Our hero is back with Return of Ultraman, the fourth entry in the Ultraman collection! Mill Creek Entertainment has made it so easy to rewatch the return with this 6-disc box set. 21 hours and 38 minutes of remastered Blu-Ray and English subtitles is the perfect way to ‘protect justice and peace’ alongside the Ultra that started it all. Return of Ultraman brought the 1960s into the 1970s and now we’re bringing all of it into 2024 with the highest quality version of the series that exists on the market!
The series comes packaged in a sleek steelbook case with a slip-on cover, spotlighting Ultraman in his power stance and contains an information guide complete with episode synopses for all 51 episodes, and breakdowns of all the characters, kaiju, tech, and history of the show.
Towering behemoths like Takkong, Zazarn, Sadora, Detton, Twintail, Bemstar, and cunning extraterrestrials like Alien Bat and Alien Baltan Jr. make appearances throughout the series, as well as, for the first time, Ultras we know and love making their return! Ultraman and Ultraseven join Ultraman Jack, who fights alongside defense force MAT and Ultra host/racecar driver, Hideki Go, to protect humanity from impending doom.
Available in high-definition Blu-Ray, fans get to see legendary stories like two-parter episodes 5 ‘Two Giant Monsters Attack Tokyo’ and 6 ‘Showdown! Monster vs MAT’ in which Gudon and Twintail paralyze Tokyo, putting Jiro’s sister Aki in great peril and engulfing the city in flames. Shoot-outs, explosions and good old fashion melee battles jump off the screen, more immersive than ever before.
In episode 18, ‘Here Comes Ultraseven!’ jet planes soar through the air and spacecrafts orbit the Earth fighting Bemstar, the Kaiju from the Crab Nebula who feeds on energy, attempting to devour the entire team with the voracious mouth in his stomach. Visceral practical effects paint the picture of a seemingly undefeatable monster who deflects all attacks until it’s time for back-up to be called… Ultraseven must join Ultraman Jack to help MAT prevail against their first battle with a space Kaiju!
Return Of Ultraman isn’t afraid to penetrate deep topics either, Episode 33 “The Monster Tamer and the Boy”, deals with dark themes of ostracization, groupthink-induced-cruelty, and metaphor for racial prejudice. It is one of the few episodes to truly end in tragedy, and even had real repercussions for its writing team. Featuring an early long shot scene rare in the series, this contextually dense gem of an episode preserves the story of Muruchi and Alien Mates forever and deserves a spot on any Ultraman collector’s shelf.
This Showa era series is often referred to as one of the most loved installments of the franchise, and not just for the stylin’ 70’s fashion! The energy of Go’s racing team, the rollercoaster dynamics of the MAT crew, the adorable Jiro (who has been widely recognized as the least annoying child character in a Tokusatsu production), the focus on family matters and intimate thematic navigation of the struggles of Japan in the 1970s, the groovy aesthetics, and the wide array of unique, versatile antagonists make Return of Ultraman one of the strongest Toku shows out there.
With optimized sound, perfect for modern sound-systems without any exaggerated additional audio, top-quality translated subtitles, and only the most tasteful amount of grain on the 16mm film, it’s about time the Return of Ultraman Mill Creek full package 6-disc-set made it to your Ultra-shrine.
