Thursday, October 13, 2005
Send Me Back Home to the Stars
Ultraman comes from the star Ultra. There Ultra Mother and Ultra Father and 36 Ultra brothers.
What are the special characteristics of a Japanese hero?
1) They usually come in groups, as you can see here, rather than individually (Spiderman) or in pairs (Batman and Robin). There are 38 members of the Ultraman family.
2)They often have very large glowing eyes, like radioactive insects or blowfish.
3) They rarely speak. They do not seem to be able to open their mouths.
4) They change clothes instantaneously, by striking a certain pose, and do not need to enter a telephone booth or bat cave, or get undressed.
5) They like to strike poses which give them special powers such as the Ultraman elbow-stratch-L-shape which enables them to send an ultraman beam at their opponents. Combined with their inability to speak, they resemble Marcel Marceau.
6) Their special powers are often impermanent. Ultraman Taro is only super-powered for three minutes. He is warned that he will soon return to normal by a red light that starts to glow on his chest.
7) The seem to have no interest in the opposite sex. They never fly accross the Tokyo skyline with a lady in their arms. And this, despite the fact that, Ultra Mother and Ultra Father had a very large number of children.
What are the special characteristics of a Japanese hero?
1) They usually come in groups, as you can see here, rather than individually (Spiderman) or in pairs (Batman and Robin). There are 38 members of the Ultraman family.
2)They often have very large glowing eyes, like radioactive insects or blowfish.
3) They rarely speak. They do not seem to be able to open their mouths.
4) They change clothes instantaneously, by striking a certain pose, and do not need to enter a telephone booth or bat cave, or get undressed.
5) They like to strike poses which give them special powers such as the Ultraman elbow-stratch-L-shape which enables them to send an ultraman beam at their opponents. Combined with their inability to speak, they resemble Marcel Marceau.
6) Their special powers are often impermanent. Ultraman Taro is only super-powered for three minutes. He is warned that he will soon return to normal by a red light that starts to glow on his chest.
7) The seem to have no interest in the opposite sex. They never fly accross the Tokyo skyline with a lady in their arms. And this, despite the fact that, Ultra Mother and Ultra Father had a very large number of children.
Labels: japan, japanese culture, nihonbunka, 日本文化
This blog represents the opinions of the author, Timothy Takemoto, and not the opinions of his employer.