In Ultraman: Rising the iconic character is revisited in an operation dedicated to children, where the unfortunate protagonist finds himself babysitting a baby kaiju. Available on Netflix.
Ken Sato did not have a childhood like all other children: in fact his father was the legendary superhero Ultraman, who through a futuristic suit was able to grow enormously to face the kaiju that were endangering the population of Tokyo. Now an adult, Ken has become a famous baseball player in the United States but now, following the death of his mother, he has decided to return to his homeland to inherit the uncomfortable role of defender of the weakest from such a parent.
Chaos ensues in Ultraman: Rising
In Ultraman: Rising, Ken finds himself faced with something unexpected when, during a match on the diamond with his new team, he suddenly has to take on the role of Ultraman to foil a new threat. At the end of the mission, a kaiju egg hatches between his hands and a “small” creature – in any case at least ten meters tall – comes to light, mistaking it for its mother. Against all logic Ken will decide to take care of it in an attempt to understand who is behind that crazy plan, which seems aimed at identifying the location of the legendary island of monsters.
Exchange between cultures
Ultraman and the little kaiju fly above the water
It is certainly nothing new that Hollywood cinema appropriates characters and symbolic figures from other cultures to adapt them in a form, often soft and proof for the general Western public, see among the many attempts at the theme the latest, unlikely, big screen clashes between Godzilla and King Kong. Not even animated cinema can be said to be excluded, as this confirms Ultraman: Rising, computer graphics production which recovers a symbolic character of Japanese seriality, which debuted way back in 1966.
Eiji Tsuburayacreator of the Ultrahe certainly never thought that he would become that iconic superhero in the distant future even un… babysitter! Because the main crux of the plot revolves around the bond, far more than unlikely, created between the tormented protagonist and this cute pink kaiju puppy and suffering from gastric reflux which, given its enormous size, becomes a problem of no small importance.
Ultraman, the review: the legend returns to Netflix
Obvious forcing
The protagonist of Ultraman: Rising in a plastic pose
The two, excessive, hours of viewing are thus addressed to a very low age targetwith children as the main users of a story that seeks to combine spectacular action with rhetoric of good feelings, in a typically stars and stripes perspective that distorts the origins of such an iconic figure. A much more inspired and respectful reimagining had been carried out only a few years ago by his father Evangelion Hideaki Yearand in this regard we advise you to recover as soon as possible Shin Ultraman , (2022), the result of his screenplay. The meaning of wanting to adapt two at all costs is not well understood apparently opposite worldscon Ultraman: Rising which rewrites the basics, also inserting a sports subplot that is not very useful for the purposes of the story, with ours being a baseball star obsessed with success on the field.
The pros and cons of Ultraman: Rising
Ultraman: Rising – an image
A couple of good jokes, like when Sato’s newfound father is labeled as “the kaiju whisperer” and just as many nice gags that play with the tenderness of this sui generis, spicy puppy a narrative that is far too fragmentarywith papier-mâché secondary characters and a villain whose real – and partially understandable – motivations are not fully investigated.
The screenplay seems only concerned with preparing the field for daring final battlewhere unity is obviously strength, and to that epilogue in the middle of the credits which makes a next sequel easily achievable.
The animation gets by especially when it has to be “hands-on”, with gargantuan monsters and equally impressive robots, but the character design does not shine for style and originality, with angular and uncharismatic human figures who move in this colorful and pop chaos, a hybrid between two universes that does not find its own precise identity.
Conclusions
It’s already not easy being Ultraman, especially if you’re a son of art and have to deal with a heavy father’s legacy. A task made even more complicated not only by his parallel competitive career as a baseball champion, who recently returned home after a long period in America, but also by his absurd and unprecedented role as a nanny for a kaiju puppy. Ultraman: Rising is a sort of (in)voluntary parody, the result of a co-production between Japan and the United States that visibly leans towards the audience of the latter shores, with little respect for the original material. An animated film aimed at children, aesthetically bombastic but uninspired, and narratively slave to a relatively classic rhetorical vision, devoid of real surprises.
Because we like it
- The little kaiju is the perfect mascot for an audience of children.
- Fights in the name of a decent spectacle.
What’s wrong
- Screenplay that rewrites the character in an unlikely way.
- Characters, main and secondary, not very charismatic.
- The two hours of viewing are excessive for what there actually is to tell.
2024-06-20 15:03:22
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