Shin Ultraman (2022) Review

Frank Laudato
Jun 16
2 min read

Monster Appearances: Gabora, Gomess, Kaigel, Larugeus, Mammoth Flower, Mefilas, Neronga, Pagos, Peguila, Zarab

Back in 2022, we attended the Fathom Events theatrical screening of Shin Ultraman it was a limited time event, and we were only able to attend the day of the English dub Screening. Since then, Shin Ultraman has had a somewhat notorious physical media release history in North America thanks to Cleopatra Entertainment's multiple botched releases and disc replacement programs. The best and far superior North American release of this film is the Canadian release from Raven Banner. Though Cleopatra has "fixed" their release I would still recommend spending the few extra dollars to pick-up the Raven Banner version. From its superior box art to its excellent video and audio presentation, it is the release physical media collectors and Ultraman fans should be seeking out.

Luckily for the fans the film itself was great. Shin Ultraman fells like it took all the iconic episodes of the 1966 series mixed them all together and modernized it into this new spin on Ultraman. The cherry on top of this new take on Ultraman is the Ultra Q intro that played that classic intro song with a montage of Kaiju from Gomess to Peguila to Larugeus and more.

The opening battle of this movie features a battle with Neronga in which Ultraman first appears. It is this battle where our Ultra host Shinji Kaminaga merges with Ultraman after sacrificing himself to save a child. After this battle another kaiju Gabora appears this is the first Kaiju that Shinji and Ultraman face merged together.

We then see Ultraman face Zarab and then Mefilas. The final enemy of this movie in a surprise twist is Zoffy who in the past has been known as one of the Ultra Brothers but Zoffy see's Earthlings as a threat after hearing about Shinji merging with Ultraman. Zoffy does not believe there should be other being capable of wielding the power of an Ultra, so he summons Zetton his ultimate weapon to eradicate Earth. Shinji and Ultraman manage to stop Zetton and save Earth, but Ultraman had to sacrifice himself completely to allow Shinji a second chance at life.

Shin Ultraman is the second film in the Shin Japan Heroes Universe. It follows Shin Godzilla and precedes Shin Kamen Rider. While Shin Godzilla has had multiple physical media releases in the North America, Shin Kamen Rider has remained exclusive to streaming. That's why it's important to support physical media releases like Shin Ultraman when possible. Although Shin Godzilla has gone out of print for short stretches, it has remained readily available for the most part, there was a short window where prices soared when it went out of print, but it is good now. Shin Ultraman is still readily available, but as collectors know, that may not be the case for much longer.