Ultraman (2004)

Ultraman ウルトラマン
Director	Konaka Kazuya
Producer	Suzuki Kiyoshi
Writer	Hasegawa Keiichi
Starring	Bessho Tetsuya Touyama Kyouko Oosumi Kenya
Ending theme	NEVER GOOD-BYE
Composer	Matsumoto Takahiro
Studio	Tsuburaya Productions
Distributor	Shochiku
Release date(s)	December 18, 2004 (2004-12-18)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Ultraman Nexus
< Ultraman Nexus 12	Ultraman ウルトラマン	Ultraman Nexus 13 >

Ultraman is a 2004 film acting as a prequel to Ultraman Nexus, and part of the Ultra N Project. It is also commonly referred to as Ultraman: The Next, the name it was given during production, to distinguish itself from other films also bearing the same name. The name was shortened at some point during the production cycle to just Ultraman. The name Ultraman: The Next was bought back for the manga version of the movie.

Quote on DVD Cover

"Do you still remember your childhood dreams about a silver shooting star? The dream still remains somewhere in your heart unbroken. The year 2005, it took us 39 years to come across the silver shooting star again....."

Plot

First Lieutenant Maki Shunichi of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is a distinguished F-15 Eagle pilot. It has been his dream of flying since young, but he ultimately decided to give up his career to spend more time with his wife, and his child who has a possibly terminal blood illness, and take up a less intensive career as a tour guide.

However, Maki would soon realise that all was not as he had planned. On his final day as a pilot, he and a flight partner were alerted to a strange red light streaking towards Japan, and went to investigate it. With flight meters gone haywire just as they were reaching the site, his partner had to pull back and return. Maki then crashed into the red ball of light, and had visions of a strange glowing giant.

Characters

• Maki Shunichi - Bessho Tetsuya → 真木 舜一 - 別所 哲也
  • As a child: Hamakawa Ayumu (濱川 歩)
• Maki Youko - Yuuki Nae → 真木 蓉子 - 裕木 奈江
• Maki Tsugumu - Hirota Ryouhei → 真木 継夢 - 広田 亮平
• Mizuhara Sara - Touyama Kyouko → 水原 沙羅 - 遠山 景織子
• Udou Takafumi - Oosumi Kenya → 有働 貴文 / ビースト・ザ・ワン - 大澄 賢也
• Ippei - Tsunoda Eisuke → 一平 - 角田英介
• Yuriko - Sato Yumiko → 由利子 - 佐藤夕美子
• Air SDF Operator Commander - Edo Yamaguchi → 航空自衛隊オペレーター基地指揮官 - エド山口
• Yashiro - Shimizu Kazuya → 矢代 - 清水一哉
• Restaurant owner - Okamura Youichi → 飲食店経営者 - 岡村洋一
• Yukie, restaurant owner's wife - Yasumuro Makiko → 店の女房・幸恵 - 安室満樹子
• Miku - 遠藤真宙 → ミク - 遠藤真宙
• Miku's mother - Ono Hiromi → ミクの母 - 小野日路美
• Miku's Father - Konaka Kazuya ※Director Cameo → ミクの父 - 小中和哉
• Repairman - Yamasaki Takafumi → 修理工 - 山崎崇史
• Ground SDF Correspondence Soldier - Ichimura Naoki → 陸上自衛隊通信兵 - 市村直樹
• Announcer - Komada Kengo （TBS TV） → アナウンサー - 駒田健吾
• Special Forces Member - Yabe Keizo → 特殊部隊隊員 - 矢部敬三
• Special Forces Member - Nakamura Hiroaki → 特殊部隊隊員 - 中村博亮
• Gourmet Reporter - Kinomoto Ryou ※Uncredited → グルメリポーター - 木之元亮
• Man looking at a TV from the street - Kikuchi Yuuichi ※Cameo → 街頭テレビを観る男 - 菊地雄一
• Sogabe Issa - Ryu Daisuke → 曽我部一佐 - 隆大介
• Kurashima Takeshi - Nagasawa Toshiya → 倉島剛 - 永澤俊矢
• Chief Manjoume - Kusakari Masao → 万城目社長 - 草刈正雄

Voice Actor

• Ultraman The Next - Tanaka Hideyuki → ウルトラマン・ザ・ネクスト - 田中秀幸
• Beast The One - Konishi Katsuyuki → ビースト・ザ・ワン - 小西克幸
• Beast The One - Osumi Kenya → ビースト・ザ・ワン - 大澄賢也

Suit Actorー

• Ultraman The Next - Hasegawa Keiji → ウルトラマン・ザ・ネクスト - 長谷川恵司
• Beast The One (Forms 2-3 ) - Yamamoto Satoshi → ビースト・ザ・ワン（レプティリア、ベルゼブア） - 山本諭
• Beast The One (Form 1) - Iwamoto Junya → ビースト・ザ・ワン（イドロビア） - 岩本淳也

BCST

Bio-terror Counter Science and Tactics

An organization that Sara is a part of.

One of their facilities is the Iou Island Lab where they took Udou, after his extraterrestrial encounter.

Ultraman

Human Host: Maki Shunichi

Codenamed The Next, it first came to Earth in pursuit of The One, as a red ball of light. It can temporarily fuse itself with a human being, laying dormant in them and transforming into its true form when required. Ultraman first appears very weak, but evolves and becomes stronger the more his human host accepts him.

The One

Human Host: Udou Takafumi

The One is an evil powerful being which comes from space. It first appears as a blue ball of light, and has the ability to possess human beings. After possessing one, it can absorb animals and gain their abilities. For example, when it absorbs lizards, it gains the ability to climb walls and ceilings with ease.

Trivia

• At the beginning of the movie, Maki Shunichi talks about making his dream of becoming a fighter pilot come true. His son is named Tsugumu, which means "one to inherit the dream".
• Although this film is frequently referred to as "Ultraman the Next" in the west, this is actually the dropped title and only applies to the manga. Officially, the movie's name is simply "Ultraman".
• The night of Maki's plane crash was October 15, 2005 at 2105 hours (or 9:05 at night).
• The DVD cover quote mentions encountering a silver shooting star after 39 years. That's because 2005 would be 39 years after the Ultraman first originally appeared on TV.
• Maki goes from flying F-15s to flying Cessna planes.
• Maki's new job is at Hoshikawa Airlines (星川航空) which means "river of stars". Japan sometimes refer to the Milky Way as "the river of heaven".

Music

「Theme from ULTRAMAN」

• Composition： Matsumoto Takahiro 松本 孝弘
• Arrangement: Matsumoto Takahiro 松本 孝弘 and Tokunaga Akihito 徳永 暁人

「NEVER GOOD-BYE」

• Singer: TMG
• Lyrics: Jack Blades ジャック ブレイス
• Composition： Matsumoto Takahiro 松本 孝弘
• Arrangement: Matsumoto Takahiro 松本 孝弘 and Tokunaga Akihito 徳永 暁人

Gallery

• http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2004/eb004990.htm