WHO'S WHO

Ultraman Gaia

Height: 50 meters
Weight: 42,000 tons
Flight Speed: mach 20
Running Speed: mach 5
Aquatic Speed: mach 1
Tunnelling Speed: mach 1.2
Home Planet: Earth (alternate universe)
Human Form: Gamu Takayama
Transformation Item: Esplender
Team: XIG (a branch of G.U.A.R.D.): Team Lightning, Team Falcon, Team Crow, Team Hercules, Team Seagull; Team Marlin, Alchemy Stars
Episodes: 51 
Air Dates: September 5, 1998-August 28, 1999

Weapons

• Photon Edge: A tail of energy that sprouts from the golden indentations on his head, which he can then whip at an opponent.
• Quantum Stream: L-style weapon, with fist in the crook of his elbow.
• Gaia Slash
• Gaia Blizzard
• A massive force field at the beginning of episode 18 used to protect an entire metropolitan area from a massive upper-atmosphere explosion (thanks Peter Chin).
• Other: Gaia Whip, Gaia Headlock, Gaia Kick, Gaia Knee Kick, Gaia Lifting, Rear Roundhouse Kick, Gaia Elbow, Horse-riding Strategy, Gaia Back Drop, Gaia Punch, gaia Chop, Gaia Charge Tactic

Summary

'Ultraman Gaia' takes place in yet another universe, different from the world of the original Ultramen, as well as world of Ultraman Tiga and Ultrman Dyna. There are two Ultramen with conflicting philosophies about defending the Earth from a mysterious cosmic entity. The first half of the series explores the growing tension between them and their eventual clash. The second half has them reconcile their differences so they can defeat their common enemy. The show is also different in that the support team is larger than previous variations of the Science Patrol. The series has several categories of monsters. In addition to those invading from space, there are monsters that originate on Earth, as well as a few mysterious weather-controlling monster robots of unknown origin.

The most prominent aspect of this series is that is features two Ultramen, far more regularly than any other series. Gaia is the lead, but Ultraman Agul makes many appearances, and they are often at odds with each other in the beginning of the series. Their philosophies are as different as their skin colors... unlike Gaia (and every other Ultraman thus far), Agul is completely blue! Gaia is clearly here to save Earth and humanity... Agul is born of Earth and is at first more interested in protecting only the planet, even at the expense of humanity (hence the occasional clashes with Gaia).

The story is set in A.D. 2000. Crisis, a supercomputer of the Alchemy Stars (a global network of young geniuses born during the 1980s), predicts in 1997 that Earth and humanity would be annihilated by something known as "KONGENTEKI HAMETSU SHOHRAI TAI." (I'll unofficially abbreviate this as K.H.S.T. from here on... roughly, it means "Entity that Brings Radical Destruction" and it sounds impressive in Japansese, although based on the characters used, I believe they use the word "radical" to mean "fundamental"). Technology developed by the Alchemy Stars is used to form an international defense organization known as GUARD (Globalcentric Universal Alliance against the Radical Destruction). This is done secretly so as to avoid worldwide panic. XIG (eXpanded Interceptive Guards) is the combat wing of GUARD, headquartered in a floating fortress known as Aerial Base).

Gamu is a 20-year old member of the Alchemy Stars who invented a lot of the technology used by XIG (including the repulsor lifts that allow Aerial Base and the XIG fighters to defy gravity). During some virtual reality experiments he performs with the secret purpose of discovering the will of the Earth, he briefly encounters the mysterious glowing red giant, Ultraman Gaia, at the end of a tunnel of light. When K.H.S.T. begins the first wave of attacks on Earth and XIG is too new to be effective, time stops and he falls through another light tunnel, where he encounters Gaia again. Because Gamu is so passionately concerned with the fate of Earth and humanity, Gaia's light becomes a part of him, and he is thus able to transform into the Ultraman when necessary. The first monster, C.O.V. (Cosmic Organism Vanguard) is destroyed. Subsequently, more K.H.S.T. attack, and Earth monsters are also awakened mysteriously, so Gaia is kept pretty busy. Gamu joins XIG as a technical advisor, and later creates the Esplender to store the light that is the essence of Gaia.

