The Birth of Ultraman

The Birth of Ultraman
Ultraman, episode 0 (pilot)
Information
Airdate	July 10, 1966
Directed by	Yuzo Higuchi (uncredited) Akio Jissoji (uncredited)
Written by	Tetsuo Kinjo
Continuity
Previous	Open Up!
Next	Ultra Operation No.1

The Birth of Ultraman is the pilot episode of Ultraman. It was initially produced as a stage show before being re-edited into an episode-like video. The release of this pre-premiere TV special started the trend of Ultraman Day , celebrated on July 10th annually.

The event for this program was held at Suginami Public Hall and broadcast through a live recording and streaming format. In addition to appearances by Ultraman, monsters, and members of the SSSP, the event featured a special guest appearance by Eiji Tsuburaya.

Production

On July 9, 1966, before the airing of the Ultraman TV series, the Suginami Public Hall hosted an event called Ultraman Kodomotai and recorded a VTR program for broadcast.

According to the original broadcasting schedule, Ultra Q episode 28, "The Disappearance of Flight 206," was set to air on July 10 as the season finale. However, since the originally planned episode, "Open Up!," was not broadcast as scheduled, the premiere of Ultraman was moved up to July 10. To fill this gap and ensure production progress, TBS producer Takashi Kakoi quickly organized the event. The completed first episode, "Ultra Operation No.1," was delivered to TBS on July 13. Meanwhile, the schedule for The Birth of Ultraman included technical meetings starting on July 6, rehearsals on July 7 and 8, and the performance officially took place on July 9 at 1:00 PM at the Suginami Public Hall.

During the performance, several mishaps occurred, such as a pig running wild on stage, Ultraman tripping while walking, and monsters wearing their costumes incorrectly. However, these issues were corrected and removed in post-production. Ultimately, The Birth of Ultraman achieved a high viewership rating of 30.6%, and the directors of the program, Yuzo Higuchi and Akio Jissoji, were spared from punishment by TBS.

Although the program is often considered to have been broadcast in color, the original videotape was not preserved, so the details remain unclear. The only available footage is a black-and-white film copy released in 1988, which includes the opening, commercials, scene transitions, and previews of upcoming programs.

Plot

Eiji Tsumura, the self-proclaimed world's number one kaiju tamer, introduces Ultraman, the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), and various kaiju, including Red King, Kanegon, Chandlar, Alien Baltan, Antlar, Garamon, M1, and Neronga.

Cast

• Shin Hayata : Susumu Kurobe
• Toshio Muramatsu : Akiji Kobayashi
• Akiko Fuji : Hiroko Sakurai
• Daisuke Arashi : Sandayu Dokumamushi
• Mitsuhiro Ide : Masanari Nihei
• Isamu Hoshino : Akihide Tsuzawa

Guest Actors

• Eiji Tsuburaya
• Imit-Eiji Tsuburaya /Monster Doctor : Akio Tanaka
• Thiefs : Nansen Trio
  • Akira Eguchi
  • Takeshi Kishino
  • Rin Maeda
• Motomichi Ito & Liliuo Rhythm Aires

Suit Actors

• Ultraman : Bin Furuya

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman

Kaiju

• Red King
• Kanegon
• Chandlar
• Alien Baltan
• Antlar
• Garamon
• M1
• Neronga (pre-filmed stock footage from episode 3 of Ultraman)
• Gomess (off-stage; mentioned)
• Peguila (off-stage; mentioned)

Home Media

In 1988, the episode was released on VHS as part of a compilation with The Father of Ultra Q.

Mill Creek Entertainment released The Birth of Ultraman Collection on Blu-ray + Digital in the U.S. on Ultraman Day 2020 (July 10, 2020). It also included seven English dubbed episodes (1, 2, 19, 26-27, 33 and 37) of the original TV series Ultraman.

The Father of Ultra Q VHS cover

The Birth of Ultraman Collection Blu-ray cover

Gallery

Trivia

• The Birth of Ultraman was the first piece of media ever created to bear the name "Ultraman".
• Though they do not appear on stage, the roars of Ragon, Bemular, Magular and Toho's Gaira are heard during the monster fight.
• At one point during the monster fight, Garamon's head falls off.
• The Antlar suit was worn back to front.
• During the SSSP character introduction, Captain Muramatsu, Hayata, Arashi, Ide, and Hoshino are introduced as themselves. Fuji, however, states that she was previously Yuriko Edogawa on Ultra Q. This is because the two TV series both shared the same actress, Hiroko Sakurai.
• According to Akio Jissoji's account in My Television Chronicle:
  • At the time, under orders from producer Takashi Kakoi, Jissoji and Yuzo Higuchi were assigned as the official directors of a special program, which was intended to build hype for the upcoming premiere of Ultraman the following week. However, neither Jissoji nor Higuchi had much interest in the task and kept pushing the responsibility onto each other.
  • During rehearsals, the cast arrived at the venue, but both Jissoji and Higuchi remained disengaged, leaving the performers to improvise on stage. Reportedly, Akio Tanaka, who played the Monster Doctor, was shocked by their indifferent attitude. Throughout production, Jissoji and Higuchi stayed at a hotel near TBS, spending most of their time playing mahjong. In the end, Jissoji lost a mahjong game to Higuchi and was forced to take on the role of live broadcast director in the production truck. Faced with the chaotic stage performance, he was utterly at a loss at what to do.
  • On the day of the event, things spiraled out of control. When Ultraman made his appearance, the suspension wires malfunctioned, leaving him dangling awkwardly mid-air. The stage crew hurriedly dropped the curtain to hide the mishap, but it became stuck, leaving Ultraman trapped and drawing boos from the children in the audience.
  • The chaos escalated even further with the Monster Doctor's "Monster Creation Machine," a contraption designed to transform a live pig into various monsters. When the pig was brought on stage, it began squealing uncontrollably and refused to cooperate. A crew member attempted to prod it with a wire, but this only caused the pig to panic, bolt offstage, and run wildly across the venue. The staff had to chase the pig across the stage mid-performance, adding to the pandemonium. To cover up the disaster, Jissoji and Higuchi decided to splice in footage of Neronga, a monster filmed by Toshihiro Iijima, during post-production.
  • After the broadcast, producer Kakoi was absolutely furious over the program's chaotic nature and demanded that both Jissoji and Higuchi's names appear in the credits in order to hold them accountable for the whole mess. Thoroughly embarrassed by the whole situation, Jissoji personally retrieved and discarded the subtitle cards bearing their names from the telecine on the same day that the program aired.
  • On July 9 and 10, 2016, a grand memorial event, Ultraman Day in Suginami Public Hall, was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ultraman. The event took place at the same venue as the original The Birth of Ultraman event, Suginami Public Hall.
• The monster thieves mention the monster of Loch Ness in Scotland, foreshadowing Jirahs.