Go for It! Stag Beetle Wintering Team[1][2] is the thirty-sixth episode of Ultraman 80.
Synopsis[]
UGM is on high alert, due to an inversion that causes mirages. But the monster Guwanda attacks, fueled by a young boy's anger.
Cast[]
- Takeshi Yamato : Hatsunori Hasegawa
- Kazuki Oyama : Jin Nakayama
- Emi Jono : Eri Ishida
- Junkichi Ito : Masaaki Daimon
- Shinhachiro Fujimori : Masashi Furuta
- Noboru Ikeda : Tatsuya Okamoto
- Yuriko Kosaka : Noriko Shirasaka
- Teruo Sera : Akihiko Sugisaki
Guest Actors[]
- Ac-chan : Masaru Hasegawa
- Yama-chan : Naoto Omori
- Moc-chan : Naoya Kawasaki
- Ac-chan's Mother : Mieko Nobusawa
- Teacher Marui : Hitoshi Takagi
Voice Actors[]
- Narrator : Yusaku Yara
Suit Actors[]
- Ultraman 80 : Koichi Nara
- Guwaganda : Tsunesaburo Terajima
Appearances[]
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
Home Media[]
- Ultraman 80 Volume 9 features episodes 33-36.
Trivia[]
- In this episode, Guwaganda is born from Ac-chan's overwhelming anger. According to screenwriter Toshiro Ishido, the depiction of "evil" in the story draws from his academic background and philosophical reflections.[3]
- In a 1993 interview published in "Drama" magazine, Ishido shared that he majored in German literature during university. It was there that he encountered Goethe's tragic play Faust (1808), and its portrayal of the demon Mephistopheles sparked a lifelong contemplation of the nature of evil. He even wrote a thesis on the subject. Ishido came to believe that evil is not an objective force that exists independently in the world, but rather a manifestation of emotions summoned from within the human heart. For him, there is no such thing as an absolute evil that simply exists to be defeated—a perspective that would deeply shape his storytelling, including his work on Ultraman Series.
- In the book "Do You Love Ultraman 80?", Ishido elaborated on this approach. When asked about the theme that “monsters are the embodiment of human negativity,” he admitted that he was only capable of writing stories about monsters that lack a commanding presence. He confessed he couldn't conform to the flashy, formulaic style of shows like those produced by Toei, where producers often demanded “a villain who clearly looks evil, and a fight every three minutes.” To him, that kind of writing felt superficial and uninspiring. As a result, he was often dismissed as someone who could only write soap opera-style drama, not “real evil.” Still, he stood by his belief: evil is never something that exists independently from people.
- For Ishido, the battle should come only after emotions—resentment, conflict, and inner turmoil—have been explored. One climactic fight, he felt, was enough. That's why the monsters in his episodes often have minimal screen time for battles and were sometimes criticized as lacking impact.
- At the beginning of this episode, UGM references a “inversion phenomenon” and briefly mentions a battle from the previous year—one that is never shown onscreen.
- The opening insert song, "Watashi wa piano," is a pop ballad sung by Mizue Takada, released in July 1980—the same time Ultraman 80 was airing. According to composer Toru Fuyuki, the choice of this song likely came from the director's own request for a specific mood, after which the music team found a track that met his vision. Fuyuki noted that music selection was never random—it was always chosen to match the director's intended emotional expression.
- In the episode, Ac-chan calls into a TV show to ask whether stag beetles can hibernate. The show, National Children's Telephone Consultation Room, was in fact a real radio program broadcast by TBS.[4]
- Additionally, Ac-chan's mother remarks, “It's such a chilly summer… When will this strange weather end?” This line reflects the real-world context of 1980 Japan, when the El Niño phenomenon caused an unusually cool summer with little sunlight. Ishido, having just learned the term “El Niño,” wove the era's atmosphere into the story.
- The Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine issue that Yama read in his room was No. 48, 1980.
References[]