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
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
THE FIRST ERRAND: "Toriyama loses a dangerous research item that was scheduled for disposal. The substance "Grotecell" can enter inanimate objects and move them as if they were alive. Mirai and the others are asked by Toriyama to help find it, but Grotecell has already entered the satue of Ebisu."
Kaiju: Demon God Monster Kodaigon, "The Other"
Misaki assigns Toriyama to dispose of Grotecell. All he knows about it is that it is extremely dangerous. Three members of GUYS volunteer to provide security, but Maru, his aide, unitntentionally forces the vain Toriyama into taking it for disposal unaccompanied. (Toriyama and Maru are played strictly for comic relief, but it's difficult to imagine how such an inept coward could rise so high in the ranks.) His curiousity gets the better of him, however, and he accidently drops one of the four Grotecell sample off a bridge into a stream. Later, when he finds out just how dangerous it is, he recruits Mirai, Konomi and Teppei (because he thinks they are most likely to follow his orders to keep quiet about it) to find the missing capsule.
A local merchant has already snagged the capsule with his fishing ploe and has taken it back to the curio shop he runs with his granddaughter, where it inhabits a carved wooden statue of Ebisu, a "happy fisherman" type (if you are familiar with the Mah-Jong tile, "1" below). Mirai, Konomi and Teppei arrive in the village just in time to witness the statue grow to gigantic proportions, and Mebius and Hikari must lend a hand. The statue carries a big fish (which can move indepentently) under one arm and a fishing pole in the other. I think I can safely say it is unique among Ultraman kaiju. Once the threat has been neutralized, Toriyama tries to cover it up, but Sakomizu indicates he knows what really happened. (Frankly, I think all four of them should be brought up on charges.)
Ebisu is the Japanese god of fishermen and luck, and is sometmes associated with things that wash ashore He is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, and the only one to be wholly Japaese in origin, without any Buddhist or Taoist influences.
MARINA IN THE WIND: "Marina heads to the mountains to ride with Kadokura. they coincidentally run into an acquaintance, the mountaineer Rinko. However, the appearance of Mukadender strands the three of them in the mountains. Marina sets out on her bike to draw Mukadender's attention and use herself as bait!"
Kaiju: Centipede Monster Mukadender
It's Marina's day off and she has gone riding motorcycles in te mountains with the manager of her former racing team, Kadokura. His team has lost their last match, and she invited him for a ride to cheer him up. They soon run into Rinko, a young woman Marina met on the day she applied for Team GUYS. They soon encounter Mukadender, but Marina is carrying a Michlas Maquette due to writer's fiat. Michlas buys them time to take safety in a cave, but Rinko twists her ankle. Marina lures the monster away, using her super-hearing not only to guide her motorcycle but to avoid Mukadender's blasts. Kadokura had planned to ask her to rejoin the team, but when he sees how well she fits in with GUYS changes his mind. Rinko tells him that her first love was rifing motorcycles, but then she says she was just kidding (?).
This was very much a "Marina" episode, but tomorrow's will be a "Teppei" one.
ONE ROAD: "Teppei's mother happens to see him on television and makes quite the commotion because it's always been her dream to have her son becaome a doctor. Meanwhile, an Insectus larva that infected a human being was repeatedly molting inside a hospital, continuing to grow."
Kaiju: Insect Crustacean Monster Insectus
When Teppei was a little boy, his mother found him preparing to jump out a tree and had a heart attack. She recovered, but Teppei made a vow to himself not to risk his mother's life by putting his own in danger. Consequently, he has kept his Team GUYS membership secret from her while pretending to go to medical school so that he can one day take over his father's hospital. As the episode begins, Team GUYS defeats Insectus, but before the area can be decontaminated, Toriyama walks through it and becomes infected with an Insectus larva. Teppei's mother sees her son in the background during news coverage of the battle, goes to GUYS HQ to confront him about it, and becomes infected with the larva when it switches hosts. Eventually, Teppei's mother comes to realize that GUYS takes care of their own and that her son is on the career path that's right for him. He promises to eventually return to medical school and become a doctor.
