As of writing, it’s November 16th, and the first weekend of Ultraman LIVE has officially wrapped! What an incredible historic moment for both Tsuburaya Productions and the Ultraman franchise, delivering a wildly successful U.S. event experience. A massive thank you to Tsuburaya Pro and the entire team at Starlight Runner for bringing such an amazing and powerful event to the East Coast! It’s amazing to feel that love here.
Nick Crispino and I had the privilege of attending Saturday’s show, representing Kaiju United by attending the show and Bandai Namco’s media hour. We were allowed into the venue an hour early, and immediately upon entering, we were greeted with an awesome gift bag courtesy of Bandai Namco, filled with Ultraman figures and collectibles. But one item instantly stole my attention: an early release of the new Ultraman 4K Discovery set from Alliance Home Entertainment (formerly Mill Creek)! As a dedicated physical media collector, I was ecstatic (Nick is my witness).
What Is Ultraman 4K Discovery?
One might assume this release contains the entire 1966 Ultraman series in 4K, but that’s not the case. Instead, Ultraman 4K Discovery is a curated collection of four compilation films, each featuring selected episodes from the original series newly remastered in full 4K. These films first premiered at the Tsuburaya Film Festival in October 2024 and are now making their U.S. debut. The full series is scheduled for a complete 4K release in July 2026, and if this set is any indication, we’re in for something special.
Each film centers on a thematic storyline:
- Stories of Life
- Ep. 1: Ultra Operation No. 1
- Ep. 2: Shoot the Invader
- Ep. 35: The Monster Graveyard
- Ep. 39: Farewell, Ultraman
- Stories of Romance
- Ep. 3: Science Patron, Move Out
- Ep. 19: Demons Rise Again
- Ep. 26: The Prince of Monsters, Part 1
- Ep. 27: The Prince of Monsters, Part 2
- Stories of Friendship
- Ep. 13: Oil S.O.S.
- Ep. 33: The Forbidden Words
- Ep. 36: Don’t Shoot, Arashi
- Ep. 37: The Little Hero
- Stories of Justice
- Ep. 30: The Phantom of the Snow Mountain
- Ep. 15: Terrifying Cosmic Rays
- Ep. 20: Terror on Route 87
- Ep. 23: My Home Is Earth
Packaging & Disc Presentation
Inside the case, you’ll find two discs, but no booklet. I love having printed materials included, and previous releases really benefited from them.
Once the disc loads, you’re greeted by a static menu that offers audio track selection and subtitles.
Video Quality
Visually, this remaster is nothing short of stunning. The color grading is phenomenal, vibrant, and rich. With deep blacks and bold highlights, the image achieves a sense of depth. There is a noticeable amount of heavy grain present, though that may be due to my TV’s processing, and I’m sure it’ll be better on a proper 4K setup. Regardless, it maintains the organic film texture rather than being de-noised.
Even with those elements, this new transfer stands leagues above any previous home video release. It’s a dramatic leap into preserving the franchise in the best quality possible. While there are a few rare moments where the source elements show their age, particularly during optical transitions like fade-ins and fade-outs, they’re minor and are expected from the era.
This is, without question, the best Ultraman has ever appeared on home media.
Audio
This new set features two audio tracks:
Japanese Audio:
Although labeled as stereo, listening closely reveals that the track appears to originate from the original mono source, simply duplicated across both channels. Though it does remain clean and natural-sounding with no new special effects added. In fact, one of the most significant improvements is the complete removal of the modern sound effects that previously appeared in the Mill Creek Blu-ray and Japanese home-video releases!
I’m also pleased to confirm that the subtitles are not dubtitles. The new English dub follows its own script for clarity and narrative flow, while the subtitles remain faithful to the original Japanese dialogue.
Brand-New English Remix/Re-Dub:
Produced by Okratron 5000, this new English dub had been fully remixed using the original sound effects and music stems from the show to create a genuine stereo soundstage. This alone places it far above the 2019 Mill Creek Blu-ray, which suffered from an inconsistent and often distracting stereo mix that relied on generic, modern sound effects that pulled viewers out of the experience rather than enhancing it.
A small note worth mentioning is that there are a few rare moments where traces of the original Japanese dialogue bleed into the dub, most noticeably in the Baltan episode just before the final battle. However, this is only detectable through close listening and doesn’t entirely detract from the overall quality.
This new layering gives the audio far greater depth and presence without ever feeling artificial or overproduced, resulting in an English track that is both immersive and respectful to the spirit of the original broadcast. The team at Okratron 5000 deserves major credit. This is, without question, the best the series has ever sounded in English, and while I would love the entirety of the United Artists original dub, this is a massive step forward compared to previous releases.
Final Verdict
Ultraman 4K Discovery is a phenomenal preview of the upcoming full-series release and represents a major milestone in the franchise’s physical media history. For longtime fans and dedicated collectors, this is the way to experience the classic series in the best quality it has ever had.
At a price point of $69.99, I truly believe this release is worth the investment if you’re someone who values the work of Tokusatsu. Even knowing the full series in 4K is coming out in July 2026, many fans will appreciate having this release now, both to enjoy the material early and to support the continued efforts to restore and preserve Tokusatsu history. And compared to the Japanese edition price at $159.99, this set is considerably more affordable while still offering exceptional value.
Stay tuned, the best is yet to come in 2026.
To order Ultraman 4K Discovery: Click Here!
And also for the holidays, here’s the pre-order link for the Ultraman Yuletide Collection! This one will be released on December 9, 2025!
