"Awaken, Warrior of Light!"
- ―Series tagline
Ultraman Orb is the 26th entry in the Ultraman Series, and was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ultraman and the 20th anniversary of Ultraman Tiga.[1] It aired from July 9, 2016 to December 24, 2016. This series is not part of New Ultraman Retsuden and therefore aired on Saturdays instead of Tuesdays. It is the first show since Ultraman Mebius to air on Saturdays. It is Chapter 6 of the Ultraman Orb Chronicle.
The series can be watched on Shout TV, Tubi, Pluto, Roku, and Prime Video.
Production
"What's next..."
In July 2011, Ultraman Retsuden premiered on TV Tokyo. Two years later, in July 2013, it was rebranded as New Ultraman Retsuden, marking the beginning of Tsuburaya Productions' tradition of launching a new Ultraman Series every year. This lineup included not only compilation programs but also entirely original television productions. Over time, the format established a consistent model: each TV season would typically be followed by a theatrical release.[2]
Development
Ultraman Orb was the first entry in the "New Generation Series" to be independently produced and distributed. It also coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Ultraman Series. Planning began in 2015, shortly after the conclusion of Ultraman X. Kiyotaka Taguchi was appointed as the main director, joined by Koichi Sakamoto and Yuichi Abe as part of the production team.[2]
Taguchi was first invited to direct Ultraman Orb after the project had already been conceived around the idea of "a world without a defense team." At first, he was unsure about this direction. The producers then introduced a proposal built on the theme of a hero facing a destined rival. Intrigued by the concept, Taguchi asked to bring back writer Takao Nakano as the series compositor for the series.[3][4]
Concept
The series' main hero is based on the concept of "fusion," combining the powers of two Ultramen to transform into different forms.[5]
Nakano's earliest pitch was inspired by The Boy Detectives Club by Edogawa Ranpo. He envisioned a "detective-style Ultraman," modeled after Kogoro Akechi, facing off against a recurring nemesis in the mold of the Fiend with Twenty Faces, and supported by a team resembling the Boy Detectives. Ultimately, however, the detective angle was deemed too unconventional for the series and was set aside.[6][3][2]
In the revised concept, Nakano proposed a "wandering" protagonist[7], drawing inspiration from Dan Moroboshi's early portrayal in Ultraseven. He also took cues from Italian westerns, iconic drifters like Kogarashi Monjirō, and the lone swordsman archetypes featured in Nikkatsu. Nakano felt that the drifter archetype was a more natural fit for a superhero than the detective model. The protagonist's name, Gai Kurenai, was chosen to evoke the imagery of a sunset, following naming conventions commonly found in Nikkatsu cinema.[8]Inspired by Sanjuro, Taguchi suggested a new twist: "What if Dan Moroboshi had never joined the Ultra Guard?" The final character became a blend of both the detective and wanderer archetypes.[2]
The antagonist, Jugglus Juggler, was also Nakano's creation. His design incorporated elements from the Fiend with Twenty Faces, Fujiko Mine from Lupin III, and Nezumi-Otoko from GeGeGe no Kitaro[3]. While Tsuburaya Productions initially planned to remove the defense team altogether, Taguchi argued strongly in favor of retaining it in some form. Drawing on his experience directing Episode 16 of Ultraman X, he suggested reimagining the team as a police-like organization within the world. Although the defense team no longer played a central role in the story, its presence remained through elements like the Jet VTOL.[9]
Initially, the hero's powers were conceived as transformations that drew upon the abilities of past Ultramen. However, the production team felt it was important to give the character a original form. This led to the idea of a protagonist who, due to past wounds, was unable to reclaim his true form and instead relied on the powers of his predecessors.[3] His true form, Orb Origin, became the thematic core of the series, centering the narrative around the search for one's true self. To balance this undertone, Gai was given a cheerful, lighthearted personality. Departing from the series's usual trend of casting newcomers, the lead role was assigned to experienced actor Hideo Ishiguro.[2][10][11][12]
Release
The main actors of Ultraman Orb participated in the production press conference.
On January 24, 2016, Tsuburaya released a teaser video on YouTube to mark the Ultraman Series's 50th anniversary. It ended with a close-up of Ultraman's eyes and the words "What's next…?"[13] Less than two weeks later, on February 6, parent company Field Corporation confirmed in its financial report that a new series would premiere in July, though further details were withheld.[14][15][2]
The official announcement for Ultraman Orb was made on April 25, 2016, with Kiyotaka Taguchi returning as director and scripts written by Yuji Kobayashi and Takao Nakano.[1][16] The series was first previewed in episode 147 of New Ultraman Retsuden and in promotional videos. The cast was unveiled on May 26,[17] followed by a production press conference held at the Tokyo Toy Show on June 9.[18][19][20][21][22][23] Orb also appeared on June 11 during the stage greeting at the final screening of Ultraman X The Movie: Here He Comes! Our Ultraman.[24]New Ultraman Retsuden concluded on June 25, and Ultraman Orb premiered the following month.[25]
A prequel web series, Ultraman Orb THE ORIGIN SAGA, premiered on Amazon Video on December 20, 2016, and concluded on March 13, 2017.[26] Later, Taguchi and Nakano's "Ultraman Orb 10 Episode Plan" was published in the book Ultraman Orb Perfect Super Complete Works.
