Ultraman: Rising | Review by: Stefano Bove

Ultraman has been around in television and film properties since the 1960’s. That is a lot of story to potentially catch up on if you are interested in learning about the character. Thankfully, Ultraman: Rising reboots the brand for a new audience.

The story follows superstar baseball player; Ken Sato as he is trying to balance his baseball career and protecting Japan from the occasional Kaiju as the new Ultraman. Ken is the second generation Ultraman after inheriting it from his father. Japan also has another defence against the Kaiju, THE KDF but Ultraman must tread lightly during Kauju events because the KDF shoot to kill and have a troubled relationship with Ultraman. Ken does not come off as a likeable or relatable character at the start of the film. He is arrogant, self-centered and harbours a lot of resentment towards his dad but this all changes after Ken accidently gets hold of a Kaiju egg and must now protect and safeguard it from the KDF. This sets Ken straight and puts him on a path of fatherhood he did not anticipate.

Sports journalist Ami Wakita is a great addition to the film. She has an extremely professional working relationship with Ken and she is not in the film solely to be a love interest. In fact, she’s the opposite as they exchange a lot of work and personal advice and realize they can help benefit each other’s careers. It is refreshing to see a platonic relationship such as this that allows two characters to evolve freely without being tied to a sexual relationship.

Ultraman Rising is a wonderful family friendly film about fatherhood and forgiveness. Ken Sato is not a perfect hero but aren't all heroes flawed in some way? This Ultraman Reboot does lack exposition on the history of Ultraman and its technology but that may have been saved for an eventual sequel.

3/5

Review by: Stefano Bove

#netflix #animated #ultraman

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