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The sun rising tomorrow: Mebius 34
“The Man Without a Home” (Masanao Akahoshi/Naoki Ohara): The episode begins with Mebius losing a battle against Alien Reflect, a particularly tough, armored monster. Mebius’s color timer is already flashing, and his beam is ineffective. Above Teppei’s protests, Mebius uses a slash from his sword, but it’s…well, reflected back at him. Even missiles don’t do anything. Humiliated, Mebius slams his fist into the ground and screams in frustration as Reflect leaves, pointing out that he can kill him at any time.
Afterwards, Mirai senses someone calling him, and he, Ryu, George, and Teppei take off for the southernmost of the Izu Islands, Kuroshio Island. Teppei gives a brief rundown of the attack by the Giras monsters in the first two episodes of Ultraman Leo, and when they land, they see a simple stone monument and a man dressed in the indigo kimono, black cord belt, and straw hat of a Buddhist monk. The monk lays a bouquet of white flowers at the cenotaph and prays, while the ocean breeze spins pinwheels around him. It’s a really nice bit of atmosphere, although I have several questions, as you’ll see at the end. GUYS runs over, and Mirai—ever confused by Earth practices—asks Ryu if the monk is visiting a grave, which Ryu confirms. The monk then explains that in his first battle on Earth, he was unable to protect the island, and as a result, many people died—something he can never allow himself to forget. As he stands, Mirai spots his ring—a gold lion’s head, crowned with a red gemstone, the Eye of the Lion. This is the man who called him, someone Mirai hasn’t seen since he left the Land of Light. And he challenges Mirai to a fight.
…I’m sorry. Clearly, I must have clicked Kamen Rider Ryuki by mistake.
…I clicked Ryuki by mistake, right?!
…Okay, so we’re doing this.
Mirai protests that he can’t fight the monk—Gen Ohtori, a.k.a. Ultraman Leo—and Gen asks if it’s because Mirai’s afraid of losing just like he had against Reflect. Dude, the guy was named for what he did—he reflected attacks. Like, there’s multiple shows about how mirror-based monsters are a bad thing, and yours was one of them. And while Mirai might not be keen on throwing down with an old monk, Ryu and George are ready to beat the shit out of him for insulting their friend. When they ask Mirai who he is, Gen transforms into Leo, much to Teppei’s delight. Leo again challenges Mirai, and Ryu and George insist he can take him. Mebius engages in hand-to-hand with him, but the martial arts master easily bests him at every turn, basically telling him that those who don’t fight won’t survive—and I’m not making this up; his words according to the Crunchyroll/Mill Creek subs are “If you don’t give it your all, you’ll die.” So, tatakae. This does get Mebius’s fighting spirit up a bit, but Leo continues to overwhelm him, culminating in his ultimate attack, the Leo Kick. Weirdly, though, they have him do a Ryuki-style twist in the air before landing his kick…which isn’t really a Leo thing. Taro is the one who does all of the gymnastics before his attacks. That’s why Mebius does a lot of flips; he’s Taro’s student. Anyway, Mebius meets Leo’s flaming kick with his own kick, and the force of their attacks creates an explosion with an irresponsibly big shockwave. Mebius is thrown to the ground and reaching out helplessly, recreating one of Gen’s many similar moments in the show, with Leo behind him looking downright murderous. Mirai transforms back into human form, and his friends run over to him in concern, Teppei cradling him in what is honestly very reminiscent of how Gen cradled Dan in the second episode, after learning he’d put his own life at risk to save him. When Gen approaches, George and Ryu pull their guns and tell him that they’ll retaliate if he attacks again. Gen, however, tells them off for relying on their weapons, because it makes them vulnerable—something I would love to see him say to Seven and his boomerang. He also tells them that in the end, you can only rely on yourself.
…Bullshit. Gen Ohtori, you used to have your two best friends help you train. You had your little brother Astra and your cryptid grandpa King coming to saving your ass in at least 6 episodes, plus Dan was constantly killing himself using Ultra Psychokinesis because you couldn’t handle things. You know, I often compare Leo to Batman Beyond, and I think with good reason. But here, Gen’s attitude makes Terry in “Epilogue” look chill!
