G-Fest! The time of year when tokusatsu fans converge on Chicago, IL to celebrate the genre! (And no character in specific, we swear…) This year, however, G-Fest went a little differently, because the Giant of Light crashed the party! More than just an appearance, Tsuburaya Productions brought Ultraman to every part of the convention, with panels, meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, and more as part of ULTRAMAN THE HERO PREMIERE! Let’s go back through all three days here!
THE ULTRAMAN ZONE!
For all three days, G-Fest attendees walked in the footsteps of giants… and monsters too, with Tsuburaya Productions having a massive presence and even their own ballroom, complete with dioramas for the various meet-and-greets over the weekend. Our friends at PopCulture USA held multiple events in their gaming area, introducing tons of fans to the hot new game! And of course, Seismic Toys, longtime friend of Ultraman Connection, had a huge presence, including showing off their newest entry in the Ultraman Vinyl Odyssey series… Gigantron! However, that’s a story for next week.
Day One
The day started with a bang as the SSSP’s own Akiko Fuji, Hiroko Sakurai, took the floor for an autograph session, in one of the first times she’s come to America. She was joined soon by her old co-star; that is, Ultraman himself! Sakurai’s rare appearance made for one of the longest lines of the day, right at 11 AM, with an on-site translator helping fans communicate with the original heroine of the Ultraman Series.
Soon after that, the Ultraman Card Game began what would be its own incredible weekend of events, powered by Popculture USA, with a sealed tournament for excited players. Shadow of Undying Vengeance was the set in play — how fitting that a monster convention is full of Kaiju decks!
At the same time, a different sort of clash was happening, as the original Ultraman and his old foe Dada appeared for further meet-and-greets. Though the two were cordial, the same could not be said about Ultraman Zero and Ultraman Belial, who showed up and promptly beat the stuffing out of one another, in front of screaming fans! Zero won, but Belial never stays down for long — anyone who’s ever watched the Zero movies knows that!
After that came one of the highlights of the weekend, the Sky Turtle Nova panel, featuring Ultra Academy! Led by Steve Smith, president of Sky Turtle Nova, and featuring Rebecca K. Reynolds, writer of the new Ultra Academy novels (Who was escorted on stage by Pigmon, ever the gentleman), and Danny Simon of Tsuburaya Fields Media, fans finally learned the secrets of the upcoming young readers’ series.
We can confirm here — these books are canon to a version of the original 1966 Ultraman that takes place in the modern era! Rebecca expertly answered questions about her work, further explaining that the story features a group of talented youngsters, being mentored by the Science Patrol while they’re in America, much like Isamu from the original series, but on a larger scale.
Rebecca K. Reynolds and Hiroko Sakurai, with Beware the Baleful Baltan
The first Ultra Academy novel, Beware the Baleful Baltan, was actually on sale at the venue, but it seemed to attract an unwelcome visitor — Alien Baltan himself! With Ultraman still being mobbed by fans, it was up to Steve to save the panel — and save the panel he did, expertly convincing Baltan that, if he wanted to destroy Ultraman, he’d have to go next door, helping him out (and locking the door behind him). While a human door can only hold a Baltan for so long, the panelists were rescued by Steve’s quick thinking!
With the panel over, the fans ran to find Ultraman, only to find him in pitched combat with Jirahs, the monster having appeared for the first time in America! While the battle was touch-and-go for a while (Ultraman pulled off Jirahs’s frill and the Kaiju was immediately mistaken for a different guest of honor at the convention), Ultraman prevailed to truly deafening applause, saving G-Fest just in time for Day One to come to an end.
Day Two
Hiroko Sakurai was back at the convention bright and early on Saturday morning, watching out for the fans in case of a Kaiju attack. It’s a good thing that she was there, as Alien Baltan, still looking for Ultraman, came out and was kind enough to take some photos with the alien-loving crowd! In a hilarious example of missed connections, Ultraman showed up again, after Baltan left! Who knows when they’ll clash again… After that, Jirahs, its frill more firmly attached, returned, this time to do a meet-and-greet itself.
But the highlight of the morning was a surprise appearance of Ultraman Z and director Kiyotaka Taguchi! While the announcement of his attendance had been dropped only the night before, enthusiastic Z fans gathered to chant his name and show their love to Z and Taguchi.
