BANDAI official Ultraman toy information site

Hello everyone. I'm Nono, in charge of planning and development Ultraman toys.

"Ultraman Trigger" has finally come to an end!
Without further ado, it has been decided that a number of items related to "Trigger Truth", who made a shocking appearance in the final episode, will be made into merchandise, with the first of these being soft vinyl figures which will go on sale this weekend, on Saturday, January 29th!!!

[Release information] On sale this weekend, January 29th (Sat)!

Introducing the Ultra Soft Vinyl of "Trigger Truth", who made a shocking appearance in the final episode of Ultraman Trigger! https://t.co/uX5GQIxOSNUltraman #UltraSoftVinylpic.twitter.com/ 8ieY3ZjWCC

—BANDAI Toy Advertising Department(BANDAI) (@bandai_toys) January 25, 2022

It was worthwhile to have kept the development secret in order to create a surprise to commemorate the completion of the series, as we were able to create a three-dimensional model at the fastest speed in the world!


and!!
As previously announced on Twitter, it has been decided that the "Trigger True Key" will also be commercialized!!

[Breaking News] Trigger Truth's transformation item, the "Trigger Truth Key," which made a surprise appearance in the final episode of Ultraman, will be commercialized as a "DX Guts Hyper Key Premium"!!
Please wait for the announcement on Monday, January 31st for details✨ pic.twitter.com/KcnHyLL299

—BANDAI Toy Advertising Department(BANDAI) (@bandai_toys) January 24, 2022

This information will be released at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 31st, so please stay tuned.
(There's also a little surprise in store.)


Every year the TV series ends in the blink of an eye, and as someone in charge, it still doesn't feel like it's over, but without any delay, "Ultraman Chronicle D" will be starting this weekend!
We have also prepared a lot of related soft vinyl figures, and the first lineup will be revealed on February 1st, so please look forward to it! (... What will be revealed on this day is just the beginning!)


So, in this blog we will be covering the "Guts Hyper Key Premium Glorious Ultraman Brothers Key Set", which is currently accepting pre-orders.



The basic gameplay of the product is based on the existing Premium series, so we will omit any overlapping information. Instead, we will introduce in bullet points the specifications unique to this set and the attention to detail that has been put into each key!
This will contain some pretty core content, but please bear with me until the end.

<Product concept>
This set is intended as a culmination of the 55th anniversary of Ultraman series, and includes a lineup of the eight major heroes whose silhouettes are also featured in the 55th anniversary logo: Ultraman, Zoffy, Seven, Jack, Ace, Taro, Leo, and 80.

Products with the Ultra Brothers motif are often grouped together as the "6 Brothers," but for the Guts Hyper Key series, which has a wide variety of sounds, we wanted to put the spotlight on "Leo" and "80"! We named them the "Glorious Ultra Brothers," including the two of them.

In addition, when commercializing the "Guts Hyper Key Premium" series, as always, we wanted to take a new approach to increase the product's appeal, and this time we have included a new "Monster Encyclopedia Mode."​

The "BGM" that was in the Z Key Set and New Generation Heroes Key Set is also a very hard element to throw away, but the "monster cries" are undoubtedly the greatest attraction of Ultraman series, and the Guts Hyper Key's sound mode was created with the idea of "playing with the soft vinyl figures," so I'm sure it will be fun to play with the soft vinyl figures that have already been released and hear the monster cries! With that in mind, I decided on this form.

Regarding the total number of characters with recorded cries, it was stated on the order page that there were over 70 types, but in the end, there will be a total of 87 types! The list is as shown below.



This totals 87 types, excluding duplicates included in Zoffy Key mentioned below, so it's quite an impressive amount!

I don't think there will be any other opportunities in the future for audio of this volume to be commercialized.
When I played the game objectively as a fan, I honestly thought that the audio alone made it worth buying.


[Specifications common to all keys]
Regarding the sound quality of the recorded audio, we were able to increase the quality of most of the data by 1.5 times (compared to the normal sound quality of the DX series), making it extremely clear to listen to.

By linking with the Guts Spark Lens, the sounds of special moves and shouts that are played after the transformation can be played with the sound of a color timer playing in the background.
The color timer sound can be started and stopped at will, so you can play in a way that the color timer starts ringing in the middle of stacking skill sounds.

With the cooperation of Tsuburaya Productions, the sound effects recorded were sourced from data extracted from the TV series for each character.
By focusing on the soundtracks from the TV series itself rather than recent guest appearances, we aim to achieve a sense of unity throughout the album.

For a few exceptions, where we were unable to obtain the original sound source due to various constraints, we decided to use the sound effects from "Ultraman Mebius," the show that most symbolically features the Ultra Brothers (although there were only three or four sounds in total).

The molding colors of each key are rainbow colors, matching the component colors and order of the rainbow, to create a luxurious look when lined up.



If we chose based on the image of each individual character, they would all probably end up being red, so we decided to go with a style that expresses the special feeling of the "Ultra Brothers."


From here on, we will explain each Ultraman Key. The list of special move sounds that will be mentioned in the text is as shown below.



Like the New Generation Heroes Key Set, each key contains at least five special move sounds.


[Ultraman Key]
It has the most shouts, special move sounds, and monster roars out of all 8 types. (There were so many impressive sounds that it was hard to choose...)

The ultra-nerdy sound effects such as "Catch Ring" and "Ultra Psychokinesis" (but you'll know it when you hear it!) will get your brain juices flowing.


