NAME: 
Alien Godola (ゴドラ星人, Godora Seijin)
FIRST APPEARS IN:
Ultraseven, Episode 4:
Max, Acknowledge (aka The Stolen Eye)
DESIGN FEATURES:
– a nice red vest
– genitalia-esque face
– crab claws
– a silver finish
SKILLS AND QUIRKS:
– disguising themselves as humans
– stealing boats and taking them to space
– absurd plans
– evil laughter
MONSTER SOUNDS:
I’ve just started watching Ultraseven and, five episodes in, I’m certainly not enjoying it as much as the previous Ultra series. I’ve heard it picks up as it goes, but, so far, I’ve been disappointed with the lack of giant monsters and the final fight scenes leave something to be desired. Take the end battle in episode 4, “Max, Acknowledge”. Our antagonists, the Alien Godola, put up very little fight. One of these shape shifting goofs turns giant size and gets a few stomps in, but he quickly gives in to Ultraseven, attempts to fly away, and is blown to smithereens.
Unceremonious death aside, the Alien Godola — in character and design — are pretty great. They spend most of the episode cackling madly and taunting every human they come across. Their plan is ridiculous, even by Ultra standards. They steal boats so no one pays attention to what’s going on in space. The absolute fucking delight they take in executing their stupid plan had me totally on their side. I would have been fine with the Alien Godola taking over the planet as long as it meant more guffaws.
Both in their behaviour and their design, the Alien Godola aren’t too far from the more famous Alien Baltan. In my opinion, they have more personality — and not only because of their relentless cackles. Through their goofy faces, they’re able to communicate more campy evil. Their crabby, black-and-white exterior is impressively detailed and their pincers, which only seem used for celebratory waving, are a fun touch.
The Alien Godola returned for more vicious beatings in Heisei Ultra Seven and, more recently, in Ultraman Ginga. I have not checked out these appearances, but I hope these new incarnations have retained the Godola cackle.
