Ultra Q

[Jeff of Earth-J]

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
Ultraman Omega 2025
Ultraman Theo 2026

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!

[The Baron]

Episode 20: "Ragon, the Primordial Amphibian", or "The Undersea Humanoid Ragon"

1. An undersea volcano near Imane Island has erupted, and the Trio is sent to investigate. Yuriko remarks on the possibility that Japan itself may someday sink.  This seems to have been part of the Ja[anese zeitgeist back then. I've got a copy of an English translation of a novel called Japan Sinks, by Sakyo Komatsu, which was published in 1973, but  on which Komatsu had begun work as early as 1964. In the novel, geologists and civil engineers discover that Japan is sinking. The rest of the novel deals with Japan and the world's reaction to this news.
2. Jun and Yuriko stay on the island, but Ippei has to leave because someone else needs to use the helicopter. the two meet up with Professor Ishii and his younger sister, Fumiko. Ishii believes that Imane Island will sink, but is having trouble convincing the islanders.
3. A fisherman named Kawasaki has caught something that looks like a large pickle. Ishii persuades Kawasaki to let him borrow it.
4. Something attacks a fisherman.  Ishii speculates that it was a humanoid reptile called "Ragon" and that the pickle was its egg.
5. Ragon comes ashore and attacks a Comedy Drunk and startles some other villagers. It looks very much like a Dollar Store Creature from the Black Lagoon. The egg goes missing from Ishii's home, but he assumed that Kawasaki reclaimed it.
6. Jun and Yuriko leave Ishii's home to find a payphone. They see Ragon, but it is distracted by the sound of some villagers.
7. Ragon enters Ishii's house, but is distracted by music on the radio. The arrival of some villagers scares Ragon out of the house, but it remains outside.
8. The island begins to shake. Jun uses the radio to lure Ragon to a cliffside, and a tremor causes it to topple into the sea.
9. The villagers try to flee the doomed island in their boats, but another Ragon appeaers and blocks their path.  Fumiko finds the egg, which has hatched.  She hands the baby to the Ragon, which leaves.
10. The islanders flee their home in their boats. Ippei choppers in and rescues Jun and Yuriko. The Trio fly away as Imane Island sinks into the sea.

Overall: Another pretty good episode, although the Ragon costume was a little cheesy

[Jeff of Earth-J]

This seems to have been part of the Japanese zeitgeist back then.

It looks very much like a Dollar Store Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Obviously Ragon is some sort of offshoot of the Silurian race. 

...another Ragon appeaers and blocks their path.

Was it another one? Or did the first one survive the fall? In any case, the Ragon has (or have) both reptilian and mammalian characteristics. The "breasts" were a dead giveaway that the Ragon at the end was the baby Ragon's mother, yet the villagers continue to refer to it as "he" (at least according to the subtitles).

The Trio fly away as Imane Island sinks into the sea.

A large chunk of Ippei's dialogue was left untranslated at this point. Yuriko mutters "shimatta" as the island sinks into the sea, but that is left untranslated as well. 

[The Baron]

Episode 21: "Space Directive M774"

1. The Trio are on a ship at sea, playing cards. Yuriko takes a break for fresh air and finds a doll. She also sees a shooting star. the doll speaks to her, claiming to be Zemi, a Rupartsian. She warns Yurikp that the monster Bostang has snuick onto the Earth. Yuriko freaks out and throws the doll into the sea.
2. When she returns to Jun and Ippei,they are skeptical. With everything that they've seen, they should believe her if she says that she saw the Easter Bunny.
3. Later, Jun and Ippei are flying when they vanish from the plane, which lands itself safely. Jun and Ippei find themselves in the middle of nowhere. (Ippei calls Jun "sempai, so he definitely sees Jun as a superior.) They see a house. When they go in, it looks like it's a cafe or something. Zemi speaks to them through a jukebox and repeats her Bostang warning. Since they are still skeptical, she decides to come to Earth and tells them to meet Kiyomi Ichijo at ther Chuo Library. (Perhps this would have gone more smoothly if she had chosen less insane ways to contact people.) A UFO lands and drops someone off.
4. Bostang manifests as a giant manta ray that attacks a tanker ship.
5. The Trio go to the Library and meet Kiyomi, who is actually Zemi, and came to defend the Earth as per Space Directive M774. (The first 773 Space Directive deal with zoning laws.) She explains that Bostang was sent to conquer the Earth by the Keelians. The Trio bring her to some naval officers, and she explains the same thing to them.
6. The Trio and Zemi go along on a naval vessel and Bostang appears. Zemi explai s that Bostang is sensitive to noise, so the naval vessel stops engines. A passenger ship aproaches, and they get them to stop engines as well.
7. Eventually, Bostang gets tired of sitting around and goes after the passenger ship. The naval vessel starts engines, and Bostang follows it. The naval vessel fires on Bostang. Some jets arrive and blow Bostang to smithereens. I'm not sure how the  Keelians thought that they were going to conquer the Earth with a monster that was defeated so easily.
8. Now that her mission has been completed, Zemi has decided to stay on Earth and live as an Earthling. She says that many aliens have done so. (Apparently, they all wear gold sandals.) In fact, the person next to you might be an alien!

