Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend the Movie | |
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Directed by | Koichi Sakamoto |
Written by | Junya Okabe, Tatsuro Kashihara, Yūji Kobayashi |
Produced by | Tsuburaya Productions |
Starring | Shota Minami Susumu Kurobe Kohji Moritsugu Hiroyuki Konishi Shunji Igarashi |
Cinematography | Takumi Furuya |
Edited by | Daisuke Imai |
Music by | Mike Verta |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Box office | $6.1 million [1] |
Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend (大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 The Movie, Daikaijū Batoru Urutora Ginga Densetsu Za Mūbī, lit. Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie) is a 2009 Japanese superhero film in the Ultra Series. The film released in theaters on December 12, 2009, by Warner Bros. Entertainment Japan. [2] The catchphrase for the movie is "Recover the light of the galaxy!!" (取り戻せ!!銀河の光, Torimodose!! Ginga no hikari). The film is also referred to as Large Monster: The Ultra Milky Way Legend. [3] The film went on to gross $6,161,665 and become the second highest grossing Ultraman movie behind the previous year's entry. It is the first film directed by Koichi Sakamoto, marking the debut of Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Belial.
The film itself was preceded by Ultraman Mebius Side Story: Ghost Reverse , a direct-to-video special from Ultraman Mebius which lead to the movie's plot, and followed by a sequel Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial in 2010.
Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy also marks Takeshi Aono's final role prior to his retirement and his death in 2012.
After defeating a Bemular on a desert-like moon, Ultraman Mebius returns to his home planet Ultra, also known as Land of Light in Nebula M78, where he is reunited with Ultraman, Zoffy, and Ultraseven. Outside Ultra's orbit in the Space Prison, also known as the Belial Prison, Alien Zarab assumed the guise of an Imitation Ultraman to subdue the guards before using the Giga Battlenizer to release the prison's only occupant: The evil Ultraman known as Ultraman Belial. While Zarab was expecting an alliance, Belial kills the alien and takes back his Giga Battlenizer as he is confronted by a squadron of Ultras led by Ultraman Taro to contain him. But Belial overpowers them while proceeding to overpower every able-bodied Ultra in the Land of Light, including his former friends Ultraman Ken (Father of Ultra) and his wife Ultrawoman Marie (Mother of Ultra), as he makes his way to the Plasma Spark Tower to take the Plasma Spark which keeps the planet alive. As the planet begins freezing over, Ultraman and Ultraseven shielding themselves at the last moment, Taro protects the last fragment of light to prevent the planet's complete demise. As Belial flies off, having knocked the younger Ultraman off the planet during his rampage, Mebius returns to find his world a frozen wasteland while Ultraman and Ultraseven instruct Mebius to seek out the Reionics Rei.
Following their battle against Alien Reiblood, the ZAP Spacy group have arrived on the Earth-like Planet known as Dent where Rei and his Gomora just defeated a Zaragas when Mebius spirits Rei and appears in the form of his human guise Mirai Hibino. Mirai tells Rei the genesis of Planet Ultra: How the Plasma Spark initially created to replace M78's collapsing sun caused the evolution of the residential advanced human populace into Ultramen who used their powers to protect worlds from monsters also created by the radiation. But Belial was an exception, his temptation to gain more power from the Plasma Spark resulted in his banishment when he nearly endangered the planet. Belial ended up encountering Alien Reiblood, who fused into the Ultraman's body and further corrupted him into an Ultraman-Reionics. Belial used his ability to control hundreds of monsters with the Giga Battlenizer to raid the Land of Light in what came to be known Belial Revolt, nearly conquering the planet before being defeated and imprisoned in the newly created Space Prison by Ultraman King while his weapon was sealed away in Valley of Fire before it was found by Zarab. Rei agrees to aid the Ultraman in facing Belial, who has arrived to the Monster Graveyard to resurrect his army with the Plasma Spark's power.
Rei and Mirai soon land on the frozen surface of the Land of Light, ambushed on their journey to the Plasma Spark Tower by an Alien Shaplay that Belial sent with a Dorako, a Bemstar, and a Salamandora to intercept them. During the fight, Mirai's Mebium Brace is damaged by the Shaplay and Rei nearly loses his Battlenizer, but Ultraman, assuming a human form modeled after his host Shin Hayata, and Ultraseven in his Dan Moroboshi guise come to the youths' aid as the later uses his Capsule Monsters Windom, Miclas, and Agira to defeat the Shaplay's monsters. On the way to the tower, it is revealed there is another Ultraman who can assist but Ultraseven reveals that person was also exiled from Ultra. While the group arrived at the tower, they find themselves facing a now-revenge-driven Shaplay while Rei and Gomora face a Black King. Once their opposition is dispatched, Taro gives the three Ultramen the last of the Plasma Spark's light to assume their Ultraman forms in a last-ditch attempt to reclaim the Plasma Spark from Belial. Meanwhile, sent to a desert planet after almost touching the Plasma Spark when stopped by Ultraseven, the Ultraman known as Zero undergoes training by Ultraman Leo in training armor while observed by Ultraman King.
