Final Fabulosities/Frustrations For Ultraman Omega; Episodes 18 to 25

 

By Joe Gibson

 

As you know, I have been reviewing the episodes of Ultraman Omega (which, as you know, is about a red-faced amnesiac Giant of Light battling monsters on Earth with the help of three Meteokaiju). You can read those thoughts here: 

https://planninecrunch.blogspot.com/2025/08/some-truncated-thoughts-on-ultraman.html

https://planninecrunch.blogspot.com/2026/01/more-mini-reviews-of-ultraman-omega.html

 

In due time, these three articles will be condensed into a supercut video review, so stay tuned for that.

Over the course of the show, we have seen Kosei grow in maturity, Omega grow in ability and a research team start to form consisting of our main characters. The show has consistently been enjoyable and often really impressed me.

 

But now comes the day we can truly weigh in on the important question surrounding this show: does this show have Ultraman’s most fabulous labors or is this show a frustrating fall from grace following the acclaim of the last two shows?

 

Episode 18, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

I was hesitant going into this episode because Barossa, in the Ultraman discourse, is one of those characters that has gained public ire from being overused, and, based on the trailer, this had all the trappings of a filler episode making us wait even longer to learn anything more about the mysteries. Still, this was actually a very fun and interesting episode that does a lot to characterize the meteokaiju in their miniature toy forms. 

 

While episode 16 had much in common with the formula of Scooby Doo, this episode seems to be drawing from classic fairy tale scenarios. A traveling Barossa Seijin kidnaps the boys and the meteokaiju, but a young girl aboard the ship called Gilda wants Kosei to be her doll of an Earth prince. Ayumu gets involved trying to free Kosei, and the imagery as I have already described it, just has a Grimm’s Fairy Tale feel to it.

 

I will have more to say about this episode in a later video, because it is also very interesting to examine under a critical lens.

 

Episode 19, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

Episode 19 is a triumph, demonstrating the growth and maturity these characters have attained over the course of the show. Rather than regress Kosei to acting like a child (again), this episode invents a new child, establishes a plot mechanism that makes adults act more immature and still has a wistful Kosei reflecting on his past to help that child learn the lesson of the story. At the same time, it also functions as a sentimental reflection on the art of tokusatsu itself. The young boy, Eiichi, finds his joy in creating dioramas of kaiju scenarios with his friends. When he finds an emotional resonance crystal that summons the monster Bagrigon (just go with it), he uses it as the centerpiece of his photography. Though it amplifies either emotion, this episode shows it feeding on negative emotions and, so, it alienates him from his friends. That is when Kosei and Ayumu start to mentor him, and, by the end of the episode, Sorato and Kosei are helping him set up his kaiju dioramas, and the crystal glows with their positive emotions. This symbolizes how all generations can come together to enjoy these Ultraman shows and Godzilla films. It is so inspiring that I am going to ignore the fact that Tsuburaya Productions has begun to partner with AI platforms until that becomes necessary for a critical analysis. Again, I will have more to say on this episode in a later video that will partially examine the state of suitmation and tokusatsu storytelling.

 

Episode 20, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

Okay, this is the worst episode so far of this batch, but it is not bad. Simply put, it is just uneven. The opening suggests a conflict in the way that Sorato and Kosei deal with pests; Kosei puts out a mousetrap while Sorato feels sympathy for mice that fall victim to mousetraps. This tracks with the previous characterization, as Sorato viewed even vicious monster Graim as part of a race in neutral enough terms and only killed a Graim when he had to. The issue is that this does not really connect to the Monster of The Week as well as they might have wanted it to. A time traveling dinosaur called Chronoceros is the MOTW, and, this week, they are trying to save it, not fight it. It appears very frightening at first, even accidentally pulling Kosei through time with it, but the team pretty quickly deduces that it is separated from its flock and so tries to help it. This reads as preserving an endangered species more than it does having mercy on a pest. 

 

Aside from that, the goofy comedic hijinks as they fail to get to it before it time-travels are well done. However, right after that, it keels over and dies, and the show tries to get serious as Ayumu tries in vain to resuscitate it (one of her best moments in the show so far though), and then she gets Kosei and Sorato to help her. Even though that scene was doing its best to convince us there was nothing they could do, it suddenly works, and the tonal whiplash kicks into a triumphant gear, and there's still more episode left. The ultimate lesson Kosei learns is compromise; he puts red peppers out as a mouse deterrent instead of a violent punitive measure, but the episode’s climax featured Kosei and Sorato traveling to the future to revive the Chronoceros’ mother and then destroy the advanced (possibly human) fleet trying to kill both Chronoceros, so the reasonable payoff with mice would have been finding a lost mouse's mother, not teaching a concept that has no relevance to the rest of the episode. 

 

I can't even be mad though, because, once it got to the future, this was genuinely great; Sorato applied the CPR he learned from Ayumu, Rekiness got to protect the young Chronoceros, and the cinematography of Omega slashing the UFOs and motherships was very inventive. The last two episodes were great across the board; this one just has higher highs and lower lows. The comments on the YouTube upload were also predominantly positive.

 

Ultimately, the main reason I am notating this as frustrating, though, is because, in order to create the Chronoceros suit, Tsuburaya Productions modified the Doglf suit from Ultraman Arc's movie, and now we'll probably never see Doglf again. That's what frustrates me more than anything.

 

Episode 21, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

This episode feels like it was missing from the first half of the show, so my issues are less with the events than their presence now.

It revolves around an annoying side character making life difficult for our trio, and it gives Ayumu another sorely needed episode in the limelight. At the same time, the gimmick of Gabora this week makes him a sufficient counter to any of the Meteokaiju Kosei has, and the motivation of Gabora seeking Kaen-102 remnants of a meteorite would work better to foreshadow Bagrigon and his emotional resonance crystal than following that up. I suspect Kaen-102 will be even more important later on, and I am beginning to think that it is what powered that fleet in the future. I suppose I should explain more before I get going.

 

Ayumu Ichido is a very understated member of this team. She is very studious and very driven, deferential to her other teammates in acknowledging what they bring while trying to be the best she can to live up to them. She is very mature in her outlook and offers advice and data analysis that saves the day. In the chain of command, Uta names her temporary leader while she is gone, and Ayumu steps up. When Makoto Raoniji prevents them from carrying out their duties, she takes responsibility for their actions and his mistakes.

 

I have my suspicions about what world figures Raoniji could be parodying but I like his character anyway and think he would have been a very interesting main cast member. Imagine if someone like that got his hands on one of the meteokaiju or, God forbid, the power of Ultraman himself. If done right, that would make for an all-time great arc of gaining maturity.

