Japanese TV series or program
Ultraman Mebius (ウルトラマンメビウス, Urutoraman Mebiusu) is a Japanese television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. It is the 20th TV series and 40th anniversary production in the Ultra Series, which first began in 1966. It premiered on the Tokyo Broadcasting System on April 8, 2006. Unlike the two prior entries, Ultraman Nexus (2004) and Ultraman Max (2005), Mebius was moved from Saturday mornings to Saturday evenings at 05:30 and the show went on to air in Korea in April 2012.[1][2]
On October 22, 2014, Crunchyroll announced that the entire series would be available that day on their streaming service for the US, Canada, Latin America, Mainland Europe (except France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein and Former Communist and Non-communist states in Eastern Europe (eg, Central, Post-Soviet states in Europe and Southeastern Europe), and Finland, Iceland and Norway, Denmark and Sweden), UK and Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.[3] On February 26, 2018, Toku announced that they would broadcast the series in the United States on their television channel, starting on March 19, 2018.[4]
The series opens with the introduction of the rookie Ultraman Mebius, who is sent to Earth by the Father of Ultra. The series is set 40 years after the shows of Ultraman (1966), and makes many references from Ultra Q (1966) through to Ultraman 80 (1980). "Mebius" is the Japanese approximation of Möbius; the Möbius strip is a recurring motif in the series.
Plot
Before leaving for the Earth, Ultraman Mebius was granted the Mebius Brace by the Father of Ultra and told of the importance of the name "Ultraman", a legacy he would have to live up to when he reached Earth. On his way there, Mebius saw a transport ship being sucked into the Ultra Zone, The crew was saved by the sacrifice of the Captain's son, Hiroto Ban. seeing his selflessness, Mebius tried to save the young man but was a minute too late. He created his human form after the young man, Hiroto Ban, in his honor.
Characters
Crew GUYS
GUYS (Guards for UtilitY Situation) is an attack team formed at some point of time after UGM's disbandment. As no monster attacks were recorded since the last 25 years, Dinozaur had killed a majority of the original team members, save for the cadet named Ryu Aihara. Once Mirai and Sakomizu joined GUYS, the former recruited several civilians he encountered prior due to their commitment at the height of monster attacks.
- Field members
- Mirai Hibino (ヒビノ・ミライ, Hibino Mirai): see here
- Ryu Aihara (アイハラ・リュウ, Aihara Ryū): The 20-year-old sole survivor of his original Crew GUYS team during Dinozaur's attack. As he becomes the field commander, Ryu is dedicated to protect his new teammates and eventually acknowledges their skill to be on an equal level with past attack teams.
- Marina Kazama (カザマ・マリナ, Kazama Marina): A 19-year-old motorcycle racer with enhanced sense of hearing.
- George Ikaruga (イカルガ・ジョージ, Ikaruga Jōji): A 20-year-old professional soccer player with enhanced sense of sight and reflexes, which allows him to utilize ranged weapons at a precision rate.
- Konomi Amagai (アマガイ・コノミ, Amagai Konomi): An 18-year-old aspiring nursery school teacher working part time at a nursery school, her dedication to save the rabbits lead to an assembly of civilians that would become future members of Crew GUYS. Although usually works as an operator, she can also join the battle and guiding the Maquette Monsters.
- Teppei Kuze (クゼ・テッペイ, Kuze Teppei): An 18-year-old team member who is knowledgeable in the Ultra Brothers' exploits and their fight against monsters. Being a medical student, he was groomed to become the heir of his father's hospital, but gained the blessing from his parents to continue working on Crew GUYS after his bravery in saving the building from Insectus' invasion.
- Shingo Sakomizu (サコミズ・シンゴ, Sakomizu Shingo): The commander of the new Crew GUYS after Serizawa's seeming death. Despite his appearance as a 40-year-old, he was actually a veteran in the defense force and was once an SSSP member whose encounter with Zoffy lead to the foundation of GUYS. His encounter on space resulted in a permanent youthful appearance despite being 70 years old.
- Kazuya Serizawa (セリザワ・カズヤ, Serizawa Kazuya): The 30-year-old original commander of the previous Crew GUYS, he was thought to be killed by Dinozaur's rampage after saving Ryu, but his body was rescued by Hunter Knight Tsurugi as a human shell to operate on Earth. During Tsurugi's brief death, Serizawa's will resurfaced as he persistent on the Ultra's survival. From that day on, Serizawa becomes a permanent host of Hikari and occasionally assisting Crew GUYS in their fight.
- Staff members
- Aide Toriyama (トリヤマ補佐官, Toriyama-hosakan): The leader of the Japanese branch of GUYS, he issues orders to GUYS and gets frantic with joy whenever they accomplish a mission. While generally portrayed as cowardly, sycophantic and bumbling incompetent throughout the series, he gathers his resolve and stands up to Inspector Shiki when the latter demands that GUYS turn Ultraman Mebius/Hibino Mirai over.
- Secretary Aide Maru (マル補佐官秘書, Maru-hosakan-hisho): Toriyama's secretary, he follows Toriyama around and often corrects his speech mistakes.
- Yuki Misaki (ミサキ・ユキ, Misaki Yuki): The deputy inspector general, she reports monsters to GUYS.
Ultra Warriors
- Ultraman Mebius: see here
- Ultraman Hikari (ウルトラマンヒカリ, Urutoraman Hikari): A scientist from the Land of Light, who ventured to Earth as Hunter Knight Tsurugi (ハンターナイトツルギ, Hantā Naito Tsurugi) to exact revenge on Bogar. After killing the monster and freed from the armor, the scientist Ultra adopted the name "Ultraman Hikari" from Ryu and received his membership from the Space Garrison to assist Mebius several of his fights on Earth.
Side stories
Ultraman Mebius had three side stories in accordance to the series.
Film tie-ins
A theatrical film, entitled Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers, was released in Japan on September 16, 2006. It takes place sometime after the end of episode 15 ("Phoenix's Fortress"), and is referenced in episode 24 ("Yapool's Rebirth").
Home media
In July 2020, Shout! Factory announced to have struck a multi-year deal with Alliance Entertainment and Mill Creek, with the blessings of Tsuburaya and Indigo, that granted them the exclusive SVOD and AVOD digital rights to the Ultra series and films (1,100 TV episodes and 20 films) acquired by Mill Creek the previous year. Ultraman Mebius, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.[5]
Mill Creek Entertainment released Ultraman Mebius in the United States on DVD in May 24, 2022.
Reception
In the first half of airing, it struggled in terms of viewership due to the time shift from Ultraman Max. However, after the release of the Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers movie, awareness of the series increased, and the viewership ratings reached their highest level since Ultraman Nexus, and toy sales at the end of the year were also strong. In particular, the episodes featuring the Ultra Brothers received support from a wide range of viewers, including not only the main target audience of children, but also parents and enthusiasts. However, overall toy sales in 2006 were 3.6 billion, lower than the sales of the previous two titles.[6][circular reference]
