Ultra Q Ep. 13: Garadama

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.

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Ultraseven Ep. 8: The Marked Town

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.”

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Ultraseven Ep. 7: Space Prisoner 303

Alien Quraso about to kill a gas station attendant in Ultraseven episode "Space Prisoner 303.)

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.

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Ultraman Ep. 10: The Mysterious Dinosaur Base

Godzilla vs. Ultraman in The Mysterious Dinosaur Base

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.

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Ultraman Ep. 8: The Monster Anarchy Zone

Red King from Ultraman episode The Monster Anarchy Zone

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Shozo Uehara. Airdate Sep. 4, 1966.

In the previous episode, the Science Patrol flew off for a fantasy adventure in the Middle East. This week, they’re taking the Jet VTOL to a volcanic jungle island stacked with monsters. It’s classic Lost World and Skull Island stuff, and I’m surprised Eiji Tsuburaya didn’t find a way to cram in a giant gorilla among all the other kaiju. The King Kong influence is all over this half-hour.

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Ultra Q Ep. 8: Terror of the Sweet Honey

Directed by Koji Kajita. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Feb. 20, 1966.

Another forest-and-giant-monster story from writer Tetsuo Kinjo, following “Goro and Goro” and “S.O.S. Mount Fuji.” I’m unsure why TBS decided to air this right after “S.O.S. Mount Fuji,” considering the similarities, but the network likely was only thinking of front-loading Ultra Q with as many giant monster episodes as possible. From a big rock monster in the woods to a big mole monster in the woods, if that’s what draws the viewers… 

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Ultraman Ep. 7: The Blue Stone of Baradhi

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Samaji Nonagase. Airdate August 28, 1966.

We pop out of the slump of middling episodes with a mini-epic that sends the Science Patrol to a lost city in the Middle East and expands upon the mythos of the Ultras. The mixture of 1930s pulp adventure and giant monster movie makes for a stand-out half hour. I also just enjoy it when an Ultra show sends its defense team outside of Japan to soak up some different backdrops.

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Ultra Q Ep. 7: S.O.S. Mount Fuji

Directed by Toshihiro Iijima. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Toshihiro Iijima. Airdate Feb. 13, 1966.

Mount Fuji has not erupted in over 250 years … and that can only mean another major eruption is imminent. But since this is the world of Ultra Q, we won’t witness any normal eruption. Instead, we’re going to see a monster formed from a conglomeration of igneous rocks battle a “Japanese Tarzan.” Why do anything normal when you can make good TV instead?

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