 

Gabora is a kaiju from the original 1966 Ultraman show that is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Gabora is one of the Baragon Brethren, that is to say, the exclusive list of kaiju made from modifying a Baragon suit on loan from Toho: Pagos, Neronga, Magular and Gabora. Pagos, Neronga and Gabora appeared in Shin Ultraman as both a reference and cost cutting measure, but this is actually the true return of Gabora to the Ultra series since the original Ultraman (he was in Ultraman Powered, but that was basically a loose remake of the original show anyway). As far as I can tell, this Gabora is modified from Neronga again, but I am unsure if this is the same suit that portrayed Pagos a few episodes ago. That many modifications in that short of a time frame would be standard fare for the first Ultraman shows but seems very strange for something right now. Gabora’s gimmick this go around is that his segmented frill can spin, allowing him to fly faster than Omega can react. And yeah, that works to address the power creep of a knowledgeable Omega and Kosei partnership; Gabora has a beefy enough body to where he will be hard to move, his beam has increased in width, and he can fly so powerfully and unexpectedly that Valgeness cannot down him with telepathy.

 

Episode 22, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

This episode ushers in the last leg of the story, answering many of the questions we have about Omega, his backstory and what he represents in the story. One criticism I should also levy against the last four episodes is that they did very little to address this mystery. The introduction of another Sorato talking to himself seemed to mean answers would be immediate, but even as of this episode, that other Sorato is still slightly anomalous. Here is your last chance to share your predictions in the comments. In any case, Omega is a Space Gazer, non-interventionist beings of light that exist to document the happenings of each planet, especially in their Time of Awakening where monsters arise every few thousand years to terrorize the humans. Geness is the name of a planet and formerly humanoid people who created Zovaras and other such technologies in order to fight off their own monsters, inadvertently destroying their planet. They tried to invade Earth, but Omega stopped them. In the battle against their controlled Vagsects and subsequently against Zovaras, Omega lost his memory and startled the surviving Geness when he started to actively fight for humanity on Earth. The non-interventionist policy is presumably why no other Space Gazer tried to get Omega to stop until episode 17, if that other Sorato even is another Gazer and not just Sorato’s missing memories like what I speculated that child from the Mons-Ahgar episode was.

 

You might be thinking this is a lot to tell us in an episode where I have not even described a MOTW yet. That is because this episode takes the form of a prolonged exposition dump where Kosei and Sorato follow clues left behind by a mysterious figure telling them all of this: a kind old man who rescued Omega immediately after he fell to Earth. As this episode reveals, that old man is a Geness Seijin called Ahdel. Even though he is a token good teammate that opposed his compatriot’s Earth invasion plan, Ahdel is a far more complicated character. Though he, himself, was dying, he rescued Omega, and, once he saw Omega start saving humanity, he actually grew very bitter and died while preparing this path to return Omega’s Space Gazer memories to try to dissuade him from helping Earth.

 

Despite being a larger scope villain in this episode, Ahdel poses an interesting question. Why did Omega break code to help humanity and not the Geness Seijin? Sorato has an answer, even though this all shakes him: the people of Geness destroyed their own planet trying to defeat the kaiju and then ended up trying to colonize Earth, while humanity just innocently could not defend itself from Geness’ army or Earth’s own kaiju. The Geness Seijin are humanoid but converted their bodies into energy and invented other means to control kaiju so my working theory is that either the Vagsects were being controlled the same way Zovaras was or the little ball of energy Geness guys were literally inside of the Vagsects during that big fight scene. And this should strike a chord because the future scenario from a few episodes ago could be Genessian invasion…or it is the consequence of Earthlings doing the same thing. That is the tension that would likely exist on a temporal scale for Omega: did he really do the right thing or did he essentially empower Geness even sooner? This episode starts with a new international squad forming to deal with the kaiju. I, for one, trust them less than I do the KSCT.

 

I would be remiss not to at least mention the MOTW, since there actually was one. I did not catch his name during the actual upload, but it is the Ultraman Blazar monster Taganular, who seems to be a new regular since he was also in Ultraman Arc. Apparently one of Zahgon’s trophies from episode 18 included some Taganular claws. That could have been a hasty modification to put those back on here, or they just had multiple suits and props as there seem to be multiple Taganular individuals in his other canonical appearances.

 

Episode 23, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

Episode 23 picks up right where the previous one left off in Sorato’s anguish and drops the additional nugget that the other Sorato that he has been seeing for the last 5 or so episodes claims to be the real Omega trying to get Sorato to remember. Now, this would be a good time to decide to differentiate these characters going forward by calling the one who has been in 23 episodes Sorato and the one who has been in 6 Omega, but, for reasons we will get to at the end of this episode, that will also be very difficult. Otherwise, I would throw a picture on screen to show which one I am talking about, but they’re identical. Let’s get back into the plot recap.

 

Sorato, in this episode, really struggles between his old and new self with a lot of inventive psychological drama for the Ultra series. The show thus far has given its share of foreshadowing, but it is still abrupt given the nature of the previous few episodes, so the specific scenes of Sorato’s fatigue and when he loses awareness conversing with his other self help to ground this plotline effectively.

 

For the other main plot of the episode, the Time of Awakening is here upon us or has recently accelerated toward its peak with monsters popping up all over at unforeseen rates. The MOTW this time is Gairyuga, a Spinosaurus whose body converts Kaen 102 into a devastating beam so powerful it can destroy a mountain with one blast. The last few episodes in this batch have had threats that were not necessarily stronger than those faced earlier, just weirder ones, but Gairyuga is doubtless the strongest one in a while and at least top 3 of the show so far in general. At the same time, and your mileage may vary on how contrived this is, another Pegunos has popped up to make life more difficult for the KSCT during their attack on Gairyuga. To really show off how much stronger Gairyuga is than the other monsters, he gets to fight Trigaron, Rekiness, Pegunos and Omega with Valgeness armor all in one episode.

 

The KSCT together with Mr. Taira have developed a weapon that converts Kaen 102 into an energy beam the same as Gairyuga, something that should concern us based on the trajectory of the Geness Seijin from before. When it fails, Kosei does the coolest thing imaginable through Rekiness, redirecting the missed beam back at Gairyuga, but this new Pegunos finally gets his revenge for what happened to the previous one, oneshotting Rekiness. While Pegunos celebrates, Gairyuga gets back up, and if you are as attached to Pegunos as I am, you will not want to see what happens to him.

 

Sorato can finally muster enough willpower to stand up and fight, but, midway through, his personality snaps back into being a Space Gazer, so he gives up the fight and goes to witness the arrival of a new potentially world ending monster far away, Zomera, who will be the main villain of these last two remaining numbered episodes. Omega also took the meteokaiju with him, so humanity has to depend on the often ill-advised technology of the NDF.

 

This is a very impressive episode that I cannot do justice just describing. It really proves my point about the maturity of this half of the show, especially compared to something like Ultraman Orb that still felt somewhat juvenile throughout even while dealing with depression, terrorism and self destructive rage. Notably, the end of the YouTube upload usually features a picture of Ultraman Omega with cards for what videos and playlists are relevant, but, once he leaves, Omega leaves the end of the video too.

