Should there be more Female Ultras?

[LegendZilla]

Hi there, LegendZilla here. As most of you know, The Ultra franchise as a whole has a rather unfair male-female ratio in terms of Ultra heroes, particularly ones who play a major role in the story they're featured in. I think it would only be fair that more female Ultras get introduced more often and by that, I do not side and/or secondary characters. Rather, I mean competent fighters who are fleshed out characters in their own right and battle alongside their male cohorts as equals. If TsuPro does decide to make more female Ultras, what kind of characters should they be. Also, how should they be implemented into the story?

So far, most female Ultras have had the misfortune of being placed into stereotypical roles that female characters have historically more often than not. For example, the original female Ultra, The Mother of Ultra was a nurse, Yullian was a princess, Camearra a femme-fatal and most recently, Grigio came across as an annoying little sister. This is a trend I think should be broken if things are to go forward. For example, how would you feel if there was one who just so happened to be the superior commanding officer to the series' main Ultra hero? We have had a female captain for GUTS, the monster attack team in Tiga, so why can't the same be done for Ultra Warriors from M78? Also, there could be a running gag where a male human character has a crush on her for laughs. But of course that would not be the main reason for her being there.

It would be a daunting task to get right, especially for a franchise geared mostly at young boys. However, whether or not it will actually work depends on execution. Does anyone agree with me? If so, let me know what ideas you have.

[Mac Daddy MM]

Hi there, LegendZilla here. As most of you know, The Ultra franchise as a whole has a rather unfair male-female ratio in terms of Ultra heroes, particularly ones who play a major role in the story they're featured in.

That probably has to do with the fact the target audience of the Ultra franchise are, you know, boys. Japanese boys, to be exact.

At this point, I wouldn't even want a female Ultra to play a prominent role. Ultra Woman Grigio was absolutely horrible in design, character and personality.

It would be a daunting task to get right, especially for a franchise geared mostly at young boys. However, whether or not it will actually work depends on execution. Does anyone agree with me? If so, let me know what ideas you have.

Could it work? For sure. There really was no reason to make Justice a male and his host a female, for example. Do I have any faith in TPC to make it happen and not be regulated to a trash character like Grigio? Absolutely not.

[LegendZilla]

That probably has to do with the fact the target audience of the Ultra franchise are, you know, boys. Japanese boys, to be exact.

At this point, I wouldn't even want a female Ultra to play a prominent role. Ultra Woman Grigio was absolutely horrible in design, character and personality.

Just to be clear, you're not opposed to the idea itself of more female Ultras, but rather you don't trust the current people at TPC to do it properly. I hope I'm right.

[Cryptid_Liker]

Absolutely. I'm hoping they bring Aura back for an on-screen role so we can at least get a taste of a competent Ultrawoman.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Hell yes! I'm ready for a female lead Ultra. Bring it on already!

[LSD Jellyfish]

I don't think there needs to be a female Ultra, but I wouldn't mind if the host was a woman. I'm sort of sick that every recent Ultra host is some young Genki wide-eyed man pretending to be a boy, so any variation is welcomed. But I agree with MM, that based on Grigio, that based on the recent audience that the franchise is intended for, it'll probably end up being some overly cutesy meant to appeal to young boys type which can get obnoxious quick. If we were talking something tonally like Mebius, Nexus or Taro having a female lead than that would be a lot better.

But to also counter MM's point, while yes it's primarily a male audience, I've met a lot of female Ultraman fans. The series has a variety of appeal to different age generations, genders and even cultures depending on the gap.

[LegendZilla]

I don't think there needs to be a female Ultra, but I wouldn't mind if the host was a woman. I'm sort of sick that every recent Ultra host is some young Genki wide-eyed man pretending to be a boy, so any variation is welcomed. But I agree with MM, that based on Grigio, that based on the recent audience that the franchise is intended for, it'll probably end up being some overly cutesy meant to appeal to young boys type which can get obnoxious quick. If we were talking something tonally like Mebius, Nexus or Taro having a female lead than that would be a lot better.

But to also counter MM's point, while yes it's primarily a male audience, I've met a lot of female Ultraman fans. The series has a variety of appeal to different age generations, genders and even cultures depending on the gap.

How will you feel about a female Ultra with a male host?

[LSD Jellyfish]

How will you feel about a female Ultra with a male host?

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Sayuri_Tachibana

World didn't end then.

Edit, misinterpreted. To be honest, I like the idea of a female host with a male ultra more than the reverse.Something about the designs for the few female ultras have never really worked for me. It's a design choice more than anything, and might just be because I dislike Ultra Mother's "Hair". To me, the Ultramen have always been aliens, not bound by traditional rules of laws or reality.

[LegendZilla]

How will you feel about a female Ultra with a male host?

https://ultra.fandom.com/wiki/Sayuri_Tachibana

World didn't end then.

Edit, misinterpreted. To be honest, I like the idea of a female host with a male ultra more than the reverse.Something about the designs for the few female ultras have never really worked for me. It's a design choice more than anything, and might just be because I dislike Ultra Mother's "Hair". To me, the Ultramen have always been aliens, not bound by traditional rules of laws or reality.

Do you also dislike the design for Tiga’s ex?

[Mac Daddy MM]

That probably has to do with the fact the target audience of the Ultra franchise are, you know, boys. Japanese boys, to be exact.

