Ultra Seven
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| Ultra Seven | |
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| Format | Science fiction, action, adventure |
| Created by | Tsuburaya Productions |
| Starring | Kohji Moritsugu, Shoji Nakayama, Yuriko Hishimi |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| No. of episodes | 49[1] |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 minutes (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | TBS |
| Original run | October 1, 1967 – September 8, 1968 |
Ultra Seven (ウルトラセブン Urutora Sebun?) is a fictional superhero featured in a tokusatsu TV show of the same name. He first appeared in Ultra Seven (the third Ultra Series and the second to feature an Ultra Being), the famous tokusatsu SF TV series that aired on Japanese TV in 1967. Created by Eiji Tsuburaya, this follow up to Ultraman went on to become one of Japan's greatest fantasy TV series, even surpassing Ultraman itself in most fans view. Ultra Seven is considered by some to be Japan's answer to Star Trek: The Original Series, and the best Ultra Series of all time. Such is his popularity that Ultra Seven (or simply 'Seven') has appeared or at least made cameos in nearly every Ultra Series following his own and has had far more exposure than even the original Ultraman (though the original Ultraman is without a doubt the face of the Ultras).
Ultra Seven is sometimes incorrectly called "Ultraman Seven" by many sources outside Japan. Both the series and its hero can also be called Ultraseven (without a space), which is generally the form used when romanised.
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[edit] The 1967 TV Series
Ultra Seven, produced by Tsuburaya Productions, aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 1, 1967 to September 8, 1968, with a total of 49 episodes (however, Tsuburaya officially excludes the banned Episode 12 from the list, thereby giving the series a count of 48 episodes; see below).
[edit] The plot
At a time when Earth is about to be threatened by sinister aliens and monsters, Agent 340 from Nebula M-78 (the same planet Ultraman came from), who was originally sent to make a map of the Milky Way, decides to stay on Earth, and seeks to protect it.
Disguised as a mysterious human named Dan Moroboshi, he is invited by the Terrestrial Defense Force to join its elite branch, the Ultra Garrison, as its sixth member to combat the threats from space. Little do the other 5 members of the Garrison know that whenever the situation becomes hopeless, Dan secretly puts on the Ultra Eye glasses, and becomes his true form of Agent 340, christened by the Garrison as its honorary 7th member, Ultra Seven!
Seven would later return in Ultraman Leo where after having his leg broken while trying to stop Magma Seijin and Giras, being saved in the nick of time by Leo, he becomes the captain of MAC. Even though he's reliant on a cane and unable to transform to Ultraseven, his Ultra Eye having melted after the Magma attack, he's able to help Leo out from time to time. Namely with his Ultra Willpower abilities that are able to temporarily incapacitate a monster and by using an updated Capsule Monster, Sevengar.
[edit] Characters — The Ultra Garrison (ウルトラ警備隊)
Six elite members of the Terrestrial Defense Force (TDF), chosen to fight evil aliens and monsters using high-tech vehicles and weaponry.
