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Captain Ultra (TV series)

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Captain Ultra
Space Tokusatsu Series: Captain Ultra
GenreTokusatsu
Written bySusumu Takaku
Directed byHajime Sato
StarringHirohisa Nakata
Nenji Kobayashi
Jiro Sagawa
Yuki Jono
Ichiro Izawa
Narrated byHideo Murota (eps 1-2)
Takeshi Kuwabara (eps 3-12)
Iemasa Kayumi (eps 14-24)
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of episodes24
Production
Production companiesToei Company, TBS
Original release
NetworkTokyo Broadcasting System Television
ReleaseApril 16 (1967-04-16) –
September 24, 1967 (1967-09-24)

Captain Ultra (キャプテンウルトラ, Kyaputen Urutora) is the titular intergalactic superhero of a Japanese pulp-style tokusatsu science fiction space adventure television series titled Space Tokusatsu Series: Captain Ultra (宇宙特撮シリーズ キャプテンウルトラ, Uchū Tokusatsu Shirīzu: Kyaputen Urutora). Produced by Toei Company Ltd., the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from April 16 to September 24, 1967, with a total of 24 episodes.

This series is based very loosely on Captain Future, the pulp science fiction saga created by the influential Edmond Hamilton. This was not the only time his work was adapted in Japan: Captain Future was officially adapted into an anime series by Toei Doga in 1978, and that same year, Tsuburaya Productions adapted his Starwolf novels into a tokusatsu sci-fi action series of the same title.

Originally, this series was aired by Tokyo Broadcasting System right after the end of the original Ultraman show to serve as a filler series while Tsuburaya Productions geared up for the production of Ultra Seven. So only 24 episodes of Captain Ultra were ordered by the network. So, the week following the conclusion of Captain Ultra, Ultra Seven premiered on TBS. Still, while short-lived, the series has been released in Japan on all of the major home video formats since the 1980s: VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD. In 2005, a tankōbon volume of the original serialized manga illustrated by Shunji Obata in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1967 was published by Manga Shop.[1]

Captain Ultra is among the more memorable tokusatsu series from the 1960s, and was one of the three cornerstones of Toei's programs of 1967, including Akakage and Giant Robo (better known in the US as Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot). Some Japanese fans also compare the looks of Captain Ultra to that of Captain Scarlet, the title hero of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (which had been shown in Japan around the same time and was very popular).

The series was aired in the Takeda Hour block (sponsored by the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company).

Characters

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  • Captain Ultra (Hirohisa Nakata) - The hero.
  • Huck (Jiro Sagawa) - Captain Ultra's robot companion.
  • Joe (Nenji Kobayashi) - Captain Ultra's alien friend from Planet Kikero.
  • Akane (Yuki Jono) - Captain Ultra's beautiful space cadet. Has assorted secret agent gadgets.
  • Kenji (Shigeru Yasunaka) - Captain Ultra's eager young boy space cadet.
  • Professor Munamoto (Ichiro Izawa) - The scientific expert for the heroes.

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1 (Japanese: バンデル星人襲来す)Hajime SatoSusumu TakakuApril 16, 1967 (1967-04-16)
2 (Japanese: 宇宙ステーション危機一発)Hajime SatoNorio OsadaApril 23, 1967 (1967-04-23)
3 (Japanese: 磁石怪獣ガルバンあらわる)Akira KashimaSusumu TakakuApril 30, 1967 (1967-04-30)
4 (Japanese: 原始怪獣ブルコングあらわる)Akira KashimaNorio OsadaMay 7, 1967 (1967-05-07)
5 (Japanese: バンデル巨人あらわる!!)Koichi TakemotoSusumu TakakuMay 14, 1967 (1967-05-14)
6 (Japanese: 怪兵器ゲバードあらわる)Minoru YamadaArashi Ishizu
Minoru Yamada
May 21, 1967 (1967-05-21)
7 (Japanese: 原始怪獣ブルコングの逆襲)Minoru YamadaNorio OsadaMay 28, 1967 (1967-05-28)
8 (Japanese: 二大怪獣 火星都市にあらわる)Akira KashimaSusumu TakakuJune 4, 1967 (1967-06-04)
9 (Japanese: 怪生物バンデルエッグあらわる)Akira KashimaYoshitake Suzuki
Tsunehisa Ito
June 11, 1967 (1967-06-11)
10 (Japanese: スパイロケット ワルダーあらわる!!)Koichi TakemotoMasaki TsujiJune 18, 1967 (1967-06-18)
11 (Japanese: 四次元衛星ノズラーあらわる)Katsuhiko TaguchiNorio OsadaJune 25, 1967 (1967-06-25)
12 (Japanese: バンデル星人を撃滅せよ)Koichi TakemotoSusumu TakakuJuly 2, 1967 (1967-07-02)
13 (Japanese: まぼろし怪獣ゴースラーあらわる!!)Hajime SatoKoichiro OtsuJuly 9, 1967 (1967-07-09)
14 (Japanese: 金属人間メタリノームあらわる!!)Hajime SatoYoshi KaiJuly 16, 1967 (1967-07-16)
15 (Japanese: コメット怪獣ジャイアンあらわる)Koichi TakemotoNorio Osada
Ikuro Yamazaki
July 23, 1967 (1967-07-23)
16 (Japanese: 雷雨怪獣アメゴンあらわる!!)Katsuhiko TaguchiSusumu TakakuJuly 30, 1967 (1967-07-30)
17 (Japanese: 合成怪獣バクトンあらわる!!)Katsuhiko TaguchiToru Iguchi
Ikuro Yamazaki
August 6, 1967 (1967-08-06)
18 (Japanese: ゆうれい怪獣キュドラあらわる)Yoshiharu TomitaNorio OsadaAugust 13, 1967 (1967-08-13)
19 (Japanese: 神話怪獣ウルゴンあらわる!!)Yoshiharu TomitaTakeo KanekoAugust 20, 1967 (1967-08-20)
20 (Japanese: スペクトル怪獣シャモラーあらわる!!)Katsuhiko TaguchiSusumu TakakuAugust 27, 1967 (1967-08-27)
21 (Japanese: 電波怪物ラジゴン星人あらわる!!)Katsuhiko TaguchiToru IguchiSeptember 3, 1967 (1967-09-03)
22 (Japanese: 怪獣軍団あらわる!!)Minoru YamadaSusumu TakakuSeptember 10, 1967 (1967-09-10)
23 (Japanese: くたばれ怪獣軍団!!)Minoru YamadaSusumu TakakuSeptember 17, 1967 (1967-09-17)
24 (Japanese: 行け!キャプテン 宇宙をこえて)Hajime SatoYoshi KaiSeptember 24, 1967 (1967-09-24)

References

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  1. ^ "キャプテンウルトラ" (in Japanese). Manga Shop. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
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