Ultraman Ace


Ultraman Ace is the fourth entry in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 7, 1972, to March 30, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes.
Starting from this show, the Ultra Series begins to shift from a sci-fi/mystery adventure to superhero fantasy fare. All previous Ultramen make regular appearances in this series, whereas they only made guest appearances in the previous show Return of Ultraman.

Plot

From another dimension, Yapool orchestrated attacks on Earth using biological weapons called "Terrible-Monsters" that surpassed ordinary monsters. The first Terrible-Monster Verokron managed to destroy a city and the Earth Defense Force that was dispatched to fight it. A pair of youths, Seiji Hokuto and Yuko Minami, lost their lives in protecting nearby civilians as the fifth Ultra from M78, Ultraman Ace fused with them. The pair were given Ultra Rings each per person and transforms into Ace whenever they perform the Ultra Touch. Ever since Ultraman Ace fought on Earth, Seiji and Yuko were enlisted into TAC, short for Terrible-monster Attacking Crew, with the Ultra Brothers and Father of Ultra occasionally appeared to help them. Yapool, on the other hand, would send more Terrible-Monsters, including external help from various forces and occasionally went face-to-face with TAC and Ace themselves.
In the middle of the series, Yuko was revealed to be one of the last natives from the Moon and gave her Ultra Ring to Seiji, leaving Earth in episode 28. Seiji was on his own in succeeding episodes. In the final episode, Yapool masqueraded as the child of Alien Simon and combined several of his past Terrible-Monsters into Jumbo King. When Yapool allowed himself to be killed as the children lost their faith in Seiji, the latter exposed his identity to them and fought the chimeric monster, eventually triumphing over Jumbo King. With Yapool's first attempt at taking over the Earth thwarted at last, Ace departed the Earth to return home.

Cast

  • Seiji Hokuto：Keiji Takamine
  • Yuko Minami: Mitsuko Hoshi
  • Gorō Ryū: Tetsurō Sagawa
  • Ichirō Yamanaka: Shunichi Okita
  • Tsutomu Konno: Masaaki Yamamoto
  • Noriko Mikawa: Keiko Nishi
  • Kōzō Yoshimura: Mitsuhiro Sano
  • Yōichi Kaji: Katsumi Nakayama
  • Dan Umezu: Akinori Umezu
  • Kayoko Umezu: Rie Miyano
  • Ultraman Ace: Gorō Naya
  • Yapool, Alien Antira: Hirofumi Takada
  • Narrator: Shin Kishida

Songs

;Opening theme
  • "Ultraman Ace"
  • *Lyrics: Hajime Tsuburaya
  • *Composition & Arrangement: Masahiko Aoi
  • *Artist: Honey Knights, Misuzu Children's Choral Group
  • *Used as ending theme of episode 52
;Insert themes
  • "TAC no Uta"
  • *Lyrics: Kyōichi Azuma
  • *Composition & Arrangement: Tōru Fuyuki
  • *Artist: Honey Knights, Misuzu Children's Choir
  • "TAC no Isshūkan"
  • *Lyrics: Kyōichi Azuma
  • *Composition & Arrangement: Tōru Fuyuki
  • *Artist: Ace Mennen Call

International Broadcasts & Home media

In July 2019, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that it had acquired most of the Ultraman library from Tsuburaya Productions through Indigo Entertainment, including 1,100 TV episodes and 20 films. Mill Creek released the series on Blu-ray and digital on May 12, 2020, in standard and steelbook sets.
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 acquired by Mill Creek the previous year. Ultraman Ace, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.