Ultraman Cosmos


Ultraman Cosmos is a Japanese tokusatsu TV series being the twelfth entry show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Ultraman Cosmos aired from July 7, 2001 to September 28, 2002, with a total of 65 episodes, which currently makes it the longest running Ultra show to date. It was also released to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Ultraman series.
In June 2002, Cosmos was taken off of television for several weeks when lead actor Taiyo Sugiura was questioned in an assault and extortion case. When the case against Sugiura was dropped for lack of evidence, Cosmos was put back on the air. MBS, TBS and Tsuburaya ultimately pulled five episodes from broadcast to make up for time lost, and these episodes were later released on DVD.
In April 2017, the television channel TOKU announced that they would release the series in the United States in the near future. A year later, the series was released by the channel on April 23, 2018.

Story concepts

Observing the increasing trend of violence that occurred in the younger generation of Japan, Tsuburaya made an Ultraman character that has a gentler nature than its predecessors. With a dominantly blue look, Tsuburaya wanted to elevate Ultraman's image as a figure of love for the environment and peace. Thus, the concept of the story is the theme of pacifism, meaning an idea which considers war to be morally unjustifiable, and all disputes or disagreements must be resolved by the way of peace. So Ultraman Cosmos is a gentle Ultraman, engaging in nonviolent fights.

Plot

The series featured many firsts for the franchise, including the start of the story in a movie rather than the series proper. Ultraman Cosmos: The First Contact was the prequel to the series and took place eight years before episode 1. In it, 11-year-old Musashi Haruno encounters the being of light, Ultraman Cosmos, and befriends him as the two confront a threat to Earth.
Ten years later, Musashi, now 19 and a member of Team EYES, once again encounters the being of light from his childhood. The dark being Chaos Header has appeared and is corrupting the monsters of Earth, making them become ravenous and violent creatures that threaten humanity. Through Musashi's will to see the beasts and humans live in peace, Cosmos grants him a new power that will allow him to heal the corrupted creatures.

Episodes

Cast

  • Musashi Haruno: Taiyo Sugiura,
  • Harumitsu Hiura: Daisuke Shima
  • Shinobu Mizuki: Kaori Sakagami
  • Keisuke Fubuki: Hidekazu Ichinose
  • Koji Doigaki: Koichi Sudo
  • Ayano Morimoto: Mayuka Suzuki
  • Ultraman Cosmos: Hiroyuki Sato
  • Chaos Header/Chaos Ultraman : Koji Haramaki
  • Commander Sahara: Masahiro Sudō
  • Vice Commander Shishikura: Eiji Ōki
  • Naval Officer Saijō: Atsushi Narasaka
  • Director Ikeyama: Hyōe Ichikawa
  • Azusa Niimi: Kayano Komaki
  • Mitsuya: Issey Takahashi
  • Noboru Kawaya: Shigeki Kagemaru
  • Yukari Yoshii: Nana Horie
  • Science Director Hazumi: Takumi Tsutsui
  • Bengals Captain Oka, Evacuees : Hideki Oka
  • Ishii, Igomas: Hiroshi Ishii
  • Narrator, TV announcer : Hiroshi Isobe

    Guest cast

  • Sosuke Nagano's father : Yoichi Okamura
  • Yasuhiro Iwata: Tamotsu Ishibashi
  • Shinichi Takekoshi: Arthur Kuroda
  • Kensaku Kimoto: Shunji Fujimura
  • Jun Takasugi: Makoto Kamijo
  • Alien Sreiyu "Lamia": Becky
  • Clevergon: Hiroko Sakurai
  • Tadao Kusano: Shoichiro Akaboshi
  • Yamano/Alien Curia: Eisuke Tsunoda
  • Keizō: Ken Okabe
  • Shōichi: Eiichi Kikuchi
  • Old Man Tomano: Hideyo Amamoto

    Songs

;Opening theme
;Ending themes
  • "Ultraman Cosmos ~ Kimi ni Dekiru Nanika"
  • * Lyrics: Goro Matsui
  • * Composition: Kisaburo Suzuki
  • * Arrangement: Seiichi Kyoda
  • * Artist: Project DMM
  • "Kokoro no Kizuna"
  • * Lyrics, Composition: KATSUMI
  • * Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon
  • * Artist: Project DMM

    Media

Feature films

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 Cosmos, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.
The series is scheduled to be released in the United States on DVD November 1, 2022 by Mill Creek Entertainment.