This episode is the only one for which Uehara wrote the script for Ultraman Dyna. After the series began airing, Uehara learned that the character Miyata, played by Hiroshi Tsuburaya, had not been fully developed. Motivated by his long-standing friendship with Hiroshi’s father, Hajime Tsuburaya, and their years of collaboration—including their work on Space Sheriff Shaider, Uehara decided to write an episode focused on Miyata.
Originally, the story set ten years prior in this episode was conceived to take place on Mars. However, since Mars had not yet been colonized by humans in that timeline, specifically within the Ultraman Tiga timeline, the story was shifted to the moon.
The episode was initially centered around the theme of whether humans and aliens could fall in love, with an ambitious space romance narrative in mind. However, Uehara's script grew too complex for the budget, requiring double the production costs. Since director Toshiyuki Takano was new to the Ultraman series, the final script diverged significantly from Uehara's original vision.
In the original draft, Uehara aimed to emphasize the spiritual strength Churasa gave to Miyata, guiding him in battle even after he was blinded by Torongar. The fusion of Miyata's soul with Churasa's was a key element, but this aspect was ultimately cut from the final version
In Uehara’s draft, there was a scene featuring a character resembling a captain aboard the spaceship. The original concept had Churasa already deceased, with the captain telling Miyata, 'I came to bring you the Tear of Churasa. However, this idea was eventually abandoned, and the spaceship was left unmanned. This change was partly driven by budget constraints, as depicting the spaceship's interior would have added significant costs.
In Uehara's vision, Churasa was never meant to leave the spaceship. She was intended to remain a 'presence of light and shadow' within it, her form vague and her visibility uncertain. Uehara believed this ambiguity was the most fitting approach. From the moment Miyata encountered her, every detail was meant to be carefully crafted and filmed. Uehara emphasized this repeatedly, but the production team did not fully grasp his vision. As a result, Uehara considered this episode one of the few in his writing career where the final product deviated significantly from his original intent. He also expressed regret that director Toshiyuki Takano's talents were not fully showcased in this episode.
In this episode, he did not want to reveal the encounter between Miyata and Churasa through dialogue. Instead, in the aftermath of the explosion, Churasa appears as a mirage, emphasizing the visual imagery.
Since Churasa’s character is already deceased, a fog effect was used in the night scenes to enhance the atmosphere. When dawn breaks, although the setting remains the same, it was transformed into a scene within a forest using creative techniques.
References[]
↑The Earth Is Ultraman's Planet: Ultraman Tiga Dyna Gaia pg 211-214