 

Episode 23.5, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

This episode, while having the sloppiest use of recap stock footage, is actually probably Nariaki’s best so far, because it slots nicely into the arc of the show’s storytelling in a way I will struggle to explain for the next section. If you will recall, the directly previous episode featured a MOTW but the focus was on Sorato’s slipping mental state as visions of his true self keep happening around the depressed Ultra hero. It was an innovative form for the episode’s storytelling to take. In this episode, Nariaki Akaji is depressed about how the kaiju are costing him business, sitting at his desk listening to the radio for comfort while stock footage events happen around him and take over the screen, even clips he would have no way of knowing about (the fight scene in the future). This proves less effort to tie Nariaki into the narrative, but it matches what Sorato was going through last episode perfectly. You may accuse me of the intentional fallacy, and you may be right, but I think it is pretty clear that the intent is to juxtapose Sorato and Nariaki.

 

Okay, to what end though? The episode is called The Hope of Nariaki Akaji, and usually just thinking of Sorato and Ayumu is enough to get a depressed Nariaki playful again. That is where another thing clicked into place for me. This is the Recap episode. The only reasons to watch this are if you made it this far in the show and want more or if you watch the show but got confused about the airing schedule and misclicked. Anyone watching this episode already knows that Omega reawakens and leaves the fight against Gairyuga, but the news anchors and Nariaki do not. The dramatic irony is palpable as the secondary trio reflect on Omega’s adventures out of order and without the context of the being’s sanity slippage to regain hope that Omega will defeat Gairyuga. (This episode is set in the middle of episode 23.)

 

When Nariaki finds his hope and writes a message into the radio show trying to inspire the common people, it twists the knife a little more because we know that Omega is going to leave no matter what epiphanies Nariaki has. Furthermore, it now reframes the hope and trust the public has built in Omega painstakingly over this half of the show into a vain pursuit because he will leave. That was the point of this arc. It was not that we were going to have an episode where Omega or the NDF turn against each other for a neatly resolved episodic conflict, but that Omega won everyone over…only to leave when they need him the most, when the two most powerful kaiju in the entire show awaken back to back. Make fun of me all you want for only realizing where they were going with this in the dumbed down recap episode, but this has the potential to be even better than a single episode of an Imitation Omega style scenario would have been.

 

And again, this proves my point about the maturity of the show. Nariaki is a manchild, but the show uses him to shift its tone darker and restate the increasing stakes through showing another side of the world. All that said, there are some issues: the clips themselves are a bit superfluous, the episode kind of has a false ending by including a song that summarizes Sorato’s arc and possibly hints at its resolution, and it is most evident here that this episode was just the camera crew and one guy in maybe two shoots instead of another chapter of this story (Nariaki is usually dynamic enough for this one-man show to work, and sometimes they have other characters call into the radio in these episodes). Also, the episode placement is intentionally frustrating because as the audience, we want to know if Omega will come back, and instead, the schedule had this episode the week after episode 23 and then a brief hiatus. That is why I have both Frustrating and Fabulous selected; it was not a mistake.

 

Episode 24, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

Episode 24 begins the last two parter of Ultraman Omega with the highest stakes in the show so far. Zomera is a potentially world-ending villain created through mankind’s hubris in trying to study and harvest the cells of Eldeghimera and Zovaras for their own use. This directly ties back into the mistake Geness made. Sorato, now fully Omega once more, watches the rampage within interest and even Henshins to full size and pulls out his slugger (in other words an Ultraman’s detachable mohawk dagger). However, as it turns out, this is merely part of his observation and cataloguing process; as Zomera is a new kaiju, Omega needs to see Zomera’s abilities in action. If you will recall, every fight has begun with Omega looking at the kaiju through the gap between his finger and his thumb, and this is because his true purpose has been to examine them.

 

Now is probably a good time to explain Zomera’s abilities. As Eldeghimera’s cells are dominant in this fusion, it can absorb other kaiju to gain their powers (so arguably this is less Zomera than it is Eldeghimera post snacking on Zovaras), and the main ability it inherited from Zovaras was the control of other kaiju. Rather than build an army to take on the world however, Zomera wants to consume all of the monsters, drawing out a new Demaaga, from which it gains the fire projectiles, and a new Gomora, from which it earns the special energy power that specimen had. As the KSCT and NDF find out when they use the Kaen-102 beam on it, Zomera also found and assimilated Gairyuga and its beam offscreen. That is a little bit frustrating to resolve the Gairyuga situation offscreen, but it helps elevate the drama with an “Oh Crap” moment because evidently Zomera is so strong that a fight against Gairyuga was of such little consequence we do not get to see it. In its place, Gomora puts up a better fight, and I am happy Gomora got more to do this season than just his episode. We never see Zomera control Gomora; it just eats him when it gets him off balance, so I am going to assume that Gomora’s will was simply too strong for that.

 

At one point Kosei reaches out to Omega, trying to get him to fight for them one last time. This does not work, but Kosei’s invitation to remember their time together gets Omega thinking. This scene leverages their connection across the entire show so well and, in retrospect, makes even the filler episodes feel important. Omega also witnesses the little girl they saved in episode one and has a flashback. You could view this as a contrivance or consider that Sorato, somewhere deep down in Omega, made sure he gazed at those people. While this happens, several disembodied voices including the radio hosts bemoan Omega’s betrayal of humanity.

 

Some aspects of this episode seem evocative of Shin Godzilla. The KSCT and NDF, mostly shown through our main group of oddballs, meet in a nondescript building to discuss the slow approach of Zomera, a monster who constantly mutates to overcome its weaknesses. That said, it is different enough to where it is either coincidental or just a reference. This episode is not satirizing anything, just earnestly playing into the drama of what happens when an Ultraman stops protecting humanity, and it is far more action oriented than Shin Godzilla. The episode ends with both the promise of a chemical solution to Zomera from Ayumu (which is similar to Shin Godzilla) and a roused Omega/Sorato possibly preparing himself to fight Zomera, so we will see what happens in the last episode of Ultraman Omega.

 

Episode 25, Fabulous or Frustrating?

 

 

Cutting right to the chase, the episode opens with Ayumu’s idea about defeating Zomera. If they aim their Kaen-102 laser at the Kaen-102 conversion organ that Zomera gained from Gairyuga, that should weaken Zomera, at least removing that power and hopefully killing it. This does not work as planned; based on the changing color of the beam, it seems it merely taught Zomera to convert Kaen-102 into energy more efficiently. That said, it still felt the need to sabotage the attack by boosting its brainwaves to agitate humanity and cut off the wireless connection, so maybe this was about to work.

