Ultraman Neos is a Japanese tokusatsu show, being the 15th show in the Ultraman Series produced by Tsuburaya Productions. Neos was initially intended as a TV series, having a pilot episode, stage shows, and merchandise, but the project was shelved. Years later, Tsuburaya turned the concept into a 12-episode direct-to-video series. In spite of the appearance of similar designs and cameos by Zoffy, the series is set in an alternate universe.
TOKU premiered the series in the United States on May, 1, 2017.[1] The series can be watched on Tubi, Roku, and Vudu.
Production[]
Promotional images of Ultraman Neos and Ultraseven 21 from 1995.
In the early 1990s, with the overseas productions of Ultraman: Towards the Future and Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero receiving positive reception in Japan, Tsuburaya Productions began contemplating the idea of a completely new television series project.[2]
In 1994, the project for Ultraman Neos was formally initiated, and in January 1995, a large-scale still photography session was held at the Toho Studios. The initial goal was to realize a new television series for the Heisei era, with characters like Ultraman Neos and Ultraseven 21 embodying the concept of the revival of "Ultraman" and "Ultraseven" in the Heisei era. These two Ultras made their debut in March of the same year at performance events in Kumamoto Prefecture's Greenland and in a special feature article in Telemaga magazine. Tsuburaya Productions aimed to familiarize children with these characters through event promotions and publications, as part of their plan for preliminary promotion for a new TBS program scheduled for April 1996.[3][4]
In order to showcase the main concepts of the series to TBS, Tsuburaya Productions produced a pilot episode in early June 1995. Directed by Koichi Takano, the pilot utilized digital technology that was still in development at the time for special effects and character expressions. However, despite these efforts, the pilot failed to secure a time slot on TBS, and the alternative plan also fell through. Eventually, the TV series proposal was offered to the subsidiary network station, Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), which eventually evolved into Ultraman Tiga.[3][5]
In 1996, Tsuburaya Productions established a connection with VAP through the production of Moon Spiral. This connection led to the proposal of continuing the Heisei Ultraseven series through video releases. Given the success of this series, producer Masahiro Tsuburaya proposed to VAP the idea of producing Ultraman Neos as a video series. This decision was made considering the production gap for television series at Tsuburaya Productions in the first half of 2000, as well as the desire to provide a complete story arc for Ultraman Neos and Ultraseven 21.[6]
After the production of Ultraseven 1999: The Final Chapters Hexalogy in the winter of 1999, there were several exchanges of opinions between Masahiro Tsuburaya and VAP. Between March and April 2000, they reached a general consensus on aspects such as production budget, distribution format, and content direction. The plan for Ultraman Neos as a video series was officially initiated, differing from the Heisei Ultraseven series, which primarily targeted adult audiences and adopted an hour-long episode format. Ultraman Neos, on the other hand, followed a structure similar to TV series programs, with episodes lasting 30 minutes each, totaling 12 episodes. It was allocated equivalent production resources and investment as the Heisei Ultraseven series, with a production budget comparable to that of regular television dramas, amounting to 25 million yen for every two episodes, showcasing a significant production scale.[6]
The production announcement for the Ultraman Neos series was held on July 16, 2000, at Toho Guild.[7]
The main production team for this series main director Shinichi Kamizawa, who also served as producer, lead writer Junki Takegami, and art director Akihiko Iguchi, responsible for early preparatory work. Takegami accepted Tsuburaya Productions' invitation with the condition to maintain the traditional Ultraman audience base, ensuring each episode stood alone while maintaining coherence throughout the season of 12 episodes. The scriptwriting process began with Takegami proposing several core stories, followed by soliciting script proposals based on these conceptual narratives.[6][8]
Based on Masahiro Tsuburaya's feedback, there were slight adjustments made to the appearance designs of Neos and Seven 21. While the basic designs remained unchanged, the details of the mask shapes, body contours, and armor were all reworked when creating new costume models, with Hiroshi Maruyama responsible for their adjustments and handling.
After preparations across various departments, filming for Ultraman Neos commenced in June 2000, with tokusatsu shooting starting on July 9th. Subsequently, in mid-August, episodes 5 to 6, both in terms of storyline and special effects, were filmed. In mid-September, filming for episodes 7 to 9 took place in Kyushu, followed by shooting for episodes 10 to 12 in October. The entire series was ultimately completed in February 2001, taking approximately 10 months to produce.[6]
The first volume of VHS tapes and DVDs went on sale from November 22, 2000, continuing until May 2001. On July 6th and 13th, 2002, the series aired on TBS as a replacement program for Ultraman Cosmos.
From February 26th to May 13th, 2012, the complete Ultraman Neos was broadcast for the first time on Tokyo MX's "Tsuburaya Theatre" in a television format.[9]
Synopsis[]
In the first decade of the 21st Century on Earth, the rising of the population results in low quality of life, as well the increasing number of ESP incidents and alien invasions.
At Nebula M78, the information service of the Inter Galactic Defense Force watches these phenomena and throughout the Galactic Security Agency, a ramification of the group sent a warrior to Earth named Ultraman Neos and his commander Ultraseven 21.
Upon arriving on Earth, Ultraman Neos secretly merges with Genki Kagura to help HEART fight monsters both of terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin.
