WHAT YOU MISSED! ULTRAMAN CONNECTION WATCH PARTY: THE DESTINED CROSSROAD

On May 26th, 2022, Ultraman Connection Watch Party: The Destined Crossroad was hosted exclusively on UltramanConnection.com (and on our Ultraman Connection Discord server), free to members. The event was a nonstop adrenaline ride for international Ultra fans and featured screenings of all three Ultra Galaxy Fight films, two separate panels, a continuation of the Ultraman Connection exclusive UCL story, and much, much more! The pre-show featured the director’s cuts of Ultra Galaxy Fight: New Generation Heroes and Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy for fans that needed to catch up, with the Discord chat allowing for everyone to discuss (and sometimes toss in hilarious comments on) the ongoing story. The official watch party began soon after, starting with the first half of a special Watch Party Roundtable, featuring Ultraman Connection creative Producer Jeff Gomez and Editor-in-Chief EJ Couloucoundis. Special guests were Peter Tatara, the founder and event director of the Anime NYC convention, and Evangelia Artemis, Ultraman Connection’s resident “Noob”! The four discussed a variety of topics, including the rise of Ultraman’s popularity in the west, how new fans might get into Ultraman, and the success of the Anime ULTRAMAN on Netflix. Finally, the four shared their own unique stories of how they first encountered the characters and world of Ultraman. For Evangelia, it was The Rise of Ultraman trade paperback from Marvel Comics, which is a lesson that any great content on any medium can be a gateway to the M78 universe for a new fan. Next was the first half of a UCL (Unidentified Capture League) short film called Return to Narak Tower. Continuing the narrative that has been told throughout the Ultraman Connection Live events, UCL focuses on a world in which humans have not yet gained the protection of the Ultras but are now faced with a nefarious scheme of the evil Powered Dada. This was the best UCL short yet, bridging to the Absolutian narrative of Ultra Galaxy Fight with the birth of a new Science Patrol in another universe! Following this, fans were treated to panel hosted by Sean Nichols, who also voiced Ultraman Chuck in Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad. Joining him for the panel was Ultra Galaxy Fight director Koichi Sakamoto, Raiga Terasaka (Kengo Manaka/Ultraman Trigger), and Kohshu Hirano (Haruki Natsukawa/Ultraman Z)! They discussed their favorite Ultra heroes, teased the mysterious Ultraman Regulos, and discussed the threat of the Absolutians. Before screening the movie, the panel did a segment where they reacted to hidden scenes from the film, as fans tried to guess what happened based on their expressions! After that, it was time for the main event: Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad was screened in its entirety for the first time, even before Japan! We won’t spoil anything for you here, but some of the highlights included multiple father-son team-ups, the return of alternate versions of Ultraman Tregear and Ultraman Belial, the formal introduction of the mysterious Ultraman Regulos, and a climactic battle that was one of, if not the biggest in Ultra series history! If you missed the massive, multi-hour epic, however, all is not lost, as you can still rent the movie for $6.99 on the Ultraman Connection site. Once the main event was complete, the show continued with the second half of the Watch Party Roundtable, where they discussed their reactions to Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad. In addition, Jeff Gomez delivered twin bombshell reveals that Ultraman Connection team members have seen Shin Ultraman (and loved it!), and that Ultraman Connection is preparing to have a special presence at the Anime NYC convention this year! Finally, to cap off the event, the second half of Return to Narak Tower was shown, which tied into the exclusive Ultraman Connection mini-game Mission: Narak Tower. The short film concluded with a surprise appearance from Sean Nichols, reprising his role as Sean White from Ultraman Max and teasing the future of the UCL narrative! This incredible stinger caused an explosion of responses on Discord from the huge number of fans who managed to stay on with the show to such a late hour! Ultraman Connection Watch Party: The Destined Crossroad may have ended, but there is still plenty of amazing Ultraman action in store. All three Ultra Galaxy Fight movies are available now on UltramanConnection.com. And of course, to stay up to date on the UCL narrative, our live events, and all things Ultraman, stay tuned to Ultraman Connection!