Source: Brad Warner (Tsuburaya)The second in a series of modern movie classics presented by Monster Island News
Shunichi Maki is a fighter pilot with the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) on what he intends to be his final day with the JSDF. His young son has been diagnosed with a deadly illness. The doctors say he may have only a precious few more months to live. Maki has decided to give up his love for flying high powered jets in order to devote more time to his family.
But just as he is about to turn in his uniform for the last time the order comes to scramble. A strange UFO has been sighted on a direct course for Tokyo. The government suspects this may be a missile launched from an unfriendly military power in the area. Maki’s orders are to identify the object or destroy it.
But as the jets near the UFO all of the other jets in the squadron find their engines mysteriously disabled. They have no choice but to break off. Yet Maki’s jet remains unaffected. He alone continues on course. As he nears the object, Maki can just barely make out its form, a ball of glowing red plasma streaking through the upper atmosphere at phenomenal speed. A moment after he sees the object, Maki blacks out.
Observers at the JSDF base watch their radar screens in horror as Maki’s jet collides with the UFO. A search party sets out immediately to recover the wreckage from a remote mountainous region of Japan. To their astonishment they find Maki not only alive, but virtually unhurt. Yet there is no evidence as to how he might have survived, not even a parachute to indicate he ejected before the crash. Maki himself has no memory of anything after he lost consciousness aboard his plane.A military tribunal is called, but as far as they can determine, Maki is telling the truth. They reluctantly allow him to leave the base to join his family on the condition that he make himself available for further interrogation.
Maki takes a job at a small company that gives tourists hour-long joy rides on a Cessna. It’s not like piloting fighter jets. But the steady hours mean he gets more time to be near his son. On his first day a strange woman in black, Sara, signs up for a ride and holds Maki at gunpoint, ordering him to fly far off his usual course. The mysterious hijacker takes him to a secret military base where Maki is quarantined in a huge concrete reinforced bunker. His demands to know why are met with stoic silence. Finally, once Maki is securely locked into the bunker’s basement under guard and unable to escape, he is told the answer.
Maki was not the first to mysteriously survive a deadly crash with a mysterious UFO. Only a week earlier another soldier experienced the very same thing. But in the case of the previous soldier, after the crash his body began to undergo bizarre changes. He grew in size and strength, eventually mutating into a huge and terrifically powerful monster. The monster escaped from the base and is now on the loose in the Japanese countryside. Maki is now in the custody of an ultra clandestine wing of the Self Defense Forces. They have captured Maki for two reasons. First, although he shows no signs of the mutation the previous pilot suffered, they fear it’s only a matter of time. And they believe the mutated pilot is looking for Maki. In other words, they are using Maki as bait.
The first beast has been code named “The One.” “And what code name do you have for me?”
Maki shouts at the woman in black. Sara hesitates for a moment, then says quietly, “The Next.”
We learn that the other soldier was Sara’s fiancée and that Sara, a specialist in chemical weaponry, may be the one person who holds the key to his destruction.The monster soon makes its appearance. But now it has grown even larger and more powerful than before. The reptilian alien beast towers nearly ten meters (30 feet) tall. Its massive snake-like tail can be used as a whip of incredible force and its sinister fangs are capable of tearing a human being to shreds. As predicted, the monster rips through the bunker’s solid concrete walls and heads straight for the door to the underground area in which Maki has been confined. As it begins to try and rip the heavy wrought iron door off of its hinges the JDSF Forces open fire on the beast.
The monster is momentarily distracted. In the fray the creature does not even notice that Maki is now forcing the heavy door open from the inside. The door bursts open. No human being could have done such a thing! Maki steps out and faces the gigantic monster. The monster turns with an almost gleeful expression on its hideous face. It will soon make a meal out of this pathetic creature.
