ألترامان 1

Ultraman: Heroes Comics

by Eiichi Shimizu, Tomohiro Shimoguchi, رنا سيف (Translator)

في الماضي، كان هناك كائن يُدعى «عملاق النور». اتحد عملاق النور مع الأرضي شين هاياتا ليحمي العالم من الخراب والفوضى التي تسبب فيها غزو الفضائيين وكائن عملاق يسمونه «الوحش». أنهى عملاق النور مهمته، وعاد إلى موطنه في الفضاء البعيد. بعد مرور أربعين عامًا على تلك الأحداث، تنقلب حياة المراهق شینچیرو بن شين هاياتا رأسًا على عقب بسبب هجوم كائن فضائي غامض مما يضطره إلى محاربته باستخدام قوته الخارقة التي كان يخفيها سرا. نشرت مانجا الترامان في مجلة هيرو الشهرية، وهي جزء من سلسلة «الترامان» التي حظيت بشعبية في جميع أنحاء العالم، والتي بدأت بالمسلسل التلفزيوني الياباني «ألترامان كيو» في ١٩٦٦، وتتضمن العديد من الأفلام والمسلسلات. «شاهدنا مسلسل الترامان في طفولتنا وأصبحنا مهووسين به. لم يخطر في بالنا أبدا أننا سنحظى بفرصة كتابة ورسم مانجا الترامان عندما نكبر؛ لذا فنحن سعداء أن نقدم لكم مانجا الترامان نتاج حبنا العميق للسلسلة لسنوات عديدة. نتمنى أن تنال إعجابكم». توموهيرو شيمو - جوتشي وايتشي شيميزو

Genres: Manga, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Action, Comics Manga

239 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2012

About the author

Eiichi Shimizu (清水栄一) is a Japanese mangaka.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 'reset' of UM has Shin Hayata's son Shinjiro discovering he is to become the new "Giant of Light" (光の巨人, Hikari no Kyojin) - but he is just a high school boy trying to work up the nerve to talk to girls. Think cross between Peter Parker in high school and Tony Stark trying to get use to the new MARK version of his armor and you get a feel for this series.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Japan, Ultraman is almost as much of an institution as Godzilla which makes sense as they both featured guys in cheap monster outfits fighting each other while smashing cardboard cities (both were also created by Eiji Tsuburaya whose one idea in life was “let’s film guys in cheap monster outfits fighting each other while smashing cardboard cities”)!

Ultraman was an ultra-corny ‘60s TV show about a powerful alien who merged with a human called Shin Hayata to protect the world from Kaiju monsters. It was corny and very funny – I highly recommend watching some of the original show’s clips on Youtube!

Now Ultraman’s been given a makeover in this new manga from writer Eiichi Shimizu and artist Tomohiro Shimoguchi - and disappointingly it’s pretty bland stuff. Hayata is reintroduced as a middle-aged dude who’s now a content family man with no memory of being Ultraman. Except some of Ultraman’s strength remains in him - and his young son Shinjiro.

The story kicks off when a villain appears and blows up a plane. The bad guy then very politely waits 12 years for Shinjiro to grow up before appearing again, allowing him the chance to become the new Ultraman… sort of! They’ve revamped Ultraman completely in this book. The new Ultraman is no giant of light (meaning he’s not as tall as skyscrapers) nor is the only villain introduced so far, Bemular, who also looks totally different. The new Ultraman armour looks cool but derivative of Guyver (if anyone remembers that awesome anime).

The action is unmemorable and boring while Bemular’s characterisation is non-existent (he’s just written as the “evil Ultraman” which he isn’t – he’s supposed to be a giant lizard monster). Why are these two fighting at all - what does Bemular want? Knowing the motivation would invest the reader in what’s happening rather than not at all! There’s also a cheesy damsel-in-distress scene as the girl Shinjiro likes (but he’s too shy to ask out, of course) is being intimidated by some older dudes (read: implied rape) and needs rescuing - real imaginative and not at all clichéd, guys!

To be fair Ultraman was never an untouchable masterpiece of storytelling - it was silly, entertainingly bad TV - but even so this new version barely feels like that character. The creators have thrown together an uninspired story to relaunch the series that’s underwritten in many places and stereotypically macho throughout. I’d love to read a great Ultraman manga but this Poochie’d version ain’t it.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know next to nothing about the original Ultraman. I picked this up from the library just because I thought the cover looked cool. I've read some really bad comics that way, and I've read some really good ones that way, too. This one falls somewhere in between. It's very action heavy, and there were times when I felt like I was behind the curve because I didn't know what was being referenced. But it was also kind of fun, in that mindless action movie kind of way, and the art was much better than average. It's definitely good enough for me to at least read the next volume and see how I feel about that one.

