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.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ginga Ep. 5 & 6: The Hater of Dreams / The Battle for Dreams”
Directed by Hirochika Muraishi. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka. Airdate Jan. 11 & 18, 1997.
Ultraman Tiga and its sequel series Ultraman Dyna take place in the “World of Neo Frontier Space” timeline. Space travel and planetary colonization are key themes in these shows, although they usually occur in the background or serve as catalysts for episodes that are otherwise Earthbound. “GUTS Into Space,” Tiga’s first two-parter, finally sends the GUTS team into the Neo Frontier using a new piece of space-travel technology.
Continue reading “Ultraman Tiga Ep. 19 & 20: GUTS Into Space”
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Bunzo Wakatsuki. Airdate Jan. 8 & 15, 1967.
The unofficial promise Ultraman makes to viewers is that it will deliver the thrills of giant monster movies in a TV-sized package. No episodes achieve this better than the first two-parter* in Ultra Series history. “The Monster Highness” is a VFX extravaganza that introduces the most famous kaiju in the franchise and smashes the thrill button as hard as it can with kinetic fights, heavy military action, and mass-scale urban destruction. Children all over Japan were on edge after the cliffhanger of Part 1 where Ultraman suffered a true defeat, ensuring that Part 2 would become one of the most viewed episodes of any Ultra show.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 26 & 27: The Monster Highness”
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”
The Ultra Project 