Ultraman Max (series)

is the 18th entry in the Ultraman Series, and aired from July 2, 2005 to March 25, 2006. After the darker series Ultraman Nexus, Tsuburaya Productions opted for a more traditional formula with weekly monsters and a lighter theme.
On January 27, 2017, the television channel TOKU announced that series would be broadcast in the United States on its channel beginning February 27, 2017,https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2017/01/toku-channel-to-premiere-ultraman-max-next-month/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2017-02-09/toku-announces-the-network-premiere-of-ultraman-max/.112057 making it the fifth Ultraman Series to air in the United States after Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultraman: Towards the Future, and Ultraman Tiga. Days later, it was confirmed to be dubbed in English.http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-02-08/toku-to-premiere-ultraman-max-series-with-english-dub/.111973 The series was broadcast Monday through Friday at 7pm ET with replays every day during the morning or afternoon, ending on March 24, 2017.
This show can be watched on Tubi, Plex, and Vudu.
==Production==
In October 2004, TBS began broadcasting Ultraman Nexus. According to the plan of CBC Television, a subsidiary of TBS, a news program was scheduled to start airing every Saturday at 7:30 AM in April 2006. If Ultraman Nexus was shortened to 37 episodes and concluded in June 2005, then the new series would have a total of 39 episodes in its broadcast cycle by 2006. However, if Ultraman Nexus extended its run until September, the new series would only have a broadcast cycle of 26 episodes. Considering profitability issues, Tsuburaya Productions aimed for the new project to ideally reach 52 episodes, but at the very least produce 39 episodes., pg 4
In mid-December 2004, Tsuburaya Productions decided to shorten Ultraman Nexus to 37 episodes, resulting in significant changes to the series' plot. Due to the overwhelming workload of producer Hiroyasu Shibuya being too busy, Tsuburaya Productions appointed Takeshi Yagi, who had previously directed Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy, to oversee the planning and production of the new project. Yagi proposed a new project called and collaborated on the planning aspect with Kengo Kaji and Yuji Kobayashi.https://x.com/reima7x/status/1705857507518984506https://x.com/kobayuji/status/1253267203773722624
In January 2005, the proposal for the new series was completed and submitted to CBC's Dentsu advertising agency for revisions, eventually forming the official plan. Takeshi Yagi's concept was "an authentic Ultraman series with each episode being self-contained and filled with a sense of wonder and science fiction, which is the quintessential format for Ultraman stories." He aimed to return to the "origin" of the original 1966 series, emphasizing the "6 S's" in the proposal: Story, Simple, Speed, Strong, SF (Science Fiction), and Sense of Wonder. These principles guided the diverse structure of Ultraxenon episodes.Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Max (TV Magazine Special Edition) pg 100In the final proposal, Yagi wrote down "hope for the future" as the theme of the work.https://x.com/reima7x/status/1480013909625311232
With only three production units, the production team dedicated themselves to compactly unfolding the plot within the limited number of episodes, ensuring all elements were full of twists and turns. To clearly showcase the series' theme, the planning team decided to incorporate popular monsters from previous iterations into the show, endowing them with new charm while retaining their formidable strength, fully respecting the settings of the "original series." The defense team "DASH" in the series drew heavily from the member allocation and duty configuration of the SSSP in Ultraman and the UG in Ultraseven. 
Many actors (and characters) from previous shows make cameos, most notably professor Yukari Yoshinaga and chief Kenzo Tomioka, who are played by the actors Hiroko Sakurai (Akiko Fuji) and Susumu Kurobe (Shin Hayata) from the original Ultraman. One episode (#29) revolves around the filming of the 1964 program Ultra Q, the first entry in the Ultraman Series. Two actors from that show appear as themselves.
In December 2004, Takeshi Yagi invited Shusuke Kaneko to be the chief director. Due to scheduling conflicts, Kaneko could not confirm his participation until February 8th of the following year. Once confirmed, Kaneko quickly became involved in writing the project proposal and began selecting actors as well as recruiting writers and directors for episodes after the fifth one. Ultimately, the series saw the participation of 11 directors and 18 writers, making it the installment with the most creators in the series' history., pg 5
At the suggestion of CBC producer Tsuyoshi Okazaki and after considering registration issues, the series was finally named Ultraman Max. Filming began in March of the same year, and the series premiered in July 2005.
==Synopsis==
In the 21st century, natural disasters continue to strike worldwide, and finally, the once thought of as fantastical "kaiju" have appeared. 
Facing the two major kaiju, Grangon and Lagoras, Touma Kaito is enveloped in a red light the moment he is attacked by the kaijus. The one who saved Kaito was an observer of civilization from the M78 Nebula. Sensing a resonance of courage within Kaito that aligns with his own personality, the observer proposes to merge with him, granting the power of Max Spark. Thus, the birth of the strongest and fastest hero, Ultraman Max, takes place.
