Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 20, 2021

For this three-disc Blu-ray set, Mill Creek has gathered together two specials -- totaling four parts or "stages" -- as well as two films. The specials and feature films share 1080p resolutions. The specials are presented in two-channel lossless Japanese language tracks while the films feature 5.1 lossless Japanese and 2.0 lossless English dubs. No extras are included on any of the three discs.

Official Synopses:

Ultra Galaxy Legend Side Story: Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero: Included are Stage 1: Colliding Space (31:47) and Stage 2: Zero's Final Punch (32:41).
Captain Hyuga of Zap Spacy and Rei land on a planet where they are unexpectedly confronted with the fake Ultraman and Ultraseven. The mysterious and powerful Mecha Gomora shows up. When Ultraman Zero arrives, he is faced by the black giant, the armoured Tekuta-Gear-Black! In the middle of the fierce fight, there appears another warrior, Dark Lops Zero who looks just like Ultraman Zero.

Ultraman Zero Side Story: Killer the Beatstar: Included are Stage 1: Steel Invasion (30:51) and Stage 2: Vows of Justice (32:19).
Ultimate Force Zero, made up of Ultraman Zero, Glen Fire, Mirror Knight, and Jean-Bot, come to the rescue of Princess Emerana who is captured by the mysterious Betstar. Vowing to destroy all organic life, Beatstar sends the deadly robot Jean-Killer to crush his foes. When Jean-Bot turns against Princess Emerana, a direct link between the robot and Jean-Killer is revealed.

Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial (1:40:29).
Ultraman Zero, the rookie Ultraman returns. However, he is confronted by the empowered Kaiser Belial, back from the evil Ultraman Belial whom the Ultra warriors battled so hard on the M-78 planet. Can Ultraman Zero live up to the expectations of his legendary father Ultraseven? He will risk his life to fight to save the universe.

Ultraman Saga
Earth is now taken over by the mysterious Alien Batt and only a few earthlings still fighting to survive. Ultraman Dyna who is travelling through outer space, catches the SOS signal and comes to the rescue. He is joined there by Ultraman Cosmos and Ultraman Zero and together they challenge the powerful Hyper Zetton and the troop of monsters led by Alien Batt. Will the combined strength of Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Cosmos and Ultraman Zero have a chance to win? The last hope--lies with a new hero...

These short specials and feature films are for fans only. While action certainty takes center stage, the complexity of interwoven narratives and characters and the general depth and detail found within make it one of the least attractive points of entry for newcomers, or relative newcomers, who would be best served by retreating back to the beginning with Ultra Q and then Ultraman and moving forward in a chronological fashion. It's not so much that there's been a complexly interwoven tapestry of story elements through the years but by this point there's enough in the way of franchise lore that is covered here that these programs are next to inaccessible for anyone not coming in with a firm foundational understanding of the Ultra universe. That said, the raw superficialities are a delight. Even if the special effects aren't that "special," the action and movement and core fun that make this universe so popular are on full display throughout these specials and movies. Fans are going to have a blast.

Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek presents all of the content in this set at 1080p resolution. The image looks good, generally, albeit with some problems in tow. There are a lot of artifacts inherent to the source, particularly in the digitally animated scenes. Aliasing, jagged edges, and the like are very commonplace. Compression issues are in moderate to occasionally severe intensity. The show is not hard to watch, per se, but more demanding viewers and of course hardcore videophiles will be left wanting more, as has always been in the case in Mill Creek's Ultraman Blu-ray releases. Overall definition is solid enough, yielding good essential clarity to live action elements such as faces, Ultra costumes, and monster suit details. The cockpit within the starship is clear enough to enjoy basics along the instrument clusters, revealing the relatively cheap set construction. Colors are a bit on the dull and drab side. There's no real significant pop or punch on display but essential tones are handled well enough. Faces are flat but flesh tones are modestly healthy. Black levels are adequately deep. The picture qualities are generally steady from series to series and to the films; one could argue that the feature films offer a little more boldness and intensity to colors but not so much so as to dramatically reorient a collective review and demand a more individualized approach.

Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mill Creek gathers this smorgasbord of specials and movies to Blu-ray under two (or three, depending on one's perspective) audio umbrellas. Each stage or film includes native Japanese soundtracks, the specials in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless and the films in 5.1 lossless. The specials' 2.0 lossless tracks are too thin, lacking the bass really necessary to bring home the action depth and delights. Listeners will be left wanting more as would-be powerhouse scenes tend to fall somewhat flat, failing to properly match the on-screen action. Spacing, however, is at least efficient in delivering the essentials. Music is a little more well pronounced. It's never wanting for volume intensity and it's well spacious along the front as well, though the lack of a low-end support limits the sense of body available to it.

The feature films bear the fruits of the 5.1 configuration. Spaciousness and positional integrity are more in evidence. The tracks open with a greater sense of seamlessness around the soundstage. Action scenes are more vigorously defined and detailed, and of course immersive and deep with the subwoofer engagement. To be sure, however, these are not the pinnacle of robust Blu-ray audio. The sound engineering is not up to Hollywood level production design but the added opportunities for spaciousness and low-end support are certainly welcome additions. The 2.0 English tracks take a step back. They are plenty wide and detailed and work with all they have at their disposal for maximum effort and definition, but the most fun is to be had with the 5.1 Japanese tracks. English subtitles can be toggled on and off for both language options. Note that the audio tracks must be selected independently from the main menu screen; there is no ability to change tracks "on the fly" during playback.

Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplemental content is included across any of the three Blu-ray discs. No DVD or digital copies are included, either. This release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover which includes all of the pertinent information; the Blu-ray case artwork includes no text beyond the spine, focusing instead on character imagery over written words.

Ultraman Zero Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a fun, action-packed set from the Ultraman universe. It's well versed in action and while the stories are a bit on the thin side -- aren't they all -- the effective pacing and relentless energy more than make up for any narrative shortcomings. Hardcore franchise fans are going to be all over this release. Newcomers might enjoy on a superficial level, but it's the seasoned Ultra fanatic who is going to get the most out of this release. Mill Creek's technical presentation is solid enough, even if the video suffers form some issues not uncommon to the series on Blu-ray and the audio is a mix between 2.0 and 5.1 lossless, even amongst the native Japanese audio tracks. Only the films include optional English language dubs, but English subtitles are available for all. No extras are included. Recommended.