Synopsis
Naomi Yumeno has had the same strange dream since she was young: visions of a shining giant of light battling a giant monster.
With her interest sparked by those dreams, she starts the paranormal phenomena tracking website called "Something Search People" with her friends Jetta Hayami and Shin Matsudo.
One day the trio are on the tail of a unidentified mysterious animal suspected of causing strange meteorological activity. They ignore the warnings of Naomi's uncle Ittetsu Shibukawa, an officer with the special investigations team VTL, and head towards the center of the strange weather. There they suddenly encounter the Lord Monster of wind, Maga-Basser! Naomi is blasted by the vicious winds but rescued by the vagabond, Gai Kurenai.
By using his Orb Ring to read the power of two previous Ultras, Gai is able to Fusion Up into a warrior of light from a distant galaxy, Ultraman Orb! And thus the curtain rises on a series of intense battles between Ultraman Orb and the Lord Monsters, while behind the scenes, the mysterious Juggler takes hold of his Dark Ring while smiling sinisterly...
Gai's Ultra Hero Special Study
Gai's Ultra Hero Special Study is a segment at the end of the show where Gai will feature the Ultra Fusion Card and Kaiju Card of the week.
Characters
Protagonist
SSP
VTL
Antagonists
Others
- Natasha Romanová
- Tamayura
- Haruka Kirishima
- Keiko Yumeno
- Soichi Kofune
- Tetsuko Shibukawa
- Yoko
- Akie Kishine
Ultras
Kaiju
- Maga-Zetton
- Maga-Basser
- Maga-Grand King
- Maga-Jappa
- Maga-Pandon
- Hyper Zetton Deathscythe
- Aribunta
- Hoe
- Ragon Parent
- Ragon Child
- Gubila
- Alien Babarue Babaryu
- Telesdon
- Kelbim
- Black King
- Maga-Orochi
- Galactron
- Zeppandon
- Alien Zelan
- Alien Shaplay Katarohi
- Bemular (Empowered)
- Renki (Crimson Lotus Knight)
- Maya
- Hyper Zetton Deathscythe (Reserver)
- Alien Pitt Myu
- Nova
- Black Directive
- Kamaitadon (Mentioned)
- Demaaga
- Gomess (S)
- Magatano-Orochi
Cast
- Gai Kurenai : Hideo Ishiguro
- Naomi Yumeno : Miyabi Matsuura
- Jetta Hayami : Naoto Takahashi
- Shin Matsudo : Hiroaki Nerio
- Jugglus Juggler : Takaya Aoyagi
- Ittetsu Shibukawa : Shingo Yanagisawa
Guest Cast
- Natasha : Vlada
- Public Bathhouse Owner : Taro Suwa
- Princess Tamayura : Mala Morgan
- Haruka Kirishima : Narumi Uno
- Gensaburo Tomatsu : Kenji Anan
- Ryuji Baba : Ryusuke Nakamura
- Keiko Yumeno : Minako Tanaka
- Soichi Kofune : Ryo Kinomoto
- Tetsuko Shibukawa : Chika Arakawa
- Yoko : Miyu Yagyu
- Maya : Kayako Okuda
- Black Owner : Shoichiro Akaboshi
- Ryutaro Suganuma : Shiro Sano
- Akie Kishine : Chisako Hara
Voice Actors
- Orb Ring : Takahiro Sakurai [27]
Suit Actors
- Ultraman Orb (Orb Origin, Spacium Zeperion, Burnmite), Imit-Ultraman Orb: Hideyoshi Iwata [28][29]
- Ultraman Orb (Hurricane Slash), Alien Mefilas Nostra, Ragon Mother, Imit-Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Zero: Shinnosuke Ishikawa [28][29]
- Ultraman Orb (Thunder Breastar), Alien Babarue Babaryu, Alien Shaplay Katarohi, Gurenki, Ultraman Belial: Daisuke Terai [28]
- Jugglus Juggler (Majin Form), Maga-Basser, Hyper Zetton Deathscythe, Galactron, Hyper Zetton Deathscythe (Reserver), Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Jack: Satoru Okabe [28]
- Maga-Zetton, Maga-Grand King, Maga-Jappa, Alien Metron Tarude, Gubila, Zeppandon, Nova, Demaaga: Hiroyuki Arai [28]
- Maga-Pandon, Aribunta, Hoe, Telesdon, Kelbim, Black King, Bemular (Empowered): Kazunori Yokoo [28]
- Alien Zetton Maddock: Hirotaka Yazaki
- Alien Nackle Nagus: Keita Rikimaru
- Ragon Jr.: Satomi Maruta [28]
- Maga-Orochi, Magatano-Orochi: Yoshiki Kuwabara
- Alien Pitt Myu: Rio Akisada
- Gomess, Zoffy: Wataru Inaniwa [28]
- Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Mebius: Masahiro Omura [28]
- Kenji Kajikawa
- Yuto Nagachi
- Hiroki Kori
- Hitomi Adachi
Staff
- Directors: Kiyotaka Taguchi (main director),[1] Yuichi Abe, Ryuichi Ichino, Suguru Tomita, Masayoshi Takesue
- Series compositors: Takao Nakano, Yuji Kobayashi[1]
- Screenwriters: Takao Nakano, Yuji Kobayashi, Sotaro Hayashi, Akio Miyoshi, Hirotoshi Kobayashi, Hisako Kurosawa, Junichiro Ashiki, Uiko Miura, Daiki Seto, Hiroki Uchida, Sachio Yanai, Kyoko Katsuya, Shuji Yuki
