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
Ultraman Mebius 2006-07
Ultraman UltraSeven X 2007
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
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
HERO: "Ultraman is defeated and captured. Mizorogi arranges a ritual to steal Ultraman's light from Himeya, and when the Night Raiders attack to try and stop it, the becomes Dark Mephisto. As Jimeya is fading fast, he's greeted by a vision of Sera, who shares with him the reason he was chosen by the light."
I wish I was doing a better job summarizing this series, but watching as infrequently as I have been, there are some parts I frankly don't understand. Sera tells Himeya that his photographs captured her at the time in her life when she was most happy, not preserved forever. Ultraman Nexus and Dark Mephisto fight to the death, but Himeya appears to Komon and tells him that the light will be passed on. 24 episodes in, we are finally up to the point I was anticipating all along. The series is moving into a new phase and I will try to do a better job going forward.
PROPHECY: "Komon, Nagi and Captain Wakura are questioned about the fact that they concealed Himeya's identity. As the higher ranked officers at TLT consider the matter, a curious fact is revelaed: there was another Ultraman prior to Himeya."
Much of this episode is a clip show as the three main characters submit to an inquiry. That's good for me because it recaps the show up to this point and sets the stage for what's to come going forward. We do learn a few new things, however. For example, Nagi's parents were killed by a Beast when she was a child and they were living in Colorado, USA. The memory Police have finally caught up to Kirasawa and he has been mind-wiped. (Apparently this has happened to him before.) TLT leadership is divided into two factions: a clandestine one (represented by the young man dressed in white and the older officer dressed in black he most often reports to) and a more transparent one. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it is revealed that this series takes place in the same continuity as Ultraman Next. At the end of the episode, a brand new, never-before-seen Ultraman appears... and it's not Komon! We don't know who it is. The kid in white refers to him as "The Third."
THE THIRD: "While the Beasts cause rumors and hearsay to fuel speculation in society, a cheerful young man named Ren works at an amusement park. One night, he dreams of mysterious ruins, and comes face to face with a giant..."
This is (almost) like the first episode of a brand new series, new theme, new cast members, etc. Our regular cast of TLC Night Raiders are barely in it at all, except at the very end. Two young men (roommates, I think), Ren and Ojiro, both work at an amusement park. Ren is happy-go-lucky and carefree, much less responsible than Ojiro. There is a man-eating monster named Bunyip on the loose. Something called "First Bird" follows Bunyip's attacks, but I'm not quite sure what it is. It has something to do with mindwipes, and may or may not be associated with the Memory Police. Speaking of which, the first of the regular cast we see is the woman leader of the MPs. More importantly, though, she is showing a new agent, a pretty young woman named Mizuo Nonomiya, the ropes. Ren sees her and has psychic flashes of her wiping someone's mind. She sees him watching her and consults her handheld device, confirming he is not on her list. When Bunyip appears and the Night Raiders scramble, Ren gets a psychic flash of that, too. It is at that point Ultraman Nexus appears to him in his dreams and he is transformed for the first time. He questions whether Nexus has chosen the right guy. The episode ends with the same scene as the previous one, with the new Ultraman (new costume, too), the Night Raiders and Bunyip converging.
SECOND THEME
PRAYER: "A new Ultraman appears! The blue giant fights off the Beasts, and when he vanishes, Komon heads for the forest and encounters the young Ren, who quickly becomes a surveillance target for TLT."
After the battle, the new Ultraman disappears. Komon lands seeking his human host. He follows Ren back to his trailer in the amusement park. They talk and become friendly, but Ren does not give himself away. On his way out of the park, Komon meets Ojiro, who mistakes him for Ren's cousin (for some reason) and relates some personal details about Ren's backgropund (such as he's from "Dallas, USA" for example). The next day, while surveilling Ren, Mizuo notices someone else watching Ren and begins watching him instead. While her attention is occupied elsewhere, she bumps into Ren himself, who immediately starts chatting her up. He recognizes her from his vision, but she tries to get away because she's not supposed to make contact with her. Suddenly she realizes she has lost him, and makes a phone call back to TLT. Meanwhile, Ren has changed into a giant panda costume we have seen him weatr and listens in. He reveals himself and asks her if she always prays over midwipe victims (which is what he saw her doing in his vision).
Back at TLT, the black-garbed supervisor conferns with the MP leader, but she doesn't seem to be privy to his clandestine operation. The name of the guy in white is Yu, BTW, and his official title is "Illustrator." (No, I don't know what that means, either. He's more a a strategist.) In the last scene, someone appears offscreen and greets him as an old friend or acquaintance. It is sort of a hologram or something of (wait for it)... Ren!
