Ultraseven (character)

Ultraseven
Ultra Series character

Ultraseven as he portrayed in his original series.
First appearance Ultra Seven
Created by
Portrayed by Koji Uenishi (Except for episodes 14 and 15)[1][2]
Eiichi Kikuchi (episode 14 and 15)
Aliases
  • Ultra Seven (alternate spelling)
  • Seven (shortened name)
  • Redman
  • Stationary Post Observer 340 (Original name)
  • The Red Giant (Ultraseven X)

Ultraseven (ウルトラセブン Urutorasebun)[3][lower-alpha 1] is a fictional superhero and is the second tokusatsu hero launched by the Ultra Series and by extent, Tsuburaya Productions. His appearance succeeds both the first Ultra Warrior Ultraman, and his superior, Zoffy, and is officially the third Ultra Warrior from the Land of Light.

Ultraseven first appeared as the eponymous titular character alongside his "human form" Dan Moroboshi on the 1967-1968 Japanese television series, Ultra Seven which ran for 48 episodes.[lower-alpha 2] This series was preceded by Tsuburaya's first Kyodai Hero genre series, Ultraman. While both series shared the same genre with very similar heroes, there was originally no relation between the two. It wasn't until the third TV series The Return of Ultraman was created four years later that both Ultraman and Ultraseven came together into the same story. This event cemented Tsuburaya Prods' decision to have the Ultra Series continue to follow the trend of focusing on an Ultraman (or Ultra Warrior) with each new entry. Alongside Ultraman, Ultraseven himself enjoyed a long series of popularity and has continued to appear in various works from the Ultra Series. Unlike Ultraman, Seven's popularity gave him the chance to star in other successive shows which were meant to be sequels of his own series such as Heisei Ultra Seven and Ultraseven X. Ultraseven also has a lot of popular trademarks that are still memorable: his Eye Slugger, Beam Lamp and Capsule Monsters.

Character conception

Similar to Ultraman, Ultraseven's original concept was also meant to have him as an antagonist. His series' prototype title was Captain Ultra (キャプテンウルトラ Kyaputen Urutora), which featured an alien antagonist unify an entire invasion forces while the protagonist being an attack team, stationed at Space Station 7, fighting back against the evil prototype Ultraseven's assaults.

Ultraseven's design was made by Tohl Narita, whom also did the design for Ultraman while using the aspect of western armor under the conception of a warrior. Ultraseven's original color was meant to be blue but due to the wish of toy developers, the color was changed to red. In contrast to tall body archetype which was previously based on Bin Furuya, Ultraseven's body suit was designed to be able fit an average sized human like his suit actor Koji Uenishi.[2] In a second plan for the series was to rename it Ultra Eye (ウルトラアイ Urutora Ai) and focuses on a hero named Redman (レッドマン Reddoman), an Alien R/human hybrid who disguise as a man named Dan Moroboshi, a member of the Ultra Guard, and will transform into Redman to fight against alien threats. Eventually, the name "Ultra Seven" was decided as a reference to the number of members of the Ultra Guard team. Another working title for Ultraseven himself was Ultraman Jr. (ウルトラマンジュニア Urutoraman Junia), the son of Ultraman with a Capsule Monster Alien Baltan.[4]

In Ultraman Leo, Kohji Moritsugu's (Dan Moroboshi's original actor) character was meant to be Tetsutarō Kawakami (川上鉄太郎 Kawakami Tetsutarō), the MAC captain who was the only person to recognize Gen Ohtori's identity as Ultraman Leo, and would train him in his fight against monsters. However, Kohji himself hesitated to take the role, knowing that many viewers would mistake the character for Dan, and in the end Tetsutaro was changed to Dan Moroboshi, whom returned to Earth.[5]

In Ultraseven X, Ultraseven was designed by Yasushi Torisawa. Torisawa describe his own version as "Ultraseven with Ultraman's strength" or "the strongest Ultraseven". The reason of this redesigning was never revealed however.[6]

Naming

Prior to his arrival on Earth, Seven was Space Garrison star charter called Stationary Post Observer 340 (恒点観測員340号 Goten kansoku-in Sanbyakū Yonjū-gō). He received the titular name "Ultraseven" by his human form Dan, whom enlisted into the Ultra Guard as the sixth member and later dubbed his alter-ego as the Ultra Guard's honorary "seventh member". Ultraseven has also been referred to as Seven (セブン Sebun) for short by both the Ultra Guard and the Space Garrison.

In Ultraseven X, his redesigned form is called Ultraseven X by fans and the official website, while in-series he was referred to as "The Red Giant" (赤色巨人 Akai Kyojin) by the characters. This was meant to have his identity remain hidden until the series' finale.

Although his name is officially Ultraseven, certain fans and other foreign media mistake his name as Ultraman Seven (ウルトラマンセブン Urutoraman Sebun), due to how generic the "Ultraman" title is in the Ultra Series. This mistake is acknowledged in Ultraman Ginga Theater Special: Ultra Monster Hero Battle Royal!, during which Kenta Watarai transformed into Seven and called himself "Ultraman Seven" before being corrected by Tomoya/Ultraman.

History

Showa Era

Originally a cadet named Stationary Post Observer 340 of the Space Garrison (宇宙警備隊 Uchū Keibitai), sent to map the Milky Way, he visited the Earth and was captivated by its beauty. Upon his arrival, he saves the life of a young mountain climber named Jiro Satsuma, who nearly falls to his death after cutting his line to save a fellow climber. Instead of merging with him, as Ultraman did with SSSP member Shin Hayata, Observer 340 morphs himself into a duplicate of the unconscious Jiro. However, he names himself Dan Moroboshi to avoid confusion.[lower-alpha 3]

During his debut in the series, he appeared as a wanderer who assisted the Ultra Guard in foiling a kidnapping syndicate run by the Alien Cool. Reveling using his true form, 340 killed Alien Cool and destroyed the alien's saucer. Dan later enlisted into the Ultra Guard for his attribution as "Ultra Six" and he would later rename his giant alter-ego, Ultraseven for being the honorary "seventh" member of the team. Following this, Dan and the Ultra Guard would fight against alien invaders and foil their plans either as himself or Ultraseven, though he would rely upon his Capsule Monsters in certain occasions.

