Ultraman Mebius is the 19th entry of the Ultraman Series, created by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. It premiered on the Tokyo Broadcasting System on April 8, 2006 and ended on March 31, 2007. Unlike the two prior entries, Ultraman Nexus (2004) and Ultraman Max (2005), this series was moved from Saturday mornings to Saturday evenings at 05:30.
The series can be watched on Shout TV, Tubi, Roku, and Vudu.
Production
Between 1996 and 2005, after producing six Heisei Ultraman TV series, Tsuburaya Productions planned to launch a symbolic work in 2006 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ultraman series. Following the broadcast of Ultraman Max, preparations for this new series began in July 2005, with Hiroyasu Shibuya as the project planner. Shibuya decided to focus on "friendship," which could resonate more broadly, building on the main theme of "bonds" from Ultraman Nexus. The commemorative significance of the "40th anniversary" inevitably guided the depiction towards Nebula M78 and the Ultra Brothers.[1]
Compared to the previous six Heisei Ultraman series, this new series placed a greater emphasis on "change." It was not only a product of the Heisei era but also made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ultraman series. To clearly present the worldview of the Ultra Brothers, the setting aligned with the timeline from Ultraman to Ultraman 80, taking place approximately 25 years after the departure of Ultraman 80 and in a world where monsters no longer appeared. Additionally, most of the old monsters featured in this series were popular ones from Return of Ultraman to Ultraman 80. The target audience was also slightly younger than that of the previous six series.[1][2]
Despite taking place 25 years after the events of Ultraman 80, series producer Hiroyasu Shibuya has admitted that there are "ambiguous" parts in the series that contradict this timeline. It is important to note that the new series does not adopt the Showa worldview as a "direct sequel." Instead, it operates on the premise that the seven TV series from Ultra Q to Ultraman 80 belong to the same universe, with the main storyline based on the timeline of their broadcast years. According to Hiroyasu Shibuya's concept, the worldview of this series strictly belongs to a "What If" world line. Ultraman Mebius, as a work that integrates the IF universe, not only resolves the inconsistencies in the timeline continuity of previous works but also creates a unique worldview by incorporating many elements from its predecessors. This is a key reason why this series significantly differs from previous series.[3]
While respecting the Showa Ultraman series, this new series boldly inherits the established settings of the Inter Galactic Defense Force and Ultra Brothers. Unlike previous series, the protagonist is not a host type but Ultraman himself, appearing directly in human form. By setting the protagonist as a novice, the series centers around his growth story, allowing the theme of "friendship" to be fully explored. Ultraman Mebius not only depicts the camaraderie between Ultraman but also emphasizes the friendship between Mebius and humans, making the show a growth story for the rookie team CREW GUYS, who face monsters for the first time. The series composition and script were handled by Masanao Akahoshi.[4]
A notable difference between this series and previous ones is that in the episode 30, the protagonist's true identity is revealed to his teammates early on, and they fight together. This setting contrasts sharply with past works where the hero's identity remained secret until the end or had to be kept hidden, bringing a more unique development path to this series.[4]
Shunji Igarashi and Ultraman Mebius attended the production press conference of the series on March 28, 2006.[5][6]
In November 2005, filming for Ultraman Mebius began. At the same time, the film Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers had already started production during the early stages of the TV series and was scheduled for release in mid-September 2006. To avoid diminishing the movie's impact, the TV series did not directly involve the Ultra Brothers' storyline before the film's release, but it did introduce characters like Yapool ahead of time. As a result, the first half of the TV series primarily continued with the existing settings and focused on the story of another warrior, Ultraman Hikari.[4]
Starting from the latter half of the third quarter, the storyline of Ultraman Mebius gradually increased the appearance of the Ultra Brothers as guest stars, including some of the main actors from the Showa series making cameo appearances. In previous series where members of the Ultra Brothers appeared as guests, even when guest Ultras were present, they typically underwent significant character adjustments to strongly integrate into the distinctive features of that series. However, in Ultraman Mebius, the guest Ultras largely retained their original characteristics in terms of stance and principles of action. This was intentionally one of the traits crafted for the series as it continued in the tradition of past series while preserving its own unique identity.[7][4]
Currently, this series remains the last Ultraman TV series to have aired for a full year.
