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
A NEW BATTLE HORIZON:
Kaiju: Subterranean Monster Telesdon, Comet Monster Dorako, Space Robot King Joe Black, Evil Space Monster Kelbim, Skull Monster Red King
This episode begins with a Reionic battle between Telesdon and Dorako. Reionics Hunter Dial returns with King Joe Black and defeats them both. Dial returns to the Pedon Mother Ship Command Center (a new location, which has evidently travelled from the future) and reports to Commander Harlan (a female). She orders him to have a rematch with Rei, and defeat him this time. He teleports aboard the Pendragon and demands to know why they didn't return to Earth like they said they were going to. Rei is not there, but the crew tries to convince Dial that Rei's intention is to win the Reionics battle and destroy the Reiblood, thus saving the planet Pedon in the future.
Meanwhile, Rei is fighting another Reionic in control of Kelbim. Rei calls forth Miclas for his inaugural battle. Miclas is not a strong monster, but it has an unorthodox fighting style and ends up beating Kelbim. Then Dial arrives with King Joe Black and Rei summons Gomora. [They fight.] The Reionics Hunter explains that KJB is coninually being upgraded and has now been programmed with Gomora's fighting style from their previous battle. Gomora is losing, but Dial doesn't know about Gomora's "Reionics Burst" power. Rei adds to Gomora's power, and Gomora defeats KJB. Rei walks away, turning his back on Dial, who very nearly shoots him in the back but doesn't. Then Grande arrives, along with two other Reionic Hunters and a new King Joe Black. Grande summons Red King. [They fight.] Red King easily defeats KJB, despite the upgrades.
"Then, Grande summons McDonald New Chicken Big Mac, but Rei couinters with Burger King Vegetarian Whopper..."
A SOLDIER'S GRAVE:
Kaiju: Volcanic Bird Monstor Birdon
The episode begins with a Reionic battle between Birdon and Gomora, but Birdon is no match for Gomora. While this is going on, Dial advocates for Rei with Pedon Commander Harlan. She wants to meet him face-to-face, so Dial transports aboard Pendragon, invites him and he agrees. But Harlan has betrayed both Rei and Dial. She has kidnapped the Pendragon crew and threatens to kill them unless Rei submits to brainwashing so she will have a Reionic under her control. Dial objects and Harlan kills him on the spot. Rei summons Gomora to free the crew, but Harlan sends an entire squadron of King Joe Black robots against it. Rei transform Gomora into the "Reionic Burst" version, but it is still hopelessly outmatched. Rei calls forth Litra and Miclas as well, but all three are soon defeated.
But Dial is not dead... not yet. He realizes that Rei is "holding back" somewhat because of the hostages, and he sacrifices himself to free the crew. At that point, Rei rallies all three of his monsters in a renewed effort. Then the Pendragon joins the battle, and Harlan is killed in the ensuing melee, and the remaining Pedons return to the future. In the first post-credits sequence of the series so far, the crew buried Dial and holds a memorial service.
THEME: "Technology without heart is the Devil's politics."
GRANDE'S CHALLENGE:
In the pre-credits sequence, Kate appears as the "Ghost of Lady Macbeth." Rei and Grande are the only two Reionics left. Grande reveals that he had to defeat his older sister to becaoe a Reionic, just as Rei did. Red King. Gomora. [Fight.] Rei transforms into Ultraman Reionic, 12 minutes into the fight. Red King and Gomora fight for an additional three minutes, then, just as Gomora is about to win, Rei calls it off, thus sparing Grande's life. Grande is angry, cannot understand why. Rei calls forth Lirta and flies off on its back. A warp opens up to the the planet's core and Rei rides Litra into it. Pendragon follows. Halfway through, Pendragon is stopped by an energy field. Litra emerrges in another dimension, totally exhausted. Rei recalls it into the battlenizer. Rei finds the giant armor of Armored Darkness (which he thought had been destoyed), empty. Armored Mefilas appears and challenges Rei to his "final triial." Rei calls forth Gomora. [They fight.] But Gomora is exhausted from his earlier battle as well, and is on the edge of defeat.
I can guess what's going to happen: Ultaman Reionic is going to have to inhabit the Armored Darkness.