In certain episodes, Seven would find himself in a moral dilemma concerning an alien race, such as in episode 6 which involves a misunderstanding between humans and the people from planet Pegassa, who mistakenly believed that Earth was advanced enough to prevent collision with their floating city. In episode 23, Seven had to fight against a survivor of the destroyed Planet Gyeron. In episode 42 a race called Nonmalt claimed themselves to be the true Earth inhabitants and tried to usurp humanity, although the operation ended with the race's genocide, Seven still felt guilty for the decision he had made. His biggest defeat in the series was in episode 39, during which the Alien Guts had Seven captured and crucified, wanting to take over the Earth once the protector defeated. Eventually, it took the efforts of Ultra Guard for Seven to be freed and finally put an end to the alien's schemes in the next episode.

In the two-parter finale episode, Seven's superior arrived and told him to return to the Land of Light due to injuries he had sustained over the time he spent battling on Earth. The superior warned that if Moroboshi underwent several more transformations, the strain would cause him to die. However, Seven was forced to disobey his orders after Alien Ghose commenced their own invasion of Earth. His injuries greatly affected his fighting prowess against the alien's monster Pandon, and it again took the Ultra Guard's help for Seven to muster up the strength to kill the monster. During this event, his identity was exposed by member Annie to the rest of the Ultra Guard members as they watched him fight Pandon. Seven would later be promoted to Solar System branch Chief (太陽系支部長 Taiyōkei shibu-chō) for his achievements on Earth and joined the Ultra Brothers (ウルトラ兄弟 Urutora Kyōdai), a group of selective Ultra Warriors bent on protecting the galaxy.

Ultraseven's grunts and voice were provided by Kohji Moritsugu during the series, whose also Dan Moroboshi's (his human form) actor. His suit actor was Kōji Uenishi in all episodes except in episodes 14 and 15, where he was temporarily replaced by Eiichi Kikuchi.

Subsequent appearance in later Showa Ultra Series

Ultraseven appeared in later works of the Ultra Series played by various voice and suit actors. Although Kohji Moritsugu did reprise his role as Dan and Seven, there are other occasions where he was voiced by other voice actors.

Ultraman Leo

Dan Moroboshi returned in this 1974 series as the captain of MAC (Monster Attacking Crew) and a supporting protagonist to the series.

Originally, Dan fought as Seven when the second era of Earth invasion begins, as he went against Alien Magma and his Giras Monsters, Red and Black Giras. However the two monsters were enough to defeat Seven, with his leg twisted and his Ultra Eye broken, Alien Magma was about to execute Seven, until the timely arrival of Ultraman Leo. Ultraman Leo was a prince from Nebula L-77 and, like Seven, he is also an Ultra-being, living on Earth disguised as a human named Gen Ohtori. Originally, Leo's main goal was to defeat the Alien Magma as a revenge for destroying his homeworld in Nebula L-77. Dan confronted him on his desire for vengeance and provide him a training course which allowed Leo to defeat the Giras Brothers, though Alien Magma was able escape.

Gen was enlisted into MAC and received further training from Dan whenever he found himself unable to defeat the monster-of-the-week. During Gen's fight as Leo, Dan can still supported him using the Ultra Physic ability, a power from Seven. His twisted right leg injury from Black Giras was inherited to his human form, which prompted him to use a Lofstrand crutch with hidden smokescreen and rifle. In episode 26, he faced a dilemma when he comes across a woman with resemblance to Annie (Dan's former love interest), who is in fact Uringa's caretaker. In episode 34, he received a Monster Ball named Sevengar from Hideki Go/Ultraman Jack, whom proceed to reclaim the broken Ultra Eye and return it to the Land of Light to be fixed. Jack also assisted Leo in fighting against Ashuran, an alien that followed him on Earth.

Dan's final appearance was in episode 40, which was also the episode that debuted the Saucer Monsters led by Black Directive. Silver Bloome, the first Saucer Monster, destroyed MAC headquarters in order to remove all means of resistances against Black Directive's invasion, simultaneously killing all MAC members, even those whom tried to escape. Dan parted ways with Gen and vanished, leaving Gen to escape from the destroyed base as Leo. In the finale episode, a fully healed Seven contacted Gen in his dream and offered him a place in the Land of Light following the conclusion of his fight with Black End, the final Saucer Monster he faced.

Although Kohji Moritsugu did reprise his role, in episode 51, Seven was voiced by Kenji Nakagawa (中川謙二 Nakagawa Kenji). How Dan/Seven escaped the destruction of MAC headquarters was not properly explained until years later in a Ultraman Mebius novel, it was revealed that he was teleported away by the Mother of Ultra. She healed his injuries from the Giras Brothers' attack and presented Dan with the finally fixed Ultra Eye that allowed him to transform back into Seven one more. He was later promoted to his current rank Lead Instructor (筆頭教官 Hittō kyōkan) of the Space Guards.[7]

Heisei Era

Heisei Ultra Seven

This series of direct-to-video films that features a re-imagined version of Ultra Seven, which involves the titular hero being the only Ultra Warrior to set foot on Earth. However, this claim is made ambiguous, as the first film, Ultra Seven - Operation: Solar Energy unveiled images of Guesra, Alien Baltan II and Oil Drinker.

In the NTV Specials (1994), Ultra Seven returned from Nebula M78 after 30 years leaving Earth but crash-landed and collapsed to his fatigue after being attacked while on his way to planet Ultra. As it seemed that Earth was finally at peace, another string of invasion suddenly arrive, starting with the return of the Alien Pitt whom wanted to destroy the comatose Seven before he reawakened. However their efforts were in vain, and Seven thwarted their invasion plan by killing their monster Eleking III and their spaceship, at the same time rescuing Anne's son, Dan. Seven also fought against Alien Metron and his monster Dinosaur.

