Greetings, Ultras! Ethan and Sean are back making a big splash here to talk about the latest adventures of Yuma and the gang. Hope you’re ready for a whale of a time for you and us! Let’s jump into it!
Recap
The episode opens on the Hoshimoto City Daiko Mountain Ridge tunnel construction site, where a Kaiju fossil has recently been discovered. Captain Ban is watching a news report that features “Dinosaur Professor” Shinya Makino, who Yuma mentions he watched when he was a kid, and that Makino taught him not to be afraid of Kaiju with his tagline being “We have wings of imagination”. Ishido adds that Makino is a consultant for the GDF as a palaeontologist as well. We then cut back to the construction site, as water begins bursting from the ground.
We then see SKIP arrive and, much to their amazement, a lake is now where the construction site once stood, confirming something Makino said in the news report that SKIP was watching. Ban tells the team that they have one week to investigate and are approached by Makino. Yuma has a fanboy moment seeing him in person but Makino recognizes Ban, as they did some excavations together in the past. Rin has to remind Yuma he’s on the clock and to calm down, as Ban and Makino catch up on things. Ishido asks if Makino knows what caused the lake but he doesn’t know, nor does he think it’s a lake, saying it’s more like an ocean. Yuma goes to taste the water, commenting that it’s salty; Rin chews him out over it as it could possibly be toxic. Makino reassures them it’s just like normal sea water and offers to help investigate, which SKIP appreciate.
We then get a montage of SKIP investigating the water and asking civilians questions about what happened. This sequence ends with a news report about people’s time living as evacuees in the area, a week after the investigation began, with a college student and a mother being interviewed by the news. We then cut back to SKIP who, along with Makino, have found the salt concentration in the water varies from location to location. Makino states that composition wise, the water is coming from an aquifer and is mixing with sodium chloride, making it similar to sea water. Ban adds that it’s seeping into the surrounding soil and will soon affect the local environment. Rin confirms that there have been no eyewitness reports of a Kaiju and, with the lack of leads, Yuma and Rin conclude the investigation may be over. Ban gives the team a pep talk, as they all work to properly conclude the investigation, with a proud Makino looking on.
We then see Ban resting, as he’s approached by Makino, who points out how much he’s grown since he last saw him, bringing out a fossil that Ban found in his college days. At the time, Ban suggested it could be from an undiscovered species but Makino didn’t believe him; that was until the kaiju made themselves known after K-Day. Makino says that he regrets not believing Ban and should have taken him seriously. Ban doesn’t blame him at all, but Makino says that research would have progressed some, adding that it’s ironic that he tells children to “spread their wings of imagination”, but he rejected the fresh ideas of a young man. Ban and Makino then talk a bit more but, as he had been eavesdropping the entire time, Yuma later joins their conversation to say breakfast is ready.
Ishido brings out a boiled egg, saying it goes well with coffee. As he puts salt on the egg, both Ban and Makino have a Eureka! moment, bringing out Ban’s fossil and realising that the water and Kaiju fossil are connected, telling SKIP their findings. Rin then pulls up the saltwater concentration levels, noting it’s being 5.2% at its highest. Ishido eats his egg.
Eventually, it’s 9:30, thirty minutes before evacuees return to the area, and YouBot has reached the highest level of salt concentration. Ban notices a small gap, instructing YouBot to enter it. However, an eye opens and the Kaiju rises to the surface .
Yuma wastes no time, jumping into the water as he transforms into Ultraman Arc, emerging to uppercut the kaiju. Arc and the kaiju fall back into the water as they fight, the Kaiju overpowering Arc in its natural habitat. Arc then “unleashes his imagination”, as he creates a barrier and uses it as a propeller by cutting it into thirds and combining it with the Arc Exa Slash. He then hits the Kaiju with a submerged tree, stuffing it into the blowhole. Arc laughs, before firing the Arc Finalize beam and flying out of the water.
