So this is quite a change of pace from my usual Ultra reviews in that this is the first entry in the franchise and there's no Ultra being. As such, it's a very different series from its later brethren, one without even a team of specialists or a militarized force, but still with a focus on monsters and aliens.
The series began airing on the Tokyo Broadcasting Station January, 2, 1966 and took the country by storm. At the time, Ultra Q was the the most expensive Japanese Television production, and what resulted was a show that looked like nothing else on Television. The hefty investment paid off handsomely for both TBS and TsuPro, while also helping lay the ground work for Ultraman that same year...
Story & Characters.
Ultra Q was an incredibly ambitious and unique show for Japan in this era. The show itself was aiming to be a fantasy Sci-fi series likened to The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. But while there is certainly a familiarity to be found in Ultra Q, it doesn't follow a self-contained anthology approach. Instead, there is a reoccurring cast of civilians that get caught up in the strange events that placate each episode.
A reporter for the Daily News, Yuriko Edogawa (Hiroko Sakurai).
And when the series needs some scientific exposition: Professor Ichinotani (Ureo Egawa).
As one may have gathered from the lack of in depth analysis, the characters of Ultra Q are incredibly basic. I will say the actors do an excellent and professional job, in particular Jun who is portrayed by Rodan star Kenji Sahara. He has a distinctive, compelling, and charismatic charm that helps elevate the material he's given.
But my favorite character is Yuriko. It's very refreshing to see Hiroko Sakurai in this role where she's far more active than in Ultraman. She does a fantastic job embodying that sorta plucky go get'em reporter attitude and is simply a delight to watch.
Like Sahara, Sakurai instills a personality in an otherwise bare character. But to the writers' credit, she also has more going on. Her job is straightforward, simply going to a location with some strange happenings (Usually via plane or helicopter thanks to Jun and Ippei) doing a bit of digging for a story, taking photos, etc. At times the investigative work is a lot more involved and I think that's when the show is its most compelling in so far as utilizing her to good effect. Several writers portray her as an intelligent journalist with a keen eye for detail, and these episodes become almost like a detective drama, but with heavy sci-fi elements. It's frankly something I would've loved to have seen more of.
Despite Ultra Q is more continuous than the anthology series that inspired it, it's still very episodic like many shows from this era, and episodes can often be viewed on their own with little issue-- something I wish modern series embraced. Additionally the series isn't completely confined to the main cast or even Japan (Although accomplished with sets, not location) There are episodes that may only star a single member of the cast, giving them some focus. Or in some instances, episodes focus primarily on a wholly unique group for just that episode. Not to mention a multitude of guest star roles.
Many of these guest appearances are played by well-known Toho actors and in some cases, future Ultraman cast members, such as Susumu Kurobe and Akiji Kobayashi.
But for all this good, there is a detrimental side to how revolutionary Ultra Q was for its time. From a very egregious lack of good pacing to narrative dissonance, episodes near the start of the series often feel rushed and cramped with sudden smash cuts with little to no transition at all.
This results in a bizarre mishmash of the series simultaneously having the presentation of both a high quality film and yet an amateur one at the same time. I think that comes down to two things: Series structure and the production side.
It's common for some early episodes to abruptly end, sometimes on a cliffhanger with only a slight indication that the issue will be resolved off-screen. This works in some stories and not in others, simply due to the show's format not being structured around stand-alone episodes and certain endings being too ambiguous for my liking. It's almost as if the writers suddenly realized they had to fit their grandiose story into a 25 minute slot.
The series featuring a reoccurring cast and a semi-continuous setting results in some other problems, and unfortunately one is prevalent throughout the entire show. For instance, episode 5 features an unnaturally strong wind carrying a 1-ton snowmobile up into the air and we have scientists arguing it was an illusion.
Despite the fact this is a world with giant monkeys, building-sized man-eating plants, 10m tall ancient creatures, and giant alien slugs from mars- all of which are well known about. Somehow strong winds from a rumored giant monster aren't even considered in the realm of possibilities.
A similar occurrence happens in ep. 19 when military officials doubt that a flying saucer blew up two of their aircraft-- this is three episodes after Tokyo had a small alien invasion where two giant robots destroyed Tokyo Tower.
But perhaps the most frustrating is Jun and Ippei doubting Yuriko's tall tales and theories (Or in some cases the inverse) even very late into the show, despite all their adventures together.
