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
Looks like a place that the Capaldi Doctor would hang out.
A WARRIOR'S DUTY: "Haruki receives an emergency call from Ultraman Geed. A distortion occurs in space, and the Void Moster Greeza that can make everything out of existance is observed. To confront this new threat, a new power is needed... Now is the birth of Ultraman Z's strongest form"
Kaiju: Greeza, the Void Monster
The defeat of Bulton (the Four-Dimensional Monster) had consequences, not the least of which was opening a hole in space from which Greeza (the Void Monster) appeared. [NOTE: I think "that can make everything out of existance" means "that can obliterate everything in existance."] Geed notices from out in space and contacts Z. Even working together, they cannot defeat Greeza. Captain Hebikura calls first one the power of Tri-King, then Five-King to no avail. Geed tells Z that only the power of a Belial medal could defeat Greeza, but no such medal exists. Hebikura overhears and later, as Jugglas Juggler, appears to Haruki and takes him to Shinya Kaburagi (the human form of Celebro, remember), who actually has a Belial medal. Z uses the Belial medal to transforn into his ultimate form, Delta Rise Claw. Along with Geed's most powerful form, Galaxy rising, they defeat Greeza and close the rift in spacetime.
THE LION'S CRY: "The day has come for Horoboros, a monster that Yuka saw as a child, to awaken from its long slumber. The key to apeasing the raging Horoboros lies in the mysterious word recorded in an ancient document. Yuka sets out to dechiper this writing, but Kaburagi's dark power is reaching out to the Horoboros."
Kaiju: Horoboros, the Wild Fierce Monster; Metsuboros, the Parasitic Devastation Monster
This is definitely a "Yuka" episode. She thinks that she can prevent Horoboros from awakening in the first place, but when that plan doen't pan out, her help and advice is instumental to Z in defeating it. They almost have it subdued when Kaburagi uses one of his medals to transform Horoboros into Metsuboros. At this point, the only way for Z to defeat Metsuboros is to transform into Delta Rise Claw. Yuka translates the ancient document (it is actually music), but the transformation into Metsuboros is so painful that Z and Yuka are forced to put it out of its misery. Whenever Z activates the power of Delta Rise Claw, a handheld bladed weapon called "Beliarok" appears. It has the "head" of Belial and speaks in his voice. At the end of the episode, Space Pirate Barosa appears in the sky on wings of light.
BELIAROK: "Alien Barosa has returned. He is determined to steal Z's new weapon, Beliarok. Our hero cannot allow Beliarok's hidden power to fall into the hands of an evil alien. With Juggler also in the mix, the battle for the mystic sword begins."
Alien: Barosa, the Space Pirate
Ultraman Z, Alien Barosa and Juiggler all want Beliarok. Windom gets in the battle,too. Plus, Beliarok itself has ides about who should weild it. During the course of this story, Beliarok learns Juggler's secret identity. Ultimately, for reasons of its own, Beliarok decides to stay with Haruki.
If you are familiar with ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham, Beliarok looks a bit like José, the Jalapeño on a stick (same basic concept).
I forgot to mention yesterday that GAF finally tracked down Shinya Kaburagi. During the confusion, Celebro transferred his consciousness from Kaburagi to a GAF officer named Captain Asano. Poor Shinya has no idea what's going on.
RECHALLENGE FROM THE YEAR 2020: "While investigating the curious case of a vanishing monster, Haruki meets Kaori, a mysterious woman glaring at an old ferris wheel. Meanwhile, people are going missing from the town one after another... What is the truth behind the case? And just who exactly is Kaori?"
Kaiju: Pagos, the Subterranean Monster
Alien: Kemur, the Abduction Phantom
Pagos is the monster that vanished, but it really has little to do with this episode's threat; only that it was in Kemur's way. 54 years ago, the alien Kemur abducted people from Earth as a prelude to invasion or something. Kaori was one of the people who was abducted. Kemur takes over her form and returns to Earth when his race's plans are resumed, but she fights back from within herself. the ferris wheel was one of her favorite places to go, but it's been shut down for ten years now. Kemur plans to use it to disperse some kind of chemical which, when combined with rain, will facilitate the takeover of Earth. When Kemur is defeated, all of the abducted people (including Pagos) are returned, and Kaori has 54 years of catching up to do.
RECHALLENGE FROM THE YEAR 2020
"I'm from the year 2020, when a mysterious disease is ravaging the world!"
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