The Ultra Series has been particularly notable amongst the various tokusatsu properties covered by Bandai Tamashii Nations because its the only that's ever had the honour of its very own distinct toy line. For the past 16 years the Ultra-Act line has covered a wide range of characters from Tsuburaya Productions flagship franchise, but despite nearly approaching a total of 80 different releases it seems the line's time is finally up. Ultra-Act had slowly turned to renewal figures rather than unreleased characters, and a crossover between the Ultra-Act and S.H. Figuarts brand was shortly followed by the news that Figuarts was soon to have its own selection of Ultraman figures. This meant the same classic characters once again in a whole new scale, so it's no surprise that not every collector welcomed the news with open arms. For many however this was an exciting new direction for both Figuarts and the Ultra Series, and the timing couldn't be better with Ultraman cel...

Out of all the big tokusatsu anniversaries happening in 2016, this one is definitely the biggest. 50 years ago on July 17th 1966, the first episode of Ultraman aired - properly introducing Japan to a superhero who would go on to become one of their biggest pop culture icons. Following on from Ultra Q , this was the first entry in Tsuburaya Productions'   Ultra Series to include a regular hero - with future iterations introducing their own editions of the red and silver giant. Over the years this series has spawned countless sequels, spin-offs and movies, as well as parodies and homages from across the globe. As we celebrate the hero of light from Nebula M713 's 50th birthday, there couldn't be a more perfect time to look at one of toku's greatest champions.