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akinoameWe open in the city (presumably Chofu, based on the Ultraman credits regularly stating the city sponsors them, although the real-life location of their HQ is in Inagi), where civilians are evacuating from an attack by Gomess (suit acting by Hiroyuki Arai), a not-quite-as-giant-but-still-unreasonably-large ancient monster. STORAGE, the Special Tactical Operations Regimental Airborne and Ground Equipment, deploy their giant robot, SAA-1 Sevenger (suit acting by Kenji Kajikawa), piloted by Yoko Nakashima (played by Rima Matsuda). At the same time, fellow pilot Haruki Natsukawa (played by Kohshu Hirano) is on the ground guiding her toward away from the smashable buildings...which may well be the first time I've ever seen this in a giant robot series before. Kudos. Monitoring the situation from HQ are lead scientist Yuka Ohta, played by Hikari Kuroki, and...
Jugglus Juggler
Okay. Let's stop for a moment and talk some behind-the-scenes stuff here, because Ultraman Z has a lot going on. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it was the first season of the Reiwa Era, rather than the second, based on the way this starts off with the focus on the civilians' perspective before switching to the defense force's, and with the defense force having an entirely different method of fighting compared to everyone else in the franchise before them.
The series' composition was written by Kota Fukihara and main director Kiyotaka Taguchi, who really wanted to jump in there and contribute to the story. It may have been a lucky decision, as regrettably, Fukihara passed away in May 2020, a month before the series premiered. While it's unknown yet just how much of the series was completed before his death, the cast and crew have implied that he had enough of the story sketched out that they hope that the series ends in line with his vision.
Z is airing right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that's devastating the planet, and it feels like the stakes are especially high, so it's trying to surpass them every chance it gets. Composer Hijiri Anze brings a fun, electric guitar-based soundtrack that emphasizes the "youth" factor embodied by Zett moreso than Taiga did. At the same time, classic anime theme singer Masaaki Endoh performs the theme "Goshowa Kudasai Ware no Na wo," or "Chant My Name" (alternatively "Chant My Name With Me," which was the translation leading up to the premiere). The song is amazing, and the visuals are impressive, clearly taking inspiration from the Netflix anime. Likewise awesome is the end theme, "Connect the Truth" by Nami Tamaki, which reminds me vaguely of "Round Zero ~ Blade Brave" from Kamen Rider Blade. And while it tries to set itself apart as something new, it also does a couple of things we haven't seen in a while--first is the return to a professional defense force that the hero is part of, the first since Ultraman X and Xio. There is a lot about STORAGE that feels like Xio, although rougher around the edges, like they don't quite have as high a budget (for reasons we'll see in a moment). And secondly, it's the return of a simulcast with English subtitles--the first since Geed--but this time, premiering on Youtube rather than Crunchyroll. Thanks to the deal with Mill Creek Entertainment for distribution in North America, subtitles are provided at premiere, by Toshi Nakamura, who also handled subs for the Blu-ray releases of Ultraman and Return of Ultraman.
Okay, but what does any of this have to do with Takaya Aoyagi playing Captain Shota Hebikura, the team leader? Well, Takaya was asked to come back, specifically to play Shota, and it was a huge secret leading up to the cast reveal. Plus, he also has worked closely with Taguchi on the web series UNFIX, which also features Yuta Ozawa (Leito Igaguri/Zero from Geed) and Kunito Watanabe (Kei Fukuide from Geed)--which is a fucking chain of Ultra actors trying to play someone else, as Yuta auditioned for Kei, Kunito auditioned for Juggler, and of course Takaya auditioned for Gai. It's nice getting to see Takaya play a good guy, but both he and the writers keep it intentionally vague whether or not he's actually just playing Shota, a totally normal human. Even the name "Hebikura" feels like a very fake name, which if Jisho.org is correct, is translating to "Snake Warehouse"--as in Serpent-Hearted Blade + STORAGE. But hey, at least now he gets a goofy shot in the opening credits!
