Tag: Tokusatsu

Ultra Q Ep. 23: Fury of the South Sea

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate June 5, 1966.

In the world of Japanese special-effects films, the mid-‘60s was the time to go on Pacific island vacations. This was when the Godzilla series left the cities to jet off for two budget-friendly South Seas adventures, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) and Son of Godzilla (1967). Around this time, Ultra Q took its own trip to the islands, although on an even tighter TV budget. The crew could only afford a recycled octopus prop and stock footage lifted from King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) to create its giant monster of the week.

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 12: S.O.S. From the Bottom of the Sea

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Shinichi Kamizawa. Written by Nobuhisa Kodama. Airdate Nov. 23, 1996.

“Not all enemies come from distant space,” TPC head Sawai tells the GUTS team members as they face their newest adversary, mutated sea beast Leilons. Human tampering with the environment, such as the underwater nuclear testing that created Leilons, is a significant threat to life on Earth. A good message, one heard in many Ultra shows. But by the time Sawai gives his speech (and rests his hand on Rena’s shoulder for an uncomfortably long time), the episode has already given essentially the same speech multiple times.

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Ultraman Ep. 20: Terror on Route 87

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Yuzo Higuchi. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Nov. 27, 1966.

Screenwriter Tetsuo Kinjo had a knack for taking topical subjects and finding ways to transform them into workable Ultra scripts. “Monster-as-metaphor” is one of the most viable and enduring forms of social commentary in science fiction and horror, and Kinjo was adept at not making the commentary in his monster scripts too heavy-handed, even with a subject as grim as the alarming number of deaths of children in auto accidents. And yes, that’s the subject of “Terror on Route 87.” 

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Ultra Q Ep. 22: Metamorphosis

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Koji Kajita. Written by Kyoko Kitazawa. Story by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate May 29, 1966.

As we enter the last quarter mile of Ultra Q‘s run, we stumble across one of the first produced episodes. “Metamorphosis” was only the second episode shot, following “Mammoth Flower.” Even though it features a giant monster, a sure-thing for ratings, TBS decided to wait this late into the show’s run to put it on the air. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 17: Underground Go! Go! Go!

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Shozo Uehara. Airdate Jan. 28, 1968.

The standard procedure for Ultra warriors who come to Earth is to merge with a human host, a precedent set in Ultraman and followed throughout most of the shows. Ultraseven is one of the exceptions (Ultraman Leo is another), where the Ultra warrior chooses to adopt a human form and remain 100% alien. But how does an Ultra who takes this route decide on their human “costume”? This episode addresses that question, making it an essential watch for the lore of the show.

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Ultra Q Ep. 21: Space Directive M774

~ Ryan Harvey

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. 

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Ultraseven Ep. 16: The Eye That Shines in the Darkness

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Toshitsugu Suzuki. Written by Keisuke Fujikawa. Airdate Jan. 21, 1968.

  • An alien race mistakenly interprets an exploratory probe from Earth as a hostile attack and plans to launch a counterstrike.
  • A lost space vessel returns to Earth with a mysterious surprise aboard. 

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. 

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Ultraman Tiga Ep. 10: The Abandoned Amusement Park

~ Ryan Harvey

Directed by Shingo Matsubara. Written by Hideyuki Kawakami. Airdate Nov. 9, 1996.

Many Ultra shows have scenes in amusement parks. I looked at the earliest one last month, Ultra Q’s “Challenge From the Year 2020.” For multiple reasons, amusement parks are ideal settings for the series. The special effects team can pack them full of creative and fun models to obliterate during monster fights. They make it easy to bring children into the story. And the general tone of amusement parks as spots for thrilling but safe fun matches much of the tone of many Ultra shows. The kick of a good roller coaster is what people expect when watching something like Ultraman Tiga.

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Ultraman Ep. 18: Brother From Another Planet

~ Ryan Harvey

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. 

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