Directed by Kazuho Mitsuta. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo and Masahiro Yamada. Airdate Oct. 22, 1967.
For the second episode in a row, Dan loses the Ultra Eye he needs to transform into Ultraseven. To lose one Ultra Eye may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness. And it’s going to happen a few more times.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 4: Max, Respond!”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Oct. 15, 1967.
This was the first Ultraseven episode produced, and it’s fascinating to see how much the crew already had a feel for the show’s possibilities and what made it different from Ultraman. It’s a better start than the first two episodes aired: “The Invisible Challenger” put the pieces in place, “The Green Terror” emphasized the serious mood, but “Secret of the Lake” demonstrates what Ultraseven can do when it swings into action with full confidence in its premise.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 3: Secret of the Lake”
Directed by Samaji Nonagase. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Oct. 8, 1967.
Eiji Tsuburaya must have had a dictum about his shows: within the first batch of episodes, there must be a plant monster. Ultra Q has the giant flower Juran, Ultraman has a green lettuce sack called Greenmons, and now Ultraseven’s second episode brings us Alien Waiell, a walking stack of spiky mixed greens. It doesn’t look great, but it’s better than Greenmons. I’ll say it again: I don’t have much interest in vegetation monsters.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 2: The Green Terror”
Directed by Hajime Tsuburaya. Written by Tetsuo Kinjo. Airdate Oct. 1, 1967.
Earth is being targeted. Beings from countless stars floating in space have begun a terrible invasion.
These words from narrator Hikaru Urano, spoken over a night scene of a swarm of car headlights on a freeway, set the tone for Ultraseven. Darker than Ultraman, more epic than Ultra Q.
Continue reading “Ultraseven Ep. 1: The Invisible Challenger”
Ultraseven is the last of the “original” Ultra trilogy, following Ultra Q and Ultraman. They were not intended to take place in the same universe, and Eiji Tsuburaya planned for Ultraseven to be the end of this unofficial “Ultra” series so his company could move on to different special effects programs. The trio only became part of the same continuity after Return of Ultraman debuted in 1971.
Continue reading “Ultraseven: An Introduction”
The Ultra Project 