020: SoraRabbit Watches: Ultra Q

Welcome to the third entry in the SoraRabbit Watches series. It also happens to be the third entry in my Ultra Series of blog posts. (That's twice as many things as most posts! What value!) In 009 I gave an overview of the Ultra Series. Also in 011, I took a close look at the episode Grow up! Little Turtle. Now I have watched through all 28 episodes of Ultra Q and I am ready to give an overview and review of the whole thing.

You got it, Ippei! (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

Ultra Q is the first entry in the Ultra Series, and came out in 1966. It was made by Tsuburaya Productions, and developed by Eiji Tsuburaya. It has no real relation to the many, many series that followed it, but it's still considered a part of the whole.

Ultra Q is basically an anthology. A reporter and her two pilot friends investigate strange phenomenon and fight giant monsters. Think of it as a black and white Japanese X-Files. Way later they did a remake called "Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy". In that series, the events of the original Ultra Q were a television show. (I find this pretty amusing.) I believe that was just the point of view of that universe. (See my first Ultra post for more on the Ultraman multiverse.) There was also an Ultra Q movie and a direct sequel to this series in 2013 named "Neo Ultra Q". (I haven't seen it, but my understanding is that none of the characters come back for that one.)

The fearsome Garamon. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

The story behind the title of the series is interesting. The Q stands for "question". The Ultra is because "ultra" was a popular word at the time in Japan due to gymnast Yukio Endo, who claimed their performance would go beyond the best, to the level of “Ultra C”. The original name of this series was Unbalance, which is fitting, since the narrator is constantly mentioning something called the "unbalance zone", which makes me think of Twilight Zone. (This show was actually inspired by American shows such as The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.)

The narrator knows what's up. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

What the narrator is getting at is that something in nature or society is unbalanced, which is what is causing all these strange occurances. No reason for this is given, and it could be wild speculation on the narrator's part. I don't trust narrators. They seem to always go off on tangents and can't always remain impartial. (Especially the narrator on Dragon Ball Z. That guy goes rogue all the time.)

I'm partially kidding. The writer, Tetsuo Kinjo, has stated that the unbalance on Earth was caused by man's disregard for nature. The presence of the narrator also brings Twilight Zone to mind, although this narrator is never seen.

This is Yuri's concerned face. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

As an anthology, the only thing that recurs in this series are the main characters. Yuriko Edogawa is a reporter for the Mainichi Shimpo newspaper who wanders around looking for stories. She's brave and clever, and has a keen eye for news.

Jun Manjome is a pilot that carts Yuri around. (I suspect she doesn't pay him for this, but it's never specified in the show. Maybe he's on retainer by the newspaper. Or maybe he's just bored.) He's an excellent pilot, and always willing to take charge when things go south. Jun seems to know all the rumors and legends. He's also an amateur sci fi writer, which helps him to come up with theories. There appears to be an unspoken something between Jun and Yuri but that's not really focused on. (Except for in the last episode where they casually discuss running away together.)

Ippei Togawa is Jun's assistant and best friend. It's said a few times that he's not as good a pilot as Jun. The book that came with the DVD set states that they trained together. (He refers to Jun as Sensei, so as I watched, I just assumed he was Jun's student.) Ippei is bumbling but sweet and cares a great deal for his friends. Honestly he really doesn't do much except provide comic relief, but the show wouldn't be the same without him.

Yes. A giant walrus. Try to keep up, Professor. Also pictured: Yuri’s concerned face. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

There are a couple of other characters, such as Yuri's boss, the editor of the Mainichi Shimpo News, Seki. They are frequently joined by Professor Ichinotani, a Dr. Wily-mustached old scientist who likes to touch everyone and comes across as vaguely creepy. He's also not the best scientist... I mean, he's continually out-scienced by a reporter and two helicopter pilots.

Our heroes are thrown into one threat or disaster after another. But usually they rush into harms way willingly and with undying enthusiasm. (I really hope Yuri gets hazard pay.) It may sound formulaic, but really it's executed well. There's plenty of variety in the way events transpire and how the heroes get pulled into them. Usually Yuri is investigating some off the wall story for the Mainichi Shimpo and things spiral out of control.

Yuri can be a tad reckless, but she’s polite about it. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

One thing of note in the writing of the show is the characterization of Yuriko. Although this show was made in the 60s, she was not relegated to the role of damsel in distress or love interest. (She never once gets kidnapped! Well, okay, one time she was shrunk down really small and arrested, but that was a misunderstanding... and possibly a dream.) She is not portrayed as being weaker, less rational, or less intelligent than the male characters. She is shown to be heroic, insightful, caring, and a good journalist. This positive characterization continues with the female characters in Ultraman, the series that follows this one. Yuri can be considered the precedent for the strong heroines that come after her.

Side note: one of the main characters in Ultraman is played by Yuri's actress, Hiroko Sakurai. This got the series off on the right foot for me, since there was a familiar face. (I also recognized Jun and Ippei from Godzilla movies.)

