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Ultraman Taro (ウルトラマンタロウ, Urutoraman Tarō) is the sixth entry of the Ultraman Series. It aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 6, 1973 to April 5, 1974.

The series can be watched on Tubi, Roku, and Prime Video.

Synopsis[]

Kotaro Higashi trained to be a boxer, but after an incident with Astromons, he was killed. However, his body was brought to Nebula M78 where the Mother of Ultra saved his life by merging him with Ultraman Taro. Taro had spent many years training, honing his skills based on those of the other Ultra Brothers to become strong. The two returned to Earth, as a new Kaiju era was beginning.

Characters[]

ZAT[]

Others[]

Ultras[]

Kaiju[]

Cast[]

  • Kotaro Higashi (東 光太郎, Higashi Kōtarō): Saburo Shinoda (篠田 三郎, Shinoda Saburō)
  • Yutaro Asahina (朝日奈 勇太郎, Asahina Yūtarō): Akira Nagoya (名古屋 章, Nagoya Akira)
  • Shuuhei Aragaki (荒垣 修平, Aragaki Shūhei): Takahiko Tono (東野 孝彦, Tōno Takahiko)
  • Tadao Nanbara (南原 忠男, Nanbara Tadao): Toyoyuki Kimura (木村 豊幸, Kimura Toyoyuki)
  • Jiro Nishida (西田 次郎, Nishida Jirō): Kiyotaka Mitsugi (三ツ木 清隆, Mitsugi Kiyotaka) (1-7, 13)
  • Izumi Moriyama (森山 いずみ, Moriyama Izumi): Kiyoko Matsuya (松谷 紀代子, Matsuya Kiyoko)
  • Tetsuya Kitajima (北島 哲也, Kitajima Tetsuya): Hidesuke Tsumura (津村 秀祐, Tsumura Hidesuke)
  • Takashi Ueno (上野 孝, Ueno Takashi): Akihiko Nishijima (西島 明彦, Nishijima Akihiko) (8-30, 33-35)
  • Kazumi Nitani (二谷 一美 Nitani Kazumi): Noboru Mitani (三谷 昇, Mitani Noboru)
  • Saori Shiratori (白鳥 さおり, Shiratori Saori): Mayumi Asaka (あさか まゆみ, Asaka Mayumi) (1-16), Keiko Ono (小野 恵子, Ono Keiko) (20-53)
  • Kenichi Shiratori (白鳥 健一, Shiratori Ken'ichi): Shinya Saito (斎藤 信也, Saitō Shin'ya)
  • Lady in Green (緑のおばさん, Midori no Obasan)/Mother of Ultra (ウルトラの母, Urutora no Haha, Voice): Peggy Hayama (ペギー 葉山, Pegī Hayama)
  • Narrator: Tetsuro Sagawa (瑳川 哲朗, Sagawa Tetsurō), Akira Nagoya

Cast Changes[]

Throughout the show, multiple cast changes were made. These were done for several reasons.

  • Mayumi Asuka stepped down from her role as Saori, and was replaced in episode 20 by Keiko Ono.
  • Akihiko Nishijima decided to leave after episode 35 to film for another show, Ginza NOW!

Music[]

Opening Theme
  • Ultraman Taro (ウルトラマンタロウ, Urutoraman Tarō)
    • Lyrics: Yū Aku
    • Composer-arranger: Makoto Kawaguchi
    • Song: Tarō Takemura, boys and girls choir lake. Uncredited synth arrangements by Higurashi Masanobu.

Insert Songs[]

  • Ultra Roku Kyodai (ウルトラ六兄弟, Urutora Roku Kyōdai, lit. "Ultra 6 Brothers")
    • Lyrics: Yū Aku
    • Composition & Arrangement: Makoto Kawaguchi
    • Artist: Ryōichi Fukuzawa (武村 太郎, Fukuzawa Ryōichi), Mizuumi Boys and Girls Choir
    • Episodes 18, 25, 33 and 34

Other Songs[]

