ULTRAMAN 60th Anniversary Spectacular! The Jissōji Akio Collection
On the Japanimation Station AND Purely Academic podcasts!
It’s time for another installment of Purely Academic - and a special episode of Japanimation Station, since we’re releasing it for both shows today!
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Japan’s most iconic tokusatsu franchise: ULTRAMAN! Created by the legendary special effects wizards at Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman premiered on July 17th, 1966, and has been a phenomenon in Japan and around the world ever since. To mark the occasion, today we’re taking a look at 15 episodes from 5 different Ultraman series directed by the series’ most infamous filmmaker: the one and only Jissōji Akio, whose bizarre and innovative camerawork has proved an indelible influence on generation of Japanese filmmakers, including famous anime auteurs like Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Anno Hideaki. It’s some of the most inspired, bravura directing ever seen on television, and whether you’re a longtime Ultraman super-fan (like Sean) or a relative newcomer (like Jonathan), you will have a blast watching these amazing episodes.
Enjoy! Here’s the other version of the episode released for Purely Academic:
The full list of episodes we watched for this podcast:
ULTRAMAN (1966) - Episodes 14 (The Pearl Defense Directive), 15 (Terrifying Cosmic Rays), 22 (Overthrow the Surface), 23 (My Home is Earth), 34 (A Gift from the Sky), and 35 (The Monster Graveyard)
ULTRASEVEN (1967) - Episodes 8 (The Marked Town), 12 (From Another Planet with Love), 43 (Nightmare of Planet No. 4) and 45 (The Saucers Have Come)
ULTRAMAN TIGA (1997) - Episodes 37 (Flower) and 40 (Dream)
ULTRAMAN DYNA (1998) - Episode 38 (Kaiju Play)
ULTRAMAN MAX (2005) - Episodes 22 (Butterfly Dream) and 24 (The Unmarked Town)
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