Television series

Ultraman

Name: Ultraman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1966
Cast: Takeshi Tsuruno, Chiharu Niyama, Raiga Terasaka, Tatsuomi Hamada, Runa Toyoda

Ultraman is the show that invented a genre: a secret patrolman who grows sixty feet tall to trade blows with monsters, one rubber-suited episode at a time. Cheerful, low-budget 1960s Japanese sci-fi built on optimism rather than dread — model cities, ray-gun sound effects, a hero who always shows up. Perfect for anyone charmed by handmade spectacle over polish.

TVMaze rating

6.6

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Ultra Q1966no page yet

Watch the anthology series that came first, where giant monsters roam free with no superhero to save the day. It's the eerie missing link between Godzilla and Ultraman's cheer.

But No costumed hero at all, so if you came for the punching, you'll be waiting the whole runtime.

Godzilla1954

Before Ultraman ever suited up, this somber, war-haunted film taught Japan how to make giant monsters mean something. It's the tonal opposite of the show's cheer — grief instead of triumph.

But Black-and-white, slow, and mournful — nothing like the colorful punch-ups you just watched.

Go Go Kamen Rider1971no page yet

The other founding pillar of Japanese tokusatsu, trading giant scale for a masked motorcycle hero fighting mutant villains. Same DIY suit-and-miniature charm, entirely different scale of heroism.

But Grimmer and more body-horror than Ultraman's cosmic optimism, which can be a genuine jolt.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Rodan1956no page yet

Tsuburaya's miniature work and creature design here is the direct technical and emotional ancestor of everything Ultraman would later do on a TV budget.

A moody, elegiac monster movie from the same effects genius, Eiji Tsuburaya, who later built Ultraman's entire studio. You can see the scale and dread he'd eventually soften into heroism.

But Slow, mournful 1950s pacing with no hero to root for — a monster movie, not a superhero one.

Pacific Rim2013

Guillermo del Toro's love letter to kaiju cinema blows the budget up to Hollywood scale, delivering the giant-versus-giant spectacle Ultraman could only gesture at with rubber suits.

But Slick CGI replaces the handmade charm — if that clumsy tactility was the appeal, this trades it away.

Shin Godzilla2016

A modern, brutally serious reimagining of the kaiju genre that treats a monster attack like a real bureaucratic catastrophe. Shows how far the tone can travel from Ultraman's cheerful stomp-fests.

But Dry and procedural, light on action — closer to a disaster-committee drama than a monster brawl.

Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe1995no page yet

Ultraman's old rival franchise, reborn with real conviction: a giant flying turtle defends Earth with the same earnest, save-the-day spirit but sharper effects and darker stakes.

But It's a giant turtle. If you can't get past that sentence, this one's not for you.

Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still1992no page yet

It takes Ultraman's core promise — a colossal guardian who might die for strangers — and plays it entirely straight, without a trace of the show's Saturday-morning cheer.

The same 'giant protector answers a young pilot's call' idea, blown up into a lush, operatic anime epic with real grief and sacrifice behind the punching.

But A dense, melodramatic seven-part OVA with a huge cast — no quick episodic fixes here.

Cloverfield2008

It's the dread Ultraman exists to cure — the same city-leveling monster, minus the sixty-foot friend who shows up to fix it.

Flip Ultraman's premise inside out: no giant hero arrives, just handheld footage of ordinary people running from something huge and incomprehensible through New York streets.

But The shaky camerawork is deliberately disorienting, and some viewers find it nauseating rather than thrilling.