The early days of Manga: Ultra Man, 7, Q, N Project, and the movies

Long before Power rangers, a number of TV shows form japan featured robotic heroes powered by real people against monsters of ridiculous creations. And my favorite of all of these was Ultra Man.

In fact at the age of 5, Ultra Man got me into big trouble. I karate chopped the family allergist. Take that for giving me weekly shots!!! But I grew up watching old Monster movies on TV with mom so this was a no brainer. Along with Speed Racer these shows were the only ones I preferred to Super Hero Cartoons by DC Comics and Marvel.

It all started with Ulta Q, a black 7 white series in 1966. Watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoT0Xdop8LM). It is in Japanese but you get an idea for the quality, which I find to be very high for a live action supernatural based show of the 1966s. Cinematography matches that of Godzilla - almost. Better than Power ranger made 30-40 years later for sure... Funny, I think the monster trips and falls by accident but in the giant rubber suit they kept it. But no Ultra Man yet - To the rescue is a giant turkey. A turkey that shoots lazers out of its beak. DUDE! Top that!!! Many of the monsters were refurbished Godzilla suits. 

By 1967 the Ultra Universe would forever surround Ultraman and the Ultra Crusaders. The original Ultraman is a 1967 series. Shin Hayata is heroic as a young man but with a quick wave of his arm he calls upon Ultra Man and he becomes teh giant Robot. WATCH EPISODE ONE HERE In Japanese. but I love it and the title song brings back memories. Ultra Man had a number of spin offs and sequels and remakes... Knock offs have never quite captured the greatness of this show...

I used to watch reruns of a show called Johnny's robot. (GIANT ROBOT in Japanese). Similarly a Giant Robot saves the day but in this case it is controlled by a young boy. Very similar to the animated series Gigantor. Gigantor was rebooted on SCI FI channel in 1993. The show was a bit hokier. By making a young boy the main character I think they killed appeal to older audience Ultraman maintained. 

All of this dates back to Astro Boy. 1952 in Japan (1963 US release). Originally called Mighty Atom, this series has had a number of comic book, TV shows and even a 2009 Movie that I personally liked. Jetter Mars is another knock off of Mighty Atom that was short lived in 1977.

I remember when Power Rangers first started. I hated it. I watched it because I love the genre. Of course i say the same thing about Smallville on CW as the ultimate Superman Geek. But Power Rangers lost me. Bad writing and I was just too old to get hooked. I watch a lot of the shows form my childhood and I feel the same way. But some things stand the test of time. For me Ultraman is such a show...

PS I have barely scratched the surface of Manga. I will revisit in the future...