In the 30th anniversary trilogy, Dan Moroboshi assisted the new generation members of Ultra Guard by posing as their rookie member, Masaki Kazamori and had the real person stored in an empty capsule. Although he becomes aware of the fact that Dan is trying to help them, Masaki at first sees him as a nuisance until he was revealed to be his idol, Ultraseven. After Masaki was freed from his capsule, Shigeru Furuhashi (Dan's old colleague in the Ultra Guard) sometimes mistook Masaki for Dan in disguise of the boy.

During The Final Chapters arc (1999), after Masaki nearly dies after allowing himself to be almost killed, due to Alien Valkyrie was in his body, Seven fused with him in a similar manner to the merge between Ultraman and Shin Hayata. Although Masaki is in control of his body, Seven/Dan would use him as a medium of communications at certain occasions. Although TDF members had signed peace treaty contracts with multiple alien races, some of them begin to attack the Earth, prompting Masaki to borrow Seven's power. Seven also faced King Joe II, Alien Pedan's former invasion robot which TDF tried to reprogram until its original programming activated and went rogue. The sixth and final movie of this arc had Masaki's identity relation to Seven being exposed to public and faced with another crisis which involves the Nonmalt (a race of subterraneans that claimed to be the true residence of Earth) trying to reclaim Earth once more by exposing the atrocities made by TDF (which involves killing their undersea civilization) in the past via the Omega Files. Although the Nonmalts manage to prove their claims and the fact that a civil war on Earth is about to start, Masaki/Seven had no choice but to interfere in the battle (an action that is against the rules of the Space Garrison) by trespassing the TDF base to retrieve the Omega Files and stop Zabangi. With Masaki fully healed, he returned to the M78.

Years later in EVOLUTION, Seven was imprisoned in the Horsehead Nebula for his interference in the war of civilizations but the Dragonic Saucer (through Satomi's sacrifice) freed him when Alien Garut tried to invade the Earth by tampering with the Akashic records. Seven bonded with Kazamori once more and help the Ultra Guards with facing against multiple alien threats but was labelled as a traitor for defending a Plant Life Form, which claimed to be the Earth's successor until Garut's fabrications were exposed. Seven faced the alien and his monster vanguard Gaimos, and received an encouragement from Satomi's spirit to arise once again and eliminate the alien. In the end, Kazamori retained his connection to Seven and left for parts unknown.

Kohji Moritsugu returns to provide Seven's grunt in this series, but starting from EVOLUTION, it was provided by Katsuyuki Yamazaki, Kazamori's voice actor.

Subsequent appearance in later Heisei Ultra Series

Ultraseven X

After aliens from an alternate universe attempted to invade his world, Ultra Seven dashed in and bonded with Jin, an amnesiac DEUS agent. Elea, Jin's comrade witness the event as the giant of light offers his help by combining with a nearly died Jin to save his life, at the expense of Seven's consciousness and Jin's past memories. He also warned that should he regain his consciousness, this may endanger Jin's life as well.

As Agent J of DEUS, Jin uses Ultra Seven's power to stop alien threats that bent on either conquering the planet or simply endangering the civilians. During the series' climax, it was revealed that DEUS and the entire population is controlled by a larger group of alien rulers whom successfully invaded their planet, having subdued humanity to the state of utopia and uses DEUS (by extension, Jin's connection to Ultraseven) as enforcers to their rule. As Jin, Elea and agents K and S were labelled traitors for discovering the dark truth, Jin used Ultra Seven's power for the last time to fight against three Mecha Grakyess but once nearly defeated, Seven's true consciousness resurfaced and easily eliminated his opponents. He soon dashed in and destroy the alien rulers' hive before rescuing agents K and S. After the event, Seven separated from Jin and headed back to his homeworld as he reassume the form of Dan Moroboshi, reuniting with Anne.

Galaxy Crisis Era

Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy

Ultra Seven reappeared in this film and is revealed to have a major involvement in the plot.

Long ago, Seven had a child named Zero, who turned out to be a fine Ultra Warrior but has no awareness of his family relationship. Ultraseven soon caught Zero, whom almost tempted to steal the Plasma Spark until the former stopped him. Not wanting him to follow Belial's path, he sent Zero to be trained by Ultraman Leo.

When Ultraman Belial freed from his prison, Seven was among the resistance that fought against the fallen Ultra Warrior before he succeeded in stealing the Plasma Spark, causing the whole Land of Light to be plagued with a harsh winter. Seven, Ultraman and Mebius managed to save themselves from being frozen as they recruited Rei and together race towards the Monster Graveyard to fight against Belial's army. Although Mebius reminded Seven that they can recruit Zero to their side, but he refused as Zero's training is still in progress.

However, in the middle of the battle, Belial brainwashed Rei into his servant, and by extension having Gomora attacked the Ultra Brothers. Ultra Seven received the most critical hit and mortally wounded. Although the arrival of Ultraman Dyna and ZAP Spacy managed to get Rei back to his senses, an exhausted Seven made a final attempt by throwing his Eye Slugger as a distress call before collapsing to his injuries. The Eye Slugger arrived when Zero's training just completed and had his relation to Ultraseven undisclosed. This reveal prompted him to race towards the Monster Graveyard but was too late as his father died on his arms before he helped the resistance win against Belial's army.

After the battle, the Plasma Spark was returned to its position and unfreezes the Land of Light and its residents. While Zero was grieving for his father's death, Seven returned and reunited with him.

Subsequent appearances in later Galaxy Crisis Era

Profile

Some of Ultra Seven's statistics below were mentioned in the original series and were brought up in magazines and official websites. There are also certain succeeding series that deviate his original statistics:[3]

Description

As the official website of Tsuburaya Productions stated: "[Ultra Seven] Visited the Earth from his homeworld Nebula M78, Land of Light after its beauty captivated him and fought the threats of invaders after witnessing the Earthlings bravery and kindness. His main techniques includes the use of Emerium Ray, Wide Shot and his weapon, the Eye Slugger that can be controlled freely in mid-air. His human form on Earth is Dan Moroboshi of the Ultra Guard from the Terrestrial Defense Forces (TDF). He is a member of the Ultra Brothers and the father of Ultraman Zero."[3]

Transformation

Dan himself transform into Ultra Seven through the use of Ultra Eye (ウルトラアイ Urutora Ai), a pair of goggles-like object which allow him to switch between his human state and Ultraseven. By drawing the Ultra Eye to his eyes, Seven's face develops first, before his entire Protector materializes on his body and form the entire figure of Ultraseven.

