“Ultraman Great” (ウルトラマンG), Original Japanese Video Release Promotional Poster 1990, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) Q161
This is an original Japanese B2 promotional poster printed in 1990 for the home video release of Ultraman Great (ウルトラマンG), the landmark 25th-anniversary Ultraman project known internationally as Ultraman: Towards the Future.
Series background
Produced in 1990, Ultraman Great occupies an important place in the history of the franchise. Conceived as “Ultraman 25th Anniversary Commemorative Work” (ウルトラマン生誕25周年記念作品), it was an ambitious international co-production between Tsuburaya Productions and the South Australian Film Corporation, filmed in Australia with an English-speaking cast. For Japanese audiences, this gave the series a distinctly global dimension while still preserving the core visual language and mythic stature of Ultraman.
Rather than serving as a theatrical poster, this example was issued to promote the Japanese home video release, with the bold launch line “9.25 VIDEO ON SALE” prominently printed at upper left. Posters of this type were typically distributed to video shops and related retail outlets, making them scarcer in survival than more conventional theatrical paper.
Poster design
This is an especially striking and unusually restrained Ultraman image. Instead of showing combat scenes, kaiju battles, or a cast collage, the design focuses almost entirely on a monumental close-up of Ultraman Great’s face, rendered with near-iconic simplicity. The mask fills the lower two-thirds of the composition, frontal and symmetrical, giving the figure an almost sacred or divine stillness.
Behind the head, a brilliant white burst of light radiates outward, threaded with multicoloured streaks of red, blue, yellow, green, and white, creating the sensation of cosmic speed, energy, and transcendence. The effect is both futuristic and reverential, and it separates this design from more standard tokusatsu marketing of the period.
The top-left corner carries the title logo ウルトラマンG / ULTRAMAN GREAT, while the red subheading beneath it reads:
「新しき伝説がいま始まる……」
“A new legend begins now…”
Below that appears the video-release announcement and explanatory copy, positioning the project as a major new step for the Ultraman franchise.
Running vertically down the right side is the poster’s most memorable line:
「もしも宇宙に神が存在するとしたら こんな姿をしているかもしれない。」
“If a god exists in the universe, it might look like this.”
This is one of the most philosophical and visually grand taglines used in Ultraman advertising, and it perfectly matches the poster’s solemn, celestial presentation.
Design details and branding
The lower margin includes the Tsuburaya Productions logo at bottom left and the Bandai Visual / Emotion branding at bottom right, confirming its status as an official Japanese promotional video-release poster. The combination of these elements, together with the explicit 9.25 VIDEO ON SALE notice, clearly identifies this as a period retail-display item rather than a later reproduction or fan print.
Rarity and collector significance
Original Japanese posters for Ultraman Great are highly desirable among Ultraman, tokusatsu, and Japanese science-fiction collectors, particularly those tied to the 1990 launch period. This example is especially appealing because of its minimalist, powerful artwork and its significance as a 25th-anniversary promotional piece from a pivotal moment in the franchise’s international expansion.
Because such posters were generally used for temporary display in video stores and rental outlets, they were often discarded after use. Clean surviving examples are therefore increasingly difficult to find.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 36 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
