Ultraman Jack (character)
Fictional Japanese superhero From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fictional Japanese superhero From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ultraman Jack (ウルトラマンジャック, Urutoraman Jakku) is the protagonist of the 1971–1972 tokusatsu Ultra Series, Return of Ultraman.[1] 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.
| Ultraman Jack | |
|---|---|
| Ultra Series character | |
Ultraman Jack in Return of Ultraman | |
| First appearance | Return of Ultraman (1971–1972) |
| Designed by | Masahiro Sueyasu |
| Portrayed by | Eiichi Kikuchi |
| Voiced by | Masao Nakasone (grunt)
|
| In-universe information | |
| Alias |
|
| Affiliation |
|
| Weapon | Ultra Bracelet |
| Family |
|
| Origin | Nebula M78, the Land of Light |
Return of Ultraman marks the connection of Ultraman and Ultra Seven as Ultra Series installments, which eventually lead to multiple sequels and spin-offs for Tsuburaya Productions with various heroes named after it. Additionally, Return of Ultraman also served as a milestone celebration for the fifth anniversary of Ultraman and the newly established Ultra Series.[2] Following Jack's departure in the final episode, the series would be succeeded by Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Leo before entering a hiatus, a trend which can still be seen to this day. Even with his series ended, Jack would make returning appearances in recent media of the Ultra Series.
In Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Jack's lines were provided by Isao Yatsu (谷津 勲, Yatsu Isao, 1, 18, 30, 31, 37) and Ichirō Murakoshi (村越 伊知郎, Murakoshi Ichirō, 50), both of whom even voiced several of the aliens that appeared, including the original Ultraman and Ultraseven's returning appearances.[3] His grunts, however, were recycled from those of the original Ultraman, provided by Masao Nakasone (中曽根雅夫, Nakasone Masao). Meanwhile, his suit actor was Eiichi Kikuchi (きくち 英一, Kikuchi Eiichi),[4][5] who previously portrayed Ultraseven in episodes 14 and 15 of his series, including the monster Zazarn in episode 1 of Return of Ultraman. Kikuchi also made his cameo appearances as steerman Kawasaki (13) and a MAT communication officer (51).
The entire project began with a book published on April 28, 1969,[6] starting from Ultraman Continues (続ウルトラマン, Zoku Urutoraman), featuring the return of the original Ultraman and the establishment of the attack team MAT.[7][8] The book's setting was that Ultraman returned to Earth 30 years after the end of his titular series.[9][7] In the planned third volume, Muramatsu and Hayata of the Science Special Search Party were meant to return, and a character named Hideki Ban (バン・ヒデキ（晩 日出輝）, Ban Hideki) would inherit the Beta Capsule and bond with Ultraman.[10][7]
In contrast to Shin Hayata and Dan Moroboshi, Jack's host, Hideki Go, is portrayed as a man who has a private life outside of his duty as a MAT officer, including his aspiration as a race car driver, living with the Sakata siblings and having a neighbor named Rumiko Murano.[9] In addition, the protagonist is a person who had the abilities of Ultraman, thus outclassing fellow MAT members in terms of skills, and emphasized the efforts shown to overcome daily difficulties. The injuries and struggles from fighting monsters were also passed onto the human identity. This kind of setting would be known as "Human Ultraman" (人間ウルトラマン, Ningen Urutoraman).[11]
The designer of Ultraman Jack was ambiguous as, according to the art staff, Akihiko Takahashi (高橋 昭彦, Takahashi Akihiko) was said to be in charge of the main design, but said artist denied his participation[12] as he believed that the design's brush style was "akin to that of Noriyoshi Ikeya (池谷 仙克, Ikeya Norihoshi)",[10] with the latter likewise choosing not to acknowledge it as his own work.[12] The initial design was made by then-manager of Tsuburaya Production's sales management Masahiro Sueyasu (末安 正博, Sueyasu Masahiro) by adding lines on it under the impression that he was the original Ultraman.[13] The first suit was based on this design and filming started at that moment.[lower-alpha 1] However, under the request of the toy company Bullmark, who acquired the commercialization rights for this series, the design had to be changed, as the character needed to be clearly differentiated from the original Ultraman, and thus his scenes needed to be re-shot with a new suit.[15]
His mask was molded on the original Ultraman's Type C mask[16][lower-alpha 2] by both Kaigome Production and Hiruma Model Craft. At the time for the photo session for the first suit, the eye positions have changed, as they were slightly dragged upwards from the original and the back of the eyes were molded through transparent epoxy resin.[18]
At the beginning of the season, viewer ratings gradually decreased and various empowerment techniques were devised. The Ultra Bracelet, Jack's main weapon, was one of them.[19] Producer Yōji Hashimoto was initially outraged because it deviated from the original theme of "overwhelming the monster in the end with hardship," but decided to adopt it from the opinion that "the Ultraman was too weak".[20]
The show's title, Return of Ultraman, was meant to emphasize the return of the original Ultraman but, due to the sponsor's wishes that it should be a different being as a result of commercialization development, this character in the end became a different being.[9]
The show's title was conceived by the late Eiji Tsuburaya.[21][9][7]
In the series proper, he was only called Ultraman (ウルトラマン, Urutoraman), due to being a remnant from the idea that Jack and the original one were the same being. To distinguish the two, the 1966 hero was called Original Ultraman (初代ウルトラマン, Shodai Urutoraman). Also, due to succeeding Ultra Brothers members had names of their own, "Jack" at that moment was only known by older fans as "the nameless hero".[22]
The 1971–1972 Ultraman would later be called by three different names in succeeding media up to Leo:
Starting from before the release of Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army, he received the name "Ultraman Jack"[22] by then-president of Tsuburaya Productions Noboru Tsuburaya.[24] As a result of this, later materials would continue to stick to this name, with "New Ultraman", "Ultraman II" and "Returned Ultraman" treated as aliases.[25] As the humans in the Showa universe (including Mebius) had no awareness of his true name, they usually stick to the name "Ultraman" or "Returned Ultraman".