Now, to be fair, the translation may not be accurate. But even so, the way Gen comes off just seems so out-of-character when you consider the last time we saw him, he was happy. Leo had a happy ending—a genuinely happy ending, considering that the story began with a refugee trying to prevent the same tragedy from befalling his new home as did his old. This was a series where people died frequently, where being one of the hero’s friends or a child didn’t protect you. And after saving the world, Gen took off his ring and went sailing around the world, happy to enjoy the peace, ready to experience the planet like a human for a while. It is one of my favorite finales. How did we go from him sailing off into the sunset to him trying to fight a teenager? I mean, I would understand if it was Seven, not Leo, who was giving Mebius a hard time. But the first movie took place before this, so we’ve already seen that Dan’s a lot nicer now—he’s got friends, he owns a ranch, he’s happy! So why the hell is Gen such a bitch?
Gen says that he’s assigned to some duty far away from Earth—which I guess you can read, in retrospect, to be that he’s been tasked with training Zero. Although none of this explains the whole monk thing. He came back to test Mirai and see if he could trust him to take care of the planet he considers his home now; but although Taro has given his blessing, nothing Gen has seen has given reason to believe in Mirai. When Ryu argues, Gen points out that Mirai just lost to both him and Alien Reflect, which doesn’t speak well of him. Dude, you famously lost to a jeep! Don’t even talk. He criticizes GUYS in general for not understanding that they cannot afford to lose the battles they fight and tells Mirai that he has no right to call himself an Ultraman—something that pisses Ryu the hell off, and he’s ready to find some stick and beat that old man. Mirai pulls him off, tears running down his face, and says that Gen is right, but that still doesn’t satisfy Gen. He asks Mirai why he dares to cry and if he thinks he can save the Earth with his tears—something that feels like something Dan might have told him, but I honestly can’t figure out when or where. Mirai’s expression is defiant in turn, and good for him. Don’t let him push you around. Gen tells Mirai that if he wants his acknowledgment, then he needs to defeat Reflect, and tosses him an old karate gi before walking away.
They return to Phoenix Nest, where Misaki reviews one of the surviving records of MAC, revealing that Leo used to get his ass kicked on the regular. When Konomi asks who defeated the monsters, Misaki says that Leo would get knocked down, but he’d get up again, and the kaiju were never gonna keep him down. The others realize that he’s one hell of a survivor, but both Teppei and Misaki point out that MAC was completely destroyed, Leo himself being the only survivor. It puts things into perspective for Ryu, himself the only survivor of his original team and, like Leo, still fighting on. But Leo had to do it alone, unlike Ryu. Mirai realizes what Gen meant when he said that the Earth was his home and explains about the destruction of L77. In what’s a really weird way of putting it, he says that at least he still has the Land of Light, but Gen doesn’t have his original homeworld—like, I get what it’s trying to say, but it really feels like it misses the overall point. What it really should be saying is that Mebius fights to protect Earth because it is precious to him, as his friends’ home; whereas Leo fights to protect Earth because it is precious to him as his own home. Again, I don’t think that this was an issue of the translation as much as it is that I don’t think the writer had that strong a grip on Ultraman Leo. And then it also feels weird having Ryu wondering if they ever fought with that much determination…when he went through a whole goddamn arc with his faith in his old captain wavering, when he refused to let either Mebius or Hikari die, when he had to deal with the shock of learning Mirai was Mebius, and when he stared down Ultraman Taro and asked him not to make Mirai go home. Don’t sell yourself short. He tries to point out that Mirai shouldn’t feel bad for losing to such a determinator as Leo, and George says that they’ve only lost once to Reflect; there won’t be a second loss. When Mirai points out that all of his beams are useless against Reflect, Teppei points out that Leo’s challenge was to teach him he needed to use a kick to get through its defenses. However, Mirai knows his kick isn’t nearly as strong as Leo’s, which leads to Ryu realizing that the gi and the whole “you can only rely on yourself” talk was Gen’s way of saying that Mirai needed to go out and train—which Marina sighs is absolutely the kind of moronic hotblooded bullshit that Ryu loves. He offers to help, but Mirai insists that if he’s going to win Leo’s respect, he has to do the same thing and do it by himself, turn loneliness into strength.
