Bond -Unite-

Bond -Unite-
Ultraman X, episode 20
Information
Airdate	December 8, 2015
Directed by	Yuichi Abe
Written by	Hirotoshi Kobayashi
Continuity
Previous	Living Together
Next	A Beautiful End

Bond -Unite- is the twentieth episode of Ultraman X. This episode features the cameo appearance of Ultraman Nexus, as well as celebrating the 10th anniversary of his titular series' final run.

Synopsis

Late at night, a vicious monster, the Space Beast, appeared, attacking humans in the city. In response to the rampaging Space Beasts, vice-captain Tachibana personally led a special task force into action.

However, at the same time, the kaiju Bemular emerged far away in Canada, putting Tachibana’s daughters in danger. In the face of this dire situation, an unknown giant appeared!

Plot

The episode starts with a young girl named Kaoru sleeping in her bed to see a monster peering into her room. Her mother, Sayuri Tachibana, rushes to her room to save her when she comes across a meta field and a strange object.

It is soon revealed to be a flashback dream for the deputy captain as she wakes up all alone in headquarters and then talks to Karou and Michiru online, telling them that their dad is taking them camping in Canada, wishing she would come. Daichi then appears for a cup of coffee, taking a break from listening to the universe with his mom's special radio, and chats with Sayuri for a while.

Back on the roof, Daichi goes to sleep after reaching for the stars for a bit when he is woken by Ultraman X who wants Daichi to listen to this weird sound wave. Daichi tries to decipher it when the alarm goes off and alerts that T-1 is detected with unidentified lifeforms, which are recorded to be at least 2 feet tall. Captain Kamiko sends Daichi, Asuna, Wataru, and Hayato to deal with the situation and Sayuri decides to go with them.

Daichi spots one of them, but doesn't know what it is. X hypothesizes that it could be a Space Beast, namely Bugbuzun Broods, and wonders why it is here when suddenly it rushes towards Daichi only to be shot down by Asuna. Daichi then orders the rest to take out the beasts instead of his normal routine and Sayuri spots a civilian and decides to escort her out when another one pops up and buries the two of them under rubble. Just when things couldn't get any worse, Michiru calls her and tells her that a monster, known as Bemular, has popped out of the lake, and that Karou is unconscious and their dad hasn't come back with water yet.

Just when the lake monster is about to take the girls' lives and the beasts were about to finish off the Sayuri and the civilian, the Evoltruster appears out of nowhere and Sayuri uses it to transform into Ultraman Nexus and travels all the way to Canada to take care of Bemular while her husband arrives and wakes up her daughter, Karou.

Back at Xio headquarters, Tachibana tells the others that she was the one who transformed into Nexus and went AWOL to save her daughters and defeat Bemular and believes that she was not fit for duty anymore despite the reassurances from Daichi and the others, who tell her that everything and everyone is alright. Daichi joins the lieutenant on the roof and talks to her about the feeling of being an Ultraman. When her daughters call her again, X believes he brought suffering to him but Daichi begged to differ.

Suddenly, Dark Thunder Energy appeared and turns one of the Space Beasts huge with Xio already shooting at him and Daichi turns into X to stop him. However, Bugbuzun already had X on the ropes so Tachibana decides to turn into Nexus again to help him out and already transformed into her Junis form for a power advantage. After she saves X, she summons a Meta Field to turn the tide in Nexus and X's favor. After a brutal beat down, X transforms into Exceed X and fires his Xlugger Shot alongside Nexus' Over-Ray Schtrom at Bugbuzun, destroying him once and for all.

When the two Ultras powered down, the Evoltruster disappears from Sayuri's hand and she tells Daichi that Nexus wanted both of them not to give up and that their bonds are truly never gone. Together they then figure out the old Ultraman's name as they realize that's what that Ultraman focuses on.

Back at Xio, the voice is finally deciphered and it would appear that Daichi's mom is trying to communicate with him.

Daichi's Monster Lab

• Daichi: Daichi's Monster Lab! This time we're looking at this monster!
• X Devizer: Now analyzing Bemular.
• Daichi: Bemular's a violent space monster. But...That Ultraman who suddenly appeared defeated him.
• X: And this is the card of that Ultraman, Nexus.
• Daichi: Nexus lent Lt. Tachibana the power of his light.
• X: He's an Ultraman with miraculous abilities, like being able to fight in a pocket dimension.
• Daichi and X: See you next time!

