Jump to content

Ultraman Zero

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zero stylinx (talk | contribs) at 00:28, 29 November 2016 (→Subsequent history). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ultraman Zero
Ultra Series character
A full picture of Ultraman Zero in his pre-fighting stance.
First appearanceMega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy
Created by
  • Masayuki Gotou
  • Junya Okabe
Portrayed by
  • Hideyoshi Iwata
  • Daisuke Terai
  • Masaki Onishi
  • Atsushi Okabe

Ultraman Zero (ウルトラマンゼロ, Urutoraman Zero)[1] is a fictional character from the Ultra Series. He first appeared in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy before starring in his own film Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial. Lacking a TV series of his own, he became the main presenter of Ultraman Retsuden/Shin Ultraman Retsuden and made guest appearances in subsequent Ultra Series TV projects.

Introduced as an energetic, boastful, and stubborn warrior, Zero was sent into banishment by Ultraseven after his failed attempt to steal the Plasma Spark. Zero was placed into the care of Ultraman Leo, who trained Zero during his exile while having him wear heavy training wear, called Techtor Gear (テクターギア, Tekutā Gia). When Ultraman Belial returned to the Land of Light and stole the Plasma Spark, Zero redeemed himself of his past mistake by defeating Belial and retrieving the Plasma Spark, and learned of his origin as the son of Seven (セブンの息子, Sebun no Musuko). Although he retained his hotheaded traits, Zero slowly went through character development and matured as his roles in the Ultra Series progressed. After helping to defeat Belial's invasion attempt in another dimension, he founded Ultimate Force Zero (ウルティメイトフォースゼロ, Urutimeito Fōsu Zero) and became the group's leader, dedicating it to protect the universe from evil threats and wiping out remnants of Belial's former army.

Ultraman Zero is voiced by Mamoru Miyano (宮野 真守, Miyano Mamoru),[2] whose known for his role as Setsuna F. Seiei in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. In tribute to his voice actor, Ultraman Zero utters his pre-battle catchphrase, "I am Zero, Ultraman Zero!" (俺がゼロ, ウルトラマンゼロ!, Ore ga Zero, Urutoraman Zero!), which is based on Setsuna's infamous line, "I am Gundam!".

Character Conception

Ultraseven Ax, the initial draft of Ultraman Zero as photographed in a special event in Tokyo Dome City during 2010.[3]

Movie producer Junya Okabe stated that Zero's involvement in Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy was to invoke the elements of a parent-child relationship. Ultraman Zero's title as "the son of Seven" laid a huge impact on the audience.[4]

Ultraman Zero was designed by Masayuki Gotou under the initial draft name Ultraseven Ax (ウルトラセブンアックス, Urutorasebun Akkusu). The original design was based on Ultraseven being all-red in color and lacked a Color Timer.[5] The Zero Twin Sword, the combined form of his Zero Sluggers, was meant to be a bow and arrow configuration, although the design was later incorporated into the Ultimate Zero form. Due to how common the red color is among Ultra Warriors, blue was added as well to make him more attractive to new viewers.[6] His youthful and hot-blooded outlook is based on Joe Yabuki from Ashita no Joe.[7] His fighting skills revolves around the combination of Ultraseven and Leo.[8][9]

Naming

Yuji Kobayashi revealed that the reason he named the character as "Zero" is to symbolize the "restart of Ultraman story from scratch".[10]

History

Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy

Long ago, Zero was a young and powerful warrior, similar to Belial, and like him attempted to steal energy from the Plasma Spark. However, Zero was caught red handed by Ultraseven and the Ultra Brothers and was exiled, sent to be trained under the Leo Brothers. His training took place during Belial's second and successful attempted theft of Plasma Spark. Survivors of Belial's attack, Shin Hayata (Ultraman) and Mirai Hibino (Ultraman Mebius), considered recruiting Zero but Dan Moroboshi (Ultraseven) was against it, believing Zero wasn't ready. During his time training under Ultraman Leo, Zero was forced to wear the Techtor Gear armor that limited his movements and strength. He also befriended a Pigmon.

