Hiroko Sakurai

The landmark Japanese Tokusatsu TV series Ultraman became a massive social phenomenon upon its debut in 1966, reaching a staggering peak viewership rating of 42.8%. Six decades later, Tsuburaya Productions continues to introduce new entries into the Ultraman series, expanding its unique universe to a global audience across generations. This documentary brings together leading voices from the fields of cinema, Tokusatsu, and design. Witness profound testimonies from an international assembly of creators, including: Guillermo del Toro, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Hideo Kojima, Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, and Nicolas Winding Refn.

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Naraho town in Fukushima Prefecture is on the front-line of the government-funded nuclear power plant decommissioning work. Kokuhei Kusunoki is transferred from Aizu Wakamatsu City to Naraho Town to take over the Disaster PR Division. Murai takes Kokuhei around Fukushima including areas washed away by the tsunami. They examine the still incomplete railway lines, the unfinished decontamination area and villages in the danger zone, where deadly cesium continues to pile up. One day Kokuhei is told to organize a party to celebrate the professor who has been appointed as deputy director of the Atomic Energy Research Institute.

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Colored versions of episodes 1, 20, 19 and 15 of Ultra Q TV show, edited together and released in theaters.

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When military experiments go haywire and trigger an atomic bomb, the consequences are of epic proportions. A monster arrives in the midst of the nuclear fallout, and Japan's defenses are helpless against it. Mankind's only savior is an irradiated water goblin from Japanese folklore called the "Death Kappa." The two rival monsters must go head-to-head in the ultimate battle between good and evil!

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Direct-to-video special mostly comprised of stock footage from the 1966 series Ultraman. The main cast reprised their roles for newly-shot footage : in the summer of 2006, 40 years after Ultraman left Earth, the old members of the SSSP reunite after receiving a mysterious invitation letter. Together, they reminiscence about the numerous situations they faced.

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Direct-to-video documentary special about the 1966 series Ultra Q. It is mainly comprised of interviews with the original staff and cast alongside stock footage of the show. The main cast reprised their roles for short in-character segments that are framed as interviews about the series' events.

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Ultraman Max was an Ultraman TV series which started airing on 7 July 2005, and produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd.. The show tried to return to the true formula of new monsters every week and being a fast paced show like previous series with the exception of Ultraman Nexus. The show is full of homages to past series by having three of the original cast members from the first Ultraman series being featured in an episode, updated versions of classic monsters like Red King, Eleking and Pigmon among others. One unusual episode revolves around the filming of the 1964 program Ultra Q which was the predecessor to the first Ultraman show in 1966. Two actors from that show appear as themselves.

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Direct-to-video documentary special focusing on the Ultraman Series, spotlighting the heroines who appeared from Ultra Q to Ultraman Gaia. The program features insights from the original production staff, who provide introductions to these characters. The documentary notably highlights three actresses: Hiroko Sakurai, Mitsuko Hoshi, and Takami Yoshimoto, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their time working on the series.

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Ultraman Nice arrives from the planet TOY-1 in a series of infomercials (1-minute toy commercials) presented during the 1999 Japanese reruns of Ultraman Tiga. The 1-minute spots, advertising the wide variety of Bandai Ultraman toys and other merchandise, actually do have a storyline, along with some surprise guests. Throughout the series, Alien Zagon and his monsters attacked Earth for the Bandai figures. However, at each attack, Ultraman Nice managed to defeat them and, at the end of the series, the aliens were finally vanquished

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Ultraman Shadow, Ultraman Zearth's most terrifying adversary yet, is brought to Earth by the murderous alien, Lady Benzen to be Ultraman Zearth's assassin. Ultraman Shadow is a warrior of darkness equipped with mysterious powers. Prepare to witness the ultimate showdown, colossus versus mighty colossus, the battle ground: Planet Earth!

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Ultraman Zearth hails from The Land of Pikari in Nebula Z95. He has a big red face and dislikes dirt, and will go to great lengths to wash it off his hands. His goal is to clean the polluted Earth. He transforms with an electric toothbrush, which is consistent with his hygiene fixation. He's not quite adept at being a superhero, but at least he tries his best.

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The film is composed of stock footage from the original Ultraman television series with additional newly filmed content, and it served as an “epilogue” as Ultraman returns to Earth for one final battle.

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Theatrical version of episode 17 of Ultra Q TV series.

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Theatrical version of episode 20 of Ultraman (1966 TV series). An enormous bird-monster is attacking motorists on Route 87. The Science Patrol discovers a supernatural link between the monster and a statue located nearby.