Synopsis
For a long time, the earth had been free of monster calamities, but now was the dawning of another age of monster comebacks and alien attacks. The “CREW GUYS” sustained heavy damage from the space monsters that suddenly appeared.
Member Ryu Aihara, the only survivor, meets the first new crew member Mirai Hibino, and then gets together with the rest of the youth who would never give in to any adversity, and the curtain rises on a new battle.
The comrades form a strong bond of friendship with Mirai/Ultraman Mebius, and join forces to meet their enemies’ challenge. As they overcome many ordeals and deepen their friendship, Ultraman Mebius matures into a “True Ultraman” that possesses both strength and kindness.
Characters
GUYS
GUYS JAPAN Staff
GUYS OCEAN
GUYS General Headquarters
Others
- Kazuya Serizawa
- Mystery Woman (Bogarl Human)
- Hayato Kadokura
- Keiko Kuze
- Tetsuharu Kuze
- Chisato
- Tetsuro Ban
- Hiroto Ban
- Professor Asami Fujisawa
- Mitsuhiko Hirukawa
- Man in Black
- Aya Jinguji
- Inspector Shiki
Returning Characters
Ultras
- Ultraman Mebius
- Ultraman Hikari
- Father of Ultra
- Mother of Ultra
- Zoffy
- Ultraman
- Ultraseven
- Ultraman Jack
- Ultraman Ace
- Ultraman Taro
- Ultraman Leo
- Astra
- Ultraman 80
Kaiju
- Dinozole
- Dinozole Reverse
- Gudon
- Birdon
- Miclas
- Kelbim
- Sadola
- Twin Tail
- Bogarl
- Lesser Bogarl
- Lim Eleking
- Alien Fanton
- C-Pin 929
- Bogarlmons
- Windom
- Fire Windom
- Kodaigon
- Mukadender
- Insectus
- Gromite
- Zamsher
- Alien Magma
- Alien Valky
- Saramandora
- Bemstar
- Daigarugu
- Arstron
- Chronorm
- Alien Angel
- Yapool
- Giant Yapool
- Vakishim
- Doragory
- Verokron
- Maquette Zetton
- Ultraman Mebius (Maquette)
- Nova
- Maquette Nova
- Inpelaizer
- Roberuga
- Alien Mates
- Zoa Muruchi
- Femigon
- Alien Reflect
- Alien Babarue
- Angross
- Alien Psychokino
- Jasyuline
- Arigera
- Alien Serpent
- Sorichra
- Sorichran
- Hoe
- Gomora
- Mysterious Saucer fleet
- Gadiba
- Red King
- Mebius Killer
- Deathrem
- Lunaticks
- Grozam
- Alien Mefilas III
- Gromite II
- Alien Empera
Cast
- Mirai Hibino /Hiroto Ban : Shunji Igarashi
- Ryu Aihara : Masaki Nishina
- Marina Kazama : Ai Saikawa
- George Ikaruga : Daisuke Watanabe
- Konomi Amagai : Misato Hirata
- Teppei Kuze : Kenta Uchino
- Shingo Sakomizu : Minoru Tanaka
- Aide Toriyama : Kenichi Ishii
- Secretary Aide Maru : Yutaka Maido
- Yuki Misaki : Saaya Ishikawa
- Kazuya Serizawa : Shin Ishikawa
Guest Cast
- Mystery Woman (Bogarl Human) : Moeko Koyama
- Hayato Kadokura : Shigeki Kagemaru
- Keiko Kuze : Hiroko Hayashi
- Tetsuharu Kuze : Ryo Kamon
- Chief of Maintenance Araiso : Katsuhiko Watabiki
- Tetsuro Ban : Sei Hiraizumi
- Professor Asami Fujisawa : Kei Ishibashi
- Mitsuhiko Hirukawa : Kosei Kato
- Gen Otori : Ryu Manatsu
- Hiroshi Isana : Kohei Murakami
- Takeshi Yamato : Hatsunori Hasegawa
- Supreme General Chancellor Takenaka : Kenji Sahara
- Man in Black : Koji Shimizu
- Aya Jinguji : Aiko Ito
- Seiji Hokuto : Keiji Takamine
- Yuko Minami : Mitsuko Hoshi
- Hideki Go : Jiro Dan
- Dan Moroboshi : Kohji Moritsugu