Characters[]
Protagonist[]
HEART[]
Cabinet Information Bureau[]
- Yoko Fujiwara
- Kisaragi
- Katagiri
Others[]
- Unnamed girl
- Hazeyama
- Shinya Kenmochi
- Erika Shibata
- Sean Uncle
- Natsumi Ootomo
- Joe Naruse
- Masato Usami
- Misaki Usami
- Shota
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
- Arnagaruge
- Alien Zamu
- Seagorian
- Nozera
- Sazora
- Shildoban
- Backacoon
- Alien Zamu II
- Zamu Revenger
- King Bamos
- Rock Eater
- Lafreshion
- King Dainas
- Giga Dread
- Grall
- Mensch Heit
Cast[]
- Genki Kagura : Jun Takatsuki
- Gonpachi Minato : Kyusaku Shimada
- Hironobu Uematsu : Shigeki Kagemaru
- Takayoshi Hino : Taketora Morita
- Nana Hayami : Atsuko Rukawa
- Ayumi Kitabayashi : Mika Sakamoto
- Yoko Fujiwara : Satomi Murakami
Guest Cast[]
- Unnamed girl: Mariya Izawa
- Hazeyama : Kansai Eto
- Erika Shibata : Kaoru Ukawa
- Shinya Kenmochi : Kunio Masaoka
- Sean Uncle : Earl Scott
- Natsumi Ootomo : Yasuyo Shirashima
- Joe Naruse : Hiroshi Miyasaka
- Masato Usami : Take Uketa
- Misaki Usami : Yukari Fukui
- Shota : Daigo Takami
- Female Announcer : Rieko Adachi
- Katagiri : Wataru Shihoudo
- Esura : Ippei Ando
- Mensch Heit : Mister Chin
- Kisaragi : Sakae Kimura
Voice Actors[]
- Ultraseven 21 : Isshin Chiba
- Zoffy : Akitoshi Otaki
- Alien Zamu : Takashi Nagasako
- King Bamos : Madoka Fukuoka
- Narration : Ikuya Sawaki
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraman Neos: Hiroyuki Okano
- Ultraseven 21: Daisuke Terai
- Zoffy, Rock Eater: Keiji Komiya
- Zoffy: Akitoshi Otaki
- Arnagaruge, Nozera, Shildoban, Alien Zamu, Rock Eater, Lafreshion, King Dainas, Grall: Kazunori Yokoo
- Alien Zamu, Seagorian, Sazora, Backacoon, Zamu Revenger, King Bamos, Giga Dread, Mensch Heit: Toshio Miyake
- Alien Zamu:
- Satoshi Yamamoto
- Tomohiro Nagata
- Shinya Iwasaki
- King Bamos (human-sized): Madoka Fukuoka
Staff[]
- Directors and special effects directors: Shinichi Kamizawa, Toshiyuki Takano, Hiromasa Mitsudome, Naoki Ohara, Taku Miyamoto
- Series compositor: Junki Takegami
- Screenwriters: Junki Takegami, Masakazu Migita, Takuya Hoshino, Takanori Hoshi
- Planning: Kazuo Tsuburaya, Umeo Ito
- Producers: Masahiro Tsuburaya, Hiroshi Chikasada
- Music composer: Toru Fuyuki
- Cinematographers: Yoshihito Takahashi, Sou Takahashi, Toshiaki Izumi
- Editors: Akira Matsuki, Yuko Sato
- Assistant editor: Yuko Sato
- Image boards: Kiyoshi Okuyama
- Line producer: Toshiyuki Takano
- Action choreographers: Akitoshi Otaki, Hiroyuki Okano
- Character and kaiju designers: Hiroshi Maruyama, Akihiko Iguchi
Music[]
- Opening Theme
- Ultraman Neos
- Artist: Tatsuya Maeda (1995 pilot), Project DMM (2000 series)
- Ending Theme
- IN YOUR HEART
- Artist: Rica Matsumoto and Project DMM
Home Media[]
The series originally released with one episode per DVD from 2000 to 2001. As announced on November 17, 2017, Ultraman Neos was released on Blu-ray on March 7, 2018 by Toei Video.[10] This release also includes Ultra Warriors Special Video and the pilot episode. On October 11, 2022, Mill Creek released the series on DVD with English subtitles.[11]
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Ultraman Neos is the first series who has toys of the series produced before its actual run.
- According to a special discussion held in 2018 by producer Masahiro Tsuburaya, producer Hiroshi Chikasada, and Junki Takegami:[12]
- Ultraman Neos was a project developed in an extremely rushed timeframe. When considering topics for a direct-to-video series, the production team proposed various ideas, including a story centered around Astra, along with a suggestion for Zoffy to make a cameo appearance in the series.
- Under the consensus of the production team at that time, Ultraman Neos, which had only produced a pilot episode before being halted, was reintroduced. It was then decided to move forward with the project.
- The Alien Zamu that appeared in the pilot episode became a recurring element throughout the entire series, a concept proposed by Takegami. Nearly all of the episodes went through five or six drafts before being finalized.
- According to Takegami, from his perspective as the series compositor, he believes that the world depicted in Ultraman Neos exists in a parallel universe to that of the Ultra Brothers. The setting mentioned in the opening regarding dark matter influencing the solar system every three million years is unique to the worldview of Neos. Therefore, Zoffy is consistently regarded as Zoffy from the Neos universe.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/04/20/toku-channel-to-bring-ultraman-neos-to-us
- ↑ TV Magazine Special Issue: Ultraman Tiga, pg 76
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 36: Ultraman Neos / Andro Melos, pg 4
- ↑ https://katoku99.hatenablog.com/entry/20210530/p1
- ↑ Earth Is Ultraman's Planet: Ultraman Tiga, Dyna, Gaia pg 349–369
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 36: Ultraman Neos / Andro Melos, pg 5
- ↑ https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/games/gsnews/0007/17/news04.html
- ↑ TV Magazine Special Issue: Heisei Ultra Video Complete Works, pg 88-89
- ↑ http://gpochomkin.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-254.html
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/ultraman-bd/ultramanneos/
- ↑ https://x.com/MillCreekEnt/status/1575507456867942400
- ↑ Ultraman Neos Blu-ray BOX Brochure