Haruki's attempts to guide Sevenger are derailed when he goes to rescue a cute puppy, thereby endearing himself to the audience forever. Unfortunately, this leads to him wandering right in Gomess's way, and Yoko crashes Sevenger trying to avoid him, crushing a building as she literally hops on one foot. The collateral damage leads to Shota and Haruki getting chewed out by Director Kuriyama (Hisahiro Ogura) of the Global Allied Forces Japan, the founder of STORAGE, who warns that their funding is about to get cut again because of Haruki's antics. Shota apologizes profusely, but when Haruki looks less than sorry, Shota glares at him, then grabs his ass and twists hard enough to make him tear up, then insists that clearly Haruki is so devastated he's about to cry, so please go easy on the poor baby. Kuriyama's fury is interrupted by a sudden stomach cramp, so Yuka provides him with one of her smoothies, defusing his anger for a moment. He remembers that he's supposed to lecture the unit, but his tone is little less sharp this time, and Shota leads them in bowing to him as he walks out. Once he's gone, Shota takes a moment to lecture Haruki personally, admitting that while he appreciates his sense of justice and his zeal for protecting life, he needs to learn some discipline. He doesn't mean that Haruki should have let the dog die--whether Shota's Juggler or not, he's not a monster--but Haruki needs to think through his actions first. After all, Sevenger could have stepped on him, and the knowledge that she hurt or killed Haruki would hurt Yoko as well. To make up for it, Shota tasks him with piloting Sevenger to aid in clearing the rubble, and Haruki agrees enthusiastically.
We then cut to the moon, with Ferocious Space Shark Genegar (suit acting by Yoshiki Kuwahara). Dear God, that is the most beautiful description ever. The design is great too, reminding me of the T-Rex Dopant of Kamen Rider W, where it's basically a large head on legs, with arms somewhere in there and a tail sticking out of the back. It's ridiculous and I love it. Rookie Ultraman Zett (voiced by Tasuku Hatanaka, suit acting by Hideyoshi Iwata) is in pursuit but is in serious danger until he's rescued by Zero (again voiced by Mamoru Miyano, this time suit acting by Satoru Okabe). Oh, and Zero now has a spiffy blue cape, and Bandai would really like you to buy it. While it's not explained where it came from in the episode itself, Zero first shows off his mantle in Ultraman Chronicle: Zero & Geed when he finally showed up to teach his classes. He sort-of explains to Riku and Pega that Leo summoned him suddenly and gifted him with the cape, meant to increase his defense. And when I say "sort-of," I mean that Zero stares off into space and has a flashback while Riku and Pega stare at him, wondering why he finally stopped talking. Anyway, Zero's cape absorbs the full blast of Genegarg's missiles, which is more than I can say for some other characters with similar defense tactics. (Yes, I most certainly have seen Rider Time: Ryuki. Yes, I am still taking every opportunity to pick on Ren Akiyama and that stupid cape)
Zero tells off Zett, telling him it's too dangerous for him. Zett protests being treated like he's a half-boiled hero, since he's also part of the Inter Galactic Defense Force. He also calls Zero "Master," since he's decided Zero is going to be his teacher, despite Zero continuing to protest that Zett is not his student and also that he's only about one-third of a hero, which Zett complains is an "Ultra-shock." It turns out that Genegarg can eat just about anything and will vomit it back out as an attack, hurling an asteroid at them and finally a Bullton, which creates a hole in time and space, sucking Zero in. With the same level of resignation that Ankh had when he first picked Eiji in Kamen Rider OOO, Zero throws over a new Riser, along with a set of three Ultra Medals, telling Zett to retrieve the remaining Medals that Genegarg swallowed...because apparently the Land of Light has failed to learn anything the last 300 times someone broke in and stole some important power source. With Zero sent to another dimension, Genegarg makes a beeline to Earth.
