Ultraman Max

Ultraman Max
Promotional poster
Genre	Superhero Tokusatsu Science fiction Action/Adventure Kaiju Kyodai Hero
Created by	Kazuo Tsuburaya
Developed by	Yūji Kobayashi
Directed by	Shusuke Kaneko
Starring	Sota Aoyama Hitomi Hasebe Kai Shishido Hikari Mitsushima Nobuyuki Ogawa Sean Nichols Susumu Kurobe Hiroko Sakurai
Composers	Kuniaki Haishima, Toru Fuyuki
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	39 (with 1 special)
Production
Producer	Takeshi Yagi
Running time	Approx. 24 mins per episode
Production companies	Tsuburaya Productions Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting
Original release
Network	JNN (CBC, TBS)
Release	July 2, 2005 (2005-07-02) – April 1, 2006 (2006-04-01)
Related
Ultraman Nexus Ultraman Mebius

Ultraman Max (ウルトラマンマックス, Urutoraman Makkusu) is a Japanese Tokusatsu series produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd. Released as the 19th Ultra Series, it aired from July 2, 2005, until April 1, 2006. The show aimed to return to the fast-paced formula of encountering a new monster each week, similar to the previous series, with the exception of Ultraman Nexus. On October 10, 2014, Crunchyroll announced that the series would be broadcast on their streaming service starting on October 17, 2014, in the US, Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.^[1]

On January 27, 2017, the US television channel TOKU announced that the series would be broadcast in the United States on its channel with an English dub beginning February 27, 2017, making it the fifth Ultra Series to air in the United States after Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman: Towards the Future (originally in English without a Japanese dub) and Ultraman Tiga.^[2][3][4][5]

In the 21st century, multiple phenomenas begin to occur as monsters who were initially thought to be a part of mythology come to life. These phenomenas resulted from human activities that disrupted the nature of the ecosystem.

Kaito Touma dreamed of entering DASH because previously he was a volunteer who often rescued people from natural disasters. However, he failed the entrance test because he was considered too hot-spirited when trying to protect people without thinking and often unconsciously doing excessive actions that endangered his safety. Kaito still insists on getting into DASH. When he was still an apprentice, Kaito recklessly replaced one of the wounded DASH members to help dispel the monster and avoid heavy casualties. At a critical moment, Kaito bonded with Ultraman Max to save his life and fought the incoming monster on his own.

After being accepted into DASH, Kaito and Max had been teaming up to defend Earth from various monsters and alien threats. In the middle of the series, Max is saved from Zetton by Ultraman Xenon, who gives him the Max Galaxy to even the odds: the device has been added to his arsenal since then. In the final episode, the underground civilization Delos began their invasion of the surface after years of suffering from the negative effects of their civilization. Max initially backed away from the fight due to his race's policy of not interfering with civil wars until Kaito's determination changed the minds of Ultraman and Delos, the latter of whom begged their doomsday weapon Giga Berserker to be stopped. Max was initially killed saving Kaito until DASH members revived him with enough sunlight to destroy Giga Berserker.

The Ultraman left Earth years later, and the elderly Kaito and Mizuki watched their grandchildren depart for space as Earth finally entered a peaceful coexistence with other races.

After the broadcast of Ultraman Max, an eight-minute special was released on DVD. This special was a five-minute clip show giving a review of Ultraman Max's back-story and primary attacks up until Ultraman Xenon gives him the Max Galaxy. After the clip show, the monster Red King attacks Max with Zetton shortly joining in. The special ends with Max defeating both of them.

• Kaito Touma (トウマ・カイト, Tōma Kaito): Sōta Aoyama (青山 草太, Aoyama Sōta)
• Shigeru Hijikata (ヒジカタ・シゲル, Hijikata Shigeru): Kai Shishido (宍戸 開, Shishido Kai)
• Mizuki Koishikawa (コイシカワ・ミズキ, Koishikawa Mizuki): Hitomi Hasebe (長谷部 瞳, Hasebe Hitomi)
• Kenjiro Koba (コバ・ケンジロウ, Koba Kenjirō): Nobuyuki Ogawa (小川 信行, Ogawa Nobuyuki)
• Sean White (ショーン・ホワイト, Shōn Howaito): Sean Nichols (ショーン・ニコルス, Shōn Nikorusu)
• Elly (エリー, Erī): Hikari Mitsushima (満島 ひかり, Mitsushima Hikari)
• Kenzo Tomioka (トミオカ・ケンゾウ, Tomioka Kenzō): Susumu Kurobe (黒部 進, Kurobe Susumu)
• Yukari Yoshinaga (ヨシナガ・ユカリ, Yoshinaga Yukari): Hiroko Sakurai (桜井 浩子, Sakurai Hiroko)
• Ultraman Max (ウルトラマンマックス, Urutoraman Makkusu, Voice): Kazuya Nakai (中井 和哉, Nakai Kazuya)
• Narrator: Shirō Sano (佐野 史郎, Sano Shirō)

