is a spin-off of the

Ultra Series ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with '' Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is o ...

. Produced by

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producin ...

, Ultraman Nice was released in a series of commercials on October 20, 1999, with a total of 20 episodes.

Plot

Ultraman Nice arrives from the planet TOY-1 in a series of

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

(1-minute toy commercials) presented during the 1999 Japanese reruns of ''

Ultraman Tiga is a Japanese tokusatsu TV drama and the twelfth show in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, ''Ultraman Tiga'' had aired at 6:00pm and aired between September 7, 1996 to August 30, 1997, with a total of 52 episodes with five mo ...

''. The 1-minute spots, advertising the wide variety of

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

Ultraman toys, actually do have a storyline, along with some surprise guests. Throughout the series, Alien Zagon and his monsters attacked Earth for the Bandai figures. However, at each attack, Ultraman Nice managed to defeat them and, at the end of the series, the aliens were finally vanquished.

Characters

GOKAZOKU Officers

The is an attack team consist of the six members of Yumeboshi family. Each family members piloted their own in against Alien Zagon and his monsters. *: The patriarch of the Yumeboshi family through ''

mukoyōshi A ; () is an adult man who is adopted into a Japanese family as a daughter's husband, and who takes the family's surname. Generally in Japan, a woman takes her husband's name and is adopted into his family. When a family, especially one with a ...

'', aged 35 years old and worked as a teacher in nursery school. His true identity is Ultraman Nice, a warrior from of Nebula M78 and transforms through the watch by eating the chocolate balls contained within. His double life is a secret to everyone except the elders of Yumeboshi family. **Ultraman Nice's true age is 10,390 years old. He is distinctively known for a large "N" letter on his back and the Color Timer situated on his left chest. Nice fights with the ideals of

and his finishing move is . All of his statistics revolves around the number 39, which is a nod to the ''

goroawase Japanese wordplay relies on the nuances of the Japanese language and Japanese script for humorous effect. Double entendres have a rich history in Japanese entertainment (such as in kakekotoba) due to the language's large number of homographs ...

'' for "thank you", spoken in Japanese transliteration. * and : Akimi's parents and the Yumeboshi family's elders, aged 60 and 54 years old respectively. *: Ginga's 33 years old wife and the matriarch of Yumeboshi family. * and : The children of the Yumeboshi family, aged 10 and 7 respectively. Cosmo is the older sister of the pair, while Mirai is the younger brother who's a fan of Ultra Series.

Zagon Galaxy creatures

The creatures of the are the antagonists of the series. They are led by Alien Zagon and usually fights against the GOKAZOKU members and Ultraman Nice. Their aliases are written in Hiragana in the 2001 magazine. *: A heinous alien from third planet Zagon Star bent on conquering Earth and frequently fights Ultraman Nice. As his alias suggest, Zagon has the ability to secrete poison gas from his ears but was never shown in the series proper. *: A pinkish

traffic sign Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

themed monster from the eighth Planet with the ability to unleash sound waves. *: A spiral-themed monster from the twelfth Planet . It is capable of spitting fireballs. *: A porcine monster from the fifth planet . It has giant ears capable of assuming as Tabu-Zagon's alternate face with reflective properties but its weak point is its snout. Tabu-Zagon is a late addition to the other monsters, as it appeared during the winter 2000 arc of the infomercial, hence he was absent from a tag team between the Zagon Galaxy creatures.

Design

Ultraman Nice and the Zagon Galaxy creatures are all designed by Hiroshi Maruyama. Nice's mask used the same mold as Ultraman Tiga, but his crest is colored red and has a pair of blue-colored side lines. Alien Zagon on the other hand was based on a monster in ''Ultraman Tiga'' while adding more colors to the image.

Cast

*Ginga Yumeboshi: *Kataru Yumeboshi: *Kiku Yumeboshi: *Akimi Yumeboshi: *Cosmo Yumeboshi: *Mirai Yumeboshi: *Narrator: *Alien Zagon (voice): *Ultraman Nice (suit actor): *Monster suit actor:

Episodes

*You're Not Calling!! *The Secret of Ultraman Nice... *From the Mouth Comes Evil... *I Want an Airplane... *I Made a Mistake! *Discharge the Very Nice Ray!! *Ultraman Nice is Also Cool! *Spring Outfits are Here!! *Let's Go to the Picnic!! *Be Careful Not to Get Too Hooked... *He's Here!! Tabu Zagon *Mirai, Lost *Having Overslept... *In Exchange for That... *Don't Get in my Way!! *Captured Mirai *New Monster is Here *Mirai's Dream Come True *Papa, Exhausted *Nice is the Best!!

Theme song

"Ultraman Nice" *Lyric: *Composer: *Arrangement: MANTA *Singer:

Project DMM A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

References

* * * * * {{Ultra Series Ultra television series 1990s Japanese television series 2000s Japanese television series 1999 Japanese television series debuts 2000 Japanese television series endings