 

Kosei, seeing this has failed, runs off to the downed VTOL with a power source to aim the Kaen-102 cannon at Zomera manually. All this time, Omega has been pretty much stuck where we last saw him, watching the proceedings but with turmoil in his expression. Despite the captions saying Kaen-102 as I have been typing it, the apparatus labels it as Ka-N102. 

 

Kosei calls out to Sorato, telling him that Sorato helped him find his purpose, and this rouses Sorato from within Omega, who argues with himself again. Omega argues that the way for cosmic stability is strict observation until a solution presents itself, but Sorato points out that they never found an answer that way. Based on how humanity accepted him even knowing he was an alien, Sorato speculates that the answer to lasting peace might be found in harmony with humanity. Let us think about that for a moment. Yes, humanity is responsible for Zomera, but the original sin of Geness with Zovaras still remains within that abomination. Humanity was less developed when the Time of Awakening began, as Sorato points out to Omega. This incredibly confused being that contains both the personalities I am designating Sorato and Omega finally drags himself over to Kosei to finish this monologue/dialogue, saying that they must join with all life hand in hand to figure out the answer.

 

Omega embraces his identities of Sorato Okida and Ultraman and rises once more to fight Zomera. Kosei declares he is fighting with Ultraman and advises Sorato to get rid of Zomera’s chest armor so that Kosei can land a Kaen-102 strike on the beast. Zomera returns fire, and Omega flies into the beam in an effort to save Kosei. Instead, they both die. Bear with me here. If you are consuming this review, you likely have already watched the show in full. If not, what are you doing here? You can binge it on YouTube or Prime. 

 

As Kosei and Sorato walk through their shared memories, the pair talk about what their partnership has meant to each other. Kosei declares that it cannot end like this, and Sorato agrees, so Omega proposes an option that should be very familiar to fans of the Ultra series…though it usually does not happen this late in a show. You see, in the original Ultraman show, Ultraman inadvertently killed agent Shin Hayata and so tied himself to Hayata in order to save the man’s life. That was the beginning of that show, but here, it pays off the arcs these two men have had about saving humanity. 

 

This new Ultraman Omega fights with newfound fervor and strength, ducking and blocking Zomera’s strikes. Their brotherly bond gives this Ultra further strength to pierce Zomera’s forcefield and summon all three meteokaiju at once, which also allows Omega to switch between the associated armors. As the crowning jewel of this innovative spin of the classic Ultra hero merging, this fight takes three minutes, the original limit for how long Hayata could be Ultraman in one sitting.

 

The radio hosts conclude with some exposition about the (immediate) future of this world. With more funding, the actual international kaiju response organization that springs out from the KSCT tries to focus on coexistence with the kaiju and even possibly communicating with the Space Gazers. Sayuki Uta, who I have not mentioned that much for brevity’s sake was against the Zomera project in the first place, drained by the meetings with her more militaristic compatriots and initially drawn to Ayumu for her curiosity and tenacity, naturally has a high up status in this new organization. She has been a very strong mentor character in this show, but these are mini reviews. Anyway, the new organization is called KSSIT, short for Kaiju Special Investigation Team, and Ayumu and Kosei work for the Tokyo Branch. This feels like the beginning of a classic Ultraman show, but, as Sorato tells Kosei, it is more than that. It is Earthlings, aliens and kaiju all working together to make a new Earth.

 

Verdict

 

All in all, this show blew me away and is going down in my book as an all time great season of tokusatsu. That may be a little bit dramatic on my part as I have not seen nearly enough tokusatsu shows yet, but you can see for yourself the fabulosities outweigh the frustrations.

 

You can expect further coverage of this show from me; I still need to rank the show’s monsters in full, and I will adapt these episode reviews to our YouTube page, so stay tuned for those.

 

Here are some more screengrabs I found entertaining:

 

More Mini Reviews of Ultraman Omega; Episodes 10 to 17

 

By Joe Gibson

 

In case you missed it, this is the follow-up to a previous blog post giving some brief (eh, I tried) thoughts on the first nine episodes of the latest Ultraman show (https://planninecrunch.blogspot.com/2025/08/some-truncated-thoughts-on-ultraman.html). I have not watched many Ultraman shows in full, but I still enjoyed those early episodes as well as any of the tokusatsu shows I have seen and even more than many of them. Starting off very strong, dipping only a little bit in quality and returning with very strong episodes, where we left off, this show had a strong fighting chance of going down as one of my favorites. But can it keep that trajectory going or will the persistent issues with side characters and keeping Ayumu in the dark of Omega’s true nature turn into systemic flaws in the story? Find out after a brief disclaimer. 

 

Now, quite obviously, as this is going up now of all times when the show is literally about to end on the 16th, I have taken quite a large break in my coverage on this show. Frankly, I fell behind due to schoolwork and then still had to balance other projects in the off month. The finale of the show is about to debut, and it seems there will be no movie this time. I will try to keep the content coming pertaining to Ultraman Omega though I may need some time, and I hope you all will bear with me.

 

Episode 10 - 715 words

 

 

In this episode, a documentarian friend of Ayumu's films Sorato and Kosei, trying to understand what their secret is. Despite the conflict inherent to this setup, she is not an antagonist, and it is Sorato and Kosei who bicker over the course of the episode. The documentarian, by her own account, hopes her footage will help people because those not named Sorato or Kosei are unable to deal with the kaiju when they show up. She also either already has or develops in this episode an obsession with the Red Giant Omega and might not even be a documentarian but still does demonstrate journalistic efforts that frame the entire episode. 

 

It just gets more baffling how poorly the show portrayed Wolfy every time an episode cuts a new angle on how the media influences public thought about the kaiju. Rather than keep harping on Wolfy though, I think I should reframe how I have been thinking about those subplots. This is a television show, not a series of movies, and part of me realizes that because I'm not reviewing these episodes individually (except that one time for episode 9: https://planninecrunch.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-marxist-analysis-of-ultraman-omega.html). Though it is still absolutely fair to expect an episode to function on its own, the themes emerge not from individual episodes but how they flow together. 

 

The show is about Sorato, Kosei, Ayumu, and the three or four Meteokaiju, but we met these characters one by one. Similarly, the media's reporting on Omega and the kaiju is clearly a notable motif building to a theme, but it seems they were starting out vapid and overly simplified with Wolfy to build from there with the radio hosts feeding Nariaki's obsession and then those same hosts indirectly supporting Kanenari’s harebrained scheme to now this and beyond. (Here, the character Mak makes strong rhetorical appeals justifying her documentary uncovering Sorato’s secret, but it still ends silly so we have more of whatever arc this is to go before it finishes. I will officially predict an Imitation Ultraman episode at this point, but we will see if that comes to pass.) Though I brought up soundtrack, suit construction and closed captions gaffes as the systemic trends to watch, I think it is actually probably more productive to take note of the progression of common tropes in these episodes. (There was a memorable musical composition toward the end of the episode though.)