- Commander Kaoru Kiriyama
The captain of the Ultra Garrison. A no-nonsense but kind leader. He is from Tokyo.- Age: 38 years old
- Actor: Shoji Nakayama
- Shigeru Furuhashi
A rotund, strong, trigger-happy member of the Garrison. Many years later, he would find himself a high-ranking TDF commander and one of Ultra Seven's few allies. He is from Hokkaido.- Age: 29 years old
- Actor: Sandaiyu Dokumamushi
- Anne Yuri
The token female member of the Garrison, and also the youngest. She is the team's communications operator and nurse, but is still effective in action. Has feelings for fellow member Dan Moroboshi. She is also from Tokyo.- Age: 20 years old
- Actor: Yuriko Hishimi
- Soga
The Garrison's expert marksman. He is easy-going, but fierce in battle. He is friends with Dan Moroboshi. He is from Southern Kyushu.- Age: 25 years old
- Actor: Shinsuke Achiha
- Amagi
The Garrison's twitchy stragegist. He is from Nagoya.- Age: 24 years old
- Actor: Bin Furuya
- Dan Moroboshi/Ultra Seven (Agent 340)
The title character, a soldier from the Land of Light in the Nebula M-78 (the same planet Ultraman came from). Originally sent to map the Milky Way, he visits a planet that captivates him, our very own Earth, and on his first visit, saves the life of a young mountain climber named Jiro Satsuma, who nearly fell to his death to save a fellow climber from sharing his fate. Instead of combining with him, like Ultraman did to Science Patrol member Hayata, 340 makes himself into an exact likeness of the unconscious Jiro (with more casual civvies), but renames himself "Dan Moroboshi" to avoid confusion. A mysterious but friendly and helpful young man, Dan joins the Ultra Garrison as its sixth member, but unbeknownst to them (and anyone else for that matter), he saves the day from alien invasions in his true guise as Agent 340, christened by the Garrison as its "honorary 7th member," Ultra Seven.- Age: 24 years old
- Actor: Kohji Moritsugu; Ultra Seven is played by Koji Uenishi
[edit] Powers
Unlike most other Ultramen, Ultra Seven does not demonstrate any of the time constraints that plague most of the other heroes of the Ultra Series. On occasion however, the green Beam Lamp on his forehead would begin blinking in a similar fashion to the Color Timer that the other Ultras had.
However, this tended to occur when Seven was in mortal danger, suggesting it warned him how badly weakened he was rather than how much time he had left to fight. This is similar to some of the more recent Ultras, whose timers acted as an indicator of battle damage rather than time limit.
- Eye Slugger
The crest on Seven's head can be detached and used as a throwing weapon. This is Seven's most well-known weapon, and possibly the most famous of all Ultra attacks. It has been incorrectly referred to as an "Ice Lugger" by various sources. This name was coined during the early pre-production on the series, which was going to be called "Ultra Eye" (Urutora Ai), hence "Eye Slugger." When the title of the series was changed to "Ultra Seven," the name of the weapon remained "Eye Slugger" -- according to official Tsuburaya Productions production notes, published in Kodansha Official File Magazine Ultraman Vol. 4 & 5: "Ultra Seven" (2005).
- Emerium Beam
Various concentrations of energy rays could be fired from the hands as one of Ultraseven's finishers. It is one of his trademark moves. He would either fire it standing, his left hand drawn to his chest while his right arm was outstretched, or more commonly from a kneeling position, two fingers from both hands nearly touching the gem.
- Wide Shot
Ultra Seven's most powerful attack. By gathering energy in the armor plates on his shoulders and chest, Seven could unleash a powerful stream of energy by crossing his arms in an L-shape (his left arm upright, his right arm bent). He could further increase the potency of the beam, but this special attack drains his own energy. The Wide Shot was later turned into an ordinary weapon where Seven can just pose his arms into a L-style and does not drain his energy.
- Capsule Monsters
When unable to fight (usually because his Ultra Eye has been stolen), Dan will often produce a small capsule that releases a giant-sized monster to fight in his place. Although he is shown to have four or five capsules, only three capsule monsters are shown in the series, Windam, Mikuras, and Agira. In the 1998 Direct To Video series, Seven once used one of the capsules to incapacitate a member of the new Ultra Garrison in order to take his place. The Capsule Monsters would later return in the form of the Maquette Monsters from Ultraman Mebius
[edit] Differences from the original Ultraman
Ultra Seven was not only visually different from the first Ultraman (being mostly red with a removable crest/weapon and more 'boxy'-looking eyes), but often faced numerous moral and ethical dilemmas. On one occasion, he was forced to break a promise Dan had made to a young boy who was undergoing an operation in order to protect the hospital from a monster. On another occasion, he was forced to battle the sole survivor of a small planet that was destroyed by a careless weapons test, making him wonder if he was fighting for a worthy cause. On yet another occasion, as Dan, he desperately tried to contact the inhabitants of a spacefaring city before it was destroyed by the Ultra Garrison, to keep it from crashing into Earth.
