Ultraseven

"Ultra Seven" appears to be the overall best entry in the entire "Ultra" series, which began with "Ultra Q" and achieved massive popularity with "Ultraman." Fan coverage seems to confirm the belief that the third entry in the series, "Ultra Seven," is indeed the best. The stories often focused a lot more on characters and story than previous entries did; they also probed a number of social and ethical issues relevant to contemporary society - not just Japanese society but everywhere, with the overall intent being an introspective examination of who/what we are as a species. The entire "Ultra" series focused on the adventures of alien superheroes saving Earth from all threats, terrestrial and extraterrestrial. This incarnation finds the intergalactic space traveler Ultra Seven assuming the form of an injured mountain climber, and thus becomes the human Dan Moroboshi (Koji Moritsugu), the honorary seventh member of the Terrestrial Defense Force (TDF), which protects Earth from all forms of extraterrestrial menace (and whose ranks include two cast members from "Ultraman"). The focus of any of the various "Ultra" films were the creative kaiju/daikaiju monster designs and showdowns, courtesy of Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970) and his company Tsuburaya Productions (which was also behind the hugely popular Showa-era "Godzilla" film series).

Ultra Seven is now my second-favorite Japanese superhero, behind The Guyver.

10/10

My favorite of the ultra series so far, ultraseven is slowly becoming my favorite super hero, this show is so entertaining and my favorite episode has to be the last one I think, I recommend you watch every episode if you haven't already, I dont think there is a single bad one.

Ultra 7 was very much ahead of its time. A few years back it was playing on TBS at 3am on Saturdays. It was very cool watching it as an adult and still enjoying it. I am not sure if it was brought back in the late 70's but that is when I was watching it as a kid. I lived in Hawaii for a few years growing up and was fortunate enough to watch other Japanese "superhero" television...Getaroba G, the Five Rangers (pre power ranger), raydene, robot man etc.. All were great in my opinion. Would love to see some of them today. I remember back and think that the subject matter was a little more adult than some of the knock offs today are??? Anyways if you get the chance to see any of these enjoy them.

Very good tv series. The best seriate Japanese of the gender, in my opinion and the best of the "ultraman". The character's transformation in ultraseven for the placement of the "special glasses" is brilliant!

As the third entry to this huge franchise, it turns out to be much better than I expected. While it's still has the same formula as before, "huge bad guys versus good guys" or "monster of the week" formula to be exact, Ultraseven tries to be different from it's previous entries as the tone for this one are much darker and the mood also seems to became more serious than before. The gore also appears pretty frequently too.

Although the beginning of the show seems to be really weak and lazy in it's first 3 episodes, it starts to became progressively better as soon as the show goes on. Each of the episodes has it's unique plot, another reason why I like early Showa Ultraman era so much. Some of the episodes has different filmmaking style that feels like you're watching a different show (ex. Episode: The Untargeted Town). Anyways, I like that Tsuburaya spices something new and unique, and it works magically.

Talking about the conclusion to the show. The finale is simply monumental and incredible, not only because it is better than that 1965 Ultraman ending, it's because you can feel what happen to the characters and Ultraseven. You can feel the threat given by the monsters. The score in the finale, even though the composer did not made it due to ran out of time, adds that feeling that you'll never get it again in any of Ultraman shows.

Overall, this is one of the best Showa Ultraman shows out there. Go watch it, it will subvert your expectations.