 

It seemed like the conflict between Sorato and Kosei was going to be resolved in the space of a single monologue from Mak, but, luckily, they held off on the resolution of that until the climactic fight against Demaaga, in such a way that actually kind of redeemed that childish plotline for me. As quick gag during the final battle, we see that Rekiness and Trigaron are also bickering to mirror our two leads (this could mean that, since Kosei is psychically linked to them, their feud could actually be fueling his part of the fight, but more likely, it is just a joke). This dispute ends with the long awaited return of Rekiness to the battlefield and as armor because Rekiness can more effectively counter the projectiles Demaaga can launch from his back. Also, to show off how well Kosei and Sorato work together even during a fight, the Sorato armor uses Rekiness’ powers.

 

But uh I should probably explain the MOTW. Demaaga is evidently one of the “Not Godzilla” monsters in Ultraman, possessing jagged dorsal spines, an overall reptilian build and a heat beam. Funnily enough, the Not Godzillas I am used to from this IP are Gomess and Jirass, both of whom were made from a Godzilla suit. In this episode, Demaaga seems to be burning hot pretty much the entire time and constantly spewing projectiles in the final fight to where, even though he is not necessarily stronger than previous monsters, the fight is harder.

 

If you’re still wondering whether or not Sorato will tell his secret to Mak or Ayumu, he reveals he certainly intends to, just when the moment is right so if you want to guess how many more episodes it will take, I now know. Just keep your guess in mind and keep reading, let us know in a comment if you got it right.

 

Episode 11 - 766 words

 

 

Episode 11 Graim Returns has a lot to juggle. This episode is the first obligatory two-parter (an Ultra show is liable to have up to five of these) that usually occurs because the MOTW is just that strong or the internal stakes just that important or emblematic of the whole show to have just one episode one. As the actual midpoint of the show is nearing, this two-parter will help to ease us into that transition, hinting at the developing attack team and a new series regular to lead it, Ayumu’s mentor Sayuki Uta. 

 

At the same time, Kosei feeling left out of Sorato’s heroic antics that was important at least in episodes 4 and 5 comes back to drive the interpersonal conflict here, and the radio hosts’ input now confirms that Omega is not polling well among the public. (Kosei starts getting upset about the former and then vents to Sorato about the latter.) With 14 percent undecided and 37 percent of responses against Omega, the remaining positive 49 percent is the textbook “plurality not majority” that could lead us to an episode wherein the attack team hunts Omega too. (I am holding out hope for an Alien Zarab Imit-Omega type scenario so that it doesn’t come out of nowhere if they do.)

 

The main criticisms for the episode I have seen have to do with Kosei and Sorato themselves. Kosei, already feeling left out and doubly on edge for the public’s growing disdain for his illegal alien friend, insists on tagging along with Sorato the fight scene and even pulls out a meteokaiju prematurely despite Sorato’s objections. Sorato saves Kosei twice, but the MOTW is too powerful, and a finisher evocative of Galactron’s against Ultraman Orb plays out to close out the episode. The criticisms are that Kosei is too reckless (to an out of character degree) and that Sorato is far too weak as he takes more damage protecting Kosei than usual. For that second point, ever since Ultraseven established that Ultras can take on human forms, they have always been vulnerable in that human form, so that is actually not an issue in the slightest. Kosei, well, for one thing, he has always been very frenetic because his role in the trio is of a peacekeeper trying to keep Sorato’s secret while including Ayumu no matter how weird that makes him look. 

 

In the past, Kosei stood up for Omega publicly and then activated a meteokaiju in full view of a crowd, so when the pressure reaches enough, he will certainly act irresponsibly for a good cause. From Kosei’s perspective, Sorato going out fighting Leodo without him and then losing public trust activates Kosei’s own insecurities while actually removing the crucial layer of protection to Sorato that Kosei represents. Now is the best time for Kosei to learn this lesson (so that he can be smarter going into the second half), so I have no issue with him in this episode, but I will ask you to draw your own conclusions.

 

While I predicted Graim’s return, I did not expect it to be a second specimen of the species or that it would not be the sole MOTW. Leodo, from Ultraman Arc returns here, and the reason why Leodo and Graim II are even rampaging is because of yet another kaiju, the actual one to beat in these episodes, is agitating them from deep below the Earth. This means that after an Omega v Leodo fight with an excellent finisher and a Graim II v Trigaron fight, the actual final battle is the Mexican Standoff of Omega, Graim II, and the true threat Eldeghimera. I already really liked Graim but this more amoral turn just increases his cool factor to me. Unfortunately, Eldeghimera defeats him and assimilates him because his gimmick is being a gluttonous chimera, evident through his drooping tongue sticking out during most scenes.

 

Graim’s showing here genuinely raises his place in the kaiju ranking for me. He’s such a cool kaiju mechanically to go up against an Ultra or another kaiju with his horn beam and sharp claws in his stance somewhere between bipedal and quadrupedal. Tsuburaya, please bring this guy back for a third episode if not here, then in the next show. If you can give both Alien Baltan and Alien Barossa three episodes each in a show, you can do it for Graim. (When asked incredulously that another Graim exists, Sorato responds that multiple humans exist, so that implies there are a lot of these guys.) I will save my thoughts on Eldeghimera for the next episode’s review.

 

Episode 12 - 855 words

 

 

Following up on last episode, Sorato, having functionally sacrificed himself for Kosei (and incidentally survived) very calmly and contentedly eats Kosei’s yakisoba (the first meal he ever got from Kosei), then, just as calmly, declares he is going to leave Kosei. Kosei, lacking the emotional maturity to resolve this without guidance from a wiser character like his boss or Ayumu (this is technically an annoying trait, but if Kosei grows from it, that will make it cathartic instead) storms off to leave the situation. This brings him into the orbit of Sayuki Uta, Ayumu’s mentor, who bosses Kosei around and chides him but also genuinely isolates his positive qualities and inspires him, a sort of motherly influence.

 

What watching this episode made me realize about this show is that the reason why I have such a difficult time deciding Sorato to be the protagonist over Kosei is because even Sorato is the one with the amnesia with the need to find himself in the world, the forming group is a found family for Kosei and not Sorato. Kosei claims Sorato as a cousin, even providing that identity but calls Ayumu a big sister like influence for him (where Sorato and Ayumu interact more like equals), Kosei’s boss is a father figure letting him stay in the warehouse while he figures out what he wants to do with his life, Sayuki is a motherly figure and a mentor to Ayumu, and their other friend Nariaki is Kosei’s neighbor not Sorato’s. 

 

Sorato often learns the episode’s lesson through being an outsider looking in at Kosei’s life or, as was the case in episode 5, through leaving Kosei’s environment entirely to watch another family’s conflicts. Sorato probably does not have a family he can call his own right now (hence why he feels like an intrusion that has forced Kosei into the superheroics), and, so even though I know Kosei and Sorato need to stay together for the runtime of the show at least, I do understand why Sorato thinks he needs to leave. And the show built up to this point organically (though it did require the circumstance of an especially strong monster and especially frazzled Kosei).