…Again, Gen was trained by Dan Moroboshi, who outright told him when he started to think he didn’t need MAC, to think about friendship and teamwork. Which makes sense; Dan was a beloved member of the Ultra Guard who had to be shown that he needed to trust his friends to protect the Earth without him having to risk his life all the time—a point constantly being made throughout Mebius. As Seven, he was one of the Ultra Brothers, the protectors of Earth. And while his injury in the first episode of Leo was definitely the thing that scared him into realizing that Earth needed Leo because MAC and Seven couldn’t handle things, it still feels fucking weird that the best way to honor that legacy is to have Mirai just totally forego friendship and teamwork and go train in the forest by himself. Yes, Gen always trained in the forest; but he also had someone help him all of the way.
And again making my comparison to Batman Beyond for a moment, it feels like trying to argue that Batman should always be alone, when he had people by his side—both in and out of costume. We actually had the chance to see Batman’s relationship with one of his sidekicks break down in the series it’s a sequel to, Barbara explains to Terry how Bruce started pushing people away, and the movie focuses on what happened between Batman and Robin that finally resulted in Bruce pushing away everyone he loved. If this episode could do something similar, playing with the idea of “Leo is a survivor, and the only survivor of just about everything he’s been part of and loved,” then maybe I’d like it better. But this really does feel weak as a tribute.
Mirai begins training in the forest, unaware that Gen is watching him with something approaching approval—after all, a man’s biggest fight is always alone, against himself. Which, again, is bullshit and I honestly think that Zero is a better example of why. The others are also watching, and Ryu finally asks him how it’s going. Mirai is frustrated with his lack of progress, and Ryu—handling it like if Dan Moroboshi had some sensitivity training—explains that just because Mirai doesn’t want to rely on them, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to worry about him. Konomi suggests they use Mirai’s broken logs to build a bonfire and roast sweet potatoes, and Ryu realizes he can bribe his best friend with food to take a break. What’s nice here and what works is that you see everybody else doing the work—Ryu chopping the wood, Teppei stacking it, Konomi wrapping the sweet potatoes in foil, and Mirai watching in fascination because this is another new Earth experience. But when Teppei forgets the matches, Ryu begins twisting a stick into one of the wood planks to generate enough friction to start the fire—something that finally gives Mirai the breakthrough he’s needed. And this is what is actually Leo about this episode—Gen’s triumphs were never something he did on his own; he would have someone’s help, he would hear someone say something that gave him the answer, he would put things into perspective. Although seriously, what is it with Leo and not telling his students what they actually need to learn? Once again, see Zero.
When Reflect attacks again and they fly out, Ryu promises to back up Mirai. However, Mirai asks Ryu to let him do this himself, since he’s finally figured it out, so Ryu agrees to let him have that chance to prove himself. Everyone, including Gen, watches tensely as Mebius leaps up and lands a kick against Reflect’s shield, only to immediately begin spinning and generating the flames of his Burning Brave form, turning his normal kick into the Corkscrew Kick that Leo had mastered in episode 2. Ryu and Gen both watch with pride, but when Mebius goes to attack again, Reflect snares the Gun Phoenix, holding everyone hostage. At that point, Gen’s had enough and transforms into Leo to help, breaking Reflect’s sword while Mebius breaks the chain wrapped around the Gun Phoenix. Leo and Mebius then join forces against Reflect, attacking solely with martial arts and finally finishing him off with the Leo Kick followed by Mebius’s Corkscrew Kick.
Mirai and Gen return to the Kuroshio memorial, and Mirai gives back the gi and thanks Gen for teaching him. For a moment, Gen almost looks tearful, but he turns away. Mirai calls out to him, as “Leo-niisan,” promising to protect the Earth. Gen turns, admitting that all of GUYS has earned his respect, and he returns Mirai’s smile.
So if it isn’t clear, this isn’t exactly my favorite episode. This isn’t to say that it’s bad, per se; it’s just that it really comes off like the writer only watched a handful of Leo episodes and utterly skipped the finale. Maybe even the director, since there are times that Leo’s fighting looks a lot more like Taro’s style (more acrobatic) than his own (forceful, powerful martial arts).
There was an agenda in this, and I think that’s what makes it suffer—a tribute episode should never have an agenda other than to honor the past and present and to look forward to the future. In this case, they really wanted to make Gen come off like Dan had in Leo, but there’s no reason for it. If you’ve read my retrospective, I argue how Dan is displaying behaviors consistent with PTSD. I don’t try to identify an inciting incident—although the broken leg and subsequent loss of his powers definitely seems to be it—but we see throughout the series how much is weighing on him. He’s not human, but now he’s forced to remain in his human body. He has an injury that he can’t get properly treated because he’s not human and human medicine is not going to be much help to him. The only power he has left will kill him if he uses it too much, and it hurts him every time he uses it. He’s the captain of the defense team, but his subordinates are dying left and right, and he knows that there’s no amount of upgrades to their technology that is ever going to allow them to beat the constant onslaught of kaiju and aliens attacking Earth. His only real hope is a younger Ultra he doesn’t know from a planet that no longer exists, and the stupid idiot can’t follow a single order he gives.
We don’t have that luxury with Gen, to learn where his changes came from. We’re meant to assume that it’s the culmination of his series, of having to be a survivor for so long. But again, he got his happy ending. He managed to save one of his loved ones. He protected the Earth that both he and Dan loved so much. Hell, he learned he wasn’t the only survivor—his brother, Astra, also survived (who is curiously never mentioned in this episode), and his pet, Ron. He has managed to gain the respect of the mythical Ultraman King, who Dan didn’t even think was real before that. He was named an Ultra Brother. And he stopped the constant invasions from the Second Age of Monsters for five years. So what made him so angry all the time?
Leo’s new, tougher personality would be crystalized in canon through the Zero chronicles and Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad. He doesn’t appear for long in any of those, so it does make him come off a little bit softer, partly because he’s actually got to raise the teenager this time, so he can’t just throw him a dirty uniform and tell him to go fuck off until he figures his shit out. Which, in retrospect, actually makes Seven come off as the more responsible parent. And it really is a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Like Mirai, Gen was a very emotional young man who couldn’t manage to be tougher than the monsters he needed to fight. He could have talked with him about that, about how you manage to keep your heart. We had a really good moment of that from Dan and the others in the movie, and then again much later in the series. Seriously, how is it that Dan Moroboshi gets to be happy, but Gen Ohtori must be miserable?
Again, it’s not a bad episode, but it does show one of the weaknesses inherent in anniversary seasons featuring tribute episodes—if you don’t have the original writers (and after 30+ years, no, they weren’t going to have the original writers), you run the risk of going way off-course with characterization because you’re working off of memories of the show, sometimes from childhood. And keep in mind, this is by no means the worst instance of this—Kamen Rider OOO likely holds that dubious honor beginning in 2019 and continuing on, as of this post—but it’s still disappointing all the same.
…I mean, seriously? A Buddhist monk? Why? What even was the religion on L77? When did Gen show any interest in Buddhism? What does Astra think of all of this? And how exactly is he doing that whole “wandering monk” thing if he’s got a mission on some other planet? I know we all said it made no sense in Power Rangers Dino Thunder when Tommy got his Ph.D., but this makes “racecar driver to paleontologist to high school science teacher” seem like a perfectly logical career path!
At the time of this writing, it is 2024, Ultraman Leo’s 50th anniversary. In the last four years, we’ve continued his legacy: his student, Zero, is now master to Ultraman Zett; Astra has been given some actual characterization and we even see some of his imprisonment after the destruction of L77; and Ultraman Regulos has been introduced—a mysterious, amnesiac, lion-themed Ultra who was Leo’s best friend before everything went down, and Astra’s childhood rival. My hope is that Tsuburaya will continue to explore his character and world. I still think there’s plenty of room for it. And likewise, I would like to see more of Mebius, with respect given to him and his cast as well. Shunji Igarashi, Mirai’s actor, recently came out of retirement and is starting to make appearances at fan events, so maybe we’ll get to see him return one day. But anything that is done for either of them, I want to see handled with more care than this. Let people who genuinely love the material work with those seasons, and work with the actors to make sure that things feel right.
