Movie REVIEW: Ultraman Arc the Movie: The Clash of Light and Evil

As the Ultraman franchise continues to grow in global recognition, it's 2024 entry Ultraman Arc is perhaps the most accessible it has ever been to an international audience - not only was it simulcast on YouTube alongside its initial airing on Japanese television, but it also had a variety of dubs available immediately on release as well. This isn't the only thing that makes Arc unique amongst its contemporaries either, with its subsequent movie outing also bucking the trend when it comes to what fans have come to expect from such things. Rather than act as an epilogue to the series, Ultraman Arc the Movie: The Clash of Light and Evil instead mixes things up by taking place during the main story (specifically episodes 21 and 22). However despite that, the film was not released in Japan until a month after its conclusion - making it best viewed with the whole series in mind.

Series REVIEW: Ultraman Arc

Although its move towards global takeover has been happening for some time now, 2024 proved a be a particularly big year for the Ultraman franchise. The animated movie Ultraman: Rising arrived on Netflix to critical acclaim, the Marvel Comics series returned in a big way with Ultraman x Avengers and of course a brand new mainline series debuted - once again available worldwide on the ULTRAMAN OFFICIAL YouTube channel with multi-language subtitles and an English dub. Ultraman Arc invites viewers to unleash the power of their imagination, written by Jun Tsugita and directed by Takanori Tsujimoto - both making their debut as head screenwriter and main director respectively though previously contributors to Ultraman throughout the New Generation era. 

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Arc

Release Date: September 2024

RRP: 4400 yen

The latest instalment in the Ultraman franchise is well underway (and available both subtitled and English dubbed on YouTube if you haven't checked it out already), and of course Bandai Tamashii Nations have kicked off a new range of S.H. Figuarts releases to cover the series. After briefly skipping over it with Ultraman Blazar, S.H. Figuarts Ultraman Arc returns to the "entry level" pricing Tamashii have adopted on many of their various franchise releases now - offering the main character of a specific series at a slightly lower price. Usually that also means that the figure itself has a little less to offer than your average release too, but does that hold true for Arc and his power of imagination?

First Impressions: Ultraman Arc

2024 looks like it's going to be another big year for the Ultraman franchise! In the last few weeks Ultraman: Rising has dropped on Netflix to largely positive reception, in comics the Giant of Light will be facing off against Earth's Mightiest Heroes starting this August in Ultraman x Avengers and on the main series side of things a brand new instalment in the franchise has just begun! Ultraman Arc invites fans to unleash the power of imagination, once again being distributed worldwide via the ULTRAMAN OFFICIAL YouTube channel complete with a variety of different language subtitles as well as a simultaneously released English dub.