Cast

• Daichi Oozora : Kensuke Takahashi
• Asuna Yamase : Akane Sakanoue
• Wataru Kazama : Yoshihiko Hosoda
• Hayato Kijima : Ukyo Matsumoto
• Mamoru Mikazuki : Hayato Harada
• Rui Takada : Haruka Momokawa
• Takeru Yamagishi : TAKERU
• Chiaki Matsudo : Chiaki Seshimo
• Sayuri Tachibana : Sarara Tsukifune
• Shotaro Kamiki : Yuu Kamio

Guest Actors

• Shogo Tachibana : Takuji Kawakubo
• Kaoru Tachibana : Sorami Watanabe
• Michiru Tachibana : Sora Taboku
• Takashi Oozora : Yurei Yanagi
• Haruka Oozora : Shizuka Ochi
• Daichi Oozora (Young) : Leo Ichinose
• Nohara Hiiragi : Manami Fujio

Voice Actors

• Ultraman X : Yuichi Nakamura
• Alien Fanton Gourman : Yasunori Matsumoto

Suit Actors

• Ultraman X : Hideyoshi Iwata
• Alien Fanton Gourman : Hiroyuki Fukushima
• Ultraman Nexus : Daisuke Terai
• Bugbuzun Brood : Hiroyuki Arai
• Bemular : Hiroyuki Arai

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman X
  • Ultraman Exceed X
• Ultraman Nexus
  • Anphans
  • Junis

Kaiju

• Alien Fanton Gourman
• Bugbuzun Brood
• Bemular

Trivia

• This episode was directed by Yuichi Abe, who had previously directed the episodes of Ultraman Nexus. Although he currently works under the pen name Abe Yuichi, he chose to use his real name for this episode, consistent with his credits during his work on Ultraman Nexus.
• This episode's title is written in a similar format to the episodes of Ultraman Nexus.
• Battle scene between Nexus and X against Bugbuzun Brood inside the Meta Field is a reused stage for Planet Gua in Ultra Fight Victory.
• In "Tokusatsu is Explosive!" Episode 129, Live Broadcast on December 9, 2015, Yuichi Abe shared behind-the-scenes stories related to this episode:
  • The original concept for this episode was simply "to have Nexus help X," but Director Abe, a fan of Nexus, carefully considered how to feature Nexus. The final story was built around the core idea of "helping those to the limit," and Sayuri Tachibana becoming a Dynamist was a tribute to Nagi Saijyo. This plan had been in place since the early development of the series, though the director chose not to explicitly explain how Nexus was connected to Tachibana.
  • The Meta Field was not initially planned to appear in this episode, and its inclusion was deemed impossible during the script phase. However, due to the strong request from the director and the efforts of the staff, the Meta Field was successfully recreated. Another initial consideration was that Tachibana should prioritize saving lives, making the appearance of the Meta Field unlikely.

• • The aerial shots of Shinjuku in this episode used footage that was not included in the film ULTRAMAN.
  • Bemular's appearance was decided by production supervisor Sei Okazaki during the series conceptualization phase. The decision was influenced by the close association between Bemular and "Beast the One" from ULTRAMAN. Additionally, part of the episode's setting in Canada, with its lakes evoking images of Bemular, also served as inspiration for Bemular's appearance.
  • The sound effect of "don't give up" was included when Evoltruster appeared in front of Tachibana.
  • In the scene where Gourman holds the Evoltruster, it was originally intended to show Tachibana demonstrating the Evoltruster to Xio. Later, Rui and Gourman attempted to transform unsuccessfully, and Tachibana informed them that "only the chosen ones can transform." This scene was ultimately cut. Other deleted content included X being asked if he knew about Nexus, with the response, "Not all Ultraman are known to me," and "The Earth is at a crucial point in the universe, so I am protecting it."
  • The scene where Kaoru and Michiru are attacked by Bemular, including emergency performances and chest compressions, was planned but canceled due to various circumstances.
  • In the original concept, after X purified Bugbuzun with Exceed Slash, Nexus was to defeat it with Over-Ray Schtrom in a storyboard. However, this was canceled because "purification was not needed."
• This episode used rearranged Ultraman Nexus background music from Ultraman Ginga S The Movie: Showdown! The 10 Ultra Warriors!. Additionally, the tracks "Nexus-Encounter-" and "To the Future," composed by Kenji Kawai, were newly recorded by Takao Konishi specifically for this production.
• In the conclusion of this episode, the location where Tachibana and Daichi have their conversation is Gishidōri in Shinjuku, the same location where Kazuki Komon's transformation scene was filmed in Episode 37 "Bond - Nexus -" of Ultraman Nexus.