It has been revealed that the long-running variety show "Shoten" (Nippon Television Network, Sundays at 5:30 p.m.) and the tokusatsu drama series "Ultraman" will be collaborating. Ultraman and Kanegon will appear in the "Oogiri" (comedy quiz) segment of "Shoten" airing on May 17th. "Shoten" celebrates its 60th anniversary on May 15th, and the "Ultraman" series will also celebrate its 60th anniversary on July 10th, making this unexpected collaboration a reality.
On May 15th, the 60th anniversary of the broadcast of "Shoten," the official Twitter account (@shoten_ntv) posted a congratulatory message to the "Ultraman" series for the 60th anniversary. In response, Tsuburaya Productions' official Twitter account (@tsuburayaprod) also posted a congratulatory message to "Shoten" for the 60th anniversary, and the collaboration was announced the very next day after they exchanged "cheers."
The official Twitter account for "Shoten" posted a visual featuring the "Shoten" members posing as if performing the Spacium Ray against a cityscape (worldview) from the "Ultraman" series, which was composited by Tsuburaya Productions. The image posted by Tsuburaya Productions' official Twitter account showed Ultraman posing as if performing the Spacium Ray against the "Shoten" stage (worldview), with a monster holding a cushion partially visible. It was later revealed that the monster was Kanegon, the coin monster. It was also announced that "that person" who has appeared in both "Shoten" and the "Ultraman" series will make a surprise appearance on the May 17th broadcast.
Host Shunputei Shota commented, "Ultraman has been my hero since I was a child, so I was really happy to be able to perform with him. I never thought that Ultraman and Kanegon would come to 'Shoten.' It will be a great surprise for 'Shoten' fans, and for Ultraman fans, it's a rare opportunity to see Ultraman appearing on 'Shoten,' so please enjoy watching it."
