Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ultradad [Ultraman: Rising]

Release Date: January 2025

RRP: 8250 yen

Ultraman: Rising proved to be quite the surprise hit last year, telling a heartfelt story about parenthood all through the lens of one of Japan's most iconic superheroes. Although both critical and fan reception was pretty positive, for now it seems Netflix aren't all that interested in exploring a potential sequel. It's a massive shame because it feels like there's still so much left unresolved, but unfortunately this is the way many things seem to go these days. That said, at the very least Bandai Tamashii Nations are still showing it the love it deserves - with a number of S.H. Figuarts releases coming in 2025 off the heels of their Ultraman & Emi release last year. The first of these is S.H. Figuarts Ultradad [Ultraman: Rising], the true form of Ken's father Professor Hayao Sato. Though retired, Sato adopts this form once more at the end of the series to assist his son in the battle against Mecha Gigantron and the KDF. Ultradad is a Tamashii web exclusive release.

With a slightly smaller box to match his slightly smaller size, S.H. Figuarts Ultradad comes in packaging styled to match Ultraman & Emi. It features a dynamic red and black background that fits rather nicely with the Ultraman: Rising aesthetic, and the front of the windowless box is dominated by a CG image of Ultradad directly lifted from the film's character designs. One side of the box features the usual bookend/spine style imagery seen across all the Ultraman releases, whereas the other simply repeats the character name also present on the front of the box. On the back you'll find the usual array of images showing off the figure in various poses (as well as the extra accessory it includes for Ultraman), and then inside Ultradad is neatly stored on a moulded plastic tray. Accessory instructions are printed on the inside flaps of the box, making them particularly large (and thus difficult to open without creasing) for such a small box.

While it's fair to say Ultradad doesn't exactly have your typical Ultraman design, at the same time his more cartoony look doesn't really feel that far removed from what we've seen from the franchise over the years. For starters, Ultradad joins the likes of Ultraman King in proudly showing off some Ultra-style facial hair. His build is a lot shorter and stockier from what you'd expect from an Ultra, though it does make you wonder if there are regular citizens in the Land of Light that look like this or if everyone there is just built differently. Most importantly it looks like an Ultraman version of Hayao Sato, much like the film's Ultraman looks like Ken in terms of build. Despite being a much smaller figure than Ultraman (about half his height), Ultradad makes up for it in terms of mass - with a much larger body and head. Ultradad also has much less defined muscle than his son, which is a nice throwback to the traditional look of Ultraman suits. The paint job on the figure is spectacular, combining metallic silver with a bright glossy red. Then you've got that great head sculpt, which just feels so much more expressive thanks to the pupils peering back behind those textured lenses. Yes it's not your usual Ultraman, but then neither is Rising's actual Ultraman either. They are both however incredible representations of how the characters look onscreen.

Ultradad's more portly build hasn't had any significant impact on the articulation however, with the figure showing off the same level of poseability as his son. Altogether Ultradad features;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists

- Swivel hinge shoulders and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Double hingle elbows and knees

- Drop-down ball jointed hips

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

While the waist is undoubtedly a ball joint it's worth noting that the range of motion it has is quite limited by nature of the design/body shape, really only offering forward/backward motion to give the figure a decent ab crunch rather than a circular range of movement. As was previously the case with Ultraman, the spindly limbs on these figures does give the sense that they might be quite fragile, but in fact not only is everything sturdy but Ultradad is also rather flexible as well. Balancing can be a bit of an issue sometimes as it's a case of tiny legs and feet supporting a big round body (and head), but for the most part that shouldn't prove too much of a frustration. The ankles and butterfly movement on the shoulders are particularly good, helping to give Ultradad a good range of movement across his body. Put it this way, it's far easier putting Ultradad into a good beam pose than it is on a lot of other Ultraman releases.

Despite only being in the film for a limited amount of time, Ultradad comes with a pretty nice set of accessories too – although admittedly it is mostly the kind of parts you tend to see across all Ultraman releases. Among his accessories are two alternate eye plates, an alternate red colour timer and nine alternate hands. The eye plates work the same way they did with Ultraman, in which you remove the faceplate and simply switch the parts out. These parts allow Ultradad to look to the lower left and lower right, making him a little more expressive by playing into the moveable pupils the Ultras had in the film. Unfortunately the faceplate is extremely loose on my copy of the figure (almost as if it can't quite peg in properly), which hopefully isn't a widespread problem. The colour timers are a little fiddly to switch as it sits quite flatly on the body, but perfectly doable if you have some fine tipped tweezers to hand. Finally there's the hand selection, which for the most part consists of the usual Ultraman selection (closed fists, grappling hands, relaxed hands, flight/beam pose etc.) but also includes some nice translucent blue fists to represent his attacks. In addition to being moulded in translucent blue plastic they also feature some slightly "energy effect" moulding, and look great when used with the figure – particularly with how the colour matches up to Ultradad's eyes. While they might not seem like much, they're still quite unique even among the larger Ultraman range.

Ultradad also follows the standard Ultraman pattern of including an accessory for the main Ultra, but in this case it's actually entirely appropriate. Also bundled in with the release is Ultraman's Specium Beam, which he finally fires at the end of the film together with (and following a reconciliation with) his father. It's a particularly poignant scene in a film already filled with emotional scenes around parenthood, so it makes perfect sense to be packed in alongside Ultradad. The beam itself is a pretty standard Ultraman effect part – a thin beam mirroring the classic version and moulded in translucent blue plastic to match the Ultras' eyes and colour timer. Ultraman can also be displayed using it on his own using one of the left hands that came bundled alongside him. But really, anyone who's watched Ultraman: Rising will tell you that the ability to display them firing it together is probably it's biggest appeal.

Ultraman: Rising is a fantastic film that's looking less and less likely to get a sequel, so in the absence of the story continuing it's great to at the very least to see the film's merchandise continue in the form of S.H. Figuarts Ultradad [Ultraman: Rising]. Despite not looking like your average Ultraman Figuarts, Ultradad features all the hallmarks of a great Ultraman release at a smaller and more exaggerated scale. Even if he didn't come with the Specium Beam to recreate that brilliant moment from the film's climax, he makes to the perfect companion piece to Ultraman and Emi. As a more expensive release the forthcoming Mecha Gigantron is a bit more of a completist release, but fans of the film definitely should skip out on Ultradad.