The Other Side of Animation 321: Ultraman Rising Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you appreciate what I do, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keep the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you enjoy this review!)

Ultraman is one of those franchises from Japan that you think would be a big hit in America, due to how the US welcomed Super Sentai and Godzilla with open arms. Granted, Super Sentai had to be turned into Power Rangers, but I digress. Unfortunately, unlike their multi-colored hero team and giant lizard brethren, alongside Kamen Rider, Ultraman never got the acclaim and popularity it deserved. Not that there was no fanbase for the giant hero, but it took forever for there to be some way to legally watch and own the multiple series and films from the franchise. You would think that a giant warrior fighting Godzilla-sized monster would be a hit, but only until recently has the franchise finally begun to pick up traction here. And what better way to get into this super fun franchise than with Shannon Tindle’s newest animated feature, Ultraman Rising? 

It was directed by Shannon Tindle, co-directed by John Aoshima, written by Tindle and Marc Haimes, animated by Industrial Light & Magic with Netflix Animation and Tsuburaya productions on the production side of things. We follow Ken Sato, voiced by Christopher Sean. While he may be a professional baseball player, he is also the iconic hero Ultraman, due to taking up the mantle after an incident that happened 20 years in the past. One night, after he takes down another monster, he ends up in possession of a large monster egg that obviously holds inside a baby kaiju. On top of dealing with his issues like his disconnect with his baseball career and father, he must also save the day as Ultraman and take care of this baby kaiju so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. 

I have been an Ultraman fan since 2008, and I love this franchise with all of my heart. With all that said, the films have been more or less elongated episodes with plots that may or may not tangentially connect with the current series that is airing. The franchise can have interesting and compelling lore and stories, but it’s more or less one or more Ultras fighting monsters and facing off against a movie-exclusive bad guy. In general, the actual story is very simple and you don’t go into most of these series and films for the plot. You watch it for likable characters and giant monster fights. Nothing wrong with that, but from what I recall, many of the films are lightweight and interchangeable. It’s fun to watch giant monster fights, but when most series have the same base set-up and cast of characters, then you aren’t given a lot to work with, unless a certain series decides to change things up like one Ultraman being the son of a villainous Ultraman seen in a previous series. So, when a series decides to add a lot of pathos and focus on story and characters, it makes for a more memorable series. This movie changes things up with a few crucial details. 

Instead of having a self-defense force that takes down kaiju, we focus on our Ultraman and the baby kaiju. It starts out with our lead being more disconnected from his family and the world, due to a monster attack. He’s cocky, thinks of himself with no humility, and has some lingering issues of trauma and grief. He doesn’t handle it very well. If he can’t handle his current emotional baggage, then you know he won’t be able to when he gets a giant monster baby dropped on his lap to take care of. While it does have some general family-friendly comedic antics with the struggle of a newly single dad who has to take care of this literal monster baby, the thing that holds this film together is how it focuses on the growing bond with not only our lead Sato and the baby, but Sato with everyone else in his life. The overall movie is about how we deal with the emotional baggage of losing someone close, how anger does more harm than good, reconnecting with folks that are close to us, the bonds we make, the relationships between fathers and sons, and you get the idea. It can be a fairly silly movie at points, but the emotional beats when they drop are fantastic. Even the imposing thread has some complications and isn’t just a straight-up bad guy. It’s a film with layers to the drama that our characters deal with, and it can also be a wholly relatable story with folks who become new parents, no matter if they are single or married. We may have it easier due to not having to raise a giant monster baby, but still. Sure, I would have loved to have seen more of the stuff from the franchise, like more monsters and maybe some of the aliens, and I felt like there was a huge missed opportunity with the lack of using a certain monster for the third act, but the focus truly is on the more human level of things. In a film and world where there are giant heroes taking care of giant threats, it never loses sight of what makes Shannon Tindle such a great creative who is good at capturing extremely intimate and emotional connections with the characters. I have seen lots of movies this year so far, and while I have my thoughts about them, Ultraman Rising was one of those films that will touch you at your core and pull on your heartstrings with some truly outstanding story sequences. And yes, there are constant references to Ultraman mixed into the background, the dialogue, and even the musical cues. They never feel distracting, and I felt constant joy when I could spot them. 