This isn't to say doubt or skepticism shouldn't be prevalent in such a world. Hell, if anything it should cause problems where every little monster in the closet or local myth could have a hint of truth. Nor is it to say there shouldn't be friction or drama within the story by utilizing uncertainty among the cast. But it's presentation comes off as sloppy for the sake of minor conflict at best and it makes characters come off as painfully ignorant for little payoff.
To be clear, I don't mind Ultra Q having a set cast. I enjoy them and think that it's something that does help the show stand out from other series in the same wheelhouse. I think the fact the events that transpire are (in theory) widely known is interesting, especially for the time. Some episodes even have direct callbacks to monsters and events from earlier episodes, which surprised me for this type of show.
But for some of the stories certain writers wanted to tell and how they play out, it feels like it was intended for a very differently formatted show which is the crux of the issue for me.
All this isn't to say Ultra Q is a series riddled with problems. It's simply overly aspirant with steep learning curve. Having three times the average TV budget of the era, it's understandable that doing a mini-movie every week would cause some issues. Breaking new ground is often rocky. There was also a lot going down behind the scenes with very last minute additions, right down to changing the name of the show from Unbalance to Ultra Q, despite many of the scripts incorporating "Unbalanced Zone" into the opening narration. Suffice to say, production in this era was never exactly smooth for TsuPro for one reason or another.
As much as Ultra Q can feel incongruous by the shifts in tone and quality episode to episode, there are also some stories by talented writers who manage to imprint an individual mark without it clashing with the overall base premise. In fact most episodes are fine, rather it's a multitude of minor issues that compile. Thankfully the latter half of the show improves a bit, smoothing some of the rockier elements.
But- and there is a but. I do have to say that story-wise the majority of Ultra Q is simply okay at the end of the day. I was by no means expecting the Japanese Twilight Zone, that's an absurdly high bar despite the fact they obviously were wanting to be that. Outer Limits or maybe even the later Night Gallery I think is a lot more sensible and that's sorta where Ultra Q falls-- if with a bit more faults due to those aforementioned production troubles. I believe if Q had gotten a longer run or another season those issues would have been ironed out completely. Although I suppose in a way Ultraman did iron them out while also moving into a new (wiser) direction. The lessons here did affect the next show.
Nevertheless, there is one area that Ultra Q shines bright and that is its Visuals and SFX.
SFX
This should come as no surprise. From the infamous Oxberry 1200 investment (The most advanced and expensive optical printer that only one other company had:Disney) to shooting on 35mm as opposed to the typical 16, not to mention the fantastic monster designs and the scale models. This show looks gorgeous top to bottom.
Much of the series has been preserved quite well. A bulk of the footage is shockingly crisp with only the occasional blemish being noticeable. There are some instances of the footage suddenly switching from a mostly damage-free film to one with many scratches and degradation, this tends to happen most often with smash cuts to B-roll/monster footage.
But for the most part, you get to see everything in fantastic detail. The show benefits greatly from the Bluray transfer. And yes, it is the same as the Japanese Blu-ray.
I also have to say a lot of the models look even better than Ultraman. Whether that is a result of the higher quality film used, the black and white scenery, or having more elaborate craftsmanship, I cannot say. But I swear some models overshadow the earlier episodes of Ultraman.
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| Kamegon, Namegon and Ragon. |
Yet the real star of the special effects is the monster designs. This is the one major area I feel Ultra Q triumphs over any other comparable series. The designs of these creatures are incredible and it's still crazy to think that this was for TV in the mid-60s, as a lot of them are damn close to Toho's movie quality of the time. This is largely thanks to legendary visual artist Toru Narita, who would also outline many more popular visages in Ultraman and Seven. But his work here is likely already familiar, as they would often be renamed, retooled, or simply reappear in Ultraman, making them more famous.
At some point in production, TBS requested that the show feature more giant monsters over human-sized creatures and I believe this was a smart move. While there is plenty of smaller-scale kaiju that are fantastic like Kanegon, and even some great abstract ones, having giant monsters helps set Ultra Q even further apart from its contemporaries as it's something no one else really had. Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Thriller, Out of this World, or even Star Trek. They might have a bad Spider puppet too, they had humanoid aliens. But none of them were going to have a Garamon or Kemur Man stomping around a scale city.
Again, like the stock footage, I will note that not all the monsters are 100% original and I don't just mean suit reuse/remakes within the company. Because of Tsuburaya's involvement with Toho Studios, he had access to his own personal prop warehouse that he or anyone with his permission could do pretty much anything with. This included access to suits, audio, and stock footage. So some suits like Gomess are just a retooled Godzilla.
