Tokusatsu File 3: Ultra Q Version 1.0 95.12.22.19:20 (c) 1995 Marc H. Miyake miyake@Hawaii.Edu This copyright applies only to this File and not to Ultra Q and/or any other properties of Tsuburaya Productions which are (c) 1995 Tsuburaya Productions. This document may be distributed in part or in whole as long as this copyright notice is preserved. Thanks to William Ferguson for some of the Ultra Q dub information. Ultra Q 66.1.2-66.7.3 (But preview special aired 65.12.25 and episode 28 aired 67.12.14!) Network: TBS 16 mm, 30 minutes, monochrome, 28 episodes Sundays, 19:00-19:30 Supervisor: Tsuburaya Eiji Producers: Tsuburaya Eiji, Shibusawa Hitoshi, Tateshibai (?) Takashi Directors: Tsuburaya Hajime, Nonagase Mimachi, Mitsuda Kazuho, Iijima Toshihiro, Kajita Kyouji, Nakagawa Harunosuke Scripters: Kinjou Tetsuo, Chisato Kitao, Yamada Masahiro, Uehara Shouzou, Kitazawa Kyouko, Yamaura Hiroyasu, Oyamauchi Mieko, Torami Kunio Music: Miyauchi Kunio Cast: Manjoume Jun: Sahara Kenji Edogawa Yuriko: Sakurai Hiroko Togawa Ippei: Saijou Yasuhiko Dr. Ichinotani: Egawa Ureo 'Seki Desk': Tashima Yoshifumi Narrator: Ishisaka Kouji Background: During World War II, Tsuburaya Eiji (1901-1970) created special effects for Toho films such as Hawai Maree Oki Kaisen (The Sea Battles from Hawaii to Malaya; 1942). (E-mail the author for references in Markalite and Uchuusen for details on Tsuburaya's early career.) His SFX were so realistic that reportedly, the Allies thought his films were the real thing! In 1948, Tsuburaya broke away from Toho and established the Tsuburaya Labs. Soon, he came back to Toho to do his world-famous King Kong homage, Godzilla (1954). Thereafter, he would be in charge of SFX for all Toho tokusatsu films until his death in 1970. In 1956, he established the Tsuburaya Special Techniques Lab in a room of his own house, doing work for other film studios, and paying his staff with his own pocket money (!). In April 1963, he established Tsuburaya Special Techniques Productions (hereafter abbreviated to Tsuburaya Productions--the official name of the company from 1968 onward). Tsuburaya Productions' first job was for Ishihara Productions' Taiheiyou Hitoribotchi (All Alone in the Pacific; 1963), involving a scene in which the yacht Mermaid was pummelled about by a typhoon. (I am mentioning a couple of Tsuburaya's non-monster works in order to emphasize the fact that one cannot live off Godzilla alone. In fact, in an interview with Mainichi Shinbun dated 60.3.27, Tsuburaya said, "It is rather regrettable that I am thought of as a man who only makes monster movies." [Translation mine, of course.] alt.tv.sentai readers may find this section boring, but if we are to pay the god of SFX true respect, we must realize the total breadth of his great career.) At this point, master scripter Kinjou Tetsuo (more on him below) joined the staff of Tsuburaya Productions. In 1964, Tsuburaya Productions tried to sell proposals for SF TV series. The first such proposal, WOO, the ancestor of Ultraman, was cancelled right before production started in April due to contractual troubles with Fuji TV, which was to air the series later that year. (See Tokusatsu File 4: Ultraman for more on WOO.) However, Tsuburaya succeeded in selling the second proposal, Unbalance, to TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System, not Turner's TBS), in exchange for assistance in obtaining a 40 million yen Oxberry optical printer. (Only two such devices existed in the world at the time; I believe Disney had the other one.) TBS wanted Tsuburaya to use the then state of the art device for Unbalance--what network wouldn't want world-class effects for a show that would be exclusively theirs? Unbalance was a Japanese version of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, which were airing in Japan at the time. Its theme was the question, "What if the balance of nature were destroyed?" Tsuburaya's answer: kaijuu would start coming out of the woodwork. The filming of Unbalance's first episode, "Mammoth Flower", commenced 64.9.27. At this point, the character of Dr. Ichinotani was to be 'The Man of the Unbalance Zone', appearing at the beginning of each episode to serve as a Rod Serling-like host. Due to the frequent use of optical effects and other high level tokusatsu techniques, Unbalance was filmed on 35 mm film, which was then duplicated onto 16 mm film for broadcast. This process was continued in future Tsuburaya series. Unbalance was an extremely costly series, costing 5 million yen per episode. In order to insure that all that money would not be spent in vain, TBS launched a PR campaign in newspapers to prepare the public for Unbalance. Over time, Unbalance underwent several changes. The title Unbalance and the Rod Serling rip off were dmped. The emphasis of the series was shifted away from SF mystery to kaijuu. (Hence the non-kaijuu episodes are few in number and were produced early, though they were not the first to be aired.) Ultra Q was born. (The title means nothing; there is no superhero 'Ultra Q'. It just sounds cool.) Originally, Ultra Q was to debut in April1965, but the production of an additional cours (13 episodes) delayed the debut until late 1965. The show finally reached the air in January 1966, after a fifteen- minute preview aired on 65.12.25 and various other PR efforts. Ultra Q, the first entry of Tsuburaya's Imaginary Tokusatsu Series, was an explosive success among children. But there were only 28 episodes, and when TBS ran out of them, what could it (and, more importantly, Tsuburaya) do next? See Tokusatsu File 4: Ultraman for the answer. An English dub of Ultra Q does exist, with an English language logo apparently filmed by Tsuburaya with the familiar coalescing swirls. According to William Ferguson, only a dub of the third (presumbably broadcast) episode exists. I suspect it to be an unsold pilot. I welcome anyone who has any further information to e-mail me. On 90.4.14, Shochiku released Ultra Q the Movie: Star Legend, a Shochiku-Sega-Touhoku Shinsha-Tsuburaya production which apparently did not do very well. There is no sequel, and nearly all recent histories of Tsuburaya Productions ignore the film's existence entirely. See below for details on this film. Notes on the staff and cast of Ultra Q Besides the great Tsuburaya Eiji himself, already noted above, I would like to spotlight: Kinjou Tetsuo (38.7.5-69.?.?) Series planner and scripter for Unbalance/Ultra Q, WOO/Ultraman, and Ultra Seven. The first and last episodes of Ultraman and Ultra Seven were scripted by him. One of the key men behind the Ultra series. Disciple of Tsuburaya Eiji. Passed away before his mentor in 1969 in his homeland (though not birthplace) of Okinawa. The lack of quality in the 1970s Ultra series might be attributed partly to his absence. Uehara Shouzou The other Okinawan who made a big impact on the Ultra series. Originally Kinjou's assistant, his first filmed script was "M 774" for Ultra Q. (His first script, "Oil SOS" for Ultra Q, was unfilmed due to location problems.) Went on to become a key scripter for many tokusatsu series: Ultraman, Ultra Seven, The Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Silver Mask, Tiger Seven, Zaboga, Inazuman, Inazuman Flash, Robot Detective K, Megalo 17, Spider-Man, Goranger, JAKQ, Battle Fever J, Denziman, Sunvulcan, Gavan, Sharivan, Shaider, Juspion, Spielban, Metalder, and most recently, the film Kamen Rider J. Kenji Sahara ('Manjoume Jun') Star of many Toho tokusatsu films, including Great Sky Monster Radon (Rodan), Earth Defense Force (The Mysterians), Beauty and the Liquid Man (The H-Man), and Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People). Sakurai Hiroko ('Edogawa Yuriko'; 1946?-) Also played 'Fuji Akiko' on Ultraman. Guest starred in Ultraman Leo and Ultraman 80. Returned to work for Tsuburaya in 1994, where she remains. Still looks as good today as she did in the 60s. Characters Manjoume Jun Protagonist. Pilot for Hoshikawa Air. Calls himself an SF writer. Aids Yuriko in gathering news. A brave young man who challenges the unknown. Has a strong sense of justice and great powers of reasoning and judgement. In many cases, it is he who solves the problem of the episode. The cool and calm leader of the trio. (Basically the Japanese version of the problem-solving protagonists of 50s American SF movies and comic books.) Togawa Ippei Assistant pilot for Hoshikawa Air. 'Kouhai' (junior) to Jun. A humorous scatterbrain who sometimes comes up with ideas no one else would have thought of. Edogawa Yuriko Photographer for the Mainichi Shinpou's society section. Out to win and beat men. Active and has sharp hunches. Jun's girlfriend. Dr. Ichinotani A great scientist of worldwide renown who assists the trio. 'Seki Desk' Desk editor for the society section of the Mainichi Shinpou. Yuriko's superior. Always giving her useless orders. Summary Since there is no 'big story'--or even a beginning or end (the episodes were aired completely out of order)--all I can say to tie the disconnected episodes together is: In this world, there are many occurrences that cannot yet be explained by known science. Humanity is in peril. Monsters are emerging because the balance of nature has been destroyed by man. More monsters have been brought to earth by invading aliens. Jun and his friends keep running into one oddity after another, and it's up to them to save the world, without superpowers. Monsters (type, meters in height, weight in tons) 1. Gomesu/Gomess Ancient monster, 10, 30,000 1. Litra Primeval bird, 5, 10,000 2. Goroo Giant ape, 50, 10,000 3. Namegon Mars monster, 30, 10,000 4. Juran Giant plant, 100, ? 5. Pegira/Peguila Cold monster, 40, 20,000 6. Kairyuu/Strange Dragon Chinese dragon, 20, 500 kg 7. Gorugosu/Gorgos Rock monster, 40, 100,000 8. Monguraa/Mongula Mole monster, 50, 20,000 9. Taranchura/Tarantula Giant spider, 5, 100 kg 10. M1 Artificial life form, 2, 180 kg 11. Barunga/Balloonga Balloon monster, 50 > 100,000, 0 (! It floats, no matter how huge it is) 12. Rarugeyusu/Larugeus Ancient monster bird, 50, 15,000 13. Garamon Meteorite monster, 40, 60,000 15. Kanegon Coin monster, 2, 200 kg 16. Garamon II Meteorite monster, 40, 60,000 16. Semi ningen/Cicada Man (Chilsonian) Space monster, 1.8, 150 kg 18. Pagosu/Pagos Underground monster, 30, 20,000 19. Kemuuru jin/Kemurian Kidnapping monster, 30, 15,000 20. Ragon Underwater primitive, 2, 100 kg 21. Bosutangu/Bostang Space ray, 50, 10,000 21. Rupaatsu seijin/Rupertsian Human-looking alien 21. Kiiru seijin/Keelian Human-looking alien 22. Morufo chou/Morpho Moth Giant moth, 80 cm 22. Kyojin/Giant Giant human, 20, 500 23. Sudaaru/Sudar Giant octopus, 100, 30,000 24. Googa/Goga Shell beast, 20, 20,000 26. Piitaa/Peter Deep sea monster, 20 cm > 30, 500 kg > 15,000 27. Todora/Todola Fourth dimensional monster, 30, 25,000 Episode guide (production numbers given in parentheses) 1 (12). Defeat Gomess! (66.1.2) Gomess, a modified Godzilla costume, awakens from hibernation at a tunnel construction site, and the only thing that can stop him is the prehistoric bird Litra, his natural nemesis. 2 (11). Gorou and Goroo (66.1.9) Gorou's pet ape Goroo eats some Imperial Army 'green leaf walnuts' at a lab and grows to gigantic size. 3 (5). Gift from Space (1.16) A Mars observation rocket is sent back to earth by parties unknown with the egg of the giant slug Namegon aboard. 4 (1). Mammoth Flower (1.23) The bloodsucking Juran plant awakens, spreading its roots into the moat of the Imperial Palace and growing to gigantic size, sucking human blood with its vines and spreading toxic pollen throughout Tokyo. 5 (15). Peguila Has Come (1.30) The winged Peguila wrecks Japan's South Pole station. Peguila gets recycled, not only in a second appearance in Ultra Q, but in Ultraman as Chandler. 6 (8). Raise the Turtle! (2.6) A modern-day Urashima Tarou rides his flying turtle at Mach 3 (!) to the Dragon Palace, encountering a princess riding a rocket which transforms into a dragon. 7 (20). SOS Mount Fuji (2.13) The rock monster Gorgos menaces Mount Fuji. 8 (10). The Terror of Sweet Honey (2.20) A mole eats the larvae of bees raised on Honey Jellion and grows to gigantic size. 9 (13). Baron Spider (2.27) On the way back from a party, Manjoume and friends get lost and end up at a mansion where a giant spider lives. 10 (25). Underground Super Express to the West (3.5) Artificial life form M1, an ape with overgrown lips, is accidentally freed aboard the new Super Express linking Tokyo to Kitakyushu. 11 (17). Balloonga (3.12) A rocket sent to Jupiter, the Satan One, crashes, bringing back the energy-eating living balloon, Balloonga. 12 (7). I Saw the Bird (3.19) Larugeus, an Ice Age bird aboard a 999-year-old ship from the fourth dimension, grows to giant size, just like every other animal in Ultra Q. 13 (27). Garatama (3.26) The Chilsonians send the giant robot (though it doesn't look like one) Garamon to invade Earth. Garamon appears again, not only in Ultra Q, but as Pigmon in Ultraman. 14 (16). Tokyo Ice Age (4.3) Peguila comes back to freeze Tokyo. 15 (21). The Cocoon of Kanegon (4.10) Greedy boy Kaneda Kaneo wakes up one morning to find himself turned into the money- eating monster Kanegon. A take off on Franz Kafka's short story "The Metamorphosis". 16 (28). Garamon's Counterattack (4.17) Garamon comes back, and this time, we get to see a Chilsonian (Cicada Man). The Cicada Man suit, heavily modified, reappears as the first Baltan suit in Ultraman. 17 (9). The 1/8 Project (4.24) Yuriko has a dream in which she is shrunk as part of the '1/8 Project' which plans to solve the problem of population growth by shrinking humans down to 1/8 size and relocating them in a minature city. 18 (24). The Rainbow Egg (5.1) The uranium-eating monster Pagos attacks a nuclear power plant. The suit returns, modified, as Neronga, Magra, and Gabora in Ultraman. 19 (23). Challenge of 2020 (5.8) An aging alien from 2020, the Kemurian, comes to the past in search of human flesh to send back to his homeworld to rejuvenate his people. The Kemurian returns in Ultraman. 20 (26). Underwater Primitive Ragon (5.15) The amphibian humanoid Ragon looks for its egg. 21 (18). Space Command M774 (5.22) The Keels invade Earth with a giant ray, Bostang, and their rivals from M774, the Ruperts, have come to save us. 22 (2). Transformation (5.29) The fiance of an entomologist, Kouji, is attacked by the giant Morpho Moth and grows to giant size. 23 (14). Wrath of the Southern Seas (6.5) A giant octopus, Sudar, worshipped by South Seas natives (!), wrecks ships. 24 (22). The Statue of Goga (6.12) The giant snail Goga hatches from the statue of Goga, brought to Japan by a woman investigating smuggling. 25 (3). Demon Child (6.19) Hypnosis has split a young girl, Lily, into a physical body and an evil spirit. 26 (19). Blaze! Glory (6.26) Boxer Dynamite Joe uses his pet, a marine lizard called Peter that he fished off the coast of the Philippines, to predict his fights. 27 (4). The Disappearance of Flight 206 (7.3) A supersonic plane brings the passengers of Flight 206 into another dimension where they are attacked by the giant walrus Todola. 28 (6) Open the Door! (67.l2.17) Manjoume and Yuriko run into a drunken middle-aged man who claims that he rode a train into another dimension. (This episode was preempted so that a special, Ultraman Zenyasai (Ultraman Eve Festival, actually aired a week before Ultraman episode 1), previewing the sequel series, Ultraman, cold be shown. Some believe this particular episode was expendable due to its heavy SF content and lack of a monster. It finally reached the air late the next year [1967], two years after it was made!) Summary of Ultra Q the Movie: Star Legend Manjoume Jun, a TV station director, Togawa Ippei, his comic assistant, and Yuriko, who makes history shows for TV, travel to Kyushu, intending to make a documentary about ancient Japan. (The trio is played by new, young actors--this is an updating of Ultra Q, not a sequel.) They learn from a formerly missing friend, Hamano, that in the ancient past, aliens came to Japan, intending to build a utopia on Earth. Their descendants live in Japan today. The alien Watatsujin (a reference to the Japanese sea god Watatsumi?) comes to Earth to save the environment. The giant lizard Nagila awakens from near a burial mound about to be desecrated under orders from Watatsujin. Nagila is to avenge the polluted Earth... The music of Ultra Q Ultra Q is unique among tokusatsu series in general because it has an instrumental theme song, "The Theme of Ultra Q" (Urutora Q no teema), composed by Miyauchi Kunio. Several variants of this song exist; not all episodes used the same version. All episodes, however, do use the same fifteen seconds of music for the scene in which the title Ultra Q appears. Two songs with lyrics by Azuma Kyouichi (a penname for the late Tsuburaya Hajime), "The Great Monster Song" (Daikaijuu no uta) and "Ultra March" (Urutora maachi), were also composed for the show by Miyauchi Kunio. The latter song is interesting because its lyrics refer to an "Ultra Ace", as if the show had a superhero of that name (it doesn't). Like Ultraman, Ultra Q recycles BGM from the 1960 film Gasu ningen dai ichi gou (Gas Human No. 1; released in the US in 1964 as The Human Vapor). This film happens to be one of the many non-Godzilla Toho films with SFX by Tsuburaya. (c) 1995 Marc H. Miyake miyake@Hawaii.Edu This copyright applies only to this File and not to Ultra Q and/or any other properties of Tsuburaya Productions which are (c) 1995 Tsuburaya Productions. This document may be distributed in part or in whole as long as this copyright notice is preserved.