The 2008 movie Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers referenced this as an in-joke by a dimensional-displaced Mirai Hibino when he identified an alternate-dimension Hideki Go by the names Jack, New Man and Returned Man, all of which the latter reacted to in confusion.
Ultraman Jack was also the working title for Ultraman Taro and the eponymous character, until this was scrapped due to aircraft hijacking incidents at that time.[26]
Ultraman Jack is a member of the Inter-Galactic Defense Force (宇宙警備隊, Uchū Keibitai), whose arrival to Earth was made at the behest of Zoffy.[27]
When aspiring race car driver Hideki Go was mortally wounded from saving a little boy and his dog, Jack was touched by his heroic deed and merged with the man to save his life, at the same time operating on Earth to face against recurring cases of monsters awakening from their slumber, as well as alien invaders.[4] Despite suffering multiple defeats in the series, his connection to the human host Go would often resulting in the two training to improvise their fighting skills. After being defeated by a space monster named Bemstar, Jack was given the Ultra Bracelet by Ultraseven to further aid him in his battle. However, in several occasions, the alien invaders came to know the connection between Jack and his host and occasionally resulting in a physical attack on their loved ones. This includes the death of Aki and Ken Sakata by Alien Nackle, who would defeat the Ultra through the help of his monster, Black King.[28] As Jack was brought to Planet Nackle, the original Ultraman and Seven rescued him as the former destroyed the invading Nackle space fleet. On Earth, Go managed to escaped his brainwashed teammates and fought against the very leader of Alien Nackle and Black King; this time he managed to turn the tides of the battle.
In the final episode, Alien Bat, an originally benevolent race who betrayed the people of Land of Light, sent down a revived Zetton II on Earth, while his brethren tried to invade Jack's home world and held Jiro and Rumiko hostage. The original Ultraman tried to warn Jack not to transform, due to the former having been defeated by the same monster, with this one being an enhanced version of it. However, Go transformed anyway and this time the Ultra received help from his fellow MAT members, despite their means of fighting being reduced to handheld weapons. Jack first killed Alien Bat before using his newly created attack, the Ultra Hurricane, by throwing Zetton II up in the air and finishing it in mid-air with his Specium Ray. In the aftermath of the battle, Jack would leave Earth to join his kind in defending the Land of Light, while retaining his bond with Hideki Go.
Ultraman Jack's statistics below were never mentioned in the original series, but were brought up in magazines and official websites:[1]
As the official website of Tsuburaya Productions stated: "In the event of monsters awakening from their slumber and alien invasions, he [Ultraman Jack] came from the Nebula M78, Land of Light. He utilizes the Ultra Bracelet that was bestowed by Ultraseven. His appearance on Earth is Hideki Go of the monster attack team MAT. He is also a member of the Ultra Brothers."[1]
In contrast to most Ultras, Hideki's transformation is based on his own willpower.[49][28] In the initial episodes, Jack only transforms when Hideki was in danger of incoming disaster or the latter performing a jumping suicide.[28] When transforming, both of his hands raised upwards and Ultraman Jack appeared as his rise scene was followed with reaching his fist towards the screen. In real time, a burst of light that resembled a cross-shaped construct appeared first before Jack appeared out of thin air. When he transformed by his free will, only his right hand was raised upwards. In the middle of the series, Hideki's transformation began to be made out of his free will.
