Fun Fact: Did you know that Josh once auditioned for Spider-Man?
While he never did become the friendly neighborhood web-slinger, he did become a different superhero...and one that was also wildly popular...Ultraman!
What's Ultraman? If you're not an anime fan, you may not have heard of it, but trust me - you're going to want to check this out. If you're ever been curious about what Josh would sound like as Spider-Man...this may just scratch that itch.
He voiced the English dub episodes of Netflix's Ultraman for three seasons from 2019 to 2023, so this was a pretty big deal - a larger project for Josh with a lot of voice recording! While he was no stranger to voice work before this, having lent his voice to Party Wagon, Justice League Unlimited, Howl's Moving Castle (English Dub), Epic, and Elliott the Littlest Reindeer, this would mark the first time he voices the main character for an animated series. Even though he wasn't the original voice actor, as this is a Japanese show and Josh provides an additional voice option, this is a pretty cool career milestone.
I'll admit that despite being pretty nerdy, anime is something I never really got into...but I absolutely loved Ultraman. As a big Spider-Man fan, I appreciate the similarities between the characters. Just like the kid behind the web slinger, Peter Parker, Ultraman's real identity, Shinjiro, is an awkward teen who struggles to talk to girls and fit in. Just like Spider-Man, he was thrown into the superhero world unexpectedly, and learns as he goes.
I don't want to give too many spoilers, but there are tons parallels to Spider-Man such as being turned on by his own fans and team in season 3, meeting additional "Ultramen", and having a love interest who discovers his secret identity - Rena, a popular pop star. As someone who constantly fangirls over Peter and Gwen from Spider-Man, I loved all of the cute Shinjiro and Rena moments and she quickly became one of my favorite characters.
In terms of Josh's performance, I was blown away...and feel even more salty that I somehow live in the universe where Josh Hutcherson isn't Spider-Man. 😒 He really would have been fantastic - either as a live-action or animated Spidey, because he was perfect as Shinjiro/Ultraman. His voice was enthused with all of the boyish charm, sass, and awkwardness that make up this special superhero. Additionally, this show definitely called for action-packed scenes and fights, meaning Josh had to provide a wide range of vocal clips - like jumping, grunting, fighting sounds. As I mentioned in another review, I do wonder if those feel strange to record but in either case, everything sounded seamless.
If you haven't checked this show out yet, at the time of this post, you can find all 3 seasons of this show on Netflix. Enjoy!
Peace and Joshperity,
G
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