After saving the Pigmon's life during a training session, Zero's actions proved to Leo and Ultraman King that he had matured and revealed to him his true origins as the son of Ultraseven, and when Seven stopped Zero from touching the Plasma Spark, he had saved Zero from following Belial's fallen path. Seven's Eye Slugger then landed at the training ground, Leo realized that Seven was calling for Zero's help against Belial at the Monster Graveyard, and King removed the locks on Zero's Techtor Gear. Redeemed and now freed from his armor, Ultraman Zero took off to the Monster Graveyard to confront Ultraman Belial, with his father's Eye Slugger. However Zero was too late too save his father, and Seven died from the exhaustion and injuries from his battle. Angered by the passing of his father, Zero proceeded to kill the remaining monsters of Belial's army in a mad fury before facing Belial and defeating him, however Belial quickly re-emerged as Beryudora. Zero tapped into the Plasma Spark's power, creating the Zero Twin Sword and decimated Belial with it. In aftermath of the battle, Zero returned the Plasma Spark to its position and Zero was reunited with his revived father.[11]

Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial

During the events of The Revenge of Belial, an attack from a trio of Darklops prompted Zero to volunteer himself in an inter-dimensional exploration to track the source. He was given the Ultra Zero Bracelet by Ultraseven, which allowed him to transform three times in an alternate dimension and received help from residents of the Land of Light during the travel. Upon arrival, he fought against Legionoid armies on the Planet Anu and bonded with a local miner named Run in order to save his life. However, Zero discovered that the man's consciousness was in comatose state, leaving the former in control of Run's body and took care of Nao, his younger brother. The two stowed away in the Jean-bird but was spared by Princess Emerana when they decided to help her search for the Shield of Baradhi. Along the way, they met and allied with several factions that guide them towards the Shield of Baradhi and helped out holding off Belial Galactic Empire's army.

Upon arrival at Ultraman Noa's statue, Nao tried to install a shard piece he had to the shield but crumbled, with Belial's army approaching and the Planet of Mirrors shattering, Run was, leaving him under Belial's watch and had his Ultra Zero Eye separated. The resistances arrived and Mirror Knight saved Run from Belial, allowing him to regain his Ultra Zero Eye and transformed into Zero. Both sworn enemies fought once more but Belial used all of the emeralds he stolen to transform into Arch Belial. Despite the resistant forces helping out as well, Zero died from the depletion of his energy while trying to shield Planet Esmeralda from Arch Belial until the hopes of the resistances of Belial Galactic Empire brought forth the spirit of Ultraman Noa, allowing him to revive Zero and grant him the true form of the Shield of Baradhi: the Ultimate Aegis. Zero assumed Ultimate Zero form with it and destroyed Belial with the Final Ultimate Zero technique. In aftermath of the battle, he healed Run's injuries and left to form Ultimate Force Zero with the giant heroes he came across earlier.[12]

Ultraman Saga

Zero still continued with his mission to wipe out against remnants of Belial's army and at that time, he was called into another Planet Earth by Shin Asuka/Ultraman Dyna, sensing a new threat in a form of Alien Bat. In that world, he discovered that the Earth's populations had mysteriously vanished and also fused with a dimensional-displaced Super GUTS member named Nozomu Taiga. Taiga himself had a hatred for Ultramen due to his past, which explained his reluctance to use Zero's power. Zero tended to act as the straight man to Taiga's antics and because of their lack of cooperation, Zero was incapable of summoning his full power, only appearing as a 5 m tall version of himself during their first transformation. Upon learning of Taiga's past and the latter deciding to overcome it, the two eventually settled their differences and finally being able to perform a successful transformation, joining forces with Ultraman Cosmos in facing Gigant Hyper Zetton and rescuing Ultraman Dyna.

Although the three Ultra Warriors managed to destroy Gigant Zetton, Alien Bat made his final move by assimilating his ship into Zetton's corpse and form Imago Hyper Zetton. The monster was too much for the Ultra Warriors to handle and the monster quickly defeated them. While Dyna and Cosmos were forced to revert to human form, Zero instead died once more but the three Ultra hosts managed to unite into Ultraman Saga and destroy the monster. In aftermath, Zero separated from Taiga and departed to space.

Ultra Zero Fight

Following his separation from Ultraman Saga, Zero gained the abilities of Ultraman Dyna and Zero, allowing him to transform into Strong-Corona Zero and Luna-Miracle Zero. Zero went to the Monster Graveyard to train and wandered about the purpose of obtaining such power. At that time, he faced of against Alien Bat Glacier and his army of revived monsters. Zero used his new powers to eliminate the monsters before facing the alien himself, now having absorbed the defeated monsters' souls. In the ensuing battle, Glacier revealed that the Pigmon Zero befriended had its life force connected to him and if Glacier died, Pigmon would also perish, forcing Zero to surrender until Pigmon's reassurance gave him the will to continue fighting, splitting himself into two bodies. Using Strong-Corona Zero he defeated Glacier and with Luna-Miracle Zero was able to purify the restless monsters' spirit and save Pigmon's life. In the end, Zero finally found the purpose of his powers before returning to his comrades.