- Supervisor: Shinichi Ooka
- Chief producer: Tsugumi Kitaura
- Planning: Tomohiro Igari, Yuichi Oshida, Yosuke Imai, Nobuhiko Momoi
- Producers: Yukinobu Tsuruta, Aya Yoshino (TV Tokyo), Risa Takeba
- Line producer: Eiji Kikuchi
- Planning supervision: Hiroyasu Shibuya
- Music composer: Takao Konishi
- Music producer: Shuntaro Suzuki
- Director of photography: Sou Takahashi
- Assistant director: Tomonobu Koshi
- Assistant specical effects director: Naoyuki Uchida
- Action coordinators: Hiroyuki Okano, Keita Rikimaru (ep. 4)
- Visual effects: Tomotaka Miwa
- Special effects modeling: Takafumi Tanibuchi, Fuyuki Shinada, Yasuyuki Fukui, Toshio Kaimai, Shun Tahara, Sueo Sugimoto, Hiroki Yokouchi, Taku Nishida, Hiroshi Fukuoka
- Character and kaiju designers: Masayuki Gotoh, Kengo Kusunoki, Tsuyoshi Nonaka
- Optical artist: Sadao Iizuka
- VFX and CG: Nippon Eizo Creative, Undergraph, Q-Tech, TSUBAKI, MAGNUS-AGRI
- Production: Tsuburaya Productions, TV Tokyo, Dentsu
Music
- Opening Theme
- Orb no Inori [18][30]
- Lyrics and Composition: Toshihiko Takamizawa
- Arrangement: Toshihiko Takamizawa and Yuichiro Honda
- Artist: Ichiro Mizuki and voyager
- Ending Theme
- Shine your ORB[18]
- Lyrics: TAKERU and Chiaki Seshimo
- Composition and Arrangement: Takao Konishi
- Artist: voyager feat. Hideo Ishiguro, Miyabi Matsuura, Naoto Takahashi, Hiroaki Nerio
Home Media
In Japan, the series was released on 8 DVDs and two Blu-ray sets. Both Blu-rays contain special features such as trailers and Gai's Ultra Hero Special Study segments, with the second notably containing deleted scenes from various episodes with explanations.[31] Mill Creek also released the series and movie in the United States with English subtitles on November 19, 2019.[32]
Gallery
Images
Videos
External Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://m-78.jp/news/n-3764
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ultra Tokusatsu PERFECT MOOK vol. 12: Ultraman Orb, pp. 4–5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ultraman Orb Perfect Super Complete Works, pg 97
- ↑ https://v-storage.jp/talk/interview/43048/
- ↑ https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/O6Qg0
- ↑ https://mantan-web.jp/article/20170527dog00m200001000c.html
- ↑ http://blog.livedoor.jp/n_tko/archives/52060388.html
- ↑ https://www.nikkatsu.com/dig/feautures/features_01.html
- ↑ https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20160708-ultraman/
- ↑ https://www.crank-in.net/interview/43991/1
- ↑ https://v-storage.jp/talk/interview/42694/
- ↑ https://v-storage.jp/talk/interview/42694/
- ↑ https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2016/01/tsuburaya-releases-teaser-for-upcoming-ultraman-project/
- ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-02-06/fields-new-ultraman-series-to-premiere-in-july/.98395
- ↑ https://www.tsuburaya-fields.co.jp/ir/j/library/presentation/qa_20160204_1.html
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2070696/full/
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3827
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 https://m-78.jp/news/n-3858
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/pressrelease/160609-orb-2
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/pressrelease/160609-orb-2
- ↑ https://mainichi.jp/articles/20160610/mog/00m/040/002000c
- ↑ https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1465540773
- ↑ https://v-storage.jp/report/event/41252/
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3826
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3891
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-4304
- ↑ https://intention-k.com/archives/765
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 28.7 28.8 Character Land SPECIAL: Ultraman Orb THE ORIGIN SAGA, pg 55
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Ultraman Orb Blu-ray BOX I pamphlet
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/news/n-3929
- ↑ https://m-78.jp/orb/goods/
- ↑ https://www.millcreekent.com/collections/the-ultra-verse/products/ultraman-orb