Ultraman Ace (series)

is the fifth show in the Ultraman Series, and it contains 52 episodes. It was aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 7, 1972 to March 30, 1973.
The series can be watched on Shout TV, Tubi, Pluto, Roku, and Prime Video.
==Production==
This series was produced as a follow-up program to The Return of Ultraman. In 1971, with Return of Ultraman becoming a popular show on TBS at the time, TBS decided to approve the production of a sequel Ultraman series around November. Therefore, this new project was primarily led by TBS producer Yoji Hashimoto and Tsuburaya Productions producer Ken Kumagai. The planning and scriptwriting methods proposed by Hashimoto were put up for competition among three screenwriters: Shinichi Ichikawa, Shozo Uehara, and Seikō Shigemitsu Taguchi. In early 1972, each of them submitted their respective project proposals. They were Ichikawa's , Uehara's , and Tanaka's ., pg 4
Firstly, Ultra Hunter has a highly original concept, emphasizing the combination of male courage and female tenderness. This idea is built upon the concept of individuals being born complete and is developed through Ichikawa's unique perspective as a Christian. In this narrative, Hokuto and Minami, through "Ultra Touch," merge to become Ultraman, transcending gender notions and symbolizing a complete humanity, kindness, and divinity—a concept of Ultraman born entirely beyond gender boundaries. Hokuto and Minami belong to the Earth United Forces, and the basic plot of the story revolves around their fight against the invasion of the Andromeda Space Corps, which manipulates space monsters like Bem.
Uehara's Ultra Warrior narrates the story of , a member of the Defense Team, who begins to battle after inheriting the power of an Ultraman from the Nebula M78. This Ultraman is set as one of the Ultra Brothers and shares the same worldview as Return of Ultraman. The antagonist of this project is Dr. Takehara, who, due to his research, is accused of demonic acts, loses his social status, and becomes a permanent antagonist. The basic plot revolves around Takehara seeking revenge against humanity by controlling monsters with machines, portraying a story where resentment becomes the core of humanization by setting the enemies as humans.
Ultra V is a project designed with children's perspectives in mind, aiming to portray monsters in a more appealing light. This concept embodies the idea of "Terrible-Monsters," where these creatures are conceived as a fusion of Earthly and cosmic beings, manufactured by the Alien Satan, who target Earth, using giant machines. The protagonist is a V-man from the Nebula 72 destroyed by the Alien Satan. On Earth, he assumes the alias of , becoming a member of the Special Science Division, leading a normal human life and working. After undergoing scrutiny by relevant personnel, these three projects were eventually amalgamated into the official proposal , which was produced under the auspices of the TBS.https://qqquuu7.web.fc2.com/ua.html
The release of the Ultra Fighter project proposal likely took place in late January, marking the beginning of preparatory work. In this proposal, Ultra Fighter is designated as the fifth member of the Ultra Brothers, with the defense team set as TAC. The adversary for Ultra Fighter is Alien Satan. Hokuto and Minami's lovers are killed due to Alien Satan's attack on Earth. As adults, Hokuto and Minami meet in a mountain cabin from their memories and receive the power of Ultra Fighter from a messenger of the Galactic Federation., pg 5
After further modifications, the project was officially named . This proposal, co-produced by Tsuburaya Productions and TBS, was used to explain the project details to relevant parties. The enemy was changed to Yapool, and the main storyline includes a night attack on Hiroshima City by Super Beasts and the meeting of Hokuto, a gas station attendant, and Minami, a nurse. In the previous proposal, both characters bore the cross-shaped stigmata as a warrior's mark on their arms, but in this proposal, the warrior symbol was adjusted to Ultra Rings given by Ultra Ace. The production memo during the planning phase highlighted the advantage of featuring Terrible-Monsters themed around creatures familiar to children, clearly distinguishing them from monsters/aliens in other series.
The scriptwriting for Ultra Ace proceeded as planned, with Ichikawa serving as the main writer. The content proposed by Ichikawa was expanded or organized by Uehara and Taguchi, with the three taking turns. However, this mechanism began to encounter problems after about one quarter. The rotational method made it difficult to maintain consistency in character depiction, and the three had different views on key parts of the plot, leading to many inconsistencies. This included insufficient characterization of Minami and the incomplete realization and presentation of Ichikawa's envisioned concept of "Yapool." Due to the risk of losing the main storyline, Ichikawa stopped writing the scripts and left the production team after episode 14. Producer Kumagai then invited Toshiro Ishido to join from episode 16 onwards.
Although the scriptwriting work continued under the name Ultra Ace until episode 6, trademark issues led to a change in the program title and character names to Ultraman Ace in early March. Ultraman Ace entered the third quarter following changes in the "program extension and reinforcement plan." A significant change was the eradication of Yapool at the end of the second quarter, actively depicted by Tadashi Mafune, followed by Taguchi's portrayal of the invasion by Alien Hipporit and the appearance of Father of Ultra. Later, Kumagai forcefully wrote Minami's departure from Earth, shifting Ultraman Ace from a storyline centered around "goodness" to one focusing on the concept of "justice" as a contrasting theme. After numerous changes in direction, the directors shifted the emphasis from character depiction to enhancing action scenes.https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/EB8cn
As the series neared its conclusion, Ichikawa resumed writing for episodes 48 and 52. Hashimoto persuaded Ichikawa to personally conclude the series, and Ichikawa responded to this request by depicting Hokuto's "wish" of abandoning his human identity in the final episode.This represented Ichikawa's entire vision of what "Ultraman" symbolized. This "wish" still embodied "goodness," symbolizing transcendence. Hokuto, merging with Ultraman Ace, hoped to be a role model for the next generation of children, encouraging them to believe in this transcendence no matter what. This brought closure to the storylines of both Yapool and Ultraman Ace.http://ichikawa.nkac.or.jp/interview/hashimoto/
==Synopsis==
Yapool, an ancient interdimensional race of beings tries to conquer the Planet Earth with his army of monsters, called Terrible-Monsters. The newest member of the Ultra Brothers, Ultraman Ace, arrives on Earth to aid humanity in the battle against Yapool. Touched by the sacrifices of Seiji Hokuto and Yuko Minami, he revives them and grants them the Ultra Rings, which allows them to transform into Ultraman Ace in times of need.