In the second part, Zero faced off against the Darkness Five led by a mysterious benefactor. The Ultimate Force Zero held off the majority of their members their own while Zero faced against the Alien Mephilas Sly to rescue Pigmon. Later on, he faced the Armored Darkness, who was revealed to be his supposedly deceased enemy, Ultraman Belial. The two fought in a heated match but once Zero stabbed Belial with his sword, Belial quickly possessed Zero, using his powers to assassinate the rest of the Ultimate Force Zero. The real Ultraman Zero was left powerless inside his own body, leaving Belial in control his body to lead the Darkness Five in their conquest. Pigmon tried to stop them despite its size but before Belial could kill it, his attacked mysteriously stopped. It was revealed that Zero's spirit hadhalted Belial from attacking or progress further. Within Zero's mind, fought Belial, bringing forth his strongest form, Shining Zero. With Belial expelled, Shining Zero regained control over his body and reverse the flow of time in the immediate area to undo the damages done by Belial and revive the Ultimate Force Zero. The act greatly exhausted him and was unable to recall earlier incidents but in the end joined his comrades in returning home as they tried to pick a new name for Pigmon.[13]

Subsequent history

Ultraman Zero hosting Ultraman Retsuden.
  • Ultraman Retsuden/Shin Ultraman Retsuden (2011-2016): Ultraman Zero is the main presenter of the series, and usually guides the viewers with full details of each Ultra Warriors' past battles. Similar to his role in Ultraman Saga, he also tended to act in a similar manner of a straight man but when he went absent during the show, he would be replaced by other navigators such as Zoffy, Musashi Haruno, Shin Asuka and others. Zero continued this role in the succeeding series, Shin Ultraman Retsuden although there were also other presenter such as the characters of succeeding series (eg. Ultraman Ginga, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman X). In the series finale of said series (episode 155), he was featured as one of the three presenters, with the other two being Ultraman Ginga and Ultraman X, whose series had launched in the same block the Shin Ultraman Retsuden aired.
  • Ultraman Ginga S: Showdown! Ultra 10 Warriors!! (2015): Having known Etelgar's mission to imprison his comrades (Max and Mebius) and other Heisei Ultras (Tiga, Dyna, Gaia, Cosmos and Nexus), Zero hunted him down in various universes and dimension until he comes across Hikaru and Shou, arriving after Etelgar. With Etelgar proves to be stronger than Ginga and Victory, and even being able to withstand the Final Ultimate Zero, he trained the duo Ultra Hosts and gave them the Ultra Fusion Brace once their training had been acknowledged. While the other Heisei Ultras made their way to Etelgar's tower, he was forced to left behind to fight against an imitation of Ultraman Belial. Zero fought Belial with all of his forms and put an end to the doppleganger via Shining Zero. He joined the other Ultra Warriors afterwards to destroy Etelgar's castle before regrouping and leaving.[14] He was briefly mentioned in Ultra Fight Victory by Ultraman Leo when he first met Ultraman Ginga and Victory.
  • Ultraman X (2015): Zero was tracking one of the Space Garrisons' (宇宙警備隊, Uchū Keibitai) most wanted criminals, Bandero in various dimensions and arrived on Earth when he tried to steal the Spark Dolls. With Rui accidentally taken to Planet Guillermo, Zero went on a rescue operation and joined by X, the two managed to defeat both Bandero and Black King. He was mentioned in episode 13 of Ultraman X, as he had told Sho/Ultraman Victory of his encounter with said Ultraman, though much to the latter's dismay, Ultraman X isn't what he expected, due to his human host, Daichi, until Sho trained the boy in swordsmanship.[15]
  • Ultraman X: Here It Comes! Our Ultraman (2016): Ultraman Zero's Cyber Card was created by Guruman sometime later alongside other Ultra Warriors that X and Xio members met before. The Ultramen cards resonated with people's hopes and brought them to fight against the Tsurugi Demaaga that rampaged worldwide. Zero fought against one in Shanghai, China and like the rest of the Ultra Warriors, he was given an additional power boost to destroy the monsters. The Ultra Warriors regrouped and Zero commented on how both X and Daichi have become stronger than the last time they met. While leaving Earth, he made his last stop on Rui, much to her delight.
  • Ultraman Orb (2016): Ultraman Zero was mentioned to be the sealer of Maga-Pandon before Jugglus released the King Demon Beast. Upon its defeat, Zero's Ultra Fusion Card was acquired by Gai, who used it alongside Ultraman Jack's card to transform into Ultraman Orb Hurricane Slash.[16]
  • Ultraman Orb: I'm Borrowing the Power of Your Bonds! (2017)[17]
  • Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle (2017):[18]