At XIG, there are multiple three-person teams with specialized roles (three air teams -- elite Team Lightning, verteran Team Falcon, and the all-female Team Crow, one ground team -- beefy Team Hercules, one sea team - Team Marlin, and a rescue team -- Team Seagull). In addition, there are the three commanders and three communications women (Akko and Georgie, plus a support recruit). XIG has more women than some Ultra support teams have both men AND women. The show also features a lot of foreigners who speak Japanese really well. The showcase is Georgie Leland, the communcations officer gal (played by Maria Theresa Gow). Also Catherine (Cas) of the Alchemy Stars, who likes weapons and dresses like Sarah Connor (from Terminator II) and goes on an occasional date with Gamu, much to the chagrin of Akko. There's also Michael Simmons of Team Seagull, as well as a few other Alchemy Stars.

There is also a side story arc that involves a three-person crew of KCB TV journalists. Reporter Reiko Yoshii becomes emotionally involved with Hiroya Fujimiya and plays a major role in his salvation and rehabilitation.

Finally, there is that mysterious Hiroya Fujimiya, the dark dude who transforms into Ultraman Agul. He is responsible for Crisis and its dire predicitions. After many recalculations, what he learns is that the only way to save the Earth from K.H.S.T. is to eliminate humans from the equation. He quits the Alchemy Stars and goes off by himself and Professor Kyohko Inamori to find the will of the Earth, only to discover Agul.

Agul and Gaia fight against K.H.S.T. and occasionally help each other out. However, as the series progresses, Fujimiya grows more agitated and reckless, and has less and less regard for his fellow humans in his desperate mission to save the Earth. He endangers his own health. When bullied in a bar, he declares that humans need to be purged from Earth. But as Reiko the TV reporter points out, how can he take care of the Earth, when he can't even take care of himself?

Gaia and Agul have a major clash in Episode 25 and both were injured considerably. Incredible energy is realeased during the fight, which opens up a giant wormhole through which immense serpent Zoalim partially emerges to invade Earth. It turns out that Zoalim was anticipating this clash, and was somehow in synch with impulses emitted from the computer Crisis. Gamu explains to Fujimiya that Crisis was sabotaged all along, and its analysis is fundamentally flawed. Fujimiya realizes that everything he believes in is based on this flaw, and became dejected ... he gives the injured Gamu the light that is the essence of Agul so that he can use it to defeat Zoalim. Fujimiya disappears.

Gamu accepted the blue Agul light into his Esplender, and then could transform into Gaia Version 2, a hybrid of both Gaia and Agul. Really, he looks a lot like the original Gaia, except for the black stripe on the chest plate. Gaia Version 2 can transform into Gaia Supreme Version, who looks like a chubbier Gaia V2 with some blue coloring.

Anyway, later in the series, G.U.A.R.D. tries to be more proactive about defeating the monsters that are attacking the Earth. They try destroying a dormant monster Tigris in episode 38 by sending a bomb into the ground (a plan that backfires horribly), and create an artificial wormhole in episode 44 to destroy the home planet of monsters C.O.V. and Pazuzu, also with disasterous consequences (the K.H.S.T. uses the opportunity to send a C.O.V. and a Pazuzu through the wormhole, and they become more powerful as a result. What becomes evident to Gamu is that monsters like Tigris (and MIZUNOENORYUH, Shazack, and Izaku) are creatures of the Earth like humans are, and perhaps it is not so fair to eradicate them when their only instict is to survive. As for creatures sent by the K.H.S.T., they are not inherently evil, they are sent to Earth and instinctively will try to survive in an alien environment. Thus, Gamu / Gaia questions his morals and human motives.

There is an environmental spin, in episodes involving "Nature Control Machine" monsters (TENKAI the wind machine of episode 7, ENZAN the heat machine of episode 28, and SHINRYOKU, the forest machine of episode 46. It is later revealed that they would be used to reconstruct the Earth after humans are exterminated. It is still not clear to me when they were put on Earth.

Agul eventually returns as Version 2, and he and Gaia set their differences aside to fight the common enemy. Gaia and Agul finally join forces in episode 44 to defeat Super C.O.V. and Super Pazuzu.

The final assault on Earth forces begins with the arrival of BlitzBlotz, a black and white avian monster who has the ability to absorb and fire back Ultra laser weapons with the red thing on his chest. He systematically starts destroying G.U.A.R.D. bases, and makes a mess of Agul (watch BlitzBlotz destroy a base that looks very much like the original Science Patrol headquarters). Tigris II emerges to fight BlitzBlotz and XIG, G.U.A.R.D., monster, and Gaia must fight side by side to defeat BlitzBlotz. Especially ironic is this hodgepodge alliance, for one of the veteran G.U.A.R.D. commanders killed the original Tigris back in Episode 38 as part of an anti-monster vendetta.