And hey, if the absolute worst that happens is an absolutely beloved series, full of heart? Then everybody wins.
References
Buddhist clothing: https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/ruha.html
Hat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasa_(hat)
Staff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khakkhara
Afterwards, Mirai senses someone calling him, and he, Ryu, George, and Teppei take off for the southernmost of the Izu Islands, Kuroshio Island. Teppei gives a brief rundown of the attack by the Giras monsters in the first two episodes of Ultraman Leo, and when they land, they see a simple stone monument and a man dressed in the indigo kimono, black cord belt, and straw hat of a Buddhist monk. The monk lays a bouquet of white flowers at the cenotaph and prays, while the ocean breeze spins pinwheels around him. It’s a really nice bit of atmosphere, although I have several questions, as you’ll see at the end. GUYS runs over, and Mirai—ever confused by Earth practices—asks Ryu if the monk is visiting a grave, which Ryu confirms. The monk then explains that in his first battle on Earth, he was unable to protect the island, and as a result, many people died—something he can never allow himself to forget. As he stands, Mirai spots his ring—a gold lion’s head, crowned with a red gemstone, the Eye of the Lion. This is the man who called him, someone Mirai hasn’t seen since he left the Land of Light. And he challenges Mirai to a fight.
…I’m sorry. Clearly, I must have clicked Kamen Rider Ryuki by mistake.
…I clicked Ryuki by mistake, right?!
…Okay, so we’re doing this.
Mirai protests that he can’t fight the monk—Gen Ohtori, a.k.a. Ultraman Leo—and Gen asks if it’s because Mirai’s afraid of losing just like he had against Reflect. Dude, the guy was named for what he did—he reflected attacks. Like, there’s multiple shows about how mirror-based monsters are a bad thing, and yours was one of them. And while Mirai might not be keen on throwing down with an old monk, Ryu and George are ready to beat the shit out of him for insulting their friend. When they ask Mirai who he is, Gen transforms into Leo, much to Teppei’s delight. Leo again challenges Mirai, and Ryu and George insist he can take him. Mebius engages in hand-to-hand with him, but the martial arts master easily bests him at every turn, basically telling him that those who don’t fight won’t survive—and I’m not making this up; his words according to the Crunchyroll/Mill Creek subs are “If you don’t give it your all, you’ll die.” So, tatakae. This does get Mebius’s fighting spirit up a bit, but Leo continues to overwhelm him, culminating in his ultimate attack, the Leo Kick. Weirdly, though, they have him do a Ryuki-style twist in the air before landing his kick…which isn’t really a Leo thing. Taro is the one who does all of the gymnastics before his attacks. That’s why Mebius does a lot of flips; he’s Taro’s student. Anyway, Mebius meets Leo’s flaming kick with his own kick, and the force of their attacks creates an explosion with an irresponsibly big shockwave. Mebius is thrown to the ground and reaching out helplessly, recreating one of Gen’s many similar moments in the show, with Leo behind him looking downright murderous. Mirai transforms back into human form, and his friends run over to him in concern, Teppei cradling him in what is honestly very reminiscent of how Gen cradled Dan in the second episode, after learning he’d put his own life at risk to save him. When Gen approaches, George and Ryu pull their guns and tell him that they’ll retaliate if he attacks again. Gen, however, tells them off for relying on their weapons, because it makes them vulnerable—something I would love to see him say to Seven and his boomerang. He also tells them that in the end, you can only rely on yourself.
…Bullshit. Gen Ohtori, you used to have your two best friends help you train. You had your little brother Astra and your cryptid grandpa King coming to saving your ass in at least 6 episodes, plus Dan was constantly killing himself using Ultra Psychokinesis because you couldn’t handle things. You know, I often compare Leo to Batman Beyond, and I think with good reason. But here, Gen’s attitude makes Terry in “Epilogue” look chill!
