Rising's Plot Is a Familiar Trope for Ultraman.
Now an adult and an arrogant professional baseball player, Ken goes back to Japan to play for a new team while surreptitiously moonlighting as the new Ultraman. Though Ken's father and the Ultraman mantle held much reverence when he was a child, the years have greatly changed his view. He sees the work as another means to get the admiration of a crowd, less as a great calling. Ken is not very good, though, when it comes to battling kaiju on Tokyo's streets.
After a fight with a dragon-like monster attracts the Kaiju Defense Force, Ken's life drastically changes as he reluctantly guards the newly born infant of the creature. Here Ultraman: Rising really starts to shine as Ken balances his obligations as Ultraman and a celebrity athlete with his duty as unprepared parent to a 20-foot lizard-bird hybrid. The directors deftly and cleverly animated montages covering his growing difficulties, then allowing real moments of deep connection to take the stage.
Rising Review: Japanese Superhero Ultraman Is Perfectly Fine Though Focused On Family Over Heroics
The well-known Japanese superhero has created countless films, comics, manga, and more over the years, to the point that multiple incarnations of the character to investigate abound. Fortunately, for those just starting this series—which has been running since 1966—Netflix's new Anime film Ultraman: Rising offers the ideal introduction point. Its key hero is someone who is quite fresh to the position; it revolves on an original story from Shannon Tindle (who directed alongside co-director John Aoshima) and Marc Haimes.
First seen as a bright-eyed young child looking up to his father (Gedde Watanabe), a professor who also happens to be Ultraman, is Ken Sato (Christopher Sean). Ken seems to know the weight of what it means to be Ultraman even at a young age, and he seems to want to occupy the role eventually. But when Ultraman: Rising flashes forward 20 years later, a quite new reality shapes itself and prepares the ground for a familiar, but fulfilling story.
Some aspects of Ultraman are underdeveloped.
Beyond the domestic throughline of Ultraman: Rising lies a less-compelling thread regarding the KDF and its merciless leader, Dr. Onda (Keone Young). Driven by a goal to wipe out all kaiju, Onda has several dubious schemes involving the infant and her mother under development. Though Tindle and Haimes try to provide him some complexity through a sad past, it is abundantly evident that the film is more focused on what is happening with Ken and his family to properly probe the KDF's intentions. Even with the spectacular final battle, most of the beats in this plot are pass-through.
If only to see more of how they fit together as an unusual family, as someone fresh to the Ultraman series I would gladly return to this planet and these characters once more.
The Rising Heart of Ultraman
Mina (Tamlyn Tomita) the artificial intelligence acting as Ultraman's J.A.R.V.I.S. helps Ken; she just happens to have the voice of his absent mother. The weird family that develops between Ken, Mina, Professor Sato, and the kaiju baby they have adopted defines Ultraman: Rising's real heart rather than the action-packed heroics of the title Superhero. Though many genre stories in recent years have evolved from variants of this cliché (The Mandalorian, The Witcher, Logan), it still seems like an odd path for an Ultraman movie. Still, it turns out to be a wonderful and rewarding trip.
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Rising's Ending for Ultraman
Fortunately, Ultraman: Rising boasts a superb voice cast and a consistent, vivid animation style that help much. Sean creates a well-developed hero who begins as rather imperfect but develops into someone totally new. He performs brilliantly off of Tomita and Watanabe, both of whom have warm, well-rounded vocals. Though Ami isn't as present in the rear half of Ultraman: Rising, Julia Harriman as Ami Wakita challenges and teaches Ken in equal measure, producing a relationship that's really charming, albeit a touch underutilized.
The ending strikes quickly and begs questions about what follows. A mid-credits scene sets up the next chapter, therefore the creative team seems to have dreams of carrying on this tale; yet, it will be up to Netflix whether Ken will make another adventure return. If only to see more of how they fit together as an unusual family, as someone fresh to the Ultraman franchise I would gladly return to this world and these characters once more. Should a sequel raise the stakes with its action and antagonists, it may turn into something quite out of this world.
Rising Is Now Watching Ultraman
Rising is an action-adventure movie marking a fresh Ultraman franchise release. Under Shinji Higuchi's direction, this picture returns to the series foundations and centered on a fresh hero, Ken Sato, who takes on the Ultraman mantle to save Earth from terrible perils.
Rising Ultraman is now playing in a few chosen theatres and available on Netflix. PG is graded for sequences of violence/action, some profanity, crude comedy and thematic elements.
