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
IMMORTAL GLOZAM: "Deathrem is defeated, and the GUYS members have returned, but one of the Dark Four Heavenly Kings, Glozam, freezes Mebius. GUYS executes a rescue operation, but the team is already in rough shap. As Konomi falls into despar upon seeing Mebius frozen, Dan Moroboshi, UltraSeven, appears."
Kaiju: Freezer Alien Glozam
That summary is okay, but it glosses over several major plot points. For one thing, all of the male members of Team GUYS have been sidelined due to writer's fiat, leaving the four women (Marina, Konomi, the Deputy Chief and the Professor) to devise and implement a plan to rescue Mebius. Also, circumstances dictate the Konomi, who isn't generally a field agent, must fly the mission. Even using the "Burning Brave" aspect (which he has been relying on heavily lately), Mebius cannot defeat Glozam alone, but UltraSeven helps him out. We've been counting backwards on Ultramen, so you-know-who is up next.
MEPHILAS'S GAME: "Mirai wakes from an usettling dream and finds that Medius and Alien Mephilas have switched places in the world. He desperately tries to get them to remember the truth, but GUYS attacks Mebius. Just then, [the original] Ultrsaman appears to fight against Mephilas' scheme."
Kaiju: Space Conclomerate Monster Gromite, Wicked Alien Alien Mephilias. NOTE: I usually edit out the second "alien" in these descriptions, but it occurs to me it may be a situation similar to translations of a the phrase "Lord God" in the King James Bible, which may be more accurately translated as "God Yahweh."
Collectively, Team GUYS insists that Mirai take a vacation to rest up before the battle they all know is coming. While relaxing in the park, he notices a group of children, all dressed in black, playing "Mebius vs. Mephilas," only Mebius is the bad guy and Mephilas is the good guy. From a distance, Shin Hyata looks on. Returning to base, Mirai discovers not only that Team GUYS do not remember that he is Mebius, but also they do not remember him at all. He asks them to pull out the little "fire" charms he gave them a couple of episodes back, but they are all black. Their rejection of him makes him cry. Mirai gets Teppei alone an works on him, eventually convincing him of the truth. At the point he transforms to Mebius, the original Ultraman also appears and they defeat Mephilias, the last of the Dark Four Heavenly Kings. Rather than suffer destruction at their hands, Mephilias flees Earth, vowing to return and destroy them both. In low orbit, however, he is met by the Emperor (unseen up until this point) who destroys him.
FINAL TRILOGY I: ADVENT OF THE EMPEROR: "Imperiser's great army suddenly attacks. Mirai colapses after an onslaught of fierce fighting. Just then, the voice of alien Empera rings across the world, demanding they hand over the Ultraman Mebius in hiding. The govenrment requests that Mirai be handed over, and Captain Sakomizu reveals his true identity!"
Kaiju: Unrivalled Iron God Imperiser, Giant Darkness Space Emperor Alien Empera
You can tell we're closing in on the end of the series because everything is rushing headlong to the conclusion.
First, Hirukawa (the paparazzo) goes public with Mirai's secret. Then Emperor Empera shows up with an Imperiser robot in tow. He promises to offer Earth protection if they will betray Mebius; otherwise, he will attack with an army of Imperisers. Mebius shows up and defeats Imperiser, but at great cost. Mirai is in danger of losing his human host body. The Japanese government shows up at GUYS HQ demanding that Mirai be turned over to them immediately, even though doing so would mean his death. Mirai's identity comes as a shock to Toriyama, but he steps up to defend Mirai. The official asks if that is the Chief Inpector's stance. We have never seen the Chief Inspector, but Captain Sakomizu arrives and reveals that he has been the Chief Inspector all along. The only one in on the secret was Deputy Inspecor Misaki, and he perpetuated the maquerade so that he could serve beside Team GUYS. Chief Inspector Sakomizu then goes on nationwide TV and asks the people to support Mirai, which will rally his spirits. The vote is overwhelmingly in favor of Mebius, and he rallies just before the dealine imposed by Emperor Empera. In space, Ultraman Hikari determines that the current suspot activity is unnatural in origin.
We have never seen the Chief Inspector, but Captain Sakomizu arrives and reveals that he has been the Chief Inspector all along.
Any relation to Inspector Bicycle?
No, but Toriyama might be.
FINAL TRILOGY II: DARK CLOUDS OF DESPAIR: "Phoenix Nest is on the verge of destruction after an attack from Imperiser's great army. Mebius and Hikari do not have the strength left to fight. Faced with certain peril, they are rescued by past alien rivals and friends. the alien Empera finally reveals itself and envelopes the sky with dark clouds."
Kaiju: Giant Darkness Space Emperor Alien Empera
While Mebius and Hikari recover from their battle with Imperiser and Empera, Zamushar arrives on Earth seeking revenge on Mebius. Luckily, Zamushar ("A Swoard Master from Space") and Empera begin to fight each other, buying Mebius and Hikari some time. Alien Fanton ("Fanton's Lost Item") and Kako ("Mirai's Younger Sister") also return. Mirai finds that he cannot transform. Zamushar gives his life fighting Empera, and Hikari is killed by Empera. Mirai seems to absorb energy from both of them. Ryu loses his cool and his ship is destroyed by Empera.
