The Invisible Challenger (姿なき挑戦者, Sugata naki Chōsensha) is the first episode of Ultraseven.
Synopsis[]
Terrestrial Defense Force presumed that incidents of human disappearing is done by alien, and sent out the elite team "Ultra Guard" for investigation. However, a mysterious wanderer appeared in front of Furuhashi and Soga, the members of the Ultra Guard. The man named himself Dan Moroboshi, warned them about the danger and told them how to solve the incident. Who actually is this man?
Summary[]
The scene opens up one night with a man being pulled over by an Officer for a routine traffic stop. Before handing over his registration though, the man is suddenly consumed by a bright flash of light and vanishes. We are then introduced to the "Ultra Guard," an organization run by a specially-trained defense force, and its members:
- Commander Kaoru Kiriyama, the Team's Captain.
- Soga, the Team's hot-shot marksman.
- Furuhashi, the Team's hot-headed strongman.
- Amagi, the Team's tactician.
- Anne Yuri, the Team's medic and token-female member.
After learning that the incident last night was not the first of its kind (other disappearances include at a park, a hotel lobby, and a college laboratory,) the Ultra Guard deduces that the culprit to the attacks are from aliens, and they are sent to find the attackers.
When Soga and Furuhashi are sent to the nearest location of where the latest attack has occurred (involving 2 defense force members being abducted by the attacker as well) the pair run into a man in yellow with a duffel bag, who advises both men from entering a secluded area, only to be met with their skepticism. However, their doubts are cast aside when they witness a pair of officers entering the vicinity (also against the man's wishes,) only to be attacked by the same light as before and vanish. Suddenly Soga, Furuhashi, and the man (having introduced himself as Dan Moroboshi) are attacked as well, but thanks to Dan's initiative and quick-thinking (and secret ability to see invisible objects,) he and the men manage to escape their attackers by shielding their car (known as the "Pointer,") and taking out any obstacle the attackers cause with the Pointer's weapons. Having eluded the attackers, Dan takes both men back to the Ultra Guard's HQ.
With Dan having passed on the information to Captain Kiriyama, the Ultra Guard learns that the attackers are indeed aliens, and have been abducting humans for the sake of experimentation, in preparation for an invasion. Before the team can attack any further, the HQ is contacted personally by the alien themselves: A race known as the "Alien Cool," who make their plans known: Surrender the Earth to them or face annihilation. With the team firmly refusing, the Alien Cool attack a nearby Industrial Facility as a warning, threatening to attack Tokyo next. Turning to Dan for help, knowing that knows more about the aliens than they do, Dan proposes making an "High-Velocity Atomiser" to expose the Aliens' camouflage and thus the team are quick to prepare the Atomiser for Dan's plan.
Eventually the Atomiser is completed, and taking off in the Team's Ultra Hawk 1, the Ultra Guard tracks down the Aliens' ship and fires the Atomiser, dousing them in paint. Exposed and with nowhere to hide, the aliens are chased away by the Ultra Hawk 1 as it attacks their ship. However after being followed into a rocky wasteland, the aliens manage to outwit the Ultra Guard by hiding in a rock formation. The Aliens then gain a leg-up on the team and the Ultra Hawk 1 is taken down in an ambush assault, leaving the crew unconscious. Luckily, Dan manages to escape just as the Mothership sends out several smaller ships to finish the job, and to combat the aliens, Dan reveals another weapon of his own: A Robotic Capsule Monster named "Windom." At first, Windom manages to take out a few of the Alien Cool's ships, but when the remaining fleet manages to combine, their empowered assault takes Windom out of action, forcing Dan to call his Monster back for its safety.
Suddenly just as it seems he has no other option to fight back, Dan jumps into the air and transforms into a red and silver giant. The giant shrinks down in size and boards the Alien's Mothership, where he is confronted by the Alien Cool himself, as well as finds the aliens' captives. Wasting no time, the hero takes the blade off of his head and decapitates Alien Cool, killing the alien and allowing the hero to free its captives. Once freed, the hero takes on a giant form once more and carries the alien's Mothership into space, where he destroys it with a laser that is fired from his forehead, ending the invasion and saving the Earth! With the aliens' invasion foiled, the Ultra Guard rewards Dan for his assistance by recruiting him as the latest member of their team.
TNT Version[]
to be added
Cast[]
- Hikaru Urano as the Narrator
- Kohji Moritsugu as Dan Moroboshi
- Shōji Nakayama as Commander Kaoru Kiriyama
- Sandayū Dokumamushi as Shigeru Furuhashi
- Yuriko Hishimi as Anne Yuri
- Shinsuke Achiha as Soga
- Bin "Satoshi" Furuya as Amagi
Guest Cast[]
- to be added
Suit Actors[]
- Uenishi Koji as Ultraseven
- Hikaru Otsuki as Windom
Notes[]
- Despite being the first episode of the series, this was the 5th episode to be made during production.
- In the preparatory script of this episode, Miclas was originally meant to fight against the Alien Cool's squadron of ships. However, he was swapped out for Windom instead.