[Zoffy]
I think it's extremely rare for the sounds of Zoffy 's techniques to be commercialized in the first place, and "Ultra Frost" in particular even includes the lines for the names of the techniques uttered in the movie.
Furthermore, it also includes the sound effect of the red ball spinning around in the final episode of "Ultraman."
(The sound is very similar to that of an Ultra Catch Ring, but there is a bit of trivia to it: the constituent sounds are slightly different.)

For the monster encyclopedia mode, there isn't much variety if we only include monsters that Zoffy faced off against, so we carefully selected monsters from episodes where Zoffy made a guest appearance and recorded the cries of 11 monsters.
However, if that was all there was, all of the types would overlap with other keys, so the cry of "Dreamgilas," which depicts the shocking turn of events in which Zoffy comes to the rescue by evaporating all the water in the lake and saving Ace from peril, is only included in Zoffy key.
(Don't worry, this doesn't mean that the number of Ace Keys included has been reduced.)


[Ultraseven Key]
When you play with the Guts Spark Lens in tandem to transform, when you pull the trigger you hear the sound of "Duwa!!" followed by the sound of the transformation. Simply put, it's exciting.

Regarding the aforementioned "color timer sound," we struggled with how to incorporate the feature because Seven does not have a color timer.
We are also aware of the theory that the beam lamp on the forehead functions as a sort of color timer, and in fact in the episode featuring Alien Guts it does flash (and there is a faint sound effect), but that being said, the same effect is not repeated in other episodes, so we decided not to treat the sound of the beam lamp as a color timer.

Instead, while with other keys you can press and hold the trigger on the Guts Spark Lens after transformation to start the color timer sound, with Ultraseven key you can do the same thing to play the sound of "Ultra Hawk No. 1 flying in and providing covering fire."​

You may be thinking, "I wish the same could be done for the other keys too!", but in reality it is quite difficult to tell the difference between the defense force machines in the eight films just from the sound they make when flying, so we think it's best to keep this as an exceptional feature that only applies to the Seven Keys.


[Ultraman Jack Key]
"Specium Ray" and "Ultra Slash" are techniques shared with Ultraman, but the sound source is separate from Jack's.

Bracelet-type special moves such as "Ultra Spark," "Ultra Spark Triple Slash," and "Ultra Cross" are differentiated so that they can be easily distinguished by interspersing Jack's own shouts.

Initially, I was thinking of including a lot of ray-based techniques such as "Cinerama Shot," but the sound they make is almost identical to the Specium Ray, making them difficult to distinguish, so I decided to go for something that would be easier to understand as audio.


[Ultraman Ace]
Ace Key's transformation standby sound uses elements of the sound effect that occurs when the Ultra Ring lights up.

Ace's unique guillotine technique has been included in three variations: "Ultra Guillotine", "Vertical Guillotine" and "Guillotine Shot". The Ultra Guillotine has a line accompanying the technique name, making it even more luxurious.

The cries of the ultra-beasts in "Ace" are surprisingly unique and fun to listen to.
The Girong people talk a lot in the movie, so rather than their cries we recorded their laughter "Hahahaha..."


[Ultraman Taro Key]
To give Taro Key a unique habit, two versions of "that jump sound" are included.
The idea is to have "Kyuubipipipin..." or "Shushushushuin..." sounds play appropriately in between the special move sounds that are played in conjunction with the Guts Spark Lens.

Regarding the sounds of the special moves, "Strium Ray" and "Revive Ray" include the name of the move.

As for "Ultra Dynamite," for the reasons mentioned above, it was recorded from the sound effect scene depicted in episode 30 of "Ultraman Mebius" "The Flame of Promise."
I still can't forget the thrill and excitement I felt when I watched "The Day of Farewell" and "The Flame of Promise" in real time...


[Ultraman Leo Leoki]
In order to express Leo's individuality, which is the only one that focuses on martial arts, the sticker design is the unexpected kicking pose!
I considered designing it with a "shooting beam" or "spark ray," but I decided that the "Leo Kick" was the best.
When playing with Leoki, the transformation phrase "Leo!!" is played. It's exciting.

As mentioned in the previous article, Astra Key could not be commercialized on its own, so as a token of our appreciation we included the sound of its "Ultra Double Flasher" move.
It also includes the cries of Garon and Litre, who fought alongside him.


[Ultraman 80 Keys]
When you transform into the 80 Key, the character says "Eighty!", which is really exciting.​

Unlike previous works, "80" features sound effects with a suddenly electronic feel.
Also, the same sound effects are repeated almost every time a technique is activated or a monster is defeated, so I tried to recreate that in the new key.

When you use other keys to play the main special move sounds, the "explosion sound" will play after the "move activation sound," but when you use the 80 key, the standard "hyuuuuururururu..." sound effect will play before the "explosion sound."
(Those who have seen "80" will understand...)

In addition, two different versions of the "Saxium Ray" are included, each with a different sound effect.


I've explained the specifications for each type so this has gotten quite long, but what do you think?

My junior, who is in charge of the voice programming for the Guts Hyper Key, screamed, "I've never seen such a complicated linking item with different specifications every time!!" I pretended not to hear him, but this time too, we made sure to include a lot of elements unique to the Ultra Brothers. (Sorry, junior!)

It's a set of 8 so it's quite pricey, but I think it's one of those "expensive but cheap" items, so I highly recommend it!!

Reservations for the "Guts Hyper Key Premium Glorious Ultra Brothers Key Set" will be accepted until 11:00 p.m. on Monday, February 28th.
Depending on the situation, applications may close early, so please apply early!