[Kali · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother got this manga from the library so I sort of picked it up out of impulse. It was fine, I’m not sure if I’m that interested in the characters or the story, but I LOVED the art! I thought the action scenes were really well done, and the fight towards the end was just 👌👌

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visually stunning, nostalgia inducing, very lacking in story.

World: The art is amazing, the sense of motion, the design of the armor, the movement is very very manga. The world building is also very good with calls back to the original show and the characters and the visual cues, it’s there for fans to dive into and wonderful for new fans to read about.

Story: The story on the other hand is rather choppy and jerky which is what you would expect from an action oriented manga. The characters are basic and emotions are very very cliché at this point in time. The first arc is pretty much a first fight and without any buildup to the story we have a youngster that is brilliant in the on set which is also a manga troupe. It is what it is and if you understand the genre and it’s love of grandstanding and melodrama you know what you are getting for this first discovery arc. Little of the world is introduced and it’s merely the intro of the characters and that’s it. It was fun but don’t expect it to be deep cause it is not.

Characters: Shinjiro is a cliché character, a rebel who loves his family, who’s a loney who has something hidden and who is for some reason just insanely naturally talented, so….the cliché manga shonan (I know I spelt that wrong…) hero. Nothing much in terms of depth this arc at all. The dad and the Ide and the entire cast of characters is also cliché and that’s expected of the genre and plus this first arc was just a fight so yeah not much development there. The nostalgia does hit hard in this area as aliens are introduced that were from the original series. Oh and the villain…just a monster to fight and no motivation at all at the moment.

First arc was just a big fight and an introduction to the world. Typical of it’s genre, if you know what you are getting into than you will understand.

Onward to the next book!

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your father’s Ultraman!

Coming at you on this Toku Tuesday is the first volume of the recently released Ultraman manga. Originally debuting on Nov 1, 2011 in Shogakukan’s Monthly Hero’s magazine, VizMedia has been generous enough to bring it overseas! The book serves as a sequel to the 1966 Ultraman series, and is written and drawn by the team of Eiichi Shiizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, creators of the Linebarrels of Iron series.

The first chapter sets up the series very well so here’s the short version:

- It has been decades since Shin Hayata and Ultraman parted ways. He is currently Minister of Defense but does not have clear memories of his time as Ultraman, although he still possesses some superhuman strength and speed, dubbed the “Ultraman Factor”

- Shinjiro, Shin’s son, has seemingly inherited the “Ultraman Factor” as shown by a toddler Shin falling three stories only to emerge unharmed.

- After witnessing Shin’s strength and Shinjiro’s fall, Shin’s friend and former partner in the Science Special Search Party Mitsuhiro Ide reveals that he has secretly kept the SSSP operational since Ultraman’s departure and informs him that a new alien threat has presented itself.

We flash forward 12 years later, where we learn that Shinjiro has become aware of his abilities, but has not revealed that fact to his father. In an attempt to protect a classmate, Shinjiro accidentally breaks the attacker’s leg, even as he was attempting to control his strength. Seemingly having been stalking Shinjiro, the threat from 12 years ago presents itself and attacks the unarmed teen, who is rescued at the last moment by his father, ULTRAMAN.



I’ll stop my summary here, leaving something for you all to read yourself but i will mention this, unlike the Ultraman show, this series will revolve around Shinjiro and his human- sized Ultraman exosuit, not a giant sized monster puncher. This fact leads me to believe we will get a story that deals with more human stories, giving us a science fiction drama, rather than a monster-of-the-week series. The writing in this first volume feels very strong and concise, with no wasted pages.

The art in the series is very clean and deliberate, even in the high-paced fight scenes. The artist’s use of shadow works to emphasize a feeling of action, and determination, which especially helps convey Shinjiro’s attitude while in the suit.

My only nitpick would be the ‘colored’ pages at the beginning of a few chapters. They probably looked amazing in the original magazine, but the black and white reproductions leave a bit to be desired.

Overall, this first volume works well as an introduction to this new Ultraman world, and I am looking forward to reading more. We get a backstory, and introduction to the antagonist, protagonist, and the supporting characters.

I give this book four out of five Specium Ray blasts!

http://astrocatanime.tumblr.com/post/...

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

1966: The Kaiju invasion of Earth seemed indestructible and unstoppable until one hero appeared from the skies: Ultraman. Infused with a human pilot for the SSSP (Science Special Search Party), Ultraman protects the earth from total devastation. 40 years later, after Ultraman seemingly defeated the Kaiju horde, a new threat emerges and only Shinjiro, the son of Ultraman, can put an end to the tyranny once and for all.

Ultraman was a beloved television series in the 1960's. Over the years the story received high praise and the viewership wanted more. Super Fans Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi created a continuation, not a reboot, of the Ultraman series in Manga format. There are many secrets behind Ultraman that were yet to be discovered and this Manga will reveal what fans and new readers want to know: who is Ultraman and why are there so many of him?