In the original plan, Hideki was meant to use a transformation item and showing an enlargement process was even considered; both ideas were eventually rejected.[49]
Since Jack was meant to be the original Ultraman returning, they shared the same Specium Ray (スペシウム光線, Supeshiumu Kōsen) and Ultra Slash (ウルトラスラッシュ, Urutora Surasshu).[1][50] His own attacks are the Fog Beam (フォッグビーム, Foggu Bīmu), the Cinerama Shot (シネラマショット, Shinerama Shotto) and the Ultra Shot (ウルトラショット, Urutora Shotto), to name a few.[49][50][51]
In episode 47, he briefly stole Red Killer's Razor Boomerangs (カミソリブーメラン, Kamisori Būmeran),[52][53] allowing him to perform Ultra Cross Cutting (ウルトラ十文字斬り, Urutora Jūmonji Giri) on said monster.[54]
The Ultra Bracelet (ウルトラブレスレット, Urutora Buresuretto) is a weapon delivered to Ultraman Jack in episode 18 by Ultraseven. It is normally worn on his left wrist and transforms into various items in accordance with his thoughts.[55] In order to use it, Jack needed to fold his left hand to his chest and touch it with his right hand, transforming it into weapons or ready to be thrown as energy abilities. Unfortunately, the transformation ability can only be used once per transformation, as seen in episode 20. On certain occasions, it displayed unusual abilities, such as evaporating an entire lake,[56] exploding a planet and using the Ultra Revival Power (ウルトラ再生パワー, Urutora Saisei Pawā, to reassemble his own dismembered body parts),[57] among others.
Since the Ultra Bracelet was Jack's most powerful weapon, it had been hijacked twice: first by Alien Zelan[57] in episode 31 and then by Ace Killer in episodes 13 and 14 of Ultraman Ace. As revealed in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, the Ultra Bracelet has become a standard weapon utilized by several residents of the Land of Light.
His known weapons are:
| Hideki Go | |
|---|---|
| Ultra Series character | |
 Hideki Go circa 1971, as portrayed by Jiro Dan | |
| First appearance | Return of Ultraman (1971–1972) |
| Created by | Tsuburaya Productions |
| Portrayed by | Jirō Dan |
Hideki Go (郷 秀樹, Gō Hideki) is the main protagonist of Return of Ultraman. Aged 23 years old, he worked in Sakata Auto Repair Shop (坂田自動車修理工場, Sakata Jidōsha Shūri Kōjō) and was aiming for the career of being a race car driver.[28] His soon-to-be-finished car was the "Ryusei-gō" (流星号) designed by his employer/friend Ken Sakata. His main hobby is playing a guitar and his birthplace was stated in episode 31 to be Taitō, Asakusa.
Go lost his life from saving a young boy and his dog during Takkong's rampage. Inspired by his courage and sense of justice, Ultraman Jack bonded with Go to revive him, as he joined MAT as their sixth member with the determination to fight the enemies that threaten humanity's freedom and happiness.
Ever since his childhood, Go possess heightened senses which were amplified from his unity with Ultraman Jack, as well as allowing him to pass all tests conducted by MAT with ease, despite being a beginner. Unfortunately, due to his unnatural abilities, there were occasional moments of him at odds with the other MAT members. This was finally dropped in mid-season, since by that time he was able to understand others. As revealed in episode 3, Go lost his father at the age of 13 from a mountain climbing accident. His mother, on the other hand, had left from her hometown to a capital city, as Go's reason of winning the race in episode 1 was for his mother's sake. Episode 33 confirmed that she had died earlier before the series.
He usually view the Sakata family as his own, with Ken as an older brother, Aki being his lover and Jirō as a younger brother. During his period of vacation from MAT, Hideki would return to Ken's shop and building the second Ryusei-gō. He also had a childhood friend named Ichirō Mizuno, who lost his life in episode 34. When the elder siblings of the Sakata family were killed by Alien Nackle, Go started to live together with Jirō and became his surrogate older brother.[28] Following Alien Bat and Zetton II's destruction, Hideki was forced to leave the Earth to help Planet Ultra counter Alien Bat's invasion forces. Go would teach Jirō the Five Ultra Oaths before leaving.
In an interesting case, Go never severed his bond with Ultraman Jack, as the two remained that way ever since. Because Go's relationship with Ultraman Jack is a secret to almost everyone except Jirō and Rumiko at the moment, he was believed by many to be dead during the attack against Zetton II, while MAT members arranged his private "funeral" before Jack's departure. His "death" was also documented in TAC's database in episode 10 of Ultraman Ace.
