Ultraman Connection Watch Club: Ultraman Leo Episode 1 “The Death of Seven! Tokyo is Sinking!”

Ultraman Connection Watch Club: Ultraman Leo Episode 1 “The Death of Seven! Tokyo is Sinking!”

EJ

Hey folks, and welcome to a very special episode of Ultraman Connection Watch Club! I’m EJ Couloucoundis, Editor-in-Chief of Ultraman Connection.

SL

And I’m Sarah Last, staff writer and content creator for Ultraman Connection! For those of you who missed the last Watch Club, you might need a reminder of the dramatic cliffhanger we left our readers on last week!

EJ

…Sarah, I might actually need a reminder. Which cliffhanger is that???

SL

Well, since Regulos’ debut is happening on May 23rd, we decided to do something to honor his legacy in relation to Leo, who also shares a legacy in common with Ultraseven himself! And what better way to do so than by watching the first episode of Ultraman Leo to honor Seven’s place in the history of the Ultraman franchise, an episode fittingly titled…

Oh… oh dear. 

EJ

…S-Seven will be fine, right Sarah? It’s… He’s gonna be fine, right?

SL

It’s only the first episode of Leo, how bad could things get?

EJ

OK THEY ACTUALLY START PRETTY BAD. We cut to an absolutely monstrous storm as Ultraseven battles a pair of twin monsters, the Giras Brothers. Sarah, these guys are bad news. We’ve watched 20 episodes of Ultraseven and seen his Slugger, or his Emerium Beam, or his Wide Shot take out anything he goes up against. Here? They’re absolutely useless.

OK but actually before that we do get a lovely psychedelic gym montage — maybe we talk about that instead?

SL

Leo is pretty unique among the rest of the Ultraman heroes, both from this period, and in general compared to the rest of the franchise. Aside from his unique origins from the planet L77, Leo fights with far more of an emphasis on physical hand-to-hand combat and martial arts styles. Right from the get-go then, the show which introduced him as a character also introduces his human persona, Gen Ootori, as an athletically gifted young man. And of course, he gets to show off that athleticism by performing an entire gymnastics routine for the entertainment of his friends at the local sports club!

EJ

I’ll be honest, I thought he was doing the Ultra-Touch during this sequence to start

SL

It’s kind of funny jumping straight from 1967 to 1974, both in terms of how the cinematography and effects are handled, and also how the show’s focus is more character-driven to highlight Gen himself rather than the mystery of the week.

EJ

It’s really different, yeah. What’s also different — and actually, the evolution of something I feel happened starting with Ultraman Ace in 1972 — is the violence. Holy moly, the way the Giras Brothers break Seven’s leg is HORRIFYING! Forget the character, I was worried for the suit actor!

SL

This fight isn’t even remotely fair; it’s two against one AND they drag Seven into the water to wail on him even harder! 

Actually that brings up an interesting point, the show’s narrator says that Seven arrived alone to protect the Earth from this threat. As we’ve seen up to now in the Ultraseven series itself, Seven may have fought as the sole Ultra hero on Earth, but he never fought alone because he always had his friends in the Ultra Guard to watch his back. They saved his butt more than once; probably the most notable example was during the battle against King Joe. But now? For whatever reasons, Seven only has his own strength to rely on here.

And it isn’t enough.

EJ

I remember watching this scene the first time — cringing with fear for Seven from beginning to end — and thinking “He’s not supposed to be here.” Watching it again, with the context we’re discussing… I really don’t think he’s supposed to be here. I think this is Seven breaking rank and running off to Earth again, the planet he loves so much — maybe even against orders? 

SL

It would be perfectly in character for Seven to drop everything and run off to fight with no explanation if humanity, and the Earth itself, was in such urgent danger.

EJ

Just speculation, but there’s no Ultra Sign, there’s no attempt to GET help of any sort. If Leo hadn’t jumped into action, Seven would have probably died here, in the water. 

But help Leo does, and with perfect timing, as Alien Magma, the Giras Brothers’ master, is looming, ready to finish Seven off!

