In 2016 Shin Godzilla dominated the Japanese movie scene. Its Atomic Breath carved a path for the return of classic Japanese special effects (tokusatsu) franchises to a hungry modern audience.

Its footsteps reverberated across pop culture and its roar herald the coming of Hideaki Anno who would also lead Shin Ultraman (2022) and Shin Kamen Rider (2023).

Expectations for Shin Ultraman were astronomical but I walked away from the movie feeling underwhelmed. 

While Shin Godzilla felt like a movie, Shin Ultraman felt like an OVA — episodes of a TV series stitched together into a 1 hour and 52-minute movie. 

Maybe that’s the motif they were going for since the Ultraman franchise is a TV series. But, to me, it lacks a sense of cohesiveness.

In Shin Godzilla, because the titular character is also the villain, the sense of escalation as it evolves and meets every challenge the humans throw at it, gives the story a sense of tension and progression. 

In Shin Utraman, the feeling of chest-swelling accomplishment was felt at the beginning of the movie. The end of the movie feels open, like a pilot episode of a TV series.

I like how all the pieces to the story are there. The writers didn’t cheat the viewer by dropping in unexplained plots out of nowhere. But a lot of it is explained in expositions, which defeats the purpose of this being a movie.

I feel the movie could have done better than resorting to aliens who are political masterminds to circumvent Ultraman’s physical capabilities. It’s true to the show, but it feels janky.

I like how they made Ultraman humanoid and yet so alien, not only in his looks but in his mannerism as well. The way he fights and flies takes inspiration from the limitations of the original series and makes it feel extraterrestrial.

What broke Shin Ultraman for me, and what made it number 2 to Shin Godzilla is how it is self-aware without fixing the issues. For example, there is a scene in the movie where characters would point out how monsters get their name, breaking the suspension of disbelief for a joke.

To me, Shin Ultraman is made up of quality, artisanal, and exotic ingredients, each prepared masterfully. But after the “mise en place” is ready, something went wrong.

Perhaps it took too many homages and literal inspiration from the original series or perhaps I misunderstood what Anno is going for in Shin Ultraman.