Ultra Fight Gomora and Episode 196 | ウルトラファイトゴモラ • 196話

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Title Card looks very different from other episodes

Ultra Fight was a low budget show created by Tsuburaya Productions when the company was in a critical situation after several of their shows failed to gain popularity. Ultra Fight itself was well received by viewers, and Tsuburaya managed to produce 196 episodes compared to the planned 130. Though there is something strange about episode 196, Monster Morgue (怪獣死体置場), which features Woo as well as Gomora who never appeared in any of the other 195 episodes.

Episode 195 was supposed to be the final episode, airing on 2nd July 1971. However, some episodes of Ultra Fight were re-edited fight scenes from Ultraman and Ultraseven. Thus, when Ultraseven episode 12 was banned, episode 9 of Ultra Fight (production ep 45), featuring scenes from there, also had to be sealed and could not be rebroadcast. So, Tsuburaya hastily created an episode to replace that. It aired on 6th July.

Why was Gomora used? I have no idea. Gomora is the only Ultra Fight kaiju to just appear in one episode. However, it seems to have gained popularity either for obscurity or otherwise, and Bandai even released soft vinyl figure of him in the Ultra Monster Series.

The battle between Woo and Gomora unfolds during midnight in the Tsuburaya warehouse used for storing old kaiju suits, thought it is nicely named the Monster Morgue. They suddenly revive in a bright red flash of light. Throughout the fight, there is no live commentary by Jirō Yamada, unlike the other episodes, the commentary is in the form of cards with words written by director Ken Kumagai. There are not even punching sounds as they fight, only random creepy Baltan laughs in the background.
Stegon and Kingsaurus III lying around

Gudon spotted


Suits of kaiju are shown to be strewn all over, including monsters from Return of Ultraman. So if you think Ultra Fight only has characters from Ultraman and Ultraseven, then you are wrong.







When TsuPro uploaded Ultra Fight onto Youtube, 196 was treated as the final episode. Someone even observed and commented that the Kingsaurus III in the Monster Morgue still had its horns, so how did it get killed? Interesting question...

Being the only Ultra Fight episode to have Gomora, the only one to show kaiju from Return of Ultraman, and having a strange reason to even have been produced, episode 196 must be the weirdest Ultra Fight episode ever.

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