Movies - Return of Ultraman

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	Movies - Return of Ultraman

Return of Ultraman (帰ってきたウルトラマン - Kaettekita Urutoraman - roughly meaning "Ultraman Has Returned") is a tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, and is the 4th Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the show was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 21, 1971 to March 31, 1972, with a total of 51 episodes.

Eiji Tsuburaya originally intended for the Ultra Series to end with the 1967 series Ultra Seven
, but Ultraman was too famous a character to keep down. After Eiji's passing in 1970, his son Hajime Tsuburaya (who took over Tsuburaya Productions until his untimely passing in 1973) revived the Ultra Series with Return of Ultraman.

Featured in this show is a new Ultraman named "New Ultraman" (新ウルトラマン - Shin Urutoraman), or just "Kaettekita Ultraman" (帰ってきたウルトラマン), like the show's title. In the late 70s-early 80s, however, he was renamed "Ultraman Jack" (ウルトラマンジャック - Urutoraman Jakku) for licensing, after Tsuburaya and Bandai (which had just bought the Ultraman toy license in Japan) held a contest for children to pick a new name for this Ultraman. Although he is called "Ultraman Jack" for licensing in and out of Japan, he is still sometimes referred to as "New Ultraman"/"Kaettekita Ultraman", especially by some fans (and also in some official sources).

Also of note is that this is quite possibly the only Ultraman that requires no tool (like the Beta Capsule) to transform with. Hideki Gô, the human host for New Ultraman, just raises his hands to transform at will when New Ultraman signals him to do so (or sometimes against his will in a very desperate situation!).

For the first time, the late Ishiro Honda, best known for his work on the Godzilla movies and other classic Toho tokusatsu, works on the Ultra Series, and has directed some of the best episodes of this series, including the first episode (titled "All Monsters Attack" - 怪獣総進撃 - Kaijû Sôshingeki, which is the same as the Japanese title for the film Destroy All Monsters
!).

Story

This series is a follow up to the original Ultraman
, but set in the same universe. The first episode begins with a fight between two giant monsters Takkong and Zazarn in Tokyo. Amid the monster destruction, young race-car driver Hideki Gô is killed while trying to rescue a little boy and a dog from the falling rubble. His valiant sacrifice is noted by everyone, even his friends and the new defense force MAT (Monster Attack Team), but an unseen being also takes notice. Looking over him is "New Ultraman", who is so touched by his heroics that he decides to bring him back to life by combining his own life-force with Hideki's, thus bringing him back to life (just like the original Ultraman did to Shin Hayata), much to everyone's astonishment! MAT asks him to join the team, which he does, especially since, in this frightening new "Age of Monsters", the earth will need a savior. In times of crisis, Hideki secretly transforms into New Ultraman to fight the menace.

ja:帰ってきたウルトラマン

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