 

Speaking of the monster, Ayumu struggles to identify any base animal that can inspire it, settling on the Chimera though since the name becomes Eldeghimera, it would probably be spelled as something closer to Kimera (キメラ), because the K can become G in Japanese through adding Dakuon marks (since the Vagsect incident last time, I have learned a little bit more about Japanese writing and sounds). Anyway, Eldeghimera continues its rampage, coming across another Dugrid and assimilating it. Kosei found a sample of the so-called Ghimera cells at one of the rampage sites, and Ayumu is able to study it, drafting a plan that involves shocking the cells with energy and implementing the Graim tranquilizer they previously developed.

 

After the use of some Mechagodzilla esque-shock anchors (that fail to do anything but charge up Eldeghimera’s Graim beam), Omega rises again, to shield the researchers and military presence. The battle includes wrestling, Grain’s beam and even Dugrid’s poison gas. Ayumu witnesses Kosei running up to the battle dramatically and activating Rekiness to help Omega by telekinetically hooking up the shock anchors into Eldeghimera. 

 

In these last few episodes, it seems like Kosei generally prefers Trigaron, only pulling out Rekiness when there is a tactical advantage, and, while the telekinesis was crucial here, it also seemed like Rekiness himself wanted to be chosen here. This is probably meant to be as redemption for Rekiness being unable to come out last episode due to Kosei’s exhaustion, but I think the show is rather vague about where Kosei begins and the Meteokaiju end (his eyes light up when they do something special, when he is bickering with Sorato they bicker with each other, and he literally tells them what to do). So we shall see if the show develops more into these themes. (One of the biggest fan theories for this show is that Ayumu will end up in control of Trigaron because she always wears yellow and Kosei wears blue, and that is a distinct possibility now that she has seen Kosei activate Rekiness.)

 

After the shock anchors cleanse Eldeghimera of Graim and Dugrid and the Rekiness sword chops up the monster, Ayumu confronts Kosei about what she just saw, and he runs off. Sorato and Kosei reconcile, with Kosei confirming that his arc has been more about fitting in and seeking approval than Sorato’s has been. Still, they bond over their shared desire to help people, and Sorato comments that he needs Kosei. Ultimately, this is an Ultraman two parter at its best, using the two episodes to effectively set up and pay off character arcs that make sense in the context of a truly beastly monster. This two parter does a great job fleshing out Kosei and Sorato while finally letting Ayumu find out at least part of their secret and serving as an effective introduction for Sayuki and reminding us how cool Graim and Dugrid were. Eldeghimera himself seems to be a new suit.

 

Episode 13 - 615 words

 

 

Alright, this is another recap episode, but this one actually is a canon mainline numbered episode and actually justifies its existence pretty well. As YouTube user JR201049 pointed out in the comment section, “It’s a compilation, but it’s a drama that’s mostly just about two or three people,” and, yes, this episode is about the fallout of Ayumu witnessing Sorato doing three impossible things in the time she has known him and Kosei blatantly controlling a Meteokaiju in front of her. It is genuinely an important episode to progress these characters in the story as we head into the second half of the show with a different status quo.

 

The basic setup here is that Kosei has invited Ayumu over to explain what she saw, and Kosei and Sorato put their heads together in retrospect to make a “cheat sheet” to explain in detail the events surrounding the Meteokaiju and maybe Omega in general as well. Just as has been established, Kosei tries to keep them on track when Sorato starts remembering just the meals they have had and the kaijus’ names. However, a Pigmon is lurking in the warehouse as the MOTW on a technicality.

 

When Ayumu gets there, they start to explain but Pigmon comes out, and the gentle way they deal with the human sized kaiju prompts her to have memories of the two of them being sweet goofballs. She drops a nugget of information that could wildly change the worldbuilding of the show or be a throwaway line: kaiju are starting to awaken all over the world just not with any incidents worse than what they have dealt with in Japan. In any case, Sorato goes to fly Pigmon home, and Ayumu and Kosei talk one on one.

 

Within the NDF that has been stepping up in these last few episodes to defend the public, Mr. Taira is the lead officer, and Ayumu reflects on how, in the last episode, Taira seemed to understand that Omega was trying to help them, even adding that positive opinion on Omega in the NDF is increasing. This is also another example of a minor moment spent on Omega’s reputation that should pay off eventually (episode 12 was a better exploration of Kosei and Sorato than I expected, so I have high hopes for the payoff of other motifs and themes throughout the end).

 

Ayumu adds that she believes Omega is fighting for humanity and that, on her way over to learn the truth, she was wondering if she really should. Her memories convinced her that she wants to remain friends with the pair keeping things the same they have always been. The conversation is coded as if Ayumu realizes Sorato is likely Omega but does not want to think about it. This is not really relevant to the recap, but on the dining room table, you can see that they still have bananas but also have Pringles right next to them (so Kosei’s money troubles are seemingly resolved).

 

I liked this episode a lot even though the only kaiju in it was Pigmon (and he didn’t even die), and I respect the behind the scenes efficiency to have this episode be the recap episode and thus draw from all of the previous episodes to tie together this plot line. That said, outside of meta reasons, this was pretty late for Ayumu to learn the identities (especially when Wolfy and a crowd of people saw Kosei activating Trigaron in episode 7). Also, the Pigmon randomly leaving its island to come to this apartment in particular is a contrivance, so I am hoping a later episode clarifies how it got there.

 

Episode 14 - 801 words

 

 

This episode functions as our introduction to Sayuki Uta, as she has not had the opportunity for as much development as the main trio. She makes a house call to Sorato very spontaneously and abruptly, almost too much so for Ayumu to show up and smooth things out. Sayuki closely examines the boys and their living quarters as they recite some Googleable diegetic exposition about her. Interestingly, she shares her assessments of the place and boys only after she has contrived a reason to leave with Ayumu.

 

Now, up until this point, Sayuki has been a positive character, a sort of motherly influence for Kosei and Ayumu, but here we see hints of what could amount to further conflict. She is very sly and careful with her questions, buttering Sorato up so that she can get the answers she wants from him. More importantly, she has created the K-Monitor, a device that can locate kaiju. Sorato's nose and general senses are supposed to fill this role narratively, so we will have to see if or when this K-Monitor fails and if that ties into Sayuki's arc. Most importantly, she does not even necessarily trust or believe in Omega and voices a more cavalier attitude for her work against the kaiju than we have seen from any of our other three leads.

 

All that said, the titular “Omega Elimination Order” is not her edict to the emerging attack and research teams but the directive of the new enemy Zovaras, a mysterious seijin. Its giant form somewhat resembles a cross between Zetton and Greeza (with how many fusions there are in this franchise, that probably already exists actually), but there are a lot more unique sci-fi considerations to its motivation and personality. As we learn over this two parter, it is a created being that serves the Geness seijin, and his directive is to eliminate Omega as it seems Omega has done to them.