Now, to be fair, the translation may not be accurate. But even so, the way Gen comes off just seems so out-of-character when you consider the last time we saw him, he was happy. Leo had a happy ending—a genuinely happy ending, considering that the story began with a refugee trying to prevent the same tragedy from befalling his new home as did his old. This was a series where people died frequently, where being one of the hero’s friends or a child didn’t protect you. And after saving the world, Gen took off his ring and went sailing around the world, happy to enjoy the peace, ready to experience the planet like a human for a while. It is one of my favorite finales. How did we go from him sailing off into the sunset to him trying to fight a teenager? I mean, I would understand if it was Seven, not Leo, who was giving Mebius a hard time. But the first movie took place before this, so we’ve already seen that Dan’s a lot nicer now—he’s got friends, he owns a ranch, he’s happy! So why the hell is Gen such a bitch?
Gen says that he’s assigned to some duty far away from Earth—which I guess you can read, in retrospect, to be that he’s been tasked with training Zero. Although none of this explains the whole monk thing. He came back to test Mirai and see if he could trust him to take care of the planet he considers his home now; but although Taro has given his blessing, nothing Gen has seen has given reason to believe in Mirai. When Ryu argues, Gen points out that Mirai just lost to both him and Alien Reflect, which doesn’t speak well of him. Dude, you famously lost to a jeep! Don’t even talk. He criticizes GUYS in general for not understanding that they cannot afford to lose the battles they fight and tells Mirai that he has no right to call himself an Ultraman—something that pisses Ryu the hell off, and he’s ready to find some stick and beat that old man. Mirai pulls him off, tears running down his face, and says that Gen is right, but that still doesn’t satisfy Gen. He asks Mirai why he dares to cry and if he thinks he can save the Earth with his tears—something that feels like something Dan might have told him, but I honestly can’t figure out when or where. Mirai’s expression is defiant in turn, and good for him. Don’t let him push you around. Gen tells Mirai that if he wants his acknowledgment, then he needs to defeat Reflect, and tosses him an old karate gi before walking away.
They return to Phoenix Nest, where Misaki reviews one of the surviving records of MAC, revealing that Leo used to get his ass kicked on the regular. When Konomi asks who defeated the monsters, Misaki says that Leo would get knocked down, but he’d get up again, and the kaiju were never gonna keep him down. The others realize that he’s one hell of a survivor, but both Teppei and Misaki point out that MAC was completely destroyed, Leo himself being the only survivor. It puts things into perspective for Ryu, himself the only survivor of his original team and, like Leo, still fighting on. But Leo had to do it alone, unlike Ryu. Mirai realizes what Gen meant when he said that the Earth was his home and explains about the destruction of L77. In what’s a really weird way of putting it, he says that at least he still has the Land of Light, but Gen doesn’t have his original homeworld—like, I get what it’s trying to say, but it really feels like it misses the overall point. What it really should be saying is that Mebius fights to protect Earth because it is precious to him, as his friends’ home; whereas Leo fights to protect Earth because it is precious to him as his own home. Again, I don’t think that this was an issue of the translation as much as it is that I don’t think the writer had that strong a grip on Ultraman Leo. And then it also feels weird having Ryu wondering if they ever fought with that much determination…when he went through a whole goddamn arc with his faith in his old captain wavering, when he refused to let either Mebius or Hikari die, when he had to deal with the shock of learning Mirai was Mebius, and when he stared down Ultraman Taro and asked him not to make Mirai go home. Don’t sell yourself short. He tries to point out that Mirai shouldn’t feel bad for losing to such a determinator as Leo, and George says that they’ve only lost once to Reflect; there won’t be a second loss. When Mirai points out that all of his beams are useless against Reflect, Teppei points out that Leo’s challenge was to teach him he needed to use a kick to get through its defenses. However, Mirai knows his kick isn’t nearly as strong as Leo’s, which leads to Ryu realizing that the gi and the whole “you can only rely on yourself” talk was Gen’s way of saying that Mirai needed to go out and train—which Marina sighs is absolutely the kind of moronic hotblooded bullshit that Ryu loves. He offers to help, but Mirai insists that if he’s going to win Leo’s respect, he has to do the same thing and do it by himself, turn loneliness into strength.
