Shin ponders his role as Ultraman Dyna and a member of Super GUTS, while the enemy Spheres prepare and launch a second attack on humanity.
Plot[]
On Mars, Ultraman Dyna continued his fight with Neo Darambia, while Super GUTS observed the fight from their jets. He successfully destroyed the enemy with his Solgent Beam. Dyna then disappeared in a display of light and unbeknowst to anyone, left Shin Asuka in his place. With their mission finished, Super GUTS captain Gousuke Hibiki ordered the group to return back to Earth. Shin was troubled as to why he was chosen to be Dyna's vessel, while discovering the Lieflasher on the ground in front of him. Meanwhile, another group of Spheres began to combine and head for Earth.
TPC held a meeting with captain Hibiki about their new enemy, which they dub Spheres, asking him if he had learned anything integral from his encounter with them. Hibiki was only able to say that he believed that the Spheres were intelligent and that they're unhappy with humanity's advancement. At the same time, the Spheres from before were revealed to have landed in a volcanic area, seeping into and merging with the nearby rock.
At the Super GUTS headquarters, the team named the new giant of light Ultraman Dyna. Hibiki returned to his team and scolded Shin for almost getting deputy captain Toshiyuki Kohda killed, warning him to not to become a burden. Later that night, Shin was discouraged, but given advice by Ryo that they need to work as a team, comparing it to baseball, a sport Shin never won a game of when he was in school for the same reason.
More Spheres were then discovered near an observation satelitte, so Hibiki, Nakajima and Kariya head there in a ship, but find they are too late and the satellite had been destroyed. It turns out this was a distraction to draw attention away from the Spheres on Earth which had transformed into the monster Giralen, who was heading for a geothermal energy base. Hibiki allowed both Ryo Yumimura and Shin to return to Earth to engage Giralen, while the remaining team would take care of the Spheres. As Ryo and Shin departed, so did a small group of Spheres. Shin offered to fight them so Ryo could make it to Earth, but his jet is damaged in the battle, immobilizing him. Shin then asked Dyna to lend him his power, embracing the responsibility of having the power to protect everyone and transforming into Ultraman Dyna for the second time.
Ryo reached Earth, but was unable to harm Giralen, even when the trainees of Training Squad ZERO violated protocol and entered the battle in their test fighters to aid her. Ultraman Dyna then arrived to defeat the monster. Dyna struggled against Giralen's hot body and flame attacks, so he turned into his Miracle Type to counter them. With its enhanced speed and psychic abilities, he managed to suspend the beast into the air. By reflecting a fire breath attack from the airborne Giralen, he destroyed the monster, which also caused the remaining Spheres to retreat.
Super GUTS returned to TPC's base and Hibiki ordered Ryo to pick up Shin, who had been stranded on a beach after his fallen spacecraft landed in the ocean. There, Shin reminisced about his missing father's words, realising he had now seen the same light his father once saw.
This episode features the debut of Ultraman Dyna Miracle Type.
According to screenwriter Keiichi Hasegawa, the design of Sphere was intended to be a key element in the series. Since the theme revolves around challenging the unknown, Hasegawa decided to portray Sphere as a hostile and enigmatic entity, rather than a straightforward enemy with easily understood logic. This design aimed to enhance the sense of suspense in the story, with the enemy carrying a hidden sense of threat. While Hasegawa hoped that Sphere would appear earlier in the narrative, the plot's structure made it difficult for the character to appear in the first half of the story.[2]
Special effects director Shinichi Ooka mentioned that Supervisor Koichi Takano's ideas influenced his approach to Dyna's characterization. Ooka wanted to design Dyna's appearance in the style of the original Ultraman as portrayed by Bin Furuya, drawing inspiration from suit actor Shunsuke Gondo physique. This led to the decision to have Dyna adopt a “hunched” posture, which emphasized his immense strength. This posture was used to reinforce Dyna's powerful presence, particularly in the early episodes, where each of Dyna's attacks could easily end a battle with a single, decisive blow.
Director Kazuya Konaka explained that when Asuka first transforms into Dyna on Mars, this moment symbolizes "his inner fear and struggle." The transformation process was a strong psychological and physical shock for Asuka. He didn't accept the change lightly but instead carried emotions of pain and fear, emphasizing the struggles he experienced in becoming Ultraman.
Just like in Ultraman Tiga, after the titular Ultra makes his impacting appearance, the series' attack team thinks of what to call their Giant of Light.
Though operator Mai Midorikawa came up with the name "Dyna," members Tsutomu Nakajima and Kouhei Kariya came up with their names to call the hero: Ultraman Gian(ウルトラマンジャイアン, Urutoraman Jaian) and Ultraman Super Deluxe(ウルトラマンスーパーデラックス, Urutoraman Sūpā Derakkusu).
In fact, these two names pay homage to Fujiko F. Fujio. The name "Ultraman Gian," corresponds to Takeshi Goda, a character from Fujiko F. Fujio's famous manga Doraemon. Meanwhile, "Ultraman Super Deluxe," is a tribute to the character from Fujiko's 1976 short manga Ultra Super Deluxeman.
Ultraman Tiga is mentioned by Kariya in this episode.
