The Female Warrior of Ultra(ウルトラの星から飛んで来た女戦士, Urutora no Hoshi kara Tonde Kita On'na Senshi) is the forty-third episode of Ultraman 80. This also features the debut of Ryoko Hoshi (Princess Yullian's human form), the second female Ultra and the last appearance of Emi Jono.
The draft script for "The Psychic from the Ultra".
In the initial draft script, the title of this episode was "The Psychic from the Ultra" (ウルトラの星から来た超能力者, Urutora no hoshi kara kita chounouryokusha).
According to an interview with Eri Ishida in 2013:[1]
Regarding the reasons behind her departure from the series in this episode, Ishida explained that at the time, she had heard rumors circulating in the industry that "actors who appear in the Ultraman series often struggle to achieve major success afterward." Being only 20 years old and still in the early stages of her acting career, these concerns truly affected her, and she began to feel uncertain about her future. This uncertainty directly influenced her decision to leave the production.
She mustered up the courage to make the unreasonable request, "Please let me leave." She expected to be harshly scolded, but to her surprise, the production team agreed without hesitation, which left her shocked. They quickly came up with an exit storyline for Emi, and the speed at which this was done made her feel as though she had made a joke of herself.
Reflecting on her experience with Ultraman 80, Ishida stated that her decision to leave was not due to fatigue or dissatisfaction with the role. Therefore, when the opportunity to return arose, she felt a sense of ease, thinking, "No problem! I'd be happy to come back a few more times!"
According to Sayoko Hagiwara's testimony, this episode was filmed near the Aokigahara Forest at the base of Mount Fuji.
Hagiwara mentioned that when she appeared in Ultraman 80, she was still a high school student and had been a devoted fan of Eri Ishida, having even watched movies in which Ishida starred. During the filming with Ishida, she received help from Ishida. Being so close to her idol made Hagiwara particularly nervous and thrilled, almost breathless with excitement.[3][4]
According to special effects director Shinichi Kamizawa, this episode felt almost like shooting a period drama or a samurai film. During discussions with the production team, they proposed the idea of blending this style into a tokusatsu setting. As a result, the first half of the story is relatively serious, but midway through, more lighthearted and humorous elements begin to emerge, allowing the entire story to shift and adopt a variety of styles.[5]
