After having watched the new Netflix original Ultraman film I was pleasantly surprised with a project that rivals some of the strongest western animated movies in recent years.

The movie is about Ken Sato who took on the mantle of Ultraman after his father, the previous Ultraman (later known as Ultradad) became too damaged and old to save the city. Ultraman is a Japanese hero as tall as a skyscraper that fights giant monsters/Kaijus to save the city, but he doesn't want them dead. While he tries to make the Kaijus leave the military faction, KDF have no intentions to let them live. As the new Ultraman Ken struggles with keeping up with both hero work as well as his job as a world renowned baseball player. While on the verge of giving up hero work he finds a Kaiju egg and is forced to become the adoptive father for his new cute monster daughter Emi.

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The movie was a surprisingly fun film but the little marketing I've seen didn’t really do it any favors. The posters make it look like a children's movie intended for very small kids and the movie is even flagged as a children's show on Netflix. Despite this, the movie tells an interesting story about responsibility and parenthood that I didn't expect to see accompanied with beautiful animation akin to that of ‘Into the Spider-Verse’. I don’t know what would make this movie particularly childish in comparison to most other animated movies today but I would consider it for all ages. Although, the film does contain drinking, implied death, and some violence.

Images courtesy of © 2024 Netflix, Inc.

The film is a very nice looking project with very fitting character design and beautiful action sequences. A lot of 2D animations are implemented to accentuate some movements and filters and color usage varies to portrait characters in different ways. The main antagonist is often shown in a red and black lighting to show him as intimidating although he isn’t openly a villain. A specific filter is often used when characters are put in harsh scenarios which works as a visual motif throughout the movie. It is just a good looking film that shouldn’t be overlooked. A thing that is worth to point out is that the film is made for English so even if you are on the fence since it is based on a Japanese property i think you will be pleasantly surprised how well the lip synced english voice acting is.

Images courtesy of © 2024 Netflix, Inc.

Ultraman: Rising has a fun story about the surprisingly egocentric main character Ken Sato. Ken is more interested in his baseball career than he is in saving both the people in Tokyo from the giant monsters as well as the giant monsters that are on the verge of extinction from the KDF. Although he is made to be a very relatable character he is not exactly innocent. This leads well to the more comedic scenes in the film as we don’t pity him as much as we would do if he was a paragon of virtue. Other characters are also complex like the main villain who wants to kill the monsters. It is understandable that he at some level is well meaning. He goes away on a suicide mission in an attempt to kill the Kaijus as well as Ultraman but before he does this he is clear to let all of his men escape the scene. It is obvious that the Kaiju are dangerous and it is not hidden that they have noble pursuits. To a point in the movie it is unclear why they even are considered bad guys by the protagonists.

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My biggest issue with the film is not really an issue I have with Ultraman: Rising but more a problem I have as a member of the audience. The movie stars the titular hero Ultraman which I know close to nothing about. I understand that an origin story might be superfluous to many as they already know what that story is, but for me, a Swedish man who haven’t seen a single episode nor watched a single film of the earlier Japanese Ultraman IP, there are a lot of things i don’t really understand. To its credit, the story tries to give away just enough information to make you understand what it is about but without further research it is unclear what Ultraman is even supposed to be. I now know that Ultraman is an alien (which is sort of self-evident from his design) who has merged with a human host but this is never really stated in the story. I don't really think that it's an issue however. I believe most Spider-man movies don’t need to tell his origin since everyone already knows what it is about. I would also assume there is a similar explanation to why they chose to leave that out here but I wouldn't assume most people (at least in Europe) knows too much about Ultraman. None of the background details are necessary to enjoy the film though and I don't want anyone to be discouraged, it seems like a good jumping in point to the larger franchise.

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Overall it is a fun film with some adult themes that almost everyone can enjoy. I recommend that anyone with a slight interest should watch it. Without proper context some scenes felt a little silly or hard to understand but Ultraman: Rising was still a very good film.

RATING: 4/5