SL

All this is to establish just how truly desperate the situation has become for Seven — and the Earth itself. As we said last week, Ultra heroes appear when the alternative is destruction, when there seemingly is no hope left. I wonder if Seven even knew that there was another ally like Leo on Earth when he arrived? Imagine what he would’ve thought, seeing a completely new Ultra warrior swoop out of the sky to come to his rescue!

EJ

We learn later that Seven — or rather, Dan Moroboshi — is the leader of the current defense team, MAC, but there’s no sign of them here at all. Did he hide the threat from them? 

Either way, Leo is strong enough to drive off, but not defeat Magma and the Giras Brothers, and saves Seven — or rather, what’s left of Seven. When Gen and Dan speak after the fight, Dan is in rough shape, leaning on a crutch and unable to walk without it. It’s during that conversation that Dan introduces himself and MAC, and first recommends Gen join.

SL

We also learn Gen — or rather, Leo’s origin and how he came to Earth in the first place. Like Seven, Leo doesn’t have a host he joins with in order to live among the rest of humanity; he’s assuming a human appearance. But unlike Seven, he came to Earth as a refugee after the Magma literally destroyed his home planet of L77. 

EJ

Magma, an alien slaver, destroyed an entire planet of giants. How bad a threat must he be, that Leo is the only one left? Considering how badly Seven got beaten, I’m a little worried. 

Unfortunately, Gen doesn’t intend to join MAC at first. He is a refugee, not a protector. And yet, as Dan shows him… Seven is effectively gone. Dan can’t even put on the Ultra Eye to transform anymore.

SL

After the grueling battle they both survived, you would think that Gen might be a little more willing to step up … Wait a second, are we not even ten minutes into this episode’s run time yet? 

EJ

NOPE! Welcome to the odyssey, Sarah. Even crazier, did you know this is effectively a two-part episode? We’re getting a full series’ worth of story in just 20 minutes, and it’s only HALF of the actual beginning!

SL

Are they going to break Dan’s other leg too? How much bleaker can things get before the climax of this story?

EJ

Never ask that question, Sarah. This is Ultraman Leo.

SL

Joking aside, this series has quite a reputation for being dark and traumatic in many parts, but it’s absolutely worth watching if you’re interested in this classic era of the Ultraman franchise. Leo has had a huge influence on the franchise in several ways: establishing new characters and lore through their interactions here, but this show also has inspired a lot of directors, writers, actors and other creators who have gone on to work within Ultraman as well. I know Koichi Sakamoto often talks about the impression it left on him, which is probably why he’s now the director heading up the Ultraman Regulos miniseries. 

Anyways, back to the show!

EJ

After seeing the state Dan is in just trying to transform, Gen agrees to join MAC and protect Earth as Ultraman Leo. It’s honestly pretty heartwarming… Though I do have a dim recollection of Dan later running Gen over with a jeep, so I’m taking it with a grain of salt.

Cut to MAC Station, the orbiting satellite headquarters of MAC, where the honestly very large team greets Gen, their newest member. 

SL

Since we skipped over a few series between Ultraseven and Leo, it’s remarkable to go from the more restrained, secretive and pragmatic appearance of the Ultra Guard and its facilities to this bright, colorful and quite frankly crowded headquarters where MAC monitors the situation on Earth. Defense teams have come a long way since the 60’s!

… Oh my gosh they repainted the Rabbit Panda.

EJ

Keep in mind, though, the reason why MAC has the most members of any defense team is, well… turnover.

SL

Why would that be the case? Look at how happy Gen is with his arrival on the team! He has a new calling in life, a new way to protect what’s important to him! Everyone around him seems just as happy that he’s joined such a prestigious team and is using his strength to benefit the people of Earth! Surely, that upbeat attitude and optimism will help Gen and his new teammates overcome any challenges in the future!

Challenges such as… a tsunami sinking an entire island into the ocean? 

EJ

And just like that, we are at easily one of the biggest scales of disaster in this entire period of the series. Iron Rocks from last week’s episode was horrifying in its destructive potential and took out… a port, and part of a town.

This? As a side effect of the rampage, an entire island is just gone.

