Ultraman is known for fighting for three minutes at a time, but this previous weekend, the giant of light and his allies spent 4 days entertaining the world at New York Comic Con. It was an experience like none before, with thousands of fans getting to meet with and share their love for the 57-year-old series with everyone. The number of stories we could tell about the incredible weekend could last a weekend on its own, but to help condense the chaos, let’s answer the question: What happened?
The week started bright and early on Thursday with the Ultraman Connection Panel, held in Room 408 at 10:30 AM. Led by the Ultraman Connection editorial staff, including producer Jeff Gomez, editor-in-chief EJ Couloucoundis, and staff writer Evangelia Artemis, the panel brought together both the tokusatsu side of the series, represented by Ultraman Blazar dub voice actors Nicholas Andrew Louie and Major Attaway, and the Marvel comics side, represented by writer Mat Groom and artist Francesco Manna. Fans got to see these two disparate halves of the greater Ultraman continuum interact and express appreciation for each other's work — and that was before Ultraseven showed up for a photo session!
Ultraseven actually showed up several times over the weekend, along with Ultraman and Ultraman Blazar with Earth Garon! Through a number of incredible meet-and-greets, fans got to directly engage with the heroes that they had watched on TV or through channels like the Ultraman Official Youtube Channel or Ultraman Connection at various licensed partners’ booths.
In addition, at a special party hosted by VeVe collectibles on Thursday night, raucous partygoers got a unique preview of the incredible show yet to come when a group of kaiju gate-crashed, only to be driven off and defeated by Ultraman Blazar! The party was saved and the applause was deafening, but it was only a taste of what was to come.
The next day featured an amazing first, as Ultraman himself arrived in Times Square to a cheering crowd. He then made his way into the Tamashii Nations shop in Times Square to meet and take photographs with fans, as did Ultraman Blazar on the day after, proving to the world that Ultraman was truly a global brand. The greatest event was yet to come, however…
And so Saturday came, a day unlike any other, when the Ultraman Blazar Live Spectacle from NYCC 2023 arrived, the first-ever New Generation Ultraman Live Show in North America! Starring Major Attaway, the narrator of the English dub of Ultraman Blazar, as MC, as well as guests Ricco Fajardo and Nicholas Andrew Louie from the same dub, the three voice actors gushed about their love for the show, their characters, and the world of Ultraman Blazar! However, the packed crowd got far closer to that world than they could have dreamed when a series of kaiju and aliens began invading the con itself, drawn by a mysterious falling star…
Thankfully, when evil rises, good rises to match it, and Ultraman Blazar and Earth Garon arrived to fight back! However, even Blazar had a difficult time against the mysterious King of Destruction, Infinite! Thankfully, he was powered by the cheers of the incredible audience, and was able to match and exceed Infinite’s evil with his own light and the power of the congoers. Incredible action, heartwarming camaraderie, and the adulation of literally hundreds of screaming fans made this one of the greatest moments to ever occur in the 57-year history of the Ultraman Series!
After that, the remaining day was all love — Ultraman heroes reaching out to fan after fan, proving to them that the Giant of Light is not a world away, but always within reach! And to you fans who were unable to come, Ultraman is in reach for you too — on the Ultraman Official Youtube Channel and Ultraman Connection!
This was by far the largest appearance the Ultraman Series has ever made in North America, but it surely won’t be the last — especially after this reaction! Stay close to Ultraman Connection to make sure you can make it to the next special Ultraman event!
