Return of Ultraman Series Review | Godzilla Island Archive

Note: This Review was originally published in 2022 on Godzilla Island. At the time this was written this is what Frank's Ultraman viewing was up to chronologically he has now completed Ultra Q-80, as well as Blazar, & Arc.

Return of Ultraman is the fourth entry in the Ultra Series it aired for 51 episodes from April 1971 to March 1972. The series stars Jiro Dan as Hideki Go, a race car driver who gives his life to save a young boy and his dog during a kaiju attack. Ultraman witnesses Go’s sacrifice and merges his life force with him, creating the hero we know as Ultraman Jack. Go is later recruited by MAT (Monster Attack Team), a United Nations kaiju defense unit, and fights alongside them both as himself and as Ultraman.

This has easily become one of my favorite entries in the franchise so far for me, tied with Ultra Q. Ultraseven has been my favorite M78 hero up to this point, but every series I’ve watched so far has brought something unique. Return of Ultraman captures the strengths of both Ultraman and Ultraseven and delivers a really well-balanced show. It has great kaiju action, strong plots, and it’s also the series that officially connected Ultraman, Ultraseven, and Jack into one shared universe (even though Ultraseven was originally meant to be standalone).

The monster lineup in this show is fantastic. We get the debuts of Gudon, Bemstar, Muruchi, Black King, and so many other icons. We also get returns from Alien Baltan and Zetton. I honestly expected Baltan to show up in the finale given the way his episode ends, so Zetton being the final enemy alongside Alien Bat was a surprise.

One of the standout elements of this series is its cast. Like the previous Ultra shows, Jack has a specialized defense force backing him, first the SSSP, then the TDF, and now MAT. But Return of Ultraman gives Go something the others didn’t have: a personal life. The Sakata family Ken, Aki, and young Jiro, become like family to Go and appear throughout the show. Ken is the older-brother figure, Aki becomes Go’s girlfriend, and Jiro is the kid always getting into trouble. Their presence adds a warmth that earlier Ultra shows didn’t really have.

That’s why the “Christmas episode,” where Ken and Aki are brutally killed, hits incredibly hard. It’s one of the most traumatic episodes in the franchise. From what I gathered online, the actors had other commitments, so the show wrote them out. Rumiko Maruno steps in as Go’s new love interest and becomes a caretaker for Jiro, but she never fits the role the way Aki did. Personally, I think Oka who already had chemistry with Go and familiarity with Jiro would’ve been a much more natural replacement.

Another interesting part of this series is the reveal of Go’s secret identity. In episode 33, Captain Ibuki subtly hints that he knows Go is Ultraman, and in the finale Go transforms right in front of Rumiko and Jiro. This was the first time an Ultraman’s identity was revealed within the story, and it added a great character dynamic especially in the way Captain Ibuki treats Go from that point on.

Overall, Return of Ultraman is a fantastic show and raised the bar for me going into Ultraman Ace. I’m watching the Ultra Series in chronological order, so this is all I’ve seen so far, but the quality here really impressed me. If you’re interested in Ultraman, kaiju, or classic tokusatsu, the Mill Creek Blu-ray release is an easy recommendation and a great entry point if you aren’t strict about watching everything in order.