SL

The show is very clear on the extent of the damage here. MAC’s analysis states that to destroy the entire island, it would’ve had to sink by five hundred meters underwater. 

Side note, we also see how deeply this tragedy affected Gen himself, even much later on in the franchise. In the Ultraman Mebius series, his cameo appearance starts with him paying respects to the lives lost in this disaster, more than 30 years later.

In this present episode, his outrage over this destruction, and his feeling of helplessness on the team are still fresh and raw.

EJ

And all this comes right after a really sweet sequence between Gen and his human friends, especially a little girl who Gen spends the whole day playing with. The tonal whiplash is utterly heartbreaking.

When Gen and MAC goes out to check on the island, which for obvious reasons has stopped broadcasting, they find only a tiny speck of land left, and Gen faces a truly painful ordeal: that of being dismissed. He can see the Giras Brothers under the water with his superhuman vision, but neither of his co-pilots are willing to entertain his claims. It’s so frustrating, and I feel for Gen here. Despite being a giant hero, he’s powerless. The Giras Brothers never surface, and MAC just… leaves.

SL

Gen just can’t stand around doing nothing when he knows the same threat which sank the island is coming for the mainland next, with even more lives at stake. He argues with Dan to go out and fight the Giras Brothers again, and Dan has to hold him back, forcing him to bide his time until they can act as members of MAC, rather than as Ultra warriors. In Dan’s own words, they are here living among humans, and have to be bound by that obligation to act as humans rather than aliens.

This scene stands out as one of my favorites from this classic era of Ultraman shows, because of how strongly it’s acted, and also the conflict of characters colliding here. Gen doesn’t get this distinction at first, but Dan’s speaking from personal experience. In fact, by trying to prevent Gen from charging off to fight single-handed, without any plans or backup… It’s almost like Dan is trying to keep his new, young protégé from making the exact same mistakes he did.

EJ

At the same time, though… MAC acts in a way fundamentally different from the Ultra Guard. Doubt and skepticism seem to be the rule, rather than the exception. And it actually seems to go back to what we noticed back in Ultraseven. Defense Teams end up defined by the circumstances before them. And the last team to defend the Earth was Ultraman Taro’s ZAT, perhaps the most effective team of the Classic Era.

SL

You readers might think we’re joking. That is not an exaggeration in the slightest. ZAT is legit. 

I guess those successes they had fighting alongside Taro made everyone a bit overconfident?

EJ

And yet, there is a choice of tone tied to MAC. The threats this time are horrific, and perhaps beyond belief. The last time a threat like the ones in Leo occurred was Yapool, of Ultraman Ace, and we’ve written on that guy and his… nightmarish tendencies. Is it impossible to believe that a humanity that has been through YEARS of invasions and pain just… doesn’t want to believe things can get worse?

SL 

We’ve done this gag enough times in this article that you should know by now — it always gets worse.

EJ

Unfortunately, things absolutely get worse, and immediately.

The fight between Gen and Dan goes on for long enough that MAC senses an anomaly in the bay. The Giras Brothers are here, and as the title stated, Tokyo is sinking.

Gen’s beloved sports club is flooded, with Kaoru, Gen’s close friend, nearly drowned. Radiating with anger, Gen transforms into Leo, burning for revenge.

And it doesn’t go well for him. Leo can only remain in giant form for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and the Giras Brothers will not go down.

SL 

The end of this episode brings us back around full-circle: a desperate fight in the ocean, our hero fighting for his life single-handedly against two terrifying monsters with no hope for assistance, and the fate of the Earth resting on his own strength alone. 

And just like Seven before him, Leo’s strength alone isn’t enough. 

But that’s really the key to Ultraman Leo as a season. Even though we have to wait for the next episode to see it, Leo always finds a way to get up, to keep fighting on and become stronger through that struggle. The show goes to some dark, dark places, but it does eventually find light and hope at the end of it.

…Eventually. 

EJ

Thankfully, we don’t intend to leave you in the lurch. Next week, to celebrate Ultraman Regulos, we’ll watch Episode 2 of Ultraman Leo, “The Big Sink! The Last Day of the Japanese Archipelago”. Will Leo prevail? We’ll find out alongside you then.