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Because of how popular and influential the Ultra Series is, particularly in its homeland of Japan, it has been referenced by many other works.

When an Ultra series is referenced it's usually the original Ultraman or Ultraseven, since they're the most popular and iconic series. In the west, where the franchise is more obscure, the reference will usually be just in the cross-shaped arm pose made when the Ultra heroes fire their rays, or a brief appearance from Ultraman. In Japan, well-known monsters might be seen more, as many are just as popular and recognizable as the heroes. You can also expect to see Godzilla appear too every now and then.

Also see Ultraman Copy.


Examples:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • An unnamed enemy knight from Berserk wears a helmet modelled after Ultraseven's Eye Slugger.
  • Doraemon
    • In a short titled "Let's Make Badges" Doraemon uses a gadget called the Badge-Making Camera to instantly create badges, the first batch being badges depicting various Ultra kaiju (including one which looks suspiciously like Hydra).
    • Doraemon: Nobita and The Space Heroes has Nobita being casted as a monster called "Nobigon" in the gang's earlier attempt at shooting a homemade toku film, a reference to the Ultra Series' naming convention of "[insert-prefix]"-gon (e.g. Crazygon, Snowgon, Kanegon, Silvergon).
  • Chi Chi's helmet in the original Dragon Ball is based on Ultraseven's Eye Slugger and Emerium Beam.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • Battle Tendency: Joseph Joestar performs an Ultraman rising transformation pose at one point.
    • JoJolion: At Tsurugi's secret room, there's an action figure of Ultraman on the shelf.
  • A robot resembling Alien Baltan appears in one episode of the Ranma ½ anime.
  • Endlessly in the Reference Overdosed series Sgt. Frog. Here just a handful:
    • A Zetton parody called Zezeze Tototoso appeared in episode 154. Gan Q from Ultraman Gaia appears in the same episode.
    • A Chupacabra version of Jirass called Capras appeared in another episode. And parodying how Jirass was clearly just Godzilla with a frill, Fuyuki calls out the monster as just being "a chupacabra with a frill" (that then gets ripped off...).
    • The genetically engineered Wettle Kings are parodies of Ultraman.
    • Angol Mois and her two counterparts wear hair clips resembling the emblems of Science Patrol, Ultra Garrison, and MAT.
    • Ultraman Taro's Ultra Badge made a cameo appearance in Dororo Character Special.
    • A Beta Capsule parody called the Flash Spoon appears in episodes 30 and 57. Also counts as a Genius Bonus for Ultraman fans, referencing a scene in episode 34 of the show where Hayata mixes up his Beta Capsule with a spoon when about transform.
    • In episode 57, Keroro retells a spoof of episode 19 of Ultraman with himself as Aboras and Giroro as Banila.
  • Greymon from Digimon is based on Gomora. The title credits in the Japanese version of Digimon Adventure uses monster silhouettes similar to the ones featured in the title credits for many Ultra shows, with one even having a character do the Ultraman rising transformation pose.
  • The intro to Lucky Star features Konata Isumi performing a Specium Ray pose.
  • The entirety of episode 93 of Gintama is a Whole-Plot Reference to the original Ultraman.
  • The Crayon Shin-chan movie The Storm Called: The Adult Empire Strikes Back has scenes of the Nohara family (sans Hiroshi) wearing Science Patrol uniforms and a Gomora parody fighting a Hiroshi-headed version of Ultraman.
  • Windam appears as one of the villainous Dark Matter Thieves in One-Punch Man, as seen here.
  • Ultraman Zero, Pigmon, and Alien Metron appear in episode 1 of Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life.
  • Akane from SSSS.GRIDMAN have a bunch of action figures depicting various Ultramen kaiju in her bedroom, including Robo-Fo, Nova, Reberuga, Abdolaars and Nova.
  • Nephilim Nova from Symphogear G is based on Zetton, right down to being the hero's final foe.
  • In one episode of Yo-kai Watch, Kuma dreams of being "Super Kuma Man", a blue parody of Ultraman.
  • An Imagine Spot in Food Wars! sees Hisako Arato as Gamera battling Senzaemon Nakiri as Ultraman King.
  • In Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, we have this line from Nyarko while she performs a Specium Ray pose.
    Nyarko: "Let's leave the rest to the Space Guard. A team of elite warriors from the Land of Light."