Profile

Ultraman Zero's statistics below were never mentioned in the original series, but were brought up in magazines and official websites:[1]

  • Height: 49 m (5 m in Ultraman Saga)
  • Weight: 35,000 t
  • Flight Speed: Mach 7
  • Birthplace: Nebula M78, Land of Light
  • Year Debut: 2009
  • First Appearance: Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy (2009)

Description

As the official website of Tsuburaya Productions stated: "[Ultraman Zero] His father being Ultraseven, taught by the Ultraman Leo/Astra siblings, chased the evil Belial into another space, receiving the Ultimate Bracelet and finally thwarted the Belial Galactic Empire. Alongside Glen Fire, Mirror Knight, Jean-bot and Jean-nine, they form the Ultimate Force Zero."[1]

Transformation

Zero's hosts transform through the use of Ultra Zero Eye (ウルトラゼロアイ, Urutora Zero Ai), which is based on Ultraseven's. During the transformation scene, once they don it, the ribbons of light and the Zero Sluggers appear with Zero's body materializing on the human host's before the Zero Sluggers attach and appeared in the human world. When not in use, the Ultra Zero Eye is stored within the Ultra Zero Bracelet, now Ultimate Bracelet.

Features and weapons

  • Beam Lamp (ビームランプ, Bīmu Ranpu): A small light located on his forehead, which mainly functions to launch the Emerium Slash. One of the features inherited from his father.
  • Protector (プロテクター, Purotekutā): Silver armor on Zero's chest and shoulders which functions as solar panels, allowing him to put of exhaustion for a longer period in combat.
  • Zero Sluggers (ゼロスラッガー, Zero Suraggā): Twin boomerang knives from his head, they are analogous to Ultraseven's Eye Slugger. They can be combined into multiple configurations, such as Zero Twin Sword (ゼロツインソード, Zero Tsuin Sōdo), which he created by tapping into the Plasma Spark's power and Zero Seven Sword (ゼロセブンソード, Zero Sebun Sōdo) shuriken by combining with his father's Eye Slugger.
  • Ultra Zero Bracelet (ウルトラゼロブレスレット, Urutora Zero Buresuretto): A bracelet that Seven gave to Zero, which allowed him to transform three times in an alternate universe. True to being analogous to Ultraman Jack's Ultra Bracelet, the bracelet can also turn into weapons such as the Ultra Zero Spark (ウルトラゼロスパーク, Urutora Zero Supāku) knife and the Ultra Zero Lance (ウルトラゼロランス, Urutora Zero Ransu). After receiving the Ultimate Aegis from Ultraman Noa, the bracelet was upgraded into the Ultimate Bracelet (ウルティメイトブレスレット, Urutimeito Buresuretto), now allowing him to endlessly operation in any alternate universes. Unlike the Ultra Zero Bracelet, the Ultimate Bracelet is able to summon its weapon forms instead of turning into one and can also use both weapons at once, as Zero used it to face Sly of the Dark Magic while shielding Pigmon with the Ultra Zero Defender (ウルトラゼロディフェンダー, Urutora Zero Difendā) shield.

Forms, powers and abilities

Being trained by Ultraman Leo, Zero utilizes Judo and Space Kenpō (宇宙拳法, Uchū Kenpō) in combat. He is also capable of adapting his opponent's fighting skills to his own such as copying Glen Fire's piledriver attack (Glen Driver) into Zero Driver (ゼロドライバー, Zero Doraibā). His finisher attack is theWide Zero Shot (ワイドゼロショット, Waido Zero Shotto), which performed in his master's pre-fighting stance before shifting to the "L"-style beam attack used by Ultraseven. By connecting the Zero Sluggers to his Color Timer (カラータイマー, Karā Taimā), he can perform the Zero Twin Shoot (ゼロツインシュート, Zero Tsuin Shūto) ray.

