Human-Sized Heros in Anime ULTRAMAN (2019) and Japan Sinks (2021)
A persistent cold that waylaid me over the winter holiday break was a perfect excuse for me to spend hours on the couch binging on some Japanese TV series on Netflix, including “ULTRAMAN” (2019) and “Japan Sinks: People of Hope” (2021). Familiar with their earlier incarnations from the 1970s, I was struck by how these stories had changed after nearly a half century.
Most obviously, the visual appeal of the new “ULTRAMAN” 3-D anime series is a far cry from the live actors in an awkward kigurumi (or whole-body character costume), rolling all over the miniature model of Tokyo neighborhoods.
More importantly, though, the Ultramen in this series - all five of them by the end of Season 2 - are human beings in a mechanized suit. The artificial skin, which in the 1970s production was a prop that the audience was not supposed to notice, is the center of attention now.
With the remaking of the Ultraman into a human pilot inside the Ultraman “suit,” the animated ULTRAMAN switched from the kaiju (oversized monster) genre, to the robotto/mecha anime, in which human pilots inside mechanized devices – some human-sized, some gigantic – are the requisite element. The trope of mecha anime is also seen in the new hero, Hayata Shinjiro, the teenage son of Hayata Shin, the first Ultraman-turned-defense minister.
In contrast to the protagonists in earlier Ultraman series who were professional combatants, Shinjiro of the 2019 ULTRAMAN series is a seemingly ordinary high school student, who hides his inexplicable powers to blend in. Just like other teenage heros of mecha anime, Ikari Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and Amuro Ray (Mobile Suit Gundam), he is reluctant when he is first brought into the ongoing battle between humans and aliens.
Amami Keishi, the protagonist in the 2021 version of Japan Sinks, isa middle-aged bureaucrat in a well-tailored suit and a tie. With budding political aspirations, he is depicted as glib enough to navigate through the maze of bureaucracy and willing to resort to political maneuvering when necessary. When he finds out about the catastrophic prediction that the Tokyo Metropolitan and surrounding areas may sink under the sea, he must choose between protecting his promising professional career and fighting for the truth and saving the people of Japan. In the uphill battle to convince reluctant politicians and industry leaders, he breaks all the rules of political engagement, ignores bureaucratic protocols, and keep pushing the political and economic leaders until finally they begin to take action.
Hayata Shinji and Amami Keishi end up on the path to overcome obstacles larger than life, the very definition of a hero. From Greek Mythology to today’s popular culture, stories of these heroic figures reflect the worldviews of the people in the particular time and place. If we are to extend this premise, what do the two heroic tales of ULTRAMAN and Japan Sinks tell of the collective psyche of contemporary Japanese for whom they were created?
Anthropologists have long argued that there is an overt emphasis on collectivity in the Japanese value system and that Japanese sense of self, which focus more on relationships with others, is distinct from the western “individual” selves. The collectivist approach was the mainstay of the older Ultraman franchise, in which the protagonists were all members of the team tasked to fight invading aliens. Their difference - the fact that they were the Ultraman - was carefully concealed from their teammates to maintain their solidarity. Similarly, in the 1973 film version of “Japan Sinks,” a team of scientists work together.
Most recent versions of these two series suggest a shift away from the collectivist emphasis. Five Ultramen in the new series are collaborators, who entered the war against invaders on an individual accord. Amami Keishi in the 2021 “Japan Sinks” defies collectivist pressure and it is his individual conviction that motivates him and moves others. Another “hero” in this story is Dr. Tadokoro, whose idiosyncratic ways nearly derailed his academic career, and yet, his single-minded pursuit of scientific truth ends up saving the entire population of Japan.
These individualistic heroes, who struggle to save the earth from destruction, are, literally and figuratively, human-sized. Hatata and Amami harness extraordinary powers – superhuman strength and weaponry of the Ultraman, or the power of a high-level bureaucrat to sway the crucial political decisions. But inside their suits, whether mechanical or tailored, they have their own personal battles with uncertainties, interpersonal conflicts, emotional attachments, and self-doubt. If the teenage anguish for Hayata ends dramatically with a moment of clarity during a desperate battle, the journey of Amami’s, in his middle age, goes on more quietly. Either way, their imperfections add the sense of humanity to their heroic acts.
Individuals with all the human weaknesses, and yet courageous enough to face the existential crisis – they are the ideal heroes of our times. If their struggles may not bring the complete resolution, “Japan Sinks” ends with a glimmer of hope (as suggested by its subtitle) for the Japanese people as a whole and for Amami as an individual. The final season of ULTRAMAN is expected to be released this spring. I can’t wait to find out how Hayata Shinjiro’s journey will end.
(Earlier version of this article appeared in Japan News, 2/16/2023.)
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