All that said, there were times when Yuri was dismissed or underestimated by the other characters. No matter how many aliens they've dealt with, when Yuri suggests aliens, she's met with mocking skepticism. I don't know about you, but in a world where alien invasions have been narrowly averted several times, I would probably go straight to suspecting aliens for everything too. Although occasionally dismissive of her ideas, Yuri's friends do care about her and trust her hunches.

The dreaded Pagos! (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

Although Ultra Q was originally conceived to be about the supernatural, the network convinced Tsuburaya to add more Kaiju into the show, as giant monsters were highly popular with Japanese youth at the time. Since he had access to the Toho prop department, he reused many assets. The best example of this was Episode 1, which featured a monster named Gomess, who was clearly a re-purposed Godzilla suit with fangs, a horn, and hair glued to it. They also reused suits for Rodan, King Kong, Baragon, and Manda.

Hmm… nope. I don’t see the resemblance. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

Several of the Kaiju become recurring characters in the Ultra Series. For instance, in Ultraman, Garamon is reused as a peaceful monster named Pigmon. Kemur, Ragon, Peguila, Pagos, and more were altered and returned in later incarnations.

This is by far one of the safest places to be during a giant mole emergency. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

Some of the threats faced in this series were a rock monster that sounded like Godzilla, a giant mole, alien slugs, a huge monkey, a space balloon from Saturn, a time travelling bird, a ghost spider possessed by the spirit of a dead girl, a giant god octopus, a cursed statue, and many, many more. Most episodes involve some sort of threat or disaster. (One notable exception is the Turtle episode I did an entire post about. That episode was just odd.)

I get the feeling she often greets her friends like this. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

I'm not going to go episode by episode, but I'll list some highlights. My favorite episodes were the rare cases where a monster from a previous episode returned. This happened with both Garadama and Peguila. (Imagine my disappointment when I learned that Peguila was not a Kaiju penguin.)

Episode 21 "Space Directive M774" is about an alien woman named Zemi, who identifies as an "Alien Ruperts". She uses a doll to communicate and can call her home planet from a jukebox for some reason. She's there to warn mankind about the alien monster Bostang, who looks like a stingray. At the end of the episode she decides to stay and hints that there are many aliens immigrating to Earth. I have to wonder if this is foreshadowing Ultraman.

In Episode 26 "Blazing Glory", a boxer named Dynamite Joe has a psychic lizard named Peter who can predict the outcome of his boxing matches. Peter grows when he is let out into the open air. After being warned of the inevitable loss of his title, Joe runs away with his lizard and becomes an alcoholic clown. (A story as old as time.) Peter gets out and grows immense due to a fire, scaring everyone. This one had a very uncertain ending (more on those later). Did Joe go back to fighting? Did he continue performing as an alcoholic clown? Did poor Peter die? Sadly, no one knows.

Many episodes serve as cautionary tales. One example was Episode 8 "Terror of the Sweet Honey" (an awesome episode title) where scientists develop genetically enhanced bees to get super jelly from them. This causes the completely unexpected side effect of making anyone who consumes it gigantic. This also happened in Episode 2 "Goro and Goro", where hormone-treated walnuts caused a monkey to grow to a colossal size. In that one they mentioned a whole island with mutated monkeys… so I really wonder what else is mutating animals.

The very first episode, "Defeat Gomess" involved a prehistoric monster being revived due to man digging a tunnel through its cave. Episode 4 "Mammoth Flower" involved a prehistoric carnivorous plant revived due to man's changes to the environment. (There were some amusing tentacle hentai vibes as some of the female actresses reacted to the flower's tendrils.)

Episode 17 "The 1/8th Project" tackled the problem of overpopulation. Yuri is investigating The 1/8th Plan, a government funded research project that shrinks humans to 1/8th of their original size and puts them into model cities. Their only job? To stay out of everyone else’s way. Yuri, of course, is shrunk as well, but since she wasn't registered, she was arrested and had to escape. At the end she woke up and it was implied the whole adventure was just a dream, but then the narrator suggests that maybe we've all already been shrunk. (See? Narrators going rogue.)

The final episode, "Open Up!" involves a science fiction writer who tires of his daily responsibilities and writes a new world where he can live in peace. He is transported beyond time and space to another dimension by a ghostly train car. He continues to send his stories from this place of peace, and recruits others who are fed up with their lives to join a one way trip to another life.

The real Kaiju was man all along. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

One thing I noticed is that several episodes end strangely. There is either a hanging thread as though they intended for it to be unresolved, or just a completely off the wall ending. This was especially noticeable in the alien episodes. In Episode 3 "The Gift From Space", they defeated the alien slug and all appeared to be fine. But then a second alien slug attacked and the episode abruptly ended. They know how to kill them now, so it's okay, but the sudden ending was sort of jarring.

