Phantom Planet

Phantom Planet
Ultraman Dyna, episode 11
Information
Airdate	November 15, 1997
Directed by	Masaki Harada
Written by	Hideyuki Kawakami
Special Effects Directed by	Masaki Harada
Viewer Ratings	6.7%
Continuity
Previous	Forbidden Picture on the Ground
Next	Mysterious Thief Himala

Phantom Planet is the eleventh episode of Ultraman Dyna.

Synopsis

Super GUTS learns that Planet Merani, which suddenly approached Earth, has an environment similar to Earth's. As they investigate the planet, Asuka and the team find mysterious creatures and follow them to discover a cavern inhabited by a sleeping monster. Eventually, they learn that the natural environment of the planet is actually a hologram...

Plot

Seiji Miyata showcases footage relayed by Neptune observation satellite Next to Super GUTS that shows a luscious green forest. The footage was taken on the newly discovered Planet Merani - a comet that had wandered into the Solar System one month prior. Super GUTS is ordered to investigate this strange occurrence. Officers Asuka, Ryo, Kariya, Nakajima and Kohda depart on the GUTS Eagle.

While Kohda stays behind in the Eagle to act as commander of the expedition; Asuka and Nakajima, and Ryo and Kariya begin exploration in pairs. Strangely enough, oxygen concentration and gravity on Merani are identical to that on Earth. As the officers wander the comet, they ponder as to why such a beautiful forest could appear on a rogue shooting star. Meanwhile, Kohda is suddenly cut off from headquarters. Mai suggests that the signal was being jammed, and that Meranie was the likely cause.

Asuka and Nakajima spot an unidentified lifeform in the wilderness and begin tailing it - much to Nakajima's dismay. Meanwhile, Ryo and Kariya collect samples; however, the ones they collected suddenly vanish from their hands. Eventually, Asuka and Nakajima enter a cave and find a man-made ruin, along with a pile of corpses. Just then, the creature from before appears. After noticing that it was hurt, Asuka treats it's wounds. The creature then leads the pair to a room, where they finally learn the truth. The forest was actually a hologram that had been made to seem ultra-realistic by hallucinogenic gas. The beautiful appearance of the forest was used to lure aliens to it before being killed by the biological kaiju on the comet. The creature reveals to Asuka that it's owners were a victim of this trap.

At that moment, the kaiju Mons-Ahgar mobilizes and the illusion of the forest vanishes and reveals a rocky wasteland. In the ensuing breakdown of the cave, Asuka and Nakajima get split up. The former being trapped under some rocks while the latter is forced to return to the Eagle without his companion. To make matters worse, Asuka had been separated from his Lieflasher. Fortunately, Hanejiro managed to move the device towards him, allowing him to transform into Ultraman Dyna. Though Dyna managed to hold his own initially, he is eventually overwhelmed by the kaiju. But after Hanejiro shows the Ultra Mons-Ahgar's weak point, he transforms into Strong Type and kills Ahgar in one blow. After the defeat of Ahgar, comet Merani begins to crumble and Super GUTS are forced to leave thinking they had left Asuka behind. However much to their delight, Asuka reveals himself to be in the cockpit of Alpha along with the little creature from before. He christens it: Hanejiro.

Cast

• Shin Asuka : Takeshi Tsuruno
• Gousuke Hibiki : Ryo Kinomoto
• Toshiyuki Kohda : Toshikazu Fukawa
• Ryo Yumimura : Risa Saito
• Kouhei Kariya : Takao Kase
• Tsutomu Nakajima : Joe Onodera
• Mai Midorikawa : Mariya Yamada
• Seiji Miyata : Hiroshi Tsuburaya

Voice Actors

• Hanejiro : Junko Kawashima
• Narrator : Yuji Machi

Suit Actors

• Ultraman Dyna : Koji Nakamura
• Toshio Miyake

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman Dyna
  • Flash Type
  • Strong Type

Kaiju

• Hanejiro
• Alien Merani (Corpse)
• Mons-Ahgar

Home Media

• Ultraman Dyna Volume 3 features episodes 9-12.

Trivia

• According to screenwriter Hideyuki Kawakami, Hanejiro's debut was a result of a request from sponsor Bandai for a small monster to be introduced in the series. Therefore, Hanejiro's story was integrated with other elements in this episode.
  • Kawakami chose the name "Hanejiro" during the scriptwriting phase, with many name options being considered before settling on this one.
• Director Masaki Harada stated that he wanted to create an episode that was both cute and filled with a sense of camaraderie, focusing on the encounter between Asuka and Hanejiro. Special attention was given to developing the individual characters of the team members, while the special effects showcased the monster's terrifying nature and the connection between Hanejiro and other monsters.
• As one of many selected to celebrate the Ultraman Series' 60th anniversary, this episode was made available on the Ultraman YouTube channel from August 27, 2025 for two weeks, following August's theme of "The Story of Courage."