Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy

Plot

After defeating a Bemular on a desert-like moon, Ultraman Mebius returns to his home planet Ultra, also known as Land of Light in Nebula M78, where he is reunited with Ultraman, Zoffy, and Ultraseven. Outside Ultra's orbit in the Space Prison, also known as the Belial Prison, Alien Zarab assumes the guise of an Imitation Ultraman to subdue the guards before using the Giga Battlenizer to release the prison's only occupant: The evil Ultraman known as Ultraman Belial. While Zarab is expecting an alliance, Belial kills the alien and takes back his Giga Battlenizer as he is confronted by a squadron of Ultras led by Ultraman Taro to contain him. But Belial overpowers them while proceeding to overpower every able-bodied Ultra in the Land of Light, including his former friends Ultraman Ken (Father of Ultra) and his wife Ultrawoman Marie (Mother of Ultra), as he makes his way to the Plasma Spark Tower to take the Plasma Spark which keeps the planet alive. As the planet begins freezing over, Ultraman and Ultraseven shield themselves at the last moment, Taro protects the last fragment of light to prevent the planet's complete demise. As Belial flies off, having knocked the younger Ultraman off the planet during his rampage, Mebius returns to find his world a frozen wasteland while Ultraman and Ultraseven instruct Mebius to seek out the Reionics Rei.

Following their battle against Alien Reiblood, the ZAP Spacy group have arrived on the Earth-like Planet known as Dent where Rei and his Gomora have just defeated a Zaragas when Mebius spirits Rei and appears in the form of his human guise Mirai Hibino. Mirai tells Rei the genesis of Planet Ultra: How the Plasma Spark was initially created to replace M78's collapsing sun and it caused the evolution of the residential advanced human populace into Ultramen who used their powers to protect worlds from Kaijus also created by the radiation. But Belial was an exception, his temptation to gain more power from the Plasma Spark resulted in his banishment when he nearly endangered the planet. Belial ended up encountering Alien Reiblood, who fused into the Ultraman's body and further corrupted him into an Ultraman-Reionics. Belial used his ability to control hundreds of Kaijus with the Giga Battlenizer to raid the Land of Light in what came to be known Belial Revolt, nearly conquering the planet before being defeated and imprisoned in the newly created Space Prison by Ultraman King while his weapon was sealed away in the Valley of Fire before it was found by Zarab. Rei agrees to aid the Ultraman in facing Belial, who has arrived to the Monster Graveyard to resurrect his army with the Plasma Spark's power.

Rei and Mirai soon land on the frozen surface of the Land of Light and they are ambushed on their journey to the Plasma Spark Tower by an Alien Shaplay that Belial sent with a Dorako, a Bemstar, and a Salamandora to intercept them. During the fight, Mirai's Mebium Brace is damaged by the Shaplay and Rei nearly loses his Battlenizer, but Ultraman, assuming a human form modeled after his host Shin Hayata, and Ultraseven in his Dan Moroboshi guise come to the youths' aid as the later uses his Capsule Kaijus Windom, Miclas, and Agira to defeat the Shaplay's monsters. On the way to the tower, it is revealed there is another Ultraman who can assist but Ultraseven reveals that person was also exiled from the Land of Light. When the group arrive at the tower, they find themselves facing a now-revenge-driven Shaplay while Rei and Gomora face a Black King. Once their opposition is dispatched, Taro gives the three Ultramen the last of the Plasma Spark's light to assume their Ultraman forms in a last-ditch attempt to reclaim the Plasma Spark from Belial. Meanwhile, on a desert planet after almost touching the Plasma Spark when stopped by Ultraseven, the Ultraman known as Zero undergoes training by Ultraman Leo in training armor while observed by Ultraman King.

Production and casting

Susumu Kurobe, of the original Ultraman, and Kohji Moritsugu, of the original Ultraseven, returned to the film, as did Takeshi Tsuruno of Dyna, Taiyou Sugiura of Cosmos, Shunji Igarashi of Mebius, and Shota Minami of Ultra Galaxy. The film was directed by Koichi Sakamoto, the action director for the production of Power Rangers in New Zealand. In addition to voice actor Mamoru Miyano voicing the new Ultraman Zero, former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi provided the voice for Ultraman King. To promote the movie and Windows 7, a special event was staged with Ultra Seven and his son Ultraman Zero alongside Microsoft employees.

