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
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
A CALL FROM SPACE: "GUTS discover a distress signal from the spaceship Arandas and head to the Ultra Zone region to investigate. They find the remains of the Arandas and a graveyard of banished monsters! They soon uncover the tale of how Arandas befel its fate."
Kaiju: Dimensional Predator Lesser Bogal
The other-dimensioanl "Ultra Zone" lies between Mars and Earth, but is not always accessable. Years ago, the Arandas was lost in that region. A "hole in space" opens up, a distress signal emerges, and GUYS is sent to investigate. The Ultra Zone is the same "monster graveyard" from the original series, and it is now populated by many more kaiju corpses. GUYS soon learn that the distress call was automated and they are no survivors. (Actually, the crew survived, but the captain's son remained behind to seal the rift.) GUYS land on an asteroid and encounter Bogal. Actually, there are two Bogals. GUYS kill one, and the other eats it to become Dimensional Predator Greater Bogal. Mebius saves them, but thay are forced to leave Mirai behind. Then, after the sad news is tearfully delivered to Earth, Mirai shows up in some sort of shuttle and explains that Mebius "saved" him.
FUTURE DAYS: "Mirai modeled his human body after Hiroto, the son of the Arandas' captain. Upon meeting Mirai, the spitting image of his son, Captain Ban recalls the tragic day. How did Hiroto and Mebius come to meet? And how did Mebius come to call himself Mirai Hibino?"
In "Call from Space," Mirai had a strong reaction to the death of Hiroto. I didn't really catch it yesterday, but Mirai shouldn't have known Hitoto in the first place because Hiroto was born on Mars and was coming to Earth for the first time. Though the course of this episode, the story comes out that, on his way to Earth for the first time, Mirai came across the Arandas being drawn into the space rift into Ultra Space. He tried to save Hiroto, but was unable to, and adopted his human form in tribute. Later, he visited Hiroto's father and, through him, Commander Sakomizu. So, Sakomizu has known Mirai's secret all along. When his teammates ask Mirai how he knew Hiroto, it was Misaki who explains that Mirai spent some time living in space himself, so she is evidently in on the secret as well.
Dimensional Predator Lesser Bogal is again the kaiju in this episode. Apparently, the small forms are "Bogal" and the large form is "Lesser Bogal" for some reason. When the monster is defeated, Teppei goes to hug Konomi, but she pushes him away.
OCEAN WAVES OF TIME: "The police ask Marina to help investigate a case of mass disappearances that occur with ocean sounds. Marina works with Detective Tori who she finds strangely familiar. Before long, Marina is dragged seven years into the past with the sound of the ocean and encounters herself as a child."
Kaiju: Time Monster Chronorm, Alien Angel
This series takes place in 2006 when Marina is 19 years old. Her brother comes for a visit and it is revealed that there is a blank spot in her memory of one night seven years ago. Because of her excellent hearing, the police contact her to help investigate disappearances accompanied by the sound of waves. The "detective," Tori, is actually an imposter. He is really "Alien Angel," in pursuit of Chronorm, the moster which destroyed his home planet. Soon, both Mari and Tori are swept seven years in the past, to 1999 when she was 12 years old. Her memories begin to return and she recalls that she met Tori once before and this is the night he died. Adult Mari saves him, and he transforms into the same type of alien as Chronorm, but is mortally wounded anyway. Child Mari is with Tori when he dies, and he removes her memory of that night. Mirai has followed Marina into the past and defeats Chronorm. Back in the present, her memories are restored.
This is very much like an episode of Doctor Who; it's quite easy to imagine that Tori is a Time Lord... up until he turns into a kaiju, that is.
THE RETURN OF YAPOOL: "During the GUYS Citizen Thanksgiving Day, Mirai recieves a challenge from the powerful enemy Yapool who once fought Ultraman Ace. Yapool posesses Ryu and uses underhand tactics to isolate Mirai from his friends."
Kaiju: One-Horned Super Beast Vakishim
The summary refers to "Citizen Thanksgiving Day" but the subtitles refer to it as "Civilian Appreciation Day." There are lots of references to early shows and earlier teams, such as ZAT and TAG. We learn that Ultraman Mebius was trained by Ultraman Taro.
One-Horned Super Beast Vakishim
THE POISONOUS MOTH'S PROGRAM: "The influential other-dimensional physicist Professor Fujisawa returns to Japan. Yapool uses Terrible-Monster Dragory to secretly take control of her. He plans to use the volatile METEOR cartridge that will explaose when put in contact with water to destroy the base."
Kaiju: Moth Super Beast Dragory
Eccentric scientist Asami Fujisawa arrives with a plan to trap Dragory, but Dragory takes over and contols her body instead. Before that, though, she and George have a fling. They dance the Fandango. Marina displays extreme jealousy. After Fujisawa has been posessed, she takes the METEOR cartridge to the natatorium to throw it in the pool, where it will explode and destroy everything within a 20 kilometer radius. Only George can prevent it, but he has demonstrated a fear of water in past episodes. He nevertheless dives in and saves the day, but the METEOR cartridge was a fake, anyway, to draw Dragory out. Now that he has been thwarted, he assumes giant form and Mebius has to step in. Later, when asks how he overcame his fear of water, he replies that he never said he couldn't swim; he just has an aversion to the ocean for several silly reasons (stung by jelly fish, bit on the butt by a clam, seafood poisoning, etc.). When Asumi leaves, she invites George on a date to go scuba diving. His teammates crack up.
FLYING TO TOMORROW: "Professor Fujisawa develops a new METEOR that would semi-permanently prevent the invasion of terrible-monsters, but it can only be used whe the GUYS' base Phoenix Nest is in flight mode. That's when terrible-monster Verokron suddenly attacks!"
Kaiju: Missile Super-Beast Verokron
I did not expect to see Asami Fujisawa two episodes in a row, but she's back. She and Yuki Misaki are best friends from way back. Asami asks Yuki for an introduction to the Chief Inspector that, so far, only the Deputy Inspector has ever seen. (This episode has a framing sequence in which Deputy Inspector Misaki is preparing a written report to submit to the Chief Inspector, and I get the impression that many she has never met him face-to-face, either.) Fujisawa's device can only be fired from the Phoenix Nest, and only Captain Serizawa is autorized to fly it. But Verokron attacks and Serizawa is severely injured. Ryu wants to fly the mission, but Misaki refuses to give him permission. But she phrases it in such a way that Mirai figures out that she intends to fly it herself. (It had been previously stated that only two people were trained to fly it; she is the other.) Then Serizawa rallies enough to restore her faith that GUYS is up to the task. He weakly whispers, "...sally... go..." and they are off.
THE CHAMPION OF THE FIERCE FIGHT: "An experiment is conducted to prepare for Yapool's return. The experiment involves selecting a new Maquette monster and strengthening it. A monster simulated battle takes place in virtual reality. However, the powerful Monster Zetton goes out of control, putting the entire base in danger."
Kaiju: Proto Maquette Mopnster Zetton
This episode has a framing sequence with the Father of Ultra and the Mother of Ultra discussing past Ultramen and foreshadowing events to come. Toriyama has been tasked with deciding upon the next maquette monster to activate. He is at a loss as to how to proceed and tries to trick Team GUYS into helping him. They see through his ruse but are perfectly willing to help him anyway (especially Teppei). They set up simulated test scenario in which multiple past monsters are projected on a screen. For one reason of another, they are all rejected. Then they hit upon the idea of pitting one against another, and each member (including Toriyama) has his or her own favorite. In picking his chapion, Toriyama damages it, which cause it to malfunction later. There's not a huge threat this episode (all of the battles take place within the simulated environment), although when the Teppon Maquette malfunctions, it raises the danger of taking control of the entire system. Also, when Mirai decides to enter the simulation, if he is defeated he will be unable to return to reality because of writer's fiat. Eventually the Teppon maquette is defeated and the decision is made that only the Michlas and Windham maquettes already in use are suitable.
KONOMI'S TREASURE: "Konomi reunites with ayoung man named Suzaki who gave her courage when she was a child. Konomi enjoys a date with him. However, Suzaki is working with a gossip columninst and is using Konomi to get compromising footage of GUYS."
Kaiju: Flying Saucer Monster Nova
Konomi "accidentaly" bumps into a childhood friend, Suzaki, who defended her and gave her confidence when the other children made fun of her glasses. Her last memory of him is from the day her parents moved the family away. He was running along a hill shouting words of encourageent at her as the car drove away. Now he is a movie star, but he made only one pictue before a scandal ruined him. Suzaki introduces Konomi to a "friend" who is actually a paparazzo, but Ryu recognizes him as the journalist who printed lies about him when he was a soccer player. Suzaki admits that his friendship toward her was a ruse and he said some very cruel things to her. When Nova appears, Konomi commands the maquette monster Miclas, but she no longer has the self-confidence to control him successfully. Suddenly, Suzaki appears in the distance, shouting words of encouragement. She then shouts words of encouragement to Miclas, who helps Mebius defeat Nova.
DAY OF FAREWELL: "As danger closes in on Earth, young Mebius receives orders to return to the Land of L ight. Just then, the terrifyingly powerful monster Imperiser appears. GUYS are at a loss for what to do. This is his last fight. In order to protect his friends and Earth, Mirai transforms in front of Ryu."
Kaiju: Unrivalled Iron God Imperiser
For the last three episodes, the show has had a new opening; same theme but with a new voiceover and different images, both emphacizing the Ultra Brothers. Actually, Mebius was called back to the Land of Light as last episode's cliffhanger, but I forgot to mention it. Father of Ultra warned him that if he didn't return, he would surely die. Father of Ultra tells him that his replacement is already on the way. This episode begins with Mirai surprising each of his teammates on their day off to say his goodbyes (although they don't know that's what he's doing) and giving each of them a handmade charm. Imperiser arrives on the day Mirai is having lunch with Ryu, but George and Marina fly out to engange the giant, bas-ass robot. They get in trouble, and Mirai must change to Mebius in front of Ryu. Ryu does not take it well. (He's still not over Serizawa keepng being Ultraman Hikari from him.) Mebius gets his ass handed to him, but just then Ultraman Taro arrives. Taro defeats Imperiser, but by that time the unconscious Mebius has transformed back to Mirai. Ryu finds Mirai, apparently just in time to be buried by crashing rubble from the destruction the battle caused.
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