Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Mamoru Sasaki. Airdate Oct. 16, 1966.
And now, the first regular Ultra show episode directed by Akio Jissoji. I’ve already looked at Jissoji’s style in one of his best episodes, Ultraseven’s “The Marked Town,” but I didn’t spend much time on the man himself. Time to fix that.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 14: The Pearl Defense Directive”
Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Bunzo Wakatsuki. Airdate Dec. 3, 1967.
Young Akira is stuck at home in his bedroom with a broken leg after a car accident. He passes the time by using a pair of binoculars to spy on his next door neighbor. An odd neighbor, who may be up to something sinister…
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 10: The Suspicious Neighbor”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate April 10, 1966.
After four giant monster episodes in a row, it’s time for something different. Really different. Something so out there it doesn’t even have room for any of the series leads. Spoilers ahead, but believe me, they don’t matter. In fact, go watch the episode right now and come back so we can share.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 15: Kanegon’s Cocoon”
Directed by Shigeo Tanaka. Written by Niisan Takahashi.
The second of the Showa Era Gamera films (Daikaiju Ketto: Gamera Tai Barugon, “Giant Monster Duel: Gamera vs. Barugon”) is a case of trying to change course but instead heading in a different wrong direction.
Continue reading “Toku Theater: Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)”
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Oct. 9, 1966.
Mitsuhiro Ide, the Science Patrol’s resident inventor, was intended as Ultraman’s comic character. Maybe in the beginning of the program’s development, the creators saw Ide as purely a comedy foil to add wacky zip to a monster show. However, something changed early on. My suspicion is that actor Masanari Nihei was responsible for Ide evolving into more than just comic relief. Ide never lost his humor, but he emerged as the show’s most complex character.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 13: Oil S.O.S.”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada. Airdate April 3, 1966.
The most terrifying monster of all has arrived: climate change! Yes, scientists already knew about this encroaching global threat in 1966 and were sounding the alarm bells. They didn’t, however, warn that melting Antarctic ice combined with nuclear power plant accidents would force the deep-freeze monster Peguila north to wreck wintry havoc! Would more people have paid attention if they did? I think so.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 14: Tokyo Ice Age”
Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate Nov. 36, 1967.
A small-scale episode, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting. The devious alien of the week may not have a plan that will conquer the world — although he believes it will — but it’s a vile plan with disturbing relevance to the current day. All the action remains at human size with no giant monsters and no super-sized Ultraseven, but it’s superbly staged, paced, and shot. At times, it feels like a live-action version of a Batman: The Animated Series episode where Batman has to take down a villain who builds children’s toys that are actually lethal devices.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 9: Operation Android Zero”
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Oct. 2, 1966.
Another winner of an episode, the third in a row. We have a new story archetype to explore: the archeological adventure. The mummy of the title isn’t a traditional Egyptian mummy, although it has tomb wrappings, but a mysterious, possibly supernatural creature from prehistoric Japan. As a nice surprise, the Mummy Man doesn’t end up enlarging into the episode’s giant monster. No, there’s a much more impressive kaiju waiting in the wings to fill that role.
Continue reading “Ultraman Ep. 12: Cry of the Mummy”
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate March 27, 1966.
Children in the countryside discover a strange rock that fell from the sky — not the only time this will happen in the Ultra Series. They dutifully turn it over to their teachers, who then turn it over to Professor Ichinotani to investigate. Ichinotani discovers this mystery meteorite (or garadama as the locals refer to such phenomena) is made from an alien material known as Tilsonite. It’s not a monster egg, however, but the control device for the monster arriving in a larger meteorite that splashes down in a lake near a hydroelectric dam. Monster Garamon, an artificial alien construction, breaks loose from its stone transport. It starts to wreak havoc, and then … oh, you’ll have to wait for Part 2 to learn the rest.
Continue reading “Ultra Q Ep. 13: Garadama”
Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Nov. 19, 1967.
After seven episodes of sporadic success sifting through the basics, Ultraseven at last comes together in one of the most memorable and imitated half hours in all of tokusatsu. There are episodes ahead I like more, but “The Marked Town” is a landmark and arguably the show’s essential episode. A simple case of “If you see only one Ultraseven episode, make it this one.”
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 8: The Marked Town”
The Ultra Project 