Source: Tsuburaya Productions

Photo courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions. © Tsuburaya Productions

Tsuburaya Productions has announced the anime film ULTRAMAN USA (??????USA, Urutoraman USA), a co-production with the American studio Hanna-Barbera, will be released on Blu-ray in Japan on September 26. The disc will also include the English language version, ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. Looking to reintroduce Ultraman to the American market, Tsuburaya saw ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS as a way to appeal to the growing interest in anime in the US. While Hanna-Barbera was the American producer and distributor, the animation was produced in Japan by Studio Sign and Ashi Productions (now known as Production Reed). The film was syndicated to US television beginning October 9, 1987. On April 28, 1989, ULTRAMAN USA made its debut in Japanese theaters as the headline feature of ULTRAMAN TOURNAMENT (???????? [???????], Urutoraman Taikai [Fesuteibaru]), a film festival that also included the ULTRAMAN episode TERROR ON ROUTE 87 (??????87, Kyofu no Ruto Hachijunana) and the ULTRAMAN ACE episode GIANT-ANT TERRIBLE-MONSTER VS THE ULTRAMAN BROTHERS (???????????, Ohari Chouju Tai Urutora Kyoudai). Each segment of the festival was introduced by an anime short from the children`s show ULTRAMAN KIDS (?????????, Urutoraman Kizu). ULTRAMAN USA was also released on Japanese VHS on September 29, 1989, and laserdisc on July 25, 1991. ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS was released on American VHS on June 2, 1993. The film was never released on DVD in either country. Twenty-five years after the last home video release, ULTRAMAN USA/ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS finally returns in a remastered Blu-ray edition featuring a new high definition transfer from the original 35mm negatives of the film. Bonus content includes a digital gallery of the movie`s production proposal and the ULTRAMAN KIDS interstitials from ULTRAMAN TOURNAMENT.

Left: Example of the original 1987 picture. Right: The 2018 remastered version. Photos courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions. © Tsuburaya Productions

SYNOPSIS An explosion on Sorkin in the M78 system scatters pieces of the planet across the universe. Four fragments crash into the United States, unleashing the Sorkin Monsters Greenshocks, Galbalard, Zoon and King Maira. Days later, Captain Scott Masterson, Captain Chuck Gavin, and Lieutenant Beth O’Brien -- ace stunt pilots in the Los Angeles-based “Flying Angels” team -- are suddenly engulfed in a mysterious light during a flight. They discover that they have become host bodies for the Ultra Force, alien beings from the planet Altara in M78 who have come to defend Earth from the Sorkin Monsters. CREDITS Japanese Voice Cast Scott Masterson/Ultraman Scott: Toru Furuya Chuck Gavin/Ultraman Chuck: Shinji Ogawa Beth O’Brien/Ultrawoman Beth: Hiromi Tsuru Walter Freeman: Kouhei Miyauchi Dr. Susan Rand: Rihoko Yoshida English Voice Cast Scott Masterson/Ultraman Scott: Michael Lembeck Chuck Gavin/Ultraman Chuck: Chad Everett Beth O’Brien/Ultrawoman Beth: Adrienne Barbeau Walter Freeman: Stacy Keach Sr. Dr. Susan Rand: Lorna Patterson Staff Production: Tsuburaya Productions, Hanna-Barbera, Kodansha, Nihon Columbia, Bandai Animation Production: Studio Sign, Ashi Productions Executive Producers: Noboru Tsuburaya, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Director: Mitsuo Kusakabe Screenplay: John Eric Seward Character Design: Kazuo Iimura Hero Design: Hitoshi Yoshida Mecha Design: Tomohiko Sato Monster Design: Keita Amemiya, Hirotsugu Murayama, Chisato Sugiura Art Director: Akira Furuya Color Design: Yoshiharu Wakai, Yuko Kobari Animation Directors: Kazuo Iimura, Osamu Tsuruyama, Masateru Kudo, Nobuyoshi Habara Storyboard Artists: Seiji Okuda, Makoto Nagao, Mitsuo Kusakabe, Jutaro Ohba Director of Photography: Toshiaki Morita Editor: Naoyuki Masaki Voice Directors: Noriyoshi Matsuura (Japanese Version), Gordon Hunt (English Version) Japanese Version Director: Riku Matsukawa

© Tsuburaya Productions

PRODUCT DETAILS Release date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 Product Code: BCXS-1392 Region Code: 0 (Region Free) Number of Discs: 1 Price: ¥7,800 (Approximately $71.21 US, Plus Tax) ? Main Feature Running Time: Approximately 153 Minutes (Japanese Version 75 Minutes + English Version 78 Minutes) ? Extras Running Time: Approximately 6 Minutes ? Japanese Version Specs: 4:3 (1080p High Definition) / Linear PCM (Stereo) / Removable Japanese Subtitles ? English Version Specs: 4:3 (1080p High Definition) / Linear PCM (Monaural) / Removable Japanese Subtitles ? Extras: Production Proposal Digital Gallery, ULTRAMAN KIDS Short Bonus Content: 8 Page Reference Book Manufacturer: Tsuburaya Productions Distributor: BANDAI NAMCO Arts Inc.

Logo courtesy of Tsuburaya Productions. © Tsuburaya Productions

About Tsuburaya Productions

Tsuburaya Productions, creator and copyrights owner of the superhero ULTRAMAN series was founded in 1963 by Eiji Tsuburaya, world-renowned special effects wizard also known for his special effects work on the Godzilla series. With more than fifty years` experience, it is one of Japan`s oldest and most respected independent film and television production houses. Its popular Ultraman TV and film series which premiered in 1966 has been seen in over 100 territories worldwide and has spawned over 3,000 licensed products. In addition to production, the company also handles character licensing and program distribution and staging live stage shows both domestically and internationally.