In recent years, Netflix has established a well-earned reputation for producing and distributing some very exciting anime properties. Among its more recent successes is Ultraman, which focuses on both an alien invasion and a group of superheroes’ attempts to stop it. It’s a beautifully animated series, with an evocative style and some very well-executed voice-over work.
Fortunately for those who enjoy these various aspects of the series, there are a number of other series that achieve a similar blend, and they are available for streaming, both on Netflix and elsewhere.
Blood Of Zeus (2020-present)
Streaming On Netflix
There have been many great series and movies about Greek mythology, and Blood of Zeus is one of the most unique. Like Ultraman, it focuses on the perils of family legacy, though in this case it is the titular blood of Zeus, which becomes the particular burden of Heron, who has to contend with demons and the enmity of the goddess Hera.
Though it takes many liberties with the original myths, it still manages to craft an artistic vision that is all its own.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021)
Streaming On Disney+
The MCU is one of the most successful franchises, and it has spawned numerous TV entries, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In it, the title characters have to contend with two intertwined legacies: the death of Captain America and the ongoing efforts of the world to deal with the Blip and its aftermath.
What’s more, it also examines the perilous state of politics, both in the US and abroad. It is thus a good fit for those who enjoy the legacy aspect of Ultraman’s narrative.
Invasion (2021-present)
Streaming On Apple TV+
One of the key narrative concerns of Ultraman is an alien invasion, obviously one of the most common conceits in science fiction. That is also the Apple TV+ series Invasion. As its title suggests, it is about an alien invasion of Earth.
What sets it apart, however, is its scope, since it shows the responses to the invasion from a group of people scattered across the planet. What’s more, it’s just as interested in its human melodrama as it is in the destructive alien beings.
Love, Death, And Robots (2019-present)
Streaming On Netflix
Acclaimed filmmaker David Fincher is one of the most well-respected directors in Hollywood, and he has been responsible for many great TV shows and movies. One of the most notable aspects of Ultraman is its unique visual style.
That is also the case with Love, Death, and Robots (which Fincher is a producer on) as each episode focuses on a different story, all of which have some connection to the themes of the title. With its emphasis on blood and titillation, it is a throwback to an earlier iteration of animation.
Eden (2021-present)
Streaming On Netflix
The past intruding on the present is one of the preoccupations of Ultraman. A similar concern motivates the narrative of Eden, which focuses on a pair of robots who accidentally discover and awaken a human child. Given that, by this point, humans have been extinct, this causes the robots a great deal of consternation.
In addition to its gorgeous visual style and its extraordinary vocal talent–which includes Rosario Dawson and Neil Patrick Harris–it manages to become one of the better animated series airing on Netflix.
The Legend Of Vox Machina (2022-present)
Streaming On Amazon Prime
This is something of a golden age for fantasy series, and one of the most notable entries in this regard is The Legend of Vox Machina, which focuses on the group of the title, a band of mercenaries.
In much the same way that Ultraman focuses on a group of people dealing with inheritance, so Vox Machina also focuses, in large part, on the group’s efforts to avenge the murder of one of their member’s family by the villainous Lord and Lady Briarwood. With its fluid animation style and its brutal beauty, it’s a series unlike almost anything else on television.
Star Wars: Visions (2021)
Streaming On Disney+
As an anime, Ultraman has a fluid style that remains a key part of its appeal. Star Wars: Visions is an extraordinary entry into the canon of this well-established and popular universe, and the uniqueness of its anime approach is also a major reason for its positive critical reception.
Though there have been many great Star Wars series, Visions is set apart by the fact that each episode is animated by a different studio. Nevertheless, there is still a coherence to its overall vision, and it earns its place in the new canon.
Foundation (2021-present)
Streaming On Apple TV+
Like many superhero stories, Ultraman is, in large part, about the actions people are forced to take in order to avoid catastrophe. The series Foundation, one of the best shows on Apple TV+, focuses on a small group of intrepid heroes as they try to prepare for the total (and inevitable) collapse of civilization.
Broad in scope and ambition, it is a testament to the ability of television to tell epic stories on a grand scale.
Raised By Wolves (2020-present)
Streaming On HBO Max
HBO's Raised by Wolves is arguably one of the best science fiction series on television. It is, in some ways, the inverse of Ultraman, in that it focuses on a group of androids and humans who invade a distant planet in the hopes of escaping from the conflicts that rendered Earth uninhabitable.
Strange and ethereal and almost unlike anything that has come before it, it explores some of the most pressing questions facing humanity, both in the present and in the future.
Moon Knight (2022)
Streaming On Disney+
Oscar Isaac has been in many great movies and TV series, and he is quite charismatic and intense as the various characters of Moon Knight. Like Ultraman, the series is very much about the burdens of being a superhero.
What sets Moon Knight apart, however, is its willingness to examine the darker side of what it means to be someone who pursues justice. And, as with almost all of the best superhero shows, it raises thorny philosophical questions that aren’t easily answered.