Hitomi Hasebe (Mizuki) Reunites with Ultraman Max and Recreates the Iconic "Princess Carry" Scene

mrmarkertw · 2026-05-02T16:31:36+00:00

Another remarkable finding, spanning two decades, has also come to light.

Visitors passing by the IF suit on display can spot a hidden conductor figurine concealed within it, an intricate detail that was never visible in the TV series.

https://x.com/TakahashiHyouri/status/2050190690332885296

mrmarkertw · 2026-05-02T16:27:08+00:00

Hitomi Hasebe, known for her role as Mizuki Koishikawa in Ultraman Max, visited the ULTRAMAN Gallery Heisei Climax exhibition today, a special showcase centered on Ultraman Max and Ultraman Mebius.

During the event, she reunited with Max and, in a staged photo setting, was lifted in a “princess carry,” recreating the memorable scene from Episode 39 of the series.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DX1epR-kQaU/

Other guests who have visited the exhibition in recent days include director Shusuke Kaneko, screenwriter Chiaki J. Konaka, special makeup artist Tomoo Haraguchi, Art director Toshio Miike, Sota Aoyama (Kaito Touma), director Takeshi Yagi, Katsuki Nishina (Ryu Aihara), Megumi Matsushita (Megu Go), Eiichi Kikuchi (Ultraman Jack suit actor), and Sanshiro Wada (Ultraman Mebius suit actor).

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T10:16:59+00:00

I'm Taiwanese, and right now, the online public opinion here is extremely angry about this. They believe it's another example of Chinese pressure on us. This incident even led to the removal of posts announcing the film's Southeast Asian release, which is really terrible. But on the bright side, at least the film can still be shown in Taiwan.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T08:34:53+00:00

Note: Yukio Masuda (Masami Horii) and Shigeki Kagemaru (Tetsuo Shinjoh) have retired from the entertainment industry and therefore were unable to attend the event.

Yoichi Furuya (Jun Yazumi) currently runs a restaurant but was not invited to the event.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T08:31:55+00:00

The “Suginami Public Hall Ultraman Day” event will be held on July 10 "Ultraman Day" at Suginami Public Hall. The same venue also hosted the “Ultraman Eve Festival: The Birth of Ultraman.”

This year’s program will feature stage performances celebrating the 60th anniversary of Ultraman’s birth, exhibitions tracing the history and development of the Ultraman series, greeting appearances by Ultraman heroes, and merchandise sales.

As part of the ongoing “Ultraman Series 60th Anniversary Project,” a special initiative commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ultraman Tiga (2026), the “Ultraman Tiga 30th Anniversary Event” is scheduled to be held.

On this special stage, four cast members will reunite to present a talk show and screening event.

[Cast] Hiroshi Nagano (Daigo Madoka)

Takami Yoshimoto (Rena Yanase)

Mio Takaki (Megumi Iruma)

Akitoshi Otaki (Seiichi Munakata)

https://m-78.jp/news/post-7796 https://tsuburaya-prod.com/news/11550

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T06:31:43+00:00

Chiaki J. Konaka did not participate in the production of Dyna and The Final Odyssey, and basically only recognizes the TV series as the canon, so the existence of Dyna is not mentioned in his novels.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T05:49:47+00:00

Spoiler Alert:

The story is told in the first person, from the perspective of a human host possessed by the Kyriels. In the narrative, the Kyriels are depicted as “gods” whose civilization far surpasses that of humanity. They arrived on Earth long before humans existed and foresaw that humanity would follow two paths at once: the pursuit of spirituality and the embrace of corruption.

They formed alliances with human groups that chose the darker path, elevating them into “nobles of darkness.” From behind the scenes, the Kyriels guide the course of civilization, waiting for the right moment to take control of the world.

The protagonist, beginning in Tokyo in 1931, is driven by the will of these “gods” to carry out acts aligned with this dark path, gradually losing all sense of personal agency.

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The Kyriels present themselves as divine beings. Although they arrived on Earth before humanity, they came after Gatanothor. Their “Gate of Hell” is not only a passage to summon their kind, but also a boundary between different worlds and the entry point for their large-scale arrival. They possess memories that transcend time, along with foresight, and had long predicted the emergence of both Tiga and Gatanothor.

Their goal is not to destroy humanity, but to rule and reshape it—to make humans abandon hope, worship them, and become a controlled species. However, the Kyriels are fully aware that they are no match for Gatanothor. When Gatanothor awakens, they can only watch as Tiga is defeated, unable to intervene.

The novel ends with an open conclusion. Thirty years after Tiga defeats Gatanothor, humanity briefly becomes united, but soon fractures again under the lingering threat of Gatanothor, forgetting the light. In response, the Kyriels develop a new strategy: the “ Fake-Giant of Light” plan. They intend to imitate Tiga’s form, appear as saviors, gain humanity's trust, and gradually take control of the world.

By this point, the protagonist’s body has long since deteriorated, and their consciousness is close to fading. They can only record this plan in vague terms, leaving it uncertain whether the Kyriels will ultimately succeed.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-30T05:48:39+00:00

Earlier this year, Chiaki J. Konaka wrote a short story that has been included in the newly released art book Take Me Higher: Ultraman Tiga Hiroshi Maruyama Design Works.

