Written and Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Airdate August 7, 1966.
Japan faces a new atomic threat: an atom bomb with its safeties shut off is dangling from the body of a giant monster heading for shore.
And everyone takes this rather … casually.
The biggest concern is how giant undersea creature Ragon and its dangling atomic bomb accessory will disrupt Fuji’s vacation at a beachfront resort. I’m not saying you shouldn’t take your vacation time — all workers should, and Fuji had every right to take hers, especially as it’s her first since she joined the SSSP. But Fuji and Hoshino relaxing on the racquetball court while nuclear danger unfolds gives the episode the feeling of a leisurely stroll. There’s plenty of comedy to further lighten the atomic kaiju threat. Ide puts salt instead of sugar into Captain Muramatsu’s tea! The light piano jazz used to distract Ragon doesn’t work!
This laid-back approach to a nuclear crisis is hilarious. Just the way Muramatsu kicks back at headquarters for most of the episode and politely points out how Ide screwed up his tea is gold. But it’s definitely a “vibes” episode, not an actually exciting one or even one meant as an overt comedy, although the comic bits are pretty funny. If you tuned in for fantastic giant monster action, you won’t leave feeling thrilled.
What’s most interesting here is the nature of Ragon itself and what it says about the possibility of Ultra series continuity. Ragon first appeared in the Ultra Q episode “The Primordial Amphibian Ragon” as a race of human-sized creatures living in the Japan Trench. The SSSP immediately recognize Ragon in this episode, although they’re not used to seeing a giant one. Their recap of what they know about Ragon matches Ultra Q, including the monster’s attraction to music. It must be from the same race.
So, do Ultraman and Ultra Q occur in the same timeline? Originally, Tsuburaya Productions didn’t intend Ultraman as a sequel, and the only reason we have Ragon here at all is so TsuPro could save money by reusing the costume, or at least its head. Retroactively, Tsuburaya Pro declared the first three Ultra shows as connected, and “Five Seconds Before the Explosion” and the brief illusion of Alien Kemur in “The Forbidden Words” are the only threads that ties Ultra Q to the rest of the main timeline.
Ragon has a good kaiju design for an Ultra Q installment, a fun nod to The Creature From the Black Lagoon, but it doesn’t work here as a giant monster. It looks cheap and rubbery, befitting the generally awkward special effects of the episode. Even Ultraman’s costume looks shabby during the bland final fight. Overall, special effects are close to the poorest for the show, another sign of the crimped budget Tsuburaya Pro had to work with this early in production.
Ide continues to be the best character, and we get more hints of filtration between him and Fuji when he turns jealous that she’s taking off on a vacation with a guy. (The guy ends up being Hoshino, because he’s now firmly established as Fuji’s sidekick. Fuji loves hanging out with kids.) The cast is getting into their parts and appear to be having a good time. Soon, they’ll be having a good time in better episodes.
Rating: Mediocre
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