- John, Red Bridge Branch

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Review in Progress**

So apparently this is either s spin-off or sequel to the original Ultraman for years back. I know nothing about that so coming into this, I felt a bit lost. Things are not very well explained to new readers to the story concept.

Basically there is this kid, Shin, who has special abilities. When his dad starts to put them together it is revealed that he (the father) was Ultraman years ago, after merging with some alien (I think) but until this point he had forgotten. However, his power has been genetically passed down to his child. Jump forward several years to a teenage Shin. He has begun to discover powers on his own but has never discussed them with anyone, nor has his father tried to talk to him . When aliens starts showing up, looks like the truth must be revealed.

There is not a lot being verbally shared in this graphic novel. No conversation nor narration really so that does not help to piece the story together. It is like a very anti-social person wrote this and said "lets use as few words as possible." I wanted more backround. while the art is great and I am curious, the lack of knowledge left me detached.

[James Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into this manga, I have never read or watched anything about Ultraman before, I just thought the cover design and title resembled Ironman and decided that if it were anything like Ironman then it would me a pretty amazing manga. Well...I have to admit that I am still a little lost as to the past of Ultraman and what happened in the stories past, and the manga doesn't really explain it too well either.

There was a ton of action in this manga, I mean to the extent that it was more action than anything else. I flew through this story in a matter of minutes because of all of the action. While I don't like a manga with too many words that is drug out, I wish that this manga had explained things a little more in detail. Overall, I am interested to see what happens next, and I recommend that people give it a chance.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, but it felt a little bit empty. I loved how the story tied back to the original Ultraman, and the art is really impressive. I enjoy he reimagining of the monsters so far, too. Still, the chapters feel unfulfilling and short, with lots of action and almost no character development. Still, I enjoyed it a lot.

Edit: Read it again, upping my review to four stars. After watching the original TV show, the comic becomes a bit more meaningful. As before, I found the art really cool (I think the artist has a bit of a taste for the ladies, but can render exciting action scenes well). I like how it reinvents the Ultraman mythos in cool ways with cool powers. I like that it feels a little Spider-Man-ish with the young guy dealing with his superpowers. It's also a really fast read, which right now I love. Really nice to just zoom through something like this.

[Michael Galdamez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It pretty much was exactly what I had heard it was. Interesting continuation of the old tv series (which I only saw commercials for on Saturday morning cartoon DVD's). Although, it does become one long, silent fight scene. But seriously, the majority of reading in this is sound effects: THOOOOM, BOOOM KRRRRKK, SSSLLSH!! Also, the fight could get confusing because of the lack of color, making it difficult for me to understand what had just happened at times.

It was a good fight scene none the less... but could easily get tiring if the entire series is like it.

The art sure was flipping awesome though!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not super familiar with the Ultraman saga short of it's a giant space guy fighting giant space monsters. I've seen many episodes of the old TV show and enjoyed them for the kitsch factor.

That being said, I thought this volume was fantastic. A great setup that spans generations, badass monsters and plenty of fisticuffs. I'll be continuing this series for sure.

[Jason]

The artwork is gorgeous. But a fight scene still takes up half the book, which is part of why I'm not crazy about shonen. As far as that goes, however, it's still definitely one of the better examples of the genre.

[Liam Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how they built a Ultraman with totally different powers, but had his powers come from the same place. Watched the whole anime, now reading the series AND going beyond where the anime went. I’ll put the review for the whole series in the second book.

[Tristan Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combines what I love about Ultraman with modern, action-driven manga without forgetting its roots.

[owain · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is really good and it is a very good sci-fi book. the title also reminds me of mega man

[Charlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure it's crouton manga, but I didn't expect anything different...

[Ariya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nostalgia kicks in. The visual art is so beautifully clean and intricate, but overall this is not as good as the classic Ultraman I was so familiar back then. It is more like a Japanese manga attempting to be like American comics. When you try so hard to be something else, the essential is always missing out. The characters and their motivations are very cliche and so banal. There's no core plot driven, like there's no skeleton for the nice body suit. Nice try though.

[Shane Stanis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it non-stop tropes? Yes! Is it super fun so I don’t care? Yes!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This review is being written after having read the first 10 volumes of this series. Any observations and/or insights should be taken with this in mind.

Ultraman is a manga based sequel to the prolific Tokusatsu (special effects heavy, live action) superhero television serial of the same name that began in the the 1960's. The story follows high school student Shinjiro Hayata, who is gifted superhuman physiology due to his father Shin Hayata being the former host of the original being called Ultraman. Shinjiro is portrayed as a young man with a drive to do good and help others, but due to his unique 'condition' has been forced into quiet obscurity for fear of being discovered. His father's connection to Ultraman (and by extension, his own) is not revealed to Shinjiro until an encounter with an alien criminal forces his father and the secretive Science Patrol (SSSP) to reveal themselves. Shinjiro is then recruited to succeed his father as a brand new Ultraman in order to face the newly resurfaced threat of rogue extraterrestrials causing mayhem among humanity.

