Ultraman Anime Reveals Season 2 Premiere Window, Live-Action Ace Suit

A release window for the second season of the Netflix's Ultraman has been announced, alongside the announcement that the Ace Suit from the series would be the next design to get the live-action treatment as part of Ultraman Suit Project.

The series' producers held a special event in Tokyo to announce that the second season of the anime series will premiere in Spring of 2022. Netflix's Ultraman anime is an adaptation of a 2011 manga series by Eichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi. As with the original season of the show, the series is being made as a collaboration by Tsuburaya Productions, who produces the long running, live-action Ultraman tokusatsu franchise, and Production I.G., an animation studio that is best known for its work on shows such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Psycho-Pass. The event also revealed that the Ace Suit will be the next Ultraman design to be featured in the Ultraman Suit Project, which has previously adapted two of the other designs from the anime into live-action costumes. The announcements were revealed in a teaser trailer posted to Twitter.

Ultraman tells the story of Shinjiro Hayata, a young man who discovers that his father was once the host and partner of the legendary hero, Ultraman. When the aliens that Ultraman and his father once fought return to once again terrorize the Earth, Shinjiro merges with the giant himself to protect the planet and continue his father's legacy.

The first season of the anime was directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, who previously worked together on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and are once again teaming up for Crunchyroll and Adult Swim's upcoming Blade Runner: Black Lotus. The second season of the anime was originally scheduled to star voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki, but he exited the project following a cheating scandal and his ensuing hiatus from public activities. Suzuki is also the lead singer of the band OLDCODEX, which performed Ultraman's first season theme song. While Suzuki resigned from Ultraman, it was recently announced that the actor would continue his role in Kyoto Animation's Free! series.

The original Ultraman debuted in 1966 and is considered one of the most influential and pioneering works in Japan's tokusatsu (costumed hero) genre. The series has continued with dozens of sequel shows, spinoffs, and adaptations to other media, such as manga, anime and video games. The franchise has generated over $17 billion USD (adjusted for inflation,) in revenue during its long lifespan, and is often compared to Superman in terms of how the character has influenced overall Japanese pop-culture and media to become a widely recognized cultural touchstone.

The first season of the Ultraman anime series is currently available for streaming on Netflix. The manga that it is based on is localized and distributed internationally by VIZ Media.

Source: Twitter