Similar to the Ultraman's Beta Capsule, Dan stored his Ultra Eye within the breast pocket of his Ultra Guard uniform. This device often had the tendency to be lost, stolen or removed from him during the series' course, prompting Dan to use his Capsule Monsters as placeholders before he would recover the Ultra Eye.

In episode 1 of Ultraman Leo, the Ultra Eye was broken from the ensuing battle against Alien Magma and the Giras Brothers. This rendered Dan fully untransformable and was forced to rely on the Ultra Physic to assist Leo in his battles. The Ultra Eye was later claimed by Ultraman Jack and brought to the Land of Light when the Mother of Ultra rescued Dan from Silver Bloome's attack, healing his injuries and presented him the fixed Ultra Eye for him to become Seven once more.

In Heisei Ultra Seven, the transformation scene also features Kazamori in place of Dan after the latter possess the youth. In Ultraseven X, the Ultra Eye also received a drastic change in response of Ultra Seven's redesign in the show.

Body Features

Ultra Seven X

Ultra Seven and Ultra Seven X during the Ultraseven X press conference.

Ultra Seven X (ウルトラセブンX (エックス) Urutora Sebun Ekkusu) is the heavily redesigned appearance of Ultra Seven after he entered an alternate world to stop a group of aliens from invading his own. Although Seven X has no change in statistics, his entire physical appearance changes into a more muscular form. Unlike Ultraseven in most of his battles, Seven X shows to be able to fight and concluded his battles instantly when against alien opponents. This fighting stance is made from Jin's prowess, due to the real Seven remained comatose for Jin to continue alive. When Seven regained control of his body, he displayed a better fighting skills, able to outmaneuver three Mecha Grakyess and destroy an entire colony of alien hive, something which Jin is incapable of.

This form only appeared in Ultraseven X and had not appeared in other succeeding media ever since.

Ultra Seven Dark

Ultra Seven Dark (ウルトラセブンダーク Urutora Sebun Dāku)[lower-alpha 4] is the corrupted form of Ultra Seven, which first appeared during the events of Ultraman Ginga. After Seiichirō Isurugi was given the Spark Dolls of Ultraman and Ultra Seven, the Dark Dummy Sparks (ダークダミースパーク Dāku Damī Supāku) given to him allows the man to assume the corrupted forms of the two Ultra Warriors, Ultraman Dark and Ultra Seven Dark respectively. Ultra Seven Dark's appearance is identical to Ultra Seven, but with black colors replacing the original red, and Ultra Seven's eyes shine red. His attacks remain the same name and power statistics, though appear to be darker.

Ultraman Dark (Seiichirō) first appeared after Ultraman Ginga defeated Zaragas, and brutally attacked the Ultra Warrior before swapping out with Ultra Seven, but before he could deliver the finishing blow, Seiichirō was stopped by Misuzu Isurugi, his daughter. After Hikaru refused Seiichirō's offer to rule alongside him, he reassumed Ultra Seven Dark in his final confrontation before being defeated by Ginga, allowing Hikaru to claim the purified Spark Dolls of Ultraman and Ultraseven.

The suit of Ultra Seven Dark was reused from Ultra Seven Geist, another evil doppelgänger of Ultra Seven that appeared in certain stage shows. Also, the third volume of Ultraman Ginga's Blu-ray DVD release stated that his conception was based on Imitation Ultra Seven, a mechanical replica created by Alien Salome from episode 42 of Ultra Seven.[20]

Powers and Abilities

Like Ultraman, Seven's fighting skills revolves around the use of brute strength and only uses beam attacks when needed. Although most of the Ultra Warriors demonstrated this, Seven is the first to demonstrate the ability to change sizes from giant to human size, even to the microscopic size which was used against Darii when it possessed a human from within.

In terms of energy beams, Ultra Seven's signature ability is the Emerium Ray (エメリウム光線 Emeriumu Kōsen), a beam fired from his Beam Lamp. This attack can be performed in either two positions: Type A, which had his fingers cross over his forehead and Type B with his left arm placed in front of his shoulder. This attack can be used in a manner of rapid fire bullets, which he used to decimate a fleet of invading ships (ep 43) and reprogramming, which he used to reprogram his Windom after being hacked and manipulated by Alien Kanan. Alternatively, he can also use Wide Shot (ワイドショット Waido Shoto), which involves placing his arms in an L-style position. These ray attacks had the equation of "M2SH3GWAB1", based on Alien Salome's analysis.

His well-known weapon is the Eye Slugger (アイスラッガー Ai Suraggā), a blade which is kept hidden as his head crest until he removes it. It is also used as a throwing weapon and part of the Ultra Knock Tactic (ウルトラノック戦法 Urutora Nokku Senpō), possibly the most famous of all Ultra attacks. It has been incorrectly referred to as an "Ice Lugger" by various sources. This name was coined during the early pre-production on the series, which was going to be called "Ultra Eye" (Urutora Ai), hence "Eye Slugger".[21]

His final known technique is the Ultra Physic (ウルトラ念力 Urutora Nenriki), which involves the use of ESP. Seven retained this attack as Dan Moroboshi, which proved to be useful when he was rendered as a human in Ultraman Leo.

Human Hosts/Forms

Dan Moroboshi

Dan Moroboshi
Ultra Series character
First appearance Ultra Seven
Created by Eiji Tsuburaya
Portrayed by Kohji Moritsugu[22]

Dan Moroboshi (モロボシ ダン(諸星 弾) Moroboshi Dan) is the human form of Ultra Seven when on Earth. This form was based on Jiro Satsuma (薩摩次郎 Satsuma Jirō), a mountain climber that Seven rescued. His bravery inspires Seven to use him as a basis of his human form and naming himself Dan to avoid confusion.