Hideki Go is portrayed by Jirō Dan (団 次郎, Dan Jirō).[4] In a 1992 interview with Masaki Kyomoto, Jirō is well aware of how his corresponding Ultraman lacked a specific name, whereas others who succeeded Ultraseven did. Although Kyomoto pointed how he has the name "Jack", Jirō responded "Putting it (Jack's name) later on is something unavoidable, after all it doesn't come with a pin".[58] Alongside Kurobe, Moritsugu and Takamine (actors from Ultraman to Ultraman Ace), Jirō is part of the four-man group the Dandy Four (ダンディー4, Dandī Fō) that are still well known to this day. During Kohji Moritsugu's Ultra Seven CD song release in 1998, the Dandy Four were gathered for a discussion. Jirō and Moritsugu agreed that the original Ultraman would still remain popular to the children. The two still retain their friendship ever since the end of Return of Ultraman, wherein Moritsugu remarked that "Jirō often empties the liquor in the bottle" whenever the former visited his house.[59] Additionally, Jirō stopped his drinking habit during his time acting in Return of Ultraman under Hajime Tsuburaya's suggestion in order to not ruining the children's dream.[60] When asked which monster he liked the most, Jirō replied Twin Tail from episode 5 of Return of Ultraman.[61]
In certain circumstances, Jack possesses other people as substitute human hosts.
Eiichi Kikuchi's role as Ultraman Jack started due to the wish of Tsuburaya Productions. He originally refused the role due to his experience as Seven's suit actor and recommended Shintarō Nakaoka (中岡 慎太郎, Nakaoka Shintarō) of JFA (Japan Fighting Action); however, as Jiro Dan won the audition as Hideki Go, the production crew was forced to ask Kikuchi to take the offer again since Nakaoka's physique was too different from Dan. Wanting to silently refuse the role, he presented the conditions of "having a 1.5 increase of salary than the one preferred to Nakaoka" and "requesting a physical appearance as one of the MAT members". Although the team had no problem with accepting his first condition, the second one could not be fulfilled since all roles and positions of the MAT members were fulfilled at the moment, but said team promised to consider another live appearance. In the end, he was able to accept it. Although Kikuchi did have minor live roles in the series, he felt that the role of Ultraman alone was enough for him.[70]
At some point during the recording of Return of Ultraman, there was one occasion where he felt that he was not fit for the role of Ultraman, but was encouraged otherwise by Takamitsu Watanabe's wife, who saw the expression of an Ultraman in him.[71] He also received fan letters from the children, who usually addressed him as "Mr. Returned Ultraman from Setagaya of Tokyo" (東京都世田谷区帰ってきたウルトラマン様, Tōkyōto Setagayaku Kaettekita Urutoraman-sama).[72] During the waiting for the filming of the special effects in episode 2, there was an electricity discharge accident at the pool he was in and Kikuchi was almost electrocuted to death.[73]
During his days of acting in Return of Ultraman, Kikuchi ate garlic soy sauce and candied lemon on a daily basis to gain stamina. There was also at one point when his stomach ached from eating too much garlic.[74] He also ate a lot of fresh vegetables sprinkled with salt, due to being constantly sweating from wearing Ultraman's wet suit costume. Although Kikuchi doubted that this kind of practice would bring harm to his health, he kept doing it regularly. Ironically, after Return of Ultraman ended, a local doctor said that his body was diagnosed with a lack of salt.[75]
As filming of Ultraman Ace began, Kikuchi refused the role of Ultraman Ace due to the fact that his body had reached its limit.[75] Once Return of Ultraman finished its filming, Kikuchi was allowed to keep several of the show's props as memorabilia, including the original Ultra Bracelet.[17] In the May 7, 2002 broadcast of Kaiun! Nandemo kanteidan (開運!なんでも鑑定団), Kikuchi revealed that all the memorabilia of Ultraman Jack that he kept were worth about 2,110,000 yen.[lower-alpha 4]
In 2006, a character popularity poll was launched in response to the 40th anniversary of the Ultra Series. Based on Oricon's list, Jack was placed fifth in the list according to the total of voters. He was ranked ninth by female voters and fifth by male voters.[76] Five years later for the Ultra Series' 45th anniversary, Jack was placed 13th and ranked 15th in 2013.[77][78]
In July 2016, Ultraman Jack was sighted multiple times within the vicinity of Meguro Station in Japan. He was shown multiple times walking with a book bag and riding the train. His presence became a topic by Internet users, including the fact that in the train, someone joked that "they would allow Jack to go home if he opened his mask".[79]
In 2013, Jack was sold as the Ultra-Act articulated figure and came with the Ultra Lance and Ultra Defender weapons that were transformed from his Ultra Bracelet.[80] About five years later, he was sold as an S.H. Figuarts figure alongside the Ultra Lance/Cross parts and firing effects for the Specium Ray and the Ultra Slash.[81]
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