Like the footage, I don't have a problem with this because it was very early on and you gotta cut corners sometimes. Do I think something like Gomess is wonderfully original as Baltan in Ultraman being made from a retooled Cicada Human? No. Do I think Gomess looks better than an original monster like the alien slug Namegon because it has the advantage of being built upon an already iconic delineation? Yes. But it doesn't matter in my eyes. There is enough originality here for me not to be concerned about it, and hell, Gomess looks more original than Jirass did. I'm guessing someone at Tsuburaya thought the same, since Gomess has actually made multiple appearances, most recently in Ultraman Z.
Outside the practical effects are lesser but still notable visuals making use of composites or various editing tricks. The first thing you'll likely notice is the dynamic ways each episode opens. Throughout the season, openings become more elaborate going from stylized but simple titles to more elaborate animations, often featuring an object relevant to that episode, making for some fantastic presentation.
These developments and innovations also extend to the episodes themselves. Like the stories, the writer or director of any given episode wanted to toy around with some new effect or idea. Episode two for example is the only one I can recall that uses still images of a monster during the credits, almost like Ultraman's silhouettes. This gives the series some of its more experimental flair and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Having someone leave a unique touch upon an episode can do wonders, and indeed many Ultra episodes became famous for such endeavors.
However, if you were hoping to see some French influence and dynamic framing like a Jissoji episode, you're outta luck. Most framing is relegated to pulled back wide shots, but they still offer some enjoyable sights and atmosphere.
Nevertheless, with it being this early on and certain effects being new to the team, some can also be distracting rather than impressive.
Subs
But now let's turn our attention to something flat and mediocre if not outright bad at times: the subtitles.
As with other Ultra entries, the subs are bizarre in areas, but Q has possibly the strangest and numerous issues of all the sets I've looked at.
Some decisions are truly baffling. Ep. 4 in particular just outright ignores the words coming out of people's mouths. The episode in question concerns a giant mutant flower and the title of the episode is 'The Mammoth Flower'. But except for the title itself, the subs insist on always using "Giant Flower" even when the actual goddamn dialogue coming out of the actor's mouth is "Manmosu Furawā". I do not understand this at all, that's like interpreting Supaidāman as arachnid-man.
Another issue with the subs is the coloration of the text. They're the same as the other sets I've reviewed, so there is at least consistency from the beginning. But the white text chosen becomes an issue if there's Japanese text on the screen, such as the opening credits, or a very bright light source that the text is placed over, such as a lamp post or fire.
It makes reading them difficult, especially for the steaming version where the issue is somehow worse. It's the sort of thing that could have been circumvented by simply having a stronger black border around the text, but I guess since the majority of the shows are in color, making an exception for this one set wasn't on the table.
Other quirks are strange nuances with the way font is displayed between both the streaming version and the Bluray. For example, episode 13 on streaming looks like this:
But on Bluray, the "i" blends into the exclamation point:
And then you just have this shit on both versions:
I'm fairly comfortable saying Ultra Q has some of the most rushed and shoddy Subs I have seen out of any officially toku series. Amazingly I don't think they're as bad as they could be. They're legible... for the most part. But how do you choose a white text and not realize that it's difficult to read in the opening of the black and white show? How do you have subtitles opposite of the English dialogue? How in the fuck does something like Fiancé get past quality control and
make it to print? In fact how the shit do you put an extra 'A' in there? I could understand if the program bugged out and couldn't handle an é and defaulted to something else. But why the extra Ã? Someone actually typed that one in.
Explanations could range from they didn't have good communication with all parties involved, they didn't pay well, they didn't check, or they didn't care. Any of those are likely given how underpaid and underappreciated translators often are in the industry.
But, Tsuburaya also had to approve this, which that's also not shocking since they've approved some garbage things before. Most of the Heisei Ultra shows before X have remarkably bad subs, Gaia in particular. The subs handled by Toku are also pretty bad for Neo Ultra Q (which Millcreek may be using on their release if what I'm hearing it right) Even none Ultra shows like Gridman have batshit crazy dialogue that feels like it was from an insane dub parody script rather than a translation.