I have several examples of these odd, sudden endings. In Episode 16, "Garamon Strikes Back", the robot alien was defeated, but they knew the aliens wouldn't give up so easily. Episode 12 "I Saw a Bird" ended with the dangerous time travelling bird flying away, never to be seen again. In Episode 2 "Goro and Goro", the monkey Goro was knocked out with drugged milk. The episode closed with his friend (also named Goro) howling pitifully since they didn't bother telling him that his monkey friend wasn't dead, just unconscious.

And, finally, possibly the strangest example, Episode 10 "The Underground Super Express Goes West". This episode was about a genetically-created monster named M1 taking control of a super fast experimental train. A couple of kids stowed away also. The whole adventure ended with one of the little boys and the monster being launched out into space where they surely died.

The sad fate of M1. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

One upside to the clumsy endings is that they make the episodes stand out more, and invite discussion among the viewers. Did the monster and boy die horribly in the cold vacuum of space? Did they somehow save the kid and maybe the monster can somehow survive out in the void? No one knows. No one will EVER know. Not for sure. And that's okay. Sometimes it's better to not know. (Me… I think the boy died, but the monster is still out there, orbiting the Earth for eternity.)

I think Yuri’s reaction here is perfect. Just smile and nod. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

There is some silliness to be had among the serious, Earth-threatening dangers. The monkey Goro drinks drugged milk, but the poor bastard can't actually keep anything in his mouth, so it ends up pouring everywhere. Apparently the newspaper has a "Yeti Team"... how often do Yeti stories come up that they need a dedicated team? On episode 10, they totally did the "two kids wearing a trench coat” bit. And it worked for a little while. And then there was that inter-dimensional sky walrus...

I absolutely love the theme song. It's so 60s and bouncy! The anthology format suits this series well. Every episode is something new... but if I were to complain about anything, it would be the fact that at times Ultra Q suffered from the tight time restrictions imposed by syndicated television. For some of the concepts, 25 minutes wasn't enough. (The final episode especially.) Just five more minutes could have given a more concrete ending... ten minutes could have fleshed out the ideas more. But it worked. The time limit gives some of the episodes a sense of urgency... how are they going to resolve it in time?

With a bird peck to the eye, obviously. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

All in all, I found this to be a highly enjoyable series. It's a pity it didn't have more episodes, but what we did get were solid. I eagerly watched each episode, always wondering what they'd come up with next. There's humor, action, relatable characters, and really weird monsters. The actors get into their roles and take them seriously. For all the goofiness of the Kaiju and special effects, you can tell the crew put a lot of time and care into their design and execution. Some of the effects were really good for the time.

Not all of the effects. I kid... Peter is a good giant psychic lizard. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

The tone of the series shifts between dire tension and lighthearted humor. It's a good balance. They actually cover a lot of ground in this series, dealing with sci fi, horror, drama, social issues, and comedy. I feel like it's fitting that this is an anthology... the characters are not as important as the scenario. (The "monster of the week" as X-Files used to call it.) Still, the characters were likable and it was nice seeing some actors I was familiar with from Ultraman and Godzilla movies.

One thing that struck me about this series-- and it probably only stood out to me because I watched Ultraman first-- is that the humans were alone in Ultra Q. Sure, in one episode they had an alien woman assisting them, and in another a legendary bird, but usually the humans had to deal with each crisis by themselves. This is in stark contrast to the followup series Ultraman, where the perfectly competent Science Patrol had a size-changing super-powered alien warrior backing them up when things got dicey.

In Ultra Q, whatever crisis occurred, whether it be caused by aliens, natural events, or man's own bad choices, they had to get through it by pulling together, thinking fast, and being courageous. The weapons they had at their disposal were knowledge, empathy, and good old fashioned survival instinct. Something about their world may be unbalanced, but through perseverance and bravery, balance can be restored.

This is a nice-looking set. (Credit: Mill Creek Entertainment)

For this review I watched the new Blu-ray collection, and it was money well spent. (Especially considering I couldn't find the series before it was reissued.) The picture is clear, the sound quality is excellent, and the subtitles are sharp and well done. (I can't speak to their accuracy, unfortunately, since I don't yet speak Japanese.) The box and casing are sturdy and look nice, and it came with a great booklet that talked about the history and background of the show.

Yikes. (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

If you enjoy sci fi and comedy, Ultra Q may just be the show for you. You very well may find it as entertaining as I did. This is not the end of my Ultra Q posts... I still plan on doing a post on Episode 15, "Kanegon's Cocoon". (That one's almost as bonkers as the Turtle episode.) If anyone wants to know more about the monster and boy getting launched into space, let me know in the comments. I am perfectly willing to do a spotlight post on that one too. Soon my Ultra Series will move on to Ultraman, one of the most well-known entries in the series and (so far) my favorite.

That's all folks! (Credit: Tsuburaya Productions)

Thanks for reading this edition of SoraRabbit Watches. If you'd like to learn more about any of the episodes I mentioned above, or have any suggestions for what else I could watch, let me know. See you next time!