I Saw a Bird

I Saw a Bird
Ultra Q, episode 12
Information
Airdate	March 20, 1966
Directed by	Harunosuke Nakagawa
Written by	Masahiro Yamada
Special Effects Directed by	Keiji Kawakami
Continuity
Previous	Balloonga
Next	Garadama

I Saw a Bird is the twelfth episode of Ultra Q.

Plot

A strange occurrence at the zoo has caused the animals to disappear and has left the zoo keeper near death. Gasping his last breath, the dying man murmurs, "I saw a bird". At a peaceful fishing village, a 10th-century sailing vessel mysteriously drifts into port.

Upon investigating, Jun and the others find the ship to be completely deserted, but discover the navigational log and a small, white bird. Without warning, the ship begins to crumble around them and the group flees, taking along the ship's journal. The ship is lost beneath the waves and the small bird flies away.

Back in Tokyo, Dr. Ichinotani determines the ship's log to be 998 years old; oddly enough, the final entry reads "I saw a bird..." Adding to the mystery, the small bird that was discovered is identified as an extinct species of prehistoric bird called Larugeus. In the meantime, a young boy from the village named Saburo befriends the small bird and names it Kuro (an ironic name for a white bird, as kuro means black in Japanese). Shortly after the bird's appearance in the village, a large flock of chickens are missing.

Believing the bird to be dangerous, the local authorities capture and hold it in jail. Larugeus grows to gigantic proportions, breaking its bonds and causing widespread destruction to the city as it flies away. Saburo catches sight of the departing Larugeus and bids the bird farewell.

Cast

• Jun Manjome : Kenji Sahara
• Yuriko Edogawa : Hiroko Sakurai
• Ippei Togawa : Yasuhiko Saijo
• Professor Ichinotani : Ureo Egawa
• Narrator : Koji Ishizaka

Guest Actors

• Fisherman : Yutaka Nakayama
• Assistant police officer : Kazuo Hinata
• Ancient Ship Discoverer : Keiichiro Katsumoto , Kamayuki Tsubono
• Elderly fisherman : Hiroshi Akitsu
• Saburo's uncle : Masao Kanda
• Saburo : Akihide Tsuzawa
• Zoo Guard A : Isao Mabuchi
• Keeper : Toku Ihara
• Zoo Guard B : Kenji Mizushima
• Cop : Kazuho Mitsuta

Appearances

Kaiju

• Larugeus

Home Media

• Ultra Q Volume 3 features episodes 9-12, and Total Natural Color Blu-ray Volume 4 features episodes 12-14.

2001 release

2008 release

Total Natural Color Blu-ray

Trivia

• Ultraman Orb episode 1, The Sunset Wanderer, features an easter egg to this episode. While Jetta Hayami was scrolling through tweets regarding typhoons in Twitter, Maga-Basser was depicted by Larugeus' shadow and the uploader said this episode's title.
• This episode uses stock footage from Rodan.