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Junko's only son dies in an accident. Junko is exhausted by despair and grief, and her husband, who should be there to support her, instead blames her. But her father-in-law, Tsuneo, finds her dear.

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A 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Tsuburaya Productions, consisting of re-edited material from the original television series Ultraman. Ultraman: The Great Decisive Battle was the 1st movie of the third Showa phase (Jissouji's Ultraman being first and Ultra Brothers vs. The Monster Army being second) and because of this Tsuburaya decided to make this a reunion of the last 12 Ultras (aside from Ultraman 80 which hadn't come out yet). Tsuburaya decided to give this a different tone than Jissouji's Ultraman, having more new scenes and appealing to the all-Ultra fan.

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Akio Jissoji's Ultraman is a 1979 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Akio Jissoji. It is a compilation film made up of scenes from Jissoji's episodes of the original Ultraman TV series.

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Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th century. This film, which has a complex and wide-ranging storyline, recreates the world of that time, as it appeared in Utamaro's paintings.

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In the summer of 1947, various men and women gather at a mansion in the countryside at the invitation of Kazuma Utagawa. They are artists, novelists, poets, painters, playwrights, actresses, etc. Then the murders begin, one after another. The incident seemed to have no continuity...

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A rigidly devoted young servant lives in a decaying aristocratic household as its members drift toward modernity, hedonism, and financial collapse. While the family quarrels over the fate of their estate, he clings to tradition and ritual, becoming a quiet witness to the social change and emotional unrest around him.

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Monjiro was born into a poor farm family in Mikazuki Village, Nitta County, Ueshu, and abandoned his hometown when he was 10 years old. He has been traveling aimlessly with a long toothpick in his mouth. Monjiro avoided getting involved in anything, but wherever he went, he ended up getting involved in incidents

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Two university students from Kyoto decide to swap partners and spend the night in an isolated motel. However, one of the couples is attacked. Desperate for answers, they search for the attackers and come across a cult that promotes sexual freedom.

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A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.

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Based on the comic by George Akiyama

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Two women are ferried to a small prison colony on the remote and barren prison island, where they and their fellow inmates are forced to perform perilous slave labor along the island’s treacherous cliffs, overseen by both an unforgiving sun and a crew of abusive male wardens. Meanwhile, the arrival of a newcomer among the island’s administrators, a disgraced policeman who is also the son of Nagasaki’s governor, creates dissension between the officials that, along with an untimely outbreak of bubonic plague on the island, ultimately sets the stage for a daring escape attempt on the part of the prisoners.

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One night, the phone rings at the home of the Takiguchi family. The daughter Reiko hands the receiver to her father, who then instantly goes up in flames and is burned to death! Subsequently, another incident of apparently spontaneous human combustion occurs right before Reiko’s eyes. Made for "Operation: Mystery".

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A samurai kills a blind man who tells him to repay his debts. Because of the samurai's actions his entire family is to bear a terrible curse.

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The four-member con group, including the intellectual boss Nobukichi Ishiguro (Masayuki Mori), who is called an "aristocrat con man" for his elegant appearance; the amorous Kyuhei Maruki (Tadao Takashima); the inventive Yosuke Mori (Hideo Sunatsuka); and the amorous Mami (Mako Midori), set one bizarre trap after another in their quest for the perfect crime in this wry crime comedy.

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Comedy starring the manzai team of Chick and Tack, and set in the world of salarymen.

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Comedy-drama about university tennis players.

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The film consists of re-edited material from the original television series Ultraman. Episodes 1, 8, 26, and 27 were used for the film. They were narrated by Hikari Urano as an "Ultraman Documentary". Allegedly only one new scene was shot, and that some parts of the movie where shot in black and white for unknown reasons. The movie screened at the same time as the Toho movie King Kong Escapes.

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Hayata is a member of the Science Patrol, an organization tasked with investigating bizarre anomalies. He is mortally wounded when accidently encountering an alien being from Land of Light, who grants Hayata new life as the two are merged into one. Now, whenever a threat arises that is too great for the Science Patrol to handle, Hayata activates the beta capsule and becomes the hero known as Ultraman.

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In this recorded stage debut of the original Ultraman, self-proclaimed world's number one kaiju tamer, Eiji Tsuburaya introduces Ultraman, the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), and various kaiju.

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Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the great Buddha. Their journey takes them to a kingdom in the Middle East, where they find intrigue and romance in the court of an evil king.

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