I was a big fan of Ultraman when I was a kid. In the early ‘90s I discovered there was a new “Ultraman” show, but unfortunately I was more interested in acquiring episodes of the old show on VHS than I was episodes of the new one. Somewhat later I discovered that there have been many, many “Ultraman” series over the years, rivaling Doctor Who in its longevity. A brief search of the internet yields the following results (but I’ve probably missed a few).
Ultra Q
Ultraman 1966-67
UltraSeven 1967-68
Return of…(Jack) 1971-72
Ultraman Ace 1972-73
Ultraman Taro 1973-74
Ultraman Leo 1974-75
Ultraman 80 1980-81
Ultraman USA (The Adventure Begins) 1987
Ultraman Great (Towards the Future) 1990-91
Ultraman Powered (The Ultimate Hero) 1993
Ultraman Hero 1995
Ultraman Zearth (parody) 1996-97
Ultraman Tiga 1996-97
Ultraman Dyna 1997-98
Ultraman Gaia 1998-99
Ultraman Nice 1999-00
Ultraman Neos 2000-2001
Ultraman Cosmos 2001-02
Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy 2004
Ultraman: Next 2004 - p.82
Ultraman Nexus 2004-05 - p.82
Ultraman Max 2005-06 - p.86
Ultraman Mebius 2006-07 - p.91
Ultraman UltraSeven X 2007 - p.99
UltraGalaxy: Mega Monster Battle 2007-2009 - p.100
Ultraman Retsuden 2011-13
Neo Ultra Q 2013
Ultraman Ginga 2013
Ultraman Ginga S 2014
Ultraman X 2015-16
Ultraman Orb 2016
Ultraman Geed 2017
Ultraman R/B 2018
Ultraman Taiga 2019
Ultraman Z 2020
Ultraman Trigger 2021
Ultraman Decker 2022
Ultraman Blazar 2023
Ultraman Arc 2024
We’ve been discussing other tokusatsu series in this forum lately, and because those series were produced later than Ultraman, I expected them to be technically better, but I ended up being somewhat disappointed in Super Robot Red Baron and Iron King. I enjoyed them, but I didn’t like them as much as I hoped to. Now I’ve started watching Ultraseven, and it’s everything I hoped it would be.
As the liner noteson the DVD set point out, “the difference in the overall quality in production between Ultraman and Ultraseven was marked, and made the show memorable 45 years later. According to Wikipedia, “Such is his popularity that Ultra Seven (or simply 'Seven') has appeared or at least made cameos in nearly every Ultra Series following his own and has had far more exposure than even the original Ultraman (though the original Ultraman is without a doubt the face of the Ultras).”
My wife and I disagree about the relative merits of Ultraseven in comparison to SRRB/IK. I would like to start the discussion with a look at the opening title sequence and music, then open the floor for rebutal.
The title sequence of Ultraman, as you will recall, looks as if it had been spelled out in a can of paint, slowly stirred, then run backwards. Ultraseven looks more like it had been spelled out in brightly colored confetti, placed atop one of those old electric football games, shaken apart, then run backwards. Whereas the soundtrack of Ultraman is jazzy, that of Ultraseven shows more of a classical influence.
Here is the English translation of the lyrics…
Seven… Seven… Seven… Seven…
Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!
A distant star was once his home
Ultra Seven! Fighter Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!
Onward to the edge of the galaxy
Use your Ultra-Eye and… STRIKE!
Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!
Dan Moroboshi is his borrowed name
Ultra Seven! Hero Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!
Defeat the great fire-breathing monster
Use yout Ultra-Beam and STRIKE!
Replies
DETERMINE! THE SX RESCUE OPERATION: "A massive meteorite has fallen in the Japanese Apls! Vice-Minister Katagiri of the Cabinent Intelligence Bureau orders HEART to carry it out to space and dispose of it immediately. Commander Minato determines that the meteorite first needs to be investigated, and sets out in the SX alone towards the massive meteorite."
Vice-Minister Katagiri is an officious little beaurocrat and his orders would have endangered the HEART team, so Captain Minato himself takes over the investigation and is "consumed" by the meteorite. Uematsu assumes command and learns something of what making life and death decisions entails. At his human size, UltraSeven 21 advises Kagura, and at giant size assists Neos. Fujiwara ends up punching Katagiri in the nose.
THE ASSASSIN MONSTER FROM SPACE: "A massive ball of flame bears down on Earth... it's true form is the golden, almighty monster Grall! Grall has come to Earth looking to wipe out the last Alien Zamu. Kagura and Nana take in an escaped Alien Zamu boy, and learn an alarming truth."
