Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada and Samaji Nonagase. Airdate Nov. 20, 1966.
I don’t have any deep analysis of this episode. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. Quite the opposite. But what works about it is its spectacular simplicity.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 19: Demons Rise Again”
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 22, 1966.
This is Shozo Uehara’s debut as a writer for the Ultra franchise. His work is sparse for Ultra Q and Ultraman, although he penned the stone-cold classic Ultraman episode “The Monster Anarchy Zone.” It was later on Ultraseven and then as head writer on Return of Ultraman that he’d emerge as one of the most prolific and imaginative members of Tsuburaya Pro’s writing stable.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 21: Space Directive M774”
Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Jan. 21, 1968.
We’ve seen these story concepts in the Ultra shows before — several times — but “The Eye That Shines in the Darkness” not only uses both, it adds something new to the mix. Not new for the broader franchise, but for Ultraseven specifically: a child character as the lead.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 16: The Eye That Shines in the Darkness”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Samaji Nonagase. Airdate Nov. 13, 1966.
Ultraman has three classic sentient alien villains. We’ve already met Alien Baltan. Twice. Later we’ll meet Alien Mefilas, maker of dark deals. Today we meet Alien Zarab, who wants humanity to believe he’s their pal, the brother from another mother planet who’s looking out for Earth’s best interests — just like the aliens from the classic Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man.” And look how well that turned out.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 18: Brother From Another Planet”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Hiroyasu Yamaura and Samaji Nonagase. Story by Shoji Otomo. Airdate May 15, 1966.
Yuriko is on assignment again, investigating an undersea volcanic explosion near the island of Iwame. She tells her boss Seki that she thinks this is a “mediocre” story, which seems ridiculous until you realize the giant monster and alien weirdness Yuri-chan has been dealing with for the past few months. Undersea volcano? Meh.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 20: The Primordial Amphibian Ragon”
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”
Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Toshihiro Iijima. Airdate May 8, 1966.
It’s redundant to write, “This is a weird episode of Ultra Q,” because weirdness is the show’s default setting. But this is a weird episode of Ultra Q. Not in the humorous fashion of “Kanegon’s Cocoon” or the crazy pinball machine of “The Underground Super Express Goes West.” This is the weird of dark science fiction where not much ends up making sense; intentional SF surrealism appears to be the point. I can’t say I understand much of what occurs in “Challenge From the Year 2020,” but I do like a lot of what I see. Your mileage may vary, either up or down.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 19: Challenge From the Year 2020”
Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Nov. 6, 1966.
The most surreal Ultraman episode yet. That still places it below the strangest episodes of Ultra Q or an average episode of Ultraman Taro. Those shows set a high bar for weirdness, but “Passport to Infinity” makes a game effort at trippy and abstract excitement. Best of all, we get one of the Ultra series’ most memorable kaiju, Fourth Dimensional Monster Bullton, which resembles a heart valve as designed by Joan Miró.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 17: Passport to Infinity”
Directed by Noriaki Yuasa. Written by Niisan Takahashi.
After two bland movies, the Gamera series at last discovers its niche and breaks out the good rubber-suited monster times.
Fans generally consider Gamera vs. Gyaos the best movie of the series. I won’t argue with that. The pacing, the monster battles, the cast, the blend of the human story with the big beastie action … it all comes together for an entertaining monster vs. monster show, and one of the best kaiju films of the Showa Era outside of Toho Studios’ output.
Continue reading “Toku Theater: Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)”
Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shinichi Ichikawa. Airdate Dec. 24, 1967.
“The Man Who Came From V3” feels like Tsuburaya Productions attempting an even split between a character-driven drama about Cap. Kiriyama facing an ethical dilemma and a huge science-fiction blow-out that crams in the maximum amount of dueling ships and giant monster action that a half-hour of TV can hold. But somewhere in the process of writing and shooting the episode, the character half gave up and let the VFX half spin donuts all over everything.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 13: The Man Who Came From V3”
The Ultra Project 