REUNION: "As the surveilance or Ren continues, Komon begins looking into the Prometheus Project, only to have Kirasawa reveal the shocking truth."
"Kirasawa" is Yu Kirasawa, the Illustrator. The man in black is Yōichirō Matsuna. Ren is 17 years old.
As Komon investigates Ren he finds that all Ren's files are top secret and password protected, under the control of "Group P.P." Komon tries guessing the password a couple of times but notning he tries works. Then he remembers a ring Ren was wearing with the letters "PYR" on it. He types that in and gains access to the files. Suddenly, the Illustrator shows up. He tells Komon that Pyr is the greek word for "fire" and that Ren is a genetically enhanced being created by Project Prometheus and has no parents.
Meanwhile, Mizuo reports to her superior in the Memory Police. She comes clear that she has had personal contact with Ren and should be reassigned. Her superior looks as if she agrees and is about to do so when Matsuna appears and takes charge. He orders Mizuo to make friends with Ren and hereafter report only to him.
Back at TLT HQ, the Illustrator briefs the Night Raiders on something called the "Dark Hand: and "Dark Field G." He also uses the term "Dunamist" to refer to the Ultras. The Illustrator and Ren know more about each other than we know about either. The new Ultraman has weapon unique to him: an "bow" that appears from the back of his hand and shoots "arrows" made of energy.
CALLING: "A series of attacks at a cam[p ground where Mizorogi was spotted raise the question of his involvement. Meanwhile, Mizuo regrets an incident in her past where she accidentally erased the wrong memories of a girl whose family were attacked by the Space Beasts."
Remember the little girl Riko and her family whom Komon met at the zoo and whose parents were killed then she had her memory wiped? It turns out that she was the first person Mizuo mind-wiped and she screwed it up badly. Now Riko doesn't even remember her own brother. When a Space Best attacks, she runs off into the woods and meets an injured Mizorogi, who has also been mind-wiped, and they bond over their mutual loss of memories. When she sees Komon, however, her memories begin to return, and Riko's brother certainly remembers Komon, and blames him for their parents' deaths.
WATCHER: "After learning Ren is the product of the Promethean Project and was robbed of a normal childhood as a result, Komon goes to visit him at the amusement park. But a mysterious observer drops a memory chip containing the message "Isn't Raphael here yet?"
Koman and Ren and Mizuo and Ojiro (Ren's co-worker) and Ren and Ojiro's boss have a late night cookout after the park has closed. (They pass Komon off as Ren's cousin.) After they have eaten, the old man goes to bed and the four young people lie in the grass under the stars. There is definitely a "shadow faction" at TLT. The "Watcher" is the one who's been watching Ren all along. He wears black robes and a featureless black mask but we don't know anything else about him at this point.
He wears black robes and a featureless black mask but we don't know anything else about him at this point.
Perhaps he's Speed's long-lost brother Rex who disappeared years beforte.
Down to the last seven episodes...
BIRD: "Ren refuses to discuss whatever 'Raphael' is. Sensing Ren's anguish, Mizuo starts to wonder how to best protect him. Komon visits the amusement park where Kirasawa explains Ren's past. Meanwhile, Nagi starts to notice something strange about the blue Ultraman's fighting style."
There is a lot of one-on-one character interaction this episode: Komon and Mizuo, Ren and Mizuo, Ren and Kirasawa, Kirasawa and Komon, the MP woman and Matsuna...
UNKNOWN HAND: "Mizorogi escapes TLT custody with Mizuo as a hostage. When Komon and Nagi catch up, they're firced to decide whether they value revenge or the truth."
We haven't seen Mizorogi since he was mind-wiped by the TLT, but now he seems to have gotten his memory back. He was wounded during his escape and takes Mizuo hostage, but they end up bonding over Riko (he killed her parents and mind-wiped her); they both feel guilty over their respective roles. When Komon and Nagi catch up to them, Mizorogi attempts to turn the tables on them, but they end up at a standoff. Suddenly, Mizorogi is shot from behind by Misawa, who has sudden;y arrived on the scene. Misawa then transforms into Dark Mephisto. Then Ren shows up and turns into Ultraman. Dark Mephisto nearly kills Ultraman, but Mizorogi transforms into his "Dunamist" counterpart. The two dark Ultraman battle it out and, when Mizorogi is on the verge of being killed, the Ren-Ultraman recovers and destroys Dark Mephisto. Mizorogi changes back to his human form, and Nagi goes to him. He confesses that, when he was a Dark Dunamist it was like being a puppet controlled by an "unknown hand." They reconcile and her dies in her arms.
This is probably the best episode of the series so far, but it wouldn't mean as much without all the episodes leading up to it.
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