Compared to those, sure the original Ultra Q isn't that crazy. But that's a damn low- and I mean low bar. This needed significant cleaning up. This was a rushed job and it's sadly a reoccurring problem with not only Ultraman but Tokusatsu releases across the board. Just look at what happened with Kamen Rider Agito, it's like Toku sent a script though Google Translate several times.
And with that said, while this doesn't pertain to this set entirely and I should probably bring it up when I get to Ultraman Ace, but I have to say this is tiring. Even though this along with Ultraman were the first releases, the QC or lack there of is not an isolated incident. I wish I should say things improved after the fact, but given how botched the Ginga release was with the missing booklet, I really can't. Plus taking a look back on Ultraman there are issues present as well with entire lines not being translated, not to mention the typos in Ultra Seven and RoU which I've already covered in my reviews.
The fact is there's a massive issue in quality across the board. The only thing consistent is how every set has something iffy. Getting the sets out fast is the utmost priority-- and look, I love that the Ultra series is getting release, after release, at very affordable prices. I want the Showa stuff out too, these releases introduced me to Seven, which I adore as one of my favorite series. But I'd rather pay more and wait several months between sets and know they'll be the best they can be, not just barely acceptable. Yet Millcreek isn't showing a willingness to do that, just like Shout did with Sentai. The issues started here with Ultra Q and they're still happening. TsuPro isn't much better, opting to upload Gridman to youtube with the shoddy Toku subs as opposed to redoing them to resemble anything appearing as quality work.
Now, in fairness I'm currently watching Ace and I haven't seen anything off...yet. Taro is the latest, released back in January after a delay from last year, one I'm hoping they used the extra time to polish up. Thus far, I've not heard anything. I'll also give credit to the work I've seen on the R/B set in regards to the translations and localization for all the puns and wordplay. It is most excellent and a very difficult thing to do, yet they handled it incredibly well.
But for everything else? We've got at least four Showa series all with something funky going on either with their subs, booklets with misspellings, digital codes missing, the Steel case designs stacking the discs. There's always something up. It needs to be fixed even if it means slowing down and I'm hoping that's the case moving forward as, once again, I am starting to see better work. Now it's just a matter of keeping it up.
But considering there's just a two month gap from Taro this past January and Leo is releasing in April, I am a bit worried. But we'll cross that bridge when the time comes.
Packaging
I've gone over this design format many times, it works and I like it.
But it is interesting since this series predates Ultraman that this is the only set without an Ultra, just Shodai Ultraman's hand. It's also the only set with black text for the text as opposed to the red.
I will note the most surprising thing to me is I was expecting a Black and White cover for the insert, but instead it's using the colorized images from the Japanese Anniversary edition, much like the Shout release. Makes me wonder if they'll ever do a color version release over here.
The other thing of note is this is the only Showa series under 6 discs due to the shorter episode count, so you end up with some extra space, a design choice I'm perfectly fine with for both consistency and quality given that my experience with the slender multipacks, like Orb, are less than stellar.
Suggested episodes.
I'm going to be real here, I tried really hard to think of stuff to put here. Usually when I watch a Toku series I'll get to an episode that just grabs me and I know unless it does something really stupid it's going on a best of list. It can be above average to excellent. That was difficult to do for Ultra Q due to the limited number of episodes and a fairly consistent quality for better or worse. It honestly wouldn't be a bad idea to simply look at the featured monsters of any given episode and watch solely on that alone, because in a lot of cases the ones with the most iconic monsters are also the most entertaining.
D:Koji Kajita W: Tetsuo Kenjo.
This what I consider to be the first high-end episode. The opening is one of the best, featuring an eerie atmosphere that goes along with the suspenseful narration perfectly.
It's overall is a really enjoyable episode, aside from having the most infamous subs of the set, though that's not a fault of the episode itself.
Ep. 9 Baron Spider
D:Hajima Tsuburaya W:Tetsuo Kinjo.
Let's get this out of the way first, this is not a "good" episode and normally would not make my list, but it's a so schlocky it's enjoyable. If the last episode was a higher-end B movie, then this is a William Castle flick gone wrong. There's a nice spooky atmosphere in which the group gets caught in a swamp after a break down and they end up in a creepy old mansion where two giant spiders try to pick them off. A ludicrous backstory is told about the giant Spiders being a Baron and his daughter who died via some rare poisonous tarantula and it doesn't make a lot of sense, it's dumb as hell-- but in the best way possible. It's simply goofy fun.
Ep. 15 Kanegon's Cocoon
D:Harunosuke Nakagawa. W:Masahiro Yamada.