Overall: Another good episode. It feels almost like a proto-Ultraman story.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

She warns Yuriko that the monster Bostang has snuck onto the Earth.

I think your sub-titles may be slightly different than mine. Mine translates the monster's name as "Bostongue," like a portmanteau od "Boston" and "tongue."

Zemi speaks to them through a jukebox and repeats her Bostang warning.

A precursor to "Blink."

A passenger ship aproaches, and they get them to stop engines as well.

Do they? I was left with the impression that the ship the Trio was on had to restart its engines to lure Bostongue away from the passenger ship (and wondered why they didn't simply contact them via radio).

Now that her mission has been completed, Zemi has decided to stay on Earth and live as an Earthling.

Honestly, I got the impression that Kiyomi/Zemi was a bit of a nut. I don't know her real connection to the Rupartsians, but I couldn't help but view that ending through a modern lens of immigartion. "She's one... and he's one... and he is... and her..."

 

[The Baron]

Episode 22: "Metamorphosis"

1. In the mountains of Japan, hikers spot bones and giant footprints. Elements of this episode are reminiscent of element of War of the Colossal Beast (1958).
2. The Editor won't let Yuriko look for the "Snow-Monster" 'cause she's a dumb ol' girl. He sends two Comedy Reporters, instead.
3. Yuriko gets a call from her friend, Ayako, who believes that her fiancé, Koji, is the Snow-Monster.
4. Yuriko tells this story to Jun and Ippei, who scoff at her, as usual.  Jun pulls Gilligan's, I mean, Ippei's hat down over his face.
5. The Trio go to Professor Mustache, who agrees to listen to Ayako. She explains that Koji had been studying the Morpho butterlfy, which is native to the Amazon. She flashbacks about how they saw one in the Tateshima Highlands. Koji chased after it, and Ayako chased after Koji. She saw him being attacked bye a giant butterfly. He ran and she chased again, and saw that he'd become a giant. Shew then ran off without thinking to mention all this to anyone for a year.
6. The Trio and Ayako chopper up to Tateshima. The military and the Comedy Reporters are there as well. They see  Koji and the miitary shoot at him to no effect. Koji throes a tree at them.
7. Back in Tokyo, the Editor praises Yuriko and scolds the Comedy Reporters.
8. The Trio and Ayako are at the Professor's place when they hear that Koji has come down the mountain. They rush back up to Tateshima.
9. The Army has deployed, and it's all very tense.  Ayako tries to talk to Koji and then the Professor hits Koji with his special Episode-Ending Beam, and Koji returns to normal.  Shouldn't Koji's loincloth (wherever he got that from) still be huge?

Overall: Another OK episode.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The theme of this episode is "Would love survive the unbalanced zone?" and we are all expected to accept that 1) poisonous butterflies can turn people into giants, 2) the professor has a special "Episode-Ending Beam," and 3) Koji's loin cloth shrunk with him (although it was never explained how he came by such a large loin cloth in the first place).

