Author: Ryan Harvey

I'm an award-winning science-fiction and fantasy author (daylighting as a marketing writer) living in Southern California.

Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997)

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kazuya Konaka. Written by Kazunori Saito.

I’m glad to report that Ultraman Zearth 2 (in full, Ultraman Zearth 2: Superhuman Big Battle—Light and Shadow) is a significant improvement over its predecessor. The first Ultraman Zearth was a joke, a parody played for kids and nobody else. I found it often painful to watch as its comedy flopped on its face over and over again. Ultraman Zearth 2 takes itself more seriously — although it’s still featherweight entertainment — and it pulls off one basic trick that elevates the entire movie: it gives the hero a legitimate obstacle to overcome, not a gag one. Zearth is no longer terrified of dirt and mud. He’s broken from a failed battle with an evil Ultraman and must regain his confidence so he can save the world from an alien invader.

Continue reading “Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997)” →

Ultraman Tiga Ep. 10: The Abandoned Amusement Park

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Shingo Matsubara. Written by Hideyuki Kawakami. Airdate Nov. 9, 1996.

Many Ultra shows have scenes in amusement parks. I looked at the earliest one last month, Ultra Q’s “Challenge From the Year 2020.” For multiple reasons, amusement parks are ideal settings for the series. The special effects team can pack them full of creative and fun models to obliterate during monster fights. They make it easy to bring children into the story. And the general tone of amusement parks as spots for thrilling but safe fun matches much of the tone of many Ultra shows. The kick of a good roller coaster is what people expect when watching something like Ultraman Tiga.

Continue reading “Ultraman Tiga Ep. 10: The Abandoned Amusement Park” →

Ultraman Ep. 18: Brother From Another Planet

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Samaji Nonagase. Airdate Nov. 13, 1966.

Ultraman has three classic sentient alien villains. We’ve already met Alien Baltan. Twice. Later we’ll meet Alien Mefilas, maker of dark deals. Today we meet Alien Zarab, who wants humanity to believe he’s their pal, the brother from another mother planet who’s looking out for Earth’s best interests — just like the aliens from the classic Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man.” And look how well that turned out. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 18: Brother From Another Planet” →

Ultra Q Ep. 20: The Primordial Amphibian Ragon

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Hiroyasu Yamaura and Samaji Nonagase. Story by Shoji Otomo. Airdate May 15, 1966.

Yuriko is on assignment again, investigating an undersea volcanic explosion near the island of Iwame. She tells her boss Seki that she thinks this is a “mediocre” story, which seems ridiculous until you realize the giant monster and alien weirdness Yuri-chan has been dealing with for the past few months. Undersea volcano? Meh.

Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 20: The Primordial Amphibian Ragon” →

Ultraseven Ep. 14 & 15: The Ultra Guard Goes West

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Jan. 7 & 14, 1968.

When I looked at “Space Prisoner 303,” I speculated that it was the point where younger viewers started to lose interest in Ultraseven during its initial run. It seems there’s truth to this, as that episode had a 30% drop in viewership. It’s not a good episode, so the decline makes some sense; but the next episode, “The Marked Town,” had the same audience attrition, and that’s one of the greatest episodes in the history of the franchise! Still, it was different and strange, and kids probably weren’t getting the fun they anticipated after watching Ultraman’s weekly monster smackdowns.

Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 14 & 15: The Ultra Guard Goes West” →

Ultra Q Ep. 19: Challenge From the Year 2020

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Toshihiro Iijima. Airdate May 8, 1966.

It’s redundant to write, “This is a weird episode of Ultra Q,” because weirdness is the show’s default setting. But this is a weird episode of Ultra Q. Not in the humorous fashion of “Kanegon’s Cocoon” or the crazy pinball machine of “The Underground Super Express Goes West.” This is the weird of dark science fiction where not much ends up making sense; intentional SF surrealism appears to be the point. I can’t say I understand much of what occurs in “Challenge From the Year 2020,” but I do like a lot of what I see. Your mileage may vary, either up or down.

Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 19: Challenge From the Year 2020” →

Ultraman Ep. 17: Passport to Infinity

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Nov. 6, 1966.

The most surreal Ultraman episode yet. That still places it below the strangest episodes of Ultra Q or an average episode of Ultraman Taro. Those shows set a high bar for weirdness, but “Passport to Infinity” makes a game effort at trippy and abstract excitement. Best of all, we get one of the Ultra series’ most memorable kaiju, Fourth Dimensional Monster Bullton, which resembles a heart valve as designed by Joan Miró. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 17: Passport to Infinity” →

Toku Theater: Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa. Written by Niisan Takahashi.

After two bland movies, the Gamera series at last discovers its niche and breaks out the good rubber-suited monster times. 

Fans generally consider Gamera vs. Gyaos the best movie of the series. I won’t argue with that. The pacing, the monster battles, the cast, the blend of the human story with the big beastie action … it all comes together for an entertaining monster vs. monster show, and one of the best kaiju films of the Showa Era outside of Toho Studios’ output.

Continue reading “Toku Theater: Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)” →

Ultraseven Ep. 13: The Man Who Came From V3

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shinichi Ichikawa. Airdate Dec. 24, 1967.

“The Man Who Came From V3” feels like Tsuburaya Productions attempting an even split between a character-driven drama about Cap. Kiriyama facing an ethical dilemma and a huge science-fiction blow-out that crams in the maximum amount of dueling ships and giant monster action that a half-hour of TV can hold. But somewhere in the process of writing and shooting the episode, the character half gave up and let the VFX half spin donuts all over everything.

Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 13: The Man Who Came From V3” →