THE BEGINNING

Since its premiere on July 10, 1966, on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Ultraman (or Urutoraman - ウルトラマン in Japan; now its also known as 奥特曼 in China, 超人力霸王 in Taiwan and 鹹蛋超人in Hong Kong) has, to this day, become a pop culture icon beloved by children and fans in Japan and the world over.

Created by Japan's late special effects (SFX) wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, Ultraman was a spin-off from his B&W TV hit, Ultra Q. The show related the strange tales of a trio that solved supernatural mysteries, involving ghosts, aliens and giant monsters (note: Ultra Q ~ Dark Fantasy, now on air in Japan, is the remake of this classic). Since then, Ultraman grew to become an icon whose appeal had spread beyond the shores of Japan. The Ultraman series came from Tsuburaya Productions. Tsuburaya Productions was started by Eiji Tsuburaya, the special effects master behind the early Godzilla films. His sons had carried on the tradition to this day. Akira Tsubaraya is the brains behind Ultraman Nexus.

Each Ultraman series focused on at least one extraterrestrial "Ultra-hero" who came from the M-78 Nebula to protect Earth from monsters (also known as Kaiju -怪獣). Each Ultra-being could grow to over 200 feet tall and had a suite of special powers. They were also experts in kung-fu fighting. However, their powers had a limitation: the red-and-silver giants could  maintain their Ultra form for only 3 minutes.

Before there was ever Ultraman and before there was even Ultra Q, there was 'Woo.' Eiji Tsuburaya had envisioned this fantastic show sometime after he had unleashed Godzilla onto the world. Woo came about after Fuji Television consulted Eiji Tsuburaya about a show similar to popular science fiction and mystery programs like 'The Outer Limits' and 'The Twilight Zone.' They were interested in the one-episode storyline format.

What is Woo?

Woo was a being from the planet Woo of the Andromeda Galaxy. After his home planet was obliterated in a collision with another planet, Woo came to Earth and befriended humans. He became the defender of the planet against monsters, mysteries, and alien invaders. In that respect, Woo was very similar to Ultraman. After four to six months, it was planned to follow 'Woo' with two sequels, 'Rappa' and 'Space Horse.'

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1963, Tsuburaya Productions was pitching another show to TBS, called 'Unbalance.' 'Unbalance' sought to explore what would happen if the world of humans was turned upside down. Humans were the rulers of all creatures, and had grown accustomed to the comforts of peaceful civilization. But what would happen to civilization if the system broke down? If bacteria grew to giant size? If plants could walk? Would civilization still be okay if it were thrown into this "Unbalance Zone"? Ultimately, 'Woo' never happened at Fuji Television because of financial concerns. However, TBS felt that since they had Mr. Tsuburaya at the helm, they might as well put the father of Godzilla to good use. However, TBS thought they didn't like the working title, so 'Unbalance' was rechristened 'Ultra Q.'

After the success of 'Ultra Q,' Tsuburaya revived the original concept he had for a show called 'Woo'  back in 1964. The show was about a benevolent amoeba-like alien that would befriend a photographer named Joji Akita, although the Self-Defense Forces saw the alien as a threat. 

Woo evolved into Bemular after it was determined that the original concept wouldn't be popular. The show revolved around a group called the Art Graphic Center, a team of secret investigators that challenged the unknown. When monsters and aliens threaten mankind, one of the AGC's members, Sakomizu (the prototype Hayata), secretly transformed into a benevolent giant monster called Bemular.  Aside from a few name changes, the new series was very similar to Ultraman.

Unlike Woo, Bemular was a tough, serious monster who strongly resembles Gappa, the title monster of the 1967 movie Daikyojuu Gappa/Gappa the Triphibian Monster. (Note: The monster Bemular was not to be confused with the Bemular that appeared in Episode 1 of the final project, Ultraman). The project was soon re-titled Scientific Special Search Party: Bemular (Kagaku Tokusou Tai: Bemuraa), and the Art Graphic Center evolved into the Scientific Special Search Party (also the Japanese name for the Science Patrol).However,the idea of having Bemular was ditched after they decided it wouldn't be as appealing to have a good monster fighting bad monsters.

Bemular was later developed into a similar project titled Redman (Reddoman). The title hero was designed by Toru "Tohl" Narita, the same person who also designed Bemular. Redman was the prototype design for Ultraman.  According to initial draft, Redman came to Earth after his home planet was destroyed by aliens from Planet X. The same plot developed from there. As you can see, Redman was a departure from the typical kaiju concept. He became much more anthromorphic. It is said that Redman was just a code name that was used, for fear that the name of Ultraman would be stolen if leaked. With a massive facelift and considerable redesign, Redman finally evolved into Ultraman!

The names of Bemular and Redman were later recycled. The first Ultra villain in episode one was named Bemular. Redman was also the name of an early incarnation of Ultraseven. Ultimately, Redman became a different hero unrelated to the Ultra series. (Follow this link to view more prototype designs of Ultraman).

AND THE REST WAS HISTORY

On March 22, 1966, two weeks after the project began filming, Redman was ultimately re-titled "Ultraman - The Fantasy Series", as an extension of Ultra Q. Changes were made to Redman's design. The iconic colour-timer was added to his chest and his facial features streamlined. Ultraman took sci-fi TV by storn and the tokusatsu genre was never the same since the show premiered on July 17th. After the series' finale in April of 1967, Ultraman was followed by Ultraseven , which, to this day, is also considered not only the best of the Ultra-Series, but a memorable Japanese sci-fi masterpiece.

THE LAND OF LIGHT, PLANET ULTRA, M-78 NEBULA  

The Land of Light (光の国), also known as the Land of Ultra, is found on the Planet Ultra  located within the  M-78 Nebula, some 3,000,000 light years away from our Earth. The Ultra tribe lived on this land and were once human-like beings. The ruler of this land was Ultra Elder (ウルトラ長老).

260,000 years ago, the sun of the Nebula M78 was almost extinct. Land of Light was put under the threat of annihilation. Ultra Elder constructed an artificial sun known as the "Plasma Spark" as a substitute to replace the dying sun . The core of Plasma Spark emitted something known as the "Differator Ray". 

Two research staff who maintained the system, were exposed to the ray and were hospitalised. Several days later, the two of them started to displayed signs of abnormality. They were imbued with super powers, and could to transform into giants and also shoot destructive beams. Over the course of 200,000 years, this radiation had an effect over the people of the Land of Light. They evolved into a group of giant beings with special powers.

Ultra Elder selected heroic youths to receive this new power, to form a team of Ultra brothers who would in time to form the core of the Space Garrison, a force that would police the far reaches of the universe to maintain intergalactic peace and security.