Ultra Q: The Complete Series

Ultra Q was the first and original tokusatsu series produced by Tsuburaya Productions that pre-dates Ultraman.The show was filmed in black and white and consisted of 28 episodes.It ran in Japan in 1966, the same year that Ultraman debuted.The three main characters are Jun Manjome, Ippei Togawa and Yuriko Edogawa.They make up an investigative team of air pilots and a newspaper reporter.This show is like the Twilight Zone but with monsters. It has similarities to the OuterLimits, X-Files and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It deals with supernatural phenomena.Most of the storylines lack originality and feature many re-hashed horror concepts - we are presented with a giant spider, a colosssal man, a giant ape and a sea creature similar in appearance to the Creature from the Black Lagoon; however, there are a few stories that are prettyunique. For instance, one deals with an ancient giant flower that sprouts in the middle of a city. Another episode deals with two golden eggs that were sent to Earth from Mars that hatch under controlled conditions and turn in to giant Snail-like creatures.Another interesting story features a female archaeologist that is trying to recover a stolen idol - sound familar? Bear in mind, that, this story was filmed in 1965, and, Raiders of the Lost Ark was probably filmed in 1980. Incidentally, the woman in this role is the same actress that portrayed the dark and mysterious woman that was on the bus with Captain Mura (and Ito) during the Dada episode of Ultraman (Human Specimens 5 & 6).A few of the stories have direct parallels with well-known Twilight Zone episodes. One, in particular, features a train that can take people away who long for escape from their dull, soulless existences - very much the same plot as the Twilight Zone episode, A Stop At Willoughby.Keep in mind that this show was aimed at children, so, to watch these shows now, as adults, may seem tiresome, but, they were very inventive and dark for younger audiences.In some respects, this show is more sober and mature than any of the Ultramanseries that followed it. It had a darker feel to it, especially in black and white, and, there was less emphasis on comedy.Also, it is really interesting to watch Ultra Q and the first Ultraman series back-to-back, for those of you who are really in to Ultraman and all the "Ultra" series.To that end, I would like to take the opportunity to recommend some things. First, be prepared to pause almost constantly because the English subtitles go off the screen really fast. Watch the series twice, the first time to read everything and the second time to enjoy the visuals in a more relaxed fashion.Next (for those that have the DVD of the Ultraman series), watch Ultraman with English subtitles. I failed to mention this in my Amazon review of the Ultraman DVD set. Some things were reinterpreted and altered for the English dubbed version that we grew up watching as kids.There are connections between these two Ultra series; however, you have to watch Ultraman with English subtitles to appreciate the connections.As an example, I mentioned a creature similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. This creature in Ultra Q is, Ragon - this is the same creature that was featured in episode 4 of Ultraman. In that Ultraman episode, Ito suggests playing music to calm the creature down. The English dub made no mention that the creature was called, Ragon. Ragon is a title/name given to a race of amphibious creatures that live in the sea and pre-date humanity. For you Doctor Who fans it is just like the Silurians.Well, in the English subtitles of this Ultraman episode the creature was in fact called, Ragon. It was previously determined in the Ultra Q episode that music helped to tame Ragon, this is why Ito suggested playing music for the "sea creature" in the Ultraman episode.Also, throughout various series of Ultraman you always see a particular monster with a big oval head. He reminds me a little of the Quisp alien from that old cereal.You will see this creature in scenes that feature inside shots of toy stores, or, on the shelves in rooms of children, and, also in the credits of the shows themselves; however, we never got to see an Ultraman episode that featured this creature.Well, the creature is Kanegon, perhaps the most famous creature in the entire Ultra franchise.Plus, just by looking at the front cover of the Ultra Q DVD you see the creature that we all know as Pigmon. Except, here, this particular creature plays a more sinister role and is not the small monster that is friends to all humans (don't you know).Another thing that connects Ultra Q with Ultraman is the actors and actresses that appear on both shows. Ultra Q features most of the main character actors from Ultraman except for the actor who played Arashi.The newspaper reporter, Yuriko, is the same actress that plays, Fuji, from Ultraman.In this series, she comes off a bit more selfish, opportunistic and cruel. She is playing a younger, more self-absorbed person.Finally, there is a lot of music that ties the two shows together because both relied upon the same music composer, Kunio Miyauchi.It is so cool to hear "Ultraman music" in these Ultra Q episodes; between that, and the fact that there are so many familiar faces, it cleary demonstrates the sequel effect between the two shows.One last thing... the show was dubbed in English around the same time that Ultraman was dubbed but the project was shelved before getting a chance to air in the United States.I really wish that Tsuburaya Productions would allow releases of this series with English dubbing, as well as the Hawaiian version of UltraSeven here in the U.S.I also wish that later series of Ultraman would be dubbed in English and released here in DVD/Blu-Ray form.I can't get enough of these shows!

