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
MOONLIT MEMORIES: "The kaiju Deltandal is demolishing the city as it flies through the skies at Mach 9. Because Earth Garon cannot keep up with Deltanon's speed, SKaRD is unable to catch it. Meanwhile, Emi finds out confidential information on the GGF labled "V99" about space kaiju such as Bazanga and Gebalga. It seems to be trealted to a certain experiment that was conducted in the past."
Kaiju: Deltandal, the Moonlight Kaiju
Emi investigates the kaiju phenomenon and uncovers V99, some sort of top secret project, formerly run by a retired GGF officer. The current GGF officer overseeing SKaRD was once this other officer's best friend, and now he orders her to drop the investigation. She refuses, to his face, and uncovers not only the fact that Gento used to be the retired officer's body guard, but also that the disappearance of her own father is somehow tied up in all this secrecy. She confronts Gento with what she has discovered, and he is okay with her proceeding with her investigation. (It is obvious that thatever happened three years ago is tied in with last episode's flashback as well.) the woman who plays Emi is a good actress; even though she's speaking another language, you can just tell. This is the kind of series that would benefit from a second viewing once all the secrets have been revealed.
I don't always mention it, but this series often makes a big deal about language, how things are named and so on. For example, all of the SKaRD team use English term "Wilco." In the very first episode, Emi was the first to say "Wilco" when everyone else said "Roger." They stopped and talked about it for a while, and little by little everyone else on the team adopted "Wilco." The wordplay doesn't always translate to English, but the one from this episode does. The SKaRD Mobile Outpost is abbrieviated "MOP," and it this episode Yasunobu let's it slip that her refers to it as "Mopy." Gento doesn't object, and from now on the Mobile OutPost will be "Mopy."
BETWIXT MORN AND DUSK: "Gento's son, Jun, is classmates with an unusual character, Arata. One day, Arata half-forcefully brings Jun to his secret base filled with his drawing of kaiju. Jun is moved by Atrata's passion behind the drawings and his free-spirited soul. Jun draws a kaiju of his own and names it Gavadon. When night falls, a mysterious ray of light transcends down to the secret base, and the drawing of Gavadon begins to beat like a heart."
Kaiju: Gavadon, the Two-Dimensional Kaiju
This episode is a throwback to the era of Ultraman when seemingly every series had a juvenile angle. I'm 100% certain that "child's drawing of a monster comes to life" angle has been used before, but I couldn't tell you where. In the end [SPOILER], Gavadon becomes a constellation [END SPOILER], and I know that's from the original series. This episode has a nice message about childhood and growing up.
This is one of my first childhood memories of Ultraman
Oh, yeah! That's the same monster. "Betwixt Morn and Dusk" is definitely a remake. ("Betwixt Morn and dusk" is when the cosmic rays bring Gavadon to life.)
TERROR FROM THE UNDERGROUND: "Everyone who looked into the big hole went into a state of confusion. During the investigation, even Teruaki, Anri and Yasunobu fall victim to this strange phenomenon. Emi boards the Earth Garon alone and will challenge the kaiju, Mogusion, with help from the voice-interactive AI system EGOISS."
Kaiju: Mogusion, the Vision Kaiju
A kaiju emerges from a hole in the ground, but everyone who sees it describes it differently. Turns out that it excretes a gas that affects the amygdala, which causes anyone it comes in contact with to experience their worst fear. Teruaki, Anri and Yasunobu are all incapacitated. Gento overcomes it by sheer force of will, but he is in the field so Emi has to pilot Earth garon by herself. She is not one of the designated pilots, plus it takes two to operate, so she becaome the first to use the voice-interactive AI system EGOISS, a.k.a. "Earthy." She becomes affected by the gas, too, but instead of seeing some sort of kaiju, she sees a giant version of herself fighting Blazar.
NOTE: It occurs to me that I messed up the descriptions of Teruaki and Yasunobu way back when (March 16). I have changed the initial post, and the corrected version is below.
TERUAKI NAGURA: The 29-year-old vice-captain and operations strategist of SKaRD
YASUNOBU BANDO: A 25-year-old skilled mechanic and pilot.
THE WANDERING ZANGILL: "Defeated kaiju start making reappearances. This time, they can walk right through people and obstacles. Every time this occurs, a mysterious man with a big sword shows up and defeats the kaiju. Gento, in an attempt to solve the mystery, tries to get ahead of the man by showing up and the next anticipated point of kaiju reappearance. there. He meets the mysterious man, Zangill, who wants to speak with Gento. Zangill then reveals a secret about himself..."
Alien: Zangill, the Space Samurai
A series of apparitions of previously defeated kaiju begin to appear. They don't do any damage, but every time a hooded man also appears and dissipates them with the giant sword attached to his arm. SKaRD determines that each kaiju has appeared at the place of its respective defeat. Knowing that, Gento is able to anticipate when the next one will appear. He goes to that place and meets Zangill. He describes himself as as a samuari, but he is dressed more like a wizard. He explains that the apparations are the "spirits" of kaiju unable to cross over to the other side, and that it is his mission to speed them on their way. The next one to appear will manifest itself in physical form because reasons, and Zangill asks Gento's, or rather Blazar's help. Thjey both fight the "ghost" of Nijikagachi, but it manages to posess the form of Zangill, so Blazar has to fight him. Blazar uses an old samurai technique to free Zangill from the ghost of Nijikagachi and send it on its way. Later, Zangill reveals to Gento that he himself is a spirit as well, and his time on this plane of existance is almost over.
This makes me think of the Ultraman episode where they held a memorial service for all the monsters that they had killed.
That one always made me sad when I was little.
THE TOWERING TERROR: "The kaiju Irugo breaks through the ground and surfaces. The gasses exhaled from its mouth are poisoning the human body. SKaRD is order by CP to halt all investigation of Irugo and to standby for further orders. Emi thinks this could be the Third Wave, so she proceeds with her investigation the Test Facility 66. Meanwhile, the GGF sets out on a mission to cut off Irugo with a self-propelled laser cannon."
Kaiju: Irugo, the Pollution Kaiju
This episode advances the plot introduced in "Thus Fought Emi" (in which Emi went undercover) and sets up the next episode. Gento is having trouble relating to his son. For one thing, the irregular hours he must keep as leader of SKaRD often keep him away from home, but on another level, he cannot even seem to be able to remember to wear the bracelet Jun made for him. He is caught on camera saving people, and Jun immediately recognizes him and that makes him feel better (plus Gento is wearing the bracelet), but his wife must be getting suspicious at this point, although she does not let on.
-
113
-
114
-
115
-
116
-
117
of 117 Next