After wandering around the Earth for a long time, Dan stopped on Japan and was involved as a volunteer assisting the Ultra Guard against Alien Cool's invasion scheme. His attribution allowed him to be recruited into the Ultra Guard. From that day on, Dan would assisted the Ultra Guard in foiling multiple extraterrestrial threats and use either his Capsule Monsters or his true form Ultraseven when the situation calls for. During that time, Dan sometimes conflicted with the consequences of his actions as shown when humans used Planet Gyeron as a testing ground or for Captain Kaoru Kiriyama to hastily commencing a total genocide on the Nonmalts. He also had a love interest named Anne, who often became his partner during missions. Said woman is also the first person that discovered Dan's true identity, but was not surprised by this, seeing that both Dan and Seven are mostly the same.

Dan would returned in succeeding entries of the Ultra Series but among them, his major involvement was in Ultraman Leo as the captain of MAC. He was also Gen Ohtori/Ultraman Leo's instructor after incapable of transforming into Seven due to the injuries from fighting Alien Magma and his Giras monsters. As a MAC officer, Dan's main weapon is a rifle/smokescreen hidden within his Lofstrand crutch. His final appearance is in episode 40, as Mother of Ultra teleported him back to the Land of Light before he was killed by Silver Bloome.

Dan Moroboshi is portrayed by Kohji Moritsugu (森次 晃嗣 Moritsugu Kōji), who is also Ultra Seven's voice actor and Jiro Satsuma's actor.

Masaki Kazamori

Masaki Kazamori
Ultra Series character
First appearance Heisei Ultra Seven 30th Anniversary Trilogy: Lost Memory (1998)
Created by Shinichi Kanzawa (director)
Portrayed by Katsuyuki Yamazaki[23]

Masaki Kazamori (カザモリ・マサキ Kazamori Masaki) is a rookie member of the Ultra Guard and is Seven's first human host in the franchise. First appearing in the 30th anniversary trilogy, Masaki's identity is always used by Dan, whom wishes to help the new generation Ultra Guard from within. Although knowing his intention meant no harm, Kazamori initially viewed him as a nuisance until he was revealed to be the former's childhood hero, Ultraseven.

During The Final Chapters special, Kazamori was gravely injured when he allowed to be killed by Dan after Alien Valkyrie attempted to possess him. Seven soon fused with him in a similar manner to Ultraman with Hayata. Although Kazamori is in control of his actions, Seven would use him as a medium when he tried to communicate. During this, Kazamori worked in a similar manner to Dan during his time in the Ultra Guard, defending the Earth as himself while using the Ultra Seven persona when the time calls. In the sixth and final chapter, Kazamori was detained by TDF after being exposed for his connections to Seven. Fortunately, his comrades in the Ultra Guard managed to help him escape as Dan briefly separated from him and discovered that the Nonmalts tried to commence a war on humanity after exposing their race for being the true invaders. After the battle, Dan/Seven separated from Kazamori and returned the boy after healing him from his previous injuries while he returned to his homeworld to face the punishments for interfering a civil war.

In EVOLUTION, Kazamori and Satomi retired from their service in the Ultra Guard and went on with their separate lives. Kazamori becomes a wanderer later on but forced into the battle again later on and reunited with Seven. Although helping the Ultra Guards again, he was later labelled as a traitor for defending a Plant Life Form, which claimed to be the Earth's successor until Alien Garut's fabrications were exposed. Seven faced the alien and his monster vanguard Gaimos, and received an encouragement from Satomi's spirit to arise once again and eliminate the alien. In the end, Kazamori retained his connection to Seven and left for parts unknown.

Masaki Kazamori is portrayed by Katsuyuki Yamazaki (山﨑 勝之 Yamazaki Katsuyuki), and is also the voice actor for Ultraseven in EVOLUTION arc of the Heisei Series.

Jin

Jin
Ultra Series character

Jin as he portrayed by Eriku Yoza in the press conference.
First appearance Ultraseven X
Created by Kazuo Tsuburaya
Portrayed by Eriku Yoza[24]

Jin (ジン), or called Agent J, is a DEUS agent is the protagonist of Ultraseven X. He is 25 years old in the series' proper and drives a Cadillac SRX.

Jin was a DEUS agent who discovered that his world is ruled by a group of aliens and that their operation, the Aqua Project is an invasion to another world. Alongside former Aqua Project worker Elea Saeki, the two were on the run from DEUS agents until he was mortally injured during an attack. Ultra Seven, who traveled into the alternate world bonded with Jin at the expense of his memories and Seven's consciousness. Elea witness the event but was alerted that should the giant regain consciousness, Jin may as well loses his life. After being rendered amnesiac, DEUS and the shadow rulers manipulated him to join the other agents and fought against alien threats. At certain times, Jin would use the Ultra Eye and transform into Ultraseven X (called by many as "The Red Giant") when needed, successfully eliminating his opponents in a matter of seconds.

After rediscovering a hidden conspiracy that shrouded his employer and the government, he reunited with Elea and alongside fellow agents, K and S, were on the run from other agents. Jin used Ultra Seven's power for the last time to fight against three Mecha Grakyess but once nearly defeated, Seven's true consciousness resurfaced and easily eliminated his opponents. He soon dashed in and destroy the alien rulers' hive before rescuing agents K and S. After the event, Seven separated from Jin and headed back to his homeworld. When being asked who is the name of the giant, Jin replied it as "Ultraseven".

Jin is portrayed by Eriku Yoza (与座重理久 Yoza Eriku), whom also provided the grunts for Ultraseven X.

Other hosts

In certain circumstances, Ultra Seven would possess other people as substitute human hosts.

