Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Bunzo Wakatsuki. Airdate Feb. 18, 1968.
There are several Ultraseven episodes that feel as if they were reworked from unused Ultraman scripts (something that did happen with “The Strolling Planet”). “Destroy Earthquake Epicenter X,” from what I can tell, was originally written for Ultraseven, but the Ultraman vibes are strong: an episode focused on a giant monster and high-tech equipment rather than alien schemes or a strange science-fiction twist. Ultraseven’s stories are usually alien-themed, but this episode feels as if the alien invader could easily have been cut and the script left as a terrestrial kaiju story.
This different slant for Ultraseven isn’t a detriment. An alien villain who mostly remains in the background and makes only brief appearances is a nice break from the constant plotting of extraterrestrials. The giant monster, Giradorus, has an Ultraman feel to its design, although it moves around a bit clumsily with no arms and a stunt performer forced to crawl on his knees. In earlier script drafts, Giradorus was a space kaiju, but it was changed to the more standard Earth-kaiju of an Ultraman episode.
The real visual-effects success is with the Ultra Guard vehicles. There are plenty of them and they receive extensive and beautiful sequences. The Magma Riser returns after its debut in “Underground Go! Go! Go!” and gets even better use here as the Ultra Guard tries to stop a threat to the Earth’s core. It’s not an exceptional outing of the show with deep themes or an interesting science-fiction concept, but it always entertains.
The Ultra Guard shows that they have a major weakness: their professional resolve crumbles when they have to deal with cranky old scientists. The UG tries to get through to Professor Iwamura (Yoshio Yoshida), an expert in research on the Earth’s core, for help studying a suspicious cluster of quakes around Mt. Aso. (Mt. Aso is, by the way, the setting for Rodan.) Only Anne is finally able to make headway with the obstinate professor, showing up her male colleagues in bravery. This is another moment that feels like it might come from Ultraman, as it’s something Fuji would do just to embarrass the bluster of her cohorts in the SSSP.
The Ultra Guard, with the assistance of Prof. Iwamura and his assistant, Sakaki (Takashi Kitahara), discover that someone or something is transporting Ultonium, the material that makes up Earth’s core, to the surface. This puts the core at risk, so the UG brings in the Magma Riser. The action clicks along, with Dan, Soga, and Furuhashi trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation in the Magma Riser while Anne makes a discovery about the alien interference behind everything.
Kaiju Giradorus then bursts from the ground, Dan struggles to reach the Ultra Eye in time … None of this is surprising, but it’s good tokusatsu fun. Seven’s final dispatching of Giradorus is a real shocker that at first seems like it’s even gorier than it is. Alien Shaplay only pops up for a short scene, but he has a unique look that makes me wish he’d gotten more screen time. Away from the visual effects, there’s some genuine fun with the irritable professor and the Ultra Guard cringing from his antics.
Despite Alien Shaplay’s brief appearance, he’s emerged as one of the more recognizable Seijin in recent franchise installments. Shaplay appears in Mega Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy: The Movie (2009) and in episodes of Ultraman X, Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Geed, and Ultraman Decker. It’s an eye-catching design that’s not too cumbersome, so I’m not surprised Shaplay has reemerged as a prominent player.
Rating: Good
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