Happy Ultraman Day!

Today is the day, some 59 years ago, when Ultraman first appeared on television in Japan.  It was not the first episode of Ultraman, instead it was a live airing called The Birth of Ultraman.  This featured the stars of the show, along with Eiji Tsuburaya making an appearance.  The monsters also showed up, especially the ones from Ultra Q.  Naturally, the special was a big hit, and led to the series being an even bigger hit.  This led to the franchise which is still going on to this day.  Whether this is a good thing or not is up to conjecture.  I certainly haven't kept up with anything past Ultraman Mebius, aside from various movies and such.

The special showed up for tape traders in the late 90s, maybe, in raw Japanese of course.  And really grainy, at least by the time I got my copy.  Thankfully, Mill Creek has put this out on Blu Ray with subtitles.  It is way more fun that way.

Happy Birthday, Ultraman!