• Mitsugu Shindō (進藤 貢, Shindō Mitsugu, 5,6): Yukijirō Hotaru (螢雪次朗, Hotaru Yukijirō)
• Kesam (ケサム, Kesamu, 7): Kenzaburo Kikuchi (菊地 謙三郎, Kikuchi Kenzaburo)
• Natsumi Oda (小田 夏美, Oda Natsumi, 13, 14): Nao Nagasawa (長澤 奈央, Nagasawa Nao)
• Ultraman Xenon (ウルトラマンゼノン, Urutoraman Zenon, 13, 39): Osamu Ryutani (龍谷 修武, Ryūtani Osamu)
• Nina (ニーナ, Nīna, 17): Saki Kamiryo (上良 早紀, Kamiryō Saki)
• Dr. Takeru Ozaki (オザキタケル博士, Ozaki Takeru hakase, 19): Kohji Moritsugu (森次 晃嗣, Moritsugu Kōji)
• Alien Tarla (ターラ星人, Tāra Seijin, 19): Alexander Otsuka (アレクサンダー大塚, Arukezandā Ōtsuka)
• Hatsuki Yamaguchi (山口 初子, Yamaguchi Hatsuko, 20): Miyoko Yoshimoto (芳本美代子, Yoshimoto Miyoko)
• Takeo Yamaguchi (山口 武雄, Yamaguchi Takeo, 20): Joe Onodera (小野寺 丈, Onodera Jō)
• Ikuo Hasunuma (蓮沼 征夫, Hasunuma Ikuo, 22): Renji Ishibashi (石橋 蓮司, Ishibashi Renji)
• Akihiro Saeki (佐伯昭宏監督, Saeki Akihiro, 22): Taro Suwa (諏訪太朗, Suwa Taro)
• Dr. Date (ダテ博士, Date hakase, 23, 31, 34, 38): Masanari Nihei (二瓶 正也, Nihei Masanari)
• Yōjirō Matsunaga (松永 要二郎, Matsunaga Yōjirō, 24): Masami Horiuchi (堀内 正美, Horiuchi Masami)
• Alien Metron (メトロン星人, Metoron Seijin, 24): Minori Terada (寺田 農, Terada Minori)
• Alien Neril "Keef" (ネリル星人キーフ, Neriru Seijin Kīfu, 25): Gamon Kaai (河相 我聞, Kaai Gamon)
• Ririka (リリカ, 28): Mai Saitō (斉藤 麻衣, Saitō Mai)
• Kousei Ueda (上田 耕生, Ueda Kōsei, 29): Shoichiro Akaboshi (赤星 昇一郎, Akaboshi Shōichirō)
• Kenji Sahashi (佐橋 健児, Sahashi Kenji, 29): Kenji Sahara (佐原 健二, Sahara Kenji)
• Yasuhiko Saigo (西郷 保彦, Saigō Yasuhiko, 29): Yasuhiko Saijo (西條 康彦, Saijō Yasuhiko)
• Doctor (30): Kunio Masuoka (正岡邦夫, Masuoka Kunio)
• Kerus (ケルス, Kerusu, 32): Ryohei (涼平, Ryōhei)
• Security Guard (33): Sandayū Dokumamushi (毒蝮 三太夫, Dokumamushi Sandayū)
• Unnamed police officer (33, 34): Ryu Manatsu (真夏 竜, Manatsu Ryū)
• Evacuee (36): Hidenori Tokuyama (徳山 秀典, Tokuyama Hidenori, Uncredited)
• Kazuya Narimiya (成宮 和也, Narumiya Kazuya, 37): Nagare Hagiwara (萩原 流行, Hagiwara Nagare)

Opening theme

• "Ultraman Max" (ウルトラマンマックス, Urutoraman Makkusu)
  • Lyrics: Neko Oikawa (及川 眠子, Oikawa Neko)
  • Composition & Arrangement: Yasuharu Takanashi (高梨 康治, Takanashi Yasuharu)
  • Artist: TEAM DASH with Project DMM

Insert songs

• "NO LIMITED"
  • Lyrics, Composition, & Arrangement: Kazuya Daimon (大門 一也, Daimon Kazuya)
  • Artist: Project DMM
• "Ultra miracle"
  • Lyrics, composition, arrangement: Daimon Kazuya
  • Artist: Project DMM
• "NOT SO BAD"
  • Lyrics and composition: Yoshihiro Takahashi
  • Arrangement: ACTION
  • Artist: BAD SCANNERS (ACTION)
• "Goodbye song"
  • Arrangement: Kuniaki Kuwashima
• "Chocho"
  • Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
  • Artist: Yukari Oshima
• "Red Dragonfly"
  • Arrangement: Toru Fuyuki
  • Artist: Yukari Oshima
• "TO THE MAX"
  • Artist: Project DMM

In July 2020, Shout! Factory announced to have struck a multi-year deal with Alliance Entertainment and Mill Creek, with the blessings of Tsuburaya and Indigo, that granted them the exclusive SVOD and AVOD digital rights to the Ultra series and films (1,100 TV episodes and 20 films) acquired by Mill Creek the previous year. Ultraman Max, amongst other titles, will stream in the United States and Canada through Shout! Factory TV and Tokushoutsu.^[6]

The series was later released in the United States on DVD in January 22, 2023 by Mill Creek Entertainment.

• Official site
• Ultraman Max at IMDb
• Crunchyroll page