Neos gets his butt beat by Grall. Honestly, I don't think think I've ever seen an Ultraman beated so badly. His warning light slowed and slowed until it finally stopped.
To be continued in the final episode.
Neos gets his butt beat by Grall.
WARRIORS OF LIGHT FOREVER: "Neos has fallen in battle with Gralland is told by Zoffy and Seven 21 that any further attempt at fighting is dangerous. Neos (Kagura) declares that until he has expended the last of his energy, he will continue fighting, and chooses to remain on Earth. On Earth, Mensch Heit continues to rage in its mission to wipe out the Alien Zamu."
This is it, the end of the series. As much as I have complained in the past about 12-episode "seasons" of current shows I watch (such as Doctor Who or The Walking Dead), 12 is about right for an after-the-fact Ultraman seires, especially on DVD. Those 52-episode series can be exhausting, plus, with only 12 the theme song doesn't get stuck in your head as an earworm. (I still can't shake Dyna, and that was two series ago.)
NEXT UP: ULTRAMAN COSMOS
ULTRAMAN COSMOS: No sooner do I express a preference for a 12-episode series in comparison to the standar 52-episode length, than the next one, than I find out the next one in sequence, Ultraman Cosmos, is 65 episodes, the longest yet (plus the series includes three specials). We watched the first episode last night, then I did a little reading on the internet and discovered that this is the first series which spun out of a movie, rather than vice versa. I'm assuming that the original movie is one of the "specials" but I don't know for certain yet.
From what I gathered last night, this series takes place in a rebooted universe which has never seen an Ultraman. In fact, Ultraman Cosmos barely appears... except in "flashback" towards the end...? It turns out that the series takes place eight years after the movie, when Musashi (the main character) was just a kid. Musashi is now a pilot cadet for Team EYES of the SRC. By the end of the first episode, Musahsi meets Ultraman Cosmos for a second time and merges with him.
Ultraman Cosmos has three distinct "modes": Luna mode (basic); Corona mode (powerful); Eclipse mode ("combines the power of the Sun with the gentleness of the Moon").
OPENING THEME.
LYRICS AND TRANSLATION.
CLOSING THEME.
LYRICS AND TRANSLATION.
As soon as we started watching the first ULTRAMAN COSMOS movie ("THE FIRST CONTACT") last night, we realized we had seen it before (as a bootleg back in August of 2021). Here is what I had to say about it then:
The movie opens with a blue-clad Ultraman fighting an updated version of Baltan from the original series. Ultraman runs out of energy, is injured and crashes to Earth. He is found by a little boy named Mushashi Haruno who has an interest in astronomy. Mushashi reflects some light onto the receptor on Ultraman's forehead, reviving him. They communicate telepathically. Mushashi names him Ultraman Cosmos, and he gives the boy a crystal.
Mushashi asks to fly with Cosmos, and he obliges. Cosmos carries him in his hand, but no one below can see them. He sees his sister, his parents and his grandfather below. Later, no one believes him. His grandfather is secretly the head scientist of an organization known as SRC, the Science Research Center. Mushashi's school teacher is also an agent. His grandfather wears a pink lab coat, and all of the other operatives wear powder blue. Their "action suits" include multi-colored bicycle helmets.
The SRC learns that the Beltans communicate on a particular frequency. They follow the frequency to a park where a giant dragon bursts forth from the ground. The dragon doesn't seem particularly threatening, but it is the SRC's job to contain it. Their ships have giant mechanical boxing gloves (I'm not kidding) which they use to herd it where they want it to go, and they use a freeze ray to subdue it with the intention of re-burying it.
Then the militaristic group known as "Shark" arrives on the scene to kill it. They fire missiles which only serve to wake it up and make it mad. Mushashi tries to use his crystal to summon Ultraman, but it doesn't work (I think because Cosmos is still recuperating), and he loses face in front of his friends. SRC detects the Baltan frequency being beamed at the dragon. They block the frequency, which allows Shark to kill the dragon. Then Baltan emerges from the dragon, indicating that Baltan was controlling it all along.
The Baltans have been receiving television signals from Earth for 50 years and have determined that Earth is on the same path to self-destruction they experienced on their planet, so they flew to Earth to take over and prevent that from happening. The next time Baltan appears, the SRC planes, instead of boxing gloves, extent loudspeakers. Mushashi teacher plays a keyboard from inside the plane, sending music everywhere. All the people on the ground begin to sing, lulling Baltan to sleep.