Next, giant creature Mokian is sent to Earth in episode 47... he is a monopole... essentially a giant magnet that has enough magnetic force to pull apart the Earth's crust and make the planet generally uninhabitable by humans. It is revealed by the Death God that the K.H.S.T. feels humans are a threat to the universe and must be eradicated. This is a fabulous, must-see episode in which the Aerial Base finally gets to see some action, and it gets beat up really, really bad. It is determined that the only way to destroy Mokian is to sacrifice what is left of the Aerial Base by ramming it into the giant monster, and this is done, although miraculously, no one dies from the effort. At least SOMEone should have died, for dramatic effect. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

The last three episodes involve the arrival of an army of bug-like monsters called Dobishi that cover the earth and darken the skies. XIG is in tatters, humanity is losing hope, and the Dobishi just keep coming! They combine to form the numerous giant Kizer Dobishi, and the two Ultramen can't defeat them all.

The K.G.S.T. finally reveals herself in the form of Zogu, a giant, white angel. She kills the Kizer Dobishis that the Ultramen are fighting, and replenishes Gaia and Agul's power, only to completely overpower the two and make their Life Gauges expire. Lights out, the two Ultramen turn back into Gamu and Fujimiya, which is filmed by the two KCB cameramen... this is broadcast to the world.

The two aren't dead, but can no longer turn into Gaia and Agul.

As an aside, Epsiode 50's ending credits feature monsters from the entire series in order of appearance.

It is at this point that all of Earth's monsters start emerging again all around the world to protect Earth from the Dobishis and Kizer Dobishis. It's like a great big Destroy All Monsters kind of thing. Gamu hatches a final scheme, in which the Alchemy Stars network is used to assist the last of the XIG fighters (some are flying normal military planes) to channel energy from the Earth monsters to give Gamu and Fujimiya the ability to transform back into Gaia and Agul. No match for all of this firepower, Zogu morphs from the angel into a very, very big dragon monster. It's a pretty neat way to tie up the series... everyone is brought back and united to participate together in the final battle against Zogu... Gaia, Agul, XIG, the Earth monsters, the Alchemy Stars, the KCB TV crew, and even Gamu's mom and dad!

This monumental finale closes the book on Gaia, as well as the three series that comprise what is known as the so-called HEISEI Ultramen (Ultraman Tiga', 'Ultraman Dyna' and Gaia...).

Comments by Absolute Ultraman!

I really love this series, and consider it one of the best. Forboding doom seems to hang over the entire series. It's a grand epic compared to any of the other series, and Tsuburaya Productions manages to weave a rich tapestry of characters, monsters, and subplots within the main narrative. Nevertheless, most of the episodes manage to end cleanly in 30 minutes.

Above all, the rogue Ultraman Agul adds a bad boy flava that's missing by nature from all other Ultramen, who are all giant goody-goody Boy Scouts, when it comes down to it. The two are yin and yang for each other.

After the flashy designs of Tiga and Dyna, I was happy to see that, other than the golden dents on his head and the yellow Tecter on his chest, Gaia is an all simple red and silver Ultraman. Of course, I was later disappointed... in Gaia V2 and Gaia Supreme, a plethora of colors make their way back into the suit. It's kind of messy to have silver, gold, red, black, and blue all on one costume. Oh well.

Gamu / Gaia's moral dilemmas are pretty deep stuff (for Ultraman, anyway), but not without precedent... Ultraseven often had to sit down and question why he was protecting humans all the time (like when humans blew up planet Gieronia in episode 26 to test a new weapon, and a pissed off former inhabitant came to Earth for revenge). This sort of inquiry questions not only the actions of Ultraman Gaia, but also the entire premise behind the Ultra franchise (kill monsters, save people... good or bad?). This is also given an environmental spin, and we get the opportunity to question how we are coexisting in reality with other creatures on Earth.

Can I just say that there are a couple of things I really don't like about the series. I really hate the sound effects on Gaia.

I am also not fond of the way the ending song and credits overlap the final scene of the show. Sometimes, they are very critical plot points, and the foreground drowns out any meaningful dialog and kills the mood of the scene (for example, a scene where Gamu and Fujimiya are having an argument).