    • The scene from episode 12 where Mahiro is trapped in crystal, Nyarko says "This is the light!", and the light that revives Mahiro is a reference to the finale of Ultraman Tiga, where Daigo was revived in the same manner to become Tiga again and face Gatanozoa (fitting when you consider that both Nyarko and Gatanozoa are based on HP Lovecraft's works).
  • Hideaki Anno is an enormous Ultra Series fan, so this appears a fair bit in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
    • The whole concept of there being a defense force against giant aliens and monsters in the series is quite obvious on its own, but the fact that the Evas also possess time limits and cores not unlike the Color Times of the Ultras.
    • NERV's phone uses the recycled cackle of King Ghidorah, an intentional homage to how the Science Patrol and Ultra Garrison's phones used the same iconic sound.
    • Likewise, NERV's cars are based on the ones driven by MAT in Return of Ultraman. Don't believe us? Take a look.
    • The final monster of Anno's show Zeruel is based on Zetton, the final monster of Tsuburaya's show.
    • An insanely subtle one, but the 4 Adams behind the Second Impact? The red dots on their forms and their symbols are respectively the Colour Timers and Ultra Signs of Ultraman, Zoffy, Ultraseven, and Ultraman Jack. Their Ultra Signs can even be seen in the same scene. Check it here.
    • The climax of the second Rebuild of Evangelion movie is a shot-for-shot recreation of a scene from the finale of Ultraman Nexus, as seen here.
  • Moe Anthropomorphisms of King Joe, Eleking, Alien Temperor, Zetton, and Alien Mephilas made their appearance in the 20th episode of Haitai Nanafa.
  • In the third episode of Kill Me Baby, Yasuna Oribe tries to "unlock" her psychic potential with a spoon, later using both to imitate Ultraman's eyes before Sonya punches her in a similar manner of an Ultraman rise.
    • In episode 5, Yasuna pretends to be an assassin and wears an Ultraman mask until Sonya knocks her out.
  • The title character of Akira Toriyama's Jaco the Galactic Patrolman is based on Ultraman. It's also worth noting that Toriyama has admitted to be a huge fan of the Ultraman franchise.
  • Birdy the Mighty is a Whole-Plot Reference to Ultraman, featuring an alien who comes to Earth in pursuit of bad guys and accidentally kills an ordinary guy in the process, so she decides to merge with him to continue the mission.
  • Gundam:
  • Mantaro Kinniku, the main character for Ultimate Muscle is physically based on Ultraman Taro and Ultraseven.
    • The Ultra Brothers make a cameo in Kinnikuman, where they are too busy vacationing at a hot spring to save the world.
  • Patlabor pays multiple tribute to the Ultra Series, mainly the final episodes of Ultraman and Ultraseven, in the fifteenth episode of The New Files.
  • Ultraman, his foes, and his allies, (as well as Gamera and Godzilla and co.) make many cameos in Urusei Yatsura.
  • Nobunagun features an anti-monster organization with uniforms based on those of Science Patrol, as shown here.
  • Grosse Augen from Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou is an expy of Ultraman, but inverts Ultraman's backstory by being revived by a human who merges with him.
  • Ultraman's silhouette can be spotted in the first chapter of My Hero Academia amongst those of many other superheroes, including Superman and Kamen Rider.
    • Yui Kodai is a walking Shout-Out to the Ultras. Her hero costume is designed to look like a female version of Ultraman, has Ultraseven's slugger on her head, has a Color Timer, and a color scheme of red and silver.
  • In Pretty Cure All Stars: New Stage: Mirai no Tomodachi, some girls at Ayumi's school discuss the Pretty Cures, and one of them performs a "Pretty Cure beam" by placing her hands in a "+"-position like the ones used in Ultras' beam attacks.
  • One Azumanga Daioh strip titled "Osaka-man" had Osaka trying to scare people with an Ultraman mask (without much success).
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • Jesse and James imitate Baltan while wearing Corphish claws on their hands during a performance of their motto in the Advanced Generation series episode "A Corphish Out of Water". Like this.
    • One Best Wishes! episode "An Epic Defense Force!" has Ash, Pikachu, and Pignite as Science Patrol-like officers of the Unova Defense Force against a "Mecha-Tyranitar" in a parody of kaiju movies.
    • Meowth also appears in a green Pygmon costume in one episode, complete with a pin balloon attached to his back in homage to how Science Patrol tagged the little monster in its debut episode.
  • Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The franchise as a whole has multiple references to the Ultra Series.