The Baltans are a peaceful people. They really want to take control for Earth's own good. The sleeping giant Baltan floats to Earth, then Shark arrives and begins pelting it with missiles. Mushashi summons Ultraman Cosmos with the crystal, and this time it works. Cosmos fights Beltan to a standstill, then Shark attacks again. Beltan sheds a few tears, then dies. After that, hundreds of human-size Beltans (children, we are told) fly down from orbit to carry the giant Beltan back into space. The movie ends with a message: preserve Earth.
This movie was dubbed into English, but with (what sounds like to me) fake Japanese accents.
(A brief discussion follows starting on the bottom of what is now p40 of this discussion and continues on p41.)
REUNION WITH THE LIGHT: "A mysterious light that came without warning destroys a town in an instant and infects the Friendly Giant Birb Lidorias, driving it wild. Musashi, a pilot cadet at the space development center heads to the city to capture Lidorias. There he meets U;traman Cosmos."
The "flashback" scenes in this episode make a lot more sense having seen the "First Contact" movie. EYES is a kinder, gentler version of the SHARK. I don't know what SHARK stands for (or even if it is an acronym), but SHARK is to JADF as EYES is to the SRC. I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but Musashi's "transformation item" (his "Beta Capsule" if you will) is the "Cosmo Pluck."
THE SHADOW OF CHAOS HEADER: "Recognized for his efforts in capturing Lidorias, Musashi is accepted into TEAM EYES. Affected by the mysterious light called "Chaos Header," the monster Golmede appears. EYES attempts and fails to capture the monster."
ULTRAMAN COSMOS MAIN CHARACTERS:
EYES' HQ is an artificial island called "Treasure Base"
Their jets are called "TECCH Thunder" (One, Two, etc.)
I forgot to mention that the "Cosmo Pluck" looks very much like a sonic screwdriver (the 11th Doctor's specifically)
FLY, MUSASHI!: "Monster Supitol appears, targeting an aircraft. Musashi seeks to uncover why a normally docile monster went berserk. But, having acted too hastily, Musashi is removed from the operation."
I don't klnow where this "Supitol" came from, but in the episode it is subtitled "Spittle." (It does actually spit a stream of what looks like tobacco juice.) I forgot to mention that, in the previous epsiode, Musashi risked his life to save Deputy Leader Mizuki. I think that impressed her, but not enough to take him off cleaning duty, which all new recruits must endure. After Mushashi's FUBAR, he and Fubuki get into an argument. I have seen differences of opinion before, but Fubuki hauls off and punches Musashi in the jaw.
THE ROBOT THAT FELL TO EARTH: "A giant object falls from the sky before children playing by a river. It's a toy robot made on a planet very similar to Earth, Planet Bibin. Introducing itself as Igomas, the robot befriends the children, but an unexpected truth is discovered."
I don't know how "Earth-like" Bibin is; the toy is hundreds of feet high! It is sentient, and has feelings. It's battery is very low and it thinks it has been dropped out of a passing spaceship by accident, but the translation of a sign affixed to its back indicates that it is obsolete, the battery used to power it is no longer being manufactured, and it has been dumped as space garbage. Igomas freaks out at this news and expands to even larger size. The children beg Ultraman Cosmos not to destroy it. He ends up using his power to shrink it down to about a foot tall so the kids can play with it (and probably so a replica of the prop can be sold to fans of the show as a toy). I thought he was also going to recharge its battery somehow, but no. The children resolve to become scientists when they grow up and to invent a way to recharge Igomas. If they can never play with it again, maybe their children or grandchildren can. This theme struck a chord with me. When I was about five or six years old, I thought "Puff the Magic Dragon" was about the saddest song I had ever heard, and I wrote an additional verse in which little Jackie Paper's son later visited Honah Lee to play with Puff. Years later I learned that the song might have been about something else entirely, and I learned to appreciate it on a whole other level.
REVENGE OF THE FIREFLIES: "In Fubuki's hometown, Hotaugamura, firefly-like lights attack vehicles, erasing them one after another. This mysterious light turned out to be the large ammounts of metals illegally thrown away in the village that fused with Chaos-Header. The lights eventually transform into a giant monster."
This episode serves as a character study between Mushashi and Fubuki. Because they don't get along, Hirura is continually assigning them to work together. Doigaki compares Musashi and Fubuki to the Spring and the Winter, respecively. But Ayano (who is not nearly as annoying as she was in that first episode) points out that, together, they are like a spring breeze, so the EYES team begins referring to them as "The Spring Breeze Duo." They become closer throughout the course of this episode, but they're still not exactly friends.
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