Capsule Monsters

Capsule Monsters (カプセル怪獣 Kapuseru Kaijū) are monsters which micronized and stored by Dan when he is unable to fight as Seven. Each monster is stored within capsules and can be summoned by throwing it in the mid-air, returning to their original heights and fight under the time limit of 1 minute. These monsters were not even strong enough to defeat the series' weekly antagonists and were usually acted as cannon fodders before Dan transform into Seven. However, their greatest success were in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, with all three of them were able to destroy monsters sent to the frozen Land of Light by Belial, all while the Ultra Warriors were frozen while survivors like Seven, Ultraman and Mebius were rendered untransformed. Said battle as well is their first victory during their time under servitude of Dan/Seven.[10] In Ultraman Mebius, two of these monsters, Miclas and Windom, were duplicated into GUYS' Maquette Monster (マケット怪獣 Maketto Kaijū) as alternatives for them to combat against giant threats should no Ultra Warriors helped fighting on the scene.

The capsule containers are capable of shrinking its content to the size of 1 cm. It also functions as a healing chamber, which Dan uses after his Capsule Monsters were tired from their battle. This is also applied to Kazamori in episode 6 of Heisei Ultra Seven.

Windom

Windom (ウインダム Uindamu) is a robotic bird capsule monster which first appeared in episode 1 of Ultra Seven. Windom's main ability involves launching energy beam from its forehead and performing an acrobatic jump but is vulnerable to hacking and sabotages. For once, Alien Kanan managed to hack Windom and had the robot briefly against Seven before he managed to reprogram it back to his side. Windom was destroyed in episode 39 after losing to Alien Guts and once more in Episode 6 of Heisei Ultra Seven: The Final Chapters during its fight against Zabangi, but managed to recover later on. Its recent battle was in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, fighting and winning against Saramandora.

In Ultraman Mebius, Windom's data was saved into the Ultra Guard's file by GUYS and was used to create a Maquette Monster copy of it. This Windom was later improvised into Fire Windom (フャイヤーウインダム Faiyā Uindamu) through the data of Zetton (Ultraman ep. 39), Pandon (Ultraseven ep. 48) and Black End (Ultraman Leo ep. 51). This variant sports an arm cannon on the left arm, which used to launch fireball ammunition called Fire Shot (ファイヤーショット Faiyā Shotto).

Miclas

Miclas (ミクラス Mikurasu) is a buffalo-themed capsule monster that first appeared in episode 3 of Ultra Seven. Miclas fights using brute strength and thick hide and is capable of launching heat ray from its mouth but is vulnerable to electricity and cold temperature. It's only combat history was against Eleking and Gander, being frozen by the latter in its final fight. In Heisei Ultra Seven: The Final Chapters, Miclas' only battle was against Zabangi and even with the assistance of Windom, both were easily perished although their remains were salvaged by Seven. In Never Ending Odyssey, it was briefly lend to Rei by Seven in gratitude for saving him from the Armored Darkness. Although initially a timid monster, Rei's encouragement allowed it to fight against multiple monsters and become the placeholder for Eleking after the latter's death. Miclas was reclaimed by Seven following the conclusion of the series. It returned alongside other Capsule Monsters in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy and is shown to have finally developed a resilience to cold temperature while easily fending off against Bemstar.

In Ultraman Mebius, Miclas' date was saved into the Ultra Guard's file by GUYS and was used to create a Maquette Monster copy of it. This Miclas was later improvised into Eleki Miclas (エレキミクラス Ereki Mikurasu) through the data of Eleking (Ultra Seven ep. 3), Neronga (Ultraman ep. 3) and Eledortus (Return of Ultraman ep. 15). This variant sported no aesthetic changes but gains additional abilities to manipulate electricity and turn invisible.

Agira

Agira (アギラ) is a ceratopsian-themed capsule monster that first appeared in episode 32 of Ultra Seven. Agira's main weapon is it's cranial horn and its brute strength. It's only combat history was against Riggah and Imitation Ultra Seven. Agira returned in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy and fought against Dorako using its cranial horn to successfully ended the fight.

Other monsters

The list below refers to non-capsule related monster:

Cultural impact

Design basis

In the Ultra Series, Ultra Seven's main body has become the basis for several of the succeeding Ultra Warriors onwards. This design can be seen in certain Ultras such as Ultraman Taro (whose suit was coincidentally modified into Delusion Ultraseven in Ultraman 80), Ultraman Leo, Ultraman Max and others.

In 2016 Ultra Series Ultraman Orb, Dan Moroboshi's concept (being an Ultra Warrior in disguise of a wanderer) was passed on to Gai Kurenai, the series' main character. According to director Kiyotaka Taguchi, the "wandering protagonist" concept was already planned since the development of Ultraman Ginga S and it took two years for it to come into realization.[25][26]

Parodies

Ultra Seven, as well as his Capsule Monsters and the elements from his own series, has been referenced and parodied numerous times in popular culture, examples include:

In other media

Manga

Ultraman Suit Ver.7 featured in Volume 4 of Ultraman manga.

The following below refers to Ultra Seven and Dan's non canon appearance outside of TV, such as manga and novel adaptations:

Novel

Video games

Apps

Anime

Reception

Critical commentary

In Internet Movie Database, several reviewers highlighted the nostalgia of watching the entire series. One of the reviewers, John Cassidy, declared Ultra Seven as his favorite hero. He highlighted the series' good points to the extent of comparing Dan Moroboshi's double life as Ultra Seven to that of Clark Kent/Superman, only that "this Clark puts on his glasses to become Superman".[41]

During an interview with Kohji Moritsugu, Dan Moroboshi's actor and Ultraseven's voice actor, spoke about his period of acting on the series, which was a consecutive year with almost no rest. He was required to get up early at 5:00 am and return home at 11:00 pm. The hardest part of his time when acting was pretending to be facing giant alien attacks, since he had to imagine the alien first and was reminded to portray as an alien being in human form. In the scene where Dan drives the Ultra Guard patrol car Pointer, he mentioned that he did not have a proper driving licence at that time and most of his shot involves stepping the vehicle's brake when given the driver's seat. Unlike Susumu Kurobe, whom portrayed Shin Hayata in Ultraman required one shot to transform into the titular hero, Dan's transformation scene into Ultraseven required two shots and at that time, Kohji was covered in duct tape and the least favorite part in it is when they placed tape in the Ultra Eye, making it "painful" for him to remove it. Along with the show's audiences, he is well aware of Dan and Anne's romantic relationship in the series, but knew that an alien was forbidden to be in love with a human. In his years of acting as Dan Moroboshi and Seven, the most unexpected part was the reveal of Seven's own son, Ultraman Zero.[42]