Still later, Ultra Seven battled a sea monster guarding an underwater city that allegedly contained the original inhabitants of Earth, who were driven undersea by the ancestors of humanity. While he was able to defeat the creature, he hesitated to intervene with an attack by the Ultra Garrison, uncertain of whether or not the city's people had a legitimate grievance. This moment of indecision resulted in the utter destruction of the undersea city and all its inhabitants at the hands of humans.
Many years later, this failure to prevent the extinction of a pacifist people would come back to haunt Ultra Seven, resulting in his imprisonment as a war criminal. The charge: genocide. While he would later escape and had sympathy from his fellows among the Ultras (notably his close comrades Ultraman, Ultraman Jack, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro and Zoffy), he quickly found he could expect no help as in the eyes of virtually all space-faring civilizations, he was a murderer and protector of a cruel, war-like species.
Since then, Ultra Seven seems to have been pardoned, since he joined with the other Ultra Brothers in aiding rookie Ultra Warrior Ultraman Mebius.
[edit] Episodes
- No Shaped Challanger (姿なき挑戦者 Sugata naki chōsensha?)
- Fear of Green (緑の恐怖 Midori no kyōfu?)
- Secret of Lake (湖のひみつ Mizumi no himitsu?)
- Come in , please MAX (マックス号応答せよ Makkusu-Gō ōtō-seyo?)
- Erased Time (消された時間 kesareta jikan?)
- Dark Zone (ダーク・ゾーン Dāku zōn?)
- Space Prisoner 303 (宇宙囚人303 Uchū Shūjin san-maru-san?)
- Aimed Town (狙われた街 nerawareta machi?)
- Undroid 0 Command (アンドロイド0指令 Andoroido-zero shirei?)
- Suspicious Neighbor (怪しい隣人 Ayashii rinjin?)
- From Planet with Love (遊星より愛をこめて Yūsei yori ai wo komete?)
- The Man Come from V3 (V3から来た男 bui-surī kara kita otoko?)
- THe Ultra Garrison go West (First Part) (ウルトラ警備隊西へ（前編） urutora keibi-tai nishi e (zen-pen)?)
- THe Ultra Garrison go West (Sequel Part) (ウルトラ警備隊西へ（後編） urutora keibi-tai nishi e (kō-hen)?)
- The Eye Shining in Darkness (闇に光る目 yami ni hikaru me?)
- Underground GO! GO! GO! (地底GO! GO! GO! chitei gō! gō! gō!?)
- Escape from Space X (空間X脱出 Kūkan Ekkusu Dasshutsu?)
- Project Blue (プロジェクト・ブルー Purojekuto Burû?)
- Defeat the Focus of Earthqake X (地震源Xを倒せ Jishingen Ekkusu wo taose?)
- Chase Seebotom Base (海底基地を追え Kaitei-kichi wo oe?)
- Human Ranch (人間牧場 Ningen Bokujō?)
- Search for Tomorrow (明日を捜せ?asu wo sagase?)
- Get Back to North ! (北へ還れ! kita e kaere !?)
- Confrontation in 140 Degrees Below Zero (零下140度の対決 Reika hyakuyonjū-do no taiketsu?)
- Super Weapon R1 (超兵器R1号 chō-heiki āru-ichi-gō?)
- Cyborg Mission (サイボーグ作戦 saibōgu sakusen?)
- Drive Swiftly along 700 Kilometers ! (700キロを突っ走れ! nanahyaku kiro wo tsuppashire !?)
- Alone Earthling (ひとりぼっちの地球人 hitoribocchi no chikyūjin?)
- Is Frame for Whom ? (栄光は誰れのために eikou wa dare no tame-ni?)
- Flower Devil Living (悪魔の住む花 akuma no sumu hana?)
- Planet Taking a Walk (散歩する惑星 sannpo- suru wakusei?)
- Invading Dead Parsons (侵略する死者たち shinryaku-suru shishatachi?)
- Evaporation City (蒸発都市 jōhatsu toshi?)
- Shudder of the Moon (月世界の戦慄 gessekai no senritsu?)
- Deadly 0.1 Second (必殺の0.1秒 hissatsu no rei-ten-ichi byō?)
- Stolen Ultra Eye (盗まれたウルトラ・アイ nusumareta urutora ai?)
- Battle with Courageous (勇気ある戦い Yūki aru tatakai?)
- Project Seven Assassination (First Part) (セブン暗殺計画（前篇） sebun ansatsu keikaku (zen-pen)?)
- Project Seven Assassination (Sequel Part) (セブン暗殺計画（後編） sebun ansatsu keikaku (kō-hen)?)
- Challange from Underwater (水中からの挑戦 suichū kara-no chôsen?)
- Messenger of Nonmaruto (ノンマルトの使者 nonmaruto no shisya?)
- Nightmare of 4th Planet (第四惑星の悪夢 daiyon-wakusei no akumu?)
- Super Apeman of Fear (恐怖の超猿人 kyōfu no chō-enjin?)
- UFO come . (円盤が来た enban ga kita?)
- Duel of Dan vs Seven (ダン対セブンの決闘 Dan tai sebun no kettō?)
- Who are you ? (あなたはだぁれ? anata wa dare ??)
- Largest Invation in History (First Part) (史上最大の侵略（前編） shijō saidai no kessen (zen-pen)?)
- Largest Invation in History (Sequel Part) (史上最大の侵略（後編） shijō saidai no kessen (kō-hen)?)
[edit] Ultra Fight
Following the end of Ultra Seven's run on television, a series of mock battles were made using the costumes from the first Ultraman and Ultra Seven series. There was virtually no plot to these battles, they simply involved Ultra Seven fighting (or more often than not, being beaten by) various monsters including ones he did not face in his series, such as Baltan.
Among notable episodes include one where Ultra Seven rips the wings off a monster and beats it to death with them. Another has Ultra Seven blundering about a hilltop and accidentally causing a rockslide that awakens a slumbering Eleking who (predictably) is less than pleased to have rocks tumbling onto him. What follows is an amusing one-sided battle where Eleking takes his anger out on Seven while the hero, completely accepting that it was his own carelessness that caused the mess, tries desperately to apologize.
While far from epic, the Ultra Fight series rekindled interest in the Ultras, enough that shortly after, the Ultraman who Returned was aired. This would begin a series of sequels that carries on to this day.
[edit] In popular Culture
- There was a parody of Ultra Seven called UchimuraSeven starring Kohji Moritsugu.
- Ultra Seven was commonly referenced in the short-lived Cartoon Network series Cartoon Planet.
- Music video game Pop'n Music 7 features the show's opening song as one of it's new songs. Was last seen in Pop'n Music 11.
- Dr Slump frequently referenced Ultraseven
[edit] From Planet with Love: The banned episode 12
This episode portrayed an alien race, the Spehl Aliens, who had their world destroyed by nuclear tests and as a result their own race poisoned by radiation. To survive they invade Earth in search for fresh human blood to restore their own bodies. A special interest group of survivors from the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki protested claiming that this episode portrayed nuclear bomb victims in a negative light. As a result this episode has been banned in Japan but was shown as in the Brazilian Portuguese dubbed version as in the Hawaiian English dubbed version in 1975, and was also featured in Turner's English version (featured on TNT) under the title "Crystallized Corpuscles" [1]. The episode was also shown in the Spanish dubbed version in Latin America countries.
[edit] References
- ^ Episode 12 was later banned from broadcast in Japan due to concerns that the episode's featured aliens, portrayed as disfigured creatures afflicted with radiation sickness and burns, would be offensive to survivors of the atomic bomb drops in Japan during World War II. Officially, Tsuburaya Productions refuses to acknowledge this episode's existence. However, the episode has been aired and/or dubbed in overseas adaptations of the series.
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