Greetings, Ultras! Ethan and Sean are back! This time we join SKIP investigating a tip that construction workers are going to wake a Kaiju, will they? What’s the legend of the woods? Let’s find out!
Recap
Picking up from the last moments of last week’s episode, with SKIP finding out Shu is being stationed at there branch so they will be working together for now, the pleasant banter is interrupted by the incoming call alarm. Yuma answers to find its a child who explains his father’s construction team are going to wake a Kaiju.
At the construction site, Yuma and Shu investigate the tip, talking to the head of the construction team and the father of their juvenile caller, Hayato. The man is very insistent that the story is a folktale and nothing more, brushing them off and telling Hayato to wait for him to go on his lunch break in his office. He leaves and Yuma and Shu take the chance to get a refresher on the supposed folktale. Hundreds of years ago, a Kaiju named Leodo kept rising up and attacking the villagers. Eventually they all came together, mixing herbs to make something to put Leodo asleep, allowing them to bury Leodo and grow a forest on the spot the Kaiju is sleeping to help keep it asleep.
They are interrupted by the construction workers finding what appear to be ruins, leading to a hold on work on the apartments they are building. After talking for a little, Shu and Yuma split up and pursue their own lines of enquiry. Yuma, in an antique shop, finds a sample of the drug the villagers used to knock Leodo out which he takes back to SKIP branch HQ. There, he discovers what Shu has been doing; he got the GDF to let him use one of there satellites to check underground without having to step on the construction site. They discover Leodo sleeping away there but with part of its foot exposed it’s temperature has been rising. SKIP and Shu deploy to evacuate people as Leodo might wake any moment, which it does just as they arrive.
Seeing Hayato getting sucked up by Leodo, Yuma transforms into Arc, saving him. As he and the Kaiju do battle, we are treated to POV shots from both Arc and Leodo. The fight ultimately comes to a head when You-Bot swoops in with the old drug the villagers made and Arc uses an energy buzzsaw to bore a massive hole in the ground, into which both Arc and Leodo end up falling. Ultraman Arc is eventually able to break out of Leodo’s clutches and get out of there, exploding the kaiju with a beam and riding the shockwave out of the hole.
Back at SKIP HQ, Yuma returns from visiting a fully recovered Hayato and relays his thanks. Additionally, Hayato’s father wants to alter the construction company’s rules to better account for the chance of something like this happening in the future. Meanwhile, Shu reports back to his superiors at the GDF. He reports on the construction site saying “some readings are extremely high” and we end on a lingering shot of the horn the Oo-ze came out of in episode one, bringing this episode to a close.
Extra Lore and Fun Facts
Hey there! Sean back at it again with the extra lore and fun facts!
Firstly, a fun fact, something we missed last episode, which is more of a behind the scenes thing, but important nonetheless: the part of Arc’s transformation where “Rution”, the being of light that bonds with Yuma to become Arc, wraps his arms around him is referred to as an “Ultra Hug” by director Takanori Tsujimoto. Cute.
Now for extra lore! Starting off, as stated by Hiroshi Ban, SKIP Hoshimoto Branch’s chief, Kaiju incidents in that specific city have increased over the past year, as well as Shu Ishido adding that most incidents have been space related, such as the Monohorn.
Finally, we have the Kaiju of the episode, the Ancient Monster, Leodo! A Kaiju of legend, that was sealed away through an ancient ritual and buried by humans, shielded by trees, and when a construction site cut down the trees sealing him, he awoke and attacked the surrounding area.
Leodo is a modified Black King suit. Great to see it getting another life.
Ethan’s Thoughts
Another fun episode that only manages to make the “Ultraman Orb” vibes stronger while also building mystery around the Horn from episode one even more. It seems to be something that will be paid off next week, when we’ll be seeing how Yuma and Arc met. I enjoyed the fact the episode also made a point of establishing that the construction workers were building actually very important stuff: new homes for people in a world that’s had Kaiju attacks for almost twenty years. There’s certainly going to be a lot of people displaced and its very interesting to see that established.
The action this week was also great, although nothing quite as impressive as the one take fight from last week. Nonetheless, the POV shots were very cool. SKIP and Shu continue to be interesting and fun characters and I’m enjoying seeing their interactions. I can’t not mention “it all starts with a little trust.” We can all come together and do something great. It’s a great message to send out. All in all, another solid episode and I can’t wait for next week’s!
Sean’s Thoughts
Now, what did I think? Well, like last week, I really enjoyed this episode; from the folklore surrounding Leodo, to the fight switching to Arc’s point of view, then briefly to Leodo’s made for a unique twist on a typical battle. I also really liked Shu taking after Yuma when he got help from the GDF with the satellite and quoting him when he said “All it takes is a little trust”.
Once again, the English dub cast have done an incredible job in translating the show to make it more accessible for a wider audience in the west. I must give props to the civilian voice actors too, as it’s not just the main cast doing good work. Although I was hoping for the fight timer, and another continuous shot battle, I’m not mad they didn’t use them here, as those did feel like something to open the show with a bang. The fight concluding with Arc returning Leodo to where he was sealed looked visually stunning! The ending of the episode, where Yuma shows SKIP a drawing of them done by Hayato is a nice touch. We then cut to Shu, who is taking some readings, and tells whoever calls him on the phone that he hasn’t told SKIP yet… What is Shu hiding? I guess we’ll have to find out as the story progresses but I’m keen to find out!
In conclusion, I rate this episode a 9/10.
But what did you, our readers, think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know your thoughts and, until then, this has been Sean and Ethan: Writers, reviewers and Ultra-Slash throwers for The Toku Source. We’ll see you all next week!
