Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1993– )

WINR member Kenichi Kai transforms into a new Ultraman to defend the Earth from giant monsters and aliens.

Stars:

Kane Kosugi, Harrison Page, Rob Roy Fitzgerald

Cast

Series cast summary:
Kane Kosugi	...	Kenichi Kai (13 episodes, 1993-1994)
Harrison Page	...	Captain Edlund (13 episodes, 1993-1994)
Rob Roy Fitzgerald	...	Rick Sanders (13 episodes, 1993-1994)
Robyn Bliley	...	Julie Young (13 episodes, 1993-1994)
Sandra Guibord	...	Theresa Beck (13 episodes, 1993-1994)

Storyline

WINR member Kenichi Kai transforms into a new Ultraman to defend the Earth from giant monsters and aliens.

---

Plot Keywords:

giant monster | ultraman | alien | tokusatsu | ultra series | 

---

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Ultraman Powered

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tsuburaya Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite their elaborate designs, the Ultraman and monster suits were very delicate. Early in filming, when a tough fight scene was filmed, the suits would tear from any rough play, and take hours to repair. From then on, much of the action in the entire series had Ultraman gently pushing and shoving the monster, instead of punching it, or any rough action that could damage the suits.

---

Connections

Spoofed in South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

User Reviews

Things just didn't work here

Things just didn't gel very well in this series. This is by far the worst Ultra series made, and no, it's not the fault of the production company or the actors. Japanese style production probably didn't work in Hollywood.

The Australian made Ultraman Great (Ultraman G) was not a bad production, so something didn't work out well in this program.

I never even knew this series existed. It certainly didn't get a good distribution on the TV network. May be just as well, because it would have been a disastrous introduction of Ultra series to the American audience (although Ultraman G was shown in Saturday morning slot in some parts of the US around 1992).

The problem I think is the extremely low budget the Japanese Ultra series are made, and that just didn't work in the United States. Ultra series in Japan are produced for around quarter million dollars per episode. That's extremely low budget for an American TV show (and it shows). They probably tried the same formula in the US and completely back fired. Australian TV crew might be more used to working under low budget situation, and that might have contributed to the success of the Ultraman G.

The series essentially turned into a Japanese TV show acted by American actors. It has a weird look and feel to it that just doesn't work well. Japanese has a big handicap in that they don't speak English. Compared to this, Hong Kong based directors like John Woo has an advantage in that they can communicate with the actors much more fluently. This probably sealed the fate of this television program.

Best avoid this, and watch the other Ultra series instead.