Directed by Harunosuke Nakagawa. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate March 20, 1966.
The simplistic title may sound like a children’s story. Which it is. But it’s not an ironic fairy tale like the hyper-looney “Grow Up! Little Turtle.” “I Saw a Bird” is a giant monster tale from the perspective of a child. The kaiju element is downplayed in favor of a bittersweet fable about a lonely boy and his bird.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 12: I Saw a Bird”
Directed by Shingo Matsubara. Written by Masakazu Migita. Airdate Sep. 14, 1996.
I like it when the first word spoken in an episode is the name of the monster of the week. “Gakuma! Gakuma is coming!” Starting off strong and fast, reminding us that monsters are cool and they’re one of the big reasons we’re watching.
Continue reading “Ultraman Tiga Ep. 2: Legend of the Stone”
Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Nov. 12, 1967.
Another hostile alien has come to Earth. Not to conquer, just to kill. An alien murderer from an otherwise peaceful race has escaped from a prison on its homeworld. Now it’s landed on Earth to guzzle gasoline, strangle a few innocent people, and find another escape route before it’s caught.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 7: Space Prisoner 303”
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Sep. 18, 1966.
Ultraman vs. Godzilla! That’s it, that’s the review. Or as much a review as most people will need.
Technically, Ultraman’s kaiju foe isn’t Godzilla. It’s a new monster named Jirahs (sometimes spelled Jirass). But … come on, it’s just a Toho Godzilla costume with a smattering of green paint and a neck frill. The frill eventually gets ripped off, making it even clearer you’re watching Ultraman vs. Godzilla. Using the Godzilla costume was a cost-saving maneuver, but nobody is going to complain about watching these titans of tokusatsu cross IP boundaries for a deathmatch.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 10: The Mysterious Dinosaur Base”
Directed by Shingo Matsubara. Written by Masakazu Migita. Airdate Sep. 7, 1996.
The first episode of an Ultra show has a heavy burden. It must establish the global situation, introduce a new defense team, merge the human hero with the Ultra Warrior, and then have enough time left over to celebrate with the action goodies. “Inheritance of Light” is one the best premiere episodes thanks to its efficiency, action, and visual effects that get the job done. It’s an impressive start, especially considering how fast the show had to come together. For viewers who may not have tuned into an Ultra show since the 1970s, Ultrman Tiga’s first episode was a reminder of why they loved Ultraman in the first place.
Continue reading “Ultraman Tiga Ep. 1: Inheritance of Light”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Kunio Torami. Airdate March 13, 1966.
Another giant monster episode, but with a difference. Rather than a traditional rampaging kaiju tale, “Balloonga” takes an approach that borders on cosmic horror. It’s a dark turn for the show, with a fatalistic mood and gloomy aura. It’s highly effective for most of the running time, but the finale doesn’t match what the rest of the story promises.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 11: Balloonga”
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Bunzo Wakatsuki. Airdate Nov. 5, 1967.
For the first time, and certainly not the last, an episode of Ultraseven scrutinizes the ethics of the operations of the Terran Defense Force and the Ultra Guard. The featured alien race, Alien Pegassa, doesn’t want to conquer Earth. They only want survival, but that may require taking drastic steps against Earth. Earth faces a similar choice with Pegassa, creating an unwinnable situation for both sides that has echoes of the Cold War without making explicit reference to it. Neither the Earthings nor Alien Pegassa ultimately show their best sides in this showdown.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 6: Dark Zone”
Directed by Shinya Nakajima. Written by Shukei Nagasaka.
Ultraman Zearth, Earth’s defender from the Land of Bright in Nebula Z95, must stop the schemes of the gold-stealing invader Alien Benzene and its kaiju attack dog, Cotton-Poppe. However, Zearth and his human form, Katsuto Asahi (Masaharu Sekiguchi), face a dreadful obstacle: mysophobia. Ultraman Zearth can’t stand getting dirty. A little grease on his hands and he’s paralyzed or hopping around howling. Oh no, what will the world do? And how can monster-fighting organization MYDO, which operates out of a gas station where the members also pull extra shifts, help in the battle against Alien Benzene while poor Zearth is cringing at having to cross a pool of mud?
Continue reading “Ultraman Zearth (1996)”
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.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 9: Lightning Operation”
Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Hiroyasu Yamaura and Toshihiro Iijima. Airdate March 5, 1966.
There’s no “typical” episode of Ultra Q. There are typical episode types, such as the straightforward giant monster stories like “Terror of the Sweet Honey” and “Tokyo Ice Age”; horror episodes like “Devil Child” and “Baron Spider”; the fairy tales of “Grow Up! Little Turtle” and “Kanegon’s Cocoon”; and Twilight Zone and Outer Limits-influenced episodes like “Open Up!” and “The ⅛ Project.” But if I had to pick one episode to represent Ultra Q at its most typically atypical, the episode that manages to pack everything in the writers’ room junk drawer into a half hour, this is it. The last episode produced of the original 28, it reveals the creative team at full power, making one of the crowning achievements of the show.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 10: The Underground Super Express Goes West”
The Ultra Project 