraman. The project was later incorporated into the ULTRA N PROJECT. Its core concept asked, "What if the first episode of Ultraman took place in modern Japan?" and used the original episode, "Ultra Operation No.1," as the narrative framework for the film.
Filming began in October 2003[3] with full cooperation from the Ministry of Defense. Real military bases were used for location shoots, and actual F-15 Eagle takeoffs were filmed for use in the movie. Many of the weapons and aircraft seen on screen were real. The film was originally scheduled for release ahead of the TV series Ultraman Nexus in the summer of 2004, but the release order was later changed. As a result, the production team decided to merge the two different story settings into a shared universe.[1]
The film premiered at the 17th Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2004 as a special screening. Cast members including Tetsuya Bessho, Kyoko Toyama, Kenya Osumi, and several performers portraying Ultramen attended the opening ceremony as guests of honor.[4][5]
Synopsis[]
First Lieutenant Shunichi Maki of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is a prestigious F-15 Eagle jet pilot (or "driver" as he is called in the film). A lifelong fan of flying since he was a child, being a pilot is his ultimate dream. Unfortunately, his duties distance himself from his wife, Yoko, who always ends up being neglected, and his son, Tsugumu Maki, who has a congenital blood disease and has a high risk of dying at a young age.
Maki decides to quit the Air Force to devote more time to his family and to spend whatever is left for his son. He takes a part-time job as a commercial tour guide run by a kindly group of people who allow him time to work and to also take care of his family.
However, prior to quitting, Maki and his flight partner Yamashima are alerted to a strange red light streaking towards Japan, and Maki's plane collides with the red light. However, he has suffered no ill effects other than brief flashes of scenes playing out in his mind. He later discovers that the images in his mind are due to telepathic messages from the strange being in the light.
Appearances[]
Protagonist[]
BCST[]
- Sara Mizuhara
- Sogabe
- Yashiro
JSDF[]
Hoshikawa Air Service[]
Antagonist[]
Others[]
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
Cast[]
- Shunichi Maki Tetsuya Bessho
- Sara Mizuhara : Kyoko Toyama
- Takafumi Udo /Beast the One : Kenya Osumi
- Yoko Maki : Nae Yuuki
- Tsugumu Maki : Ryohei Hirota
- Gou Kurashima : Toshiya Nagasawa
- Sogabe : Daisuke Ryu
- Manjome : Masao Kusakari
- Ippei : Eisuke Tsunoda
- Yuriko : Yumiko Sato
- Yashiro : Kazuya Shimizu
- JASDF Base Commander: Edo Yamaguchi
- Restaurant Owner: Yoichi Okamura
- Yukie : Makiko Amuro
- Miku : Mahiro Endo
- Miku's Mother: Hiromi Ono
- Miku's Father: Kazuya Konaka
- Shunichi Maki (Child) : Ayumu Hamakawa
- Repairman: Takashi Yamazaki
- JGSDF Communication Soldier: Naoki Ichimura
- Announcer: Kengo Komada
- Special Forces:
- Keizo Yabe
- Hirosuke Nakamura
- Gourmet Reporter: Ryo Kinomoto
- Man Watching Street TV: Yuichi Kikuchi
Voice Actors[]
- Ultraman the Next : Hideyuki Tanaka
- Beast the One :
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraman the Next: Keiji Hasegawa
- Beast the One:
- Idolovia: Junya Iwamoto
- Reptilia, Beelzebua: Satoshi Yamamoto
Staff[]
- Director: Kazuya Konaka
- Screenwriter: Keiichi Hasegawa
- Special effects director: Yuichi Kikuchi
- Flying sequence director: Ichiro Itano
- Supervisor: Kazuo Tsuburaya
- Executive producers: Hideaki Tsuburaya, Takeo Hisamatsu, Atsushi Takeuchi, Kazumi Kawashiro, Kunikatsu Kondo, Yuji Shimamoto, Akira Suzuki, Yujiro Hara
- Chief producer: Kiyoshi Suzuki
- Producers: Tsuyoshi Yoshida, Shingo Watanabe, Satoshi Kubo, Daisuke Ooka, Tatsuya Tanimura, Shinjiro Yokoyama, Kenji Komatsu, Takeyuki Okazaki
- Music producer: Shizuka Tamagawa
- Music director: Hideki Tanabiki
- Music: Masazumi Ozawa, Daisuke Ikeda, Shingo Hasuda