Ultraman Agul

Height: 52 meters
Weight: 46,000 tons
Flight Speed: mach 19
Running Speed: mach 5.5
Swimming Speed: mach 1.2
Tunnelling Speed: mach 1.5
Home Planet: Earth (alternate universe)
Human Form: Hiroya Fujimiya
Transformation Item: Agulator
Team: Alchemy Stars (formerly)
Episodes: Various, in 'Ultraman Gaia' 
Air Dates: 1998-1999

Weapons

• Photon Crusher: A blast of energy that sprouts from the Bright Spot on his head. Similar to Ultraman Gaia's Photon Edge.
• Liquidator: A ball of energy. My friend Erik calls it a "medicine ball."
• Agull Blade: Blue energy sword.
• Agul Slash: Short, sharp bursts of energy he can shoot from his hands.
• The ability to convert matter into antimatter. Pretty handy, that.

Comments by Absolute Ultraman!

The all-blue Agul is the ultimate alternative Ultraman. Though he is not evil, and he is ultimately good, Agul by nature is no Boy Scout. Though his appearances are limited and he is often completely absent, Agul is the essential other half to Ultraman Gaia. In fact, any time Agul shows up, he usually upstages the goody-goody Gaia. The show becomes less interesting when Agul takes a mid-series sabbatical. Like Gaia, Agul's Color Timer is called a "Life Gauge."

Agul is shrouded in mystery for the first half of the year, but here is a summary of what he's all about.

Like Gamu Takayama, Fujimiya is a technological prodigy, and even used to be a member of the Alchemy Stars.

Four years prior to the beginning of the series (back when he wore clothes that were not black), Fujimiya built a super computer called Crisis. He used Crisis to calculate the future of Earth and humanity, and learned, to his horror, that they would be annihilated by something known as "KONGENTEKI HAMETSU SHORAI TAI." (I'll unofficially abbreviate this as K.H.S.T. from here on... roughly, it means "Entity that Brings Fundamental Destruction"). . Upon further computation, Crisis said the only way the Earth could be saved is by taking HUMANITY out of the equation.

Fujimiya, used some experimentation pool of water to find out what the will of the Earth was in the matter, and he is answered by Ultraman Agul, who lended him his strength. Historically, living organisms being attacked will fight back with a defense mechanism. Fujimiya speculates that Agul is Earth's defense mechanism, and if humans get in the way, oh well. Fujimiya uses the Agulator, a contraption he wears on his wrist, to transform into Agul.

Meanwhile, XIG is formed to combat this impending crisis that is descending upon Earth.

Then, mysterious invaders begin attacking the Earth. Mostly, Ultraman Gaia takes care of these monsters of the K.H.S.T., but on occasion, he requires the assistance of Agul. In general, Agul saves Gaia's butt. However, Gaia's main goal is to save humanity, whereas Agul's main concern is the salvation of Earth. So Agul is willing to sacrifice humanity in order to save Earth from the K.H.S.T. This difference in philosophy is what causes occasional clashes between the red and blue giants.

Along the way, the dark, brooding, sulking, loner Fujimiya enchants a couple of women. One is a fellow researcher, Professor Kyohko Inamori... the other is a reporter named Reiko Yoshii of KCB TV. Inamori supports his work, to the death, as she is killed by Gomenos while trying to bend the monster to her will. Reiko tries to save Fujimiya from himself by explaining that he is causing needless self-inflicted suffering. He's not all bad. Despite his desire to save Earth even at the expense of humanity, Fujimiya saves Reiko several times, and rescues a little girl who is about to be crushed by a falling building (in episode 20). There is a hilarious scene many episodes after the event (in episode 37), where the little girl he saved runs into him again while he is sulking, and thanks him. He tries to ignore her but she tells her mom who he is and mom thanks him too. Fujimiya then tries to walk away, but she keeps waving at him so he turns around and offers her an unenthusiastic handwave as well. Fujimiya's interactions with Reiko and the little girl are crucial to understanding that despite his gruff exterior and his misguided crusade, he is fundmentally a good person deep down inside.

In Episode 25, Agul and Gaia have a major clash, and the energy set off by their battle opens up a wormhole, from which the immensely large serpent Zoalim partially emerges. Zoalim, having some trouble coming all the way though, looks like a big turd emerging from a constipated cosmic butt. Zoalim needs Gaia and Agul to fight some more and release more energy in order to open the wormhole completely. So there you have it. Gaia and Agul together form the largest known laxative in the history of the universe.