==Characters==
===TAC===
*Seiji Hokuto
*Yuko Minami
*Noriko Mikawa
*Goro Ryu
*Ichiro Yamanaka
*Tsutomu Konno
*Kozo Yoshimura
*Yoichi Kaji
===Umezu Family===
*Dan Umezu
*Kayoko Umezu
===Antagonist===
*Yapool
===Ultras===
*Ultraman Ace
*Ultraman
*Zoffy
*Ultraseven
*Ultraman Jack
*Father of Ultra
===Kaiju===
*Verokron
*Chameleking
*Vakishim
*Garan
*Giron Man
*Aribunta
*Brocken
*Alien Metron Jr.
*Doragory
*Muruchi II
*Gammas
*Zaigon
*Alien Antira
*Unitang
*Sabotendar
*Baraba
*Ace Killer
*Ace Robot
*King Crab
*Cowra
*She-Devil
*Hotarunga
*Black Pigeon
*Android Couple
*King Kappa
*Zemistlar
*Aprasar
*Space Mask
*Black Satan
*Giant Yapool
*Mazaron Man
*Mazarius
*Yojo
*Alien Orion
*Sphinx
*Alien Hipporit
*Lunaticks
*Undergroundmon
*Gitagitanga
*Red Jack
*Baktari
*Coakes
*Bad Baalon
*Kaiteigagan
*Dreamgillas
*Soundgillar
*Machless
*Namahage
*Snowgiran
*Alien Fire
*Firemons
*Alien Steal
*Kaimanda
*Shishigoran
*Iceron
*Woo II
*Fubugirara
*Onidevil
*Gasgegon
*Daidarahoshi
*Hanzagiran
*Verokron II
*Univerlages
*Aquarius
*Alien Revole
*Signalion
*Geegon
*Alien Simon
*Jumbo King
==Cast==
*: 
*: (1-29, 38 & 52)
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: (1-3, 5-14, 27, & 31)
*: (29-43)
*: (29-43)
*: 
===Voice Actors===
*: Voiced by 
*: Voiced by Mahito Tsujimura
*: Voiced by Osamu Saka (episodes 5 & 35), Goro Naya (episode 5 grunt), Masao Nakasone (episodes 5, 13 and 26 grunt), Osamu Ichikawa (episode 13), Keisuke Yamashita (episode 23)
*: Voiced by Osamu Saka
*: Voiced by Keisuke Yamashita (episode 13)
*: Voiced by Masao Nakasone (low-pitch grunts), Tetsuya Kaji (speaking voice)
*: 
===Suit Actors===
*: (1-2) & 
*: (1-12, 25-39, 41-47), (13-24), (48-52), (41-42)
==Music==
*
**Lyrics: Kyōichi Azuma
**Composition: Masahiko Aoi
**Artist: Honey Knights, Misuzu Children's Choral Group
==Home Media==
A Malaysian DVD was released in 2014. It contains a Cantonese/Chinese dub, English subtitles, Chinese subtitles and Malay subtitles.
Mill Creek Entertament released the complete series on May 26, 2020, under the Steelbook and Blu-ray releases.
Pa.188110.1.jpg|Ultraman Ace Complete DVD Box
Ultraman ace dvd.PNG|Ultraman Ace VGB DVD
UltramanAceSteelbookMillCreek.png|Mill Creek's Steelbook Release
UltramanAceBlu-RayMillCreek.png|Mill Creek's Blu-ray release
==Gallery==
Ultraman Ace Poster.png
Ultraman Ace Poster 2.jpeg
Ultraman ace logo.png
Ultraman Ace English Logo.png
==Trivia==
**Up till this point, "Ultra" had been the title, not "Ultraman", as indicated by the name of Ultraseven. (Ultraman Jack had originally intended to be an updated design of the original Ultraman, and had not been given his name yet.) This meant that "Ultra" would now be used as a general term to refer to all Residents of the Land of Light, as well as the Ultra Heroes of other planets and continuities later in the franchise.
**Had this been the case, it would have also meant that Ultraman would be the only Ultra with the title of Ultraman, and all the others would be known as Ultra -- like Ultraseven. It is unknown what this would have entailed for Ultraman Jack.
*This is the first series to introduce a being of light that is not part of the Ultra Brothers, that of course being Father of Ultra, the Top Commander of the Inter Galactic Defense Force.
*This the first Ultraman Series which contains a preview of the next episode at the end of the episode.
==External Links==
*Ultraman Ace at Tsuburaya Productions' official website
*Ultraman Ace at Wikipedia
*Ultraman Ace at Japanese Wikipedia
==References==
ja:ウルトラマンA
id:Ultraman Ace (seri)
Category:Series
Category:Productions
Category:Ultraman Ace
Category:Shows Dubbed in English
Category:Showa Series