Month: December 2025

Ultraman Ep. 36: Don’t Shoot, Arashi!

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate March 19, 1967.

Science Patrol Member Daisuke Arashi is one of the character templates of the Ultra Series: the action-oriented, shoot-first defense team member who’s always ready to rumble with the monster of the week, whether it’s a smart move or not. This archetype has shown up many times since. The action-guy In Ultraseven, Furuhashi, is even played by the same actor who plays Arashi, Sandayu Dokumamushi. Defense teams need a person like this to balance the more peaceful and utopian approach the shows often take. There has to be someone around to say, “Let’s just shoot the damn thing!” even if that tactic rarely works. And poor Arashi has so often been wrong about shooting first.

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Ultraseven Ep. 31: Flower Where the Devil Dwells

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 5, 1968.

Ultraseven takes another big swing at exploring new science fiction territory. Drawing inspiration from the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, our hero Ultraseven reverses his usual tactics and shrinks to face a microscopic but deadly enemy within the strange battlefield of the human body. 

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Ultraman Ginga Ep. 5 & 6: The Hater of Dreams / The Battle for Dreams

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kengo Kanji. Written by Masanao Akahoshi. Airdate August 7 & 14, 2013.

We’re at the halfway point of Ultraman Ginga — the ideal time for an epic two-parter that will rewrite the status quo. Except “epic” isn’t something really within the reach of Ginga’s budget.

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Ultraman Ep. 35: The Monster Graveyard

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate March 12, 1967.

As soon as large numbers of children started to watch Ultra Q — a development TBS and Tsuburaya Productions didn’t predict — this episode was inevitable. Kids love monsters, and when Ultra Q changed into Ultraman, the kids got even more monsters. But as the youngsters rooted for Ultraman to defeat the monsters of the week, they also started to feel affection for those monsters. The show developed along with its young viewers, showing empathy toward these strange creatures in episodes like “Terrifying Cosmic Rays” and “Phantom of the Snow Mountains.” At last came “The Monster Graveyard,” a heartfelt and humorous memorial for all the innocent beasts who gave their lives in battle with Ultraman so children could be entertained. 

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 24: Go! Monster Expedition Squad

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yasushi Okada. Written by Yasushi Hirano. Airdate Feb. 15, 1997.

Children have appeared in several key roles in Ultraman Tiga so far, but this is the first episode to give kids the starring roles. In a return to the style of the Showa era — those wild days when mobs of unsupervised children roamed freely among the monster-haunted cities — we have a child gang at the center of the story. These monster-hunting kids don’t capture the anarchic spirit of the Golden Age child mobs, but they add touches of interest and humor to what’s otherwise a tame, routine monster-of-the-week affair. 

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