The episode ends with Yuma, soaking wet, as Rin and YouPi tell him that he should have been more careful. Ishido says that the salt levels have dropped and that the water may soon dry up. The four then look to see Ban and Makino theorising about the kaiju and how it could produce salt and saltwater, with Ban saying they’ve got to “Spread their wings of imagination”. Yuma smiles, before sneezing.
News and the Ultra Theory Corner
So, San Diego Comic Con happened and, since we’ve introduced a news corner to our reviews, we should probably talk about it. Therefore, no real theories this week; all news! Ultraman was a clear presence; they had panels, Ultraman Rising was represented with an actual suited Emi you could get pictures with, and an exclusive premiere of Ultraman Blazar the Movie: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown. Hopefully, this won’t be a Shin Ultraman situation where the movie spends ages on the con circuit and people lucky enough to be able to attend these US only screens spoil it for us.
We received more information about Avengers x Ultraman; such as how Alien Zarab will be working for Galactu (the main villain of this four part series). There was also a new manga series announced – Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man by Shigenobu Matsumoto and Tomo Hirokawa, made with Marvel Comics, Tsuburaya Productions, and Shogakukan teaming up.
Here’s what we know about the plot of this so far:
The story focuses on Peter Parker, and his alter ego Spider-Man. When a tragedy makes him question his reasons for fighting, he finds himself on the legendary “Interdimensional Train,” bringing him to a world where kaiju clash with the Giant of Light! However, the sinister Doctor Doom is not far behind him — and he seeks Ultraman’s incredible power. And working alongside Alien Mephilas, he might get it…
Honestly, this sounds extremely Doctor Doom. There are about a dozen stories where he tries to steal the powers of something he doesn’t fully understand only to get them and it goes poorly… will we see an Ultraman Doom? Could Doom end up being a Reionics? We shall have to wait and see!
Extra Lore and Fun Facts
We have some great stuff to talk about this week! First of all, when Livyjira’s eye opened, the ending of the Ultra Q theme played. In addition to this, Arc laughing is possibly a nod to episode 10 of the original Ultraman, “The Mysterious Dinosaur Base”, where Ultraman laughed for the only time in the original series. These small callbacks got a smile out of me for sure.
Let’s talk about this episodes kaiju, Giant Cetacean Beast, Livyjira! An aquatic, whale like kaiju with the ability to generate salt to make bodies of water habitable, as well as saltwater mist generation as a means of confusing foes.
One last thing, Ban saying that he was a “dinosaur kid” may possibly be a nod to his actor, Koichiro Nishi’s best known role, Ryouga Hakua/AbaRed in Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger.
Ethan’s Thoughts
Be honest with me, I can’t be the only one that for a moment was suspicious of the professor, right? Regardless, this was a fun episode. Was nice seeing the gang work so hard investigating the “lake.” With the telephone poles sticking out of it, it gave me some serious Digimon vibes, which I’m always here for!
I also really thought the kaiju was cool. I love a good whale kaiju! The fight with Arc was also something I’ll get back to, but seeing Arc continue to use his powers in such creative ways is great and really makes good on the “imagination” emphasis the series is shooting for.
My biggest issue with the episode is, and I get why they did it, the underwater fight with the kaiju; it was really hard to make out. I’m pretty sure they did it because there’s no light really deep down in large bodies of water but I, famously, have poor eyesight so the whole fight was me looking at the screen squinting trying to make out what was going on. I could mostly make out Arc’s face but that was really it for most of the fight! This, honestly, dragged the episode down a bit for me but as seeing how that’s a small portion of the episode, I’d say I’m overall positive about it.
Sean’s Thoughts
I really enjoyed this episode; we got to learn a bit more about Ban’s past, as well as SKIP finally getting some assistance for a change! Shinya Makino felt like a seamless addition to the team, even if it’s just for the episode. It was fun, and I hope to see him return in future.
One thing I will agree with Ethan on is that some things in the underwater fight were pretty hard to make out. While I understand the type of environment they were trying to simulate, the water work in previous shows felt a lot better than in this episode. Overall, the episode was still enjoyable, in spite of this.
In conclusion, I rate this episode a 7.5/10
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 dinosaur professors for The Toku Source. We’ll see you all next week!
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