    • The anime frequently featured the Ultraman rising transformation pose due to the usage of Kaiju in this Magical Girl series.
    • In the visual novel Yuki Yuna is a Hero A, Inubouzaki Itsuki makes a reference to Ultraman Orb's Fusion Up sequence, saying "Karin! Yuna! I'm borrowing the power of Heroes!". In another chapter, the characters discuss a planned school play in which Togo Mimori's role in the play is "a robot created by the enemies who rampages in the harbor and throws ships around".
    • In the smartphone game Yuki Yuna is a Hero: A Sparkling Bouquet, Doi Tamako says her favourite hero is Ultramen (Urutoramen; lit. Ultra Noodle), who she describes as a "short-period fighter who could only fight while making cup noodles", whose finishing move is the Calcium Ray (implied to add calcium to cup noodles), and has a time limit of "one-two minutes".
  • In episode 7 of KonoSuba's anime adaptation, Vanir makes a "Murder Ray" pose with his arms at Wiz, mimicking the iconic "L"-shaped Ultraman beam attack posture.
  • In episode 4 of Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!, Mile claims she named her Ultra Freeze spell after a scene from a show clearly based on Ultraman Taro and Taro's battle against Cosmoliquids and Live King (where he froze both monsters to destroy them). See here.
  • In episode 35 of Death Note, Near is seen playing with several Ultraman-like and kaiju figures.
  • In the fourth volume of AKIRA, an Ultraman-like statue can be seen in the middle of the wreckage. See here.
  • At the end of episode 11 of HaruChika, Haruta can be seen wearing a mask that resembles Ultraman.
  • In episode 6 of Attack on Titan: Junior High, when Annie asks Jean to go to the park after school, Jean runs out of the school and does a pose that resembles Ultraman Taro's rise.
  • In episode 5 of My First Girlfriend Is a Gal, a fight scene between two of Junichi's mental images of himself parodies Ultraman Orb's fusion power-ups, like this.
  • In chapter 110 of My Monster Secret, Asahi Kuromine imagines Akane Kumoto as Ultraman, Akaranger, and Kamen Rider.
  • In episode 62 of Ranma ½, Ranma and Ryoga are racing against each other in a desert wasteland in order to win a trip to China, and one of the obstacles they encounter is a sand trap with a robot resembling Baltan.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya: During the Endless Eight arc, Yuki Nagato always buys a mask resembling Ultraman at a Bon Festival and can be seen wearing it in multiple scenes.
  • In the prologue of episode 4 of Whispered Words, an Ultraman mask is visible on Sumika's desk and discovered by her housekeeper.
  • GTO: The Early Years:
    • Eikichi mentions bringing Ultraman shampoo to baths when he was a kid.
    • In Chapter 158 Eikichi orders Nanno to help them, calling him Windam the capsule monster from Ultraseven.
    • In Chapter 177, Katsuyuki calls his rival Hinoken's bike his "Ultra Hawk No. 1", and jokes about separating it into three pieces like the Ultra Hawk does.
    • The woman he's on the phone with in Chapter 244 says she looks like Anne from Ultra Guardnote . She actually looks like a Zarab alien from the same series. The next caller he gets claims to look like Akiko Fuji, but he asks if she looks like a Dada alien. She turns out to look like the alien Jamila.
    • Even more Ultraman references in Chapter 245: Eikichi does impressions of Baltan, Kanegon, Pigmon, Billia, Chibull, Wyann, Bullton, Metron, and Takkong to make Misato laugh.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time: The overall premise of the movie draws inspiration from Tiga, Dyna, & Gaia: The Decisive Battle in Hyperspace due to three protagonists of three Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series — Yugi and Yami Yugi, Judai, and Yusei, appearing together to fight a time-travelling antagonist (in contrast to the TDG movie where the Ultras are summoned in the real world while being attacked by King of Mons). Thus, giving the idea that Duel Monsters, GX, and 5Ds are the YGO equivalents of Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia.note 
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
      • One of the teams competing in the WRGP also bears the name Team Lightning, which is also the name of the elite fighter pilot squad in Ultraman Gaia.
      • Machine Imperial God Machinicle Infinity's (or Meklord Astro Mekanikle) face is similar to that of Deathfacer. That, along with the three Machine Emperors — Wisel, Skiel, and Granel, take cue from King Joe being Combining Mecha monster cards with several components.
  • The opening credits for the first season of The Big O use the same animated background effect as the opening for Ultraseven.

