Shin Ultraman Blu-ray Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Varying at the source, Shin Ultraman uses an all-digital shoot in varying methods. Certain eccentric angles were captured on iPhones, creating a visible gap in definition and sharpness. Nearly every frame carries some form of digital flatness/softness, but it's clear aside from notable artifacting. That's potentially at the source too, but it's annoyance either way. Too often the screen appears noisy and swarmed by blocking. This even includes general dialog scenes, not just fast action.

A beautiful, bright color palette draws out gorgeous, warm flesh tones. Colorful beam attacks show the greatest contrast, blindingly bright, including the resulting explosions too. Black levels sink to appropriate depth as needed. Dimensionality is at a constant.

Audio

Given Shin Ultraman uses a disappointingly compressed Dolby Digital track, it's better than expected. Monster action brings greater than expected bass, low-end support resonating to produce a satisfying (albeit muddled) response.

Japanese films rarely utilize true surround mixes, but this disc has two, undoubtedly upmixed from stereo or 3.1. Rear channel action lacks the sharpest separation, although motion is audible in places. The stereo split is the stronger one, used liberally to the extent of the 2.35:1 visual frame.

Elements balance the rapid-fire dialog, action, and monster roars perfectly. Note the on-screen text is not translated, a problem given Shin Ultraman's setup is done with text in the opening moments.