1972 would prove to be a watershed year for Mecha as a genre, as the Giant Hero tokusatsu subgenre exploded with competitors to Tsuburaya Productions while Toei Animation would usher in a sea change for the genre at the end of the year.
But first, on April 7, the next installment in Tsuburaya's Ultraman franchise would launch: Ultraman Ace.
Once again, giant monsters threaten the Earth, however this time, they are being orchestrated by an extradimensional entity known as Yapool. Blurring the line between collective and individual, Yapool is a cunning and intelligent shapeshifter, with more than a little demonic aspects to the character.
Yapool, conquerer of dimensions
In an initial attack, two civilians, Seiji Hokuto and Yuko Minami, are killed while saving a bunch of orphans, and are given a new lease on life by the newly arrived Ultraman Ace. Ace merges with both of them and grants them a pair of Ultra Rings, which can summon the hero in times of need. Together, the two humans join the Terrible-monster Attacking Crew (TAC) to defend the Earth from terrible monster attacks.
The show marked a number of changes to the series, most obviously a pair of humans being able to form an Ultraman, including the first female human host of an Ultra. She would be written out of the show later, leaving Seiji to be sole host, but a deuteroprotagonist was a bold move. Yapool would be the first of many overarching series villains for the franchise, and would himself/itself return in future installments. Also notable is the appearance of the other Ultras. Whereas previously, one or two would show up occasionally as guest characters for an episode here or there, the previous four Ultras; Ultraman, Ultraseven, Jack, and Zoffy (who appeared in the last episode of the original Ultraman and hadn't had his own show), made much more frequent appearances as supporting characters.
It also introduced the Father of Ultra, who outranks all of the previous Ultras, has a pair of sweet horns and sideburns, and is also a giant Santa Claus.
As for robots, one of the franchise's most iconic moments comes during episodes 13 and 14. Yapool uses a fake Ultra Sign to lure the Ultra Brothers to a desolate planet called Golgotha in an anti-universe while a monster is sent to Earth. Ace is sent back to Earth to deal with the threat, but the other four Ultras are captured and crucified by Yapool. Yapool then deploys a red and gold robot called “Ace Killer.”
Ace Killer was built specifically to kill Ultras, and drains the powers from the captured Ultra Brothers, destroys a robotic replica of Ace, and is ultimately destroyed by the real Ace, who has been powered up by the remaining energy of his captured brothers.
Ultraman has always reflected strong Christian themes thanks to series creator Eji Tsubaraya being a devout Catholic, and the crucifiction of the Ultra Brothers goes all-in on the Christian imagery and symbolism, and would remain deeply baked into the franchise. Ultraman Ace would be the last Ultra series overseen by Eiji's son Hajime Tsuburaya, who would die of a cerebral hemorrhage in February of 1973. The company would continue onward, with Ultraman firmly entrenched as its flagship series.
Next time on Shin Super Robot Sunday: The first full-color super robot anime.
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