THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN

Evan Song

                Eiji Tsuburaya sat in his office reflecting on the day’s events. His producers had told they were nearing their deadline for creating a new show. The company’s previous show Ultra Q had been a huge success among the viewers and was getting their company attention. Naturally, the producers were asking for more in a new show. Eiji however, was struggling to find what would appeal to children, the primary demographic for their shows.

                What can I work with here? The kaiju genre was what made Ultra Q successful, so that should give me an idea…

He continued to sit in his office, pondering what to do. He glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly time for him to go home. He packed up his supplies and headed out, bidding goodbye to his secretary as he left.

                As Eiji walked along the busy street, he was lost in his thoughts, which made him oblivious to the sounds and the world around him. His thoughts were interrupted by the screeching of a car. He glanced over and saw a sleek silver car zoom by.

                That looks like it can be a defense team car...but should we include a defense team? Ultra Q didn’t have one… Maybe we should include one, to change up the formula? That would get viewers’ attention.

                He continued pondering as he made his way home, snapping out of it briefly to greet his wife as he walked through the door and asked her how their son’s day at school was. Eiji walked into his son’s bedroom, still dirty and messy from before he went to school. Eiji’s weary old eyes fell on a comic book lying on the floor. “Superman” the title read in Japanese on the cover. Almost instantly, Eiji felt a flash of inspiration. He remembered hearing his son tell tales of the hero from the comics, how he was an alien that fought to defend the humans and the planet Earth.

                If my son enjoys that, then surely other children will enjoy it too.. A small smile formed across Eiji’s wrinkled face as he continued to brainstorm. An alien superhero who comes to defend humanity from super powerful threats like monsters and aliens. What colors should he be? Red is a heroic color, but what else? He thought back to the silver car he had seen walking home. Silver is an inspiring color… So red and silver… What should we call him? “Superman” is already taken… He then remembered how his son described Superman as “ultra-cool.” Wait… ultra… What about “Ultraman?”

                Eiji then got on the phone with his producers, saying “Hey guys, I got us something.”