Tag: Shozo Uehara

Return of Ultraman Ep. 2: Takkong’s Great Counterattack

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Ishiro Honda. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate April 9, 1971.

This is excellent follow-up to the premiere episode does exactly what’s necessary to deepen the show’s dramatic approach: it gives its new hero the space to completely fail. As a neophyte member of MAT and a man with no high-tech monster-fighting combat experience, Hideki Go ought to take time to ease into his new duties and learn from his captain and comrades. Instead, Go’s enhanced Ultra abilities (even when in human form) drive him to hubris and foolhardiness that endanger others and temporarily get him fired. Fired from MAT by Captain Kato and fired by Ultraman, who refuses to let Go transform. 

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Return of Ultraman Ep. 1: All Monsters Attack

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Ishiro Honda. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate April 2, 1971.

Return of Ultraman explodes onto the scene with one of the best premiere episodes of the Showa era — and possibly of the entire franchise. The episode covers all the necessary setup for a debut: it establishes the defense team, introduces the hero, merges the hero with an Ultra, stages a big kaiju fight, has the hero join the defense team, and generally defines its world. The episode accomplishes all this with a natural flow that never seems rushed or overstuffed. It also features terrific action and a complete emotional journey for its new hero, Hideki Go, race car driver and soon-to-be member of the defense team, establishing the show’s slant toward human drama. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 47: Who Are You?

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Tatsumi Ando. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate August 25, 1968.

We’ve arrived at the last episode of Ultraseven before the epic two-part finale. What better way to pass the time than with a throwback to the beginning? “Who Are You?” feels like it could’ve been developed from an unused Ultra Q script, and it wouldn’t take much work to turn it back into one. This moody, low-key episode is a pleasant reminder of the franchise’s origins — to the point that I almost wish it were even more like Ultra Q. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 46: Showdown of Dan vs Seven

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shozo Uehara, Shinichi Ichikawa. Airdate August 18, 1968.

Among Earthlings, Dan’s secret identity as Ultraseven is secure. Among every other alien species, however, it appears to be a matter of public record. That turns Dan into Target #1 when the next extraterrestrial invasion plot swings by our little planet. Once again, the invaders of the week kidnap Dan before they execute their scheme. These aliens, however, have a nifty twist on the standard plan: rather than using a super weapon or a guardian giant monster against Earth, they’ve got an imitation Ultraseven! An “Imit-Ultraseven.”

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Ultraseven Ep. 44: The Terrifying Super Ape-Man

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shozo Uehara, Shinichi Ichikawa. Airdate August 4, 1968.

After the double-tap of “Ambassador of the Nonmalt” and “Nightmare of Planet No. 4” — two of the greatest, most intelligent episodes in the entire Ultra Series — Ultraseven needed something lighter. That’s exactly what “The Terrifying Super Ape-Man” delivers. Like “Nightmare of Planet No. 4,” it takes inspiration from the recent runaway popularity of Planet of the Apes, but in a more superficial way. Rather than explore the future horrors of a human race reduced to obsolescence, just put a super-ape in the episode. Add a dash of 1930s mad scientist horror for flavor. Stir and double strain over a final Ultra fight. It’s no classy craft cocktail, but it’s a decent highball.

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Ultraseven Ep. 43: Nightmare of Planet No. 4

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Akio Jissoji. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate July 27, 1968.

Last week, we had director Kazuho Mitsuta’s masterpiece. This week, we have director Akio Jissoji’s masterpiece: a dystopian planetary tale unlike anything in the Ultra Series before or since. A mix of The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, and Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville. It’s the most brutal episode of the show, and it’s astonishing to me that it ever got on the air. The network must have given up on Ultraseven ever pulling back a younger audience, because this is an unapologetic work of adult science fiction. Children hoping for giant monster fun won’t enjoy seeing fascist firing squads mow down dozens of innocent people. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 33: The Invading Dead

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 19, 1968.

Ultraseven returns to horror with a spectral-themed story that hints at the supernatural. However, like the previous horror outing, “The Human Farm,” this episode has an odd split between its parts: low-key foreboding, claustrophobic staging, and general eeriness upfront — and then a big ol’ space shoot-‘em-up for the ending. Both parts are good at what they do, especially the ghostly first two-thirds. However, I like the promise of a fully weird horror episode about shadow creatures arising from dead bodies far too much to feel satisfied when the action switches to another battle with alien vessels. Perhaps I just miss Ultra Q too much.

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Ultraman Ep. 38: Spaceship Rescue Command

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate April 2, 1967.

Here we are, at the penultimate episode of Ultraman, and it’s enlightening to look back at the earliest episodes for comparison. At the start of the show’s run, the network and sponsor were tight with money, which kept the visual effects limited. The Tsuburaya Pro VFX team did fine work with what they had, but early episodes like “Five Seconds Before the Explosion” and “The Secret of the Miroganda” visibly suffer from the budgetary deficiency. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 32: The Strolling Planet

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Masahiro Yamada and Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 12, 1968.

A mysterious object is heading toward Earth. When Dan, Furuhashi, and Amagi investigate in the Ultra Hawk 1, they discover an asteroid one kilometer in diameter that’s sending out disruptive electromagnetic waves. An energy blast from the asteroid causes the Ultra Hawk to crash, trapping the three UG members on the surface of what they discover is a time bomb targeting Terran Defense Force HQ. Unfortunately, those electromagnetic waves prevent the trio from communicating with the rest of the Ultra Guard and make it impossible for Dan to change into Ultraseven — which might come in handy since there’s also a giant monster wandering around the deadly asteroid.

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Ultraseven Ep. 31: Flower Where the Devil Dwells

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate May 5, 1968.

Ultraseven takes another big swing at exploring new science fiction territory. Drawing inspiration from the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, our hero Ultraseven reverses his usual tactics and shrinks to face a microscopic but deadly enemy within the strange battlefield of the human body. 

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