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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.
Japan TimesA 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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Russia launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Ukraine's capital overnight into Thursday. The strikes killed 11 people and injured 54, including two children, while damaging residential buildings in multiple districts.
abcnews.go.comRussian forces launched a major attack on Kyiv overnight on 1-2 July 2026, killing 13 people and injuring around 90. The strikes hit residential buildings and other sites across a wide area of the city.
dailywire.comAn 11-year-old boy drove a pickup truck into a line of 35 monks walking along a road in Mukdahan province on Thursday, killing eight and sending 14 to hospitals. Four of the injured monks remain in critical condition.