A professor studies a blue meteorite he discovered during an expedition when suddenly it begins to move and transports him away. Later another meteor is found, a red one, by another scientist, who begins to experiment on it. Eventually, with the help of the Science Patrol, it is discovered that the fragments possess reality-altering capabilities, and Patrol members begin to study it further.
After some accidents take place involving the fragments's warping abilities with the scientists, the fragments are placed together and locked up within Science Patrol HQ in hopes of avoiding any additional problems--but doing this proves to be a mistake that only worsens the main problem.
For once brought together, the fragments combine and create a giant creature, called Bullton, from within Science Patrol HQ. Once free, Bullton uses its evil warping powers to meddle with the Science Patrol's affairs, trapping everyone in another dimension, with the exceptions of Akiko Fuji and her brother Hoshino, both of whom were outside HQ at the moment of Bullton's formation. Fuji calls for backup, in the form of Japan's Self-Defense Force, to fight against Bullton.
Unfortunately, Bullton instead uses its reality-warping abilities to swap vehicles from their positions; it suspends tanks in the air and strands jets on the ground. While the SDF can do nothing to harm Bullton, its personnel do manage to lead it away from the Science Patrol's HQ, thereby allowing Shin Hayata to ignite the Beta Capsule, and thus transform himself into Ultraman.
However, once it is in combat with Ultraman, Bullton uses its warping capabilities to confuse and outsmart him from harming it, eventually trapping the hero underground. More fortunately, Ultraman fights back and, after resurfacing, he creates his own temporal-spatial rips and tears; these damage Bullton's antennae, stunning the creature. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ultraman fires his Spacium Beam at Bullton twice. This reduces Bullton to a smaller, and weaker, rock which Ultraman then loses no time in picking up and destroying it by crushing it with his bare hand.
After Bullton is destroyed, Hoshino joins the Science Patrol after Muramatsu and Fuji express their thoughts that he should be rewarded for how he had found out the truth about Bullton.
Bullton's design was inspired by sea anemones. However, within the series, it was interpreted as a "heart."[2]
Tohl Narita described his design philosophy as follows: "Although it resembles a sea anemone, I envisioned it as an abstract, dynamic form during the design process." Keisuke Fujikawa also highlighted that he was often tasked with creating monsters that were "different from Godzilla," such as Bullton and Greenmons. These monsters were specifically designed to avoid any resemblance to humanoid forms, emphasizing abstract and unconventional appearances. In discussions with Narita, they deliberately sought ways to ensure the monsters looked entirely non-human.[3]
Narita himself was averse to surrealism and preferred a semi-abstract style in his work. While his monster designs incorporated abstract elements, they were still rooted in realistic sketches. His focus was on achieving formal beauty in the shape itself, rather than expressing deeper conceptual ideas.
Fujikawa specifically mentioned that Bullton's concept was inspired by the idea of "objects brought back by explorers from foreign lands turning into monsters." This concept also applied to Greenmons. He was particularly impressed by certain scenes in the series, like the sequence of Ide running up the stairs toward the sky. While he was unsure if this scene could be effectively shot in live-action during the scriptwriting phase, he later expressed admiration for Tsuburaya Productions' special effects.
In reality, the blue and red color scheme of Bullton, as well as its symbolism as a "heart," were creative ideas from the designer Ryosaku Takayama. Narita and Takayama had very different artistic approaches, and their distinct styles and characteristics naturally influenced Bullton's design.
The unusual phenomena caused by Bullton, such as the Fourth Dimension world behind the door, were based on Narita's artwork "Sky in the Wall."[4] Similarly, The Steel Forest, which appeared in "Kanegon's Cocoon," also originated from Narita's sketches. These sketches, specifically created for special effects scenes, were featured in an art collection published by Asahi Sonorama.
The actor who portrayed Dr. Kawaguchi in this episode, Gen Fujihashi, was a well-known actor from Toei and Shin-Toho, as well as a famous supporting actor during the early days of television.
The filming location for Yesterday's residence in this episode was located in Den-en-chofu. It was previously used as the filming site for Kenji Yuno's house in episode 28 of Ultra Q. The building was demolished in the 1970s and later turned into a parking lot in the 1990s.
The filming location for Dr. Kawaguchi's laboratory was the Yomiuri Star Dome, which was originally the clubhouse for the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club. This building was demolished in 1987. The scene of the captain and Arashi running across the grassland was also filmed at the Tokyo Yomiuri Country Club's golf course.[5][6]
For the base interior passageway, the scene where Muramatsu and Arashi are running through the base passage was filmed at the Setagaya Sports Complex Gymnasium. Both the interior and exterior of this venue were frequently used in subsequent Ultraman Series works as the background for various base scenes.
The stairs where Ide runs were filmed at a construction site stairway in the Aoba Ward of Yokohama, in the area known as Umegaka. While the stairs remain to this day, the surrounding area has since been surrounded by residential buildings, making it look vastly different from the original setting. This same location was later used in episode 32 "The Endless Counterattack."[7]
Masumi Nasu, who portrayed Yoko Fujii in this episode, was originally one of the alternate candidates for the role of Fuji.
There are several differences between the original script and the final version, including the following:[8]
The initial draft was titled "The Monster-Man Yesterday"(怪人イエスタデイ, Kaijin Yesterday), but during the preparation stage, it was renamed to its current title.
In the preparatory draft, the adventurer Yesterday becomes lost in a four-dimensional space for two weeks and ultimately dies. However, this plot element was removed in the final version.
In the original script, the meteorite transforms into Bullton during an experiment at the Kawaguchi Observatory. The description of Bullton in this version was quite different from the final design, including details such as "bat-like wings," "a body covered with a moth cocoon-like substance," and "a neck-like structure with sharp, long spikes protruding."
In the initial version, Hoshino was not appointed as a member of the SSSP's youth division but was instead once again kicked out by Fuji.
The final draft describes Yoshizawa attempting to open the laboratory door, but it won't open. In the actual filming, a space with avant-garde artistic elements was added to enhance the visual impact of the scene.
In the final script, the stairs Ide runs on were initially designed as descending stairs, and the scene was set inside the Kawaguchi laboratory. Director Toshihiro Iijima, through discussions with Fujikawa, introduced the concept of "infinite stairs," combining the location's stairs with special effects to create a dimensional space effect.
This episode was temporarily made available on the official Ultraman YouTube channel two days after Ultraman Z episode 14 "Four-Dimensional Capriccio" aired, due to both featuring Bullton.[9]
