Ultraman Jack's getting way ahead of himself with the cranial collections. note
The Ultra Series, for most of the Showa Era, have a tendency for removing the heads of various kaiju and monsters, often with bloody results thanks to media censorship being a lot, a lot less neutered in the 1970s than today.
And it's awesome.
Here's a fun video compilation for good measure
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- As always, the glorious tradition dates way back to the first installment, the original Ultraman in "Mystery Comet Tsuifon" when the titular Ultra fights Red King II; the monster having swallowed six hydrogen bombs slowly ticking away, Ultraman is unable to use his iconic Specium Ray in risk of a major meltdown. Luckily, Ultraman gets New Powers as the Plot Demands, specifically the ability to freeze Red King II in mid-air before unleashing his Ultra Slice, removing Red King II's head (and bisecting it for good measure) so that Ultraman could bring the cranium with all the hydrogen bombs and have them detonate a safe distance away.
- The next installment, Ultraseven, then makes it a trend, thanks to Ultraseven's iconic Eye Slugger which can slice through kaiju like butter before returning to the Ultra:
- Audiences get a glimpse of the series' first Family-Unfriendly Death with Ultraseven's battle against his equally iconic kaiju opponent, Eleking, getting it's head removed via Eye Slugger with a generous dose of red sauce from the stump of it's neck. Alongside a couple of other fatalties.
- Ultraseven uses his Eye Slugger again on the monster Giladorous, and as this monster feeds on gems from the earth's crust, the following shot have piles and piles of gems spilling from Giladorous' neck-stump in a manner reminiscient of spilling blood.
- Gabura, the monster henchman of the Shadow Aliens, from just a couple episodes later, also lose his head via Eye Slugger. But then the head turns out to have a life of it's own and flies around trying to bite Ultraseven.
- Gandar, in the aftermath of a Curb-Stomp Battle where Ultraseven effortlessly flips the monster over before removing Gandar's head - and both arms - with the Eye Slugger.
- Alien Borg lose her head the same way, and it turns out instead of blood, she bleed a white alien substance that looks like soapsuds which flows out of her neck stump.
- Subverted with Alien Prote, who had his head sliced off... and then floats around before it re-attaches itself. It could be part of the alien's Master of Illusion abilities though.
- Rigger lose it's head to the Eye Slugger as well, and the severed head turns out handy when Ultraseven needs to use it to lure the monster's saucer away from earth.
- The Batman Cold Open of the famous Alien Guts invasion two-parter starts with Ultraseven fighting Alien Guts' minion, Arlon, in a flashback under a minute which ends with Arlon losing his head.
- ... and finally, the series finale which have Ultraseven ending the Ghose Aliens's invasion; after the Ghose's monster henchman Pandon gets rebuilt after his initial demise, Ultraseven ensures it's killed for good this time by slicing off both of Pandon's heads (it helps that the heads actually shares the same neck, but still).
- Ultraman Jack from the next show, Return of Ultraman have a bunch of decapitations as well:
- As seen in the page header promoting the show's third episode, which have Ultraman Jack fighting two monsters, Detton and Sadola - the latter which have it's head removed.
- The show introduces another iconic monster into the franchise in the 18th episode with Bemstar, whose Belly Mouth feeds on energy and can actually absorb and No-Sell the energy beam attacks most Ultramen throws at him, Ultraman Jack included. The episode also brings back Ultraseven from the previous show, delivering a new backup weapon called the Ultra Bracelet to Ultraman Jack. Bemstar ends up the first monster to be decapitated by the bracelet when Jack turns it into a razor-sharp Precision-Guided Boomerang, a trick that he repeats several times later in the show.
- Gronken, a monster tough enough to continue fighting even after having both arms severed by Jack, and needs to be finished off by Jack turning the Ultra Bracelet into a bladed missile and slicing it through Gronken's neck. Followed by Jack literally kicking it's head off.
- Ultraman Jack vs. Plooma once again ends with Jack turning the Ultra Bracelet into a bladed boomerang and slicing off the monster's head. But this turns out to be exactly what Plooma's master, Alien Zelan, wanted; for said alien have intentions of assasinating Ultraman Jack, and devised a gadget capable of controlling Jack's bracelet remotely, turning the Bracelet against it's owner momentarily.
- The Alien Nackle invasion two-parter ends with Ultraman Jack, after a Heroic Second Wind, finally taking down Alien Nackle and his kaiju dragon, Black King, this time without the bracelet (in an earlier battle which goes south, Jack's bracelet fails to even scratch Black King's thick hide, though Jack being exhausted from defeating two other monsters earlier might also be a factor) - by lifting Black King and throwing the monster into the stratosphere, followed by Jack's upward chop in the monster's throat separating Black King's head and body.
- Last but not least, Red Killer, the monster whose attacks consist entirely to flinging metallic boomerangs capable of cutting through buildings, who ends up having his boomerangs snatched by Jack via turning the bracelet into a whip, followed by a Coup de Grace with slicing off Red Killer's head with his own boomerangs. And vertically halving Red Killer's body in the process.
- Delivered with extra helpings in the next show, Ultraman Ace, which earns the titular Ultra the Fan Nickname "Guillotine Prince". And he absolutely lives up to it...
- Vakishim from the third episode lose his head to Ultraman Ace's Ultra Slash, and it's notable this is the third time in a row where the third episode's monster (previous being Eleking and Sadola) gets killed via decapitation.
