‘Ultraman’ is a recognizable brand as a superhero who fights monsters. In Netflix’s latest adaptation, Ultraman shows his soft side instead by raising a baby kaiju. Will the fans love Ultraman even without fighting kaijus?
In “Ultraman: Rising,” baseball star Ken Sato returns to Japan to become Ultraman, Earth’s defender, but his mission gets complicated when he must care for a baby kaiju, his greatest enemy’s offspring. As he navigates the responsibilities of fatherhood and heroism, he battles his ego, reconciles with his estranged father, and faces the manipulative Kaiju Defense Force.
Netflix’s Second Attempt in Adapting Ultraman
This isn’t Netflix’s first attempt in adapting Ultraman. They made a ‘so-called’ anime series back in 2019. Although the story was pretty good, most anime fans wouldn’t consider a 3DCG format as a ‘real’ anime.
The character designs were not interesting as well. Ultraman is known for his humanoid form, not with a mechanical armor design.
It seems like Netflix learned its lesson and made the art style and animation much better. The way they blend 3D and 2D art follows the trendy style of recent animated movie blockbusters like the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies and ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.’
Overall, the art style and the animation were a huge improvement from Netflix’s Ultraman anime series.
A Story with a Big, Kaiju-Sized Heart
The biggest strength of this movie is its strong theme of family. In the movie, Ken is conflicted between choosing his career as a professional baseball player or inheriting the mantle of Ultraman from his father.
In the beginning of the movie, Ken is selfish, arrogant, and boastful. Upon taking care of the infant of Ultraman’s biggest enemy, he learns to be selfless and makes peace with his father.
Ken’s character development is beautifully done throughout the story. The climactic part of the story further enhances it as Ken chooses to sacrifice himself to save his newly found family.
Like I said, it’s a story with a heart. But that can be a problem too.
Lack of Kaiju
Allow me to speak on behalf of the boys. We want to see Ultraman punch big monsters. Violently.
The movie focuses too much on crafting a beautiful family-themed story that it sometimes forgets what Ultraman fans signed up for.
Sure, there are some kaiju fight scenes but it simply isn’t enough. There aren’t many kaiju and the fight scenes are not long enough or thrilling.
But does it outweigh the overall judgment of the movie? Just slightly. So, no. It’s still pretty acceptable.
Conclusion
“Ultraman: Rising” succeeds in delivering a heartfelt story with impressive animation and character development. However, it falls short in providing the kaiju action that fans crave. Overall, it’s a respectable addition to the Ultraman franchise and worth watching for its emotional depth. I would rate it a 7 out of 10.
