Ultraman Nexus

Ultraman Nexus
English sales flyer
Created by	Kazuo Tsuburaya, Tsuburaya Productions Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting
Written by	Keiichi Hasegawa Kenichi Araki Masanao Akahoshi Murai Sadayuki Ai Ota
Directed by	Kazuya Konaka Miki Nemoto Tsugumi Kitaura Yuichi Abe Takeshi Yagi Naoki Ohara
Starring	Takuji Kawakubo Yusuke Kirishima Masato Uchiyama Yasue Sato Tamotsu Ishibashi Kousei Kato Keiko Goto
Composer(s)	Kenji Kawai
Country of origin	Japan
Original language(s)	Japanese
No. of episodes	37 (plus two DVD specials)
Production
Producer(s)	Takeshi Okazaki Hiroyasu Shibuya Tahei Yamanishi Tsuburaya Productions Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Dentsu
Running time	Approx. 24 mins per episode
Release
Original network	Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Tokyo Broadcasting System, GMA
Original release	October 2, 2004 – June 25, 2005
Chronology
Preceded by	Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy
Followed by	Ultraman Max
External links
Website

Ultraman Nexus (ウルトラマンネクサス, Urutoraman Nekusasu^?) was produced by Tsuburaya Productions, Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC), and Dentsu. It was the 20th entry in the Ultra Series. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System, including TBS, CBC, MBS, etc. The show ran from October 2, 2004 until June 25, 2005, with a total of 37 broadcast episodes. Subsequent DVD releases from Bandai Visual saw a brand new 45-minute Episode EX and an extended 45-minute Director's Cut of Episode 29.

Ultraman Nexus was part of Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra N Project, an experiment in 2004 to re-invent Ultraman for a new generation of fans. Prior to this, however, Tsuburaya had begun a project called Ultra Collaboration 2 at the end of 2003, which involved a brand new radio-adaptation of Ultra Q called The Ultra Q Club. The project was also due to include a new TV series called Ultraman Noa in early 2004, which is presumably what Ultraman Nexus evolved into. Following the success of the new radio show, Tsuburaya forged ahead with a brand new season, Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy on April 6, 2004, a show which attracted top-rung directors such as Shusuke Kaneko (popular with fans for his work on the Gamera series and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack).

The first stage of the Ultra N Project was entitled Noa: Nostalgia. The project mascot, Ultraman Noa, was a rather radical change design - an all-silver Ultraman with protruding wings on its back. Ultraman Noa was mainly used for live stage shows and merchandising. The second stage of the project was Next: Evolution. This saw the creation of a new theatrical film, ULTRAMAN. The final stage was Nexus: Trinity - the piece that ties the entire project together. Unlike the previous series Ultraman Cosmos, which was strictly aimed at young children, Ultraman Nexus was the first Ultraman TV series specifically aimed at adults. The show abandons the traditional monster-of-the-week stories in order to be replaced with longer character-based story arcs. Tsuburaya Productions had intended the show to be run during prime time, but the CBC network gave the show a 7:30 AM Saturday morning slot once Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon ended its 49 episode run. The TV series received weak ratings which were attributed to the change in style and not being able to have the target demographic tune in, resulting in the series being cut short from around 50 episodes down to 37.