    Asian Animation 
  • Happy Heroes: In episode 23, as Headmaster Tele explains he's trained countless famous superheroes at his school, a chibi Ultraman is one of the heroes that can be seen above him.
  • In episode 4 of Nana Moon, Keke has trouble getting her transformation badge to work how she wants and goes through several forms before becoming the racer she was aiming for. One of her other transformations here is an Ultraman costume.
  • Old Master Q: Fantasy Zone Battle has an episode where Master Q and friends, Big Potato and Chin, dons sea creature outfits to infiltrate a mermen kingdom. While Potato gets a turtle outfit, Master Q and Chin on the other hand respectively gets a crab and lobster suit (complete with claws!) prompting Potato to comment, "You guys look like the Baltan aliens!"
  • In episode 14 of Pleasant Goat Fun Class: Travel Around the World, where the gang goes to Japan, Paddi is seen in a costume of the original Ultraman for a split-second. The costume appears again in the episode's song segment, this time worn by Sparky.

    Comics 
  • Miclas and Antlar cameo in an issue of Fantastic Four as some of the monsters living on the Monster Isle.
  • In the 67th issue of Marvel's Exiles, Morph turns into Ultraman. Also Issues 66-68 had expies of Science Patrol called the Science Squad.
  • Alien Baltan cameos as a Sinestro corpsman in a New Earth Green Lantern comic.
  • Ultraman cameos in an issue of the Futurama comics, in which he and Mechagodzilla are defeated by a giant Amy Wong.
  • Kaijumax, being set on a prison for kaiju, features Ultraman-like beings as the guards and wardens (complete with a standard attack-team home base). Aside from that, the comic make loads of minor dialogue references to the Ultra Series.
  • Gan Q cameos in an issue of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Boom! Studios) as one of Finster's monsters. He's on the right.
  • Doom Patrol: In the 2016 version of the series, Terry None bares a very strong resemblance to Dada See here.
  • In a 2017 Ms. Marvel comic, Kamala battles a giant monster and remarks that "This is not as much fun as Ultraman makes it look".

    Film 
  • A clip of Skydon can briefly be seen in Midnight Cowboy during the sex scene between Joe and Cass.
  • There's a Hong Kong drama flick, All About Ah Long (starring Chow Yun-fat as Long, a single father struggling to raise his kid) where the titular character's son is a fan of the Ultra Series. One notable shot had photographs of Ah Long and his son being cut out and pasted on an Ultraman poster — specifically, the kid's head is on Ultraman while Ah Long's is on a monster.
  • An Ultraman mask can be seen in shots of Hiro's room in Big Hero 6.
  • Prince Tuan-yu, the protagonist of the fantasy-martial arts flick The Battle Wizard, has his chi powers upgraded until he can fire energy bolts by crossing his hands in a "+" shape, in a manner exactly like the Specium Kousen.
  • Being Ultraman's sister franchise, Godzilla has taken a few opportunities to reference the Ultra Series. The favor has also been returned by the Ultra Series many times.
  • The Kaiju Raiju from Pacific Rim is partially modelled after Gabora.
  • Gamera
  • Ant-Man: Designer Peyton Reed has stated he based Ant-Man's suit in the movie after Tokusatsu superheroes, specifically Ultraman and Inframan.
  • In Pee-wee's Big Adventure, a figure of Ultraman and Red King are visible in certain shots of Pee-Wee's room.
  • War of the God Monsters uses clips featuring Pestar, Terochilis, Bemstar, Verokron, as well as Dorigon from another Tsuburaya show Fireman for their rampaging scenes.
  • Happy Heroes series:

    Literature 
  • In the novel Ready Player One, Wade Watts transforms into Ultraman to fight Nolan Sorrento as Mechagodzilla III/Kiryu. There's even an entire section where they talk about having to enact all 39 episodes of the original series, complete with an explanation of the show for those unfamiliar with it and Wade getting the Beta Capsule as a reward.