In his own words, Kohji believed that Ultra Seven's lifelong popularity is due to how the show was portrayed as a dark and mature genre and also because of a lot of effort put to motion by the production team despite being a children show. When asked what were his favorite Ultra Monsters in the series, he replied Eleking, Alien Metron and King Joe. Eleking', because of its appearance in episode 3, which was actually the first episode to be recorded. Alien Metron is due to the (in)famous conversation scene that the alien had with Dan in an apartment during the sunset, and King Joe's shooting scene took place on Kobe.[42]

Heisei Era Ultraman actors, Mamoru Miyano (Ultraman Zero) and Hideo Ishiguro (Ultraman Orb) nominated Ultraseven as their favorite Ultra Warrior alongside Ultraman Taro.[43][44] The reveal of Ultraman Zero as the son of Seven laid a huge impact to the audiences.[45]

Popularity

Like Ultraman, Seven has two professional wrestler who shares the same name in the match, Kim Duk (formerly) and Masahiko Takasugi. Both even wear the same masks themed after Seven.[46][47] In February 2007, a popular internet video called Omoide wa Okkusenman! simultaneously aired in Japan and quickly become a sensation. The song describes the singer reminiscing about his childhood and friends, particularly pretending to be Ultraman and Ultra Seven with them, while realizing his life and theirs is nothing like what it used to be.[48]

In 2006, a character popularity poll was launched in response to the 40th anniversary of Ultra Series. Based on Oricon's list, Ultraseven was placed first in the list in according to the total of voters. He is ranked second place in by female voters and first place by of male voters.[49] Five years later in the Ultra Series' 45th anniversary, Ultraseven was placed second following his son, Zero scored the first place and ranked fourth in 2013 after losing to Ultraman Tiga.[50][51]

Ultraseven and his son Zero were the guest of honors in the 2016 Oyako Day, which was held on July 24. Two days prior, the two won the "Parent-Child Grand Prize" by Bruce Osborn.[52]

Merchandise

Due to popularity for the shape of his eyes and the design of Ultra Eye, Ultra Seven had made multiple collaboration with companies for the release of eyeglasses themed after his eyes or the Ultra Eye, such as JINS and Black Ice. The latter company has Kohji Moritsugu as a guest attendance during the press conference of their product.[53][54]

Ultra Seven is also one of the promoters of "A MAN of ULTRA", a branch of fashion house with clothing themed after the Ultra Series. He is also shown promoting the company's products alongside Ultraman and other Ultra Warriors.[55]

In 2009, in conjunction to the promotion of Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, Ultra Seven and Ultraman Zero were among the promoters of the newly introduced Windows 7. Seven's participation into the press conference is due to his name. Another guest attendance/promoter of the press conference is also voice actress/singer Nana Mizuki, whom (like Ultra Seven) also had her name being revolved around the aforementioned number.[56]

In January 2013 during Takamiy's concert, a guitar designed with attributes to Ultra Seven was sold to a lucky spectator at the price of 2,835,000 Yen.[57] In February 2015, a golf item set with Seven's attributes was sold under the price of 49,800 Yen.[58]

In 2016, Kaiyodo Co., Ltd (ja:海洋堂) sold 40 cm-tall figures of Ultraseven in Mega Sofubi Advance, sculpted by Takashi Kinoshita. This figure sold in June 25, 2016 under the price of 18,000 Yen.[59]