Episode Song
Episode 23 "Gentle Daddy Monster!" "Rainbow Dreams"
Episode 24 "This Is the Land of Ultra!" "Musique de l'infini"
Episode 25 "Burn On! The Six Ultra Brothers" "Musique de l'infini"
Episode 29 "Bemstar Resurrected! Taro Absolutely Sacrificed!" "Les Mysteres du Cosmos"
Episode 31 "Danger! Lying Poison Mushroom" "Funky Monkey Baby"
Episode 34 "The Last Day of the Six Ultra Brothers!" "Once In My Country"
"House In The Plain"
"Xylo Conception"
Episode 36 "Coward! The Breed Cried" "Musique de l'infini"
"Electric Days"
Episode 39 "The Father of Ultra and Son Big Mochi-Making Strategy" "La Guerre Des Bouffons"
"Sloane Square"
"Sonatine Pour Un Métallophone"
Episode 40 "Go Beyond the Ultra Brothers!" "Escale sur Jupiter"
"Deuil et douleur"
"Catastrophe et Séisme"
Episode 41 "Mother's Wish-A Mid-Winter Cherry Blossom Blizzard" "Escale sur Jupiter"
"La Guerre Des Bouffons"
Episode 43 "Pickle the Monster With Salt!" "Music A 7"
"Le Défilé Des Moustiques"
"One two two"
"La Panthere Cosmique"
Episode 46 "The White Rabbit Is a Bad Guy!" "Slippery Scales"
"Le Gâteau D'Anniversaire"
Episode 47 "The Monster Master" "A L'Aube De L'An 2000"
"Les Mysteres du Cosmos"
Episode 48 "Monster Girl's Festival" "Music A 7"
"Moogy-Boogy"
"La Guerre Des Bouffons"
"Aim Out"
"Love Dial 6700"
"Girl with Roses"
"Relationships of Others"
Episode 49 "Sing! Monster Big Match" "Paris 2000"
"My Blue Bird"
Episode 50 "The Monster Sign is V" "Ballet Intersideral"
"La Guerre Des Bouffons"
"Le Gâteau D'Anniversaire"
"Sonatine Pour Un Métallophone"
"Sign is V"
"Jeu A Quatre"
Episode 52 "Steal the Ultra Life!" "Musique de l'infini"
"Catastrophe et Séisme"

Home Media[]

An English-subtitled DVD set was released by the Malaysian company VGB Network; however, a few grammatical errors were made during the subtitling.

A Blu-ray remaster was released in 2017 through Amazon Prime.

Mill Creek announced on October 22, 2020 the official release of both a standard and SteelBook Blu-ray of Ultraman Taro. January 12, 2021, was the release date of both versions of Ultraman Taro.

Manga[]

Main article: Ultraman Taro (manga)