Haruki is helping with the reconstruction efforts when he's alerted to a possible meteor strike coming nearby--except that STORAGE quickly realizes it's actually a ferocious space shark and that never stops being a beautiful string of words. Haruki deploys Sevenger, switching it to Angry Eyes mode and forever winning the hearts of people who rudely buy out every single action figure before anyone else can get to them. But Sevenger isn't the only one facing Genegarg--Zett arrives as well, and the sudden appearance of a novel, humanoid-type alien elicits an excited response from Yuka but a suspicious glance from Shota. Zett engages the space shark, but Shota warns Haruki to stand down. When Haruki protests that they're going to add to the collateral damage, Shota basically sighs, knowing Haruki's going to disobey orders anyway, and tells him to be careful before reminding him that he's not supposed to respond to orders with "'kay!" Haruki ejects a depleted one-minute battery from Sevenger, leaving him with only two minutes left and decides that the bad guy is the one with sharp teeth and attacks, but he's almost immediately knocked into a building. Zett prevents Genegarg from attacking Sevenger again, then helps him out of the broken building. This action leads Haruki to decide that thinking is too hard for him, since clearly the guy who just helped him is the good guy, so they're just going to team up now. Their combined attacks do some damage, but Genegarg overpowers them and makes his way toward Shinkoyo Elementary School, the evacuation shelter where all of the civilians fled to. Yoko's en route to try to help evacuate it, but she tells Haruki to hurry and defeat the monster. With barely a minute remaining on his energy, Haruki calls out to Zett for help protecting the school, before admitting that Zett probably doesn't understand him. This is a detail I really like, something I first saw with Gaia. The Ultras are primarily telepathic, something established in the earliest series. This doesn't mean they don't always vocally communicate, as Zero used a goddamn megaphone to call out to a kaiju once in Geed; but when humans see Ultras only making grunts and otherwise silently fighting the monsters, they have no reason to assume that these otherwordly beings speak or understand Earth's native languages. Of course, Zett does understand Japanese, and he comes over to help fight. But Haruki starts running out of power, as does Zett, a fact that Haruki is surprised to notice. With both of them out of time, all they can do is put themselves in the way of Genegarg's attacks, preventing the missiles from hitting the school.
Zett calls out for Haruki to wake up, as he lies in a dark field. Haruki gets up startled, finding Zett standing over him, color timer flashing while the Medals hover around them. He has some bad news for Haruki: "Deepest apologies, but you have died." I kinda really want that to be the "Game Over" text in every video game now. Zett is barely holding on himself, and he proposes that in order to save Haruki and fight once again, they fuse together. Haruki gives him a funny look, much to Zett's surprise, since Zett's speech patterns are a little weird. Zett excuses it on "Earthese" being Ultra-difficult. Haruki agrees to become Zett's host, and Zett condenses his body down into the Ultra Z Riser, which he clearly named for himself. He tells Haruki to press the trigger, generating the Hero's Gate, a dimensional door to the Inner Space of light within Zett. He's given an Ultra Access Card to activate his Riser, along with the Z Holder to contain his Medals. Zett explains that the Medals are of his mentors, Zero, Leo, and Seven, and if Haruki inserts them into the Riser's slits and scans them, it will grant them the mentors' power. He asks that Haruki chant his name, but Haruki asks to tell him what's his name, man. After repeating that he is Ultraman Zett and instructing Haruki to put more oomph into it, Haruki chants his name...only to be told that he has to press the trigger.
