ACE KILLER, BARABA AND ACE ROBOT
Tired of the Ultra Brothers foiling their plans, the Yapool conspire to destroy them by luring them to the planet Golgotha. Upon arriving there, the Ultra Brothers find a series of crucifixes with their names on them. As the planet’s temperature drops, the Brothers give their energy to Ace so he can defend Earth as Yapool sends the monster Baraba to rampage.
Baraba himself is a critter that fits the moniker of “horrible monster” incredibly well. Armed to the teeth with a claw for one hand, and a mace for the other, and with additional weapons such as a whip that can strangle his opponents and a sword on top of his head he can launch as a projectile (!), Baraba is one bad dude. I’ve always been really fond of this walking arsenal. The fact he’s got so many weapons makes him a dynamic foe for Ace to fight, and he really reminds me of Gigan and Megalon from the 70’s Godzilla films, two characters that I’ve always held a large amount of fondness towards, so any monster that captures that vibe is cool in my book. Baraba’s name originates from the prisoner from the bible, Barabbas, a prisoner who was held at the same time as Jesus Christ, and freed while Christ himself was crucified. Fitting, since the planet the Ultra Brothers travel to, Golgotha, is named after the same hill where Christ was crucified.
While Ace is busy with Baraba on Earth, Yapool unleashes their latest creation: Ace Killer, a powerful robot built to well…obviously kill Ace. The robot steals the abilities from the crucified Ultra Brothers.
In order to show off the power of Ace Killer, the Yapool reveal they made an Ace robot that is a perfect replica of our hero, and Ace Killer wastes no time in destroying it. Before we go back to Ace Killer, let’s talk about the robot Ace, since he’s kind of an odd character. Like the Salome’s robot version of Seven, he’s a disguised Ace suit, this time with the gaudier gold armor, befitting the show’s aesthetic. And his existence begs the question: If the Yapool can easily create a perfect 1:1 replica of an Ultra, why not make a whole army of them instead of a bunch of chojuh?
Now, back to Ace Killer. Ace Killer himself has become a really popular character, despite not doing a whole lot in his debut episode, and I think it really has to do with the fact the character is associated with such striking imagery as the Brothers on crosses. Ace Killer’s design was handled by Yoshio Suzuki, who considered this one to be one of his favorite designs he came up with. In my eyes, while not one of my absolute favorites from the show, it’s one that I feel is pretty strong. While it was never outright stated by Suzuki, I really like the vibe that Ace Killer is basically a robotic Ultraman with a more frightening aesthetic to it.
Ace Killer would go on to reappear as one of Yapool’s main flunkies in various movies and specials, and would get his name updated to Mebius Killer and Victory Killer for it’s appearances in Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Fight Victory. Baraba sadly, would never make it past Ace, although his arms would be a component for the chimera monster Tyrant in Ultraman Taro.
KING CRAB
While he’s not as insane in terms of his abilities or his general story as some of his bretheren, I do think King Crab is a really well done monster. It would’ve been easy just to make a more traditionally crab-like monster ala Yadokarin or Ganimes from Space Amoeba, so I’m glad they went with a creature that is clearly inspired by a crab, without just being a giant crab. I really like the big, asymmetrical crab claw he’s got for a mouth which is really unique and inspired for a monster, and helps him stand out a bit from the pack of one-shot chojuh. King Crab was supposed to be a quadrupedal monster originally, but was made into a two-legged beast once the suit was made.
King Crab would never return sadly, but his tail would become a component for the monster Tyrant in Ultraman Taro
COWRA
Alright, we’ve seen some utterly (pun not intended) monsters in Ace, but Cowra here is by far one of the strangest and most bizarre monsters altogether in this show, and perhaps even all of Ultra.
Cowra was formerly a human, Taki, who stole a cowring cursed by Yapool. The ring causes poor Taki to transform into the somewhat comedic looking, but also uncanny Cattle God Man before transforming into the giant Cowra as seen above. I like the giant monster form of the beast, and I think the costume retains all the recognizable features of a cow, and the usage of the blues and reds give it a feeling of being like a festival costume, fitting for the more supernatural vibe the episode has. Cowra originally had claws growing out of his hooves, but that was a design element wisely dropped in my opinion.
Cowra as a concept, is so bonkers, I can’t help but love it. The idea of a person being transformed into a monster against their will is a good one, but the idea of being transformed into a cow monster is one that propels the idea straight into not only being horrific, but also absurd.
However, the oddest thing about Cowra is the fact his episode was written by Toshiro Ishido, the same guy who wrote the Oxter episode of Return, which begs the question: what was his deal with cows? What affected this dude so much to write not one, but two killer cow episodes for these shows? And in addition, I’ve heard the one Silver Kamen episode he wrote dealt with cows as well. Like, knowing this fact just raises more questions in regards to these episodes and why he had a beef (pun intended this time) with bovines.
HOTARUNGA
A gigantic firefly chojuh, Hotarunga takes control of a young girl with a demonic mask, and has her attack vehicles on a bypass, while the monster itself disguises itself as her pet firefly. TAC sets out to investigate since they need to transport the V7 missile on that route. After the girl is freed from her control, Hotarunga reveals itself.
There isn’t much I can say about Hotarunga, but I do genuinely really love the design he’s got. It’s a nice insect kaiju, and the glowing eyes and green skin look wonderfully eerie in the nighttime setting. I also have to commend the special effects team for when Hotarunga grows giant, as it’s an underrated effects sequence in my eyes.
BLACK PIGEON
In what is arguably one of Yapool’s pettiest plot, turns a pet pigeon into the monster Black Pigeon to destroy TAC’s base. However, the monster retains the memories of it’s former life, and responds to the whistle of his former owner, Saburo. Sadly, Saburo isn’t able to get Black Pigeon pacified, and Ace is forced to destroy the monster.
While the idea of using a giant pigeon monster seems tactically unsound, it does works a lot better than you would think. The episode really plays up just how tragic it is for a beloved pet to have to be forcibly put down, and by the end of it, no matter who you are, you’ll be sad about the death of a giant pigeon monster.
In terms of design, I think Black Pigeon is pretty good. I like how it looks like a pigeon, but the over-designed aspects of it really hammer home how synthetic this creature feels, with the red and blue greebles contrasting with the white feathers. And of course, those goofy eyes, just like the ones on an actual pigeon really drive home how sympathetic and tragic this critter is.
KING KAPPA
I know I say that each Ace monster we’ve seen is weird, but I do think King Kappa is definitely in the top 5 of strangest Ace monsters, if not just Ultra monster in general.
You see, King Kappa is a monster disguised as a swimming pool, and the Yapool’s plot involves kids who swim in the pool losing their bellybuttons and mutating into kappa children. It’s something incredibly wild, even for Ace‘s standards.
King Kappa, like his name suggests, is based on the legendary kappa from Japanese mythology. The kappa is a turtle-like monster that was fond of cucumbers, as well as behavior ranging from playing pranks on people to even drowning them. The kappa’s most famous feature is the dish-shaped indentation on it’s head that is filled with water. It’s said that according to legend, this water is the source of the kappa’s power and should the dish be emptied, the kappa will be powerless. King Kappa is far from the first kappa inspired Ultra monster, as the Tepeto aliens and their kaiju from Ultraseven went off of that concept.
However, unlike the Tepeto, I think King Kappa is a pretty damn cool monster. The idea of a giant kappa monster isn’t too unique, but making the dish on it’s head a swimming pool is a wonderfully inspired idea which really speaks to just how off the wall the writers and design team were when it came to creating kaiju for this series.
Just don’t ask me why they steal bellybuttons
ZEMISTLAR
So I’m gonna be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of Zemistlar here. I think the design itself is alright, being a cicada-inspired creature that doesn’t just copy the sort of design Baltan has. I really like the green coloration, trunk and ears myself, which paired with those sort of morose blue eyes, make Zemistlar look akin to a 50’s b-movie alien rather than a more traditional kaiju. It’s a pretty good look all things considered.
Zemistlar’s story however, isn’t as strong. The monster is going around and making a boat that’s been anchored for three years fly around in the sky. The reason why….nobody knows. It’s not a very good Yapool plot, and it’s sad that this guy was wasted in such a weird episode.
APRASAR
Aprasar here, is probably one of the more sympathetic chojuh we’ll see in Ace. Rather than being just another weaponized beast created by the Yapool, Aprasar here, used to be a woman named Aprasa. Aprasa hailed from the Virgo constellation, and was saved by the Yapool right before her planet exploded. The Yapool wanted Aprasa to become the maid of Captain Goro Ryu of TAC in order to kill him. However, after falling in love with the Earth and it’s people, she refused and was transformed into the monster Aprasar. Thankfully, Ultraman Ace is able to transform her back and Aprasa leaves for space.
In addition to a unique story, I also find Aprasar’s appearance to be fairly unique among the monsters seen in this show as well. Aprasar wearing the robe really makes her feel really supernatural, and the glowing eyes, grey skin and bird-like features really make Aprasar feel eerie during her nighttime fight with Ace and she feels like a creature that wouldn’t be out of place among the menagerie of various yokai from Japanese mythology.
SPACE MASK AND BLACK SATAN
Another alien agent of the Yapool, Space Mask arrives on Earth via meteor for another shot at destroying the Earth after repeated failures on Yapool’s part (and if you saw the Zemistlar episode, you can tell that’s definitely the case for the Yapool).
After failing to destroy TAC HQ, Space Mask disguises himself as a sculptor known as Sakai who is able to even win TAC member Mikawa’s heart. Sakai creates the statue of the monster Black Satan for some kids, and then transforms the statue into the real deal to kill Ace.
Space Mask himself, while not too elegantly designed compared to the previous Yapool agents, has a fun charm to him. He looks like he’s made out of tinfoil, sure, but I think that sort of kitschy look really fits the show’s off the wall aesthetic really well without being too gaudy. Sakai was played by Sumio Tomikawa, who would go on to appear in many other tokusatsu shows like Triple Fighter, Barom 1, 10-4-10-10, Robot Detective K and Star Wolf. I think Tomikawa does a great job here, and he’s reminiscent of villains like Jugglus Juggler and his ilk from the various New Generation Hero shows of the 2010’s.
Before we move onto Black Satan, I do wanna point out the show seems to imply that Space Mask isn’t just any alien, but rather one of the Yapool. Kinda interesting that this factoid would be swept under the rug in future Yapool appearances.
His monster, Black Satan, is one I feel like should’ve been seen as one of the more iconic Ace monsters. I love all the different design aspects about him from the blue and gold color scheme he has going on, the large ears, single, bloodshot eye and mouth full of fangs, he like I said about Aprasar, really looks like he’s pulled from Japanese mythology, even though he’s not. And as cool as the guy is, sadly he never seemed to catch on, a shame since he’s probably one of the coolest monsters from the show’s early part on a visual level alone.
GIANT YAPOOL
And here we are, the big climactic confrontation between Ace and the Yapool. After 22 episodes of trying and failing to kill Ace and conquer Earth, the Yapool decide to take matters into their own hands.
Children all over Japan fall under the sway of a mysterious old man. The man tells the children of how the Earth itself is dying and how human civilization is doomed. And soon, the children begin to get spirited away…
When Hokuto investigates the vanishing children, he comes across the old man, who is revealed to be a demonic beast, who manages to injure Hokuto and escapes to continue his reign of terror. It’s soon revealed that the old man is one of the Yapool, and they’ve been spiriting away the kids to their home dimension. After all, what better way to demoralize and destroy mankind than by taking away their literal future?
When Ultraman Ace goes to confront the Yapool in their dimension, all of them merge into one entity, the Giant Yapool, which engages Ace in a psychedelic battle. Ace is able to get the upper hand and destroy Yapool, but Yapool vows that despite being killed, it’s chojuh are still out there, waiting for a chance to strike.
While it might seem odd that the show’s main villain was killed off about halfway through it’s run and may seem like it’s a result of executive meddling, but it shockingly wasn’t. The writer/director of this episode, Tadashi Mafune, had written this into the script, and the producers were alright with that direction for the show. It’s a bit of a shock to me since I had always assumed that it was a decision on the behalf of the producers.
The old man form of the Yapool was played by Masashi Oki, and I think he does a good job in portraying a terrifying dark messiah. Oki himself is no slouch when it comes to appearing in tokusatsu, and not only will he show up in episode 24 of Ace, but has also appeared in shows like Ultraman Taro, Majin Hunter Mitsurugi, Lion Maru, The Kagestar and Mobile Detective Jiban.
The Giant Yapool would go on to become one of the most iconic monsters from Ace, and in the subsequent shows where Yapool shows up, it’ll always be the one we see here vs. them as a group, and I can see why, it’s a great design. Designed by Yoshio Suzuki, the design incorporates a lot of details Suzuki put on his monsters such as spikes, granular details on the limbs, and shaggy fur on the torso, so this design could be seen as sort of a summation of the various design principles he applied to his kaiju. For the design, Suzuki took inspiration from crabs and Enma, a deity from various East Asian and Buddhist mythologies that was the judge of the dead, fitting sort of how the Yapool hail from a nightmarish other world.
While Yapool’s presence would be somewhat diminished through the rest of Ace‘s run, the character, in their giant form, would pop up in other works such as Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Ginga S and Ultra Fight Victory. Yapool’s biggest role since Ace however, would be in Ultraman Mebius, where they would not only be the main villain in the film Ultraman Mebius and Ultraman Brothers, but also was the main villain for a full arc of the show, and returned for the show’s endgame as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the four evil generals of Empera, who is probably one of, if not the defining arch-villain of the franchise.
MAZARON AND MAZAREWS
Despite Yapool apparently being destroyed, the arch-villain’s influence still holds a tight grip over the world. Sort of a part 2 to the previous story, episode 24 introduces the formula of how the rest of the series will play out.
Young Kenta receives a mysterious stone from his father, who is currently working on a cargo ship. The rock, intended to be a good luck charm for Kenta and his pregnant mother, is in reality, one of the fragments of Yapool.
