Event Recap: Ultraman Connection Live: Sevenger Fight

Team TokuNet attended the first Ultraman Connection Live online event featuring the Sevenger Fight miniseries.

On June 3rd the online event Ultraman Connection Live: Sevenger Fight took place. Those who purchased a ticket for the event had the opportunity to watch the debut of the Sevenger Fight miniseries for the first time outside of Japan. Along with the debut of the series, a talk show was incorporated into the event as well. This event was hosted by Sean Nichols, who played Sean White in Ultraman Max. Guest speakers who attended the event were Rima Matsuda, Takaya Aoyagi, and the director of Ultraman Z and Sevenger Fight Kiyotaka Taguchi.

Left to right: Rima Matsuda, Takaya Aoyagi, Kiyotaka Taguchi, Sean Nichols

The start of the event began with a pre-show, introducing the event and guests to viewers. After introductions, they shifted into showing a few episodes of Sevenger Fight. This airing of the series did come with English subtitles, but the subtitles were presented in the format of a Japanese variety television show. Each of the actors who provided voiceover in the series had color-coordinated subtitles to the character they were playing, and the subtitles matched the flow of how the conversation went during each episode. Subtitles were also presented in various spots of the screen unlike the traditional format of keeping them in the middle and bottom.

Halfway through the stream, the video seemingly crashes, with a “technical difficulties” banner showing up. Within a few minutes, however, the stream continued.

After the first four episodes aired, the event cut back to the talk show portion. At this point Sean Nichols also addressed the stream going down, saying it was due to an “alien frequency” interfering with the stream. Sean Nichols then proceeded to a Q&A with the guests of the show. The guests answered in Japanese, with Nichols translating on their behalf once they were done speaking.

Q: What was your favorite episode of Sevenger Fight?

Matsuda: Episode 3 “Let Those Bullets Stain It In Blood” because episode 3 is the “loosest and goofiest of all.” Her favorite part is where Sevenger and Eleking both got tired and fell down during their chase.

Aoyagi: Episode 7 “Return of that Red Guy,” Because he did the best narration job in that episode.

Taguchi: Episode 7 “Return of that Red Guy,” because in the episode he was able to focus on making the “red guy” do moves like a pro wrestler.

Q: Were there any challenges recording your lines for Sevenger Fight?

Matsuda: Because the script was very small, there was a lot of adlibbing that had to be done to match what was happening on screen. If no one could figure out what to say for the scene they would point to Hikari Kuroki (Yuka Ohta in Ultraman Z) and she would say “Why me?!” Everyone would then laugh and they would have to cut and do retakes.

Aoyagi: Because there was not a lot of script to go off of, there was a lot of adlibbing so there was a lot of pressure in the beginning to think of something funny and make the character seem cool. Halfway through recording however he relaxed and went with the flow and said whatever came to mind.

Taguchi: He trusted the actors to do the best job adlibbing their character’s lines.

Q (For Matsuda): Yoko is the only human to have piloted all four S.T.O.R.A.G.E. robots. What is Yoko’s and your favorite robot from Ultraman Z?

Matsuda: For Yoko, her favorite robot was Sevenger because that was the first one she piloted. For Matsuda herself, her favorite was King Joe STORAGE Custom because that is the one Matsuda was in the most throughout the series.

Q (For Aoyagi): How has your playing of Jugglus Juggler change over time?

Aoyagi: Each time Juggler appears, he’s got a bit different or we learned something new about him. He keeps getting more and more complex, but they want to keep the same core essence while coming up with something unique through every series.

Q (For Taguchi): What did you enjoy most about filming Sevenger Fight?

Taguchi: Normally in the Ultra Series, they have to create a set and have the monsters come in and destroy it. With filming outside however, that means there was nothing to worry about with getting good angles that fit with the set.

Q (For Taguchi): What was the specific goal for Ultraman Z and how would you describe the visual approach for the series?

Taguchi: For each Ultra Series there is no goal in mind, but with each one he directs he tries something new and better than the one before, especially for the New Generation era. As for the visual approach, he was able to control everything that came forth on the screen and was able to see things from start to finish unlike when he directs for one episode. Each episode he would try and make it better than the one prior.

After the Q&A Nichols then moved onto the next segment of the talk show, in which the guests presented their favorite scene from Ultraman Z, which they also drew.

Matsuda’s favorite scene was from the finale of Ultraman Z, where Yoko and Haruki are falling in the sky next to Ultraman Z as Haruki is transforming into Ultraman Z. Her drawing was a doodle that she spent ten minutes making.

Aoyagi’s favorite scene was from episode 5 of Ultraman Z, which debut Hebikura as Jugglus Juggler for the first time. The scene specifically was when Juggler is lying on the ground  and then looks to the screen and says “What fun.” Aoyagi’s drawing was a manga-style drawing that was in color that took two hours for him to make.

Taguchi’s favorite scene was also from the finale, when Haruki, Hebikura, and Bako all piloting the S.T.O.R.A.G.E. Robots. His drawing was a very detailed sketch, almost like a storyboard for a scene that took him an hour to make.

After this portion of the talk show, they proceeded to play episodes 5-7 of Sevenger Fight. Once finishing up with the remaining episodes that were scheduled to broadcast, they went back to the talk show portion of the event. Suddenly Alien Barossa comes onto the stage and takes over Nichols. He takes him over and controls him in an attempt to stop the broadcast after trying to stop it before with the “alien frequency” from space.

Speaking through Nichols he commands the guests to bring out Sevenger to battle one more time. However, instead of actual fighting, Alien Barossa declared that they will play a game of charades. Barossa has Nichols write out a scene, or character from the Ultra series, and Sevenger acts them out. The guests of the show had to guess what Sevenger was acting out.

In the game of charades Sevenger acted out the following:

-Ultraman Geed’s Wrecking Burst
-Alien Baltan
-Zetton
-Ultraman Z’s Kabuki Attack
-Ultraman Z Gamma Future
-Bako fishing & preparing fish

After the game of charades was over Alien Barossa frees Nichols from his control and summons Zetton to fight Sevenger together. After a few moments of fighting Ayogai walks in front of the camera, then walks away from the stage to say he needs to “use the restroom.” Ultraman Z in his Alpha Edge form then shows up to team up with Sevenger to defeat Alien Barossa and Zetton. Jugglus Juggler then appears as well to fight with Sevenger and Ultraman Z.

Once the stage show was finished Nichols presented final messages to the international fans, and to give the guests a chance to speak with the overseas audience.

Matsuda: Thank you very much for watching. I really appreciate the support. Please keep watching!

Aoyagi: Thank you everyone, I had a lot of fun today

Taguchi: Thank you for watching this. Keep watching, and we’ll keep making more. Hopefully, we’ll keep growing our fanbase in America and internationally.

Sean Nichols ended the broadcast by announcing the next Ultraman Connection Live, which will take place July 10th, 2021.

Source: Ultraman Connection