In addition, he can also access these forms:

  • Techtor Gear Zero (テクターギア・ゼロ, Tekutā Gia Zero): During Zero's banishment and training under Ultraman Leo, he was forced to wear the Techtor Gear (テクターギア, Tekutā Gia) armor that limited his strength and performance. Eventually after his redemption had been acknowledged by Ultraman King, he was freed from the armor itself. While facing Alien Bat Glacier, he was imprisoned in a rust-colored variant of Techtor Gear called Techtor Gear Hatred (テクターギア・ヘイトリッド, Tekutā Gia Heitoriddo). While Zero could easily adapt to this armor, the tide turned to Glacier favor when he activated a hidden function which restrained Zero with electric shocks. Eventually, he was able to escape via StrongCorona Mode.
  • Ultimate Zero (ウルティメイトゼロ, Urutimeito Zero):[13] A form where Zero dons the Ultimate Aegis (ウルティメイトイージス, Urutimeito Ījisu), it allows Zero to travel to other dimensions and universes. This armor also enables him to fight stronger opponents and be reconfigured into a bow and arrow, allowing him to initiate the Final Ultimate Zero (ファイナルウルティメイトゼロ, Fainaru Urutimeito Zero) finisher attack or a stronger variant, Final Ultimate Zero Trinity (ファイナルウルティメイトゼロ・トリニティ, Fainaru Urutimeito Zero Toriniti) with the help of Ultramen Dyna and Cosmos. The Ultimate Aegis' true form is the Shield of Baradhi (バラージの盾, Barāji no Tate), which was sought by resistance of Belial's Galactic Empire to defeat him, and later bestowed to Zero by Ultraman Noa. Despite being so powerful, once used as for cross-universe transportation, the armor needed to be recharged before being utilized again. Certain opponents seems to have natural resistance towards the attack such as Etelgar, who was able to survive the attack despite having his scarf and mask burned in the process.
  • Mode Changes (モードチェンジ, Mōdo Chenji): These are alternate forms achieved after Zero's combination with Dyna and Cosmos to form Ultraman Saga.[19]
    • Strong-Corona Zero (ストロングコロナゼロ, Sutorongu Korona Zero):[13] Zero's red alternate form, which served as an analogy to Dyna's Strong Type and Cosmos' Corona Mode. It allows Zero to utilize brute strength and initiate the Ultra Hurricane (ウルトラハリケーン, Urutora Harikēn) before using the Garnate Buster (ガルネイトバスター, Garuneito Basutā) as a finisher attack.
    • Luna-Miracle Zero (ルナミラクルゼロ, Runa Mirakuru Zero):[13][20] Zero's blue alternate form, which served as an analogy to Dyna's Miracle Type and Cosmos' Luna Mode. It allows Zero to utilize speed and mental abilities and use the Miracle Zero Slugger (ミラクルゼロスラッガー, Mirakuru Zero Suraggā) as his finisher. As this form bears some of the traits of Cosmos' Luna Mode, Zero is capable of using the Full Moon Wave (フルムーンウェーブ, Furu Mūn Uēbu), a non-lethal ray that pacifies monsters.
  • Shining Zero (シャイニングゼロ, Shainingu Zero):[13][21] Zero's "final form", which acquired when he expelled Belial from his body. Here, Zero's body bore gold and silver and possess the Shining Energy Core (シャイニングエナジーコア, Shainingu Enajī Koa) in place of his Color Timer. His main attack is Shining Emerium Slash (シャイニングエメリウムスラッシュ, Shainingu Emeriumu Surasshu) which is an enhanced versions of his regular attack. However, his strongest known ability is the Shining Star Drive (シャイニングスタードライヴ, Shainingu Sutā Doraivu), which rewinds time in a certain area but being the strongest attack, it exhausts Zero greatly before reducing him to his original form. In the PlayStation Portable game Ultraman All Star Chronicle, he demonstrated the attack called Shining Wide Zero Shoot (シャイニングワイドゼロショット, Shainingu Waido Zero Shutto).[22][23]

Human Hosts

Run

Run
Ultra Series character
First appearanceUltraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial (2010)
Portrayed byYu Koyanagi

Run (ラン, Ran)[12] is one of the main protagonists of Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial. Alongside his brother Nao, both were orphaned and lives with their grandmother, working as police in a mining site of their home planet, Planet Anu. One day, when Belial's Darklops attacked the mining site, Zero bonded with Run to save the young man's life, but learns that he is in control of Run's body, as the original one is rendered comatose. After the events of the movie, a fully healed Run was separated from Zero, and has no recollection of the moments when Zero possessed him, much to Nao's dismay.

Run was portrayed by Yu Koyanagi (小柳 友, Koyanagi Yū), while his childhood was portrayed by Kaito Nitta (新田 海統, Nitta Kaito).

