Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 22, 2026

Mill Creek (now Alliance) has been hard at work churning out the Ultraman franchise to Blu-ray (check out the full list here) but one thing Mill Creek/Alliance has not been doing is releasing the franchise linearly. It's been like a volleyball game, with the releases going back and forth from vintage to modern and back again. But this Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series is sort of like the net: it's right in the middle of the franchise's increasingly growing (monstrous?) timeline. This pair of early 1990s franchise entries arrive now in a single four-disc package from Alliance that delivers a status-quo (for the franchise) Blu-ray experience.

Ultraman: Towards the Future

"Ultraman" is synonymous with Japan, Tsuburaya Productions, and Tokyo Broadcasting System, but Towards the Future is an Australian product that released, initially, not on television but direct to video on LaserDisc in the fall of 1990. The show eventually aired in Japan in 1991 and in the United States in 1992. The show follows a familiar format despite its foreign origins, though it does seek to bring environmental consciousness into the narrative fray. Astronauts Jack Shindo (Dore Kraus) and Stanley Haggard (Jay Hackett), on a mission to Mars, find themselves with a front row seat to a titanic battle between the monstrous Gudis and the heroic Ultraman Great. Gudis retreats to Earth with a plan to ecologically devastate the planet by transforming its life. Ultraman Great pairs with Jack to travel to Earth and, as part of the UMA or Universal Multipurpose Agency, sets out to free the planet from the clutches of great evil and greater disaster.

Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero

Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero represents another try at the globalization of Ultraman production, this time being a product of the United States (where, curiously, the series never even aired). It debuted on video in North America and Japan in 1993 and aired on TBS in 1995. The premise is simple and every bit Ultraman (in fact, it's essentially a remake of the 1966 series): Earth is once again under siege when the Alien Baltans strike, but a wrench is thrown into their plans when they come face to face with Ultraman Powered and his new human counterpart, Kenichi Kai (Kane Kosugi), part of the elite WINR (Worldwide Investigative Network Response) force. This is a very technically polished series but one that lacks the dynamic action of so many of its counterparts, instead feeling clumsy, clunky, and slow. It's an interesting curiosity as a re-take/re-make of the 1966 classic, but it is otherwise one of the more forgettable entries. Franchise production would return to Japan following The Ultimate Hero.

Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There are two shows on four discs here, with one aspect ratio (1.33:1, resulting in vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 display) across both shows but two different resolutions at play. Let's start with Ultraman: Towards the Future. The 1.33:1 image is presented at a resolution of 1080i, which has been clearly upscaled from a standard definition source. The picture quality is understandably inferior given its origins, lacking that native HD crispness to details and stability to its color palette. The image is watchable in a retro sort of way, but at least it's clean and seemingly just about as accurate as it can be given the native constraints. I am reluctant to speak ill of it because it's a classic example off "it is what it is," and the big win here is simply having it on a physical format with a reliable and consistent picture quality, which is certainly more stable and improved from anything fans might have seen before, either sourced form that aforementioned LaserDisc, online, or on TV way back in the day. It's imperfect and not attractive, but it's fine all things considered.

On the other hand, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is presented at 1080p (again within a 4x3 aspect ratio) and it looks quite good. The picture is clean, efficient, and captures the wonderfully complex kanji and Ultra details with some of the best clarity I've ever seen on any of the Ultraman Blu-ray releases, especially those shot on film (some of the new digital shows reach this same level). But the film-sourced definition is excellent, which also extends to human faces and city details, whether life size or the miniatures that prevail in the action scenes. Grain is not present in significant density, but it is there and the image shows no signs of severe grain reduction. Colors are bold, especially costumes and Kaiju. Fire breath and laser beams are bright and bold. Flesh tones are accurate. Black level depth is solid, and white balance is fine. The image shows no signs of major print deterioration or encode anomalies. This looks very good and accounts for the bulk of the video review score awarded.

Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both series feature DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtracks, and both being native Western productions the only language option is the native English. Neither track is particularly dynamic under the 2.0 constraints, but Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is noticeably superior for definition, spacing, and overall engagement. The sound is fuller and richer, the stage wider, and the elements more precise compared to Ultraman: Towards the Future, which is notably flatter, more constrained, and less dynamic with weaker fidelity. Both feature clear and intelligible dialogue that images nicely to the center. In short, expect better things from Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero and a more nuts-and-bolts sort of listen from Ultraman: Towards the Future.

Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are included on any of the four Blu-ray discs, However, Alliance has included a small, stapled, color and glossy booklet with episode synopses.

Ultraman Great / Ultraman Powered: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The incredible breadth and depth of the Ultraman universe means that there is no shortage of options to choose from, and there is a seemingly endless gamut of episodes and series to dig through for those who just want to experience it all. But choosing this double pack of Towards the Future and The Ultimate Hero is probably not the best pace to begin an Ultraman journey. Produced away from its native Japan, veering towards a diverse plot line (Towards the Future), and remaking one of the original classics (The Ultimate Hero) makes these two series more of a curiosity for longtime fans rather than a starting point for newcomers or a staple for those who are getting their feet wet in the franchise. Be that as it may, this is another solid release from Alliance, allowing fans to finally enjoy these oddball entries in a high quality high definition presentation with excellent video (at least given the first series' constraints) and audio presentations. As usual, there are no extras here, which is a shame, especially given the diverging nature of these two productions; some historical, technical, and narrative insights would have been most welcome in some form or fashion. Nevertheless, this release comes recommended to franchise enthusiasts and Ultraman Blu-ray completists.