Hello, Kaiju Lovers, and welcome season five! It kicks off with the appropriately-titled Ultraman: The Adventure Begins, an animated movie produced in 1987 by Hanna-Barbera. Yes, the studio that brought you Superfriends and Scooby-Doo made the first all-original Ultraman movie! Nate could think of no better guests for this than Drew Dodgen and Jacob Heron (who also created the cover art for this episode) from The Cel Cast. Given that this episode officially marks MIFV’s induction into the Culture Box Network, it’s even more appropriate. While Nate battles weird headaches all episode, he and them Cel Cast boys dive deep into this failed TV pilot and discuss…“diabeetus.” Yeah, it confused Jimmy From NASA, too. To celebrate the Ultra Series’ 60th anniversary and get the uninitiated up to speed, the Toku Topic is a crash course in the history of the Ultraman franchise. Take your first step on The Ultra Journey!
Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip, and Henshin Power V3!
We’d like to give a shout-out to our free MIFV MAX patrons on Patreon: Cordell Stevens, John Pannozzi, Jacob Heron, Cool Cat Videos, Bransbow, Sean Sullivan, Frankie Wolf, Russel Hale, FRIEN Jadge, Bob Hard, ArtsieSteph, Robert O’Brien, DD Chief, Kaye, Nobody, The Indiscrite One, Clayton Warden, Enigma, Dave Blanken, Patrick Greenlaw, Mikki, Josh Baughan, Shane Cochran, and Francis Chopin.
You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault)
Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop). NEW MERCH NOW AVAILABLE!
This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.
Timestamps:
- Introduction: 0:00-15:20
- Entertaining Info Dump: 15:20-26:40
- Toku Talk: 26:40-2:06:03
- Culture Box Ad (The Cel Cast): 2:06:03-2:07:12
- Toku Topic (A Crash Course in the Ultra Series): 2:07:12-3:10:17
- Outro (listener feedback and housekeeping): 3:10:17-3:22:50
- Credits: 3:22:50-end
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Bibliography/Further Reading:
- Anderson, Kyle. “You Should Get into ULTRAMAN and Here’s How.” Nerdist. 28 Sept. 2020. https://nerdist.com/article/ultraman-what-you-need-to-know/.
- Cayanan, Joanna. “1987 Ultraman: The Adventure Begins Animated Film Screens at G-Fest with New English Dub.” Anime News Network. 16 July 2024. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2024-07-16/1987-ultraman-the-adventure-begins-animated-film-screens-at-g-fest-with-new-english-dub/.213182.
- Derendorf, Kevin. Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 “Alternative” Giant Monster Movies. Maser Press, 2018.
- DiManna, Daniel. “M-78 Primer: A Beginner’s Guide to Ultraman.” Kaiju Ramen Magazine, no. 5, March 2022.
- Harbor, Stephen. “The Complete History of Ultraman Part 1 (1966-1987).” Den of Geek. 8 Jan. 2017. https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-complete-history-of-ultraman-part-1-1966-1987/.
- Henshin Men, 048 – A Beginner’s Guide to Ultraman | Ft. Daniel DiManna. https://redcircle.com/shows/a7408f31-6b6b-4832-ba33-c115689469a8/ep/19dc25f0-b403-434b-a255-fecfe31b155f.
- LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, Volume 2: 1984-2017. Bicep Books, 2017.
- LeMay, John with Ted Johnson. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films – Mutated Edition. Bicep Books. 2019.
- LeMay, John. Writing Japanese Monsters. Bicep Books. 2020.
- Matt. “Ultraman: The Adventure Begins.” A Scrapbook of Infinite Noise. 3 Aug. 2018. https://scrapbookinfinity.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/ultraman-the-adventure-begins/
- O’Rourke, Ryan. “’Ultraman’ Comes to G-Fest With Screening of Lost Hanna-Barbera Film [Exclusive].” Collider. 9 July 2024. https://collider.com/ultraman-the-adventure-begins-screenings-g-fest/
- Pryor, Shawn. Kaiju Unleashed: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Strange Beasts. Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. 2024.
- Shiraishi, Masahiko. “Ultraman: A Modern-Day Folk Hero from Japan.” Nippon.com. 26 June 2023. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b02509/
- “Ultra Series.” Ultraman Wiki. https://ultraseries.fandom.com/wiki/Ultra_Series
- “Ultraman.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman
- “Ultraman: The Adventure Begins.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230915/.
- “Ultraman: The Adventure Begins.” Ultraman Wiki. https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ultraman:_The_Adventure_Begins.
- “Ultraman: The Adventure Begins.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraman:_The_Adventure_Begins.
- Ultraman: The Adventure Begins, Japanese blu-ray booklet. Published by Tsuburaya Productions, 2016.
- “Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (movie).” Anime News Network. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3901.
- “Ultraman Series.” Ultraman Wiki. https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Ultraman_Series.
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