Ultraman: Rising returns the popular Japanese superhero with one big change. He’s adopted the orphaned daughter of a kaiju.
The upcoming animated feature directed by Shannon Tindle will see the return of Ken Sato who’ll finally meet his match when he is confronted with the responsibility of being a surrogate parent to a 35-foot-tall, firebreathing baby kaiju. Sato must rise above his ego to “balance work and parenthood” while protecting the baby kaiju from evil forces hell-bent on exploiting her for their dark plans.
Any parent can recognize the I-love-you-but I-will-not-tolerate-this-behavior tone when Ultraman tells his daughter, “You get down from there right now, young lady” as she climbs the Eiffel Tower.
Watch the Trailer and Judge for Yourself
Who’s Who, and Where Do We Know Them From?
Baseball player Ken Sato, aka the superhero Ultraman, is voiced by Christopher Sean. You may know him from his video game work or from his appearances on soap operas. He voiced Nightwing in Gotham Knights and Hiro Okamura in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. In the animated Star Wars: Resistance TV show he voiced Kazuda Kiono. He appeared on Days of Our Lives as Paul Narita. He co-starred in The Lizzie Bennett Diaries as the wealthy, handsome Bing Lee.
Tamlyn Tomita voices Emiko/Mina. She appeared in Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate:Atlantis as Shen Xiaoyi. She was Dr. Kimberly Shiroma in Burning Zone.In Babylon 5: The Gathering Tomita played Lt. Cmdr. Laurwel Takashima. She had a recurring role in the soap opera Santa Barbara as Lily Murakami. She co-starred in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) as Janet Tokada.
Gedde Watanabe voices Professor Sato, He was Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles (1984) and Mr. Katsuji in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Keone Young voices Dr. Onda, who will stop at nothing to get Ultraman’s daughter. Young was Mr. Wu in Men in Black 3 (2012) and Don Kim in Crank (2006) and Crank: High Voltage (2009). Singer/actress Julia Harriman voices Ami Wakita. She appeared in High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) and Camp Rock (2008).
Ultraman: Rising was written by Marc Haimes and Shannon Tindle. The two previously collaborated on Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) Ultrama: Rising was directed by Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima. Aoshima has directed episodes of Disney’s Duck Tales and Gravity Falls
It looks like it should be fun, and it’s definitely a long leap away from Ultraman’s rather two-dimensional, unadorned storylines from his original appearances in films in the 1960’s. Ultraman: Rising premieres on the streaming service Netflix on June 14, 2024.
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Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
