Ultraman (1966 TV series)

Ultraman
Original Japanese title card
Also known as	Ultraman: A Special Effects Fantasy Series[1][2]
Japanese name
Kanji	ウルトラマン
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Urutoraman
Genre	Tokusatsu[3] Science fiction[4] Superhero[5] Kaiju
Developed by	Eiji Tsuburaya[6] Tetsuo Kinjo[6]
Starring	Susumu Kurobe Akiji Kobayashi Hiroko Sakurai Sandayū Dokumamushi Masanari Nihei Bin Furuya
Opening theme	Ultraman Theme by the Misuzu Children's Choir
Composer	Kunio Miyauchi
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	39
Production
Running time	24 minutes
Production company	Tsuburaya Productions
Original release
Network	JNN (TBS)
Release	July 17, 1966 (1966-07-17) – April 9, 1967 (1967-04-09)
Related
Ultra Q Ultraseven
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Ultraman (Japanese: ウルトラマン, Hepburn: Urutoraman)^[a] is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, it is a follow-up to Ultra Q, though not technically a sequel or spin-off. Tsuburaya Productions produced 39 episodes (40, counting the pre-premiere special) that aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and its affiliate stations from July 17, 1966, to April 9, 1967. Its premiere topped the average rating set by Ultra Q and kept climbing each week, marking the show as a success.^[7] It was also the first Japanese television series to use a bidding system for commercial rights, allowing multiple third-party companies to sponsor the show. This was following TBS's merchandising troubles with its predecessor.^[8]

Although Ultraman is the first series to feature an Ultraman character, it is the second installment in the Ultra Series, following Ultra Q. This is symbolised by the Japanese show opening with the Ultra Q logo exploding into the Ultraman logo. Ultraman and its titular hero became a major pop culture phenomenon in Japan, generating dozens of sequels, spin-offs, imitations, parodies and tributes.^[9][6] Ultraman went on to generate $7.4 billion in merchandising revenue from 1966 to 1987 in Japan^[10][11] (equivalent to more than $20 billion adjusted for inflation) and become the world's third top-selling licensed character by the 1980s, largely due to his popularity in Asia.^[12]

A manga series of the same name serving as a sequel to the television series began publication in October 2011 and received an anime adaptation starting in April 2019. In May 2022, Toho released Shin Ultraman, a reimagining of the series directed by Shinji Higuchi.

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