Once at the Monster Graveyard, the Ultramen and Rei's monsters battle Belial's army with Belial sensing kinship in Rei as he pressures the human to join him. When Rei refuses again, Belial uses his power to force the human into his Burst Mode and under Belial's control. Gomora assumes Reionic Burst Mode as it proceeds to attack the Ultramen with Ultraseven mortally wounded. Elsewhere in the universe, the ZAP Spacy crew are searching for Rei before they are saved from an ambush by a Nurse and its Alien Zetton wrangler by Ultraman Dyna who agrees to take them to the Monster Graveyard after they learned of Rei's location from the Zetton. Dyna attempts to fight Belial while the ZAP Spacy crew snaps Rei out of his Burst Mode. After brushing off Dyna, Belial attempts to kill the humans with Ultraseven taking the lethal attack before using the last of his strength to send his Eye Slugger to the desert planet where Zero is training. The crest-blade reached the planet just after Zero passed Leo's test when he saved the life of a Pigmon that was observing them. Both Leo and Ultraman King inform Zero that he saved the life of someone, the purpose of being an Ultraman, and they finally reveal to him that Ultraseven is his father and that his actions were to prevent Zero from the taking the path Belial took. Casting aside his training armor while using his father's Eye Slugger as a homing device, Zero reaches the Monster Graveyard and introduces himself as Ultraman Zero.
After Ultraseven died in his arms, an infuriated Zero defeated the remaining monsters of Belial's Monster Army before battling the evil Ultraman himself. After a long and vicious battle, Zero disarms Belial of the Giga Battlenizer and knocks him into a river of molten lava. But the souls of Belial's monsters converge on their master and form a massive exosuit-like monster called Belyudra which Belial has overpower the Ultramen. But Rei uses Giga Battlenizer to disrupt Belial's hold over the monsters, leaving Belyudra open to attack while Zero uses the Plasma Spark's energy to give him enough power to end Belial as he falls into Belyudra as it explodes. After the Plasma Spark is restored to its rightful place, the ZAP Spacy crew become the first humans to ever set foot on the Land of Light as they bid their goodbyes to Ultraman and Mebius as Dyna decides to accompany them a bit longer as his human host Shin Asuka. As Zero is reunited with a revived Ultraseven, the Ultras attend a moving speech by Ultraman King to remain ready for future threats that would threaten the universe. Back in the Monster Graveyard, a scarred Belial is revealed to have survived the destruction of Belyudra.
Susumu Kurobe, of the original Ultraman, and Kohji Moritsugu, of the original Ultraseven, returned to the film, as did Takeshi Tsuruno of Dyna, Taiyou Sugiura of Cosmos, Shunji Igarashi of Mebius, and Shota Minami of Ultra Galaxy. The film was directed by Koichi Sakamoto, the action director for the production of Power Rangers in New Zealand. [4] In addition to voice actor Mamoru Miyano voicing the new Ultraman Zero, [5] former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi provided the voice for Ultraman King. [6] To promote the movie and Windows 7, a special event was staged with Ultra Seven and his son Ultraman Zero alongside Microsoft employees. [7]
Japanese R&B singer MISIA performs the film's theme song, [12] with its music video featuring MISIA, Ultraman, Alien Baltan, Dada, Pigmon, and Alien Metron. The single is sold as both a standard edition containing just the CD single and a limited edition which includes the CD single and a gold-colored statuette of a caped Ultraman. The other tracks on the single are the remix "Hoshi no Yō ni... (Gomi's Ultra Legend Club Mix)" which includes Ultraman vocals [13] and the song "ULTRA X'MAS". The song is also featured on her album Just Ballade while the remix is included on the album for the film's original soundtrack, score composed by Mike Verta. [14]
The film earned $6.1 million at the Japanese box office. [15] On Rotten Tomatoes, 81% on the positive rate.
A pinball game called Ultra Legend Pinball was released internationally for the iPhone and iPod Touch as an application in the App Store. The download for the application is free, but an in-app purchase of ¥350/US$2.99/£1.79/€2,39 is required to play the full game (the "Free Version" is only a demo version). [16] Also, there's a new Ultra Galaxy Legend Game release for Wii.
Ultraman Leo is a Japanese tokusatsu TV show and is the 7th show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Steve Krantz Productions, Ultraman Leo was aired between April 12, 1974, and March 28, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes. Tatsumi Nikamoto was the in-suit actor of Ultraman Leo.
Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers is a superhero and kaiju film released in Japan on September 16, 2006, serving as a threatical tie-in to the Ultraman Mebius series. It is the 10th original film in the Ultraman franchise, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the franchise. The film peaked at 3rd in the Japanese box offices.
Superior 8 Ultra Brothers is a 2008 Japanese superhero kaiju film directed by Takeshi Yagi. It unites the Shōwa heroes Ultraman, Seven, Jack and Ace together on screen with the Heisei heroes Tiga, Dyna, Gaia and Mebius. The catchphrase for the movie is "I will protect the world.".
Ultraman Retsuden is a biography series produced by Tsuburaya Productions created to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Ultra Series. The show first premiered on TV Tokyo on July 6, 2011 and was in syndication for two years. The show features clips from past Ultra Series shows. The catchphrases for the series are "Let's Schwatch together in front of the television at 6 o'clock on Wednesday!" and "Kindness and courage to you!".
Ultraman Ginga, is a Japanese television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions. It is the 25th entry to the Ultra Series, released to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. It is the first entry in the New Generation series, ending a six year long hiatus of live action shows produced in Japan after Ultraman Mebius concluded in 2007. It aired as part of the New Ultraman Retsuden programming block on TV Tokyo from July 10, 2013 to December 18, 2013. A second season titled Ultraman Ginga S aired in 2014.
Ultraseven is a fictional superhero and is the second tokusatsu hero launched by the Ultra Series and, by extent, Tsuburaya Productions. His appearance succeeds both the first Ultra Warrior Ultraman, and his superior, Zoffy, and is officially the third Ultra Warrior from Nebula M78, the Land of Light.
Ultraman Zero is a fictional character from the Ultra Series. He first appeared in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy before starring in his own film Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial and its 2012 sequel Ultraman Saga.
Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle is a biography series produced by Tsuburaya Productions created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ultra Seven. This show follows a format similar to Ultraman Retsuden, and continues to feature Ultraman Zero as the show's main navigator, bringing the viewers to movies and miniseries that featured his major involvement. Before its official airing in 2017 in Japan, it was shown in Malaysian television channel Astro Ceria starting from April 10, 2015 in Malay.
Ultra Galaxy Legend Side Story: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero is a Japanese direct-to-video two part series, serving as a sequel of 2009 Ultra Series movie Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy. The series was released separately, Cosmic Collision in November 26 and Zero's Suicide Zone on December 22, 2010. It is also served as a prologue to Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial, and simultaneously promoting the film's release.
Ultraman Mebius is a fictional superhero from the 2006 Ultra Series entry, Ultraman Mebius. In the series, Mebius was introduced as a rookie member of the Land of Light's Inter-Galactic Defense Force, who was sent to Earth for the first time after the previous Ultra, Ultraman 80, left Earth. Upon his arrival, Mebius fought against a series of monster attacks on Earth while at the same time joining the ranks of Crew GUYS as Mirai Hibino.
Ultraman Taro is the title character of the 1973 Ultra Series, Ultraman Taro. In the series, Ultraman Taro merged with Kotaro Higashi the latter loses his life during Astromons' rampage. After that, Kotaro joined the battle as a ZAT member and utilized Taro's power to fight against giant monsters while receiving assistance from either his fellow brothers-in-arms or his parents. In the final episode, Kotaro severed his connection to Taro and returned the Ultra Badge, as he wanted to continue living his life as a normal human. He is last seen traveling around the world.
Ultraman Jack is the protagonist of the 1971–1972 tokusatsu Ultra Series, Return of Ultraman. Sometime after Ultraseven's departure, Earth had entered a period of peace until a string of incidents wherein monsters awakened from slumber, appearing one after another. Jack bonded with the race car driver Hideki Go to save his life and as the former's means to operate on Earth while they joined MAT to fight against monster attacks and alien invasions.
Ultra Galaxy Fight is a Japanese online miniseries produced by Tsuburaya Productions, based on the low-budget series Ultra Fight while being marketed for worldwide audiences through YouTube in both Japanese and English versions for viewers overseas. It was originally released from September 29, 2019, while coinciding with the television broadcast of Ultraman Taiga. Eight months after it ended, the series was announced to receive a sequel story in November 2020, followed by the third entry in 2022.
Ultraman Zero Side Story: Killer the Beatstar is a Japanese direct-to-video two part series, serving as a sequel of 2010 Ultra Series movie Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial. The series was released separately, The Metallic Space in November 25 and Oath in the Meteor on December 22, 2011. It is also served as a prologue to Ultraman Saga, and simultaneously promoting the film's release.