…Again, Gen was trained by Dan Moroboshi, who outright told him when he started to think he didn’t need MAC, to think about friendship and teamwork. Which makes sense; Dan was a beloved member of the Ultra Guard who had to be shown that he needed to trust his friends to protect the Earth without him having to risk his life all the time—a point constantly being made throughout Mebius. As Seven, he was one of the Ultra Brothers, the protectors of Earth. And while his injury in the first episode of Leo was definitely the thing that scared him into realizing that Earth needed Leo because MAC and Seven couldn’t handle things, it still feels fucking weird that the best way to honor that legacy is to have Mirai just totally forego friendship and teamwork and go train in the forest by himself. Yes, Gen always trained in the forest; but he also had someone help him all of the way.
And again making my comparison to Batman Beyond for a moment, it feels like trying to argue that Batman should always be alone, when he had people by his side—both in and out of costume. We actually had the chance to see Batman’s relationship with one of his sidekicks break down in the series it’s a sequel to, Barbara explains to Terry how Bruce started pushing people away, and the movie focuses on what happened between Batman and Robin that finally resulted in Bruce pushing away everyone he loved. If this episode could do something similar, playing with the idea of “Leo is a survivor, and the only survivor of just about everything he’s been part of and loved,” then maybe I’d like it better. But this really does feel weak as a tribute.
Mirai begins training in the forest, unaware that Gen is watching him with something approaching approval—after all, a man’s biggest fight is always alone, against himself. Which, again, is bullshit and I honestly think that Zero is a better example of why. The others are also watching, and Ryu finally asks him how it’s going. Mirai is frustrated with his lack of progress, and Ryu—handling it like if Dan Moroboshi had some sensitivity training—explains that just because Mirai doesn’t want to rely on them, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to worry about him. Konomi suggests they use Mirai’s broken logs to build a bonfire and roast sweet potatoes, and Ryu realizes he can bribe his best friend with food to take a break. What’s nice here and what works is that you see everybody else doing the work—Ryu chopping the wood, Teppei stacking it, Konomi wrapping the sweet potatoes in foil, and Mirai watching in fascination because this is another new Earth experience. But when Teppei forgets the matches, Ryu begins twisting a stick into one of the wood planks to generate enough friction to start the fire—something that finally gives Mirai the breakthrough he’s needed. And this is what is actually Leo about this episode—Gen’s triumphs were never something he did on his own; he would have someone’s help, he would hear someone say something that gave him the answer, he would put things into perspective. Although seriously, what is it with Leo and not telling his students what they actually need to learn? Once again, see Zero.
When Reflect attacks again and they fly out, Ryu promises to back up Mirai. However, Mirai asks Ryu to let him do this himself, since he’s finally figured it out, so Ryu agrees to let him have that chance to prove himself. Everyone, including Gen, watches tensely as Mebius leaps up and lands a kick against Reflect’s shield, only to immediately begin spinning and generating the flames of his Burning Brave form, turning his normal kick into the Corkscrew Kick that Leo had mastered in episode 2. Ryu and Gen both watch with pride, but when Mebius goes to attack again, Reflect snares the Gun Phoenix, holding everyone hostage. At that point, Gen’s had enough and transforms into Leo to help, breaking Reflect’s sword while Mebius breaks the chain wrapped around the Gun Phoenix. Leo and Mebius then join forces against Reflect, attacking solely with martial arts and finally finishing him off with the Leo Kick followed by Mebius’s Corkscrew Kick.
Mirai and Gen return to the Kuroshio memorial, and Mirai gives back the gi and thanks Gen for teaching him. For a moment, Gen almost looks tearful, but he turns away. Mirai calls out to him, as “Leo-niisan,” promising to protect the Earth. Gen turns, admitting that all of GUYS has earned his respect, and he returns Mirai’s smile.
So if it isn’t clear, this isn’t exactly my favorite episode. This isn’t to say that it’s bad, per se; it’s just that it really comes off like the writer only watched a handful of Leo episodes and utterly skipped the finale. Maybe even the director, since there are times that Leo’s fighting looks a lot more like Taro’s style (more acrobatic) than his own (forceful, powerful martial arts).