FINAL TRILOGY III: WORDS FROM THE HEART: "Mebius is extinquished after taking a bean attack from Alien Empera. The cries of despair from the GUYS members reach the Ultra Brothers. the work together to revive the sun made dark by the Alien Empera. When the hearts of the GUYS members merge with Miraia's, they give birth to the phoenix hero."
Kaiju: Giant Darkness Space Emperor Alien Empera
Suddenly, Ryu's voice is heard. Then Ultraman Hikari reappears, now merged with Ryu. Mirai is then able to transform once more. Working together, Mebius and the new Hikari are able to temporarily beat Empera back, but Mebius is "extinguished." Ryu resumes human form, and GUYS are telepathically contacted by each of the previous Ultramen and their alter egos. Ryu then shares his transformation device with Marina, George, Konomi and Teppei. the "ghost" of Mirai appears as well, and they all transform into Ultraman Mebius Burning Brave. Serizawa is telepathically contancted by Ultraman Zoffy and shares his form. Then Mebius "Butning Brave" and Zoffy soundly defeat Empera. Even as the mast of darkness is tranformed into light, he maintains that he was not defeated by the Ultramen, but by humanities bond with the Ultramen. [Message.] Later, everyone has returned to his or her human form and Hikari and Zoffy take their leave. GUYS vows that from now on they will protect Earth. Then Mirai transforms into Mebius for the last time and takes his leave as well, to the pass the light on to his successor.
THE END
That's the end of Ultraman Mebius the series, but there are still four "sidestories" to watch. I forgot to mention yesterday that the end credits sequence flashes forward to show the GUYS members living their dream lives in the future: soccer player, race car driver, teacher, doctor... and Ryu becomes the new GUYS captain.
ULTRAMAN MEBIUS & ULTRABOTHERS: "Four of the Ultra Brothers (Ultraman, UltraSeven, Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Jack) battle U-Killer Saurus, a monster so powerful it threatens to overwhelm even their combined might."
The movie begins with the battle described above, a battle which took place 20 prior to the television series. They managed to defeat U-Killer Saurus, but lost their powers in the process and are now all living in Kobe in their civilian identities. This movie takes place at some point in the regular series, six months after Mirai has joined Team GUYS. This is the first appearance of the Ultra Brothers in the show, and the first appearance of the female marine biologist as well. She has a little brother who used to be a big fan of the Ultra Brothers and team GUYS until an encounter with a monster three months ago shook his confidence. (He also has a dog named Alto.) To make a long story short, the Yapool attack and the Ultra Bothers decide to transform and help out. (Apparently they can transform, but they have so little energy among them it will mean their deaths to do so.) They are all captured and it is up to Mebius to save them, but he is pretty badly beaten as well. Just then, Captain Zoffy and Instructor Taro arrive from outer space and give him enough energy to free the Ultra Brothers. Then U-Killer Saurus returns, but Mebius is not strong enough to defeat him. All six of the other Ultraman loan him their power and he destroys it for good. the little boy's confidence is restored, the Ultra brothers remain on Earth in their civillian idenities, and Zoffy and Taro return to their duties in space.
Each Ultraman series of the 21st century has something distinctive to identify it, and for Ultraman Mebius, the 40th anniversary series, it is nostalgia and history. As the credits roll, scenes of all previous series play in the background. Then the scene switches to a 40th anniversary party with all cast members past and present, as well as all of the the Ultramen in tuxes wearing their helmets. That's one "sidestory" down, three to go.
GHOST REBIRTH (STAGE I): "Peace returned to Earth after the fierce battle with the Alien Empera. But one day monsters commenced the agression again! Will Ultraman Mebius and Team GUYS be able to protect the peace on Earth?"
The story opens on the Planet of Light in Nebula M-78. There is a weapon call the Giga-Battleniser which can control 100 monsters which the Yapool want to use to resurrect Alien Empera. The Ultra Brothers want to prevent them from doing so. That's about it. Beyond that, "Stage I" is all action; it takes place entirely in space. The Yapool monsters trap the Ultra Bothers and hold them hostage, and it is up to Mebius to free them. The Gigs-Battleniser is in a place that is so hot that only Ultras are able to survive. Mebius is particularly suited for this mission because of his "Burning Brave" aspect. There is also a giant robot that first first fights Mebius, then teams up with him. As Stage I ends, Mebius and the robot (I forget his name) are approaching the Giga-Battle-Niser.
GHOST REBIRTH (STAGE II):
I forgot to mention that Ultraman Hikari betrayed all the brothers to the Yapool monsters (which is a pretty important element of the plot to forget in a story that doesn't have much of one in the first place). Anyway, the Robot's name is Mechazam, and it sacrifices itself so that Mebius can retrieve the Giga-Battleniser. When Mebius turns it over to the Yapool, however, they refuse to honot their word to free the Ultra Brothers. Then Hikari, who was faking his betrayal all along, comes to Mebius' aid. Then Mechazam reactivates as "Ghost Rebirth," Empera's secret resurrection agent. Mebius reaches Mechazam within Ghost Rebirth, however, and Mechazam again sacrifices himself to thwart the Yapools' plan to bring Empera back to life. This is another 26 minutes of all action.
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