This b/w precursor to Tsuburaya's famed Ultraman megaseries certainly makes its mark in the annals of Japanese sci-fi and kaiju productions; and for fans of TOHO kaiju films and the stock of familiar actors in them, this series packs not only familiar faces but a few Easter eggs as well.Ultra Q's first episode gives viewers their first gander at Godzilla's suitmation rubber hide repurposed and disguised as an altogether different kaiju, a strategy that would be repeated in a couple Ultraman episodes down the line. The Twilight Zonish vibe of the show added an extra layer of surrealism to what many viewers felt was already a surrealist kaiju-verse. The episodes featuring kaiju were clearly the series highlights, though the Devil Child episode proved to be an engaging horror entry that did not involve a kaiju-creature at all.The pre-CGI special effects are certainly vintage and reflective of the efforts Mr. Tsuburaya was putting into his Godzilla films and other Toho big screen productions of the period. Although only a taste of Tsuburaya's visual genius, the kaiju designs and the scenes of disaster and destruction here remain unparalleled eye-candy for those with a fondness for Showa-era Japanese sci-fi.I'd read about this series back in the 90s in an issue of G-Fan magazine and was frustrated that no English-dubbed or subtitled versions of this series could be found anywhere, not even at comicbook and sci-fi conventions. I was overjoyed when I learned that Tokyo Shock would be releasing the entire series. Those who have become spoiled by HD blu-ray quality will no doubt crap all over the visual quality of this series, but I still own a VHS player, so I found no problems with the quality of most of these episodes. My only complaints are that in several cases, the subtitles appear then disappear too quickly. Had to reverse and use the pause button to catch the text. Also, the episodes on the last disc, in my opinion, were very blasé and lacked the punch of the rest of the series up to that point. It was almost as if the series knew it was about to end and had its last few eps rushed into hasty production. I think the afore-mentioned 'Devil Child' episode might actually be on the last disc. It was the exception to the otherwise lame contributions of that disc.Overall, this series is very much worth the cost, especially if you are an Ultraman or Godzilla fan. You won't regret making this purchase.

Perfect DVD, nothing to say, beautiful edition for a great Japanese show of the 60's.

Very good

If you are a fan of the original ultraman, you will love this. You will recognize many of the monsters in this series, also has a little bit of a Twilight Zone feel to it. Loved it!!

Tres bonne serie dans le style twillight zone cette serie des annees 60 a ete pour moi un vrai plaisir. etant fan du fantastique des annees 50/60 dans le cinema d antan.cette serie japonais est asser exceptionel , au programmes , monstres geants, extra terrestres etranges,et meme la premiere arrivee du legendaire ultraman en noir et blanc.

ウルトラQは私が生まれる前の作品で、しかも白黒なので再放送を見た記憶もありませんで、全話が初見でした。ヒーローが出てきて解決するウルトラマンシリーズとはまた違い、独特の世界でした。この値段で自分なりに楽しめました。買って良かったかなと思ってます。