The Pearl Defense Directive

The Pearl Defense Directive
Ultraman, episode 14
Information
Airdate	October 16, 1966
Directed by	Akio Jissoji
Written by	Mamoru Sasaki
Special Effects Directed by	Koichi Takano
Continuity
Previous	Oil S.O.S.
Next	Terrifying Cosmic Rays
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The Pearl Defense Directive is the fourteenth episode of Ultraman.

Synopsis

In the region centered around Ise-Shima, a phenomenon occurs where cultured pearls are experiencing near-total destruction. Pearl farmers evacuate the surviving pearls to the Japan Sea side, but during this time, a monster named Gamakujira appears.

Surprisingly, the monster begins eating pearls using its long tongue. Despite the attacks by the SSSP, the monster remains unaffected and continues to advance towards a major city where pearls are abundant!

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

• Gem Store Manager : Sen Yano
• Pearl Shell Transport Truck Driver : Ben Hiura
• Driver's Assistant : Minori Terada

Voice Actors

• Ultraman : Masao Nakasone (grunts)
• Narrator : Koji Ishizaka

Suit Actors

• Ultraman : Bin Furuya
• Gamakujira : Teruo Aragaki

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman

Kaiju

• Gamakugira

Home Media

• Ultraman Volume 4 features episodes 13-16.
• Ultraman: The Complete Series features all episodes.

1999 release

2009 release

Ultraman The Complete Series

Trivia

• According to director Akio Jissoji in My Television Chronicle, the original concept of the story was centered around the theme of "beauty within ugliness." However, the final design of Gamakujira ended up looking rather comical, causing the theme to be lost.
  • Jissoji reportedly wasn't satisfied with the suit. On his website, he mentioned that when he saw Gamakujira floating in the pool on set, it reminded him of a buoy at an amusement park, which left him feeling despairing. However, in his later years, he admitted that Ryosaku Takayama's design of the suit was "actually correct," and he no longer felt ashamed of the decision made at the time.
  • It is said that during the production of the series, a conflict arose between Jissoji, special effects director Koichi Takano, and designer Takayama. Takano's approach to the monsters leaned towards more "humanized" behaviors, while Takayama, following Tsuburaya Productions's guideline that "monsters should not be ugly," designed them to be more cute. In contrast, Jissoji insisted on creating unsettling, eerie monster designs that would disturb the audience. This tension between Jissoji and the Tsuburaya special effects team continued through to the episode 35 of the series, "The Monster Graveyard."

• This was the first episode to feature Ultraman's B-Type suit.
  • Photographs of the A-Type suit battling Gamakugira do exist, including one in color and another in black and white, both published in the November 1966 issue of Weekly Taishu magazine. Reportedly, by the time filming for the latter half of the episode began, the B-Type suit had been completed, rendering the earlier scenes featuring the A-Type suit obsolete. However, the exact reason for replacing the A-Type suit with the B-Type remains unknown.

• According to cinematographer Masao Nakabori, when filming the scene where Gamakugira devours pearls, Jissoji remarked, "Women are just obsessed with pearls; it’s absurd." Consequently, he insisted that Gamakugira needed to perform with this same obsessive mindset. Jissoji even instructed Gamakugira’s suit actor, Teruo Aragaki, to imagine himself drooling over pearls while acting out the role.

• Hiroko Sakurai, who played Fuji, shared an interesting anecdote about this episode. There is a scene where Fuji is supposed to look at the pearls through a showcase window. However, Jissoji insisted that Sakurai press her face closer to the glass—so close that her nose was almost flattened against it. At the time, Sakurai thought, "Surely, this shot won't be used," but to her surprise, it made it into the final cut.
  • Reportedly, Jissoji also directed Sakurai to channel a sense of anger in her performance by telling her, "You’re facing an enemy that swallows pearls worth more than your salary, so you have to act with rage." However, Sakurai found this instruction rather odd. She thought to herself, "If I really had the money to buy pearls, I’d rather spend it on traveling."
  • According to Sakurai's post on Twitter, all the pearls worn by Fuji in this episode were genuine. The jewelry store featured in the episode was located in Ginza 6-chome. Additionally, the scene where Fuji and Ide are seen walking was filmed on a street in Ginza 4-chome.
• This episode had both a draft script and a finalized script. In the draft version, there was a scene where Fuji appraises the pearls swallowed by Gamakugira and lets out an almost scream-like reaction. The draft also included a comedic moment where Muramatsu, while rescuing a woman in a swimsuit at a beach, accidentally barges into a women’s changing room and becomes flustered. Gamakugira is depicted as specifically targeting pearls, attacking women one by one and grabbing them with its hands.
  • The draft script also included a battle scene between Gamakugira and Ultraman. During the fight, Ultraman's left arm is injured, causing it to bleed. Later, Muramatsu notices that Hayata has an identical wound on his left arm, which raises his suspicions.
  • It is said that this unrealized battle was originally planned for the early part of the story, where Ultraman was supposed to be defeated by Gamakugira. This sequence also included a scene of Hayata reflecting on his failure. Reportedly, this change caused difficulty and confusion for TBS and the scriptwriter, Tetsuo Kinjo. The previously mentioned deleted A-Type suit footage seems to have been filmed in connection with this storyline.
  • In another sequence, the SSSP launches an attack on Gamakugira. The creature withstands the assault and releases hot springs from its back. It is also shown crushing nearby rocks, breaking an iron bridge, and swallowing it. However, these scenes were ultimately cut from the final version of the episode.

• The finalized script introduced some new details, but it omitted certain elements from the original draft. For instance, in the opening and closing scenes at the jewelry store, Ide’s sarcastic remarks to Fuji were not part of the initial script.

Errors

• In this episode, the model used for Ultraman's flight scenes featured the Color Timer placed incorrectly.