PHOENIX STRONGHOLD: "Gun Phoenix breaks down as it was deployed against Chaif Maintenance Araiso's recommendation. Ryu deploys the new state-of-the-art craft Gun Booster. Ultraman Jhikaru manages to mount a daring rescue!"
Kaiju: Space Conglomerate Monster Gromite
This is very much a Ryu episode. But first, Hikari (or "Ultraman Blue" as I have come to think of him) comes to Medius' (Ultraman Red's) assistance early on, but becomes exausted. Ultraman Zoffy appears and orders (or rather invites) him back to Nebula M-78. I don't think we've seen the end of Hikari, but he's appearently being written out of the show, at least for a while. Chief Mechanic Araiso and Ryu but heads. Araiso has been on the job for 40 years. He has a model of the Jet Beetle from the original series, and photos of many aircraft from later shows hanging on the wall. More ships crashed back in the day, but they were designed to keep pilots alive. This is a very "tactical" episode, with Ryu having to learn how to operate in "Cruise mode" rather than "maneuver mode," which is more automated.
SWORD MASTER FROM SPACE: "A duel between aliens takes place on Oshima's Comet. the intense fighting causes the comet to enter a trajectory headed for Earth. Amidst the confusion, the duel's winner, Space Swordsman Zamushar, reveals to Mirai his reason for coming to Earth. It is to challenge Tsurugi to a duel!"
Aliens: Space Swordsman Zamushar, Sabre Tyrant Magma and Space Fisherman Valkie (although the latter two are just for Zamushar to defeat to show what a badass he is).
At the very beginning of the episode, Konomi puts in contact lens for the first time, but by the time she reports to work, the comet has been confirmed as being on a collision course with Earth and everyone is too busy to notice. While Team GUYS' efforts go 100% toward repelling the comet, Mirai confronts Zamushar and learns he is there seeking (the former) Hunter Knight Tsurugi. He transforms to Mebius, but Zamushar knows he is not Tsurugi/Hikari because he is red, not blue. Then Hikari himself appears from space. I won't tell you how it ends, but Zamushar departs vowing revenge upon them both. At the end of the episode, the Captain says something to Konomi about her contact lenses, but she decides not to wear them anymore after all.
This episode also features a game of Shogi (Japanese chess), which is a topic I think I've written about before. I used to play back in St. Louis, but I stopped more than 20 years ago when I moved away from the only two people I know who play it. My dad even made me a board and a set of pieces. I was learning the Japanese symbols when I moved to Texas. Tracy has no interest in learning how to play.
FORMATION OF OUR VOWS: "GUYS struggle with Salamandra who regenerates no matter how many times it s defeated."
Kaiju: Regeneration Monster Salamandra.
Ryu has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Serizawa has not returned to GUYS. Mirai speaks with Serizawa and urges him to contact Ryu. Ryu later uses a technique taught to him by Serizawa to defeat Salamandra. Ultraman Hikari determines that he can no longer stay on Earth, and imparts some of his power to Mebius, telling him that he will soon need it. Before leaving Earth for good, Serizawa visits all of GUYS to say his final farewells. There is a sense of finality this time.
Everytime we switch series, our cat's theme song changes. When we were atching Ultraman Max ("MAX! MAX! MAX!") it had been "BAY! BEE! CAT!" Now she is "Ultracat Babius."
PRESSURE ON ULTRAMAN: "Ultraman Hikari has returned to the Land of Light and Mebius is the only Ultraman left on Earth. That's when the powerful enemy Bemstar lands on Earth."
Kaiju: Giant Space Monster Bemstar
This series is really coming together. this was a very good episode. Bemstar is detected far out in space, but so is part of the comet Oshima from "Sword Master in Space." Maybe Bemstar is heading toward Earth, maybe it's not, but Oshima definitely is. Teppei recognizes Bemstar from the records of several appearances in previous series, and it is unlikely that Mebius will be able to defeat it by himself without Hikari's help. Then Teppei determines that Bemstar is actually feeding on the comet's tail, and is projected to land on Earth a few days after the comet.
