Ultraman 50 Year Anniversary Celebration Special to Air on NHK BS Premium

Anniversary program to broadcast on NHK one day prior to Ultraman’s 50 Year Anniversary Date

As part of the 50 year anniversary celebration of the Ultra Series, a series of special commemorative anniversary programs is scheduled to air on NHK BS Premium over the next few weeks.

On June 23rd at 11:15 PM to 11:45 PM and June 27 at 11:45 to 12:15 AM, a special introducing the “Ultra Kaiju” and “Masterpiece” voting system, in which viewers will vote for their favorite Ultra Kaiju, as well as which Ultraman series viewers most want to see remastered in HD.

On July 9th, one day prior to the 50 year anniversary of the series, a three hour long live anniversary extravaganza program will broadcast beginning at 8 PM JST.

Hosted by announcers Tsuyoshi Matsuo and Aiko Terakado, the series will be a retrospective of the long-running giant monster series and featuring numerous Ultraman actors on stage. Additionally, the results of the voting for best Ultra Kaiju and most wanted HD series will be announced on-air.

Guests will include Susumu Kurobe (Shin Hayata/Ultraman), Kohji Moritsugu (Dan Moroboshi/Ultraseven), Jiro Dan (Hideki Go/Ultraman Jack), Takeshi Tsuruno (Shin Asuka/Ultraman Dyna), Taiyo Sugiura (Musashi Haruno/Ultraman Cosmos), and many others to be announced! Supporting guests will include radio personality Hikaru Ijuin, Dokkyo University economics professor Takuro Morinaga, actress Chiaki Horan, and actress Chinami Suzuki.

On July 10, 1966, the 40m tall Ultraman first hit the screen in Japan, battling monsters one after the next. For 50 years, the character and his successors have continued to appear in popular media, even in the latest animation and games. Widely respected by other creators of media, Ultraman is widely viewed as a part of Japanese culture, and a national hero to generations of Japanese people with fans worldwide.

Views must be sure to catch the three hour live anniversary show, as it will only air once.

Source: NHK