Cast

Rei (レイ): Shota Minami (南 翔太, Shōta Minami)

Shin Hayata (ハヤタ・シン, Hayata Shin), Ultraman (ウルトラマン, Urutoraman; Voice): Susumu Kurobe (黒部 進, Kurobe Susumu)

Dan Moroboshi (モロボシ・ダン, Moroboshi Dan), Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン, Urutorasebun; Voice): Kohji Moritsugu (森次 晃嗣, Moritsugu Kōji)

Hyuga (ヒュウガ, Hyūga): Hiroyuki Konishi (小西 博之, Konishi Hiroyuki)

Haruna (ハルナ): Saki Kamiryo (上良 早紀, Kamiryō Saki)

Kumano (クマノ): Mitsutoshi Shundo (俊藤 光利, Shundō Mitsutoshi)

Oki (オキ): Toru Hachinohe (八戸 亮, Hachinohe Tōru)

Musashi Haruno (春野 ムサシ, Haruno Musashi): Taiyo Sugiura (杉浦 太陽, Sugiura Taiyō)

Shin Asuka (アスカ・シン, Asuka Shin), Ultraman Dyna (ウルトラマンダイナ, Urutoraman Daina; Voice): Takeshi Tsuruno (つるの 剛士, Tsuruno Takeshi)

Mirai Hibino (ヒビノ・ミライ, Hibino Mirai), Ultraman Mebius (ウルトラマンメビウス, Urutoraman Mebiusu; Voice): Shunji Igarashi (五十嵐 隼士, Igarashi Shunji)

Residents of the Land of Light: Mamoru Uchiyama (内山 まもる, Uchiyama Mamoru), Satoshi Furuya (古谷 敏, Furuya Satoshi)

Alien Pressure (プレッシャー星人, Puresshā Seijin): Takashi Okamura (岡村 隆史, Okamura Takashi)

Ultraman Belial (ウルトラマンベリアル, Urutoraman Beriaru; Voice): Hiroyuki Miyasako (宮迫 博之, Miyasako Hiroyuki)

Ultraman Zero (ウルトラマンゼロ, Urutoraman Zero; Voice): Mamoru Miyano (宮野 真守, Miyano Mamoru)

English dub actors

Paul Stanko as Rei/Reimon

William Knight as Shin Hayata/Ultraman

G. Larry Butler as Dan Moroboshi/Ultraseven

Frank Gerrish as Captain Hyuga

Valerie Rose Lohman as Haruna

Michael Kunselman as Kumano

Josh Madson as Oki

John Katona as Mirai Hibino/Ultraman Mebius

Beau Marie as Ultraman Belial

Daniel Van Thomas as Ultraman Zero

Bryan Forrest as Shin Asuka/Ultraman Dyna

Phil Miler as Ultraman Leo

Robert Axelrod as Ultraman King

Brad Potts as Ultraman Jack

Kyle Rea as Ultraman 80

William Winckler as Ultraman Taro

Lisle Wilkerson as Mother of Ultra

Mark Chinnery as Researcher

Jay Dee Witney as Ultra Guard

Kent Shocknek as Battlenizer

Adam Sartain as Narrator

Theme song

"Hoshi no Yō ni..." (星のように...; lit. "Like the Stars...")

Composition: Sinkiroh

Arrangement: Tohru Shigemi (重実 徹, Shigemi Tōru)

Lyrics & Artist: MISIA

Japanese R&B singer MISIA performs the film's theme song, with its music video featuring MISIA, Ultraman, Alien Baltan, Dada, Pigmon, and Alien Metron. The single is sold as both a standard edition containing just the CD single and a limited edition which includes the CD single and a gold-colored statuette of a caped Ultraman. The other tracks on the single are the remix "Hoshi no Yō ni... (Gomi's Ultra Legend Club Mix)" which includes Ultraman vocals and the song "ULTRA X'MAS". The song is also featured on her album Just Ballade while the remix is included on the album for the film's original soundtrack, score composed by Mike Verta.

Reception

The film earned $6.1 million at the Japanese box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, 81% on the positive rate.

Video game

A pinball game called Ultra Legend Pinball was released internationally for the iPhone and iPod Touch as an application in the App Store. The download for the application is free, but an in-app purchase of ¥350/US$2.99/£1.79/€2,39 is required to play the full game (the "Free Version" is only a demo version). Also, there's a new Ultra Galaxy Legend Game release for Wii.