- Music supervisor: Tak Matsumoto (B'z)
- Cinematographer and VFX supervisor: Shinichi Ooka
- Art director: Tetsuzo Osawa
- Special effects art designer: Isao Takahashi
- Main story art designer: Masato Inatsuki
- Sound mixing: Tomoharu Urata
- Sound effects: Akihiko Okase, Mizuki Ito
- Practical effects: Izumi Negishi
- Assistant director: Kunio Tanahashi
- Action choreographer: Kunihide Kuruma
- Special effects action assistant: Hiroyuki Okano
- Main assistant cinematographer: Sou Takahashi
- Editor: Akira Matsuki
- Script supervisor: Kaoru Yamauchi
- Production manager: Mitsuo Nakai
- Production cooperation producers: Hiroyasu Shibuya, Nobuyuki Koyama
- Planning cooperation: Naoyuki Eto, Motoki Hokuetsu, Takayoshi Kobayashi, Toshio Iizuka, Daiki Sato, Naotsugu Kato
- Backgrounds: Fuchimu Shimakura
- Second assistant directors: Tomoki Sano, Taikan Higurashi, Hideki Oka, Kazuhiro Sugami
- Character maintenance: Yasuyuki Fukui, Hideo Miyagawa
- CGI producer and supervisor: Kenji Watanabe
- VFX coordinator: Yoshishige Matsuno
- VFX coordinator assistant: Naoya Otani
- Character designers: Hiroshi Maruyama, Yasushi Torisawa
- Image boards: Kiyoshi Okuyama, Yasushi Torisawa
- Title: Yukio Kumagai
- Production chief: Eiji Kikuchi
- Video cooperation: Shinichi Kamizawa, Tsugumi Kitaura, Hirochika Muraishi, International Television Films, Inc.
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- "ULTRAMAN THE NEXT"
- Artist: Tak Matsumoto
- Ending Theme
- "NEVER GOOD-BYE"
- Lyrics: Jack Blades
- Composer: Matsumoto Takahiro
- Arranger: Matsumoto Takahiro & Tokunaga Akihito
- Artist: Tak Matsumoto Group
Original Soundtrack[]
The original soundtrack was produced by Tak Matsumoto (of B'z), under his Vermillion Records label (which is in turn, a part of the Being Giza group). It was released in Japan on July 20, 2005. The catalogue code for the album is BMCV-8015.
Manga[]
- Main article: Ultraman THE NEXT
A manga adaptation created by Takahiro Sawaki was serialized in Tokusatsu Ace magazines from December 2004 to April 2005, with a complete tankōbon released in 2008.
Cancelled Sequel[]
- Main article: ULTRAMAN2: requiem
In 2005, Tsuburaya Productions announced that a sequel to this movie, ULTRAMAN2: requiem would be released in winter. However, due to the failure of the Ultra N Project, the sequel was cancelled. The suits for this unmade sequel were remodeled into Zett and Reibatos.
Gallery[]
Images[]
![Japanese ad for ULTRAMAN[5]](/wiki/File:Ultraman_Next_2004_3.jpg "Ultraman Next 2004 3.jpg (432 KB)")
Trivia[]
- There are several unreleased scenes in this work, which were later included as bonus features on the DVD.[6]
- The original working title of the film was ULTRAMAN THE NEXT, but it was later changed midway. The original title was subsequently used for the name of the Ultraman appearing in this work, as well as for the title of the manga adaptation.[6]
- In 2022, with the release of Shin Ultraman, discussions surrounding this movie gradually increased, further becoming a trending topic on Twitter. Notably, ULTRAMAN ranked first in the "Special Effects/Team/Heroes" category on Amazon's bestseller list for DVDs, as it was not released on most major movie distribution services. This led to a reevaluation of its reception in the video software market.[7][8]
- The film has not been released on Tsuburaya Imagination.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6557cGaCmM
- ↑ Ultra Special Effects Perfect Mook Vol.17 Ultraman Nexus pg 4-5
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110107083957/http://www.ultraman-movie.com/note/
- ↑ https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/L0000002
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.scifijapan.com/ultraman-tsuburaya/ultraman-the-next
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "ULTRAMAN" DVD production video
- ↑ https://magmix.jp/post/93179
- ↑ https://realsound.jp/movie/2022/06/post-1055434.html