Zett, now in Alpha Edge mode, is better armored and has red coloring on his legs, similar to Zero. He knocks Genegarg to the ground, and Shota tilts his head oddly at the site of the fused power-up. Hmm, you'd think he'd seen something like that before. While primarily focused on physical attacks, Zett does utilize energy versions of his sluggers as nunchucks, which he's excited to note is the "Inherited Fighting Technique" of Space Martial Arts. There's a wonderful shot of Genegarg plowing Zett through a building, combining destroyed models, minatures, and CG, before pushing him into the air. Zett manages to get free and uses his Zestium Beam to overpower Genegarg's regurgitated energy, pushing it down to the ground to blow up. Yoko stares at Zett as he flies off, leaving behind...well, it looks more like an N than a Z in the sky, but whatever. He tried. Yuka is still thrilled by the spectacle, but Shota turns to leave, explaining that he needs the bathroom all of a sudden.
Zett requests that Haruki help him collect the Medals that Genegarg ate, since they can help save his universe, then basically kicks him out of his body, leaving Haruki lying next to the toppled Sevenger, where he'd originally died. As he gets up, he finds two Medals lying on the ground nearby, but he hears Yoko calling for him. As she desperately searches the wreckage, a third Medal, Ultraman's, falls on her head, and she picks it up, forgetting all about it as soon as Haruki shows himself. In a very X-ish moment, she freaks out on him and starts checking to make sure he's really alive and not a ghost, but he explains that the giant, Ultraman Zett, saved him. But in the shadows, another STORAGE member is watching, his hair loose. He too has found Medals--Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia--and he decides to hold onto them as he walks away.
...It's ridiculously obvious who it is, c'mon.
That night, at GAF-J's Monster Research Center, researchers are transporting barrels of Genegarg's remains when one of the researchers, Shinya Kabutagi (Rihito Noda), suddenly loses control of his cart and falls, spilling the biohazardous waste on the floor. His supervisor (played by Kota Fukihara), tells him off for being so clumsy, but Shinya promises to stay behind and clean it all up. In the worst famous last words ever, he asks himself, "Is this safe?" and "What is this disgusting stuff?" as a creature leaps out of Genegarg's remains and latches onto his face. In a scene straight out of Alien, the creature forces its way past Shinya's gas mask and implants itself in his brain, causing his body to phase and twitch as it integrates into him. With integration complete, Celebro (or Cerebro--the official spelling is subject to change) goes back to the remains and removes another Riser, along with a glowing splinter. Distorting Shinya's voice, Celebro states, "Kiete karekareta," which both Japanese and English subtitles translate to "I feel good," possibly the most horrifying thing a facehugger alien can say, followed by "literally anything." Celebro then gives a twisted half-grin as Shinya's left eye changes color.
Jugglus Juggler
Okay. Let's stop for a moment and talk some behind-the-scenes stuff here, because Ultraman Z has a lot going on. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it was the first season of the Reiwa Era, rather than the second, based on the way this starts off with the focus on the civilians' perspective before switching to the defense force's, and with the defense force having an entirely different method of fighting compared to everyone else in the franchise before them.
The series' composition was written by Kota Fukihara and main director Kiyotaka Taguchi, who really wanted to jump in there and contribute to the story. It may have been a lucky decision, as regrettably, Fukihara passed away in May 2020, a month before the series premiered. While it's unknown yet just how much of the series was completed before his death, the cast and crew have implied that he had enough of the story sketched out that they hope that the series ends in line with his vision.
Z is airing right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that's devastating the planet, and it feels like the stakes are especially high, so it's trying to surpass them every chance it gets. Composer Hijiri Anze brings a fun, electric guitar-based soundtrack that emphasizes the "youth" factor embodied by Zett moreso than Taiga did. At the same time, classic anime theme singer Masaaki Endoh performs the theme "Goshowa Kudasai Ware no Na wo," or "Chant My Name" (alternatively "Chant My Name With Me," which was the translation leading up to the premiere). The song is amazing, and the visuals are impressive, clearly taking inspiration from the Netflix anime. Likewise awesome is the end theme, "Connect the Truth" by Nami Tamaki, which reminds me vaguely of "Round Zero ~ Blade Brave" from Kamen Rider Blade. And while it tries to set itself apart as something new, it also does a couple of things we haven't seen in a while--first is the return to a professional defense force that the hero is part of, the first since Ultraman X and Xio. There is a lot about STORAGE that feels like Xio, although rougher around the edges, like they don't quite have as high a budget (for reasons we'll see in a moment). And secondly, it's the return of a simulcast with English subtitles--the first since Geed--but this time, premiering on Youtube rather than Crunchyroll. Thanks to the deal with Mill Creek Entertainment for distribution in North America, subtitles are provided at premiere, by Toshi Nakamura, who also handled subs for the Blu-ray releases of Ultraman and Return of Ultraman.