Then, at 1 PM, one of the BIG SHOWCASE events started, as tokusatsu fans piled in to a special screening of Ultraman Arc the Movie: The Clash of Light and Evil! The movie was a huge hit, and then things got crazy as Jeff Gomez, Producer for Ultraman Connection, walked out onto the stage, holding… the Arc Ariser?! Inserting the Arc Cube, Jeff raised the device, and in a sudden flash, Ultraman Arc appeared! Having just watched the hero’s movie, the fans practically rushed the stage to get a chance to meet the hero!
Right after the show, the Ultraman fun continued on two fronts, with Popculture USA running a Galaxy Cup on site for experienced and new players alike to battle for a special winner card!
After that, Baltan almost managed to get to Ultraman, facing him in a pitched battle. Caught by surprise, Ultraman might have fallen… if it hadn’t been for Hiroko Sakurai, who channeled the deadeye aim of Akiko Fuji to nail Baltan with a well-placed Supergun shot! Defeated, Baltan slinked away to invade an infirmary for the shot, and the event settled into a special Ultraman Connection Live Talk Show with Sakurai, where she got to talk about her time working with the original SSSP and Eiji Tsuburaya in Ultra Q as Yuriko Edogawa and Ultraman as Akiko Fuji, and lessons she’s learned that have brought her — and the series — to the modern era.
The final major event of the night was a special Ultraman Update Panel. Jeff Gomez and David Kornblum of Tsuburaya Fields Media brought out the news that everyone wanted to hear, with Danny Simon there to help support.
For the new hero, Ultraman Omega, the official dub was officially confirmed to be coming out late 2025! There was also discussion of the upcoming release of Ultraman Arc, Ultraman Decker, and the Ultraman 4K Discovery documentary series by Mill Creek, but things got really crazy when DK and Jeff announced four BIG releases coming out through 2026 — Ultraman: Towards the Future, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, Ultraman 4K, and Ultraseven 4K!
After that was the Ultraman Card Game panel, where a brand-new preview card of Ultraman Victory was shown off, with art by Jamie Noguchi! This coming weekend is the release of SD03 Omega to the Future, with next week bringing BP04 Gleam of Eternal Hope, so make sure you pick up Victory when he comes out!
The biggest announcement, however, is what shook the entire stadium: For the first time in North American history, there will be a full Ultraman Series live show in November, featuring Ultraman Omega! The American Dream Mall will be the home of the Giant of Light from November 15th to the 23rd! And to celebrate that, Ultraman Omega himself arrived to greet fans!
The night wound down after that, with Hiroko Sakurai coming out to greet a few more fans to end the evening. Only one day was left!
Day Three
Hiroko Sakurai joined fans for the last day, making sure to greet fans she hadn’t gotten to meet the previous two days, and Ultraman and Pigmon joined her. Pigmon’s very popular with girls, you know…
Pigmon with Jeff Gomez, Rebecca K. Reynolds, and Danny Simon
The day’s festivities got interrupted after that by Belial challenging Zero to a rematch. Ultraman too had one more battle, a rematch with Jirahs for all the marbles!
In a shocking surprise, Bin Furuya, the suit actor for the original Ultraman, as well as Amagi in Ultraseven, made an appearance to greet the fans with Ultraman! After giving the lucky fans an opportunity to learn the best Spacium Beam pose, Bin Furuya also greeted Sakurai — the two old co-stars embraced, memories flowing back, and let fans take photos with both of them together, a heartwarming finale to G-Fest.
Well, almost. There was one more surprise guest at the very end, with unannounced appearances by Jamila! In a shocking display of American compassion, Jamila received plenty of love from the audience. In a touching moment, one fan warned Jamila of rain outside and even offered an umbrella to help keep them safe! Tokusatsu fans are the best.
With that over, G-Fest finally came to a close, as the Ultras boarded their travel spheres back to the Land of Light, and the Kaiju skulked back to the Monster Graveyard. A huge thanks to everyone who came to support Ultraman The Hero Premiere, and we can’t wait to see you next at the American Dream Mall on November 15-23rd! For more news as it breaks, stay close to Ultraman Connection!