One thing that cannot be denied about this series is that it has a vision of precisely what it wants to be, and tries to achieve that vision with an almost single minded focus. Ultraman will not appeal to everyone, nor (I would contend) should it try. This series is first and foremost a love letter to the tokusatsu genre and the Ultraman TV series of years past, with everything from characters to names to plot beats being cannibalized from the number of Ultraman series that followed the original (in name if not in narrative). The volumes read very quickly, mostly due to narrative related dialogue either being kept to a minimum or confined to short sporadic shots throughout the series. The focus is (as you should expect given the source material) the action, and the art style and composition is always in service to the thrill of the combat or the tension of the moment.

Does this result in a story that has some pacing issues? Yes. Does the focus on action and staying faithful to the spirit of the original show limit some of the character development and narrative accessibility? Not completely, but to an extent.

Does any of this make this story unappealing or (even worse) generic? I would argue not.

Those that read this outside the target audience will have an uphill battle to get invested in the story and it's characters, but I have always held the opinion that stories don't need to be groundbreaking or genre defining or critical darlings to be considered a success. To be a success the story simply needs to succeed in being what it set out to be, and in the case of Ultraman I believe the creative team has accomplished that feat and then some. Ultraman the manga is just what you think it is; an action packed barrage of tokusastu spectacle and break-neck battles that sandwich moments of drama straight out of the superhero serials that inspired them.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the interests of full disclosure the decision to read this was well, it was a bit of a nostalgia read for me. Ultraman was one of the first live action Japanese television shows to show up on a local UHF station when I was a child. Thanks to the net I know the show has been ongoing with some loose continuity between some of the installments since then.

But, can the concept be updated for 2016? The immediate answer is yes. There is no denying that time has passed for the world and the Science Patrol. Ide is still around, and Hayata is Japan's Minister of Defense. There is something unusual about his son though. No spoilers here, even the preceding sentence pretty is a giveaway

Having not kept up manga since the end of Full Metal Alchemist, I will admit that I was surprised, and pleased with the artwork and story. The battle scene felt a little drawn out, but frankly I think that fault exists with a lot of manga.

Very likely I'll read volume two.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical about this new take on Ultraman that ignored everything that came after the original series and made Ultraman into an Iron Man riff. However the stellar, dynamic art and the gripping story pulled me in and I'm resoundingly on board. That's part of the fun to be able to accept and enjoy many different versions of a character and see how new voices can bring new dimensions to a fictional world.

[C.W. Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying the manga books I've been reading lately. They're very different from what I'm used to. I didn't realise this series was based on an existing title but it was still really bloody cool!

[William Dulany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this reboot

For someone who used to run home from elementary school to watch this show, I enjoyed this take. I get frustrated when writers try to erase the original. Instead they totally acknowledged the original story and started a new one. Great job!

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have known about the Ultraman franchise for a long time but this is the first time I have actually experienced the franchise first hand. While I do not know much about the first series this manga series is actually very friendly for new comers.

[Ben Nealis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never known a lot about the Ultraman franchise but I believe that this was a good place to start. I enjoyed it very much a very quick read and a lot of action.

[Q. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Monsour · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my guilty pleasure along time ago. A really cool (not sorta good story) yet good old 70's Japanese superhero vibe on it, hence the title "Ultraman".

I only had the chance to watch one Ultraman series when I was a kid and it was Ultraman Gaia. Therefore I don't have any idea of what is the story of original Ultraman.

If you guys love those super sentai vibe type of superheroes that you watch during sunday morning. You're gonna like this, too bad they cancel the manga serie...oh well

[Ed Sical · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were moments while reading this manga where I thought to myself, this is a fun read but I’m usually a plot-over-action type manga reader. And even though Ultraman fighting an alien is dope, the limited backstory we get at the beginning is what I enjoyed the most. I almost concluded not to continue with this series until the cliffhanger. The art is exceptional, I’m just hoping for more depth from our characters moving forward.

[Steven D’Alterio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sure for those nostalgic and yearning for some Ultraman content this is awesome, expertly stylized character design (seems like it borrows a lot from Evangelion & Dead Space), and some call back to the old kaiju film franchise. For me, I found the breakneck pacing to be the only highlight outside of the cool suits. That is to say, I am glad it ended so fast. The dialogue is bland, the fights were hard to make out, the mechanics introduced were too complicated to understand. The background paneling is horrible, half finished. The project feels rushed so far. Not inclined to continue at this moment.