The Ultra Guard seek answers into the deaths of over two dozen people at Mt. Iwami. While there, Dan is apparently killed by an assassin using an unusual rifle. A man on horseback is seen escaping the scene. The remaining members of the team then investigate a creepy cave with monstrous sounds emanating from it.
Meanwhile, Amagi learns that this rifle is some sort of lethal camera that traps the souls of its victims inside the gun while their body is lifeless in the real world. Back at the cave, a hairy ape-like creature Alien Wild appears stating to be from the planet Wild. Needing youths to survive, the alien barters for the return of the ingeniously evil rifle. Tricked by the Ultra Guard, the being transforms into the robotic dragon creature, Nurse. The Ultra Hawk 1 engages the monster in an aerial fight till Dan's soul is returned allowing Ultraseven to save the day.
Ultraseven Volume 3 features episode 9-11, and 13.
1999 release
2009 release
Trivia[]
This episode was actually the twelfth produced after the official start of the series' filming.
In the drafts, there are differences in several segments compared to the final version.
In the final drafts, a scene showing Dan saving Amagi was included, with the second draft adding Amagi's gratitude line: "This is Dan... thanks to you, I was able to survive. You're truly my lifesaver... thank you!" This line later became a subtle reference to Dan's actions in episode 49, "The Biggest Invasion in History: Part 2," where he risks his life to rescue Amagi.
In an interview with Yoichi Iwasa, Eiji Maruyama from Voice Alien Wild shared his thoughts: "At that time, I was getting more and more animation work. I thought, ‘There will surely be more roles like this in the future.' When I first appeared in Ultraseven, I played an Alien, but my first thought was, ‘Is it a yeti?' But that wasn't the case." Later, Maruyama took on more roles, such as in Barom-1 and Android Kikaider, with similar roles becoming more frequent. While he didn't take on as many roles as Shozo Iizuka, he was most happy with his part in Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. For him, playing Alien characters was a challenge, as they were things humans couldn't do or say—making it a fulfilling and rewarding experience for an actor.[1]
According to an interview between Yoichi Iwasa and Producer Ken Kumagai, this episode was originally planned to be filmed at Nasu Highlands. However, that plan was canceled, and the shooting location was changed to Miura Peninsula. The name "Nurse" was derived from the original filming location, Nasu, though this is unrelated to the official perspective.[2]
This episode also featured an Oxberry Optical printer, which Tsuburaya Productions had purchased from the United States. The printer had been officially used during the production of Ultra Q and was later employed at the TBS laboratory for a long period.[3]
Regarding the opening of this episode, which has a strong Western film vibe, Kazuho Mitsuta commented, "I tried to give it a Western film style. The wilderness is at the foot of Mount Asama. However, if Mount Asama were clearly visible, it would ruin the entire atmosphere."[4]
While Anne Yuri was absent in this episode, she appeared in the Jiro Kuwata's manga adaption of the said episode.
According to Yuriko Hishimi, in episode 9, she had only one line, and in this episode, she doesn't appear at all. Despite not having a scene, she still participated in the filming and attended the post-shooting banquet.
A photo exists showing a fainted Anne alongside other members at the same location as the episode's filming. The magazine that published the photo (NEKO MOOK) described it as "a series of exclusive behind-the-scenes shots from the Ultra Guard's field shoot." Another photo taken at the same location shows Dan holding a Capsule Kaiju, though this monster does not appear in the episode.[5]
Provided Ultraseven takes place in its release year of 1967, this episode could only take place in January or October as those are the only two months with a Friday the 13th in 1967.
A behind-the-scenes photo reveals that the special effects scenes for this episode were filmed on October 23, 1967.[6]
The special effects for Nurse were criticized by Tsuburaya Productions staff as "unsatisfactory," with even Eiji Tsuburaya remarking that "the special effects scenes were not impressive." Both of Nurse's forms lacked dynamic and varied battle movements, making the fight sequences feel sluggish and lacking impact. It is said that several issues occurred during the filming of Nurse's special effects, including an accident, which left little time for adjustments and likely affected the overall quality of the performance.[7]
Additionally, the limited nature of the Nurse battle scenes can be partially attributed to the structure of the script. The scenes of Ultraseven fighting monsters or aliens are sometimes detailed, sometimes brief, and occasionally reduced to only a few lines, leaving the battle presentation largely to the special effects team. Nurse's appearance in the script is described as a simple transformation from a spinning disk to a form that entangles Ultraseven, and the battle depiction in the episode largely follows this simple structure. As a result, the final fight scenes felt monotonous.
Similar to episode 5 "Vanished Time," this episode allocated a significant portion of its budget to optical composite effects, including the synthesis of laser beams and the use of Alien Wild's camera to create negative film reversal effects. Considering the budget for each Ultraseven episode was 5.38 million yen, this episode's expenditure on the Oxberry Optical Printer reached 2.05 million yen. This contributed to the budget constraints faced by Ultraseven in its later episodes.[9]
In terms of storyline, due to time limitations, the process of Dan's resurrection and transformation into Ultraseven was skipped. However, the way it was handled in this episode seemed overly simplified, creating the illusion that he transformed directly in front of the Amagi.
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