Fortunately, this Gaia-Agul showdown doesn't come to, er... pass. Gamu crunches some data and shows Fujimiya that pulses emitted from Zoalim were in synch with Crisis. In other words, Zoalim was manipulating Crisis and corrupting the data from the very beginning. So Fujimiya's whole fatalistic belief was based on flawed data, and he and Gaia were being manipulated all along into fighting and releasing the energy that would open the doorway to Earth.

With nothing else left to believe, Fujimiya relinquishes the blue light that is the source of Agul's power from his Agulator, and transfers it to Gamu. This turns Gaia into Gaia Version 2, henceforth Gaia can use any of Agul's weapons. The essence of Agul also gives Gaia the option of transforming into the even more powerful Gaia Supreme Version. Gaia is able to destroy Zoalim. However, Fujimiya disappears and is presumed dead.

Of course, you know he'll be back (though it was originally planned for him to go away for good, his popularity with fans was recognized).

However, Fujimiya does return, and he regains his ability to transform, this time into Agul Version 2. Gamu is captured by Zuigul, and Fujimiya beckons to the sea and does some Moses tricks to give him the strenth of Agul once again. You start seeing Agul and Gaia truly fighting on the same side beginning with episode 44, for they now share the common goal of defeating the K.H.S.T. Some great sequences with Agul in episodes 45, 50, and 51.

The original Agul has style. He's got a great 3/4-profile and a fabulous silhouette, and the directors make heavy use of these. He has his own background music... a wispy female voice ahhh'ing every time he shows up. He also has attitude. He sneers, taunts, struts about while expressing contempt and disdain, toys with his prey, assumes superiority, shows surprise when his enemy is more formidable than he thought, and is visibly pissed when hit. For someone who is wearing a rubber mask that doesn't move, Agul has a most impressive range of expressions. Alas, Agul V2 is more of a bland goody-goody.

Ultraman Agul Version 2

Height: 52 meters
Weight: 46,000 tons
Flight Speed: mach 23
Running Speed: mach 7.4
Swimming Speed: mach 1.5
Tunnelling Speed: Mach 1.8

Agul V2 Weapons:

• Photon Screw
• Agul Stream

Ultraman Nice

Ultra Stats

Height: 39 meters
Weight: 39,000 tons
Flight Speed: mach 3.9
Home Planet: T.O.Y. #1 ('toi' = far)
Human Form: Ginga Yumeboshi
Transformation Item: Nice Dreamer: A wrist band with a compartment that contains chocolate pills. He spins around after he eats the pill, and transforms into Nice.
Team: GOKAZOKU Team (a pun... GOKAZOKU means 'family,' but it sounds sort of like the Japanese name for the original Science Patrol), made up of members of the Yumeboshi family. Ginga, Akimi (the wife), Kataru (grandpa, played by Susumu Kurobe who once played Hayata from the original 'Ultraman.'), Kiku (grandma, played by Hiroko Sakurai who once played Akiko Fuji), Kosumo and Mirai (daughter and son).

Weapons

• Very Nice Ray: a rainbow-colored X-style weapon which is fired when Nice tilts his head to the left.
• Millennium Shot: short, sharp bursts from his hand that he uses in the 2000 series. Shot up Tabu Zagon's nose on one occasion.
• Millennium Cross: A powered-up version of the Very Nice Ray, used in the 2000 series.
• Pa-Pa-Punch
• Ki-Ki-Kick
• Pa-Pa-Pat: A head butt.
• Ju-Ju-Jump

Comments by Absolute Ultraman!

Ultraman Nice was specially created for one-minute infomercials that ran during 'Ultraman Tiga' reruns. There is a continuing storyline complete with monsters.

Very tongue-in-cheek, Nice has become the court jester Ultraman and is used for comic relief in live-action stage shows.

He looks pretty cool, with his asymmetrical design (most notably his Color Timer, which is not centered on his chest). The red pattern on his back is in the shape of the letter 'N' (for Nice). Nice has a penchant for giving the thumbs-up sign while saying "NICE!!" When he fights, he says "NA!" repeatedly (instead of Shua, Hyah, Tah, Toh, Yah, Duah, or any other more common Ultra grunts of exertion). His fighting stance seems to be to stretch his arms digonally out to the sides.

Stories usually involve the Yumeboshi family in their home just after they finished watching the 'Ultraman Tiga' reruns... and then playing with or talking about Ultra toys. Then an alarm goes off and the home converts into a high-tech base. A monster emerges, and they change into their uniforms. Ginga eats his chocolate and transforms into Nice and quickly beats up the monster.