Battle of giants: Ultraman fights kaiju in Gardens by the Bay

When a kaiju — a Godzilla-like monster — is seen wreaking havoc, there's only one superhero we can count on to save the day.

But in this latest episode of the Ultraman series released on Tuesday (Dec 7), we saw a rather familiar location.

The three-minute episode on YouTube showed the Red King emerging from the middle of Gardens By The Bay to ruin the peace.

Although the short film is entirely in Japanese with no English subtitles, it's clear to see that the monster, almost as tall as the Supertrees, was destroying everything in its path.

When it seemed like all hope was lost, a towering Ultraman could be seen flying past familiar landmarks such as the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer.

Arriving just in the nick of time, he quickly defeated the Red King at Gardens By The Bay to save humans from the terrible ordeal.

But wait, there is more. At the end of the episode, it teased the next opponent for our newly adopted superhero — a mysterious Merlion-like creature.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cud_C0tO_Ys&feature=emb_title[/embed]

According to the Visit Singapore website, this video is the first episode of an Ultraman: A New Power of Singapore series which is part of the SingapoReimagine campaign.

Other locations making an appearance in the upcoming episodes include Jewel Changi Airport, Sentosa and Marina Bay. 

Launched by the Singapore Tourism Board in Japan, it aims to celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan and to "convey the charm of Singapore from a new perspective."

Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote: "Relieved to know that one of my regular jalan jalan spots is safe under the protection of Ultraman!”

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/leehsienloong/posts/448752286610906[/embed]

chingshijie@asiaone.com