But just then something begins to happen to Maki. His skin begins to take on a silver sheen. His muscles begin to expand. His eyes bulge out and form into an almost insect-like shape. Soon even his physical size starts to increase. Within seconds Maki has completely transformed into a bizarre alien creature, as gigantic as the monster he faces. But this new alien is very different from the reptilian beast. It has a basically human shape, though its face looks something like the insect-eyed aliens of various UFO legends. On its chest is a glowing red V-shaped mark. The aliens face each other, ready for battle. Just then Sara fires upon the reptilian creature. It turns, ready to snuff out her tiny life. But the humanoid alien stops the reptilian. Soon they are struggling with each other, threatening to tear apart the entire bunker.
Though the reptilian creature is strong, the humanoid is stronger and seems to be taking the upper hand in the fight. But just then the glowing red mark on his chest begins to pulsate. The humanoid is running low on energy! The reptilian monster sees its chance. It’s too weak to defeat the humanoid. But it knows it can escape and recover for the next battle. The reptilian dashes off into the forest. The humanoid alien collapses. The alien begins to regain its human shape and soon Maki is in his usual form again.
The battle has weakened Maki considerably. There is no guarantee he will be able to regain his superhuman form again and defeat the monster. Nor is it known whether Maki himself might become a danger to humanity should the transformation take place once more.Soon enough there are disturbing reports from the Shinjuku district in the heart of downtown Tokyo. A poisonous gas has been detected and the authorities suspect a terrorist threat. Maki knows better. The One has returned. Maki takes off in pursuit and Sara follows. They encounter a strange bedraggled figure in the subterranean waterways below the city. Sara recognizes him as Udo, her former lover. He pleads with her to tell him what has become of him. Sara, clutching a gun containing darts filled with a poison she has designed to kill him, wants to trust him. But she has seen too much already. In the previous battle, Udo in his monstrous form had tried to kill her. She fires. But the tears welling in her eyes cause her to miss. It’s just what the monster hoped for, he transforms back into the alien beast and captures Sara. Unbeknownst to him though, she has one dart left and fires it at point blank range into his heart. But instead of dying, the monster grows enraged and escapes again.
Absorbing the bodies of thousands of sewer rats, The monster known as The One becomes even larger and more powerful. He emerges into the open, towering above even Tokyo’s mightiest skyscrapers! Maki transforms into his alien shape and the two do battle, threatening to crush the city to dust under their massive feet.
Can Maki destroy The One while still keeping his human heart and soul? Or will the beast prevail?
Cast Bios:Name: Tetsuya Bessho
Character Name: Shunichi Maki (Ultraman: The Next)
Born in Shizuoka Japan August 31, 1965, Bessho’s hobbies include singing, piano and studying English. In 1992 he won the Japanese Academy Award for best actor in the category of new comer. His stage appearances include the Japanese productions of Les Miserables (2003) and You’re In Town (2004).
Name: Kenya Osumi
Character Name: Takafumi Udo (The One)
Like Bessho, Osumi was also born in Shizuoka on October 26, 1965. An accomplished stage actor, he has appeared in the Japanese productions of Snoopy!! The Musical (2001) and Saturday Night Fever (2003). He is an avid skier.
Name: Kyoko Toyama
Character Name: Sara Mizuhara (Udo’s fiancée, the mysterious woman in black)
Born in Tokyo on May 16, 1975, Ms. Toyama won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actress (New Comer) in 1994 and the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actress that same year. As a comic actress she is well-known in Japan for her characters on the TV series Warau Inu no Seikatsu (Life of a Laughing Dog), the Japanese equivalent of Saturday Night Live. Her previous films include The Wedding Planner (2002) and Manhattan Love Story (2003).
Crew Bios:
Kiyoshi Suzuki, Producer
Kiyoshi Suzuki graduated in 1964 from Nihon Daigaku University's art college and entered Tsuburaya Productions the same year. He worked on the programs Ultra Q (1965) and Ultraman (1966) as an assistant cameraman and made his debut as director of photography in the latter half of the Ultraman television series. Later he worked for the Nihon Gendai Kikaku, Soeisha and Film Link companies as a director and producer. In 1988 he returned to Tsuburaya Productions where he currently works as a producer for the company's Production Department. His major production credits include the television series Ultraman (1966), Ultra Seven (1967) and Ultraman Taro (1974) on which he was director of photography, and the feature films Game King (1985), Love That Person (1987) and The Winners (1992) which he produced. He has also served as producer for all eight of the Ultraman feature films made since 1996.
Kazuya Konaka, Director
Born August 2, 1963. A member of Directors Guild of Japan. Kazuya got his first eight millimeter camera while he was still in elementary school and used it to make a his first amateur films. In 1985 he graduated from Rikkyo University, faculty of law. That same year, the after receiving investments from the movie theater "Bungeiza" in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, he made his first film, "Hoshi Zora no Mukou no Kuni (The Land Beyond the Starry Sky)." The film made its debut as Bungeiza Le Pilier's New Year's film in 1986 (traditionally Japan's biggest season for movie openings) and was a record breaking hit. In 1992, along with his wife Akiko and his brother Chiaki, a well-known screenplay writer, Kazuya formed his own company called Koguma Kyodaisha. Along with the Pony Canyon and Takara, Koguma Kyodaisha produced the film "Kuma-chan (Little Bear)." Beginning in 1997 with the film "Ultraman Zearth 2," Kazuya began a long association with the Ultraman film and television series, directing several installments both for TV and theatrical release. In 2003 he made his debut as a director of animation, directing the animated TV series "Astro Boy."
Yuichi Kikuchi, Special Effects Director
Born in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, in 1970, Kikuchi graduated from the Tokyo ShashinSenmon Gakko (now Tokyo Visual Arts), with a degree in film and film art direction. Shortly after graduating Kikuchi became a freelance director.After working on several TV and movie productions, he joined Tsuburaya Productions and entered the world of special effects cinema. His special effects film debut was the theatrical feature Ultraman Zearth. From then on Kikuchi's association with special effects continued. He worked on the television series Ultraman Tiga as well as its follow up shows Ultraman Dyna and Ultraman Gaia. He also participated in the creation of the feature film "Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna," as well as the movies "Gamera 3: Return of Iris" and "White Out," two of Japan's most talked about special effects oriented films. It was through this work that he ended up at Toho company working on the film "Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus" as well as the following two Godzilla films. In 2002, Kikuchi was selected to direct the special effects for the film "Godzilla Against Mecha Godzilla," making his debut as a special effects director in one of the world's most prestigious film series. Since then he has worked on the Sunrise company's full CGI series "SD Gundam Force." Then he was once again called by his old employers, Tsuburaya Productions, to direct special effects on their 2005 release "Ultraman: The Next."
Tak Matsumoto/ Composer “Theme from Ultraman” and “Never Goodbye”
Tak Matsumoto is known to millions all across Asia as the leader of the Japanese hard rock group B’z. Born in Osaka on March 27, 1961, Matsumoto founded B’z in 1988 with vocalist Koshi Inaba. Together the duo has racked up numerous chart hits throughout Asia. Matsumoto’s skills as a guitarist led him to become one of only five guitar players to be licensed by Gibson Guitars for a signature model version of their classic Les Paul guitar. The other artists were Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Slash (Guns ‘n’ Roses), Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and Ace Frehley (Kiss). Good company, indeed! He recently put together the Tak Matsumoto Group featuring Eric Martin of Mr. Big on vocals and Jack Blades of Damn Yankees on bass. You’ll hear the group performing their hit song Never Goodbye over the closing credits of Ultraman: The Next.
Ultraman:
Ultraman, mysterious gigantic being from deep space, his origins unidentified, his intentions unknown, his powers seemingly unlimited. Unlike most American superheroes, Ultraman stands a towering 40 meters (120 feet) tall and does battle with massive monsters often even bigger than he is! Yet Ultraman has one fatal flaw. He can exist in Earth’s atmosphere for only three minutes at a time. In order to survive for long periods on Earth he must borrow the body of a human host and exist in a strange symbiosis of man and alien.
What is Ultraman? Where does he come from? What is his true identity? What is his purpose here on Earth?