==Characters==
===Protagonist===
*Kaito Touma
===UDF===
*Kenzo Tomioka
*Yukari Yoshinaga
*Date
====DASH====
*Shigeru Hijikata
*Kenjiro Koba
*Mizuki Koishikawa
*Sean White
*Elly
===Others===
*Miu Hayama
*Mitsugu Shindo
*Kenji Niimi
*Masayuki
*Yuri Sakata
*Natsumi Oda
*Akko
*Takeru Ozaki
*Kanami Miyahara
*Ikuo Hasunuma
*Detective Narasaki
*Kakeru
*Dr. Kori
*Kenji Sahashi
*Yasuhiko Saigo
*Tsutomu Ichinose
*Kazuya Narimiya
===Ultras===
*Ultraman Max
*Ultraman Xenon
===Kaiju===
*Grangon
*Lagoras
**Lagoras Evo
*Eleking
**Baby Eleking
*Reguila
*Alien Sran
*Red King
*Salamadon
*Paragler
*Pigmon
*People of Nebula KJ-K5
**Kesam
**Kerus
**Kedam
*Bugdalas
*Natsunomeryu
*Metacisus
*Antlar
*Halen
*Zetton
*Alien Zetton
*King Joe
*IF
*Space Cats
**Mike
**Kuro
**Tama
*Nina
*Eraga
*Alien Shamer
*Alien Tarla
*Gilfas
*Cloudos
*Gomora
*Madeus
*Flygler
*Alien Metron
*Alien Neril
*Alien Godley
*Unizin
*Alien Pitt
*Luganoger
*Lilika
*Geronga
*Alien Moetaranga
*Tiny Baltan
*Dark Baltan
*Hophop
**Adam and Eve
*Alien Satun
*Keplus
*Delos People
*Auto Maton
*Berserke
**Scout Berserke
**Satellite Berserke
**Giga Berserke
==Cast==
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===Guest Cast===
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*Unnamed policeman: 
*Security guard: 
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===Voice Actors===
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==Music==
:;Opening Theme
*
**Lyrics: 
**Composition & Arrangement: 
**Artist: TEAM DASH with Project DMM
:;Insert Themes
*DASH Alpha - Fight theme
==Super Battle Special==
After the broadcast of Ultraman Max, an eight minute special titled was released on DVD. This special was a five minute clip show giving a review of Ultraman Max's backstory and primary attacks up until Ultraman Xenon gives him the Max Galaxy. After the clip show, the monster Red King attacks Max with Zetton shortly joining in. The special ends with Max defeating both of them.
==Home Media==
The series was released on DVD by Bandai Visual from December 23, 2005, to September 22, 2006, across 10 volumes. On February 22, 2008, Climax Stories: Ultraman Max released, featuring the series compiled into a hour-long film with narration by Sota Aoyama. A complete DVD box set was released on October 26, 2012.https://m-78.jp/news/n-1379 Box sets of Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Mebius released around the same time, with all three having covers illustrated by Masayuki Gotoh.
On January 24, 2023, Mill Creek released a box set of the series with English subtitles in the United States.https://twitter.com/MillCreekEnt/status/1612906648531509250https://www.millcreekent.com/products/ultraman-max-complete-series
110.jpg|Volume 1 (episodes 1-2)
358.jpg|Volume 2, (episodes 3-6)
4934569623843.jpg|Volume 3 (episodes 7-10)
51XB6K0097L.jpg|Volume 4 (episodes 11-14)
129001037.jpg|Volume 5 (episodes 15-18)
Max6.jpg|Volume 6 (episodes 19-22)
7ad44c84ad 104603 450.jpg|Volume 7 (episodes 23-26)
R087636260MX.jpg|Volume 8 (episodes 27-30)
51EY21GZY2L.jpg|Volume 9 (episodes 31-34)
BCDR-1192.jpg|Volume 10 (episodes 35-39)
Climax Stories Max.jpg|Climax Stories: Ultraman Max
B00843E39Y.MZZZZZZZ.jpg|TV COMPLETE DVD-BOX (episodes 1-39)
Mill Creek Max.png|Mill Creek's DVD box set (episodes 1-39)
==Gallery==
===Images===
Ultraman Max 003.jpeg|Promotional Flyer
Ultraman Max logo.webp
Ultraman Max English Logo.jpg
Ultraman Max 2005 6.jpg
Ultraman Max 2005 4.webp
Ultraman Max 2005 45.webp
Ultraman Max 2005 47.jpg
==Trivia==
*In one episode the scene where Kaito and an alien were having a conversation about the alien's past with ancient Earth shows a village. This is the same village from Ultraman Tiga Gaiden: Revival of the Ancient Giant, the footage had just been updated and a few new scenes were added.
*This series along with Ultraman X The Movie: Here He Comes! Our Ultraman and Ultraman Ginga S The Movie: Showdown! The 10 Ultra Warriors! were dubbed in English, marking the first time an Ultraman related movie or series was dubbed since the Ultraman Tiga 4Kids Dubbing.
==External Links==
*Official website
*Ultraman Max at Tsuburaya Productions' official website
==References==
id:Ultraman Max (seri)
ja:ウルトラマンマックス
Category:Series
Category:Productions
Category:Ultraman Max
Category:Heisei Series
Category:Shows Dubbed in English