Tag: Mediocre

Ultraman Tiga Ep. 12: S.O.S. From the Bottom of the Sea

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Shinichi Kamizawa. Written by Nobuhisa Kodama. Airdate Nov. 23, 1996.

“Not all enemies come from distant space,” TPC head Sawai tells the GUTS team members as they face their newest adversary, mutated sea beast Leilons. Human tampering with the environment, such as the underwater nuclear testing that created Leilons, is a significant threat to life on Earth. A good message, one heard in many Ultra shows. But by the time Sawai gives his speech (and rests his hand on Rena’s shoulder for an uncomfortably long time), the episode has already given essentially the same speech multiple times.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 8: On the Night of Halloween

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yasushi Okada. Written by Masakazu Migita. Airdate Oct. 26, 1996.

The perfect Ultra episode for Halloween is Ultra Q’s “Baron Spider.” I timed that review for the holiday last year. This actual Halloween-themed episode — one of the few in the Ultra series — is arriving in time for, uhm, the Ides of March. As much as I’d also like to land this review on Halloween for some synergy, it’s not a huge loss. As holiday flings go, this one’s minor. It’s mostly interesting for showing how Japan celebrated Halloween before the explosion of mass cosplay parties in the 2010s. 

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Ultraman Ep. 9: Lightning Operation

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate Sep. 11, 1966.

A good Ultra fight finale can do a lot to salvage an otherwise mediocre episode. Ultraman’s wrestling match with monster-of-the-week Gabora (orGavora as the Mill Creek subtitles spell it) is tough and agile. A good deal of the credit for its success goes to performers Bin Furyua in the Ultraman costume and the legend himself, Hauro Nakajima, in the Gabora costume. Nakajima was the first person to put on the Godzilla suit, and he played the monster for almost 20 years. I believe he’s the best suitmation actor to ever rampage across a miniature stage. He brings something extra to every monster he plays, and Gabora is no exception. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 2: The Green Terror

~ Ryan Harvey
Anne Yuri in Ultraseven wields a laser gun.

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Oct. 8, 1967.

Eiji Tsuburaya must have had a dictum about his shows: within the first batch of episodes, there must be a plant monster. Ultra Q has the giant flower Juran, Ultraman has a green lettuce sack called Greenmons, and now Ultraseven’s second episode brings us Alien Waiell, a walking stack of spiky mixed greens. It doesn’t look great, but it’s better than Greenmons. I’ll say it again: I don’t have much interest in vegetation monsters. 

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