Shin Ultraman's heroic appearance and the new "SSSS.GRIDMAN" work were also announced! TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019" Opening Ceremony Report!

TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019, the largest festival in the history of Tsuburaya Productions, which has sent many special effects works to the world including the "Ultraman" series, will be held from December 14, 2019. The opening ceremony was held at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL on December 14.

TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019" will feature shows and live performances at the main venue, various stage events and merchandise sales at various venues in Tokyo Dome City, and a buffet-style after-party featuring actors. The festival will be the largest Tsuburaya Productions event in the history of the company.

As the largest Tsuburaya Productions event in its history, the opening ceremony was also a spectacular affair, with a large number of luxurious guests and new information popping up one after another.

First, the six Ultraman brothers, including Zofie, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultraman Jack, Ultraman Ace, and Ultraman Taro, appeared in the arena. The event started with them passing through the audience and gathering on stage.

Next on stage was Takayuki Tsukagoshi, President and CEO of Tsuburaya Productions. Mr. Tsukagoshi took the stage with a figure of his friend's favorite Ultra monster, Hippolyto the Star, who was given to him by a friend when he joined Tsuburaya Productions two years ago with the message, "Please take care of fans like me," he said. I created this program to express my gratitude to the fans who cherish these works. Please enjoy it to your heart's content," he said, declaring that this opening ceremony would be the first to introduce Tsuburaya Productions' new challenges.

First, he announced "Ultraman," a joint project with MARVEL, which was recently announced at Comic-Con and created a lot of buzz. Here, a video message from Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski was shown, as well as an image visual. He also said that this project will be a "reboot project of the early Ultraman in the U.S.".

Other announcements included the first show event to be held in China on March 28, 2020.

Maria Teresa Gau, who played the role of Captain Josie in "Ultraman Gaia," will be the moderator for the event. New information will continue to be released.

The latest suit also made an appearance! ULTRAMAN

First up was the CG animated film "ULTRAMAN.

It was announced that Season 1, which was distributed on Netflix in April 2019, will begin terrestrial broadcasting on TOKYO MX and BS11 in April 2020, and directors Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki appeared. Director Kenji Kamiyama and Director Shinji Aramaki spoke about Season 2, which is currently in production.

Director Kamiyama commented on Season 2, "Based on the original story, we have started working on the script. The charm of this work is that new characters appear one after another, so I am discussing with Director Aramaki how to introduce them.

The ULTRAMAN SUIT and the ULTRAMAN SUIT Ver. 7, which was unveiled for the first time, appeared on stage. Upon seeing the realistically made suits up close, Director Aramaki commented, "They are so much cooler than CG. I want one of these suits in my home. It inspires me in many ways.

The audience was delighted to hear about the new "SSSS!

Next, new information about the anime "SSSS.

GRIDMAN", a TV anime, appeared at the end of the teaser video, which was a compilation of famous scenes from the TV anime "SSSS. The audience was then filled with cheers as the words "DYNAZENON" production was announced on the screen.

Tetsu Amemiya, the director of the TV series, took the stage at this point.

Director Amemiya commented, "I am making this so that both fans from the special effects and newcomers from the anime can enjoy it. He apologized for not being able to provide more information, saying, "I can only say that you can look forward to it," but added, "I can't make animated films myself, so I hope that the anime will increase the number of entrances to 'Gridman. Not only the old staff, but also new staff are joining us," he said, expressing his enthusiasm for the film.

Since "DYNAZENON" is a new video work, will it be a TV anime? Will it be a TV anime, or an anime for distribution? Or perhaps an animated film for the theater? The anticipation for this new work is only getting higher and higher. We look forward to further news.

New contents to be announced one after another!

Next, the VR content "'Kaiju no Sumika' -VR Adventure-" was announced.

Ken Fukazawa, CEO of Tiffon, and Keigo Yoshimura, producer of TBS, took the stage.

The VR content will be based on the world of "Kaiju no Sumika" and will feature 12 monsters. Mr. Fukazawa commented that they are creating this content with the hope that it will become part of the experience of life.

He is considering expanding the project not only in Japan but also outside of Japan, starting with a March 2020 release at the "Typhonium" on the 5th floor of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza.

Then, information about the anime "KAIJU DECORD KAIJU DECORD", a joint project of Toei Animation and Tsuburaya Productions, was also released. Koichi Noguchi of Toei Animation and Masahiro Oteda of Tsuburaya Productions took the stage and expressed their enthusiasm for the project.

Mr. Noguchi, who worked as a producer on the theatrical animation "Rakuen bougaku" and the TV animation "Shojisuru kado," said that he approached Tsuburaya Productions about a joint production project because he "thought it was hard to find a monster animation," but they did not give him the OK. It took 4 to 5 years to persuade them to go through with the project.

The visuals for the film were created by Sei Nakashima, a creator active in Los Angeles. The story will be about a girl and a monster, and Noguchi says, "Ultra Q" was released in 1966 after the Tokyo Olympics, so we are working hard to make the film in 2021.

The audience was in an uproar! What is the design of "Shin Ultraman" ......?

The last announcement of the day was the latest information on "Shin Ultraman," a movie planned and written by Hideaki Anno and directed by Shinji Higuchi.

Appearing on stage were Takumi Saito, who plays a man who transforms into Ultraman, and director Shinji Higuchi. When asked about his memories of Ultraman, Saito said, "My father works in the film industry, and he did the switching of explosions at the "Ultraman Taro" site. Because of that, I had Ultraman figures at home, and I used to play with them.

When he read the scenario of the film, he said, "That's why I'm doing it! I feel like the script depicts the reason why I'm going to play the role. He also raised expectations for the film.

Director Higuchi also commented, "The cast members from different generations have become a good team through Ultraman. I want to stay immersed in this atmosphere forever.

After video messages from Masami Nagasawa and Hidetoshi Nishijima were shown, the design of "Shin Ultraman" was unveiled for the first time.

When the design was unveiled, the audience was stunned by the simplicity of the design. What kind of reaction is this? Director Higuchi also seemed a little surprised.

However, when Hideaki Anno's comment that the design was based on the image of the late Toru Narita, who designed Ultraman, and reconstructed it, the audience burst into applause.

His comment, which was so deeply filled with love for Ultraman, was even moving.

Director Higuchi said, "Hideaki Anno loves Ultraman so much that he does it himself, so it is our job to crystallize his love. We thoroughly considered what kind of Ultraman Anno would like to see and came up with this form," he said, referring to the series of independent films that Anno directed as a young man and also appeared as Ultraman himself, while explaining his design intentions.

Higuchi concluded the opening ceremony by pledging to complete the project by the end of 2020.

The "Shin Ultraman" statue is currently on display in the gallery zone of the Prism Hall. Photographing is allowed, so be sure to get a close-up look at the statue!