Last time in Ultraman Geed, Ultraman Belial appeared before his son! In their first confrontation, Ultraman Belial defeated his son, Ultraman Geed, as Chimeraberos. Belial absorbed Geed into its body, and fled to the moon. Now, Laiha and the others plan a rescue mission to save our hero. However, will they be in time to get back the Riku they lost, or will encounter a Riku ready to be Belial’s heir?
Summary:
News broadcasts promote people to wonder if Belial and Geed are connect, while the others plan to rescue Riku. Meanwhile, Riku struggles with Belial’s brainwashing; Belial promises to be the father Riku never had all to have the perfect heir. Laiha eventually tells Zero about the voice she has been hearing, and Zero realizes it is Ultraman King. Zero explains if Laiha seeks to talk to King, go to where his lifeforce is the strongest at the epicenter of the Crisis Impact. Laiha then proceeds to the location, as Belial breaks through Riku’s first mental barrier. However, Reito and Zero arrive to battle Chimeraberos to rescue Riku, but Zero is unaware that Riku is in control.
Laiha arrives at the location, and meets Ultraman King who teleports her spirit into Belial’s illusion. There Laiha manages breakthrough to Riku, and restores him to be the hero he truly is, Ultraman Geed. Riku escapes and proceeds to battle his father, while Laiha prepares to send her Little Star to him. Using the Wrecking Burst, Ultraman Geed thrusts himself and Chimeraberos all the way back to Earth and Japan. Out of the impact Riku assumes Solid Burning, then Acro Smasher before becoming Magnificent; with each form seemingly rivaling Belial. With bystanders cheering on Geed, and the arrival of the Little Star/ Ultraman King Ultra Capsule, Riku transforms into Ultraman Geed Royal Mega Master!
Belial becomes enraged by the new form, and rushes in! However, Riku currently overpowers Chimeraberos, and makes quick work to defeat him. With his defeat set in Belial proclaims Geed will never escape his family roots, or fate. Yet, Riku assures his father that he will choose his own fate! AIB appears with the kids who have Little Stars, and they pass the Little Stars onto Geed before he leaves. Back at the Nebula House, Laiha and the others throw a welcome home party for Riku. At the party, Riku explain how he came to name his Ultra form, which leads to Moa’s paranoid setting in due to how Laiha is currently acting. Meanwhile, Kei Fukuide stumbles around an alleyway like a homeless bum…
My Thoughts:
This episode is wonderful, and nearly perfect when comparing it to modern Tsuburaya standards! One can only expect my issue with this episode is the pacing which luckily enough it is not too fast, but it makes one think these two episodes were originally written as three. At least that is what I feel from having seen both episodes individually, and back-to-back a few times. Now, I feel the Godola infiltration should have been the entire set-up to part one, with Belial arriving to end it. Part two would follow Geed’s and Zero’s battle with Belial/ Chimeraberos, as well as Belial beginning to corrupt Riku. Whereas, the third part would pick-up somewhere during Zero’s rescue mission, and Laiha meeting Ultraman. From that point onwards, Laiha’s interaction within Chimeraberos would have been longer leading into the conclusion. Yet, I can easily look pass the pacing issue because it is still my personal preference.
The episode has several interesting aspects that do not exactly touch on the action, but either passing dialog. First off, the Crisis Impact’s epicenter occurred at the hospital where Laiha was born; that location immediately seems very eerie especially since Laiha should have been born before the event. However, Laiha’s birth is proven to have been after the Crisis Impact, since Ultraman King saved her life; this revelation helped to discount some fan theories that Riku was made as Belial’s ace in the hole, and things occurred six years prior with memory loss due to the restoration. The full explanation even provides why Laiha was patient zero, and solidified her fate with Riku. The second thing I like is the setting in which Belial tries to persuade/ brainwash Riku; it sets the mood wonderfully and almost makes the viewer want Riku to temporary fall to the dark side… at least for maybe an episode or two. The next aspect I enjoy is Belial’s references towards Father of Ultra, and Ultraman King, specifically Father of Ultra who he calls by his actual name, Ken. The final interesting piece is when Riku attempts to explain why he named himself Ultraman Geed; it is just laughably stupid and a knock towards the production.
I saw this in a Godzilla Movie!
Now, as for the action goes, it was incredible! The Hero Club staff that watches Ultraman Geed, and myself literally thought the entire battle was fit to be the finale; the choreography accompanied by the insert track, “Fusion Rise”, literally sets that mood. Ultraman Zero exhausts himself battling Chimeraberos, only to have Geed escape and continue the fight. Then Ultraman Geed blasts Chimeraberos, and himself back to Earth via his Wrecking Burst; it was nearly like how Godzilla flew in Godzilla vs. Hedorah! It was a spectacular moment leading into the cascade of Geed’s forms being put on display. Seeing Acro Smasher again is cool, but not personally my favorite part of the fight; however, it is used to transition to Magnificent’s appearance. Just seeing the quick deflection of Chimeraberos’ attack, only to walk through the explosion as Ultraman Geed Magnificent is empowering! Once Riku becomes Ultraman Geed Royal Mega Master, I do find it hard to take the appearance seriously since the form heavily inspired by Ultraman King; King’s face is just a little goofy, and campy due to the facial hair. Yet, the new armor plating, skeletal designs on the bodysuit, and cape makes his physique heroic. The fight is very one-sided, but continues to give off that finale-vibe even though there are eight episodes left in the series. The entire tokusatsu-aspect is just phenomenal, so please check it out!
Never the less, as I said earlier this episode is a nearly perfect masterpiece! People will love the intense battles, the wonderful music, and overall story. Also, I think viewers will enjoy how the episode tries to approach certain family values, family-ties, and destiny. However, moving forward one will have to wonder what is going on with Kei! Kei is an exhausted bum living in alleyways, and has a mysterious glow about him. Could the glow seen on Kei’s back be villainous Little Stars hinting at Belial’s new form? In addition, what in the heck is going on for the villain from the Ultraman X movie, Zaigorg, to appear in Ultraman Geed? … Guess those all questions to be answered in the next episode review!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Guess who’s back? Back again! Zaigorg’s back! Tell Ultraman X!
