The Underground Super Express Goes West

"We will be launching in 15 minutes. The 450km journey will start in 15 minutes. An incident occurred within this 15 minutes."

―Narrator

The Underground Super Express Goes West
Ultra Q, episode 10
Information
Airdate	March 5, 1966
Directed by	Toshihiro Iijima
Written by	Hiroyasu Yamaura Kitao Senzoku
Special Effects Directed by	Toru Matoba
Continuity
Previous	Baron Spider
Next	Balloonga

The Underground Super Express Goes West is the tenth episode of Ultra Q.

Synopsis

Set to cover the inaugural run of the advanced Tokyo-Osaka-Nagasaki Super Express train, Yuriko smuggles lppei along as her photographer. Unfortunately, instead of camera equipment, lppei grabs the wrong case from the office. Inside is a special compression unit containing an artificial life form, M1, that was to be transported to an Osaka lab, which ends up causing some trouble.

Plot

Yuriko and Ippei are passengers on the inaugural voyage of the Inazuma; a futuristic bullet train leaving New Tokyo Station for North Kyushu. Mistaking it for Yuriko's case, Ippei accidentally brings along the high-pressure container which houses Dr. Aikawa's artificial lifeform, M1.

The lifeform, which primarily exists in a jelly-like state, becomes active when carelessly exposed to a photographer's flashbulb. While stowed in the Inazuma's engine room, rapid cell division occurs, evolving M1 into a gorilla-like being. M1 frightens the crew and playfully toys with the equipment in the abandoned engine room, damaging the train's electronic brain. With the Inazuma speeding out of control, the conductor separates the passenger car from the engine, leaving M1 inside the engine room. However, a young stowaway named Itachi is also trapped with the panicky M1 in the engine car, now speeding toward destruction.

At the last terminal, the Inazuma's maiden voyage ends in fiery disaster; Itachi and M1, however, having hidden in a storage locker, are safely launched into orbit!

Cast

• Jun Manjome : Kenji Sahara
• Yuriko Edogawa : Hiroko Sakurai
• Ippei Togawa : Yasuhiko Saijo
• Narrator : Koji Ishizaka

Guest Actors

• Nishioka Chief : Susumu Ishikawa
• Dr. Aikawa : Nobuo Tsukamoto
• Itachi : Tetsuo Yamamura
• Hechima : Naoto Aoyagi
• Koyama driver : Kouen Okumura
• Kawata reporter : Teruo Matsuyama
• Shoe shine service's customer A : Chikao Otsuka
• Shoe shine service's customer B : Setsuo Wakui （Credited by mistake for 我久井）
• Crew A : Sachiko Mouri
• Crew B : Hikaru Yugi
• Crew C : Mari Saito
• Crew D : Mitsuhiko Okada
• Inazuma train's guide : Yoko Yano
• Master : Takamitsu Nagasawa
• Conductor : Tetsuo Kinjo

Voice Actors

• Announcement , M1 : Masao Nakasone

Suit Actors

• M1 : Haruyoshi Nakamura

Appearances

Kaiju

• M1

Home Media

• Ultra Q Volume 3 features episodes 9-12, and Total Natural Color Blu-ray Volume 3 features episodes 8-11.

2001 release

2008 release

Total Natural Color Blu-ray

Trivia

"I am Seagull, I am Seagull."

―M1

• Although the script cover labels it as "No.25", it was actually the twenty-eighth episode to be filmed, and the last one to be produced. Shooting took place from November to December 1965.
• The episode's early draft was titled "The Underground Super Express" .
• According to Director Toshihiro Iijima:
  • Iijima explained that the line, "I heard that in heaven lotuses bloom, but here I see many stars...", was intended to convey the character's dizziness.
  • The line "I am Seagull, I am Seagull" was inspired by the words of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova during her 1963 spaceflight. It was not part of the original ending, but was added by Iijima at the last minute, shortly before filming began.
  • From the outset, the episode was conceived as a comedy. M1 was designed to have a distinct personality; he was more of a performer than a typical monster. Iijima believed that kaiju should display unique expressions and mannerisms, much like actors.

Inazuma

• According to Hiroko Sakurai:
  • When she first saw M1, she was struck by how much it resembled a "lip monster."
  • The exterior platform scene was filmed in an underground section of the Yurakucho Transport Hub. At the time, she was informed that a future Shinkansen line would pass through the area.
  • Guest actor Susumu Ishikawa cracked jokes constantly on set, which made the filming process particularly enjoyable.
  • Sakurai noted that the episode showcased director Iijima's signature Edo-style humour. However, she questioned why the child actors used the phrase "Teyandee!", a traditional, rough Edo-dialect exclamation.
  • One of the most challenging scenes to film was the departure of the Lightning Express train. As the train set could not actually move, the actors had to sway their bodies to simulate its motion.
  • While supervising the Ultra Q Color Blu-ray release, Sakurai reportedly noticed that Yuriko's blue outfit had appeared pink. She immediately asked the staff to restore the colour to its original shade of blue.
• Some elements from this episode were later recreated in Ultraman X episode 19 "Living Together."