During a birthday party for a young woman named Ruriko, a alien known as Braco walks out of the ocean, kills her dog and makes off with the girl. Anne, who is attending the party, alerts her comrades. Searching for her missing friend, they find the monsters footprints, but no sign of the creature.
The UG eventually find Ruriko unconscious on the beach with a strange parasite attached to her arm. They discover to their horror that these spores can only grow and multiply inside of female host bodies. The only cure is Radiation Alpha 73, a special element found on Saturn. With but hours to save her and Anne both, Ultraseven and the Ultra Guard must face an assault by dozens of aliens before Seven can race to the ringed planet to retrieve the element required to save the two women.
This episode, which was completed during the preparatory stage of the series still referred to as Redman, has notable differences between the early draft and the final version:
In the early draft, Alien Cobra (コブラ星人, Kobura Seijin) (later known as Alien Braco) appeared. In the story, to rescue Anne and Ruriko, Dan deliberately refrains from piloting the Hawk and instead transforms into Redman. He then flies toward Saturn carrying two special capsules containing Anne and Ruriko, aiming to save their lives.[2]
Ultimately, the episode ended with the following exchange: Dan: "I had a bit of a stomach ache, so I rested in the medical room...", "Really, you're hopeless with your messy habits!" "Ah, Anne..." This ending differs from the more serious tone in the final draft, incorporating a touch of light humor and playfulness.
The final version introduced several scenes that were not present in the script, such as Dan staring at an image of Saturn, and Kiriyama sensing Dan's inner emotions. Additionally, the ending was expanded to include a scene of Dan drawing the Saturn diagram.
In this episode, Captain Kiriyama mentions that Ultraseven is heading to Saturn to save Anne and Ruriko, seemingly showing little concern for Dan's safety. This suggests that he may have already suspected that Dan is Ultraseven. Originally, the script included a scene where Ultraseven returns to the base and takes the mineral storage device before heading to Saturn, but this part was ultimately cut from the final version.[3][4][5]
According to an interview with producer Ken Kumagai by Yoichi Iwasa:[6]
Kumagai mentioned that this episode was filmed simultaneously with the previous one, "Pursue the Undersea Base!," and revealed that the scenes were shot in collaboration with the old "Hama no Hotel" in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, as well as TBS's employee lodging. He recalled that the ocean set was used in both episodes and speculated that Jun Oki's involvement in the shooting was likely based on the filming schedule at the time. If he participated, it would have been to assist in adjusting the shooting plan. The ocean scenes needed adjustments based on the real-life location of Iritahama in Shimoda, which might have been why Oki's help was required.
In this episode, the focus of the story shifted, delving deeper into the relationship between Dan and Anne. After episodes that primarily depicted male-centered narratives, the production team wanted to present their relationship in a more profound way. Although Ultraseven didn’t feature intense battle scenes, TBS made no comments or requests regarding this direction at the time.
Yoichi Iwasa revealed the intent behind Dan drawing the Saturn diagram. Kumagai, when explaining the scene to him, mentioned that it was meant to showcase Dan's childishness and innocence. By drawing in such an untainted way, it highlighted the character's youthful traits. Kumagai believed that compared to Hayata’s more mature image, Dan had a more approachable, endearing quality, and they wanted to reflect this youthful innocence in the story.
Additionally, Iwasa discussed Dan’s pen-licking gesture while drawing. He explained that this habit came from early artists who, lacking easy access to water, would lick the tip of their brushes to keep them moist for smoother painting.
This episode is known as "The Human Ranch" in the Hawaiian English dub, and "The Chromosome Eaters" in the TNT English dub.
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