References

Published materials
Sources
  1. Opening credits of Ultra Seven
  2. 1 2 ウルトラセブンイズム 2002, p. 51
  3. 1 2 3 "ウルトラヒーロー円谷ステーション" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  4. ウルトラセブン研究読本 2012, p. 49, エピソードガイド第1話.
  5. 心にウルトラマンレオ 2001, pp. 13,192.
  6. Yasushi Torisawa, ed. (2007). Hobby JAPAN (ホビージャパン) 2007年 11月号 [雑誌] (November 2007 ed.). Dengeki Hobby. ASIN B000VR0BUQ.
  7. ウルトラマンメビウス アンデレスホリゾント. Kobunsha. 2009. ISBN 978-4-334-92692-2.
  8. 青二プロダクション 三浦祥朗 (in Japanese). Aoni Production. 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  9. "Alien casts in "ウルトラギャラクシー大怪獣バトル NEVER ENDING ODYSSEY"".
  10. 1 2 "大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE".
  11. "登場キャラクター ウルトラマンゼロ THE MOVIE 超決戦!ベリアル銀河帝国".
  12. "キャスト 2012年公開 映画『ウルトラマンサーガ』公式サイト" (in Japanese). www.ultramansaga.com/index/. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  13. "ウルトラマンギンガ公式インフォメション".
  14. "『劇場版 ウルトラマンオーブ 絆の力、おかりします!』2017年3月11日(土)全国ロードショー決定!究極のフュージョン形態「ウルトラマンオーブ トリニティ」登場!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  15. "The Seven Assassination Plan (Beginning)". Ultra Seven episode 39 (in Japanese). 1968-06-30. Tokyo Broadcasting System.
  16. "Underground: Go! Go! Go!". Ultra Seven episode 17 (in Japanese). 1968-01-28. Tokyo Broadcasting System.
  17. "Showdown at 140 Degrees Below Zero". Ultra Seven episode 25 (in Japanese). 1968-03-24. Tokyo Broadcasting System.
  18. "ウルトラセブンがカラータイマーを持っていない理由" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  19. "The Seven Assassination Plan (Conclusion)". Ultra Seven episode 40 (in Japanese). 1968-07-07. Tokyo Broadcasting System.
  20. Ultraman Ginga 3 Blu-Ray (Liner notes). Tomoo Haraguchi. Tsuburaya Productions: Bandai Visual. 2014. BCXS-0789.
  21. ウルトラセブンイズム 2002, p. 80.
  22. "オスカープロモーション公式SNSプロフィール" (in Japanese). catalog.oscarpro.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  23. "Neo Agency Web Site" (in Japanese). www.neoagency.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  24. "ウルトラセブン、40年ぶりテレビに復活" (in Japanese). www.oricon.co.jp. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  25. Takao Nakano (2016-04-26). "新ヒーロー・ウルトラマンオーブ" (in Japanese). blog.livedoor.jp. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  26. 宇宙船153 2016, pp. 76-77, 「[インタビュー]田口清隆」.
  27. 大月隆寛+ポケモン事件緊急取材班 (1998). ポケモンの魔力. Mainichi Newspaper Co. Ltd. ISBN 4-620-31218-5.
  28. Akira Toriyama, ed. (1980). Dr. スランプ アラレ誕生!の巻 (1 ed.). Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-851181-6.
  29. Akira Toriyama, ed. (1980). DRAGON BALL ドラゴンボール 孫悟空と仲間たち (1 ed.). Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-851831-2.
  30. "「ULTRAMAN」モーションコミック新作に桜井浩子出演「すごく新鮮で楽しい」" (in Japanese). natalie.mu. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  31. "大人気コミック『ULTRAMAN』の最新話が配信開始!しかも期間限定で全話無料!ニコ生イベントも開催!!" (in Japanese). www.ensoku.club. 2015-12-29. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
  32. Eiichi Shimizu & Tomohiro Shimoguchi, ed. (2014). ULTRAMAN Volume 4 (Fourth ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-86468-358-6.
  33. 電撃ホビーマガジン編集部, ed. (2011). 電撃 HOBBY MAGAZINE (ホビーマガジン) 2011年 11月号 [雑誌] (November 2011 ed.). Dengeki Hobby. ASIN B005M36EDW.
  34. "【ウルトラマンとモンストがコラボ!】7月15日(金)の開始に先駆け、参加型キャンペーン実施中" (in Japanese). hobby.dengeki.com. 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  35. "【モンスト】新キャラ『ウルトラマン』『ウルトラセブン』など発表された一部ステータスまとめ【ウルトラマンコラボ】" (in Japanese). monst-news.net. 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
  36. "ユニベアシティのスタンプ登場!さらに、スヌーピー、ウルトラマン、美味しんぼ、ガーフィールドを追加" (in Japanese). LINE. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  37. "ULTRAMAN: Heroes & Monsters". LINE. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  38. "LINEスタンプ「ウルトラマン」<第2弾>本日より配信開始!セブンやタロウ、新ヒーローギンガまで人気ウルトラヒーローが勢ぞろい!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  39. "アニメ「怪獣娘(かいじゅうがーるず)~ウルトラ怪獣擬人化計画~」メインキャスト発表&主題歌を歌う新ユニット名も募集! 2016年秋、dアニメストアにて配信予定!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  40. "Kaiju Girls Short Anime Series' Cast, Staff Unveiled". Anime News Network. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  41. ""Urutora Sebun" Review & Ratings". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  42. 1 2 "第18回 俳優 森次晃嗣" (in Japanese). tamashii.jp. 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  43. "『大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE』でウルトラマンゼロの声を演じる宮野真守インタビュー" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  44. "ウルトラマンTVシリーズ最新作『ウルトラマンオーブ』石黒英雄インタビュー" (in Japanese). v-storage.bandaivisual.co.jp. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  45. 小学館『てれびくん』編集部, ed. (2009). "坂本浩一×岡部淳也対談". 大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE (劇場パンフレット). Shogakukan and Shochiku. pp. 57 – 59.
  46. "Kim Duk Wrestling Database CAGEMATCH". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  47. "Ultra Seven Wrestling Database CAGEMATCH". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  48. "おっくせんまん(HORA☆改) by CHROMES‐ニコニコ動画(ββ)". 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  49. "『好きなウルトラマンランキング』、1位に輝いたウルトラマンは!?" (in Japanese). www.oricon.co.jp. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  50. "円谷ヒーロー・怪獣 & 宇宙人ランキング!結果 - ヒーロー部門" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  51. "ウルトラヒーロー総選挙2013 - 円谷プロ" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  52. "ウルトラセブン&ゼロ親子が親子の日「親子大賞」受賞!7/24(日)のライブ放送で受賞式の様子を紹介予定!". m-78.jp. 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  53. "「ウルトラマン×JINS」コラボレーションメガネ&サングラスを7/10(水)より発売!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  54. "「めがねの聖地」鯖江市で生まれた"究極のウルトラアイ"!アイウェア「ウルトラセブン×ブラックアイス」12/1(月)予約受付開始! メガネ ベストドレッサーも変身!?" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  55. "表参道ヒルズ「A MAN of ULTRA」期間限定ショップは10/31(土)まで!今後発売予定のアイテムも展示中。最終日にはウルトラセブンが来店!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  56. "「セブン博」開催、ウルトラセブンや水樹奈々が来場「窓辺ななみ」の秘密も暴露?" (in Japanese). akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp. 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  57. "「ウルトラセブン」の世界観を表現した、Takamiy(高見沢俊彦)×円谷プロ×ESPコラボレーションモデルギター発売決定!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  58. "ウルトラセブンが本格ゴルフアイテムになって新登場!「エンジョイキャディバッグ ウルトラセブン」2/13(金)先行予約受付開始!" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  59. "スケールモデルテイストで仕上げられた、もっとも"リアル"なウルトラセブンが海洋堂メガソフビに登場!" (in Japanese). Hobby Dengeki. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-07-15.

Notes

  1. Sometimes spelled as Ultra Seven
  2. 49 episodes if counting the banned episode 12.
  3. Episode 17
  4. Also called Seven Dark (セブンダーク Sebun Dāku)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.