Even with all of this though, the action doesn’t take a backseat. Something filmmakers have continuously worked on is how to make giant character fights feel as grand as they do, but not feel like they have to keep the camera super-close, or animate everything slower due to them being large individuals. Even films in the same franchise will go from getting it to not getting it with the sequel. The fights never felt like you were stuck in a small cramped room, and you get plenty of creative and meaty action set pieces. 

Animation-wise, we have seen the trend and constant desire from film fans to do the bold stylized CGI route, and you get that in spades here. It might not go the extreme distance of something like Spider-Verse, but I am always happy when we see a new visual look for Ultraman. I still remember looking up episodes of different Ultraman series, and finding the fascinating design decision of giving the Ultramen in Ultraman Great and Ultraman Cosmos more human ears instead of something else or having no ear-like bits at all. I love the more lanky design of Ultraman and the stylish human designs. It gives everyone more personality than just sticking to the base human design we have seen in some films. It has all the polish and tender loving care given to the character animation that you would want in a stylized world. They are very appealing to look at, and they still look like they are from Ultraman and whatever monsters they fight in the film. It’s a sign of a good art direction from Keiko Murayama as character art director, and the overall art direction being helmed by Sunmin Inn. It has such striking colors and cool comic-bookish elements that make for a visual treat so wholly distinct from other films this year and of this decade. The voice cast is fantastic. You can’t go wrong with the Japanese cast or the English cast, due to how they are both chock full of amazing talent. I think the fact that both casts have some big names, but they aren’t flooded by them like some studio work I have seen in the past few years. Christopher Sean and Yuki Yamada do a wonderful job with capturing the angsty, but loving nature of our lead. Gedde Watanabe as Professor Sato is a real scene stealer, and he brings so much love and emotional pain to the role that you forget that he was Ping from Disney’s Mulan. (Well, the 90s Mulan, not the 2020’s version). While he does have some comedic moments as the character, he delivers a heartfelt performance. A real deal scene stealer though is Keone Young, who plays the villain in the movie. I know him from his work in animated offerings, but the fact his character always has some ulterior motive with an immense amount of heartbreak and rage behind the role makes for one of this year’s greatest antagonists. While I wish she had a little more screen time, Tamlyn Tomita is delightful as Mina, who plays a great emotional foil to Sato, and seeing their friendship blossom throughout the film feels genuine,  with them forming an actual bond there.  The rest of the wonderful cast includes Fumiyo Kohinata, Julia Harriman, Akari Hayami, Lee Shorten, and Takaya Aoyagi. As usual, you can’t go wrong with either cast and version you decide to watch. The music is composed by Scott Blackwell Standford, who has had previous experience in composing for animated art with shorts like Son of Jaguar, Presto,  the Lost Ollie mini series, and if you think you are going to get away scott-free of the music pulling at your heart and wanting to make you feel the most visceral emotions during the film’s sweetest moments, you are mistaken. It’s simply going to be mixed in there alongside the songs chosen for the soundtrack, and beats that will make the ground temple as you watch Ultraman charge at the newest threat. 

Ultraman: Rising is a special film. Just like the giant alien man himself, it felt like this film came to us at the right place at the right time to save us from the looming threat of the folks that want to ruin something beautiful like this one. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience with a heart and soul as big as our hero. It will be coming to Netflix next week, and I highly recommend making it a priority watch. It’s a film that has that bit of spice and vibe that I have been looking for with this year in animation that weren’t the three French films taking up the top three spots in my ranking of films every year that I do them. Ultraman: Rising is a delightful time with the heart, mind, body, and soul that has made this movie work. It avoided the constant monster attacks, and shot a spacium ray into my heart. This film is two giant Ultraman hands down, one of my favorite movies of the year. 

Rating: Essential!