Ultraman Max is the eighteenth installment in the Ultra Series, originally airing in Japan from July 7, 2005 to March 25, 2006. Across 39 episodes and one special, the special anti-monster task force DASH (Defense Action Squad Heroes) battles invading alien monsters, helped by Ultraman Max, who is secretly Touma Kaito, a DASH team member.

Unlike Ultraman Nexus, which went for a darker tone, this is a return to the original Ultraman series, bringing back old favorite monsters like Red King, Gomora, Antlar, Zetton, Eleking, Pigmon and Baltan. It also has a belief that humanity’s future will be a positive one, unlike so much of the science fiction of the 2000s.

There’s even a black and white episode that’s a tribute to the original Ultra Q and Ultraman Xenon makes a guest appearance.

Ultraman Max has an interesting role. As a Civilization Guardian, he studies developing civilizations and  works to help the species of other planets exist as one. Like so many of the Ultras before him, he has bonded with Touma Kaito after a great sacrifice, honoring the human by saving his life and sharing a body with him.

I like the idea that even the evil aliens have to admit that they like Earth in this story and how we have a place in the universe. Ultraman Max himself is inspiring, as he believes in the human race and in having faith in others. He’s learned a lot in his 7,800 years of life.

Another cool part of this show is that the monsters aren’t just aliens, but mythological creatures from Earth’s past. This series gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling and memories of being on my parent’s couch, jumping all over the room and blasting imaginary monsters with my Ultra Beam pose.

You can get the Mill Creek complete series set of Ultraman Max from Deep Discount.