Big old monster brawls are a delight. They’re one of the great pleasures of the Ultra series, the Eiji Tsuburaya-created science fiction series that’s brought joy to folks worldwide for 58 years and counting. While the series kicked off with the monster mystery series Ultra Q in 1966, it was Ultraman (launched in July of that year, shortly after Ultra Q wrapped), the tale of a benevolent alien superhero who lived among humanity and fought aliens, giants, and giant aliens alongside a human Science Team (in capital letters).

In the decades since Ultraman broke out, the series has proven flexible. It’s first and foremost a kids’ superhero show, but it’s made space for experimentation and idiosyncrasy. See, for example, the great Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno‘s 2022 film Shin Ultraman, a loving tribute to and riff on the original 1966 series that embraces kaiju wrestling and contemplation of humanity’s place in the cosmos equally. Or, heck, head back to 1966 and dig into the episodes of the original series directed by acclaimed filmmaker Akio Jissoji.

At its best, the new animated feature Ultraman Rising proves the strength of the Ultra series’ core ideas—right good monster mashing mixed with a journey into humanity—with loveliness and style. Unfortunately, it’s not at its best often enough to clinch the game. Rising is a messy, disjointed picture.

Tonally, Rising aims to click with kids—Ultra‘s core audience. It’s bright, broad, and committedly goofy. Thematically, though, it aims for parents—in general, not only those who grew up with an Ultra and want to pass that love along to their kids. It’s a movie about the challenges and joys of becoming a parent, coming to terms with parental failures, and finding balance between oneself and the world.

That could work. There’s potential there. In isolation, Rising‘s story beats—Ultraman Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) inherited the position from his father (Gedde Watanabe) and initially regards his duties with ambivalence at best, Ultraman stepping up as the guardian and parent to a newborn kaiju that imprints on him, and his opponents being the overmilitarized Kaiju Defense Force and their vengeful commander (Keone Young)—are neat riffs on the Ultra series’ longstanding skeleton. Thematically, Rising‘s focus on parenting and, to a lesser extent, ecology and humanity’s relationship to the biosphere tie into the series’ longtime interest in the meaning of humanity and life while remaining distinct.

Aesthetically, directors Shannon Tindle (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends) and John Aoshima (Gravity Falls) do, with one exception, good work. Ken’s build as a human emphasizes the work he’s done to become a world-class baseball player, with powerful arms and graceful curves that echo the graceful gangliness of his Ultraman form. While I do not personally love the design of the baby kaiju Ken winds up taking in (it’s a little too cartoon cute as opposed to baby animal cute for my tastes—think Minilla vs. Baby Godzilla), it’s expressive enough to let her work as a character. The action is solid, particularly during the climax, which pits Ultraman and his allies against a lumbering, hard-hitting mecha.

But for everything Ultraman Rising does well in isolation, taken as a whole, it does not work. By hewing to both its specific, antics-filled idea of kid-friendly and its parent-targeted themes, Rising tears itself apart. Its gross-out poop and vomit jokes clash with Ken trying to come to terms with his dad’s giving-his-all-and-decidedly-imperfect parenting. Its overriding focus on parenting leaves other potentially interesting thematic work (Ken’s having used his skill at baseball to shift the stories told about him as an immigrant kid in the US, being a good athlete vs. being a good sportsman, the difference between fighting for humanity as part of the world and fighting for humanity to dominate the world), thematic work that can and has clicked with kids as well as parents elsewhere, to wither on the vine. Its aversion to getting too heavy undercuts the impact of its action.

There are some genuinely lovely moments in Ultraman Rising—I’m particularly fond of a paradigm-shifting conversation between an at-his-wits-end Ken and reporter and reporter and fellow single parent Ami (Julia Harriman). It’s always interesting. But it does not succeed. If you’re a grown-up curious about Ultraman, try Shin Ultraman. If you’re a grown-up who wants to share the Ultra series with your kid, Tsuburaya’s YouTube channel and Shout TV’s toku channel offer a selection of new and classic work. If you love animation and want to dig into Ultra series metafiction, check out the animated series ssss.Gridman and ssss.Dynazenon—they’re built on a cousin of the Ultra series and directly engaged with it in neat ways. Rising is not bad per se, but it’s seriously flawed—enough that it’s best saved for advanced Ultra studies.

Ultraman Rising launches on June 14th on Netflix.

Ultraman Rising Trailer: