Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
Unfortunately, this video has been claimed by Tsuburaya so I had to alter various clips shown throughout. If you want to watch this video completely unaltered, become a channel member!
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The story of “Ultraseven” starts with a rather obscure Toei show from 1967 titled Captain Ultra. This series served as a stopgap between Ultraman and whatever Tsuburaya was working on next. The show followed a space explorer named Captain Ultra and his crew as they traveled the galaxy battling alien threats, which on paper should have worked given the audience Ultraman had built. It didn't. Ratings were soft, merchandise wasn't moving, and TBS found themselves with a Sunday evening timeslot that had gone from one of the most valuable in Japanese television to a genuine liability within a single season. Captain Ultra was cancelled in September 1967, and TBS came back to Eiji Tsuburaya with real pressure behind them: they needed a color science fiction series with a powerful hero, they needed it to sell toys, and they needed it to stop bleeding money...
[00:14] – Introduction: Captain Ultra (1967) and the Pressure on Tsuburaya
[01:17] – Concept Development: From The Ultra Garrison to Kinjo's Ultra Eye
[03:00] – The Capsule Monsters Budget Workaround
[03:42] – Tohl Narita's Design Philosophy (Chaos vs. Cosmos) & The Red Suit Accident
[05:48] – Casting Moritsugu & Hashimi: Hidden Marriages and Backstage Uniform Troubles
[07:45] – Financial Collapse: Flying Saucer Salad Bowls and Production Exhaustion
[08:46] – The Merchandising Controversy: The Banning of Episode 12 (From Another Planet with Love)
[11:04] – Tohl Narita’s Resignation over Commercialization & Noriyoshi Ohrai Taking Over
[12:18] – Dan Moroboshi as a Protagonist: Performance, Secrets, and the Unhurried Pilot
[14:22] – The Targeted Town: staging the Cold War Confrontation with Alien Metron
[15:21] – Melancholy Narratives & Moral Ambiguity in Ultra 7
[16:23] – The Absurdity Balance: Dino Tank (The 700 km Run)
[18:05] – Physical Limitations: The Beam Lamp vs. The Color Timer & Shared Injuries
[19:54] – The Romance Between Dan and Anne & Staging the Final Confession
[21:05] – The Melancholic Mastery of the Finale & Earning the Tragedy
[22:35] – Eiji Tsuburaya’s Masterpiece, His Passing, and His Lasting Legacy
[24:41] – Channel Update & Future of the Ultra Franchise Retrospective Series
check out the website: www.firewood.media
Thanks for watching and consider checking out the other films and music videos on our channel! We have released two feature films, a vast collection of short films, music videos, and weekly uploads. If you are interested in watching them, here are a selection of links...
PESTICIDE: youtu.be/JUGUbJQo8bE
S2D MUSIC VIDEO: youtu.be/ecSQbMREO5M
CAREER MINOR LEAGUER: youtu.be/5DYLbgSqtvM
Twitter: twitter.com/firewoodmediatv
Instagram: instagram.com/firewoodmediatv
TikTok: tiktok.com/@firewoodmedia
Bandcamp: firewoodmedia.bandcamp.com/album/pesticide
Unfortunately, this video has been claimed by Tsuburaya so I had to alter various clips shown throughout. If you want to watch this video completely unaltered, become a channel member!
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCWt-qgIjac3_pm4YKj-ODYA/join
The story of “Ultraseven” starts with a rather obscure Toei show from 1967 titled Captain Ultra. This series served as a stopgap between Ultraman and whatever Tsuburaya was working on next. The show followed a space explorer named Captain Ultra and his crew as they traveled the galaxy battling alien threats, which on paper should have worked given the audience Ultraman had built. It didn't. Ratings were soft, merchandise wasn't moving, and TBS found themselves with a Sunday evening timeslot that had gone from one of the most valuable in Japanese television to a genuine liability within a single season. Captain Ultra was cancelled in September 1967, and TBS came back to Eiji Tsuburaya with real pressure behind them: they needed a color science fiction series with a powerful hero, they needed it to sell toys, and they needed it to stop bleeding money...
[00:14] – Introduction: Captain Ultra (1967) and the Pressure on Tsuburaya
[01:17] – Concept Development: From The Ultra Garrison to Kinjo's Ultra Eye
[03:00] – The Capsule Monsters Budget Workaround
[03:42] – Tohl Narita's Design Philosophy (Chaos vs. Cosmos) & The Red Suit Accident
[05:48] – Casting Moritsugu & Hashimi: Hidden Marriages and Backstage Uniform Troubles
[07:45] – Financial Collapse: Flying Saucer Salad Bowls and Production Exhaustion
[08:46] – The Merchandising Controversy: The Banning of Episode 12 (From Another Planet with Love)
[11:04] – Tohl Narita’s Resignation over Commercialization & Noriyoshi Ohrai Taking Over
[12:18] – Dan Moroboshi as a Protagonist: Performance, Secrets, and the Unhurried Pilot
[14:22] – The Targeted Town: staging the Cold War Confrontation with Alien Metron
[15:21] – Melancholy Narratives & Moral Ambiguity in Ultra 7
[16:23] – The Absurdity Balance: Dino Tank (The 700 km Run)
[18:05] – Physical Limitations: The Beam Lamp vs. The Color Timer & Shared Injuries
[19:54] – The Romance Between Dan and Anne & Staging the Final Confession
[21:05] – The Melancholic Mastery of the Finale & Earning the Tragedy
[22:35] – Eiji Tsuburaya’s Masterpiece, His Passing, and His Lasting Legacy
[24:41] – Channel Update & Future of the Ultra Franchise Retrospective Series
check out the website: www.firewood.media
Thanks for watching and consider checking out the other films and music videos on our channel! We have released two feature films, a vast collection of short films, music videos, and weekly uploads. If you are interested in watching them, here are a selection of links...
PESTICIDE: youtu.be/JUGUbJQo8bE
S2D MUSIC VIDEO: youtu.be/ecSQbMREO5M
CAREER MINOR LEAGUER: youtu.be/5DYLbgSqtvM
Twitter: twitter.com/firewoodmediatv
Instagram: instagram.com/firewoodmediatv
TikTok: tiktok.com/@firewoodmedia
Bandcamp: firewoodmedia.bandcamp.com/album/pesticide
