GANDAR AND POLL
Sent by the Poll aliens to create another Ice Age like they had done in the past, Gandar effortlessly creates a giant blizzard around the Ultra Guard’s headquarters, nearly freezing them to death after cutting the base’s power supply. Worse, Dan, weak to colder temperatures, becomes stranded in the blizzard and loses his Ultra Eye, making an already dangerous situation even more grim.
To paraphrase myself earlier, I think Gandar is one of those monsters that sadly didn’t reach a more popular status that I think he deserved. His design is probably my favorite among the various Seven monsters, with the inverted triangle wings creates a unique body shape. The narrow head, and stalked eyes bring to mind a snail or even Kanegon. They make Gandar seem slightly child-like, which somehow works with how deadly he is. The fact he was able to get the Ultra Guard and Seven on the ropes and very nearly win makes him a dangerous opponent.
We don’t see much of the Poll aliens, but they’re definitely memorable. Another group of puppets, I think their wedge-like design, clad in silhouette by the fire behind them, cackling at Dan in their high-pitched voices is such a wonderfully bizarre visual. I do find it interesting that these guys were behind the Ice Age in the show’s universe (these were the guys who sent those ancient humanoids underground?), and it makes me wonder what their end goal was in regards to that plan.
STAR BEM GYERON
Originally a native of the planet Gyeron, this poor creature’s home world was destroyed by the human race during the test of their devastating R-1 weapon, a bomb with the explosive force of 8000 hydrogen bombs. While the test was a success, it mutates the planet’s one inhabitant, who eventually arrives on Earth to take vengeance on humanity.
Gyeron’s design is a strange one, but it’s one I do like quite a bit. The more angular wings and head feel unnatural in the best sort of way, and you just have to wonder how many mutations this poor thing went through. It fits the message of the episode, a satire on nuclear deterrence regarding just how dangerous the idea of building bigger and more destructive weapons are. Gyeron at the end of the day, is nothing more than a tragic victim of mankind’s hubris.
Gyeron, unlike many Ultraseven monsters, would appear 50 years later in Ultraman Geed.
BORG
Using her advanced technology, a member of the Borg race captures a member of the Earth Defense Force and converts him into a cyborg in order to plant time bombs in Ultra Guard’s HQ.
Borg’s not a bad example of a cybernetic alien. The design feels really reminiscent of a conquistador’s armor, and the lines engraved on various spots in the armor bring some nice texture to Borg. The design was originally going to be utilized as the robotic servant of the Talk alien from an unproduced episode The 300 Year Revenge, but was repurposed into Borg when the episode was scrapped.
And no, they don’t say “Resistance is futile”.
KILL
Only identifiable as aliens by the way they vanish after being shot, the Kill plan a heist to steal Spiner, a powerful explosive compound that they wish to use in their conquest of other planets.
While it’s a bit disappointing the Kill don’t have a proper alien form, they work rather well with the spy-angle that their debut episode plays with. And in addition, they’re just the opening act for the episode’s true star….
DINOSAUR TANK
It’s a dinosaur riding a tank and it’s the pinnacle of perfection.
PROTE
Prote here, disguises himself as a scientist who takes a disgruntled university student under his wing. The two create a teleportation device, as well as launching a satellite that gathers information on Ultra Guard bases to use for their oncoming invasion.
Prote is another solid alien design by Narita, and it’s another one of those Seven monsters who I find underrated. I love the white head with the yellow pupils as it reminds me of a sunny side up egg. The black body looks really great too with lots of good details, which makes it a bit of a shame that his battle with Ultraseven happens in the dark, albeit sad battle is a really cool one with Prote creating multiple illusions of himself, showing off how much of a wily foe he is for Seven.
What really makes Prote stand out though, is his human form, played by Masahiko Naruse, who plays the alien in a really cold, and calculating way. This wouldn’t be Naruse’s last time playing a villain on the show, and I think his turn as Prote is among the best human forms of the various aliens seen on the program.
PLATIC
We don’t get much information regarding Platic, aside from his plan to kill Ultra Guard by sabotaging their war games, but he’s serviceable enough. Magazines from around the time claim that Platic is actually some sort of living plastic humanoid, which is fairly unique. I’m a tad torn on the design, since while I kinda like plastic “wrapping” over his body, it doesn’t feel as elegant and stylish as a lot of previous monster designs.
We also briefly get to see Platic’s living skeleton briefly, which I feel like is what the monster is most remembered for, since it’s such a bizarre moment to cap off the episode.
While Platic is pretty obscure in the annals of Ultraseven‘s monsters, he is important in some way, being the last monster Tohl Narita will design for the entirety of the Ultraman franchise, as Noriyoshi Ikeya will take on the duty of creature design for the remainder of the series.
DALLIE
Dallie here is a unique monster amongst the vast galaxy of Ultra Kaiju, as Dallie is our first microscopic being. Originating from outer space, Dallie infects the body of a young girl, transforming her into a vampire. In order to save her, Ultraseven shrinks himself down in order to tangle with Dallie.
For Ikeya’s first monster, I find Dallie to be a real winner. Taking inspiration for the name from Salvador Dali and his work on the film The Fantastic Voyage and a tick for the body, Dallie is a really great monster. I think it was a stroke of genius to have an opponent that was a fun reversal to all the giant monsters and aliens seen in the previous shows. Ikeya, much like Narita before him, would have three design rules for his monsters, and they would be as follows:
- Monsters and aliens shouldn’t look like real life creatures, look towards fashion magazines for inspiration
- They need to look pathetic in some way, due to them being killed at the end of the episode.
- No pupils to highlight how divorced from humanity all of them are.
Ikeya would continue his monster designs through Ultraseven, as well as doing work on through The Return of Ultraman and like Narita before him, many of his creatures would go onto iconic status.
RIGGER
A reptilian monster native to the floating island of Din, Rigger acts as the guard dog of the mysterious mist covered locale. Din soon enters Earth’s atmosphere, and to make matters worse-is revealed to be a time bomb, a trap for the Ultra Guard.
Rigger is sort of unique in that he’s just sort of a plain dinosaur monster, something Ultraseven doesn’t have much of, albeit he feels a little too plain in my eyes (perhaps due to being an altered Dinosaur Tank suit) and I almost feel like some extra weirdness could’ve really helped him. We’re not even sure what exactly Rigger is on Din, a defense system? Native inhabitant? The one controlling it?
That being said, the concept of a flying island that’s an elaborate trap is a fascinating one. The storyline originated as a concept for Ultraman, but was left on the cutting room floor until Ultraseven. The script up until filming had the island and Rigger be the tools of the Mandala aliens, but they were scrapped for reasons I’m not entirely sure of.
AGIRA
Agira here is Dan’s third capsule monster, and is tied with Miclas as my favorite of the trio. An upright triceratops isn’t the most unique of monsters, but it’s a nice way to round out Miclas and Windom. Originally in Agira’s role was going to be Pagos, but executives thought a new monster would bring in more ratings, and after taking inspiration from the dinosaurs from competing tokusatsu show Monster Prince, as well as deriving the new monster’s name from Akira Tsuburaya, Agira was born. While he hasn’t been as popular as Miclas or Windom, Agira has had a few roles over the years, though in all honesty, I feel like he should be used more alongside the other two.
SHADOWMEN
Corpses remanimated by a mysterious alien force, the ghostly Shadowmen attempt to find a microfilm that has information on all Terrestrial Defense Force bases.
We don’t get much details on these guys for the most part, let alone what was the force animating them, but part of me thinks that works in their favor here. The idea of some entity reviving the dead to use as it’s tools here on Earth is quite a concept, and while they just look like regular people clad in black (a choice probably done to save budget), their ghostly powers and mysterious nature make them more frightening than many aliens we’ve seen in the show. I can’t help but be reminded of the real world reports of the Men in Black which were happening with alarming frequency in the late 1960’s, and I wonder if that’s where the inspiration of these guys comes from. In addition, they almost seem like the precursors to the Invaders from Mirrorman, another race of ghostly aliens using dead bodies to hide themselves on Earth.
While we don’t see what alien was responsible for the Shadowmen, the episode originally had the Yuri aliens controlling them. While in the final episode, we’d only see their UFOs, Ikeya did create this piece of concept art for them which is serviceable enough I suppose. I like the spade-shaped head, as well as the single eye in the middle. It could’ve been a really nice suit I suppose, had it made it to screen.
DANCAN
A strange, liquid life form with superior intelligence, Dancan arrives on Earth in order to find shelter from a space storm. However, Dancan quickly is seen as an invader by Ultra Guard after the being kidnaps an entire city and demands that the Earthlings leave him be in peace, using the inhabitants of the city he captured as hostages, with the situation becoming more dangerous after the strange alien takes control over Ultraseven. However, Ultra Guard is able to save Seven, and the foam-like alien transforms itself into a monster to battle the hero from M78.
Dancan isn’t too shabby of a monster in my book and I really think Ikeya knocked it out of the park with this one. The hunched over, body, covered in icy blue spikes and red eyes all come together to form a really aesthetically pleasing kaiju. Dancan just looks nice. I also really like the idea that this is just a form used to combat an opponent like Ultraseven, and that it’s really a mass of shapeshifting foam. It’s a well-worn scifi trope, but it’s well-worn for good reason.
That being said, while I do feel some sympathy for Dancan’s plight, dude could’ve just asked if he could’ve stayed on Earth without kidnapping all those people and then acting angry once the Ultra Guard came knocking.
ZAMPPA AND PETERO
The lone survivor of a previous invasion three years ago, Zamppa destroys the TDF moon base in an attempt to lure Commanders Kurata and Kiriyama, the two men who were responsible for defeating the first invasion. Disguised as an Ultra Guard member, Zamppa attempts to kill both of them for revenge.
I always liked the look of Zamppa here, and while we only see his true form briefly, the ridges on the face with the deep, glowing eyes is a really nice alien design, to the point where it’s almost a shame it’s seen just as Zamppa meets his maker. But, it works in favor with the unique revenge plot that’s going on here. I feel like with so many alien invasions being foiled, there’d be more angry, stranded invaders looking to seek revenge.
Petero, Zamppa’s monster however, isn’t really anything to write home about, looking like a rehash of Greenmons, but with a greyscale color scheme to fit the story’s lunar setting. Unlike Greenmons however, Petero actually gets Ultraseven on the ropes for quite a bit, being able to tank every blow Seven throws at him, until the hero is able to get energy from a comet that crashes into the Moon.
PEGA
Arriving on Earth to prevent the construction of an artificial sun, Pega plots to assassinate different scientists working on the project. Due to the different atmospheric pressures on his planet compared to Earth, Pega controls the minds of several Earthlings from his flying saucer to fulfill his evil plans.
Pega’s always been a monster I’ve been torn on design wise. On one hand, I think it shows off how weird Ikeya’s monsters can get, and I can see Pega liberally taking inspiration different fashions, and I think the tiny, black head on the blue body is fairly memorable. On the other hand, the monster does look kinda silly and something that should be harassing The Beatles instead of Ultra Guard. But I think if I really had to choose, I’d say I do like Pega, even if the character is a little ridiculous looking.
I do like the idea of Pega being forced to remain in his ship, lest he perish in Earth’s atmosphere. It’s something you don’t see too much of in this series, and it sets Pega apart from the rest.
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