The Ultra Project: Year Two

~ Ryan Harvey

This week marks two years since I took the Ultra Project live. The first year was slow, but my audience was growing. This second year has seen a tremendous boost in visitors, one which I would love to call meteoric, but I have more respect for meteors than that. 

Regardless, the site’s growth has been major. Last August, I had 608 total views for the month from 229 visitors. This August, I had 3,161 views from 1,416 visitors — an increase of 500–600%. Starting in May of 2026, each month has been the best month for views in the site’s history. It’s honestly amazing to me. Getting three thousand views in a month is minor in the grand scheme of the Internet and many other sites, but for a website on a niche topic that’s run by only one overworked soul, it definitely feels significant to me. I’m incredibly grateful that readers have discovered The Ultra Project and have found it worthwhile to visit and read one fellow’s opinions on this series.

I am especially thankful to readers in non-English-speaking countries who have helped drive my view count to these new heights. In particular, Brazil and Japan. I’ve mentioned this before, but Brazil accounts for a major portion of my traffic. Brazil has a large Japanese population — the biggest outside of Japan itself — and that so many Brasileiros regularly read this site is a tremendous honor. Muito obrigado.

And, of course, there are the Japanese readers. When I first started this website, I didn’t expect to attract many visitors from Ultraman’s home country. I figured Japanese fans had enough to read in their own language (and I envy them all those resources), so the English scribblings about their great hero by some Californian wouldn’t interest them. I underestimated the Japanese Ultra fans, and I’m glad to every one of you who’ve taken the time to drop by.

So, what happens now that the site is entering into its third year? I’ve completed my original goal of reviewing every episode of Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven, and I’m approaching the end of Ultraman Ginga (the first New Generation Heroes show I’ve tackled) and Ultraman Tiga. The reviews for Return of Ultraman have just gotten underway. 

However, I’ve also decreased posting frequency from twice weekly to once weekly. I’ve found it has become harder to keep up a rigorous schedule after more than two years of working on this project. I already announced the schedule change in the “summer vacation” post, but I may stick to this weekly posting for longer than I originally expected because I underestimated how long a break I need. I desperately need to refresh my color timer. As much as I love the Ultra shows, watching too many of them over a sustained period risks turning them stale. I don’t want the Ultra shows to turn stale, especially when I want to write intelligently about them for an audience.

I’m also working on several other projects that are demanding my time, such as writing a comic book in partnership with a friend who’s an artist and independent comic publisher. I also want to get back to some fiction projects that I’ve let fall by the wayside and take a more active role in my local improv comedy community. 

In other words, I don’t quite know what will happen during Year Three of the Ultra Project. I may choose to end it entirely (although it will remain up on the web), or put it on an actual hiatus for several months. Or I may re-energize and go back to the twice-weekly schedule. I’ve enjoyed seeing the site grow, and I hope it continues on — but I can’t be certain. I’ll keep all my readers up to date as I figure this all out myself.

Once again, thank you for dropping by The Ultra Project and giving me a small slice of your attention. In our media-drunk world, that means a great deal.

For your entertainment/pointless education, here are the most popular posts on the site over the last year:

I’m pleased to see that all the shows I’ve reviewed so far got at least one slot in the Top 10. And I’m proud that my review of one of my personal favorites of all Ultra show episodes, “Ambassador of the Nonmalt,” ranked so high. I think that review contains some of the best work I’ve done for the site. 

I don’t expect “From Another Planet With Love” to be dethroned as my most popular review anytime soon. A controversial and withdrawn episode will naturally draw search engine attention—and the HD episode leak in December drove interest even higher.