UG members Soga and Amagi are tasked on a secret mission aboard the Max, one of the elite vessels of the Ultra Guard. Dan Moroboshi's Ultra Eye is stolen after helping a woman on the side of an empty highway.
When the Max is abducted by several Alien Godola plotting to take over the Earth, the stranded UG members must find a way to contact HQ while Dan recovers his transformation item.
Plot[]
Ultra Guard members Soga and Amagi are given secret orders by Staff Officer Manabe to meet with an unidentified man on the TDF's new nuclear vessel, the Max. On his way back from driving them to the shoreline, Dan Moroboshi spots a lone woman having car issues on the side of the road and offers to help. The woman knocks Dan unconscious while he looks at the car's engine and steals his Ultra Eye before driving away.
On the Max, the man is revealed to be Staff Officer Takenaka, who briefs Soga and Amagi on their mission. The Max has been placed as a decoy after several vessels have disappeared in the area. Suspecting enemy activity, the Ultra Guard have been tasked to investigate and destroy those responsible should the vessel also be targeted. Meanwhile, Dan receives treatment for his wounds from Anne, who gives him a necklace as a good luck charm.
The Max is suddenly lifted into the air by a red cloud and brought into space. When HQ loses contact with the vessel, Dan and Kiriyama board the Hawk-1 to search the ocean while Furuhashi is tasked with searching past the atmosphere in the Hawk-2. The Hawk-1 is unsuccessful, but Furuhashi finds the Max floating in outer space, though is unable to contact HQ due to a damaged transmitter.
Boarding the Max alone, he finds Soga, Amagi, and Takanaka unconscious and briefs them on their situation when they wake. An Alien Godola reveals itself and explains their plan to distract the TDF with the Max's disappearance and invade while its resources are diverted. The Hawk-2 returns to base and an Alien Godola disguised as Furuhashi tells HQ that there was nothing in space and that they should concentrate their search on the ocean floor instead.
Dan, suspicious, follows the impostor into the reactor room and catches it planting a bomb on the atomic reactor. It drops its disguise when Dan confronts it and seals him in a barrier, causing him to drop his good luck charm. The alien copies Dan's appearance and leaves.
On the Max, the alien gloats to Soga, Amagi, and Takanaka that Ultraseven has been defeated before vanishing. Takanaka surmises that because they haven't been killed yet, they must be hostages in case Ultraseven escapes. They formulate a plan to send Amagi back to HQ on the Max's one-person observation rocket, although both Amagi and Soga are injured in the escape.
Amagi makes it to HQ but loses consciousness from his injuries. Dan attempts to escape his prison but is unsuccessful until an Alien Godola, still disguised as the woman who stole his Ultra Eye, holds up his good luck charm. Dan shoots at the charm, reflecting it back at the barrier and destroying it. In the ensuing struggle, the alien drops the Ultra Eye, allowing Dan to transform into Ultraseven and defeat it.
Amagi wakes up and warns Kiriyama, who rushes into the reactor room just in time to deactivate the bomb. The impostor Dan attempts to kidnap Anne but flees when Ultraseven disarms it. Escaping on the Pointer, the alien drops its disguise and grows to giant size. Ultraseven follows and destroys the impostor before it can get away. He flies to the Max and rescues Furuhashi, Soga, and Takanaka before the ship explodes.
Ultraseven flies the three of them, dangling behind him and wearing oxygen masks, towards the Hawk-2 to reunite with the rest of their unit.
During the preparatory phase of the series, when it was still called Redman, the script for this episode had already been written. In the early draft stage, the episode was titled Luxury Ship Vanishes "Luxury Ship Vanishes" (豪華船蒸発, Gōka-sen Jōhatsu)[1]. The script, written by Masahiro Yamada, originally centred on a newly built British observation ship, the Trojan.
The story follows Alien Godola, who poses as an ally and works with humans to fight the cosmic enemy known as the "Space Wolf", while secretly using deception for its own ends. In this version, Dan is attacked by a man under hypnosis rather than by a mysterious woman.[2]
In one scene, the cunning scheme of the alien Godola unfolds. Amagi chats amiably with the alien and, as they both begin to let their guard down, he unintentionally reveals the existence of an underground nuclear power plant. Moments later, he is hypnotised and collapses.
Another scene shows Redman arriving in a spacesuit and urgently shouting, "Soga, put on this spacesuit!'[...] The airtightness of this room has reached its limit." Since the Alien Godola retreated, the power field has disappeared. Hurry!' He then carries Soga on his back and rushes towards Ultra Hawk No.2 as the Trojan collides with a space station and explodes.
The story ends on a subtle, romantic note. Anne runs to Dan and exclaims, "I'm so glad you're safe, Dan! I'm so happy!" She looks at the pendant on his chest, which glimmers faintly. Dan replies, "The alien Godola almost threw me into the reactor, but this pendant saved me. Thank you, Anne." He takes her hand and her eyes fill with tears. 'I'm glad I could help you,' she says.
The script cover titled "Earth Destruction Plan"
After extensive cuts and revisions, the script was temporarily retitled "Earth Destruction Plan" (地球壊滅計画, Chikyū Kaimetsu Keikaku) before reverting to its current name.[3]
According to an interview with producer Ken Kumagai conducted by Yoichi Iwasa:[4]
The name "Alien Godola" was indeed inspired by the gondolas of Venice, given that the story involves water. During the production of Ultraman, there was a tradition of naming monsters after Godzilla, often using patterns such as "...ra", "...gon", or "...don", usually based on the creature's traits or setting. This approach left little room for creativity. However, naming the aliens allowed for greater freedom, and Tetsuo Kinjo particularly enjoyed coming up with names. According to Kumagai, the name Alien Godola was probably conceived during script discussions between Kinjo and Yamada.
Guest actress Ryuko Mizunami was from Toei. In the past, Tsuburaya Productions was often limited to casting actors from Toho or TBS. Drama Group. However, beginning with Ultraseven, these restrictions gradually eased, allowing performers from other studios to participate.
Kumagai noted that this change was closely tied to the decline of Japan's film industry and the gradual collapse of the Five-Company Agreement at the time. Relying solely on connections to Toho and TBS was no longer enough to sustain weekly television production.
This episode was later featured in New Ultraman Retsuden episode 19 "Max, Acknowledge! Seven vs. Alien Godola."[6]
A trailer for this episode narrated by Tomokazu Seki was released on December 1, 2022 as part of a series of trailers created to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Ultraseven, that also promoted the episode being made free on TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION for a month.[7][8]