This episode honestly took me a bit by surprise. The plot is simple enough: A greedy kid finds a small cocoon supposedly filled with money and he attempts to grow it to get more money. Because this is The Unbalanced Zone Ultra Q it of course works but he's sucked in and becomes a coin eating monster for his greed. From there episode sorta becomes a humorous drama as the kid tries to figure out how to turn back, while also needing to rely on those he cheated and stole from. I think this is the best kid-centric episode. It flows well with the format of the series by having a good morality tale, serious stakes, and just enough whimsical angles without feeling torn between either. There's also a lot of surreal trippy scenes and some truly beautiful shots as seen above. Hell, even the ending fits just right being both comedic and ironic.
If I suggest watching any episode from Ultra Q it's this one, it's honestly my favorite. How weird that it's one without a giant monster or even the main cast beyond a cameo.
Ep. 19 Challenge from the year 2020
D: Toshihiro Iijima. W: Tetsuo Kinjo & Kitao Senzoku.
I briefly touched upon this one earlier, citing the how two J.S.D.F. jets get shot down by a UFO and there's major doubt among the higher brass, despite an alien invasion causing the destruction of Tokyo Tower a while back. Although that is a minor annoyance, the rest of the episode is an almost perfect encapsulation of what I enjoy in an Ultra Q episode. This may also be familiar to Ultraman Z viewers, who will know that the 18th episode of Z is a sequel to this one.
Shortly after the appearance of the UFO, people begin mysteriously disappearing. Jun himself becomes one of the abductees after the group investigates the area of the initial sighting, the only clue being a mysterious glob of jelly that quickly disappears. An investigator, Udagawa, claims that he's been tracking the disappearances and that it's the work of a time traveling alien race named Kemur. However, his story is bizarrely reminiscent of a recent Sci-Fi novel, Challenge from the year 2020. But as the kidnappings continue, Yuriko now among them, the book appears more prophetic. It comes down to Ippei and Major Amano who consult the book and find the way to defeat the otherwise impervious Kemur.
Final thoughts.
I went into Ultra Q not knowing what to expect aside from the basic premise and production stuff from reading books like Master of Monsters and the handy little booklet included with the set. While I was by no means disappointed, I wasn't exactly wowed either. As impressive as the show looks, its stories are a mixed bag. At the end of the day, it's a perfectly okay show. It has the fun 60s vibe of aliens, monsters, and spy stuff. But don't expect some hidden gem that predates Ultraman. While ground breaking in its day, Ultra Q is a double edged sword of incredible special effects in an incredibly average show with very few stand out episodes that- with the one exception- never really rise above a fun B-movie, and they certainly do not stand out among the rest of the Ultra library. Make no mistake, it's an incredibly important foundation, but that's all it is.
This honestly made reviewing the series kinda boring for me, as it's qualities are neither great nor numerous enough to result in a shower of praise, nor its faults capable of sparking an in-depth critique or anger.
The show is short, at least by most Tokusatsu standards. At 28 episodes it's just 4 episodes more than Kamen Rider Amazon and 4 episodes shorter than the first season of The Outer Limits. Actually about the average run of a modern Ultra Series, now that I think about it.
But despite its short inoffensive nature, it's hard for me to suggest Ultra Q as little more than a curiosity. Something to watch from a meta-perspective in seeing the franchise start and progress rather than watching it for its own merits. Every positive quality here is duplicated and expanded upon in Ultraman, and while Ultraman has is own set of growing pains, they're minor and it's a more enjoyable experience overall with a charm that Q simply doesn't have. I'm sad to say its successor simply casts too big of a shadow.
Although if you're still on the fence, Q along with many other Ultra series are airing on Tokushoutsu, Tubi and even Youtube, for free. I think that would be a good opportunity to gauge for yourself if it's worth picking up, or at least watching select episodes
In any case, I feel somewhat guilty being so indifferent on Ultra Q. It feels like it's been a while since I've reviewed something I can truly recommend, gush over, and give a proper critiquing to. But while I am enjoying my time with Ace, I already have something written up before I get to it.
Oh, and I'm hoping to do this sort of thing more frequently. I've been pretty sporadic with reviews, but I've got something of an actual schedule going and should be on the ball (barring any life issues). So if you like these reviews and can spare it, please consider tossing a dollar towards my kofi page. Any and every little bit helps. https://ko-fi.com/kamen_writer
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