Ultraman Tiga Ep. 27: I Saw Obiko!

January 24, 2026January 22, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kyota Kawasaki. Written by Ai Ota. Airdate March 8, 1997.

“I Saw Obiko!” starts like another horror outing for Ultraman Tiga, this time with a traditional Japanese folklore approach. The demon Obiko — an actual demon, not an alien pretending to be one — has been frightening people in the area of Hikono City for several months with his sudden appearances. When Obiko actually attacks a young man and leaves physical evidence behind (the man’s hair goes white), GUTS comes to investigate. They soon discover Obiko’s disguise as a noodle vendor who haunts the streets of the town at night.

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Ultraman Ginga Mid-Season Special: Monster Competition

December 24, 2025January 14, 2026 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yuichi Abe. Written by Akira Tanizaki. Released Sep. 7, 2013.

Ultraman Ginga was planned to start with a six-episode run, followed by a hiatus, and then five more episodes. After airing episode 6, the show wouldn’t return to its regular weekly schedule for three months. In between, Tsuburaya Pro released a 44-minute special to theaters, paired with an animated episode of Mega Monster Battle Ultra Rush to push the running time to feature length. This Ultraman Ginga Theater Special would later be shortened to a 25-minute episode, “Monster Competition,” to slot between episodes 6 and 7 for future broadcasts, streaming, and home video releases. I’m looking at the 25-minute version here, since the theatrical version is padded with recaps and previews of future episodes.

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

December 10, 2025December 24, 2025 ~ 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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Ultraseven Ep. 29: The Earthling All Alone

November 8, 2025November 29, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Shinichi Ichikawa. Airdate April 21, 1968.

Similar to “Return to the North!”, this episode looks at the life of an Ultra Guard member outside of the day-to-day work of defending Earth from invaders. We learn that Soga is engaged; his fiancée, Saeko Nambu (Sanae Kitabayashi), is a sophomore at Kyonan University. The other UG members tease Soga by calling him Soga-kun, the familiar form of address that Saeko uses with him. This is a welcome touch of humor and lightness among the Ultra Guard, who rarely have the easy camaraderie of the Science Patrol in Ultraman.

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Ultraman Ginga Ep. 3: The Twin-Headed Flame Beast

November 5, 2025November 30, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Tomoo Haraguchi. Written by Akira Tanizaki. Airdate July 24, 2013.

This is the first episode of Ultraman Ginga that manages to tell an effective story despite the show’s severe production limitations. The creative team appears to have figured out, at least for the moment, how to maneuver around corporate restrictions and demands to create something that works as both a YA drama and an Ultra adventure. The scope is still cramped, there’s a distractingly wrongheaded scene, and the monster suits are all reused, but “The Twin-Headed Flame Beast” offers a blueprint for a creative path forward for the show.

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Ultraman Ep. 32: Endless Counterattack

October 25, 2025November 12, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Feb. 19, 1967.

In what feels like a flashback to the earliest episodes, “Endless Counterattack” is a formulaic rampaging monster story with a structure similar to middle-of-the-road episodes like “Science Patrol, Move Out” and “Lightning Operation.” Giant monster Zumbolar appears in the wilds and causes massive destruction with its fiery powers. The Science Parol must find a way to stop it as it trundles toward Tokyo. Ide comes up with an invention, Hayata changes into Ultraman, and the problem is solved after a whole bunch of stuff goes kablooie.

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Ultraseven Ep. 27: Operation Cyborg

October 1, 2025October 22, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate April 7, 1968.

While doing this website, I’ve discovered that writing about the best Ultra episodes is more difficult than writing about good or mediocre episodes. With a classic episode, there’s more to consider and explore and numerous ways to approach the writing. Discovering the ideal way to concisely discuss a complex, multilayered episode in an entertaining and clear way can be rough. It’s rewarding to get to that final version, but it takes serious effort.

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Monster Theater: The Giant Claw (1957)

August 30, 2025October 5, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Fred F. Sears. Written by Paul Gangelin and Sam Newman. Starring Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum.

In these movie breaks, I’ve so far looked at monster films from Japan and the UK. It’s time to pay a visit to the B-movie factories of 1950s Hollywood, the original laboratories where the giant monster craze was spawned and mutated. I grew up on these movies on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, seeing many of them before I saw my first Godzilla movie. I still have immense love for them, their often corny earnestness, and their peculiar cultural zeitgeist of the anxiety-ridden 1950s.

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Ultraseven Ep. 22: The Human Farm

August 9, 2025December 13, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Hiroyasu Yamaura. Airdate March 3, 1968.

Ultraseven shifts to science-horror with an episode mirroring the more sober stories of Ultra Q. The general mood is subdued foreboding laced with body horror. Several unusual visual choices enhance the quiet dread. It’s ambitious, and the episode almost works — but the climax veers in a different direction that emphasizes big action. The finale may not include a giant monster fight, but it still feels like a conventional wrap-up, and that doesn’t gel with a story about aliens using women’s bodies as cultures for growing their food.

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Ultraman Ep. 21: Breach the Wall of Smoke

May 31, 2025December 6, 2025 ~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yuzo Higuchi. Written by Taro Kaido. Airdate Dec. 4, 1966.

This is the Isamu Hoshino episode, the big starring role for the show’s 12-year-old mascot turned actual SSSP member. Hoshino already had a “save the day” moment in “Brother From Another Planet,” but this goes to the next level where he becomes the main character. Hoshino lands in the thick of the action, takes control of piloting the Sub VTOL, and figures out how to defeat the kaiju of the week. Your opinion of Hoshino and little kid heroics will strongly affect how you react to this episode.

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