- Ultraman Ace vs. Brocken, which have Ace - after seeing an encouraging Ulta Sign from Zoffy, Ultraman, Ultraseven and Jack - getting on his feet and releasing half a dozen Circular Guillotines, slicing off Brocken's one remaining arm, both it's tails, and of course the monster's head. With a long shot of Brocken's headless body randomly exploding despite the abscence of any energy beam attacks just because.
- Crosses into Theres No Kill Like Over Kill territory when Ultraman Ace takes on Doragory, the strongest choju at the time. After multiple fights against Doragory with the choju escaping, Ace, being energized by the earth's newly-restored sun, finally flips out and rips Doragory a new hole - literally - by punching a see-through hole through it's chest. Followed by Ace using the Ace Katana for the first time to sever Doragory's head. Before blowing up what remains of Doragory with the Metallium Beam.
- Ultraman Ace vs. Zaigon, the rhino choju. One "Ultra-Knife!" from Ace sends Zaigon's head flying, and after the battle Ace actually gave Zaigon a proper burial, with the monster's severed cranium as a grave marker.
- Subverted when Ultraman Ace battles Unitang, a choju made from the Fusion Dance of eleven alien women into one. Ultraman Ace managed to pull off a Flechette Storm that removes Unitang's head besides turning her body into a dozen cubes, but her body chunks simply flies around before assembling back into a monster.
- Ultraman Ace deals another execution worthy of Theres No Kill Like Over Kill, again, when fighting Barabas at the end of another two-parter. The decapitation is actually Ultraman Ace's finishing touch on the monster, which is preceeded by flinging Barabas' cranial sword into it's chest, hitting Barabas in the back of it's head until it's eyes pops out, and finally severing Barabas' head. Which the camera zooms into as the monster's headless, bleeding carcass with it's sword shoved into it's midsection collapsing in the background.
- The Sphinx from a later episode, marking the second and last time Ultraman Ace used his Ace Katana to relive a monster of the head. The body actually moves around without the cranium though, and Ultraman Ace needs to fire two different energy beams, one at the headless but still-alive body and another on the head.
- Ultraman Ace vs. Bad Balloon, a monster who consumes the souls of children. Originally Ultraman Ace was going to execute his Metallium Ray, but then realized blowing up Bad Balloon will destroy the kids consumed by the monster. Being a Friend to All Children, Ultraman Ace instead lops off Bad Balloon's head with his Ultra Guillotine, followed by slicing Bad Balloon vertically in two to release the children it swallowed.
- The final episode have Ultraman Ace fighting Jumbo King, a juggernaut of a Hybrid Monster, his most powerful enemy to date. Which concludes with Ace combining his two most iconic attacks together - firstly a Metallium Ray into Jumbo King's face, stunning the monster long enough, and then an Ultra Slice removing it's head (which pops out like a Jack-in-the-Box).
- Ultraman Taro occasionally tosses this around, though not as frequently:
- Flipped around both ways when Ultraman Taro battles the sword-wielding Oni monster, Enmargo; the monster actually succeeds in removing Ultraman Taro's head after a lengthy battle, but thanks to the Buddhist monk's statue sealing Enmargo returning to it's right place, the effects are reverse - so Ultraman Taro's head gets restored while Enmargo's get severed
- The show actually subverts this trope a few times thanks to monsters having the ability to continue living as two entities post-decapitation, and more often than not they can re-attach their heads to the body when within proximity. Notably the monsters Rodera and Mukadender, whose heads continues fighting before going back to their bodies.
- Ultraman Taro vs. Rindon, which happends halfway in the episode, ends with Rindon's head getting chopped off, but then Taro left without disposing of it's body. Predictably, Rindon doesn't stay down that easily with it's head slowly crawling back to it's stump - the Father of Ultra have to personally intervene and finish off Rindon with the Ultra Feather.
- Ultraman Leo goes back to the gorn-filled days of Ultraman Ace, two years earlier...
- Ultraman Leo himself makes an immediate impression when fighting the Gillas Brothers, a pair of twin monsters who's unstoppable with their Combination Attack having them spinning together in an impenetrable cyclone - until Leo's spinning Diving Kick from above removes both their heads at the same time.
- Antales the scorpion monster, whose pincer-tipped tail makes him a challenge for Leo to take down. Then, Leo rips it off and flings it back to Antales' neck, severing it and somehow the monster managed to catch it's own head before it falls. Antales even walks around a little carrying it's severed head in both hands, only to drop it. The head then explodes for no reason, and the body keels over.
- A nigh-impenetable Humongous Mecha called Gamerot serves as one of Leo's tougher enemies halfway through, until Leo kicks it's head off. Which hands around it's neck on a single wire for a short while before Gamerot collapses.
- Ultraman Leo vs. Alien Bunyo, The Dragon to Commander Black, which ends with Leo performing a Diving Kick that removes Bunyo's head from the neck.
- Ultraman 80 finally tones down the decapitations from the previous shows, with the sole monster who lose it's cranium being Mecha-Gillas, a Mechanical Monster at that (so it isn't graphic). Upon being slain, the monster's head and arms pops out of their sockets.
- Ultraman Tiga contains the last graphic decapitation in the entire franchise (later cranial removals are done either on robots, or by way of CG) with Ultraman Tiga finishing off Sakuna Oni (a Call-Back / homage to both Enmargo and Gabura from the previous shows), a sword-wielding oni monster not unlike Enmargo via severing the head. And like Gabura before it, Sakuna Oni's head then gains a life on it's own and flies around trying to chew Ultraman Tiga until it's destroyed.
- Ultraman Z have Haruki, piloting Windam, briefly pulling out King Joe's head, but being a robot capable of Detachment Combat it reattaches itself rather quickly.