    Live-Action TV 
  • In the Taiwanese dramedy Hi! Working Girl! the main character, Yi-Ling, watches Heisei Ultraseven during a flashback when she was a kid. Being overly-imaginative, she openly wondered if her sister's glasses can give it's wearer superpowers, like the Ultra Eye. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah appears in the same flashback scene too.
  • Super Sentai
    • Ritchhiker's dinosaur-mecha Braking from Gekisou Sentai Carranger uses an Eye Slugger-like weapon called the King Slugger.
      • From the same series, Radietta Fanbelt's Radiacar Robo performs an Ultraman rising pose when turning giant in one episode.
    • Some may interpret it as a Take That!, but Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger had a Monster of the Week based on the hero of an Ultraman-like Show Within a Show called Igrec the Galaxian. A more genuine homage comes from OoAbarenOh's attacks, one of which detatches its helmet's fin and uses it as an Eye Slugger-like weapon.
    • Tensou Sentai Goseiger had the Goseigers mimic the Ultraman rising transformation sequence in Epic 32.
    • Likewise, Takaharu does it in Shuriken Sentai Ninninger when he gets turned gigantic in Shinobi 26.
    • Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger has an Ultraman spoof named Prism Ace, hero of a series by Toei's (fictional) rival company Chigauyo Productions called Unofficial Giant Prism Ace. Additionally, Chigauyo is a Take That! at Chaiyo Productions and their attempts to steal the rights to the Ultra Series from Tsuburaya Productions, as Chigauyo is a pun on chigau-yo which literally means "wrong", "false", or exclaiming some form of disagreement — Toei is basically calling Chaiyo a bunch of phonies.
  • Kamen Rider
    • Kamen Rider Stronger's Tackle apparently used to date Alien Baltan. Seriously.
    • In the Kamen Rider OOO net videos, one of them has Date compares OOO's Shauta form to Ultraman (though the name is censored; presumably for copyright reasons).
  • Ultra monsters tend to regularly appear in Takeshi's Castle, as well as its American adaptation Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (where they're all recontextualized as completely different creatures).

    Tabletop Games 
  • Various Pachimon kaiju are "borrowed" directly from vintage Ultramen monsters, combined with other kaiju media popular at the time.

    Video Games 
  • ANNO: Mutationem: Ayane's bedroom has a display featuring UltraMan in the center of a miniature city facing off against Godzilla.
  • Giga Bash is a Malaysian brawler game inspired by various kaiju media, where players can take control of various kaiju - many based on old Ultra Series monsters - and duke it out in big cities. The game's Twitter page alone shows monsters based on Alien Icarus, Gandar, Woo, Miclas, and even the relatively obscure choju Cowra, while there's one monster which is a walking fusion of Alien Metron, Sadola, Red King and Alien Hipporito in a single body.
  • Kirby's Cutter power is based on the Ultraseven Eye Slugger.
  • Pokémon:
    • The famous Pokeballs were based on Ultraseven's Capsule Monsters. In fact, the original name of the franchise was going to be Capsule Monsters.
    • Staryu and Starmie are basically a walking Shout-Out to the Ultra Series. Let's count them — Staryu's Japanese name is Hitodeman. It has a crystal core which apparently tells its status, like the Ultras' Color Timers. It has a fondness for the night sky, referencing how the Ultras come from space. It learns a lot of beam moves, referencing the iconic but multiple variations of Ultraman beam attacks. Its anime cry is a human-sounding grunt and shout similar to how the Ultra characters never speak outwards, instead only grunting and shouting. And this Pokémon Music short solidifies it (fighting kaiju-inspired Pokémon Nidoking, Rhydon, and Tyranitar even).
  • King of the Monsters has an upside-down enemy with dual whips for tails and whose head is located near it's legs, looking a lot like Twin Tail from Return of Ultraman.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: The Giant's Mask is a reference to Ultraman. While the mask simply grants Link a gargantuan size to fight on fair terms with Twinmold in the original, the 3DS remake adds full on hand-to-hand combat and wrestling moves that would make a Showa Ultra blush. In addition, the draining magic meter in both versions works analogously to the Color Timer of Ultraman, which only allows the giant form to be maintained for a limited amount of time.
  • Soul Series: Charade is basically Gan-Q with a humanoid form.
  • Splatoon 3: One of the locker room decorations from the first season's catalog is a figurine of a red and silver-costumed tokusatsu hero named Ultra Squid.
  • The Wind Road has a Giant Spider boss who suspiciously resembles Darii, a crimson arachnid monster with glowing red eyes.

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 

    Other 

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