DESTRUCTION OF A PLANET:
The episode begins with the continuation of the battle between Armored Mefilas and Gomora. Just before Gomora is defeated, Rei summons Miclas to give him a breather. For a while it's Gomora and Miclas against Armored Mefilas, then Rei upgrades Gomora to the "Reionic Burst" version. Gomora defeats Armored Mefilas, who reverts to mortal form. (Mefilas was under the armor's curse and was fighting against his will.) Alien Reiblood confronts his "son" Rei, then animates Armored Darkness. (I was wrong about Rei being posessed by it.) Blaming Alien Reiblood for forcing him to fight as Armored Mefilas, Mefilas frees Pendragon from the energy field entrapping it. Suddenly (and quite unexpectedly!), Red King appears, followed by Grande. Red King and Gomora double-team Alien Reiblood/Armored Darkness, but Armored Alien Reilblood Darkness is holding his/its own. Then Pendragon appears, giving Rei and Grande the opportunity to pour even more willpower (or whatever) into their respoective monsters, transforming them into EX Gomora and EX Red King (whatever that means). They defeat "AARD" and depart as friends. (Grande was never interested in becoming Reiblood in the first place; he just likes to fight.) They all depart through the warp only to discover that the entire planet is becoming a black hole and Pendragon is caught in its gravity well. then a GIANT HAND reaches out of the waro for them, but UltraSeven and the original Ultraman appear on the scene and save them. The black hole collapses in upon itself and the planet explodes. Then the Pendragon crew celecrates their inpending return to Earth.
And that's the end of the series.
Tracy quite enjoyed this one as it was mainly daikaiju beating the crap out of each other.
MEGA MONSTER BATTLE: ULTRA GALAXY:
Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy is the movie sequel to the televison series. It's an hour and ahlaf long with about ten minutes of plot. The special effects budget for the movie is much higher than that of the TV show, but the movie is almost all special effects. The movies features the crew of the Pendragon (barely), nearly all of the Ultraman (including the original Hayata and Dan Moroboshi) and nearly all of the monsters and aliens. The influence of Star Wars is unmistakable; the "Anakin Skywalker" character is the son of UltraSeven, and he becomes Ultraman Zero at the end. I'm not going to summarize the whole thing, but here's a link to the WIKI.
Due to issues of timing and the upcoming holiday, we're going to put this thread on hold until after Thanksgiving.
The next up on my list would have been Ultraman Retsuden, a "biography series" created to commemorate the 45th anniversary. It was 104 epsisodes and was on the air for two years. The DVD is available online for only $20, but just before I pushed the button on it I realized it was "region two" only. There will be a slight delay while I regroup.
ULTRAMAN ZERO:
Next up is Ultraman Zero (two movies and two "side stories"), so named to symbolize the "restart of Ultraman story from scratch." The two movies each have a disc of their own, but the shorter side stories are together on the same disc. It took me a certain amount of time to determine which came first, the Ultraman Zero vs. Darklops Zero side story or the Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Bellial movie, but the correct order is below.
"Ultraman Zero- same great Ultra taste, but with no calories!"
The full title is actually...
ULTRA GALAXY LEGEND (Side Story): ULTRAMAN ZERO VS. DARKLOPS ZERO:
Stage 1: "Colliding Space"
Captain Hyuga of Zap Spacy and Rei land on a planet where they are unexpectedly confronted with the fake Ultraman and Ultraseven. The mysterious and powerful Gomera shows up. When Ultraman Zero arrives, he is faced by the black giant, the armored Tekuta-Gear Black! In the middle of the fierce fight, there appears another warrior, Darklops Zero, who looks similar to Ultraman Zero.
Stage 1 begins with Ultraman Zero fighting against five Ultra brothers. Captain Hyuga and Rei are out on a mission by themselves when they are drawn into some sort of wormhole. They emerge in a sector of space filled with multiple wormholes. Suddenly they receive a distress call from... the Pendragon! Following the signal to a nearby planet, they discover a duplicate Pendragon crshed on the planet's surface. They find Kumano lying nearby. They also see the dead bodies of Ultraman and UltraSeven. Kumona awakens, but suddenly bursts into energy and disappears. Then from over a rise appears another Captain Hyuga. He explains that he and Kumano were from an alternate reality, a parallel world. There was also a Haruna and Oki in their crew, but they, too, have disappeared in a burst of energy and he cannot explain why. He says there was also a Rei in his crew, then Hyuga himself disappears in a burst of energy.
From out if the mist appears a monster they think is Gomora, but is actually Mecha Gomora. Mecha Gomora has a number of weapons, including detachable hands which can either be attatched to the wrists by long chains or can fly independently. Rei calls forth Gomora to do battle, but it is badly overmatched by the robot. Elsewhere, a woman who goes by the name of Doctor Herodias watches. Just as Mecha Gomora is about to kill Gomora, Ultraman Zero appears and defeats Mecha Gomora. then Doctor Herodias sends Tekuta-Gear Black, a giant robot, out to fight Ultraman Zero. We also learn that the five "Ultra Brothers" Zero was fighting at the beginning (and he "killed" two of) were, in fact, robots created by Doctor Herodias. After Zero defeats Tekuta-Gear Black, Darklops Zero appears on the scene.
Darklops is a dark version of Zero, but he has a "wraparound" visor with one central light shining out from behind it. Zero can detatch his two helmet fins, throw them and control them independently. He and Darklops fight, then Darklops summons the three remaining Ultra robots and hovers above while Zero fights them. Then a weapon emerges from his chest, which he fires, leaving a huge crater. Zero has been thrown into some sort of a wormhole.
Continued in Stage 2.
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