Nozomu Taiga

Nozomu Taiga
Ultra Series character
First appearanceUltraman Saga (2012)
Portrayed byDAIGO

Nozomu Taiga (タイガ・ノゾム, Taiga Nozomu) is the main protagonist of Ultraman Saga and is the second host of Ultraman Zero. Originated from the same universe where Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna took place, Taiga is the rookie member of Super GUTS after Asuka's disappearances. Taiga bears a lot of similarities to young Asuka (even called by senior Super GUTS members as "the second coming of Shin Asuka") but however lacks respect in his predecessors, especially Ultramen after his parents were killed in an alien invasion while he shouted for Ultraman's help but to no avail. He appears to have hatred for carrots and in an aforementioned similarity, tends to act childish with Zero acting up as the straight man.

During the 15 year anniversary of Asuka's sacrifice, Taiga participated in an aerial combat against a troop of leftover Sphires whom tried to attack the Mars Colony. During the fight, he was brought to another world by accident and forcefully bonded with Zero after his near-death experiences in saving a boy. While butt heads with Zero due to his hatred for Ultraman, but after learning the truth of Team U (the alternate Earth's attack team)'s origin, he decided to adopt the mantle of Ultraman and puts aside his differences. After the event, he decided to stay on the alternate Earth than returning to his home world, wanting to observe the planet's future.

Nozomu Taiga was portrayed by DAIGO.[24] As a child, Taiga was portrayed by Mitsumasa Sato (佐藤 光将, Satō Mitsumasa).

Shin Moroboshi

Shin Moroboshi (モロボシ・シン, Moroboshi Shin) is a stage-show exclusive character that appeared in Ultraman Premier 2011 (ウルトラマンプレミア2011, Urutoraman Puremia Nisenjūichi). He is the human disguise of Ultraman Zero and was portrayed by three different actors in each region:

In other media

Video games

  • Ultraman Zero is featured as one of the characters in the Lost Heroes crossover game series, formed by Kamen Rider Series, Gundam and the Ultra Series. The game's main feature enables the players to perform team-up and crossover finisher attacks with any characters from different franchise. One peculiar combination is Ultimate Zero and GNT-0000 00 Qan［T］ (Setsuna F. Seiei) in the game's second install Lost Heroes 2 by performing GN Ultimate Zero Sword (GNウルティメイトゼロソード, Ji En Urutimeito Zero Sōdo), where both draw their swords and creates a huge GN Particle/Ultimate Aegis-powered energy sword before dropping it towards the enemy. After the battle, the two shouted their respective catchphrases. This team-up is rather interesting, as both Ultraman Zero and Setsuna share the same voice actor.[29]

Anime

The Ultimate Force Zero meets Wooser in episode 1, season 3 of Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life.
  • Ultraman Zero and the rest of the Ultimate Force Zero appeared in the third season of Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life, Phantasmagoric Arc as part of Tsuburaya Productions' collaboration with the Sanzigen anime studio. In the third season's first episode, Wooser was piloting the Mecha Wooser and win against a space armada. But in the aftermath of the battle, he and his mecha are left stranded in space, until he finds himself in a luminous light, where Ultraman Zero (accompanied by the Ultimate Force Zero), encourages him and thus helps Wooser to return to Earth. Zero makes his appearance again as a poster in Wooser's room and again as action figures alongside his teammates. In said anime, the main character Wooser is also voiced by Mamoru Miyano, who performs a dual role with Ultraman Zero.[30] Ironically a year prior in February 2014, the official blog of Ultraman Retsuden promoted Miyano's single NEW ORDER that was used for Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life Awakening Arc. The blog also noted of Miyano's role in Wooser and jokingly added if Wooser were to met Ultraman Zero someday.[31][32]

Music Video

  • Ultraman Zero and the members of the Ultimate Force Zero (barring Jean-nine) appeared in the Girl Next Door's music video Unmei no Shizuku ~Destiny's star~, with said song was used as the ending theme for Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial.[33]
  • Ultraman Zero is featured in Mamoru Miyano's 9th single, Ultra Fly as a background character. The song as well becomes the 6th opening of Ultraman Retsuden.[34][35][36]

Apps

  • In late 2013, LINE announces the second release of Ultraman stickers sold at the price of USD$1.99. Zero was among the carricatures featured in the sets alongside other Ultra Warriors and Ultra Monsters.[37][38][39]
  • As a tie-in to the Ginga S Movie, a smartphone game was released, called the Ultra 10 Braves (ウルトラ10勇士, Urutora Jū Yūshi). Zero was reimagined as the original ninja from Sanada Ten Braves, Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛 佐助), also called as Zero (零呂). His main weapon is a dagger.[40]