Okay, but what does any of this have to do with Takaya Aoyagi playing Captain Shota Hebikura, the team leader? Well, Takaya was asked to come back, specifically to play Shota, and it was a huge secret leading up to the cast reveal. Plus, he also has worked closely with Taguchi on the web series UNFIX, which also features Yuta Ozawa (Leito Igaguri/Zero from Geed) and Kunito Watanabe (Kei Fukuide from Geed)--which is a fucking chain of Ultra actors trying to play someone else, as Yuta auditioned for Kei, Kunito auditioned for Juggler, and of course Takaya auditioned for Gai. It's nice getting to see Takaya play a good guy, but both he and the writers keep it intentionally vague whether or not he's actually just playing Shota, a totally normal human. Even the name "Hebikura" feels like a very fake name, which if Jisho.org is correct, is translating to "Snake Warehouse"--as in Serpent-Hearted Blade + STORAGE. But hey, at least now he gets a goofy shot in the opening credits!
Haruki's attempts to guide Sevenger are derailed when he goes to rescue a cute puppy, thereby endearing himself to the audience forever. Unfortunately, this leads to him wandering right in Gomess's way, and Yoko crashes Sevenger trying to avoid him, crushing a building as she literally hops on one foot. The collateral damage leads to Shota and Haruki getting chewed out by Director Kuriyama (Hisahiro Ogura) of the Global Allied Forces Japan, the founder of STORAGE, who warns that their funding is about to get cut again because of Haruki's antics. Shota apologizes profusely, but when Haruki looks less than sorry, Shota glares at him, then grabs his ass and twists hard enough to make him tear up, then insists that clearly Haruki is so devastated he's about to cry, so please go easy on the poor baby. Kuriyama's fury is interrupted by a sudden stomach cramp, so Yuka provides him with one of her smoothies, defusing his anger for a moment. He remembers that he's supposed to lecture the unit, but his tone is little less sharp this time, and Shota leads them in bowing to him as he walks out. Once he's gone, Shota takes a moment to lecture Haruki personally, admitting that while he appreciates his sense of justice and his zeal for protecting life, he needs to learn some discipline. He doesn't mean that Haruki should have let the dog die--whether Shota's Juggler or not, he's not a monster--but Haruki needs to think through his actions first. After all, Sevenger could have stepped on him, and the knowledge that she hurt or killed Haruki would hurt Yoko as well. To make up for it, Shota tasks him with piloting Sevenger to aid in clearing the rubble, and Haruki agrees enthusiastically.
