Hey all, Sean here, and we’re back with yet another episode of Ultraman Arc! This week, we receive a distant message and the arrival of a strange, giant robot. What will SKIP do? Let’s find out!
Recap
The episode opens with Rin and YouPi catching up to and asking a woman some questions about some recent sinkholes. Yuma and Shu are also going door to door, asking the exact same thing, but are told by a person via their doorbell camera that they can’t sleep with all the construction noise. Later, at a park, Yuma comments that Shu has really become a part of SKIP, quoting Rin’s saying from episode one about there being an “impenetrable wall” between SKIP and the GDF, but he doesn’t believe there is. Ban then arrives, giving the two a drink for a break. Shu shows that the tremor damage lines up perfectly with the road construction plan and with Yuma adds that the Kaiju detector picked up nothing. Suddenly, a kaiju emerges from the ground, an Oka-Gubila. Ban calls for the GDF as Rin and YouPi guide people to a shelter.
Yuma and Shu are then seen driving, with Yuma having a plan to lure Gubila to them in order to minimise damage and casualties, using the SKIP weapon as a lure. Meanwhile, a brother and sister are trying to get to the shelter but the brother is scared. The sister comforts him by reminding him he has his propeller hat. Oka-Gubila then approaches where they are and, fortunately, Yuma arrives just in time, getting them to safety.
As Shu drives the SKIP vehicle to the shelter, Yuma transforms into Ultraman Arc, and wastes no time in fighting Oka-Gubila as the rest of SKIP get the brother and sister into the shelter. Arc continues to fight Oka-Gubila, the two being evenly matched, However, Shu, Rin, Ban and YouPi run up to the shelter’s roof, seeing a grey cloud with a glowing purple centre appear in the sky, and shoot a beam of light down right where Arc and Oka-Gubila are, throwing the Ultra and Kaiju aside. When the smoke clears, a giant robot stands tall in the city, much to SKIP’s shock and confusion. The robot looks at Arc briefly, before turning it’s attention to Oka-Gubila, letting out a loud shockwave, which affects Arc, SKIP and the people inside and outside the shelter. We then see the brother and sister, the brother asks where his hat is, and the sister goes to find it.
Just then, Oka-Gubila attacks the robot, with Ban asking where the GDF is. The robot then strikes at the kaiju, with Arc firing a beam at the robot in return. The robot’s torso then rotates, revealing a second, blue face on it’s back, that fires a grappling claw at Arc, slamming him to the ground before pulling the Ultra towards the robot and striking him. Arc’s colour timer starts blinking, so he throws an Arc Exa Slash at the robot, but it simply transforms back into it’s first mode, mimicking the attack and slashing Arc, causing him to “bleed”.
Meanwhile, the sister finds her brother’s hat but is about to get caught in the crossfire of the fight. However, Arc summons the Luna Armour and shields her, being sent flying back and forcefully detransforming Yuma. At sunset, Oka-Gubila finally gets up, just as Yuma does, as he sees the brother, Dai, and sister, Yumi, arguing, he notices Oka-Gubila coming their way. Yuma calls for them to look out, but Yumi shields her brother. The robot notices this as it steps forward and takes down Oka-Gubila, with the Kaiju retreating while it still can. The robot then turns around, as if to acknowledge Yumi and Dai. Yuma finally gets to them and looks at the robot. The robot utters the word “Givas” and powers down, still standing there even late at night.
We then see a news report about the robot, which has officially been named Givas. Ban explains to the team they’ve been tasked with “manning the hotline”, which Rin sees as just taking in complaints. Ban says that it’s unknown if communication with Givas is possible, but Yuma tells them about what he saw with Yumi and Dai. Shu adds that they should be wary of Givas; even if they have no concrete evidence whether it’s an ally or enemy, they need to try and establish communication, with Rin theorising that it’s sounds could be a message. Ban gives the okay for the rest of the team to work on deciphering Givas’ sounds while he handles the hotline. Shu then receives a call, and has to leave in a hurry, as he returns to the Space-Science Division, we see a familiar face, Numata, the Alien Croco who worked at the Akebono Inn.
Back at SKIP, Ban takes complaints from callers while Yuma, Rin and YouPi work on deciphering the sounds. The message is then partially translated thanks to YouPi, the message being;
“Does this planet have my GIVAS?”
“I am here to be your GIVAS”
Yuma mentions that the word “Givas” matches no words in any language they have on record. Just then, Rin’s computer faces an error message, with Rin trying to figure out how many suns their planet has, with YouPi suggesting to try zero suns. Rin adds the data into the search, and translates again, this was what they got;
“GIVAS = Obstructs the Path”
“Does this planet have my ENEMY?”
“I am here to be your ENEMY”
Yuma doesn’t believe it, thinking they missed something, however, Shu enters, turning on the news, showing Givas emitting a green light, almost like it’s looking for it’s “enemy”. Yuma tries to reason that Givas might not be an enemy, with Shu adding that the GDF disagrees and that, given evidence, Givas is a weapon built for invasion. Shu tells Yuma that they can’t let their emotions sway their judgement. Yuma comments that Shu is just like everyone else at the GDF, silencing everyone, with Ban telling Yuma to go take a breather.
The episode ends with Yuma outside the GDF barrier, looking at Givas, before being told to leave by a GDF Officer.
Extra Lore and Fun Facts
I couldn’t find any fun facts for today’s episode, so let’s jump right into the kaiju!
Starting off with Oka-Gubila, a variant of an aquatic kaiju from the original Ultraman, this variant debuted in Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga, however, rather than being an aquatic kaiju, it instead evolved to live underground. It’s primary weapon is its nose drill.
Next up, we have the mechanical colossus, Givas! An alien robot with two different modes, which can alternate between the two by simply rotating 180°. It’s armed with a blue arm blade, a torso mounted grapple claw and the ability to mimic its opponents attacks.
My Thoughts
This episode was pretty interesting, to say the least. First, we get the return of a variant of a classic kaiju, and the debut of a robot that’s true motivations are currently unknown, all in the first half of Arc’s first two parter.
I also love that the episode features one of mankind’s greatest creations, a propeller hat.
In conclusion, the episode gets an 8.5/10
What did you think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know your thoughts. Until next week, this has been Sean: Writer, reviewer and alien-language translator for The Toku Source.
