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The latest TV incarnation of Japan's greatest hero... ULTRAMAN NEXUS!
Back in 2000, it was announced that the then-upcoming ULTRAMAN COSMOS movie and television series were to feature a new Ultraman for the new millennium -- a kinder and gentler hero. It seems that the jury is still out on ULTRAMAN COSMOS; while the show became a huge hit and marketing bonanza with kids, adult fans were divided. Some older viewers clearly wanted a little more substance to go along with the cute cast members. Now, with recent management changes at Tsuburaya Productions (including the return of Eiji Tsuburaya's youngest son, Akira, who had left years ago to form Tsuburaya Eizo) things are about to change. Ultraman is being re-imagined for two new projects, a theatrical movie and the fourteenth Ultraman TV series, ULTRAMAN NEXUS. But, some people might well ask, what will make this latest series special and distinguish it from the last few Ultra shows?
ULTRAMAN NEXUS will premier in Japan at 7:30am Saturday, October 2, 2004 on the CBC television network. CBC is the Nagoya-based branch of Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), one of Japan's largest television networks. The show takes place in the near future, as an invasion of monsters from outer space called "Space Beasts" is underway. A high tech security force code-named TLT (pronounced "tilt") has been formed to combat the attackers. A mysterious young man who has the power to transform into the gigantic superhero Ultraman Nexus appears. He and the commander of TLT attempt to discover the true identity and origins of the Space Beasts. As the series unfolds, answers to the mysteries surrounding Ultraman Nexus and his monstrous opponents will gradually be revealed.
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Ultramen Anphans and Junis in multi-dimensional action.
Nexus will appear in a two-step transformation, a predominantly "silver colossus" named "Anphans" (from the French "enfance" or "childhood") and a predominantly "red colossus" named "Junis" (from the French "jeunesse" or "youth"). Anphans will do battle in our Universe. However, he will be able to crossover into another dimension called the "Meta Field" in which he will transform into Junis to do battle. Tsuburaya Productions also plans to add more Ultraman characters into the series as it unfolds over the next year, including the "black colossus" -- "Dark Faust"!
While the show will meet the requirements of sponsor Bandai by featuring a multi-transforming hero, the foundation and writing of ULTRAMAN NEXUS are a return to the traditional concepts of the original Ultra Series. The staff is striving to attract older viewers, those who might have lost interest in the more light-hearted productions of the last few years. This, however, does not necessarily mean things will be business as usual, since these classic concepts will be given a new spin. The goal is to give newer viewers the same feeling of wonder that audiences had in Japan when the original ULTRAMAN first aired in 1966.
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The two forms of Ultraman Nexus; "Anphans" (l) and "Junis".
One of the traditions being deconstructed is of a single character serving as the human host to a colossal alien being sent to protect the Earth. While there have been variations over the past 40 years (as in the case of ULTRASEVEN, where the Ultra created his human persona, or ULTRAMAN ACE, where a man and a woman were required to transform into the singular hero) this has been one of the key concepts of the Ultra Series. In ULTRAMAN NEXUS, viewers will see various human beings take on the power to transform into Ultraman Nexus. Commenting about the unusual step of casting several different people as Nexus' hosts, a spokesperson for the CBC network said, "We want children in the audience to feel like any one of them might be able to transform into Ultraman." He concluded, "We want to make use of the basic history of the Ultraman series while introducing a totally new kind of hero. We hope that adult viewers will enjoy this show as much as children."
Casting and production on ULTRAMAN NEXUS has been underway for some time, and several of the principals have been chosen. The first person to transform into Ultraman Nexus, a young man shrouded in mystery, will be played by Yusuke Kirishima. The 27 year-old actor made his big screen debut in the hit Yakuza spoof GET UP! (Geroppa!, 2003) and was recently featured in Tsuburaya's ULTRA Q: DARK FANTASY (Urutora Kyu: Dakku Fuantaji, 2004).
22 year-old Takuji Kawakubo has been cast as soldier Kazuteru Komon. Kawakubo may be familiar to tokusatsu fans, he was seen last year in Toei's MASKED RIDER 555 (Kamen Raida Faizu) as Shingo Oda, one of the ill-fated young people who attempted to transform into Masked Rider Delta. He is currently the commercial spokesmodel for McDonald's restaurants in Japan.
A popular veteran character actor, Tamotsu Ishibashi, is also joining the cast of ULTRAMAN NEXUS. Ishibashi has many television and screen credits to his name, including the series HOTEL and films GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION (1996, as Tanihara) and GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS (1999, as an exploration ship crewmember). Ishibashi is also no stranger to the Ultra Series, having appeared as TPC Staff Officer Tatsumura in ULTRAMAN TIGA (1996-1997) and in ULTRAMAN COSMOS as Iwata's father.
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Teaser poster for the next Ultraman movie.
But, the series is not all about the boys -- 25 year-old actress Yasue Sato, who made her screen debut in the international hit film BOUNCE KO-GALS, will also have a featured role in ULTRAMAN NEXUS.
Details on the new Ultraman movie, which at the time of this writing seems to be simply titled ULTRAMAN, are slowly being revealed. Scheduled for release in the 2004/2005 New Years' season, the film is being directed by veteran Ultra-movie director Kazuya Konaka from a script written by Keiichi Hasegawa (ULTRAMAN TIGA TV series, ULTRAMAN GAIA: BATTLE IN HYPERSPACE, GMK, and ASTROBOY - 2003). The special effects director for the newest Ultraman epic is Yuichi Kikuchi, who helmed the effects for Toho's GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (Gojira X Mekagojira, 2002).
Providing the end theme song, "Never Good-bye" for ULTRAMAN is the Tak Matsumoto Group (TMG). A truly international band, TMG includes Tak Matsumoto of the band B's on guitar, Eric Martin (Mr. Big) on vocals, Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees) on bass, Brian Tichy (Pride & Glory and Slash's Snakepit) on drums, as well as two more drummers, Cindy Blackman who played with Lenny Kravitz and Chris Frazier who played with Steve Vai.
Initial reports on the film claim that it is like nothing Ultra fans have seen before! Dark, serious and geared towards an adult audience. Ultraman's foes are fearsome and the effects are superior to the movies which preceded this one.
After a year's absence, Ultraman is back...in a BIG way!
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