Reception

According to an interview with Famitsu, Mamoru stated that "I was honestly surprised! At last I have became an Ultraman (laughs)". He reminisces his days as a child watching the Ultra Series during summer breaks but unfortunately wasn't able to watch the entire series. His favorite Ultra Series is Ultra Seven and Ultraman Taro, as well as finding the chibi characters of Ultra Series (such as those from Ultraman Kids) quite interesting. He is also impressed by how Zero's design armed with two Eye Sluggers and that the Ultra Warrior's fighting skill involves speed and space martial arts movements.[41] In a 2013 interview with Susumu Kurobe (Shin Hayata/Ultraman's actor), he nominated Ultraman Zero as his favorite Ultra Warrior.[42]

Popularity

A photo featuring Ultraman Zero choking a Kyubey rag doll, one of the viral internet memes among the Japanese fandom.[43]

Ultraman Zero himself has his own official Twitter account, which started in 2010 and ended in March 2012. In March 1, 2011, he tweeted the readers to be careful of "strangers" that offered them the chance to become a "magical girl". The post itself is a joke to a popular anime series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica which featured the main antagonist Kyubey manipulating girls (including the main characters of that series) into a magical girl and had become viral in the Japanese fandom ever since, creating a strings of internet meme that featured Zero facing Kyubey.[44][45]

In the Ultra Series' 45th anniversary, Ultraman Zero scored the first place in an Ultra Hero popularity ranking, but in an another Ultra Hero poll in 2013, he scored the second place after losing to Ultraman Tiga.[46][47]

In 2009, in conjunction to the promotion of Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, Ultraseven and Ultraman Zero were among the promoters of the newly introduced Windows 7. Seven's participation into the press conference is due to his name. Another guest of honors/promoter of the press conference is voice actress/singer Nana Mizuki, whom (like Ultraseven) also had her name being revolved around the aforementioned number.[48]

Ultraman Zero and Ultraseven were the guest of honors in the 2016 Oyako Day, which was held on July 24. Two days prior, the two won the "Oyako Grand Prize" by Bruce Osborn.[49]

