If you’re an Ultraman fan, you know the deal by now: Mill Creek Entertainment has the North American physical and digital distribution rights for pretty much the entire Ultraman franchise (more than 1,100 episodes and 20 films spanning 50 years) and has been steadily releasing the entire library on Blu-ray.

Check out our reviews of all previous releases here.

In addition to releasing the original, classic series from the beginning, Mill Creek has also been interspersing the classics with some of the newer series… which – for some reason – have been getting released out of order. It doesn’t really matter since the stories don’t truly connect, but it’s still an odd decision and makes for a slightly awkward viewing experience if you watch them in release order.

But once I accepted the fact that there’s no such thing as an Ultraman “canon” – that each series exists independently of the rest – I was able to relax my OCD and enjoy each show on its own merits. Seriously, each incarnation of Ultraman exists on a different Earth or in a different dimension. Once you understand that, so many questions and loopholes you’ll have will just… disappear.

The first of the modern shows to be released were 2016’s Ultraman Orb and 2017’s Ultraman Geed. Then we reversed course with 2015’s Ultraman X, 2013’s Ultraman Ginga, and 2014’s Ultraman Ginga S (in that order). The most recent release jumped ahead again with 2018’s Ultraman R/B.

It’s a confusing and convoluted release schedule, but like I said, it doesn’t really matter. Each show stands on its own.

This time, we’re taking a closer look at the Ultraman Ginga and Ultraman X sets. Ginga, Ginga S, and X were the 25th through the 27th entries in the series, respectively, so they form a cohesive block.

Ginga and Ginga S are a more-or-less complete story (Ginga S is a direct sequel to Ginga), and each series is only half the length of a normal modern Ultraman – Ginga is 12 episodes, Ginga S is 16 episodes.

It’s also far more enjoyable than X, but we’ll get to that in a second.

Ultraman Ginga centers on Hikaru, who dreams of being world adventurer. When he returns to his hometown and old elementary school, he meets up with a few friends and discovers the Ginga Spark, which allows him to harness the power of Ultraman.

The twist here is that all of the Ultramen and kaiju have been turned into “spark dolls” – awesome little action figures – and the Ginga Spark allows Hikaru to transform into those creatures if he has the dolls. Though he has the power to turn into Ultraman Ginga, he spends much of his time turning into monsters instead. Wouldn’t you?

Ultraman Taro is also in this one, but he spends the entire series as a talking action figure. It’s very Robot Chicken.

Ultraman Ginga S takes place two years later and follows Hikaru on his adventures as he joins the UPG (Ultra Party Guardians), a type of government strike force. The awesome little spark dolls still play a role, but this one is more concerned with an entire race of underground people tasked with protecting “Victorium.”

Hikaru joins forces with Sho, one of the underground Victorians, who has the power to turn into Ultraman Victory. Together, they battle kaiju, convince an evil android to become good, and save the world. Natch.

Of the two, Ginga is the much better story and has a much more interesting cast. Ginga S relies more on special effects, and the cast will make you miss the kids from the first series (who do make cameo appearances). The character of Sho, particularly, is a decidedly unlikeable protagonist… all the way to the end. He has no arc and stays two dimensional the entire time.

If Ultraman Ginga S dipped its toes in the SFX waters (with CG characters and elaborate vehicles and weapons), then Ultraman X doubles down. The story takes aspects of the previous two series (such as spark dolls) but introduces a government entity called UNVER that has cars, planes, and all sorts of phony-looking CG vehicles.

In a franchise not known for its restraint, it takes things way over the top. And believe it or not, it’s the first of these modern Ultraman series that I couldn’t watch all the way through. (Yeah, I know. I can’t believe I’ve watched all of these, either.)

If you’re going to give any of these shows a miss, I’d recommend skipping Ultraman X.

The recent Blu-ray releases from Mill Creek Entertainment include the following:

• The Ultraman Ginga/Ginga S 6-disc set includes all 28 episodes from both series, along with the 2015 film Ultraman Ginga S: The Movie: Showdown! The 10 Ultra Warriors! and the Ultra Fight Victory miniseries.
• The Ultraman X 6-disc set includes the series’ 24 episodes and Ultraman X: The Movie: Here He Comes! Our Ultraman (2016).

The Blu-ray sets also include booklets detailing the shows, along with digital redemption codes to watch everything on movieSPREE.