New York Comic Con has been an undeniable hit so far for fans of the Ultraman Series, and the fun isn’t over yet! Saturday night that marked another highlight of Tsuburaya Productions and Ultraman Connection’s massive New York undertaking: a special, exclusive screening of Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno’s international blockbuster feature film Shin Ultraman!
Available only the dedicated fans who braved the wilds of New York Comic Con 2022 to attend Ultraman Connection’s special panels and presentations (and some lucky New York area Ultraman Connection members), the AMC 34th Street 14 played host to the screening. This would be the first chance fans had to see the movie since it unspooled to rave reviews at the New York Asian Film Festival earlier this year.
The tickets had been hotly contested, and as the doors opened at 7 PM, fans rushed in to find their seats, even with 40 minutes to go before the movie started! There was a real sense of community, as if each ticket holder were a member of a special club; which, considering the a good number of viewers were Ultraman Connection members, was technically true. Also in the audience were Kyle Higgins and Francesco Manna, the art team on the Ultraman Marvel Comics, and Ultraman Connection Fan Art winner Klenda V among others!
Before the show started, fans got one last big surprise, as Ultraman himself walked out onto the cinema floor. The evening’s host Ultraman Connection Producer, Jeff Gomez invited everyone to take a picture with him. Multiple fans, several of which had never actually gotten to see Ultraman himself in person, descended to the front row to meet their hero.
Finally, after the excitement and meet and greet, Ultraman bade his fans farewell, and the audience sat back down just as the lights began to dim, and the movie began. We here at Ultraman Connection have already given our thoughts on the Shin Ultraman experience, which you can find here.
To say that the film was a hit was an understatement; the moment it was over, the theater erupted into applause that continued well into the credits, not a single fan leaving the theater until the screen finally went completely dark.
With that, the high point of any Ultraman fan’s Comic-Con experience ended—but we’re not done with New York yet. There’s one final day of NYCC left, folks, and Ultraman will be there!
As for fans who couldn’t come see Shin Ultraman, don’t despair; Tsuburaya Productions is working to make the film available to audiences everywhere in the near future. For all news on that, and on the Ultraman Series as a whole, stick close to Ultraman Connection.