On the day the comet is to impact with Earth, Ryu and George fly out to intercept it, but Mebius flies past them and destroys it for them. When Mirai returns to base, however, he finds Team GUYS in a funk because they didn't need or want Mebius' help. Ever since "The First Errand," GUYS has fallen into little sub-teams of Ryu, George and Mirai (the "cools kids"), and Mirai, Konomi and Teppei (the "nerds"), but this time even Teppei sides with the cool kids. The Captain then sends Mirai and Konomi on a "mission." The children from the school where Konomi used to teach have written letters to Team GUYS, so Mirai and Konomi are sent as sort of "goodwill ambassadors." While there, in the way she deals with the children, Konomi teaches Mirai how Mebius should treat Team GUYS.
Finally, Bemstar appears. Team GUYS has made up a plan in which everyone must play a role. Unfortunately, Mirai's plane becomes disabled and Bemstar begins to eat it, forcing Mebius to intervene. Then Team GUYS enacts their stratagy as planned... but it doesn't work! So Mebius has to join the fight. He, too, is defeated, but Team GUYS manage to save him. Then Mebius employs the extra power he got from Hikari in "Formation of Our Vows."
Transformation Device: The wrist-worn "transformation devices" in this series are called "braces," and it is Hikari's "Knight Brace" Mebius adds to his own "Mebius Brace" to become Ultraman Mebius Brave.
This new aspect has a golden line running down his chest and is able to manifest the "Mebius Knight Blade," a long sword of light which eminates from the combined Knight Mebius Brace which he uses to defeat Bemstar. Afterwards, Team GUYS is relaxing in a park. Ryu has paired off with Marina, and Teppei has paired off with Konomi, but everything is platonic; they are all just friends.
THE LONELY GRANDSTAND PLAYER: "Three identical monsters land in Japan and only George is able to see through them. He attempts to use the new weapon, METEOR Shot, but clashes with Ryu and the others. Thjere is a reason only George is able to use this weapon that should be impossible for any human to use."
Kaiju: Space Quantum Monster Diagarugu
This is very much a "George" episode. In this episode, "Chekov's gun" is actually a gun. It fires bullets that synch up to the shooter's brainwaves, allowing him to control the trajectory. It was designed with three barrels, even though no human could mentally control three projectiles at once. Then, guess what? A monster with two identical dopplegangers lands in a nearby city. Team GUYS attacks each of the three looking for the "real" one, but their shots go through each. It is then determined that each of the monsters is "one third real," and the only way to defeat them is to shoot all three simultaneously.
George begs to use the new METEOR gun, but is accuses of being a "grandstand player" by Ryu and the others. I guess I should say something about METEOR tech. It's been around all along, but I haven't mentioned it because I don't really understand it. Each time someone wants to employ it, he or she must ask for special permission to do so. George finally gets his way and does manage to hit all three simultaneously. It doesn't destroy them, however; it only causes them to merge into one. When Team GUYS try ro destroy it, however, they discover that it is now three times as powerful. That's when Ultraman Mebius comes in. He defeats Diagarugu by using his new Mebius Knight Brace to become Ultraman Mebius Brave. When it's over, George admits he had no real insight how to use the METEOR weapon; he just wanted to use it and got lucky.
THE CHIEF INSPECTOR'S MESSAGE: "GUYS begin the Hamelin Project, which uses special sound waves to guide the maquette monsters. The effects of these sound waves cause two large monsters to emerge. Deputy Inspector General Misaki and Secretary Aide Maru, who were ordered to observe the experiment, are caught up in the attack!"
Kaiju: Sinester Space Monster Kelbeam
This is very much a "Toriyama" episode. Apparently we have never seen the Chief Inspector. Toriyama is intimidated enough by the much younger, female Deputy Inspector General Misaki. The story opens with Toriyama and his assistant, Maru, giving a press conference. Toriyama reveals far too much information about METEOR (that it is alien technology and that it is dangerous) to the press. When the Chief Inspector wants to see him, he feigns illness. (Apparently, none of the cast have ever seen the Chief Inspector.) Maru goes to Misaki and tells her the truth, and suggests that any word of encouragement would help Toriyama's performance. The two monsters are clear representations of Toriyama and Maru, but this serio-comic episode isn't nearly as engaging as "Pressure on Ultraman."
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