Hey all, Sean here, and we’re back with another two episodes of Ultraman Arc! This time, we see ghost Kaiju appearing throughout Hoshimoto City, as well as an old friend. Let’s get started!
Recap
Episode 16: The Light of Fear
The episode opens with a brief recap of Arc gaining the Galaxy Armour, and then brings us right back to where we left off, with a piece of Zadime crumbling, leaving a giant crack in the sky, causing something to fall out of it as the cocoon like object begins to glow. Meanwhile, at SKIP HQ, Captain Ban tells the team that Shu will be returning to his old division, now that the readings from the Onyx have ceased, but Shu adds that his departure won’t be for the next few days, asking everyone to keep things running as usual.
Later, we see Shu on a walk, briefly staring at the Monohorn, before he hears Yuma’s voice behind him. Yuma mentions that it’s supposed to be his last day and Shu tells him he’ll be leaving the coffee maker as he keeps walking. As they walk, Yuma and Shu ask each other why they joined SKIP and the GDF, respectively. Just then, Yuma gets a call from Ban, informing him of an emergency, prompting Yuma and Shu to rush over to SKIP HQ, where they’re shown a video of people screaming at what appears to be nothing. Yuma is assigned to investigate, with Shu opting to go along, too.
The pair are then seen walking through the campground where the footage was taken, along with YouPi, who was already investigating for any natural causes, as a hooded figure watches them from afar. Suddenly, the trio hear a scream and rush over only to find the man who recorded the footage, screaming in fear about tofu. Yuma and Shu then turn and see a pair of giant, ghostly kaiju hands, which then flash a bright light. Shu pushes Yuma out of the way of the light, only to be hit with it, causing him to see a giant Yuma. Closing his eyes, Shu hallucinates the SKIP team repeating “goodbye, Mr Ishido” over and over again.
Yuma eventually gets up, seeing the ghostly form of the kaiju, (one familiar to us if you’ve been here before), and the kaiju shoots its tongue at Yuma, but it phases right through him. The hooded man then hits his wrist, causing a clanging sound that makes the kaiju disappear, buying Yuma and Shu some time to retreat. Back at SKIP HQ, the team receives word that the people seen in the footage had damage to the optic nerves and amygdala, which is involved in the reactions of disgust and fear. Shu theorises that the kaiju makes people hallucinate their greatest fears. Rin asks Yuma about the kaiju and he confirms it wasn’t transparent, but rather it was translucent, almost like a ghost.
As the team’s discussion continues, HQ receives a call and are sent footage of the kaiju. In a now tangible body, the kaiju is given the name “Mogusion” by YouPi. Before they leave to evacuate civilians, Shu recommends shielding their eyes from Mogusion’s light. The GDF tries to attack Mogusion with missiles, but they just pass right through it. The Kaiju fires its light again, immobilising and causing more people to hallucinate. Yuma then transforms into Ultraman Arc, attempting to slash at the kaiju with the Arc-Eye Sword, but it’s attacks do absolutely nothing. Mogusion’s attacks, however, are able to hit Arc.
Mogusion and Arc then get into a beam fight, with Arc using his beams to block Mogusion’s. Shu then calls Ban and Rin, telling them that even though the GDF won’t make it, they can evacute everyone now that Arc has arrived. One of Mogusion’s beams nearly hits Shu but he’s protected by Arc, giving him a nod, as Shu tells Arc to leave the rest to SKIP. As the fight goes on, Arc struggles with fighting Mogusion, as his attacks appear to do nothing to the spectral kaiju. Shu is about to shoot Mogusion, until he hears a voice behind him, turning to see the hooded man, saying these words:
“Encounter a Demon, Slice a Demon, Encounter a Ghost, Slice a Ghost, Taste my Demon Slicing Meteor Sword! En Garde”
The man jumps up, as a light flashes, revealing his true form – a sword armed Alien. The Alien takes Arc’s sword, hitting it off his harm, causing the same clanging sound. Arc’s sword begins to glow and Arc and the Alien fight together, their attacks now doing some real damage to Mogusion. However, the Alien pulses purple, clutching himself in pain, prompting Arc to finish the fight, shattering his energy shield in order to use Mogusion’s own ability againt it, all so Arc can deliver the finishing blow. After the fight, SKIP reunites, with Yuma being unable to find his sunglasses.
The episode ends with Shu and Yuma walking the same route from earlier in the episode, where they soon encounter the Alien from earlier. Calling himself Zangill, he tells them he must speak with them as Earth is being targeted.
Episode 17: Demon Slicing Meteor Sword
This episode opens directly where we left off, as Zangill informs Yuma and Shu about the impending danger imposed by a being known as “Hellnarak”. Zangill look to the crack in the sky, calling it an omen, but the crack is invisible to Yuma and Shu. Zangill then jumps away, with Yuma thinking he’s vanished, but Shu points out that Zangill is just stuck in a railing.