Ultraman was created in 1966 by Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects director of the classic Godzilla films of the 1950’s and 60’s. Ultraman became an unprecedented hit on Japanese television spawning fourteen sequel TV series and a string of hit theatrical features over the course of its four decade history. Ultraman has been seen all over the world and remains one of the top selling hero characters throughout Asia.
The Ultraman Land theme park attracts customers from around the world and Ultraman restaurants have opened both in Japan and in Hong Kong. Ultraman is a licensing bonanza with hundreds of character goods available from toys and action figures for the kids all the way to grown-up items like automobile accessories and gold club covers.
Unlike the more juvenile oriented films that came before, Ultraman: The Next takes a grittier, more realistic look at Ultraman, bringing him out of the world of fantasy and into our own world.
Ultraman: HistoryJuly 17, 1966
ULTRAMAN debuts, the first in a nearly forty year run of programs featuring ULTRAMAN and the other Ultra Heroes. October 1, 1967ULTRA SEVEN debuts. Unlike the American custom of continuing a successful show for many seasons, the Japanese prefer to launch sequels to popular TV programs, slightly altering the format and adding new characters. Ultra Seven is the first of the sequels to Ultraman.
July 22, 1967
ULTRAMAN: THE MOTION PICTURE debuts, the first in a long series of Ultraman theatrical features.
Autumn 1967
ULTRAMAN debuts on US television. United Artists snapped up the syndication rights to the show even before it had finished its Japanese network run. Ultraman continued to play in syndication in America until the mid-1980’s!
April 2, 1971
THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN debuts on Japan’s TBS network. After a brief hiatus, this series begins an uninterrupted decade long series of new Ultraman TV shows including Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman 80.
April 4, 1979
THE ULTRAMAN debuts. This is the very first all animated Ultraman series.
December 24, 1986
THE ULTRAMAN KIDS make their TV debut, an animated series aimed at the younger set.
Autumn, 1987
ULTRAMAN: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS debuts on US television. This collaboration between Tsuburaya Productions and Hanna-Barbera marked the first Ultraman program to be co-produced in America.
September 25, 1990
ULTRAMAN: TOWARDS THE FUTURE debuts in America. This 13 episode mini-series was filmed entirely on location in Australia with an international cast.
March 9, 1996
ULTRAMAN ZEARTH debuts theatrically. After a hiatus, Ultraman returns to Japan’s motion picture screens. Since 1996, a new Ultraman theatrical feature has been released every year.
September 7, 1996
ULTRAMAN TIGA debuts on Japan’s MBS network. This series marked a new beginning to the Ultraman saga featuring updated special effects and a whole new take on the familiar Ultraman mythology. A new series followed nearly every year including Ultraman Gaia, Ultraman Cosmos and Ultraman Nexus.
December, 2004
ULTRAMAN: THE NEXT hits the theater screens across Japan!
See Also: The First Trailer From Koichi Sakamoto‘s Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie / Mill Creek Entertainment To Release The Complete Ultraman Series On DVD / Hey Kids! It's Ultraman......Sorta / Behind The Scenes Photos From Norman England's It's All Good / Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Revenge Of The Black Hole Aliens / You Really Haven't Lived Until You Have Seen The Japanese Spider-Man TV Show / DEX Wins The Thai Rights To Ultraman Max And Ultraman Mebius / Pusan International Film Festival Focuses On Asian Super Heroes / Ultraman To Appear At This Years Japanese Film Festival In Kuala Lumpur / Ultraman Showcase 2008 - Ultraman Comes To Malaysia / Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003) / Hitomi Muto Talks About Her Grandfather Eiji Tsuburaya / Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990) / Ultraman Becomes A Permanent Resident Of The Fukushima Airport / Courts Rule That Sompote Saengduenchai Did Not Co-Create Ultraman / Bandai Aquires A Large Portion Of Tsuburaya Productions / Ultra Galaxy: Dai Kaiju Batoru (2007-2008) / Ultraman Exhibit At The Roppongi Hills Mori Arts Center / Ultraman Turns 41 /Eight Versions Of Ultraman Hit The Big Screen In 2008
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