Defeat Seismic Source X is the twentieth episode of Ultraseven.
Synopsis[]
The Ultra Guard visit Professor Iwamura, a famously stubborn and irate old man, to request for assistance in their investigation regarding a sudden rise of earthquakes, but are rebuffed.
Meanwhile, two young women discover a fragment of Ultonium, a material that makes up the Earth's core, while participating in a mountain rally, signalling a possible plot to destabilize the planet itself.
Plot[]
At the International Nuclear Investigation Center, Dan Moroboshi and Soga attempt to enlist the help of Professor Iwamura regarding an increase in seismic activity in the Aosawa area, but he angrily turns them away. The professor's much friendlier assistant, Sakaki, introduces himself.
Meanwhile, two women participating in a mountain rally make become lost and run their car off-road. They pick up a red crystal lying among the rocks and hear a sudden roar followed by another earthquake. At HQ, Kiriyama instructs Dan and Soga to meet with the professor again, but Soga backs out, afraid of the old man's temper. He volunteers Furuhashi, who refuses, then Anne, who accepts.
Returning to the center, they run into Sakaki again, who tells them Professor Iwamura has just departed for Aosawa. Kiriyama instructs Anne, Dan, and Furuhashi to find the professor. The trio fly to the mountains, where they discover the women's abandoned car. They find the owners cowering in a bush, and they explain that they were on their way to ask help from a nearby house when they were scared off by a loud roar.
The group investigate the house and find Professor Iwamura and Sakaki, who had been borrowing the house to study the earthquakes. The professor notices the crystal the women are carrying and identifies it as Ultonium, a material that makes up the Earth's core. He speculates someone must have carried it out from deep underground and warns the group that if enough of it is taken out, the planet will fall apart.
Staff Officer Takenaka orders Kiriyama to conduct a survey under the Aosawa mountains using the Magma Riser, and he enlists Amagi and Soga to help. Dan, Furuhashi, and Amagi drill deep into the mountain and hear a loud roaring as the temperature suddenly begins to rise. They attempt to contact HQ but their signal becomes disrupted.
At the mountain house, Sakaki and Anne notice that the shadow cast by Professor Iwamura is unnatural and creature-like. As they sneak out of the house, Sakaki drops a strange metal badge, which is found by the women. They show it to the professor, who rushes to find the two. He confronts Sakaki with the badge, which he identifies as made of space metal. Sakaki denies ownership, but grabs it from the professor when he threatens to throw it off a cliff.
Sakaki uses the badge to reveal himself as an Alien Shaplay, and it tells Anne that the professor's shadow was just an illusion before firing at her. Soga arrives and the two shoot the alien, who summons the kaiju Giradorus as it bursts into flames. Underground, the earth suddenly collapses under the Magma Riser, dropping the trio inside into a cavity that slowly begins to fill with magma. Giradorus emerges from the mountain and begins to wreak havoc.
The trio begin to suffocate as the magma rises. Dan barely manages to transform into Ultraseven in time and flies the Magma Riser out. He fights Giradorus but is soon overpowered by the beast. The kaiju summons a fierce blizzard and almost kills Ultraseven, but he regains his strength and decapitates it with his Eye Slugger. Shards of Ultonium spill out of Giradorus' neck before it topples over, dead.
Dan returns to the Magma Riser and pretends to have been unconscious along with Furuhashi and Amagi when they wake up. Anne reports Ultraseven's victory to Kiriyama, who orders everyone to return to base, but not before assigning Furuhashi to be Professor Iwamura's bodyguard and assistant.
Cast[]
- Dan Moroboshi/Ultraseven : Kohji Moritsugu
- Anne Yuri : Yuriko Hishimi
- Shigeru Furuhashi : Sandayu Dokumamushi
- Kaoru Kiriyama : Shoji Nakayama
- Soga : Shinsuke Achiha
- Amagi : Bin Furuya
- Takenaka : Kenji Sahara
Guest Actors[]
- Sakaki /Alien Shaplay : Takashi Kitahara
- Professor Iwamura : Yoshio Yoshida
- Mitsuko : Yuka Matsudaira
- Reiko : Maki Wakayama
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraseven : Koji Uenishi
- Giradorus :
- Eichi Matsushima
- Yoshimi Kato
- Alien Shaplay : Teruo Aragaki
Appearances[]
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
Home Media[]
- Ultraseven Volume 5 features episodes 18-21.
