2024 is coming to an end, and with it comes reflections. This has been a big year — perhaps the biggest ever for the Ultraman Series, and certainly one of the biggest ever for us at Ultraman Connection. All of us here had a bit to say, and we wanted to share our thoughts with you.
Sarah Last, Writer
Ultraman has always been defined by a profound spirit of gratitude, so as we enter the New Year season, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. Thank you to the staff and editors at Ultraman Connection for the opportunity to talk about Ultraman every week. Thank you to the creators and producers at Tsuburaya who make it possible to enjoy the show every week in the first place! But most importantly, thank you to the fans, none of us would be here doing this without you, and we are grateful for your enthusiasm, support, and creative contributions to the fandom over these years.
I’m also thrilled to see the conclusion of Ultraman Arc in the new year, along with the upcoming movie! It’ll be hard after the finale wraps up in January, without having new episodes to look forward to every Friday, but it always seems like Ultraman has a way of surprising us, a brighter future than we could’ve imagined by ourselves.
Regardless of what happens next year, I hope you’ll continue to join us here at Ultraman Connection, and to keep the light of your own imaginations shining alongside one another.
Andrew Wong, Writer/Video Producer
Greetings my fellow Ultra Fans!
2024 was an amazing year for Ultra fans from Ultraman Arc, Ultraman X Avengers, Ultraman Rising on Netflix, several new entries to the Mill Creek collection including Ultraman Blazar's movie, Ultraman Blazar The Movie: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown! I had a wonderful time traveling to the Licensing Expo in Los Vegas, Kaiju Brooklyn and New York Comic Con in New York, as well as seeing 2 Ultra fights in person at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey! Ultraman battling Baltan and Ultraman Zero battling Ultraman Belial! Meeting Ultraman Zero was a dream come true! Next goal is to meet Ultraman Tiga!
I am also blessed that I was able to attend the Ultra Heroes Expo 2024 in Sunshine City where I got to meet Ultraman Arc for the first time, experience Arc's Ultra Hug, see an amazing display of the New Generation Heroes, and I got to see Ultraman Arc's Satur armor and several other Ultras, aliens, and kaiju do battle on stage! 2024 was also a big year for Ultraman Merchandise from Japan becoming easily accessible in the United States! More than just S.H. Figuarts, we are seeing normal Bandai figures and even the highly detailed yet still affordable, Banpresto prize figures! Huge thanks to Tsuburaya and the Ultraman Connection Team for all the support and I can't wait to share more exciting Ultra adventures in 2025!
Wishing all of you Happy Holidays and wonderful New Year!
Andrew Wong (GForever)
Evangelia Artemis-Gomez, Writer
Here’s to another fantastic year at Ultraman Connection! It would be sad to see 2024 go if it weren’t for all the fun to come! Between chilling with Ultraman Zero at Industry City, watching fans light up for Ultraman: Rising at New York Comic Con, keeping up with the gripping Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man series, and wishing everyone happy holidays on the live show, it’s hard to choose a favorite moment.
Ultimately, I am most honored to platform the voices of dedicated Ultra-fans in the ‘Fans React’ article series and getting to read hilarious Discord interactions for the weekly newsletter. I’m so proud to write for Ultraman Connection and I can’t wait for more success for Ultraman as his presence in the West continues to grow. Let’s bring light into 2025!
Jeff Gomez, Producer
Five years ago, after becoming a consultant to Tsuburaya Productions, the first thing I did was join all the pages and groups that loved tokusatsu and Ultraman. There weren’t many of you at the time, but you were so warm and passionate, I knew together we could bring Ultraman back in a big way. This past year proved me—and all of us—right! Ultraman: Rising hit #2 on the Top 10 most popular Netflix movies in June and has been nominated for four Annie Awards.
In July, we took the stage at San Diego Comic Con with the filmmakers themselves—with co-director Shannon Tindle being replaced by Alien Zarab live on stage. I hung out with Sky Turtle Nova books (publishers of the upcoming Ultra Academy novels.) at G-Fest and bring The Ultraman animated feature to the convention. I got to introduce the American premiere of Ultraman Blazar: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown. I supported Pat Cadigan on the Ultraman book, and it won the Scribe Award for Best Adapted Novel.
In October I got to help give the Key to Industry City, Brooklyn to Ultraman Zero, despite Belial’s attempt at sabotage. Worked on editorial for two different Ultraman comic/manga series: Ultraman X Avengers for Marvel and Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man for CoroCoro in Japan. And in December, we livestreamed Christmas episodes with some terrific guests and all of you.
But two things made this year extra magical for me when it comes to working with Ultraman. The first is that the Tsuburaya Fields Media & Pictures Entertainment office in Los Angeles has grown dramatically, bringing on superb new team members who are the best at what they do—all in the service of paving the way for Ultraman. And the second is that my crew (Mark, Chrys, EJ, and Evangelia) got to work on the Ultraman Card Game, teaming up with extraordinary talent like Art Adams, Bob Eggleton, and Klenda V to create dozens of pieces of card art for the game.
We’ve just begun, Ultra-fans! So glad to keep riding this Travelsphere with all of you. See you in 2025.
EJ Couloucoundis, Editor-in-Chief
How do you condense a year like this into a few paragraphs? The amount of things I’ve accomplished — things I never thought I’d get to accomplish — is overwhelming to think about, much less share with all of you. Luckily, so many of you have been with us the whole time, and have gotten to see the fruits of our labor.
Let’s start with the things everyone has gotten to see. Ultraman: Rising on Netflix introduced an entire hemisphere to the Giant of Light with a heartfelt story about parenting through generations. Ultraman Arc, ending in just a few weeks, encouraged the world to unleash their imagination with soulful stories that mixed the timelessness of Classic Ultraman with New Generation twists. Ultraman X Avengers and Ultraman: Along Came A Spider-Man connected Ultraman with some of the most famous heroes of the west in two different ways, from two different countries and perspectives. And the Ultraman Card Game burst onto the scene on four continents in four languages, allowing players of all ages to wield the power of the Ultras and Kaiju in friendly competition.
Then, there are the incredible accomplishments UC has accomplished in conjunction with the fans. San Diego Comic Con for the first time, the western premiere of Ultraman Blazar The Movie: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown, an insane New York Comic Con panel, and even the special Brooklyn event where Ultraman Zero protected New York from Belial, and got the key to Industry City!
Then, there’s the things I got to do as a fan, and as a creator. Coming this Friday is the third special commentary I’ve had the privilege to do for the Ultraman Arc recap specials. I’ve gotten to help build the Ultraman Card Game with the flavor text on the cards you have in your home. Even at New York Comic Con, I got to become part of the action, as my voice was used by the pernicious Alien Mefilas and Alien Zarab as they attempted to destroy Ultraman.
I’m truly blessed to have the people I work with — Starlight Runner Entertainment, the Ultraman Connection writing team, Tsuburaya Fields Media, and Tsuburaya Production Company themselves. All of them have been an inextricable part in helping me make this my personal best year for Ultraman. That is, until next year! See you then, Ultraman fans.
