Ultra Series

The Ultraman Series (ウルトラマンシリーズ Urutoraman Shirīzu), or widely known as the Ultra Series (ウルトラシリーズ Urutora Shirīzu), is a long-running franchise created and produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The series (mostly involves) a giant hero to fight the monsters with the help of a military support team, similar to the Showa Godzilla films. The franchise began in 1966 with Ultra Q, which follows the same premise, just without the Ultra Beings. The popularity of the series had grown in the next Series Ultraman created a year after, following a man named Shin Hayata who gained access to a mysterious being known as Ultraman. The series quickly became an icon amongst Japan and is considered one of the best Tokusatsu series ever made alongside Kamen Rider and Super Sentai.

Why It's Ultra

 * 1) It's one of the longest-running TV show series in Japan, alongside Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Sazae-san, and Doraemon.
 * 2) Every season tells an entirely different story.
 * 3) The acting, voice acting, and storytelling are great.
 * 4) The fighting scenes are awesome, especially during recent seasons.
 * 5) It's a generally lighthearted show with many comedic moments, however it's done in a good way without forcing it in the plot (Though some series do tend to be darker and more story based.)
 * 6) It usually has very successful toy sales.
 * 7) Each season is good, entertaining and full of action, such as Ultra Q, Ultraman (1966 TV Series), Ultraseven, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman Tiga, Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Gaia, Ultraman Cosmos, Ultraman Nexus, Ultraman Max, Ultraman Mebius, various shows/movies featuring Ultraman Zero, Ultraman X, Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Geed, Ultraman R/B, and Ultraman Z.
 * 8) The 4Kids dubbed version of Ultraman Tiga sounds very good, in a favor of the very huge popularity of the Power Rangers.
 * 9) Very good writing from well known Tokusatsu writers and brand new ones.
 * 10) Some of the staff members of the Ultra Series also work on Kamen Rider Series and Super Sentai, making those shows even better.
 * 11) There are so many monsters that are amazing and memorable. Examples include Gomora, Eleking, Bemular, Bemstar, Black King, Tyrant, Mefilas, Dada, Telesdon, Gudon and Twin-Tail, Sadora, Zetton, Bullton, King Joe, Antlar, Baltan, Gomess, Golza, Gymaira, Saramandora, Neronga, Arstron, Vakishim and ESPECIALLY Red King, who is considered by many to be the best monster in the entire franchise.
 * 12) *Even some of the more obscure monsters like Neosaurus, Melba, or Dinotank are very cool.
 * 13) Awesome soundtracks for the shows and insanely catchy theme songs.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) There are some bad or mediocre seasons such as mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman 80, mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman: Towards the Future, mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman the Ultimate Hero, mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman Ginga , mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman Ginga S, and mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman Taiga
 * 2) The humor can be kinda cringy at times.
 * 3) The oldest seasons, although great, are incredibly outdated and sometimes lead to unintentional comedy. This is excusable for the shows' small budget for the time.
 * 4) There is an over usage of sound effects from the Godzilla movies in the older seasons from 1965-1975 and sometimes even the suits and props from the movies. The most infamous examples being Jirahs from Ultraman who is a very loosely modified Godzilla suit used in Mothra vs. Godzilla from 1964, and Pagos from Ultra Q being a very loosely modified Baragon suit. These monsters still look very neat though, and this is once again excusable due to the shows' budget.

Good Examples

 * Ultra Q (1966)
 * Ultraman (1966 TV Series) (1966-1967)
 * Ultraseven (1967-1968)
 * Ultraman Ace (1972-1973)
 * Ultraman Taro (1973-1974)
 * Ultraman Leo (1974-1975)
 * Ultraman Tiga (1996-1997)
 * Ultraman Dyna (1997-1998)
 * Ultraman Gaia (1998-1999)
 * Ultraman Cosmos (2001-2002)
 * Ultraman Nexus (2004-2005)
 * Ultraman Max (2005-2006)
 * Ultraman Mebius (2006-2007)
 * Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle (2007-2008)
 * Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008-2009)
 * Ultraman X (2015-2016)
 * Ultraman Orb (2016)
 * Ultraman Geed (2017)
 * Ultraman R/B (2018)
 * Ultraman Z (2020)

Neutral Examples

 * Return of Ultraman (1971-1972)
 * Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy (2004)
 * Neo Ultra Q (2013)
 * Ultraman Ginga S (2014)
 * Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga (2021)

Bad Examples

 * The☆Ultraman (1979-1980)
 * Ultraman 80 (1980-1981)
 * Ultraman: Towards the Future (1992)
 * Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero (1993)
 * Ultraman Neos (2000-2001)
 * mh:terribletvshows:Ultraseven X (2007)
 * mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman Ginga (2013)
 * Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga (2016)
 * mh:terribletvshows:Ultraman Taiga (2019)