We then cut to the moon, with Ferocious Space Shark Genegar (suit acting by Yoshiki Kuwahara). Dear God, that is the most beautiful description ever. The design is great too, reminding me of the T-Rex Dopant of Kamen Rider W, where it's basically a large head on legs, with arms somewhere in there and a tail sticking out of the back. It's ridiculous and I love it. Rookie Ultraman Zett (voiced by Tasuku Hatanaka, suit acting by Hideyoshi Iwata) is in pursuit but is in serious danger until he's rescued by Zero (again voiced by Mamoru Miyano, this time suit acting by Satoru Okabe). Oh, and Zero now has a spiffy blue cape, and Bandai would really like you to buy it. While it's not explained where it came from in the episode itself, Zero first shows off his mantle in Ultraman Chronicle: Zero & Geed when he finally showed up to teach his classes. He sort-of explains to Riku and Pega that Leo summoned him suddenly and gifted him with the cape, meant to increase his defense. And when I say "sort-of," I mean that Zero stares off into space and has a flashback while Riku and Pega stare at him, wondering why he finally stopped talking. Anyway, Zero's cape absorbs the full blast of Genegarg's missiles, which is more than I can say for some other characters with similar defense tactics. (Yes, I most certainly have seen Rider Time: Ryuki. Yes, I am still taking every opportunity to pick on Ren Akiyama and that stupid cape)
Zero tells off Zett, telling him it's too dangerous for him. Zett protests being treated like he's a half-boiled hero, since he's also part of the Inter Galactic Defense Force. He also calls Zero "Master," since he's decided Zero is going to be his teacher, despite Zero continuing to protest that Zett is not his student and also that he's only about one-third of a hero, which Zett complains is an "Ultra-shock." It turns out that Genegarg can eat just about anything and will vomit it back out as an attack, hurling an asteroid at them and finally a Bullton, which creates a hole in time and space, sucking Zero in. With the same level of resignation that Ankh had when he first picked Eiji in Kamen Rider OOO, Zero throws over a new Riser, along with a set of three Ultra Medals, telling Zett to retrieve the remaining Medals that Genegarg swallowed...because apparently the Land of Light has failed to learn anything the last 300 times someone broke in and stole some important power source. With Zero sent to another dimension, Genegarg makes a beeline to Earth.
Haruki is helping with the reconstruction efforts when he's alerted to a possible meteor strike coming nearby--except that STORAGE quickly realizes it's actually a ferocious space shark and that never stops being a beautiful string of words. Haruki deploys Sevenger, switching it to Angry Eyes mode and forever winning the hearts of people who rudely buy out every single action figure before anyone else can get to them. But Sevenger isn't the only one facing Genegarg--Zett arrives as well, and the sudden appearance of a novel, humanoid-type alien elicits an excited response from Yuka but a suspicious glance from Shota. Zett engages the space shark, but Shota warns Haruki to stand down. When Haruki protests that they're going to add to the collateral damage, Shota basically sighs, knowing Haruki's going to disobey orders anyway, and tells him to be careful before reminding him that he's not supposed to respond to orders with "'kay!" Haruki ejects a depleted one-minute battery from Sevenger, leaving him with only two minutes left and decides that the bad guy is the one with sharp teeth and attacks, but he's almost immediately knocked into a building. Zett prevents Genegarg from attacking Sevenger again, then helps him out of the broken building. This action leads Haruki to decide that thinking is too hard for him, since clearly the guy who just helped him is the good guy, so they're just going to team up now. Their combined attacks do some damage, but Genegarg overpowers them and makes his way toward Shinkoyo Elementary School, the evacuation shelter where all of the civilians fled to. Yoko's en route to try to help evacuate it, but she tells Haruki to hurry and defeat the monster. With barely a minute remaining on his energy, Haruki calls out to Zett for help protecting the school, before admitting that Zett probably doesn't understand him. This is a detail I really like, something I first saw with Gaia. The Ultras are primarily telepathic, something established in the earliest series. This doesn't mean they don't always vocally communicate, as Zero used a goddamn megaphone to call out to a kaiju once in Geed; but when humans see Ultras only making grunts and otherwise silently fighting the monsters, they have no reason to assume that these otherwordly beings speak or understand Earth's native languages. Of course, Zett does understand Japanese, and he comes over to help fight. But Haruki starts running out of power, as does Zett, a fact that Haruki is surprised to notice. With both of them out of time, all they can do is put themselves in the way of Genegarg's attacks, preventing the missiles from hitting the school.