 

In a similar manner to Gamera vs Barugon, the most impressive fight scene in this episode is human hand to hand between Sorato and a human form of Zovaras. Though Zovaras only repeats stock dialogue, the manner in which its human form seeks out Sorato and then facilitates the return of his memories reminds me of Shin Ultraman’s take on Alien Mefilas, and thus, for multiple reasons, I am more captivated by the human scenes than their inevitable giant showdown. The only other reference I could think of for Zovaras in his human guise was the Terminator, and I feel vindicated for that comparison because a Japanese commenter on the YouTube upload also made that comparison.

 

In looking around online for people’s thoughts on the episode’s reveals, I found that many were unsure at the time what all this meant. Since this is a two parter, the reveals of the context all kind of flow together, and I watched these straight into the next, so what I say in these next two entries may be paced arbitrarily.

We now have some context surrounding Omega's destruction of the planet of the Vagsects as Omega remembers that episode one opener. It seems the show is implying these are the Geness, but in any case, Zovaras is responsible for Omega losing his memories and falling to Earth, and he used the third meteokaiju Valgeness to do this. 

 

In the both fights, Omega and Zovaras are relatively evenly matched, and Valgeness is the deciding factor that puts the scales in Zovaras’ favor. Even when Kosei brings out Trigaron, Zovaras seems able to affect their connection in some way, and it takes a sudden weakness to bird sounds for Zovaras to short circuit, meaning this fight will need further resolution in another episode.

 

There is usually at least a vestigial trace of a Christ allegory in Ultraman (though most crucifixions in Japanese media are more likely to be references to Ultraman than the Son of Man), but Omega has not struck me as especially Christ inspired up until this point. That said, Zovaras borrowing the imagery of Omega, an angel of light, falling from heaven and commanding the meterokaiju beasts, could put him in the running for a Satan figure in the show (or a Legion if there is more than one Zovaras trying to restore a hive mind of lordly flies). Even so, I suspect this episode is borrowing more from popular Japanese science fiction and fantasy tropes than anything too Western.

 

I also want to note that both Sorato and Kosei got letters, the former’s from the family he helped in episode 5 and Kosei from his mother, which is especially interesting because the show seems to be giving him a found family in spite of the supportive mother he evidently has. Also, the ending song changed.

 

Episode 15 - 445 words

 

 

Again, this and the other episode meld together a fair bit, and it is difficult to pace what information I reveal at what point because a recap review is fundamentally a different storytelling medium from television. I also just have a lot less to say about this one because it is coming off a previous two parter that was also slightly better, and there will also be more two parters later. If I were doing this for Ultraman Orb, you would see that I would not maintain the same word count going from Maga Orochi two parter to Galactron two parter to Zeppandon two parter.

 

Opening with a dream wherein Sorato sees himself examining him, it transitions into the fight scene that serves as prologue for all of this. (If this turns out to be of any more importance than just a segue to his missing memories, I will be surprised.) On some celestial body that may be Geness or the moon, the meteokaiju arrived to help Omega, but their most powerful member, Valgeness, fell under Zovaras’ sway. That is what almost happened to Trigaron last episode.

 

On the Earthling side of things, noticing the abrupt end to the previous fight, they form a plan to use speakers against Zovaras, and, though it ultimately does not stop him, it facilitates the end of the battle. At this point, the show is playing very coy about who the Geness seijin are, so even though the implication exists that they are the Vagsects, I will still point out that Valgeness literally contains the word and thus might be more representative of them. 

 

In any case, Valgeness joins the heroic team after Kosei uses a double meteokaiju maneuver to fly up and tame him. Valgeness is very very very strong and will facilitate the finishing move of every episode for the foreseeable future. With power over all the elements, he makes the other meteokaiju redundant even though he is much harder for Kosei to wield. With the new Valgeness armor involving a flaming Halberd axe, Zovaras stands no chance. It is interesting though that two episodes in a row, Zovaras’ downfall was related to birds

 

At one point, Sorato reveals that what he wants to do is watch all of the other characters, that he feels most at home being a kind of within yet without. And this explains why the “found family” motif applies really only to Kosei thus far even though Sorato is the protagonist. Sorato, for whatever reason, feels most comfortable just watching the other characters, and that makes his role in Episode 9 all the more interesting if you view it through a Marxist lens.

 

Episode 16 - 366 words

 

 

In this episode, the newly formed Kaiju Special Countermeasure Team (KSCT) faces off with semi new kaiju King Alligatortoise (they modified the King Guesura costume into this, but apparently the first King Guesuera was a modified tiny Alligatortoise suit, so this is a full circle moment for the series). Again, the KSCT is the research team that has been forming, with the NDF being the attack team (often these are the same, but sometimes they are separate), and our main trio and Sayuki comprise a specific unit in this KSCT.

 

I think this episode is brilliant. It manages to balance the personalities of our main cast with an engaging first official mission wherein they investigate the smaller of two Alligatortoise, fish looking monsters terrorizing the city. It is also really funny.

 

There is a lot that I could say about the specifics of the comedy in this episode (I contemplated selecting this episode for its own review and still might), but the way that I want to pitch it to you today is as almost as a live action Scooby Doo scenario. Ayumu is obviously the Velma of this group, and Kosei is Shaggy, running into the smaller Alligatortoise, and engaging in a goofy chase. Surprisingly or perhaps unsurprisingly given his history with the kaiju, Sorato winds up as the leader in some moments, Fred in this comparison. Scooby Doo is, of course, Kosei’s favorite meteokaiju Trigaron, and this episode places a lot of emphasis on Trigaron’s reactions and clumsiness that enhance the comedy. (Does this make Valgeness Scrappy Doo or Daphne?)

 

Like any good Scooby Doo episode, there is a twist, and it turns out that King Alligatortoise can change his size, so both the large and small versions of this character were the same. King Alligatortoise is also just a really cool and fun monster the way the fight realizes him. If you watch any episode of this show, watch this one. And maybe stay tuned for a review of this episode. I am still undecided if I will be able to get to that soon. Alright, on to the Nariaki Akaji recap episode. There is a lot to regroup with this man on.

 

Episode 16.5 - 546 words

 

 

It will never cease to entertain me that this special episode is called “An Unusual Day In The Life Of Nariaki Akaji,” and yet nothing unusual happens to him. He is actually strangely detached from the kaiju action compared to last time, but the episode has a smart way of getting around to that. Even though Nariaki is still basically a child in personality, the show has matured a lot in the second half, and that extends to how he exists in this status quo.

 

After hearing a little bit from Nariaki on his thoughts about the KSCT moving in downstairs, we see him wonder aloud how Kosei was possibly allowed to join. I thought from the previous special episode that Kosei was the closest thing to a best friend Nariaki had, but that doesn't stop him from emphasizing how strange it is that someone like Kosei was allowed to join. 

