Ultra Seven!

After seeing Ultraman for the first time several years ago, I kept running across references to other Ultra series and it seemed that a consensus about the many shows that Ultra Seven was among the very best if not the best of the many which followed on after the first great series. It's last series to have the direct involvement of Eji Tsubaraya who sadly passed away soon after this series aired. So based on the reviews, I too a tumble and picked up a collection as I was in a kaiju mood this summer. I was very pleased and agree that the series is in many ways top notch.

For one thing it is much darker in tone and themes than its immediate predecessor Ultraman. There's a frothiness to Ultraman, but that glee in this follow up but is subdued by a darker atmosphere and a greater reliance on horror tropes. The threats here feel more palpable and the outcomes of struggles feel less certain, or at least as uncertain as serial television of the era can deliver.

One of the details that leaped out at me watching this series was just how much of it was filmed at night, giving the whole series an obviously darker and more mysterious feel. Much kaiju happens in broad daylight for practical reasons, but monsters are always more ferocious under the cover of darkness and Ultra Seven makes good use of that classic tactic.

The more elaborately designed Ultra Seven seems to be at a loss more often it felt to me at how to deal with the myriad threats he encounters. Ultra Seven always felt more alien to me than his predecessor, even when he's in his Dan Moriboshi identity. He felt apart from his comrades and often is lost. It's hilarious sometimes to listen as they repeat the name "Dan" over and over and over throughout an episode. Whatever the case, I really enjoyed watching these vintage shows and look forward to doing it again in the future.

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