While investigating a mysterious space ship near the Kiso Mountains, Dan Moroboshi's Ultra Eye is stolen from him, rendering him unable to transform into Ultraseven. When the giant amphibious monster Eleking emerges from Lake Azuma, Dan must rush to retrieve his transformation item before the twin Alien Pitts that orchestrated the heist can complete their plot for world domination.
Plot[]
Dan Moroboshi and Shigeru Furuhashi are sent to investigate reports of a strange object near the Kiso Mountains. They encounter a strange little girl stealing from a fisherman, but are unable to catch her. Unseen, the little girl introduces a strange, tadpole-like creature into the lake before running off. They soon discover an alien ship and are surprised to find the little girl inside. Dan grows suspicious of her, but sleeping gas floods the ship and knocks all three of them out. An Alien Pitt emerges from the shadows and steals Dan's Ultra Eye as he falls unconscious.
Dan rushes from the ship to look for it, leaving Furuhashi to take care of the sleeping girl. At the base, the remaining Ultra Guard speculate on Dan's whereabouts while Anne Yuri attempts to look after the girl, who refuses any treatment. Dan chases after an identical little girl, but loses sight of her once again. He warns Anne to keep a close eye on the one at the base and to not let her leave.
The other little girl returns to the alien ship and awakens Eleking, the giant adult form of the amphibious monster introduced into Lake Azuma. Unable to contact HQ due to his broken video receiver, Dan summons Miclas to battle the kaiju. The fisherman reports the fight to Ultra Guard HQ, and they fly out to the scene.
The little girl at the base incapacitates Anne and sneaks aboard a rocket. Miclas is defeated by Eleking, but the Ultra Guard arrive on the Hawk-1 to briefly fend it off before an attack from the kaiju forces them to land.
Dan returns to the alien ship and knocks the little girl piloting Eleking unconscious, retrieving his Ultra Eye in the process. He transforms into Ultraseven and defeats Eleking. The two little girls reunite and flee in their ship, revealing themselves to be Alien Pitt in disguise. They swear revenge on Ultraseven, but he flies after them and destroys the ship with his Emerium Beam.
This episode is the first in the series' production sequence. During the final preparation phase, Yuriko Hishimi took over the role of Anne from Yoshiko Toyoura. Due to tight scheduling, it was filmed at the same time as episode 2.
Filming reportedly began on July 17, 1967, and post-dubbing was finished by August 4.[1]
Two sources list different outdoor filming locations. One cites Sayama Lake and Okutama, while the other lists Lake Saiko and Okutama. According to Kōji Moritsugu, the actors arrived at Lake Saiko to find that the spaceship set had already been constructed.[2]
Similar to "The Green Terror," the "Unaired Edition" of the episode released in the Blu-ray box set does not use silhouettes in the intro, unlike the final release.
The script cover titled "The Beautiful Invader"
During the preparatory phase of the series, when it was still called Redman, the script for this episode was already completed. In the draft, it was titled "The Beautiful Invader" (美しき侵略者, Utsukushiki Shinryakusha). Reiko Takahashi, who played Alien Pitt, still has a copy of the script.[3]
The early draft focused on the interactions between Furuhashi and a mysterious girl. The plot included a scene in which Furuhashi prevented a fisherman from accusing a girl who appeared human but was actually an alien named Pitt of theft. Furuhashi pays the fisherman far more than the item's value to secure her release. Puzzled, the girl thanks him before leaving.[4] In the end, Furuhashi reflects, "This incident was a complete failure for the Ultra Guard." The other members reply, "You were too softhearted and full of sympathy," and they all laugh together.
One sequence showed Eleking soaring with its wings spread. The Ultra Guard members compared it to a dragon. In the first draft, the original Capsule Kaiju was Red King, based on the initial Redman project, which included monsters such as Red King, Antlar, and Gomora. Starting with the second script, however, the Capsule Kaiju was changed to Miclas.
According to an interview with producer Ken Kumagai by Yoichi Iwasa:[5]
After the show shifted its focus from monsters to alien invasions, Kumagai often discussed the reasons behind the aliens’ attack with Tetsuo Kinjo. "What is the purpose of their invasion? What do they hope to achieve?" These discussions led to the creation of Alien Pitt: a pair of cute twin girls inspired by The Peanuts who invade Earth simply to turn it into their private villa.
The Capsule Monsters were created at the request of toy companies, including Marusan Shōten, in an effort to maintain the popularity of monster toys. Although classic kaiju such as Red King and Antlar were considered, the companies opted for a new product line for an early television release.
Initially, the Capsule Kaiju were not well-received, and their soft vinyl figures sold poorly. To increase their recognition among children, the production team featured them repeatedly. Once they became popular, the third Capsule Monster, Agira, was introduced. It was named after Akira Tsuburaya.
Alien Pitt was portrayed by Reiko Takahashi:
Reiko Takahashi, a 15-year-old former child actress, portrayed Alien Pitt. Filming episode 3 took up her entire summer vacation, so she left the entertainment industry afterward.[6] Her only vivid memory from the shoot was feeling uncomfortable because the director kept staring at her chest while she was wearing a swimsuit.[7]
On April 26, 2014, Takahashi co-hosted an event in Chofu with Yuriko Hishimi. They reenacted the iconic scene in which Alien Pitt attacks Anne by grabbing her neck.[8]
Regarding Anne's updo in this episode, director Kazuho Mitsuta commented, "It looks like Harumi Miyako. It's better to let the hair down." With a generous schedule for episodes one and two, Mitsuta visited Lake Saiko on the first day to observe the cast, which prompted this feedback.[9][10] The hair was let down, but budget constraints prevented retakes, resulting in inconsistencies between the morning and afternoon shots. To smooth the transition, Hishimi pretended to let her hair down during filming.[11][12][13]
This episode was later featured in Ultraman Retsuden episode 27 "The Secret of the Lake! Seven vs. Eleking!!"
A trailer for this episode narrated by Tomokazu Seki was released on November 1, 2022 as part of a series of trailers created to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Ultraseven, that also promoted the episode being made free on TSUBURAYA IMAGINATION for a month.[14][15]
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An unused film segment from this episode shows the crew members rushing to Eleking's side.[16]