There was an agenda in this, and I think that’s what makes it suffer—a tribute episode should never have an agenda other than to honor the past and present and to look forward to the future. In this case, they really wanted to make Gen come off like Dan had in Leo, but there’s no reason for it. If you’ve read my retrospective, I argue how Dan is displaying behaviors consistent with PTSD. I don’t try to identify an inciting incident—although the broken leg and subsequent loss of his powers definitely seems to be it—but we see throughout the series how much is weighing on him. He’s not human, but now he’s forced to remain in his human body. He has an injury that he can’t get properly treated because he’s not human and human medicine is not going to be much help to him. The only power he has left will kill him if he uses it too much, and it hurts him every time he uses it. He’s the captain of the defense team, but his subordinates are dying left and right, and he knows that there’s no amount of upgrades to their technology that is ever going to allow them to beat the constant onslaught of kaiju and aliens attacking Earth. His only real hope is a younger Ultra he doesn’t know from a planet that no longer exists, and the stupid idiot can’t follow a single order he gives.
We don’t have that luxury with Gen, to learn where his changes came from. We’re meant to assume that it’s the culmination of his series, of having to be a survivor for so long. But again, he got his happy ending. He managed to save one of his loved ones. He protected the Earth that both he and Dan loved so much. Hell, he learned he wasn’t the only survivor—his brother, Astra, also survived (who is curiously never mentioned in this episode), and his pet, Ron. He has managed to gain the respect of the mythical Ultraman King, who Dan didn’t even think was real before that. He was named an Ultra Brother. And he stopped the constant invasions from the Second Age of Monsters for five years. So what made him so angry all the time?
Leo’s new, tougher personality would be crystalized in canon through the Zero chronicles and Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad. He doesn’t appear for long in any of those, so it does make him come off a little bit softer, partly because he’s actually got to raise the teenager this time, so he can’t just throw him a dirty uniform and tell him to go fuck off until he figures his shit out. Which, in retrospect, actually makes Seven come off as the more responsible parent. And it really is a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Like Mirai, Gen was a very emotional young man who couldn’t manage to be tougher than the monsters he needed to fight. He could have talked with him about that, about how you manage to keep your heart. We had a really good moment of that from Dan and the others in the movie, and then again much later in the series. Seriously, how is it that Dan Moroboshi gets to be happy, but Gen Ohtori must be miserable?
Again, it’s not a bad episode, but it does show one of the weaknesses inherent in anniversary seasons featuring tribute episodes—if you don’t have the original writers (and after 30+ years, no, they weren’t going to have the original writers), you run the risk of going way off-course with characterization because you’re working off of memories of the show, sometimes from childhood. And keep in mind, this is by no means the worst instance of this—Kamen Rider OOO likely holds that dubious honor beginning in 2019 and continuing on, as of this post—but it’s still disappointing all the same.
…I mean, seriously? A Buddhist monk? Why? What even was the religion on L77? When did Gen show any interest in Buddhism? What does Astra think of all of this? And how exactly is he doing that whole “wandering monk” thing if he’s got a mission on some other planet? I know we all said it made no sense in Power Rangers Dino Thunder when Tommy got his Ph.D., but this makes “racecar driver to paleontologist to high school science teacher” seem like a perfectly logical career path!
At the time of this writing, it is 2024, Ultraman Leo’s 50th anniversary. In the last four years, we’ve continued his legacy: his student, Zero, is now master to Ultraman Zett; Astra has been given some actual characterization and we even see some of his imprisonment after the destruction of L77; and Ultraman Regulos has been introduced—a mysterious, amnesiac, lion-themed Ultra who was Leo’s best friend before everything went down, and Astra’s childhood rival. My hope is that Tsuburaya will continue to explore his character and world. I still think there’s plenty of room for it. And likewise, I would like to see more of Mebius, with respect given to him and his cast as well. Shunji Igarashi, Mirai’s actor, recently came out of retirement and is starting to make appearances at fan events, so maybe we’ll get to see him return one day. But anything that is done for either of them, I want to see handled with more care than this. Let people who genuinely love the material work with those seasons, and work with the actors to make sure that things feel right.
And hey, if the absolute worst that happens is an absolutely beloved series, full of heart? Then everybody wins.
References
Buddhist clothing: https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/ruha.html
Hat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasa_(hat)
Staff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khakkhara