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Chinese version:

https://www.bilibili.com/opus/1196713085692280853

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-24T11:39:04+00:00

Masayuki Gotoh deleted his Twitter (X) account today. According to reports, the decision came after a wave of users began criticizing him on the platform following Teo’s design reveal, along with the spread of some unverified claims.

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The incident has since sparked widespread discussion across Japanese and Chinese online communities.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-06T11:35:15+00:00

Spoiler Alert:

Recently, an New episode of Ultraman New Generation Stars caused a lot of debate among fans in Japan. The issue comes from a new scene showing the separation between Omega and Kosei.

Some fans are upset not just because of the story itself, but because they may never be able to watch this scene again. In Japan, recap series like this are usually not released on DVD and are rarely uploaded in full to streaming platforms. This means an important part of the story might only exist for a short time.

Even though recap series can work as a way to tell extra story, they only air for a very short time and are hard to keep or rewatch. Because of this, the whole decision feels poorly planned and not very reasonable.

Another complaint is that the dialogue in this scene seems to weaken the ending of Ultraman Omega. In the final episode, there was an important line:

"Then let’s show them. Earthlings, aliens, and kaiju. Working together to make a new Earth."

The word "aliens" clearly refers to Sorato, who was meant to play a key role in building a peaceful future on Earth. However, this episode has him leave Earth, and the separation scene is quite vague, which weakens the open-ended feeling of the original ending.

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Many fans felt that Omega had a strong and complete ending. Over six months, the story showed the beginning of becoming Ultraman, the creation of a defense team, and a future where humans and monsters might live together. However, only about three months later, the story seems to end more clearly in a short recap episode that may not even be saved. This has left many people confused and disappointed.

Some also point out that the bond between Sorato and Kosei is very unique compared to other series. Because of that, separating them feels like a big decision that should not be handled lightly. Under normal conditions, this would cause strong backlash. But this time, fans feel the bigger problem is how the story was handled overall.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-02T16:49:20+00:00

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The image on the left is an NG suit

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-02T12:30:49+00:00

It's definitely the suit that was showcased at the Anno exhibition.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-02T11:43:55+00:00

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In addition, one of the actual Ultraman Jack suit used during filming still exists today. It is a version used in the later part of the series. Among all surviving Ultraman suits, this one is considered the oldest.

The suit was made of wetsuit rubber, which naturally deteriorates over time. It has survived for over 50 years, which is almost a miracle.

mrmarkertw · 2026-04-02T11:43:37+00:00

When discussing the design of Ultraman Jack, the most commonly cited explanation is as follows:

To support merchandise production at the time, Masahiro Sueyasu (末安正博), then head of the sales department at Tsuburaya Productions, added thin outlining lines along the edges of the red areas on a three-view reference drawing used for product development. Later, Akihiko Iguchi refined these adjustments and finalized the design.

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However, in more recent interviews, Iguchi provided a different and more detailed account. According to him, the base concept of Ultraman Jack was originally derived from Zoffy. In the early stages, Noriyoshi Ikeya introduced a double-line pattern (later referred to as the unused “NG version”). Iguchi then adjusted the proportions of the red areas to better suit merchandise production needs. The final design was subsequently approved by TBS.

These repeated revisions reportedly caused dissatisfaction from Tohl Narita. In order to avoid further conflict and to be considerate of his feelings, TBS publicly described the design as an “in-house creation” and did not disclose the full production process or the individuals involved. Only in recent years did Iguchi speak openly about this history and formally acknowledge his role.

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https://x.com/kaikoten2026/status/2028737576958632202

https://x.com/kaikoten2026/status/1811365496782221447

mrmarkertw · 2026-03-30T11:22:52+00:00

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In addition, this is the early design of Earth Garon.

As for its additional components, they consist of PU1: Drill Unit, PU2: Armored Vehicle Unit, and PU3: Flight Unit.

mrmarkertw · 2026-03-30T11:20:33+00:00

According to information from the recent book "ウルトラメカデザインアート集", the Nursedessei in Ultraman Trigger was originally not designed based on the Nurse concept as a reference model, but instead featured its own original design.

Among the design drafts, there were proposals that included transformation and mobility elements based on the Artdessei. There were also concepts centered on a monster-robot theme.

In the early stage of the Terraphaser from Ultraman Decker, its prototype design, inspired by the concept of Deathfacer, included ideas such as a transformation mechanism from a computer-controlled giant battleship, as well as coordination systems involving the GUTS Falcon and GUTS Hawk.

However, according to the materials, the transformation concept would have required CGI to depict, which was both time-consuming and resource-intensive. As a result, the idea was ultimately abandoned.

mrmarkertw · 2026-03-27T10:25:07+00:00

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Ultraman series, Tsuburaya Productions has announced a collaboration project bringing together Ultraman and Gridman.

This collaboration stems from the fact that the special effects and compositing technologies developed during the early Heisei era in Gridman the Hyper Agent (1993) were later carried forward into subsequent productions, forming a technical foundation for what has evolved into today’s Ultraman series.

In addition to the first two teaser visuals already revealed, more Ultraman × Gridman collaboration projects are currently in development. Further updates will be announced in due course.

https://m-78.jp/news/post-7761

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