Shin Ultraman

"New Ultraman" redirects here. For the protagonist of Return of Ultraman, see Ultraman Jack (character).

Shin Ultraman
A poster depicting Ultraman's head, neck, and shoulders adorned with the SSSP members, the Tokyo skyline, and a crowd of onlookers, several recording an event unfolding in front of them on their phones. The film's title is printed in red katakana with the text "A Special Effects Fantasy Film" underneath. Credits and the film's release date are printed below the title.
Theatrical release poster by Toshiki Hosokawa
Japanese name
Katakanaシン・ウルトラマン
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnShin Urutoraman
Directed byShinji Higuchi
Written byHideaki Anno
Based onUltraman
by Eiji Tsuburaya
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
  • Yōhei Kurihara
  • Hideaki Anno
Music byShirō Sagisu
Production
companies
Distributed byToho
Presented by
Release date
  • May 13, 2022 (2022-05-13) (Japan)
Running time
112 minutes[4]
CountryJapan
LanguagesJapanese
English
Budget¥800–900 million[c]
($5–6 million)
Box office$34.4 million[d]

Shin Ultraman (シン・ウルトラマン, Shin Urutoraman)[e] is a 2022 Japanese superhero film directed by Shinji Higuchi and written, co-produced, and co-edited by Hideaki Anno. A reimagining of the 1966 television series Ultraman, the film is a co-production between Toho Studios[b] and Cine Bazar, and presented by Tsuburaya Productions, Toho Co., Ltd., and Khara, Inc. It is the 37th film in the Ultraman franchise,[17] and Anno and Higuchi's second reimagining of a tokusatsu series, following Shin Godzilla (2016) and preceding Shin Kamen Rider (2023). The ensemble cast includes Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka, and Hidetoshi Nishijima, with Anno and Bin Furuya as Ultraman. In the film, an extraterrestrial accidentally kills a man while battling a kaiju and takes on his appearance and place at the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol to protect Earth from further threats.

In the summer of 2017, Anno was tasked with writing a proposal for a trilogy of Ultraman productions by Takayuki Tsukagoshi, the future chairman of Tsuburaya Productions. A year after completing the plan for the trilogy on January 17, 2018, Anno wrote the first draft of Shin Ultraman's screenplay on February 5, 2019. However, his participation in the film had to be deferred until the completion of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021). Tsuburaya officially announced the film had begun production on August 1, 2019. Principal photography took place during late 2019 in Ibaraki Prefecture, Hiratsuka and Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kōfu and Minobu in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Ichihara in Chiba Prefecture, and wrapped in November. Post-production was decelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in editing taking roughly two-and-a-half years.

After being delayed from a summer 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shin Ultraman premiered in Japan on May 13, 2022. The film grossed $34 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2022 and the most commercially successful Ultraman film. Critics praised its direction, characters, editing, cinematography, visual effects, musical score, and action sequences, but some criticized the screenplay's structure and perceived lack of themes.[f] It received eight nominations at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize, including Picture of the Year, and won three.

  1. ^ Toho Stella 2022, p. 38.
  2. ^ "An opening to a new page of the history of Ultraman is underway! Shin Ultraman, a dawning of a brand new entertainment presented for everyone around the world has just began!". Tsuburaya Productions. August 1, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "「TOHO スタジオ株式会社」設立のお知らせ" [News of the establishment of TOHO Studio Co., Ltd.] (PDF) (in Japanese). Toho Studios. December 1, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Kuipers, Richard (January 3, 2023). "Shin Ultraman Review: An Ultra-Fun Relaunch of Japan's Beloved Sci-Fi Kaiju Superhero". Variety. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Anno 2022, p. 77
  6. ^ "Hotline info can uncover truth about Unification Church". The Asahi Shimbun. October 7, 2022. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Jo, Mayumi (September 24, 2022). "Peace museum opens in city initially targeted for atomic bomb". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 30, 2022). "One Piece Film Red, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Films Top Japan's Box Office in 2022". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  9. ^ "Shin Ultraman". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "Shin Urotoraman (シン・ウルトラマン) (2022)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Anno 2022, p. 74.
  12. ^ a b c "庵野・樋口コンビの「シン・ウルトラマン」 映画評10本" [Anno and Higuchi duo Shin Ultraman 10 film reviews]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). Nikkei, Inc. May 20, 2022. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "Hideaki Anno written & produced Shin Ultraman premiers in Japan. The beloved half-century old franchise returns". JFF+. Japan Foundation. June 30, 2022. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022. Typically the word shin in Japanese is used as a prefix to mean "new", however, instead of using the traditional Chinese character for "new"("新") which conveys both meaning and sound, each of these titles write shin using a purely phonetic alphabet called katakana . Because of this, the meaning of shin can be interpreted by Japanese viewers and fans in a variety of ways, for example it could mean "true/truth"("真") or "god/god's"("神").
  14. ^ Gomez, Jeff (May 24, 2022). "Shin Ultraman – Jeff Gomez's First Impressions". Ultraman Connection. Tsuburaya Productions. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "シン・ウルトラマン" [Shin-Ultraman] (in Japanese). Toho Cinemas. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  16. ^ Figure King 2022, p. 16.
  17. ^ "#Showbiz: Shin Ultraman coming to Malaysian cinemas in October". New Straits Times. July 28, 2022. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference NerdistReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference UnseenJapan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference ScreenAnarchy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference ComicBookReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Roy, Dhaval (September 23, 2022). "Shin Ultraman Movie Review: A throwback for loyal followers and a good introduction for newbies". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  23. ^ Sayyed, Rayan (September 24, 2022). "Shin Ultraman Review: Maintains Real Sense of Goofy, Classic Ultraman Charm". IGN India. Fork Media Group. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference AnimeNewsNetworkReview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference ANN23Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference DH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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