Gamera alumni, director Shinji Higuchi and writer Hideaki Annno, have hit it out of the park with Shin Ultraman: an affectionate retelling of the silvery visitor from The Land of Light.
The new movie is presented in a dry-humored manner, though it's by no means a spoof. It simply dispatches a wry view of its classic foundation within modern times (like Hitoshi Matsumoto's Big Man Japan, but nowhere near as sardonic). In addition, Shin Ultraman's visual style is served by state-of-the-art CGI, but for nostalgic purposes, much of it reflects the Showa era, and that's a good thing for fans who appreciate unpretentious, old-school imagery.
Takumi (Shin Godzilla) Saitoh plays Ultraman, aka Shinji Kaminaga, the heir-apparent Shin Hayata, working as an executive for the kaiju detecting S-Class Species Suppression Protocol (SSSP, the heir-apparent Science Patrol). Kaminaga's human/alien merger occurs after Ultraman kills him during a battle with the Blue Meanie-ish Neronga. Once the symbiotic resurrection is complete, it then only takes the hoisting of a handy Beta capsule to transform a mere mortal into a formidable champion. (Billy Batson look out!)
Kaminaga is a stoic sort, perhaps because of his acquired, alien anchor, but he's still decent to his coworkers, who include Masami Nagasawa's Hiroko Asami (Kaminaga's eager "buddy"); Hidetoshi Nishijima's Kimio Tamura (a unit leader); Tetsushi Tanka as Tatsuhiko Munakato (a unit chief) Hayami's Ymi Funaberi (a biologist); and Daiki Arioka's Akihisa Taki (a physicist and Star Trek/Thunderbirds collector). Asami is the stand-out among them (the Akiko Fuji for this niche), who shares cheer, awe and humility throughout. (It's easy to say that we experience Ultraman's journey through her eyes.)
The adventure is divided into four segments: 1) the rise of Ultraman as a kaiju fighter on Earth; 2) the manifestation of Zarab (Kenjiro Tsuda) a shape-shifting alien who wishes to besmirch Ultraman; 3) the appearance of Mefilias (Koji Yamamoto), a glib alien who eclipses Zarab by implementing "peaceful" means to conquer Earth (i.e., turning Earthlings into brainwashed kaijin through Beta technology); and 4) Ultraman's surreal clash with the seemingly impenetrable monster-anomaly, Zetton, which in turn introduces us to Koichi Yamadera's Commander Zoffy, Ultraman's sublime superior (in a portion that manages to expand one's mind while tugging at one's heart).
The chapters unfold with a swift, organic flow, each delivering its own throwback-referencing punch, though the Zetton/Zoffy finale hits hardest, echoing and amplifying 1960s Ultraman's philosophical lore, while injecting some stimulating, god-and-man/Christ-like allusions where it can.
The movie also finds time to insert a political slant, though doesn't pigeon-hold any precise politician or political party in doing so. It simply shows current "leadership" as a puppetized force, with mouth pieces making dumb and self-serving decisions that squash the aspirations of diligent others.
This coquettish derision is essential, for it reminds us of the importance of duty and the necessity of sacrifice (that any one entity can make a positive difference), despite what the power players say and do. I recognized these axioms in the original, Ultraman series when I was a kid. Little did I realize how much they would resonate during my adulthood, let alone through a computer-graphics redux. For that, I'm most grateful and enough to exclaim, Love Reign Ultraman!
Shin Ultraman is presently available for viewing on disc and/or streaming through Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=shin+ultraman&i=movies-tv&crid=1TN31NQ2931G9&sprefix=%2Cmovies-tv%2C686&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_1_0_recent
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