At this point, I wouldn't even want a female Ultra to play a prominent role. Ultra Woman Grigio was absolutely horrible in design, character and personality.

Just to be clear, you're not opposed to the idea itself of more female Ultras, but rather you don't trust the current people TPC to do it properly. I hope I'm right.

Yes. I'm all for a female Ultra that can actually roll with the boys. I just don't think TPC would be able to pull it off, especially in the New Generation.

[LegendZilla]

That probably has to do with the fact the target audience of the Ultra franchise are, you know, boys. Japanese boys, to be exact.

At this point, I wouldn't even want a female Ultra to play a prominent role. Ultra Woman Grigio was absolutely horrible in design, character and personality.

Just to be clear, you're not opposed to the idea itself of more female Ultras, but rather you don't trust the current people TPC to do it properly. I hope I'm right.

Yes. I'm all for a female Ultra that can actually roll with the boys. I just don't think TPC would be able to pull it off, especially in the New Generation.

They did a solid job at pulling off a female captain of a monster attack team back in 1996, so why should it be any different if they do the same with a female Ultra? Like I said, it depends on what kind of people work on the creative team. Maybe now is not the right time, but hey, there's always the future.

[eabaker]

Just to be clear, you're not opposed to the idea itself of more female Ultras, but rather you don't trust the current people TPC to do it properly. I hope I'm right.

Yes. I'm all for a female Ultra that can actually roll with the boys. I just don't think TPC would be able to pull it off, especially in the New Generation.

They did a solid job at pulling off a female captain of a monster attack team back in 1996, so why should it be any different if they do the same with a female Ultra? Like I said, it depends on what kind of people work on the creative team. Maybe now is not the right time, but hey, there's always the future.

At this point the management and production team at TPC are completely different fro the people running the show (no pun intended) a quarter century ago when Tiga was produced.

I would 100% advocate for seeing more female Ultras, but I also have my doubts that the current team would handle them in a compelling way.

[Mac Daddy MM]

I would 100% advocate for seeing more female Ultras, but I also have my doubts that the current team would handle them in a compelling way.

100% this. It'd be just more of the same BS we got from Grigio. They won't make an actual badass female Ultra, like an Ultrawoman Xena or something. It'll just be another cutesy, overly hyper and super clingy character.

[Angilasman]

It's weird that there's not more of them.

Also like the idea of the human hosts being a different gender than their Ultra.

... also, the two hosts gimmick from Ace is actually brilliant and wasn't adequately fulfilled!

[Major sssspielberg!]

It's as simple as casting a female stunt person instead of a male
...and then literally having her play Ultraman. A unique swag will develop itself as the series unfolds.
Also, would it be chill to just call her "Ultraman whatever" and try to come up with a cool name (like Xena )? Something that rings feminine? Ultraman would work fine as a gender-neutral term IMO.

[eabaker]

... also, the two hosts gimmick from Ace is actually brilliant and wasn't adequately fulfilled!

Yup, they barely scratched the surface of that concept. I feel like it's something that the modern series writers would sink their teeth into a lot more (I mean, R/B ultimately did something along the same lines...), but it would be tough to create the same kind of charm Hokuto and Minami had together (on the rare occasions they were allowed any significant interaction).

[LegendZilla]

Maybe in the future, they could use Ultras with a host of the opposite gender as a means to explore trans and/or gender fluid/non-binary issues.

[Angilasman]

Maybe in the future, they could use Ultras with a host of the opposite gender as a means to explore trans and/or gender fluid/non-binary issues.

I could see that possibility, but that would also mean we'd have to get into what gender even means to the Ultras and that's still a big question mark 65 years into the franchise. It hasn't really been explored in any way beyond the 'Minnie Mouse' tactic of putting bow on one and saying that's a girl.

If I was rebooting Ultraman from scratch I like the idea of making the Ultras genderless. I think that's potentially very interesting and could serve as a source of difference or friction or contrast or whatever with the humans (and that could tie-in with exploring non-binary themes).

[eabaker]

Maybe in the future, they could use Ultras with a host of the opposite gender as a means to explore trans and/or gender fluid/non-binary issues.

I could see that possibility, but that would also mean we'd have to get into what gender even means to the Ultras and that's still a big question mark 65 years into the franchise. It hasn't really been explored in any way beyond the 'Minnie Mouse' tactic of putting bow on one and saying that's a girl.

If I was rebooting Ultraman from scratch I like the idea of making the Ultras genderless. I think that's potentially very interesting and could serve as a source of difference or friction or contrast or whatever with the humans (and that could tie-in with exploring non-binary themes).

I agree that the Ultras don't really need to be gendered, although with the name "Ultraman" attached, and in the absence of any other identifying markers, most people would probably still default to perceiving them as male unless the stories directly addressed the issue (which I realize you included as part of your idea, of course).

But, yeah, since what little we've seen of how an Ultra is "born" doesn't really suggest sexual reproduction, there's really no reason established for them to have sexual/gendered characteristics at all.

[LegendZilla]

But, yeah, since what little we've seen of how an Ultra is "born" doesn't really suggest sexual reproduction, there's really no reason established for them to have sexual/gendered characteristics at all.

I saw someone on YouTube theorize that Ultras breed by gathering samples of the DNA of each parent and growing their young in labs.