[The Baron]

Episode 23: "Fury of the South Sea"

1. A fishing boat is attackted* by a giant octopus off the coast of Compass Island in Micronesia. The captain's son, Yuzo is washed ashore on the isalnd, and is found by a young woman, Anita, and her kid brother, Tara.
2. InTokyo, the Editor wants the Trio to go investigate the sinkings. Yuriko seems to not want to go, or she's playing coy to make a point I'm not sure which. The Editor tells her that she needs to go so she can win over the natives by smiling at them. He has hired a linguist named Minami to serve as their translator. Minami looks a bit like a Japanese version of Professor Cuthbert Calculus.
3. Anita and Tara are taking care of Yuzo, but they are being spied on by Jiro, an Angry Guy. Jiro beats the crap out of Yuzo,but flees when he hears drums.
4. The Trio and Minami arrive by boat. The native chief wants them to leave. the giant octopus - which the natives call "Sdarl" (the Ultra Wiki calls it "Sudar") - menaces Tara. Jun rescues him, so the chief decides that they can stay.
5. Anita explains that Sdarl killed her father and brother, and that is considered the guardian of the island. Yuzo wants revenge for his father's death. He gets Anita to tell him where Sdarl lives.
6. Jun and Ippei leave to call in an airstrike.  Leaving Yuriko and Minami behind strikes me as a dumb idea. Sure enough, when Jun and Ippei return to the island, they find that the natives are planning to "Jeanne d'Arc" Yuriko, Minami, Yuzo and Anita. The Air Force arrives and starts bombing. This distracts the natives so that Jun and Ippei can free their pals.
7. The bombing drives Sddarl out of the water, where it attacks the Village and kills Jiro. Jun, Yuzo and Anita attack Sdarl. It withdraws, but dies before it reaches the water. Yuzo decides to stay on the island with Anita. the Trio and Anita go home.

Overall: Another OK episode. The bits with the octopus are reminiscent of similar scenes  in King Kong vs. Godzilla.

 

*Classical reference

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The captain's son, Yuzo is washed ashore on the island...

This episode did a good job of setting up the father/son relationship and makiung us care about them.

...or she's playing coy to make a point I'm not sure which.

That one, I think.

The Editor tells her that she needs to go so she can win over the natives by smiling at them.

A trope that cuts across cyultural lines.

...they are being spied on by Jiro, an Angry Guy. Jiro beats the crap out of Yuzo

This sub-plot wasn't really developed. A jealous suitor, I guess...?

Yuzo decides to stay on the island with Anita.

He never really wanted to be a fisherman, anyway.

[The Baron]

This sub-plot wasn't really developed. A jealous suitor, I guess...?

That was my guess.

[The Baron]

Episode 24: "The Idol of Gorga"

1. A woman (Irene) is part of a gang that steals the Idol of Gorga and kidnaps a little girl (Tami) as well. Then, a warehouse explodes.
2. Irene delivers the Idol to a man named Iwakura, who adds it to his collection of stolen art.
3. Elsewhere, the Trio and the Editor discuss the situation, and deliver the expostiion that the Idol is said to be cursed.
4. Irene tells Iwakura that the Idol is getting bigger. The crooks learn that the woman calling herself "Irene" is not the real Irene. They decide to play along with her until they figure out who she is.
5. The  Idol kills one of the crooks with its optic beams, then falls over and cracks open, revealing a snail-looking thing  (hereafter  "Gorga") It continues to grow.
6. A sniper shoots a guy who is driving along, but the Trio is in pursuit and Ippei manages to stop the car. They overhear a message from "Irene" saying where Tami is being held.
7. The crooks catch "Irene" ratting them out, and  lock her up with Tami. "Irene" soon breaks them out.
8. The Trio are captured when they go to investigate. "Irene" attacks a crook, which distracts the other crooks, allowing the Trio to make a break for it. they are all eventually recaptured. "Irene" is actually Yang Ming, an archaeology professor they mae another break for it.
9. Gorga is even bigger, and wrecks the building. Somehow, our heroes survive this. One crook survives, and goes after Yang Ming.
10. The Air Force goes after Gorga, but it doesn't end well.
11. The Trio, Yang Ming and the Army decide to try poisoning Gorga. They shoot it, and  it smooshes the surviving crook. Soon it is weakened enough for the Army to incnerate it.

Overall: Another OK episode. I've reed that there was a vogue in Japan for this kind of  "international intrigue" story at the time, so this story may reflect that.  Come to think of it, there were elements of this sort of thing in Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster.