Not unsurprisingly, the limitations imposed by television budgets and that era's techniques mean the effects look unconvincing to the contemporary eye: spaceships and buildings are clearly models Ultraman and the monsters obviously men in suits.
ULTRAMAN COSMOS BLUE PLANET CAST SERIES
This series is an early Television example of the Tokusatsu genre (live action dominated by special effects, particularly scale models and men in monster suits) indeed, the show was created by Eiji Tsuburaya, who was responsible for the iconic special effects on Gojira ( 1954 vt Godzilla) and its sequels (many props from the films were used in this series). In the final episode Ultraman leaves the Earth, with Shin alive but amnesiac. Ultraman's success at defeating all these threats when the SSSP fail is eventually shown to demoralize their inventor (and usual comic relief), Mitsuhiro Idesome (Nihie), though he cheers up when one of his devices saves the day. Occasionally the monster is secondary: for example, to a wish-granting meteorite or an Underground civilization isolated from the rest of humanity since the Ice Age. The Kaiju include devourers of radium, oil, electricity (see Power Sources), pearls and gold others have powers of Telepathy, mind-control, Shapeshifting and Invisibility some are plants, another is a 7,000 year old inhuman mummy. Compassion is shown for the monsters: in one episode a Buddhist ceremony (see Religion) is held for all the Kaiju the SSSP have killed. Some Kaiju mean no harm: one is trying to defend children from automobiles, another just wants to sleep. Another story has a stranded astronaut mutating into a monster, then returning to Earth seeking revenge, the authorities having covered up their disappearance to avoid bad publicity: Ultraman kills him but he and the SSSP are distraught at having to do so. This compassion is a little undermined when Ultraman destroys their ship – which contained 2.3 billion Miniaturized Baltans: this disturbingly large kill rate only avoids being genocide because some survive to threaten Earth in a later episode. The SSSP sometimes seek peaceful solutions: for example, they offer the invading Baltans (whose planet has been destroyed) sanctuary, but the Baltans would rather enslave humanity. There is often much lively destruction of buildings until, in the final few minutes, Shin becomes Ultraman: a battle follows – involving martial arts and beams fired from eyes and hands – and the monster is defeated. Ultraman now dedicates himself to defending the Earth.Įpisodes invariably feature the appearance of a Kaiju, either native to Earth or from space: the exact nature of the threat it poses becomes clearer as the story proceeds, with the authorities (including the SSSP) unable to defeat it. Bemular, a Kaiju (see Monsters) resembling a giant Dinosaur, rises from the lake: he fights Ultraman, but is defeated. Remorse compels Ultraman to merge with him (see Parasitism and Symbiosis): resuscitated, Shin can now transform into Ultraman (Furuya) – a red and silver humanoid with large oval eyes and a head crest, about 15 metres tall, immensely strong with a variety of Superpowers including Teleportation and destructive Rays. The Alien Ultraman's pursuit of Bemular, an escapee from the Monster Graveyard, leads to their crashing on a Near Future Earth: Bemular into a lake, Ultraman into the aircraft flown by Shin Hayata (Kurobe) of the SSSP (Science Special Search-Party), a scientific organization that polices the Earth's skies.
ULTRAMAN COSMOS BLUE PLANET CAST PLUS
39 25-minute episodes plus a pre-premiere special. Cast includes Bin Furuya, Susumu Kurobe and Masanari Nihei.
Writers include Tetsuo Kinjô, Mamoru Sasaki and Masahiro Yamada.
Directors include Hajime Tsuburaya, Toshihiro Iijima, Akio Jissôji and Samaji Nonagase. Original title Urutoraman: Kûsô tokusatsu shirîzu vt Ultraman: a Special Effects Fantasy Series.
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