Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 8, 2023

Following a very quick and intense stream of Ultraman releases in various iterations of the character, and throughout the uiverse, spanning decades of content, and even offering a few SteelBook packaging variants, Mill Creek has slowed the Ultraman Blu-ray push to a slow drip. The latest, and the first since June of 2023 (which was another compilation collection), is Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology, a collection of 55 episodes and specials spanning 55 years and the entire history of the Ultraman universe. It explores the character's legacy beginning with his debut on October 1, 1967 in the original Ultraseven series and continues on through Ultraman Orb and Ultra Fight Orb. Needless to say this is an expansive assortment of Ultraman history that, even with much of it already released to Blu-ray, is a treasure of franchise history in one attractive package.

Below is a list of what is included on each disc and, where applicable, links to where that content previously appeared on Blu-ray. If a link is not provided, the content is new to Blu-ray.

Disc One:

• Ultraseven: Episodes include The Invisible Challenger, The Secret of the Lake, The Marked Town, The Man Who Came from V3, The Ultra Guard Goes West: Part 1, The Ultra Guard Goes West: Part 2, Underground Go! Go! Go!, Showdown at 140 Degrees Below Zero, Super Weapon R1, and The 700 Kilometer Run.

Disc Two:

• Ultraseven: Episodes include The Stolen Ultra Eye, The Courageous Battle, The Seven Assassination Plan: Part 1, The Seven Assassination Plan: Part 2, Nightmare on Ultra Planet No. 4, The Biggest Invasion in History: Part 1, and The Biggest Invasion in History: Part 1.
• Return of Ultraman: Episodes include Here Comes Ultraseven! and When the Star of Ultra Shines.

Disc Three:

• Ultraman Ace: Episodes include Execution! 5 Ultra Brothers, 5 Stars Scattered in the Galaxy, Annihilation! The 5 Ultra Brothers, Miracle! Father of Ultra, Seven's Life! Aces Life!, and Setsubun Scary Story! Sparkling Beans.
• Ultraman Taro: Episodes include Parent Star, Child Star, First Star, Burn! The 6 Ultra Brothers!, 5 Seconds Before the Great Explosion of the Land of Ultra!, The Last Day of the Six Ultra Brothers!, and Surpass the Ultra Brothers!

Disc Four:

• Ultraman Leo: Episodes include The Day Ultraseven Dies, Is the Day when Tokyo Sinks!, The Great Sinking! Twilight of the Japanese Archipelago, You're a Man! Get Fired Up!, Explosion! Two Desperate Aliens, The Ultra Brothers: Eternal Vow, Mac Annihilated! The Flying Saucer Is Alive!, and Farewell, Leo! Setting Off for the Sun.
• Ultraman 80: Included is Fierce Fight! 80 vs. Ultraseven.
• Ultraman Kids: Included is What? We Jumped Out Into Space.
• Ultraman Neos: Included are The Red Giant! Seven 21 and Determine! The SX Rescue Operation.
• Ultraman Mebius: Included are Immortal Grozam and Final Trilogy III: Words from the Heart.

Disc Five:

• Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers
• Ultraseven X: Included are Dream and New World.
• Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
• Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle Never Ending Odyssey

Disc Six:

• Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy The Movie
• Ultraman Ginga: Included are The Jet Black Ultra Brothers and Darkness and Light.
• Ultraman Zero - The Chronicle: Included is The Revenge of Belial: Chapter of Bonds.
• Ultraman Orb The Movie: Let Me Borrow the Power of Bonds!
• Ultra Fight Orb

Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Generally speaking, there is no significant difference in the returning material quality, which encompasses all of discs one, two, three, and six and part of discs four and five. It appears the same masters have been used for the returning content (and at the same resolution; the Ultraman X episodes, for example, are presented at 1080i), but there is potentially some minor variances in compression. Still, there are no radical transformations to core elements and colors.

For the content which is new to Blu-ray, which begins with some of the material on disc four and continues on disc five, the video presentation holds the line for the overall basic quality from the series, despite much of it being presented at 480i. For the new to Blu-ray content on disc four, there is an obvious downgrade for the quality of the filmic elements (considering the 480i content; Ultraman Leo holds at 1080p), lacking the finer grain, textural nuance and color depth and accuracy on the 1080p images. Aspect ratios are preserved between 4x3 and 16x9, allowing fans to enjoy each episode or movie, whatever the case may be, as they were originally presented. The 4x3 film content looks decent, offering a fair film quality experience that maintains some grain and adequate detail but is rendered less effective by various compression artifacts which are fairly pervasive across the board, and in some aliasing and jagged edges cropping up here and there. There is some print wear in evidence on the film-sourced content as well. The film elements (looking at you, Ultraman 80, for example) are fairly pale and flat, lacking any sort oof real fullness or vitality. Skin tones are adequate, but black levels and white balance definitely leave something wanting. The animated Ultraman Kids holds the same sort of presentation parameters, almost looking upscaled and definitely showing more of the aliasing and jagged edges. Colors are pretty vibrant, at least. In short, and as is the short and sweet review for every film-sourced Ultraman experience: it's watchable, but there is room for vast improvement if one day Mill Creek feels compelled to really give this franchise the high-definition treatment it deserves.

Disc five sees more new-to-Blu-ray content. The feature film Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers is presented at 1.78:1 and 1080p and looks very good, despite some obvious aliasing and jagged edge issues at work, not to mention edge enhancement, at times, and the regularly occurring macroblocking. The image is otherwise fairly sharp (some establishing shots aside) and nicely detailed with suitably full, though not too terribly rich, colors.

For reviews of all of the carryover content, please click through the appropriate links above and navigate to the review tab.

Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disc Four's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtracks generally hold to the basic quality for the rest of the series in 2.0, offering adequate yield and spatial dynamics within the limited range. Clarity is never striking but core audio definition to music, effects, and the spoken word satisfy essential requirements. None of these will challenge sound systems, but the content suits the material well enough. Dialogue balances nicely to the center and is generally well prioritized. All tracks are in Japanese.

Ultraman Mebius & Ultra Brothers' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The audio is very active and alive, with sweeping, swooping surround content in an early battle that is energetic and exciting, really making full, fine, and fun use of the surround channels. Such is the pattern for this one, offering some of the best audio anywhere in this set and definitely also anywhere in the fuller Ultraman Blu-ray universe. Do note that Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy The Movie included an English language soundtrack alongside the original Japanese in a previous release. Here, however, it only includes the Japanese track.

Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As is the norm for the Ultraman and surrounding universe Blu-ray releases, there is no supplemental content anywhere in this set. No DVD or digital copies are included. This does ship with an alternate artwork, non-embossed slipcover. The set also ships with an attractive, full color, glossy page booklet that offers introductory text to the set, written by Keith Aiken, as well as full episode and feature film synopses for everything in the package.

Ultraseven 55th Anniversary Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a great set. It's packed, the content is good, and fans will enjoy. Hopefully, Mill Creek will release some of the series that are previewed in this set but not yet fully issued to Blu-ray. Until then, this is a focused collection that offers a very broad, decade-spanning collection from the Ultraman universe that is worthwhile for both longtime fans and newcomers alike looking to sample everything the universe has to offer. Recommended!