Ultraman Zero

Character conception

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. The setting of Zero as Leo's pupil was made under suggestion of director Koichi Sakamoto incorporating elements of his favorite Kung fu films.

His youthful and hot-blooded outlook is based on Joe Yabuki from Ashita no Joe.

In Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, his fighting skills revolves around the combination of Ultraseven and Leo.

Design

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 a modernized variation of Ultraseven, being all-red in color and lacked a Color Timer. Due to how common the red color is among Ultra Warriors, blue was added as well to make him more attractive to new viewers. His mouth design is similar to Seven, but the whole face is composed of diagonal lines, and it has become possible to show different expressions according to the angle.

Zero's suit was simultaneously made with Ultraman Belial, based on wetsuits with the materials shaped in a three-dimensional appearance. It was originally structured to fit the suit actor tightly in hopes of preventing wrinkles but was loosen a bit to increase mobility in Zero's actions.

Although the mask was originally molded integrally with the head, Zero and Belial were structured out of plane. Because of the finalized design of Zero's head turned out to be different, his Zero Sluggers were forced to be redesigned after the first filming of Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy, thus making it bigger than the intended size. The LED emitters were placed at the center of his eyes, appearing in a similar manner to pupil.

Designs of other forms were as follows:

Naming

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

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.

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 Baraj: 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.

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.

In celebration to Zero's third movie instalment, a comical plot was suggested and Zero's 5 meter-transformation is part of the movie's element to study an Ultra Warrior's relationship with humanity. In Ultraman Saga Super Complete Works magazine, Zero was mentioned to have visited the alternate Earth once more, with Anna of Team U wrote his arrival in her diary.

Ultra Zero Fight

Following his separation from Ultraman Saga, Zero gained the abilities of Ultraman Dyna and Cosmos, 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 Mefilas 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 into Zero Darkness (ゼロダークネス, Zero Dākunesu), 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.

In the epilogue, it was revealed that Zero unknowingly resurrect Belial and Jathar from their deaths, the latter being his first kill in the second part of series in hopes of restoring the Ultimate Force Zero from their bronze petrifaction.

Subsequent history

Profile

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

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."

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 Ultra Eye. 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) and can also be utilized in a similar manner to a handgun by his hosts when needed. The left part of the google emblazoned Zero's name in the Land of Light's language.

Features and weapons

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. His flying kick attack, Ultra Zero Kick (ウルトラゼロキック, Urutora Zero Kikku) is learned from his master (Leo)'s Leo Kick and alongside the latter, both are capable of performing combination attacks such as Leo Zero Kick (レオゼロキック, Reo Zero Kikku) and Leo-Zero Double Flasher (レオゼロダブルフラッシャー, Reo Zero Daburu Furasshā), replacing Astra's position in both attacks.

In addition, he can also access these forms:

Run

Run (ラン, Ran) 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 (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. 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:

Video games

Anime

Music Video

Apps

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. In a 2013 interview with Susumu Kurobe (Shin Hayata/Ultraman's actor), he nominated Ultraman Zero as his favorite Ultra Warrior.

Popularity

Ultraman Zero himself has his own official Twitter account, which started in 2010 and ended in March 2012. On 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.

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

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. He was among the Ultra Warriors that present in a 2013 award ceremony when the Ultra Series was nominated by Guinness World Records as the series with most spin-offs and sequels.

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.