- Shin Hayata : Susumu Kurobe
- Inspector Shiki : Yousuke Saito
Voice Actors
- Ultraman Hikari : Keiichi Nanba
- Father of Ultra : Tokuma Nishioka
- Mother of Ultra : Masako Ikeda
- Zoffy : Hideyuki Tanaka
- Ultraman Taro : Hiroya Ishimaru
- Deathrem : Daisuke Gori
Suit Actors
- Ultraman Mebius: Sanshiro Wada [8][9]
- Ultraman Mebius: Satoshi Yamamoto [8][9]
- Ultraman Hikari, Ultraman Mebius: Hideyoshi Iwata [9][10][11]
- Rou Nishimura
- Shinya Iwasaki
- Tomohiro Nagata
- Hiroshi Suenaga
- Junya Soma
- Arstron,[12] others: Kazunori Yokoo
- Daisuke Fukuda
- Tomomi Ota
- Koji Maruyama
- Lesser-Bogarl,[13] others: Daisuke Terai
- Misako Nagashima
- Goichi Natsuyama
- Reki Sakurai
- Fusayo Takatsu
Staff
- Directors: Tomoki Sano (main director),[14][15] Hirochika Muraishi, Toshiyuki Takano, Kengo Kaji, Naoki Ohara, Kenji Suzuki, Tsugumi Kitaura, Tomoo Haraguchi, Yuichi Abe, Kazuya Konaka, Takeshi Yagi
- Series compositor: Masanao Akahoshi
- Screenwriters: Masanao Akahoshi, Yuji Kobayashi, Keiichi Hasegawa, Hideyuki Kawakami, Ai Ota, Akira Tanizaki, Minato Shukawa
- Special effects directors: Tomoo Haraguchi, Hirochika Muraishi, Toshiyuki Takano, Yuichi Kikuchi, Kenji Suzuki, Tsugumi Kitaura, Yuichi Abe, Kazuya Konaka, Takeshi Yagi
- Supervisor and executive producer: Kazuo Tsuburaya
- Production supervisor: Shinichi Ooka
- Planning: Naotsugu Kato (ep. 1-22), Takayuki Okazaki (from ep. 23, CBC), Naoyuki Eto (Tsuburaya Productions), Riichiro Nakamura (Dentsu)
- Producers: Takayuki Okazaki (ep. 1-22), Yoshihiro Iwasa (from ep. 23, CBC), Hiroyasu Shibuya (Tsuburaya Productions), Taihei Yamanishi (Dentsu)
- Production producer: Nobuyuki Koyama
- Setting research: Akira Tanizaki
- Music composer: Toshihiko Sahashi
- Music producer: Shizu Tamagawa
- Cinematographers: Takehiro Kuramochi, Yoshihito Takahashi
- Special effects cinematographers: Yoshihito Takahashi, Takeshi Arai
- Action choreographer: Hiroyuki Okano
- CGI motion director: Ichiro Itano
- Character designers: Hiroshi Maruyama, Yasushi Torisawa
- Image boards: Yasushi Torisawa
- Production and copyright: Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, Tsuburaya Productions
Music
- Opening Theme
- Ultraman Mebius
- Lyrics: Goro Matsui
- Composition: Kisaburo Suzuki
- Arrangement: Seiichi Kyoda
- Artist: Project DMM (Verse 1, episodes 1–26; Verse 2, episodes 27–50)
- Insert Themes
- Run through! ~ Wandaba 'CREW GUYS'
- Lyrics: Kazuho Mitsuta
- Composition and Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
- Artist: Project DMM with TMC
- Radiance ~Theme of Ultraman Hikari~ (episode 11 onwards)
- Lyrics and Composition: Hideaki Takatori
- Arrangement: Hiroshi Kagoshima
- Artist: Project DMM
- Chikai o Kimi ni (episode 35)
- Lyrics, Composition, Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon
- Artist: Project DMM
- Ultra no Kiseki (episodes 37 and 50)
- Lyrics, Composition, Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon
- Artist: Project DMM
Soundtracks
- Ultraman Mebius (Opening & Ending)
- Miracle of Ultraman (Victory Theme)
- Ultraman Leo (Remix) (in episode 34)
- Ultraman 80 (Remix) (in episode 41)
- GUYS Theme (when GUYS summon the Capsule Kaiju)
Home Media
The series was released on DVD by Bandai Visual from July 28, 2006, to July 27, 2007, across 13 volumes. On December 21, 2007, Climax Stories: Ultraman Mebius released, featuring the series compiled into a hour-long film with narration by Shunji Igarashi. A complete DVD box set was released on December 21, 2012, also including the three Side Stories, Hikari Saga, Armored Darkness and Ghost Rebirth.[16] Box sets of Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Max released around the same time, with all three having covers illustrated by Masayuki Gotoh.[17]
On May 24, 2022, Mill Creek released a DVD box set with the series, its three Side Stories and the film with English subtitles in the United States.[18][19]
Gallery
Images
Trivia
- According to Hiroyasu Shibuya’s elaboration during an interview in 2016, when discussing the creation of the series' worldview, he used the metaphor of a "curveball." This includes a world that connects from Ultra Q to Ultraman 80, forming the same world, though strictly speaking, it is an "if" world. However, he personally didn't feel any sense of inconsistency regarding the idea of this "connection." Even though there are opinions that considering all the Showa series as part of the same world would create contradictions in terms of timelines and settings, Shibuya emphasized the importance of respecting past works and viewing them as legends. The "if" approach does not involve "altering" or contradicting the original series.[3]
External Links
- Official website (CBC) (Japanese)
- Ultraman Mebius at TBS's website (web archive)
- Ultraman Mebius at Tsuburaya Productions' official website
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 05: Ultraman Mebius, pg 4
- ↑ https://www.sanspo.com/article/20230726-LB47R4ZBJFPTFBQMNML3CQBVIQ/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tokusatsu Zero vol.05 Summer Issue, pg 16-19
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 05: Ultraman Mebius, pg 5
- ↑ https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/53265?page=3
- ↑ https://hicbc.com/tv/mebius/information/060328/main.php
- ↑ https://magmix.jp/post/216591
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Uchusen Yearbook 2006, pg 4
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 05: Ultraman Mebius, pg 6, 10. Ultraman Mebius on pg 6 (Wada and Yamamoto), Ultraman Hikari on pg 10 (Iwata).
- ↑ https://x.com/iwatahideyoshi/status/1414881923550236676
- ↑ https://x.com/iwatahideyoshi/status/1473159671964127234
- ↑ Ultraman Mebius Archive Document, pg 74. Interview with Naoki Ohara.
- ↑ https://x.com/juliet3comet/status/1830440052859773258
- ↑ https://www.0-ltd.com/company.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rn5PF6kfZs
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-1602
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-1379
- ↑ https://twitter.com/MillCreekEnt/status/1522667274385113088
- ↑ https://www.millcreekent.com/products/ultraman-mebius-collection