The Monster User and the Boy is the thirty-third episode of Return of Ultraman.
Plot[]
A young boy named Ryo, who lives in an abandoned house near the river, was persecuted for rumoured being an alien with supernatural powers. The truth is he is living with Alien Mates, an environment investigator from outer space. However, despite doing no harm to human, Alien Mates was cruelly murdered by villagers with fear and prejudice. Upon its death, monster Muruchi appears in a heavy rain.
Cast[]
- Hideki Go : Jiro Dan
- Ryu Ibuki : Jun Negami
- Jiro Sakata : Hideki Kawaguchi
- Ippei Ueno : Ko Mitsui (voice)
Guest Actors[]
- Ryo Sakuma : Hideya Nihei
- Juro Kanayama (Alien Mates) : Kenjiro Uemura
- Men in the city
- Umezu Sakae
- Hiroshi Ogasawara
- Police officer: Junshi Yamazaki
Appearances[]
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
Home Media[]
- Return of Ultraman Volume 9 features episodes 33-36.
2002 release
2010
Trivia[]
- This episode has a sequel episode in the series Ultraman Mebius, called "The Monster Master's Legacy".
- This episode was written by Shozo Uehara as a nod to the discrimination of ethnicity in Japan in the past. The Alien Mates is based on Koreans, while Ryu Sakuma is based on the Ainu people living in Hokkaido.[1]
- Due to the excessively intense plot and the tragic ending of this episode, the director Shohei Tojo received severe criticism from the senior management at TBS and was demoted to assistant director. Similarly, the scriptwriter Shozo Uehara was also suspended from writing for the series until the final episode.
- In the original script, there were warm scenes depicting the Sakata family's domestic life, as well as moments showcasing the daily routines of MAT members, along with plotlines involving the main characters assisting Ryo. However, due to Uehara's ideologies and personal experiences of discrimination, coupled with director Tojo's decision to cut out all scenes involving the Sakata family and MAT, such an ending ensued.
- Despite what the title suggests, Alien Mates in this episode was never a monster manipulator.
- After the passing of writer Shozo Uehara, Tsuburaya Productions commemorated his achievements by releasing this episode for a limited time on the digital platform "TSUBURAYA GALAXY" in January 2020.
References[]