Several sets of eyes were observing Ultraseven battling with Aron - they are Alien Guts, who plan to take over Earth. Their plan was to study Ultraseven's abilities to defeat him, then bring him to public execution in order to weaken the human's mental strengths. Dan had been avoiding Alien Gut's provocations, but at the end has no choice but to transform into Ultraseven!
This episode is regarded as the opening for Ultraseven's final season. The director, Toshihiro Iijima, who had been reassigned by TBS to work on other projects in Kyoto, returned to direct episodes 38 "The Courageous Battle," this episode, and episode 40. By the time Iijima rejoined the production, it had already been decided that the "Ultra series" would end, and Tsuburaya Productions was preparing to shift its focus toward a new series Operation: Mystery.[1]
According to the scriptwriter Keisuke Fujikawa, it is common for the protagonist to use their abilities to defeat the enemy at the end of the episode. However, for this two-part story, he chose to break the traditional series formula by employing a reverse approach: "All of Seven's abilities are blocked in the first half of the episode, and the battle unfolds from that point." Fujikawa's innovative decision raised a central question: How would Seven cope with the situation if he lost his fighting abilities?[2][3]
The script for this episode underwent four revisions:[4]
In an early draft titled "Challenge of Light and Shadow"(光と影の挑戦, Hikari to Kage no Chōsen)[5][6], written by Keisuke Fujikawa during Redman (Ultraseven) 's planning stage, the story featured Redman being lured into an elaborate trap by enemies named "Shadow (シャドウ, Shadō)" and "Shine A, B, C, D (シャインA、B、C、D, Shain A, B, C, D)." These characters served as prototypes for future antagonists.[7]
A subsequent draft, "The Seven Assassination Assassinate Order"(セブン暗殺命令, Sebun Ansatsu Meirei), introduced Alien Slugga (スラッガ星人, Suragga Seijin) from the Planet Slugger, labeled S1 through S5. In this version, the Alien Slugga experimented on one of their own, S5, to study Ultraseven. They captured and controlled Miclas, kidnapped Anne, and tortured her to force Dan to transform into Ultraseven. While the overall structure was similar to the final version, these elements were later altered.
In the subsequent script version titled "The Seven Assassination Plan," the antagonists were changed to Alien Guts (G1 through G4) and other monsters used for testing purposes. The Aron was omitted, and the subplot involving the enemies attempting to recruit Dan was removed. Although Miclas appeared in this version, its role resembled that of Windom in the final broadcast—it only appeared briefly before being defeated. This version of the story was largely similar to the final aired episodes but did not include the character played by Shigeko Arai.[8]
The final version, which became the two-part "The Seven Assassination Plan," closely matched the broadcasted episodes. Initially, it retained the concept of Miclas replacing Windom. After thorough discussions between Fujikawa and Iijima and the integration of new music by Toru Fuyuki, the final two-part story was completed and aired.
In this episode, the scene where Ultraseven is nailed to a cross was filmed on land that was originally part of Rikidozan's later plans to build a golf course. However, due to Rikidozan's sudden death, the project was never realized, and the land has remained abandoned ever since.[9][10]
The bridge destroyed in this episode is actually the Doji Bridge in the real world. It is located on the west side of Lake Sagami.[11]
The reservoir that Pointer crosses in this episode was filmed near Japan National Route 413, adjacent to the Shiroyama Dam in Kanagawa Prefecture. Additionally, the land where civilians witness Seven nailed to a cross in the final scene is now part of the Sagamihara City recreational facility known as Lake Sagami Pleasure Forest.[12]
A trailer for this episode narrated by Mamoru Miyano was released on May 1, 2023 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.[13][14]
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