References

Published materials
  • 小学館『てれびくん』編集部, ed. (2009). 大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE （劇場パンフレット）. Shogakukan and Shochiku.
  • 大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE 超全集. てれびくんデラックス愛蔵版. Shogakukan. 2009. ISBN 978-4-09-105129-5.
Sources
  1. ^ a b c "ウルトラヒーロー円谷ステーション" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  2. ^ "豪華声優陣共演！宮野真守さん、緑川光さん、関智一さん、神谷浩史さん！". 2010-10-14.
  3. ^ "[蘭忍]EARTH EATER 새해다! 울트라맨 전원집합! in 도쿄 돔 시티 & 영화 레포트" (in Korean). rannin.egloss.com. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  4. ^ ウルトラ銀河伝説超全集 2009, pp. 57–59, 坂本浩一×岡部淳也対談
  5. ^ ウルトラ銀河伝説超全集 2009, pp. 68–71, 後藤正行キャラクターデザインインタビュー.
  6. ^ ウルトラ銀河伝説超全集 2009, pp. 66–67, The Art of 大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説
  7. ^ 円谷プロ50周年記念　ウルトラ怪獣総選挙　ウルトラ怪獣のセンターと四天王を選抜 - Yahoo! JAPAN, archived from the original on 2013-10-11, retrieved 2016-08-22 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ ウルトラ銀河伝説パンフレット 2009, 坂本浩一監督インタビュー.
  9. ^ ウルトラ銀河伝説超全集 2009, p. 74, アクションチーム座談会.
  10. ^ Kobayashi, Yuji (2012-10-17). 特撮ヒーロー番組のつくりかた. キネマ旬報社. ISBN 4873764084. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ^ "大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE".
  12. ^ a b "登場キャラクター ウルトラマンゼロ THE MOVIE 超決戦！ベリアル銀河帝国".
  13. ^ a b c d e "キャラクター ウルトラマン列伝ウルトラゼロファイトオフィシャルインフォメーション".
  14. ^ "『劇場版ウルトラマンギンガＳ 決戦! ウルトラ10勇士!!』Blu-ray＆DVD 7/24(金)発売決定！". m-78.jp. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  15. ^ "お待ちかねの第14話を配信！そして「宮野真守ドキュメンタリー」フジテレビNEXTで10/24（土）放送". 2015-10-23.
  16. ^ "新TVシリーズ 『ウルトラマンオーブ』が2016年7月9日(土)よりテレビ東京系にて毎週あさ9時～放送決定！歴代ウルトラ戦士のパワーをかりて戦う"風来坊"の新ウルトラヒーロー誕生！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  17. ^ "『劇場版 ウルトラマンオーブ 絆の力、おかりします！』2017年3月11日(土)全国ロードショー決定！究極のフュージョン形態「ウルトラマンオーブ トリニティ」登場！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  18. ^ "ウルトラマンゼロの雄姿再び！『ウルトラマンゼロ THE CHRONICLE』2017年1月7日(土)9:00～ テレビ東京系にて放送開始！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  19. ^ "解禁 ! ウルトラマンゼロの新たな姿 !!" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  20. ^ "ウルトラマンXサイバーカードデータカードダスコレクション vol.2" (in Japanese). www.carddass.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  21. ^ "ゼロの新たな姿！シャイニングウルトラマンゼロ！" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  22. ^ "シャイニングウルトラマンゼロが『ウルトラマン オールスタークロニクル』に緊急参戦！ さらにバルタン星人やゴモラも仲間に!?" (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  23. ^ "『ウルトラマン オールスタークロニクル』で活躍するシャイニングウルトラマンゼロの必殺技が公開！" (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  24. ^ "キャスト 2012年公開 映画『ウルトラマンサーガ』公式サイト" (in Japanese). www.ultramansaga.com/index/. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  25. ^ "『ウルプレ初日。』" (in Japanese). ameblo.jp. 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  26. ^ "ウルトラマンプレミア 宮野真守公式ブログ". miyanomamoru-blog.com. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  27. ^ "クリスマス３連休！ウルトラマンゼロ新たなる冒険！" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  28. ^ "「大阪公演」" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  29. ^ "3DS「ロストヒーローズ2」9人の参戦キャラクターが公開！作品の枠を超えたクロスオーバースキルも！" (in Japanese). www.gundam.info. 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  30. ^ "TVアニメ『うーさーのその日暮らし 夢幻編』第01話にウルトラマンゼロが登場！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  31. ^ "次回・新列伝「ウルトラゼロファイト」＜新たなる力！＞2/19（水）放送！宮野真守さんニューシングルも発売！" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  32. ^ "第01話「wooser's hand to mouth life is back again」ふりかえり" (in Japanese). wooser.tv. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  33. ^ "「運命のしずく～destiny's star～」15日より「レコチョク」独占先行で着うたR配信開始！" (in Japanese). blog.ultramanzero.com. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  34. ^ "『ウルトラマン列伝』新・主題歌、宮野真守シングルCD「ULTRA FLY」明日11/14(水)発売！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  35. ^ "ウルトラマン列伝主題歌「ULTRA FLY」" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  36. ^ "宮野真守さん「ULTRA FLY」ミュージックビデオに・・・！" (in Japanese). blog.m-78.jp. 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  37. ^ "ユニベアシティのスタンプ登場！さらに、スヌーピー、ウルトラマン、美味しんぼ、ガーフィールドを追加" (in Japanese). LINE. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  38. ^ "ULTRAMAN: Heroes & Monsters". LINE. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  39. ^ "LINEスタンプ「ウルトラマン」＜第2弾＞本日より配信開始！セブンやタロウ、新ヒーローギンガまで人気ウルトラヒーローが勢ぞろい！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2013-11-07. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  40. ^ "「ウルトラ十勇士×戦国炎舞」コラボ開催中！敵味方のキャラクターと後半ストーリーをご紹介！カードを集めてウルトラ十勇士を進化させよう！" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  41. ^ "『大怪獣バトル ウルトラ銀河伝説 THE MOVIE』でウルトラマンゼロの声を演じる宮野真守インタビュー" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
  42. ^ "ULTRAMAN Q&A WRITE UP FROM MONSTERPALOOZA 2013". www.henshinjustice.com. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  43. ^ "ありがとう・・・ウルトラマンゼロ・・・この写真で、杏子さんも、さやかさんも報われるね・・・ on Twitpic" (in Japanese). twitpic.com. 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  44. ^ "m78_zero@ Twitter" (in Japanese). Twitter. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  45. ^ "円谷の理 (つぶらやのことわり)とは【ピクシブ百科事典】" (in Japanese). dic.pixiv.net. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  46. ^ "円谷ヒーロー・怪獣 & 宇宙人ランキング!結果 - ヒーロー部門" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  47. ^ "ウルトラヒーロー総選挙2013 - 円谷プロ" (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-07-16.
  48. ^ "「セブン博」開催、ウルトラセブンや水樹奈々が来場「窓辺ななみ」の秘密も暴露？" (in Japanese). akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp. 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  49. ^ "ウルトラセブン＆ゼロ親子が親子の日「親子大賞」受賞！7/24(日)のライブ放送で受賞式の様子を紹介予定！". m-78.jp. 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ultraman_Zero&oldid=752010007"