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Documentary on Ultraman Marks 60 Years Since 1966 TBS Premiere
A film co-helmed by Hirokazu Kore-eda examines the tokusatsu series' reach across Japanese households and international audiences. Ultraman premiered July 17, 1966, and generated one of Japan's earliest major merchandising booms.
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A documentary co-helmed by Hirokazu Kore-eda examines the cultural impact of the Ultraman franchise on Japanese and international viewers. The series premiered on TBS on July 17, 1966. It centers on a silver, 40-meter-tall alien from Nebula M78 who merges with Shin Hayata of the Science Special Search Party to defend Earth.
At its peak the program drew nearly half of Japan’s TV-owning households. Character-branded goods, model kits and plastic figures created one of Japan’s first major merchandising booms and set a commercial template later followed by other tokusatsu franchises. The series was exported across Asia and to the United States, where it introduced a generation of viewers to Japanese entertainment.
The documentary marks 60 years of the franchise as of July 2026.
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