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Trivia[]
- According to an interview with episode director Samaji Nonagase by Yoichi Iwasa:[1]
- This episode employs classic suspense storytelling techniques, including the common misdirection trope where an austere-looking doctor initially appears to be the mastermind, only for the seemingly unassuming assistant to be revealed as the true villain. The approach mirrors mystery novels but is executed here with an alien twist.
- Regarding Yoshio Yoshida's portrayal of Professor Iwamura, this casting choice felt especially fitting. Yoshida was often associated with playing sharp and intense villainous roles in his younger years. However, as he aged, his smile took on a warm and gentle quality, and on set, he exuded the presence of a kind elder.
- At the time, the production team was adamant about introducing the underground drill vehicle, Magma Riser, as soon as possible. This led to the script being developed under the premise that the Magma Riser had to appear, a concept refined in collaboration with screenwriter Bunzo Wakatsuki.
- As for Giradorus, the weather-controlling kaiju, there was likely subconscious inspiration from Peguila. To Nonagase, the quintessential kaiju image was shaped by Godzilla and Peguila, making it natural for some influence to emerge.
- Following a series of alien-centric episodes, Giradorus marked a return to traditional kaiju. The initial design aimed for a "space monster" concept, but practical filming concerns led to adjustments. The suit required the performer to kneel inside, controlling its head movements with their hands.
- Yoichi Iwasa noted that while Giradorus was a rare kaiju design from Tohl Narita, it carried an intentional misdirection. Despite appearing to be a quadrupedal creature at first glance, it was actually not—a design choice reminiscent of Alien Iyros, reinforcing Narita's tendency to break the conventional bipedal and quadrupedal classifications.
The script cover titled "The Cave of Terror"
- In the final draft, the title was changed to "The Cave of Terror" . However, due to the story setting being shifted to a land-based battle, the title was revised.[2] Additionally, many of this episode's creative concepts were derived from Bunzo Wakatsuki's canceled script, "The Vanished 47,000 People" .[3]
- In the draft, Alien Shaplay collapsed a city with a population of 47,000 and took its residents hostage, planning for migration to Earth. The climax of the story was originally planned to be the battle between Giradorus and Ultraseven in a massive underground cave.[4]
- In the draft, Alien Shaplay retained Sakaki's appearance while summoning Giradorus. During a confrontation with Professor Iwamura, Shaplay would transform, pushing the Ultra Guard members into a desperate situation. In the final version, however, Shaplay revealed its true form in front of Professor Iwamura and Anne, only to be immediately shot down by Anne using the Ultra Gun.
- The draft featured an extended and intense kaiju battle sequence, meticulously detailing Ultraseven's struggle against Giradorus. A particularly striking scene involved Ultraseven attempting to use the Eye Slugger, only for Giradorus's roar to generate such violent winds that the weapon stalled mid-air, producing a sharp "shuu—" sound. Giradorus then seized the moment, spewing flames and lunging at Ultraseven to pin him down.
- In a climactic moment, Ultraseven summoned all his strength to break free, standing tall as the still-hovering Eye Slugger suddenly spun with a piercing shriek, slicing through Giradorus's back before snapping back into Ultraseven's head with a sharp "kacha!" sound, ending the battle. In the final version, much of the Eye Slugger sequence was omitted.
- Alien Shaplay and Alien Bado from previous episode "Project Blue", were originally designed as conceptual opposites but were swapped during production. The initial design for Alien Shaplay only included an upper-body model, but due to a tight filming schedule, there was no time to create a properly fitted mold for the actor. As a result, the concept was abandoned.
- Additionally, the shadow shown by Sakaki to Anne was actually a repurposed Alien Godola and Alien Pedan costume with added embellishments.
References[]