 

However, Nariaki knows the answer even as he seems hesitant to acknowledge it. During the numbered recap episode 13, when Kosei was explaining his mastery over the meteokaiju to Ayumu, Nariaki was also there, wanting to impress Ayumu but secretly bearing witness to the day's confession. Keeping this secret seems to weigh on Nariaki a little bit, but he gets back to his normal antics after a moment.

 

In a fun little meta gag, right after Nariaki finishes explaining/roleplaying Rekiness and Trigaron, the upload cuts to commercial advertising the Valgeness transforming toy. He still gets around to speculating on Valgeness, but I enjoy the sense of humor in the ad space. As might be clear, Nariaki is asking a lot of questions this time but is also less enthusiastic than last time. He still jumps excitedly listening to the radio, but it gets him thinking about the meteokaiju, and he glances at the floor nervously, rinse, repeat, and recap.

 

The reason for this is that Nariaki, despite his respect for Omega and friendship with Kosei, both feels alienated from the downstairs crew and is very worried about having three kaiju beneath him at any given moment. The newscasters again discuss Omega’s approval rating, and, though Nariaki in flashback shouted very passionately that he believed in the giant, he hesitates in the modern day. Ultimately, he resolves this conflict by remembering his trust in Kosei and Omega, and Kosei phones, telling Nariaki that Sorato invited him to a hotpot Ayumu is making, and that gets Nariaki excited enough for a costume change. We will learn in approximately 8 episodes (if pattern holds) whether or not he can impress her.

 

Koshi Tomonobu (I guess they were involved with the return of Pagos), to drum up hype for Episode 17, released a social media post priming us for a mystery involving some substance attached to Pagos with two Soratos running around, promising that Omega’s mystery starts to become clear with Episode 17. So leave your thoughts and predictions below for where the show is going from here. I’ll cover episode 17 in this blog entry. I personally have suspected that the ghost child from episode 8 might have something to do with Omega’s past heroics or memory, and the conflict with Zovaras explained Omega’s helpers and amnesia, so hopefully all becomes clear soon.

 

Episode 17 - 687 words

 

 

This episode opens with the NDF taking down a kaiju by themselves for once. The kaiju in question is Pagos, a series mainstay that debuted as early as Ultra Q, the very first Ultra show, and was originally modified from Baragon, a suit from the Godzilla series. As passionate as this show is about modifying old suits into new kaiju, one member of the Baragon lineage (that includes Pagos and then Neronga, Magular and Gabora) had to show up eventually (Shin Ultraman basically designed its kaiju lineup around that cost cutting gag).

 

The cooperation within the KSCT and between them and the NDF is on full display here; all of our main and supporting characters are working hard to honestly aid each other in the effort to save the world. Specifically, if episode 16 showed us the Scooby Doo team of Sorato, Kosei, Ayumu and Trigaron in the field, then this episode shows how Sayuki plays off of her underlings and how Mr. Taira serves as a middleman with the NDF. Even though she secretly knows Sorato is Omega, and that Kosei controls the meteokaiju, she is a wise, fair and knowledgeable captain that knows how to get the best work out of her team. Taira is a very cooperative and penitent man who feels great responsibility for the general public and actions taken to protect them.

 

After the NDF kill Pagos with an experimental new weapon derived from ancient kaiju teeth, it suddenly sprouts a yellow slime and reanimates. The enemy this week is not Pagos but this infection that puppets around his body seeking to spread: Edomaphila. Think the Cordyceps from The Last Of Us. I am glossing past the scenes where Sayuki guides discussion to figure this all out, but those are great scenes. As the episode unveils its stakes, Edomaphila becomes a singularly frightening concept of a monster.

 

The Graim corpse from episode one comes back as the target of the Edomaphila-infected Pagos, and, truly with how efficiently the slime is able to control Pagos, an Edomaphila-Graim would be very difficult to beat. An army of these things would be the greatest stakes this series could muster. And actually, the episode insinuates that Edomaphila once conquered much of the world, only stopped by the Ice Age. But as the North Pole is melting and humans mess with kaiju bones they do not understand, Edomaphila may return. This is a very fresh way to tell an environmentalist story in the kaiju genre, and any future versions of Hedorah could take note of how this episode positions Edomaphila (albeit on a TV budget).

 

Now, some creatives promised some answers with this episode and uh we now know that Omega’s knowledge of the kaiju goes back an absurdly long amount of time, over ten million. That is assuming that it is solely a database and not that he himself is that old. Tthat much still is not clear…

 

While this did not definitively answer anything, I feel rather confident that the show is trying to insinuate that the propagation of the Edomaphila is what decreased the activity of the monsters and basically removed them from recorded human history. Before, it was unclear why humanity was not familiar with the naturally occurring kaiju and why Omega was sometimes sympathetic to Graim’s species despite the individual Graim being an enemy. The idea that Edomaphila dominated the Earth with its parasitic control over dead kaiju starts painting a picture of the backstory Omega witnessed but forgot. Mons Ahgar’s pocket universe trap may also have saved him from a far worse fate.

 

That other Sorato is also very interesting. It brings to mind Ultraseven’s visits from his Chief toward the end of that series. In that case, we saw why Ultraseven chose his human form’s design, but we still know so little about why Omega chose that human form and what it means for there to be another of him watching. I still wonder about that child spirit from Mons Ahgar’s episode, because he seems to function similarly to this other Sorato. Is this an abrupt stopping point? Ye–

 

Conclusion

 

This batch of episodes definitely deepened my investment in the show. Introducing a new status quo, it took on some features of more traditional Ultra shows including a dedicated research/attack team and more returning monsters/suits while also continuing the aspects that makes this show unique in the Ultra series: a close knit group of characters that understand the Ultra’s secret. So far, the good outweighs the bad by a lot. I like seeing the development of the team over the course of the show. It is a nice little spin on the formula while allowing for good character work early on. At the same time, the monsters became a little more hit or miss for me, with some cementing themselves as favorites for me and others not necessarily justifying their existence.

I will do one more blog post covering the final episodes of this show, and, given how much I have enjoyed these first two thirds, the stakes are very high as to if this show will stick the landing: will we get satisfactory answers and payoffs to everything these episodes have revealed or further hinted toward?

 

It is also worth mentioning that the stage shows are really having a blast with Omega’s unique idiosyncrasies and personality. Apparently, a major developing plot point on that side of the franchise is that Omega can understand Ultraman Blazar, a very intelligent and polite Ultra that nonetheless can only really act and speak in the manner of a caveman. This is really funny because it creates the scenario where Omega can translate for Blazar but has no idea why, when he learned how to do that or what that means about his home culture. 

 

Here are some screengrabs I found entertaining and wanted to share: