A new Ultraman arrived this year when "Ultraman Z" began airing on the TV Tokyo network on June 20. The protagonist, Z, is a disciple of Ultraman Zero, whose father is Ultra Seven. Z is also a new member of the Inter Galactic Defense Force. He fights against kaiju monsters by merging with Haruki Natsukawa, a rookie pilot of Storage, the anti-monster robot force.
The opening theme song of the new tokusatsu sci-fi action drama is sung by Masaaki Endo, a member of the JAM Project group of anime singers. He also wrote the lyrics and music for the song, titled "Goshowa kudasai ware no na o!" (Chant My Name!). This is the first time for Endo to be involved in an Ultraman song. As a child, he was hooked on Ultraman TV shows, such as "Kaettekita Ultraman" (Return of Ultraman) and reruns of "Ultra Seven." He said he screamed "Seriously?" in delight when he received the offer to write and sing the new show's theme song. He was so excited he immediately ordered a new stage costume to wear when he would sing the song at concerts.
The song's title is also a key phrase the protagonist shouts in the transformation scene.
"To be honest, it was pretty difficult to use this phrase in a song, but I thought I mustn't shy away from it, and it dawned on me that I can start the song with this phrase if I'm going to use it anyway," Endo said.
"It would be great if children start listening to the song and think, 'What's this song?' If they sing along and root for Ultraman, even better," he said.
When writing the song, Endo made certain first and foremost that both the lyrics and the melody are easy to understand and memorize. The song packs quite a punch and is full of passion.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, he will probably have to wait a while before he can break out that new costume, though.
"This is a song I wrote to make people feel better," Endo said. "When the pandemic is over, I'd love to sing it together with all of you, all over the world. When that happens, please chant with me!"
The song will go on sale on Aug. 5.
Suzuki is a Yomiuri Shimbun senior specialist and an expert on tokusatsu superhero films and dramas.
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