Ultraman Geed Episode 12 – My Name Review

We have finally reached the midway point for Ultraman Geed! That means the series is almost over, and even then, we still are not sure what it is all leading to. However, with Episode 12, it tries to clear up the mystery of what the series’ endgame might be. In addition, the episode makes our bland protagonist a badass, finally! Furthermore, Minori Terada (Ryubee Sonozaki from Kamen Rider W) makes an awesome guest appearance in this episode…

 

Summary:

A flashback of Riku being left at the observatory occurs, as Pedanium Zetton continues it assault. Laiha and Pega question where Ultraman Zero is, but REM explains he left Earth. Meanwhile, Zero has entered the dimension Belial hides in. However, Kei/ Pedanium Zetton is having drawbacks from the Ultra Capsules, and it causes his body to temporarily fail. With Kei recovering Riku takes the time to go search out the person who left him the letter. The person to leave him the letter is Sui Asakura, who sought Riku out because of their history and the revelation that he has a Little Star; this Little Star causes Sui to see anything he wished to see! Now, the reason Sui sought out Riku was because he had to help Riku recover his fighting spirit, and because he is dying.

Soon Sui explains the history on how they know each other, as Sui was an administrator once, and his duty was assist in naming and finding orphans homes. Originally, Sui and his wife meant to adopt Riku, but were unable to. Midway into the explanation, Kei recovers and continues his attack. Sui then has Riku assist in helping him escape from Kei’s wrath. During their attempt to flee, Sui explains to Riku about Belial’s whereabouts and how Zero is attempting to find him currently; where currently Zero fights to escape a trap set for him. Kei closes in on Sui, and Sui tries to convince Riku to leave him since his time is nearly up. However, Riku refuses to let Sui die whether he can or cannot transform into Ultraman Geed. Yet, this causes the Little Star to materialize into the Father of Ultra Capsule, which Riku then fuses with the Zero Capsule to become Utraman Geed Magnificent!

Ultraman Geed’s return shocks both Kei and Laiha, as he sets forth to stop Pedanium Zetton. The Magnificent form is very powerful easily overpowering Pedanium Zetton. This resiliency from Riku frustrates Kei, as he attempts to destroy his creation. A war of words breaks out during the battle, where Riku explains what it means to live and why Kei will ultimately fail. Eventually Riku finally defeats Pedanium Zetton, while Zero escapes and closes the entrance to Belial’s dimension. That night, Riku and friends, search the city to recover the missing Ultra Capsules. In addition, Riku chooses to continue to visit Sui and to make every moment with him matter. Whereas, Kei has managed to survive and Belial tells Kei he has earned valuable time to rest…

 

My Thoughts:

Ultraman Geed episode 12 is impressive and is the only continuation in the series to nearly equal its predecessor. Now, while being almost as great as Episode 11, Episode 12 “My Name” does have a few faults. The first of these faults come in the form of the time-span in which the events within this episode occur; some estimate a majority of the episode’s story took three to four hours with six hours being a stretch. Riku leaving to visit Sui in the middle of Kei’s attack as Pedanium Zetton added to the slightly odd pacing. The excuses to explain even why Riku chose to see Sui were conveniently timed too, since he could not transform and Kei was incapacitated. Then Riku’s meeting with Sui was a little eerie only because the location was still in the city. However, I forgave the location of Sui’s house since he reveals he is dying and knew Riku is an airhead. Since as soon as Riku comes in the house, Riku immediately is mesmerized by the PS4! Yet, the PS4 would be revealed to be a part of Sui’s plan to help Riku regain his composure.

 

Now, it was Sui Asakura that made a lot of my issues with the pacing and convenience of events nearly go away. Sui is written shows a man who missed the luxury of have a normal family life, and sought to make closure with that part in his life. Being the host of the Little Star that gave Sui infinite sight, and it allows him to get that resolve. In addition, Sui realizes he had to do something for the “son” he wished he had kept. This alone made Sui an outstanding father figure and once Riku got to know him Riku understands this man is his friend/ family. Also, it helps that Sui Asakura is portrayed by Minori Terada, who has play two interesting dads in previous tokusatsu productions. Furthermore, I found the progression in how Riku makes the realization that Sui is the closest thing to an actual father wonderful; even if Riku never actually called Sui, dad or father. I saw the progression start out as Riku merely seeking answers only to befriend Sui. However, that friendship would strengthen further when Sui selflessly told Riku to leave him behind, and the world need Riku more!

 

That moment lead to Riku ultimately beginning to sprout into a dynamic character, as he sought to save Sui. That then resonated with the Little Star/ Ultra Capsule, and it allowed Riku to become Ultraman Geed once more. During the battle with Kei/ Pedanium Zetton, the quotes Riku spouted off were typical for Ultras to say, but coming from him made the quotes stand out. Hearing the quotes made me remember back to episode 6 when Reito explained Riku need to discover the motive as to why he fights. Yet, as for the on-screen confrontation between the two, it was splendid, and used some unique effects. I personally enjoyed the various transitions between Ultraman Geed vs. Pedanium Zetton to the internal conflict of Riku and Kei. Having Riku and Kei squaring off with one another in the actual fight was very spiritual, as well as added to the intensity. However, I thought the battle could have used more alternative shoots like the ones seen in the previous episode, for example, when the two circled about as their attacks clashed.

 

Never the less, I really enjoyed Ultraman Geed Episode 12 “My Name.” The episode captures several of the best attributes the Ultra series can offer such as stories about sacrifice, family, and heroics. In addition, the final scene with Ultraman Belial is simply chilling, because of how he deceives Kei; it further the set-up for Belial’s coming betrayal perfectly! Also, I hope this is not the last time we see Sui Asakura in the series, excluding flashbacks; it is not because Sui is portrayed by Minori Terada, but how the character adds to Riku’s better understanding of humanity, and family. Now, the next episode is a clip-show, but it seems that it will be better handled than how Ultraman Orb’s clip-show turned out. That is due to the plot focusing on a weird amnesia storyline with REM sustaining memory loss…

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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