WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 1 of Ultraman.
Ultraman has never really been a property concerned with weaving too many intricate stories together. The original '60s series, for example, focused pretty much solely on the cosmic entity inhabiting the body of Shin Hayata, transforming him into a kaiju-fighting giant superhero. Now, while a ton of spinoffs emerged over the years, the Netflix anime is following the 2011 manga, which helps maintain a less convoluted continuity.
But despite the new show taking a back to basics approach and allowing us to ignore the last couple decades of Ultraman stories, the first season ended up being way more nuanced than fans might have anticipated. not only are there a number of plot lines unfolding across the series, the Season 1 finale left us with a few unresolved mysteries.
WHAT'S BEMULAR'S ENDGAME?
Initially, Bemular attacks Shin and his son, Shinjiro, in order to stop the Ultraman lineage. However, we find out in the final episodes that this was all a ploy to push Shinjiro to his limit so he could max his powers out and truly become Ultraman's successor.
Still, because Bemular's so shady and his past has been draped with conflict and hate for the Ultraman symbol, we'd love to find out what's his ultimate goal. He said needs help in stopping the corrupt Universal Alliance from forming one big cosmic army, including Earth, but from what we saw, he has enough power to do this himself. The fact he takes Seiji (aka Kid Ultraman) to resurrect him after a terrorist battle killed the boy in the finale leaves the audience confused as to his overall ambition, as he's had nothing but contempt for the sense of justice Shin stood for.
WHERE'S THE REAL ULTRAMAN?
The beginning of the series establishes the Ultraman entity, after seeing peace achieved on Earth decades prior, cut its bond with Shin and depart into the recesses of the galaxy. It did imprint on Shin's genetics allowing Shinjiro to become superhuman, but one has to wonder why hasn't the original light god returned.
He fought tooth and nail to stop Earth being invaded in the past, and with history repeating itself, we'd like to know where the real Ultraman is and why hasn't he returned to protect the planet. Sure, now it's more political and deals with assassins as opposed to kaiju attacks, but this all fits right up Ultraman's alley. No insight was ever given as to where he went and what could potentially stall him from helping Shinjiro, who for all intents and purposes is a better host body than his dad ever was.
WHO IS THE MYSTERIOUS AGENT JACK?
Throughout Season 1, we see Jack planted in various alien communities altering Shinjiro's handlers, the SSSP, as to any illegal activity. But we also see him as a mole reporting on the Ultraman project Japan's running to some unknown entities, leaving fans wondering if he's working for the Universal Alliance.
Hints have even been dropped Jack might be an alien in disguise, as seen from his cage matches and beatdowns of several monsters. But the finale throws us all for a loop when he kills Yapool, the alien refugee who was helping Seiji with his suit, and who harbored key secrets Shinjiro's people needed to find out what exactly what the Alliance's plan is for Earth. Even the manga doesn't shape Jack like this, and other theorists even believe he may be part of the terrorist cell who tried to frame Bemular for attacks against the Alliance.
Now streaming on Netflix, Season 1 of Ultraman stars Ryohei Kimura (Eden of the East), Takuya Eguchi (Gosick), Megumi Han (My Hero Academia) and Hideyuki Tanaka (One Piece).