Zett calls out for Haruki to wake up, as he lies in a dark field. Haruki gets up startled, finding Zett standing over him, color timer flashing while the Medals hover around them. He has some bad news for Haruki: "Deepest apologies, but you have died." I kinda really want that to be the "Game Over" text in every video game now. Zett is barely holding on himself, and he proposes that in order to save Haruki and fight once again, they fuse together. Haruki gives him a funny look, much to Zett's surprise, since Zett's speech patterns are a little weird. Zett excuses it on "Earthese" being Ultra-difficult. Haruki agrees to become Zett's host, and Zett condenses his body down into the Ultra Z Riser, which he clearly named for himself. He tells Haruki to press the trigger, generating the Hero's Gate, a dimensional door to the Inner Space of light within Zett. He's given an Ultra Access Card to activate his Riser, along with the Z Holder to contain his Medals. Zett explains that the Medals are of his mentors, Zero, Leo, and Seven, and if Haruki inserts them into the Riser's slits and scans them, it will grant them the mentors' power. He asks that Haruki chant his name, but Haruki asks to tell him what's his name, man. After repeating that he is Ultraman Zett and instructing Haruki to put more oomph into it, Haruki chants his name...only to be told that he has to press the trigger.
Zett, now in Alpha Edge mode, is better armored and has red coloring on his legs, similar to Zero. He knocks Genegarg to the ground, and Shota tilts his head oddly at the site of the fused power-up. Hmm, you'd think he'd seen something like that before. While primarily focused on physical attacks, Zett does utilize energy versions of his sluggers as nunchucks, which he's excited to note is the "Inherited Fighting Technique" of Space Martial Arts. There's a wonderful shot of Genegarg plowing Zett through a building, combining destroyed models, minatures, and CG, before pushing him into the air. Zett manages to get free and uses his Zestium Beam to overpower Genegarg's regurgitated energy, pushing it down to the ground to blow up. Yoko stares at Zett as he flies off, leaving behind...well, it looks more like an N than a Z in the sky, but whatever. He tried. Yuka is still thrilled by the spectacle, but Shota turns to leave, explaining that he needs the bathroom all of a sudden.
Zett requests that Haruki help him collect the Medals that Genegarg ate, since they can help save his universe, then basically kicks him out of his body, leaving Haruki lying next to the toppled Sevenger, where he'd originally died. As he gets up, he finds two Medals lying on the ground nearby, but he hears Yoko calling for him. As she desperately searches the wreckage, a third Medal, Ultraman's, falls on her head, and she picks it up, forgetting all about it as soon as Haruki shows himself. In a very X-ish moment, she freaks out on him and starts checking to make sure he's really alive and not a ghost, but he explains that the giant, Ultraman Zett, saved him. But in the shadows, another STORAGE member is watching, his hair loose. He too has found Medals--Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia--and he decides to hold onto them as he walks away.
...It's ridiculously obvious who it is, c'mon.
That night, at GAF-J's Monster Research Center, researchers are transporting barrels of Genegarg's remains when one of the researchers, Shinya Kabutagi (Rihito Noda), suddenly loses control of his cart and falls, spilling the biohazardous waste on the floor. His supervisor (played by Kota Fukihara), tells him off for being so clumsy, but Shinya promises to stay behind and clean it all up. In the worst famous last words ever, he asks himself, "Is this safe?" and "What is this disgusting stuff?" as a creature leaps out of Genegarg's remains and latches onto his face. In a scene straight out of Alien, the creature forces its way past Shinya's gas mask and implants itself in his brain, causing his body to phase and twitch as it integrates into him. With integration complete, Celebro (or Cerebro--the official spelling is subject to change) goes back to the remains and removes another Riser, along with a glowing splinter. Distorting Shinya's voice, Celebro states, "Kiete karekareta," which both Japanese and English subtitles translate to "I feel good," possibly the most horrifying thing a facehugger alien can say, followed by "literally anything." Celebro then gives a twisted half-grin as Shinya's left eye changes color.