Shortly after receiving the stone, a mysterious red rain falls on the Earth, reviving the old man Yapool from the previous episode, who soon disappears in the sea. TAC is perplexed by the strange, crimson shower overhead, and they are unable to find the cause of it. This worries Hokuto and Minami, as Yapool is supposed to be dead, but then, why is this strange event occurring?
This is the work of Mazaron, an interdimensional invader who is born out of the various cells Yapool left behind after they died in the last episode, sort of a reincarnation of the Yapool’s grudge, and shares a connected life-force with the old man Yapool from the previous episode.
Using the Yapool fragment, and the maternal energy of Kenta’s mother, the chojuh Mazarews is born, a ghostly projection who has the cry of a newborn baby.
Whenever Mazarews materializes, Kenta’s mom occasionally transforms into a hideous hag to boot, that tries to kill the poor kid.
I really enjoy this storyline, and it’s monsters a lot. There’s a lot of genuinely eerie moments that rival those from horror films of the time, and the whole episode has a sort of surreal quality to it. There’s a sense of genuine childhood fear of a parent becoming a monster and threatening their own child, but even then, I feel like the episode has a much creepier undercurrent to it. Mazerews is referred to as both the child of Kenta’s mother, as well as Mazaron’s, which gives the impression of a demonic seduction. The red rain seen in the episode itself, has numerous connotations, such as being an omen of terrible events to come, as well as perhaps symbolizing fertility, particularly menstrual blood. Regardless of my attempts to play armchair psychologist with the episode’s intentions, the eerie wrongness of this episode can’t be understated.
Moving onto our monsters, I really like Mazaron himself, and I sort of wish he escaped this episode and served as the villain for the remainder of the show. His design is real nice, looking really creepy, but not over-designed like some of the monsters seen in the post-Yapool episodes. In addition, I really like how his grey skin really contrasts with the red, magma-filled volcano he calls his home. Reportedly, Giron Man was supposed to be the main antagonist in this episode before being replaced with Mazaron here, and even though I like Giron Man, I’m glad we got a fun, new villain here.
Mazarews itself is a pretty creepy monster, being a demonic projection born from Kenta’s mom rather than a “real” monster, but it gets the job done. The suit was made from the Sabotendar suit, and I think they do a good job disguising what it used to be, which partially might be due to how it’s only seen at night. I do like the new head given for it, which brings to mind Giant Yapool as well as feeling like it was plucked from Japanese mythology. Lastly, I have to commend the episode for giving Mazarews the cries of an infant, which already push a creepy episode into genuinely unwholesome territory.
ORION AND SPHINX
A race of aliens that ruled the Earth some 13,000 years ago, the Orion were forced into their pyramid due to a great flood. Reviving in the modern day (or 1972 natch), the Orion send out one of their species, disguised as a girl named Michiru, in order to destroy TAC’s weapon V9, which can destroy their pyramid. The pyramid also begins to emit a dangerous red gas, something the Orions need to live, but causes the white blood cell count to increase in humans.
After attempting to destroy V9, Minami is captured by the Orions, who soon unleash their chojuh, the creatively named Sphinx, to attack Japan.
I’m gonna sound a bit negative here, but I’m not the biggest fan of these guys at all. While the need for new villains after Yapool’s death is understandable, sure, it feels like the show has abandoned its primary purpose and story arc. In addition, how does an alien that just woke up have a chojuh? Did Yapool stop by to give him one way back in the day? It doesn’t make much sense.
Of the two, I find Orion the most interesting, seeing as how this guy is another being who lived on ancient Earth, likely a reference to how the book Chariots of the Gods? by Erich von Daniken hypothesized and popularized the idea of ancient monuments and artifacts being constructed by ancient aliens. Seeing how the book was popular right around this time period, as well as documentary based on it released in 1970, just two years before Ace, I would hardly be surprised if that was the primary inspiration for this episode. I also wonder if the Orions crossed paths with guys like the Underground Humans, the U-Toms, Nonmalt and Poll during their reign over the Earth. Seems awfully crowded for prehistoric times for all these different aliens. The Orion mask is the same mask from the monster form of the Old Man Yapool, but shot in photo-negative to disguise it. The head honcho Orion alien was voiced by Mahito Tsujimura, a voice actor whose various credits are impressive, and vast to say the least, with everything from Star Wars to Wallace and Gromit and even ALF! His credits in the realm of tokusatsu are just as equally impressive, as he lent his voice to such shows and films as several Showa era Ultraman and Kamen Rider series, Mighty Jack, Latitude Zero, Silver Kamen, Barom-1, Henshin Ninja Arashi, and Mirrorman just to name a few.
While I like the idea of a Sphinx kaiju, I think the Sphinx we see here falls a bit short. The design itself isn’t bad, but it’s not anything really creative, and the budgetary restrictions make this monster look cheap rather than imposing like the real-life Egyptian Sphinx.
Easter's Kaiju Kompendium 