Tag: Akio Jissoji

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. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 35: The Monster Graveyard” →

Ultraman Ep. 34: A Gift From the Sky

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate March 5, 1967.

Have you ever watched an episode of Ultraman and thought, “This is fun, but I wish the show was structured more like a Road Runner cartoon?” Good news, there’s an episode just for you! Really, an episode for everyone, because “A Gift From the Sky” is a hilarious farce that flattens the show’s formula into a prolonged Sisyphean comedy. It’s the episode with the line “Aim for its butthole” and where Hayata mistakenly tries to use a spoon to transform into Ultraman. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 34: A Gift From the Sky” →

Ultraman Ep. 23: My Home Is Earth

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Dec. 18, 1966.

I’ve mentioned this episode numerous times, and for good reason: “My Home Is Earth” is the Ultraman episode that’s accumulated the most praise and had the biggest influence on future shows. It earns its place among the Olympians of Ultra. This is a superlative work of tragic science fiction in the guise of a giant monster story. It channels the classic British film The Quatermass Xperiment, shows director Akio Jissoji putting his signature style to great dramatic use, and gives the best character his defining episode. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 23: My Home Is Earth” →

Ultraman Ep. 22: Overthrow the Surface

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Dec. 11, 1966.

Akio Jissoji’s third Ultraman episode is when his characteristic style comes together … and then goes on a rampage. Heavily influenced by his viewing of Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville (1965), Jissoji cuts loose with his visuals: jittery hand-held camera shots, rapid cutting, close-ups on faces and mouths, lights dimmed to almost nothing, bizarre angles, reflective surfaces, sepia photography, freeze frames. It would feel indulgent — and several of his later Ultra outings are definitely that — if it didn’t work so well for the tone of paranoia and panic he brings to this twist on the alien invasion story. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 22: Overthrow the Surface” →

Ultraseven Ep. 12: From Another Planet With Love

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Dec. 17, 1967.

This is the famous withdrawn Ultraseven episode. You won’t find it on any of the video releases, nor will you see it on the airwaves. It’s sometimes called the “banned” or “censored” episode, but that implies an external agency has kept it from being seen. Tsuburaya Productions itself removed the episode from public availability in the 1970s, and it seems unlikely the situation will change in the near future.

Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 12: From Another Planet With Love” →

Ultraman Ep. 15: Terrifying Cosmic Rays

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Oct. 23, 1966.

Akio Jissoji returns with a fantastic episode that goes to a stranger place than his first, “The Pearl Defense Directive.” It’s another humorous outing, with similarities to “The Rascal From Outer Space.” Both feature enigmatic alien forces that cause comical monsters to materialize. But “Two-Dimensional Kaiju Gavadon” is a different type of comedy kaiju than the bratty Gango. Gavadon a lazy monster. Or maybe it’s just too peaceful. 

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 15: Terrifying Cosmic Rays” →

Ultraseven Ep. 8: The Marked Town

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Nov. 19, 1967.

After seven episodes of sporadic success sifting through the basics, Ultraseven at last comes together in one of the most memorable and imitated half hours in all of tokusatsu. There are episodes ahead I like even more, but “The Marked Town” is a landmark and arguably the show’s essential episode. A simple case of, “If you see only one Ultraseven episode, make it this one.”

Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 8: The Marked Town” →

Ultraman Ep. 0: The Birth of Ultraman

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate July 10, 1966.

We have to start here — I write with some embarrassment for the poor Tsuburaya Productions team. This “pilot” episode for Ultraman is just a live stage show taped in black-and-white to promote the actual show debuting the next week. “The Birth of Ultraman” exists because Tsuburaya Pro desperately needed more time to finish episodes before the premiere date of Ultraman, and this was the quickest way for the Tokyo Broadcasting System to get something on the air to create a buffer. TBS could have gone ahead and broadcast the last remaining episode of Ultra Q, but because it wasn’t a monster-centered episode, they delayed it for over a year and a half to leap right into … this.

Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 0: The Birth of Ultraman” →