Directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi. Written by Hisako Kurosawa. Airdate August 19, 2013.
Shepardon, the giant monster defender of the Victorians, gets its first major role in the show. Shephardon has already taken part in several battles, but now it displays real personality as a pivotal part of a story about the history of the Victorians. Since Shepardon is one of the best parts of Ultraman Ginga S — a fantastic kaiju design that combines the friendliness of a cute dog with genuine dinosaurian menace — I approve of it getting more attention. I’m also glad to have more backstory on the Victorians, although the episode doesn’t go deep enough into what may be an extremely dark epoch in their history.
A young woman (Meiku Harukawa), dressed in the clothing of the Victorians, begins following Sho. Her name is Hiyori, and she claims she belongs to a clan of Victorians who were exiled from the Earth to another dimension. Sho has heard nothing about this, and neither has Queen Kisara, though the queen has recently experienced violent visions that hint at a buried memory.
Hiyori wants revenge against the Underground Victorians, and she’s allied herself with Alien Chibull to do it. She easily steals Sho’s transformation device and turns herself into … Gomora! Why Gomora? Because Gomora is an awesome and popular kaiju, and viewers won’t object to watching Ultraman Ginga battling a classic monster like this.
However, Shepardon has a special connection to Hiyori that pulls her out of the battle. Alien Chibull will need to get Android One Zero to pull out another kaiju. What about … Fire Golza? Yeah, people like Golza! Maybe we can get a Gomora vs. Fire Golza fight. That’d be cool!
This sounds cynical, but Gomora fighting Golza is the right type of fun for a lightweight show like this. Golza ripping off Gomora’s tail and then having to fight the still animated severed member has a cheesy appeal. It’s certainly more fun than watching Ultras go through multiple time-consuming transformations. Golza’s appearance is as random as most kaiju choices in a New Generation Heroes show (it’s whatever costume in the warehouse was in camera-ready shape), but the results are what matter most.
Queen Kisara and Sho discovering that their ancestors erased a violent and possibly shameful part of their history adds an intriguing shade of gray to the Victorians. Kisara has always been portrayed as a wise, peaceful ruler. But this kindness may not stretch back through all the history of her race. The episode omits the details of the civil war between the Victorians and the sect that Hiyori belongs to. All we know is that it was a conflict over the use of the Victory Lancer.
The full story of why the Victorians exiled Hiyori’s people isn’t critical to the episode. What’s important is that by erasing all memory of the event, the ancient Victorians made it possible for the same mistakes to recur in the future. Kisara understands that it’s vital for the present to learn from the mistakes of the past. This is where Shephardon plays its crucial role as peacekeeper and guardian of past memories.
This type of story could have made for a tremendous episode in the early Showa-era days. It’s perfect for thoughtful writers like Tetsuo Kinjo or Shozo Uehara. Here, in the New Generation Heroes days, it’s merely a smarter-than-average episode with more to mull over than a basic moral like “believe in yourself” or “trust your friends.” Events are played lightly, and the resolution is too clean — though I like the running theme of peace and understanding through sharing chocolate.
What restrains the episode from rising to the challenge of its theme is Hiyori. The character lacks the passion, rage, or fully realized personal journey to make the story hit home, and Harukawa’s performance adds nothing special. Queen Kisara carries most of the emotional weight; actress Mirai Yamamoto does a fine job conveying Kisara’s regret and desire to correct a terrible mistake.
Although it’s not the best dissertation on the perils of historical amnesia, the episode is a commendable effort at examining the dangers of blotting out the past. Plus, the tussle between Golza and Gomora is nice fannish entertainment.
Rating: Good
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