"Ultra Seven" appears to be the overall best entry in the entire "Ultra" series, which began with "Ultra Q" and achieved massive popularity with "Ultraman." Fan coverage seems to confirm the belief that the third entry in the series, "Ultra Seven," is indeed the best. The stories often focused a lot more on characters and story than previous entries did; they also probed a number of social and ethical issues relevant to contemporary society - not just Japanese society but everywhere, with the overall intent being an introspective examination of who/what we are as a species. The entire "Ultra" series focused on the adventures of alien superheroes saving Earth from all threats, terrestrial and extraterrestrial. This incarnation finds the intergalactic space traveler Ultra Seven assuming the form of an injured mountain climber, and thus becomes the human Dan Moroboshi (Koji Moritsugu), the honorary seventh member of the Terrestrial Defense Force (TDF), which protects Earth from all forms of extraterrestrial menace (and whose ranks include two cast members from "Ultraman"). The focus of any of the various "Ultra" films were the creative kaiju/daikaiju monster designs and showdowns, courtesy of Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970) and his company Tsuburaya Productions (which was also behind the hugely popular Showa-era "Godzilla" film series).
Ultra Seven is now my second-favorite Japanese superhero, behind The Guyver.
10/10