Later, SKIP is overlooking a sleeping Zangill, who then shoots awake, as he then asks where he is, with the SKIP team introducing themselves. Zangill apologizes for his intrusion and goes to leave, mentioning an ”ominous light”, but is held back from leaving by the scent of Shu’s coffee. Later, we see Shu and Zangill bonding over their shared love of coffee and we learn that Shu dry roasts his own coffee beans at home. Ban then asks Zangill where he came from and Zangill explains he came from another world, far removed from what SKIP know, a “Shadow World”. Lurking in the depths, the “Infernal Dark Shogun” or as its known by another name, Hellnarak, seals the souls of kaiju into eggs, so that they can hatch as ghosts in other worlds. Zangill vows to slice the kaiju down and he hits his “Meteor Sword”, causing the clanging heard during the battle with Mogusion.
Rin adds that when they analysed it, it was like the kaiju became unstable. Zangill explains that these ghost kaiju are subject to dimensional friction and that his sword’s tone disrupts the border between worlds. Rin chimes the sword and YouPi analyses the soundwave. Zangill adds that Hellnarak wishes to cross over and establish its kaiju shogunate on Earth. He goes on to mention that there is a hero who fights to stop this, an Ultraman, but Yuma panics and cuts Zangill off, accidentally spilling the coffee and causing the rest of SKIP to look for a towel. Zangill understands why Yuma dad this, to hide his secret identity, commenting that “Sir Gento” was the same.
We then see Zangill and Yuma on a roof. Yuma asks if there are Ultramen in other dimensions, with Zangill implying there is, while commenting on Yuma’s swordplay, calling it rigid and hesitant. Zangill explains that to slice what is not from Yuma’s world, he must slice from the heart, describing life as a circle, and that Hellnarak wishes to disrupt life’s harmony. As Zangill clutches his side again, he tells Yuma he’s fine, as states that protecting Earth is his destiny.
Meanwhile, YouBot is doing a particle scan of the campgrounds from last episode. With the weather having been erratic, they determine a low pressure area where the rift Zangill mentioned is. Meanwhile, a pair of ghost kaiju hatch from the eggs, Gedos and Taganular. The Kaiju go towards the sea and Energy Fusion Plant, respectively.
Zangill then collapses, revealing to SKIP that like the Kaiju, he too is a spirit revived by Hellnarak. Unlike the Kaiju, he doesn’t bend to Hellnarak’s will and, thus, has little energy fuelling him, but he must keep fighting, even if he knows he’s going to die. Later, we see SKIP and the GDF dealing with Gedos, as YouPi uploads Zangill’s soundwave to their Soniters. Rin fires at Gedos and, while it isn’t as effective as the real deal, it does appear to have an effect on Gedos, Rin then gets the idea for herself, Shu and Yuma to all fire at the same time. The group make it to a rooftop, enacting her plan, and it works, with Gedos gaining a tangible form. As the team flee the roof, Yuma transforms into Ultraman Arc and fights Gedos.
Meanwhile, Zangill takes on Taganular at the Energy Fusion Plant, during which more Taganular appear. Arc uses the lure on Gedos’ head like a rope and throws Gedos into the sky, using the Arc Exa Slash to slice the Kaiju in half. Arc then summons the Galaxy Armour, and uses a portal to join Zangill against Taganular. Zangill starts to feel weak but, suddenly, the sound of his sowrd rings out on the Plant’s speakers, shrinking Zangill down to human size. Before the Kaiju can land a killing blow, Arc arrives and finishes the fight, calling for duplicates of himself via the Solis and Luna Armour Cubes. As the fight reaches its climax, Yuma remembers what Zangill said, and slices from the heart, using the “Demon Slicing Meteor Sword” technique, destroying all the kaiju on the ground. More appear in the sky but Arc uses the Galaxy Armour Beam to finish off the rest.
The episode ends with Yuma and Shu meeting with Zangill, with Shu giving Zangill another cup of coffee. As Zangill drinks it, he disappears.
Extra Lore and Fun Facts
These two episodes kick off what I will personally be calling the “Blazar Tribute Saga”, and sees the return of some familiar faces, all of which are returning from last year’s series, Ultraman Blazar!
Starting off with episode 16, we have the Vision Kaiju, Mogusion, A kaiju that can create illusions of a person’s worst fears should they be caught in the lights it can produce from its hands.
Next up, we have episode 17’s kaiju, the Abyssal Kaiju, Gedos, and the Coleopteran Kaiju, Taganular! An aquatic kaiju with a prehensile lure on its head and an energy eating beetle kaiju, both are fierce opponents, especially if Taganular eats some energy from a place like a power plant.
But Arc is not alone in his fight against ghostly kaiju, for the Space Samurai, Zangill, has returned as well! Once an ally of Ultraman Blazar, he now fights alongside Arc in order to pick up where he left off and protect Arc’s earth from a being known as “Hellnarak”. Like Shu, Zangill really loves coffee.
My Thoughts
Starting off with episode 16, it was quite a nice surprise to see kaiju from Arc’s immediate predecessor, Ultraman Blazar, return for this episode, and having Zangill return was also a pleasant surprise, as I really loved the episode he was in when I originally watched it (see recap for more). To see him return added to this episode.
All in all, I give this episode a 9.9/10!
Moving on to episode 17, it was cool to see more Blazar kaiju return, as well as Shu and Zangill bonding over their shared love of coffee. I was also happy that we got a name drop for Gento, even if it was quickly brushed off by Zangill.
In conclusion, I give this episode a 7/10.
What did you, our readers, think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on social media.
