Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Ultraman Leo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 26, 2021

Note: some of what appears below are summations from the booklet included with this Blu-ray release, written by Keith Aiken.

Special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya was at one point best known for his work on some of Japan's most popular Kaiju films -- Toho's Godzilla and Mothra -- but it may be for the Ultra franchise for which he will ultimately be remembered. In 1963 Tsuburaya founded Tsuburaya Productions, a then small house with the goal of crafting small screen entertainment with big screen quality. Tsuburaya's first production, Ultra Q, was a monster success (in more ways than one). A follow-up was quickly ordered. That follow-up: Ultraman, another massive hit for Tsuburaya and the first of numerous television and cinema Ultra Q spin-offs that have since gained the franchise recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records for its sprawling longevity.

Ultraman was followed by Ultraseven, a show that Tsuburaya envisioned as the close for the Ultra series. But even as new programming was not airing on television, demand for Ultra content continued to rise. Merchandise moved freely from store shelves and Tsuburaya began work on the franchise's fourth installment, The Return of Ultraman, which featured a brand new Ultraman -- better for sales -- rather than making a sequel to Ultraman. Money is king, of course, and more money means more innovation. But production was upset when Eiji Tsuburaya passed in 1970, more than a year before Return's debut on TBS on April 2, 1971. The 51 episode series ran for a year to, again, extraordinarily high ratings. And so the cycle would continue when, even as Return was on the airwaves, Tsuburaya Productions was hard at work developing what would become Ultraman Ace, airing between April 8, 1972-March 31 1973, and Ultraman Taro, premiering on TBS just a week later on April 7, 1973. The next annual outing for Japan's clad-in-red hero-vs.-kaiju series was Ultraman Leo, which debuted, also on TBS, on April 12, 1974 and ran through the following spring, airing the last episode in March 28, 1975.

Though the franchise remained a popular program for genre fans, its star was beginning to dim, ever so slightly, giving pause to the suits at TBS as they wrestled with the realization that maybe Ultraman wouldn't by a cash cow and ratings dominator in perpetuity, as it had seemed it would be in the early years of the 1970s. The show faced stiff competition from similarly themed programs and was also now battling against the increasing popularity of the Anime style. But Taro's success warranted the production of Ultraman Leo which would not necessarily transform the series at its very foundation but that would leave its own indelible mark on it as one of the more tonally divergent shows in the franchise, perhaps a necessary move to inject some life into the series while still holding firm to the essential Ultraman beats that carried it to its previously lofty heights.

Leo does not break the mold but it does approach the mold form a different perspective, sacrificing much of the core humor and, frankly, as entertaining as it may be, essential silliness that defines so much of the series' history, particularly in Taro but throughout the larger Ultra universe as well. Here, Leo is given a firm, fully developed character model that challenges the character, and the audience, as he progresses through trials and tribulations that take a real toll and require him to dig deeply within his essence to overcome. Leo is something of a reluctant guardian who, through his relationship with Ultraseven, is pushed to his limit, and beyond, in training and in battle alike. This series is more concerned with character development and narrative structure, refusing to simply repurpose the familiar style ad nauseum but at least refocus with a greater emphasis on the intangibles rather than the crude maneuverings and actions that superficially define the show.

Ultraman Leo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek brings Ultraman Leo to Blu-ray with an image that is very representative of the series' past output on the high definition physical format. The image is good but struggles due to issues of compression and age-related wear. This presentation is faithful to the original film elements. There is no evidence of severe processing at play to lessen the naturalistic film look – one can readily identify the natural grain pattern and the resultantly high yield and satisfactorily sharp details -- but the compression artifacts can render backgrounds chunky and unpleasant. It's a trade off that more careful compression, more breathing room, and some restorative work could have collectively alleviated, but this is certainly no worse off than any previous vintage Ultra entry. The picture does maintain an essentially high level of detail, perhaps not so intricate and intimate as the best Blu-ray pictures but well capable of showing off essential textures on Ultra and Kaiju costumes, human clothes and faces, and various environments, whether life size or amongst the extensive miniatures seen throughout the series. Color reproduction is fair; there's certainly a hint of fading at play and definitely no sense of eye-catching vividness, but essential Ultra red colors are pleasantly stable and appropriately dramatic (though never dynamic) while other tones find suitable depth and essential saturation. Contrast favors a pleasing neutrality; there is no oversaturation or desaturation at play. Black levels are essentially fine if not a bit too bright at times while skin tones are likewise good at the base level. There's much room for improvement but at least this one meets the expectations for the series and the studio.

Ultraman Leo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ultraman Leo whimpers onto Blu-ray with a decidedly underwhelming DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack available only in the native Japanese (optional English subtitles do default to "on"). First expectations matter, and they are not promising; the opening title music is painfully cramped in the middle. There's absolutely no stretch to the edges. Lyrics and music alike feel like they are being pressed in on either side by some invisible force field. Add to that struggling clarity and a muddy, almost underwater tenor to it all and there's little hope for the rest of the track. And, indeed, there's not much sense of relief from the cramped confines throughout. While action does manage to push a little further away, the track doesn't really stretch and expand to any great length across the front and certainly not far enough to really mention any positives for spacing and stretch. The mostly unkempt definition and faulty clarity remain throughout; there's enough raw definition to satisfy essential requirements but listeners should not expect anything resembling a dynamic track or one that readily commands the listening area with pinpoint detail. Dialogue at least finds its home in that proper front-center area, along with everything else. Basic spoken word clarity is fine but nothing of note. This track will get listeners through the show but it accomplishes nothing more.

Ultraman Leo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ultraman Leo contains no supplements across any of the six discs. The main menu screens on each disc only offer the opportunity to toggle subtitles on and off in addition to selecting any of the disc's episodes, which are vertically oriented. The set does ship with an impressively assembled booklet that includes glossy pages, numerous color photographs, and plenty of text. It begins with introductory commentary on the show's history and production and follows with character breakdowns, detailed episode synopses, key monster explorations, and character and technology guides. Mill Creek has put together a comprehensive series breakdown in a relatively small space. While it's disappointing that there are no video-based extras, this compact handbook is a treasure for veterans and a necessity for newcomers just getting their feet wet in the universe.

Ultraman Leo: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite efforts to retain the essential entertainment value while injecting deeper content, Ultraman Leo proved enough of a ratings failure that, paired with other economic considerations, the franchise would take a hiatus in 1975 until its return until 1979's animated The Ultraman, followed by 1980's Ultraman 80, the first return to live action programming in half a decade. Despite the ratings drop, Leo remains one of the more interesting and unique within the franchise, particularly amongst the 1970s outings. Mill Creek has done well by the series on Blu-ray, presenting it with the usual technical qualities and packaging excellence. There's also a very handsome SteelBook packaging alternative. Highly recommended.