The Ultraman Taro manga series was written and illustrated by Ken Ishikawa, Mangaka (Manga Author) who co-created Getter Robo with Go Nagai, ran in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Like the Getter Robo manga series, the Taro manga is very dark and violent despite its childish appearance. Although it follows a different story, it also touches on "the reason why Ultraman protects the Earth", and there is a part in it that is similar to the Heisei Ultraman series in later years.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • As the main Ultra from Return of Ultraman was not yet known by it, the name "Jack" was considered for Taro. The reasoning behind this was that Jack is a popular name for fairy tale heroes in the West, but Taro was settled upon as the Japanese equivalent. "Ultraman Star" (ウルトラマンスター, Urutoraman Sutā) was also considered as a name during production.
  • The Ultra Brothers appeared frequently in this series and it was in their later appearances that drastically changed how they appear. Examples include: Ultras with orange eyes (done to conserve the budget of the lightbulbs in the eyes), Jack sharing the same suit as Ultraman with more silver than red, and the design on the bottom looks like a female, Ultraseven without ears in episode 40, which would happen again on the premiere of Ultraman Leo, and finally, Jack with red gloves and boots in episode 52.
  • Ultraman Taro was filmed alongside Jumborg Ace and Fireman.
  • At the time ratings were falling, and as Tsuburaya felt Ultraman Ace had been a bit too dark at times, they took a lighter approach in Taro to please children. Ironically, this lost even more views from older fans, causing the series to be followed by Ultraman Leo, often considered the darkest and grittiest entry in the Showa era Ultraman Series.
  • Due to production problems with the next series, Ultraman Leo, Tsuburaya extended Taro's run for several episodes.
  • This series is the longest running Showa series.
Productions
Showa Series Ultra Q | Ultraman | Ultraseven | Return of Ultraman | Ultraman Ace | Ultraman Taro | Ultraman Leo | Ultraman 80
Heisei Series Ultraman Tiga | Ultraman Dyna | Ultraman Gaia | Ultraman Cosmos | Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy | Ultraman Nexus | Ultraman Max | Ultraman Mebius | Ultraseven X | Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle | Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey | Neo Ultra Q | Ultraman Ginga | Ultraman Ginga S | Ultraman X | Ultraman Orb | Ultraman Geed | Ultraman R/B
Reiwa Series Ultraman Taiga | Ultraman Z | Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga | Ultraman Decker | Ultraman Blazar
Outside of Japan Ultraman: The Adventure Begins | Ultraman: Towards the Future | Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero | Ultraman: Rising
Original Video and TV Special Ultra Fight | Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider | Ultra Super Fight | Ultraman Nice | Heisei Ultraseven | Ultraman Neos | Ultraman: Super Fighter Legend | Ultra Idemitsujin | Ultra Zone
Showa Movies Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature | Ultraman, Ultraseven: Great Violent Monster Fight | The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. The Monster Army | Ultraman (1979) | Ultraman: Great Monster Decisive Battle | Ultraman ZOFFY: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army | Ultraman Story
Heisei Movies Ultra Q The Movie | Revive! Ultraman | Ultraman Zearth | Ultraman Zearth 2 | Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna | Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna, & Ultraman Gaia | Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey | Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact | Ultraman Cosmos 2 | New Century Ultraman Legend | Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice | New Century 2003 Ultraman Legend | ULTRAMAN (2004) | Ultraman Mebius & the Ultra Brothers | Super 8 Ultra Brothers | Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie | Ultraman Zero The Movie | Ultraman Saga | Ultraman Ginga Theater Special | Ultraman Ginga Theater Special: Battle Royale | Ultraman Ginga S The Movie | Ultraman X The Movie | Ultraman Orb The Movie | Ultraman Geed The Movie | Ultraman R/B The Movie
Reiwa Movies Ultraman Taiga The Movie | Ultraman Trigger: Episode Z | Shin Ultraman | Ultraman Decker Finale | Ultraman Blazar The Movie
Spin-Offs Andro Melos | Ultraman Zearth: Parody Chapter | Revival of the Ancient Giant | The Return of Hanejiro | Gaia Again | Ultra Q Kaiju Legend | Ultraman Kaiju Legend | Hikari Saga | Armored Darkness | Ghost Rebirth | Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero | Q - Door to Another Dimension | Killer the Beatstar | Ultra Zero Fight | Ultra Fight Victory | Ultraman Orb THE ORIGIN SAGA | Ultra Fight Orb | New Generation Heroes | The Absolute Conspiracy | Sevenger Fight | The Struggle of Special Section 3 | The Destined Crossroad | Continued Ultra Fight | Shin Ultra Fight | Return of Special Section 3 | Ultraman Regulos | Ultraman Regulos: First Mission | Ultraseven IF Story | SKaRD Break Room
Rebroadcast Shows Ultraman Retsuden | New Ultraman Retsuden | Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle | Ultraman Orb: The Chronicle | Ultraman New Generation Chronicle | Ultraman Chronicle: ZERO & GEED | Ultraman Chronicle Z: Heroes' Odyssey | Ultraman Chronicle D | Ultraman New Generation Stars
Informational Ultraman The Prime | ULTRAMAN ARCHIVES | Ultra Science Fantasy Hour | Ultra Fight Club | UlSummer Information Station | Ultra Information Center | Professor Teruaki's "Blazar Kaiju Academy" | Super Power! Ultra Encyclopedia! | Ultra Construction Tour | THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN | Ultraman 4K Discovery
Docudramas Fly in the Sea Breeze! Ultraman | The Men Who Made Ultraman | My Beloved Ultraseven | The Man Who Wanted to be Ultraman | The Kaiju Club | The Two Ultramen
Other Series Kaiju Booska | Captain Ultra | Mighty Jack | Fight! Mighty Jack | Operation: Mystery | Chibira-kun | Mirrorman | Redman | Triple Fighter | Emergency Directive 10-4·10-10 | Iron King | Horror Theater Unbalance | Fireman | Jumborg Ace | Mirror Fight | Army of the Apes | Pro-Wres no Hoshi Azteckaiser | Dinosaur Expedition Born Free | Dinosaur Great War Izenborg | Star Wolf | Dinosaur Squadron Koseidon | Anime-chan | Gridman the Hyper Agent | Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad | Moon Spiral | Cyber Girl Telomere | Booska! Booska!! | Otasuke Girl | Mirrorman REFLEX | Bio Planet WoO | Mirror Fight 2012 | Gridknight Fight
Anime The☆Ultraman | Ultraman Kids | Ultraman Graffiti: Wild! Ultra Country | Ultraman: Super Fighter Legend | Ultra Nyan | Ultra Nyan 2: The Great Happy Operation | Ultraman M78 Theater Love & Peace | Gridman the Hyper Agent: boys invent great hero | The・Ultraman: Jackal vs. Ultraman | Kaiju Sakaba Kanpai! | Kaiju Girls | SSSS.GRIDMAN | ULTRAMAN (2019) | Kaiju Step Wandabada | SSSS.DYNAZENON | KAIJU DECODE | GRIDMAN UNIVERSE
Outlaw Content Space Warriors 2000 | Project Ultraman | Ultraman The Animation | Ultraman: A Little Journey on Earth | Fun... English with Ultraman | Young Ultraman | Ultraman Big Transformation | Sinic Q | Red Jade | Dragon Force: So Long Ultraman | Dragon Force: Rise of Ultraman
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