Elly of Christmas is the twenty-sixth episode of Ultraman Max.
Synopsis[]
Elly gets involved with Dr. Kori, who is trying to trap the mysterious Unizin.
Plot[]
While out Christmas shopping with two teammates, Elly wonders about the meaning of the human holiday. When the others leave her briefly, she finds Dr. Kori, who is constructing a machine for the capture of Unizin, who appears once every twelve years. She sees it fly over briefly, but it vanishes, and is given an electrical shock by the machine. DASH notices she's down, albeit briefly. The captain says they should leave her be, because she is equipped with crime prevention functions.
The doctor needs Japanese ash wood, and is about to deforest for it. He is nearly caught, but Elly manages to find a walking stick of it instead. He reveals Unizen passes earth once every twelve years briefly on December 24th. He then "borrows" a battery. Elly goes to the security camera with a sign saying "We will return it," and Sean recognizes the Dr. as a known swindler.
The Dr. builds his trap and produces a crystal to contain Unizin in. He then tells Elly that some time ago, on Christmas, his sister had wished for some red berries to decorate the tree. He had run out into the woods, and seen Unizin, but had not obtained the branch.
The others are determined that Unizin does not exist when they hear of it, and attempt to dissuade Elly. However, she is determined to believe in the existence of the deity. They are surprised when Unizin does, indeed, appear. The doctor's trap activates, and the surroundings begin to vanish—if Unizin remains too long in one area, the time around him disappears. Max appears and activates a shield to stop it, but he cannot stay transformed forever.
However, Dr. Kori runs forward, and releases the deity from its trap, to the surprise of Elly. Unizin takes flight, but leaves behind the branch with red berries.
Cast[]
- Kaito Touma : Sota Aoyama
- Mizuki Koishikawa : Hitomi Hasebe
- Shigeru Hijikata : Kai Shishido
- Kenjiro Koba : Nobuyuki Ogawa
- Sean White : Sean Nichols
- Elly : Hikari Mitsushima
Guest Actors[]
- Dr. Kori : Hiroshi Inuzuka
- Young Kori: Naoki Watanabe
- Elderly Man with Tonariko's Cane : Mikio Murakami
- Forest Ranger : Takeo Adachi
- Dr. Kori's Mother : Mami Tokuda
- Dr. Kori's Sister : Hikaru Watanabe
Voice Actors[]
- Ultraman Max : Kazuya Nakai
- Narrator : Shiro Sano
Suit Actors[]
Appearances[]
Ultras[]
Kaiju[]
Home Media[]
- Ultraman Max Volume 7 features episodes 23-26.
- Ultraman Max TV COMPLETE DVD-BOX features all episodes.
Trivia[]
- According to Takeshi Yagi, it was known early on that episode 26 of Ultraman Max would air on Christmas Eve. He aimed to create an story inspired by The Twilight Zone, featuring miraculous events.[1]
- The episode’s concept was influenced by "The Night of the Meek," episode 11 of season 2 of the 1960 Twilight Zone series.
- Yagi felt that miracles in the Ultraman series shouldn’t be portrayed too easily, since Ultraman is already a god-like figure. While working with screenwriter Chiaki J. Konaka on the ending, he insisted that the plot avoid "easily reviving life with Ultraman's power." The exception came from writer Ai Ota, who said, "Christmas is a special day when miracles happen," which became the episode's theme.[2]
- The episode was filmed at Akagi Kogen Ranch Kronenberg.
- In 2024, Hikari Mitsushima shared some behind-the-scenes stories about the episode on TBS radio.[3]
- During filming, Mitsushima mostly worked alone with Hiroshi Inuzuka. After wrapping up, Inuzuka offered her a ride home in his white convertible, which left a strong impression on her. At the time, she didn’t know much about him other than that he was an actor. Later, Mitsushima learned Inuzuka was a well-known actor through watching his films.
- This episode aired in the United States on TOKU on March 15, 2017.
References[]
- ↑ TV Magazine Special Issue: Ultraman Nexus & Ultraman Max, pg 108
- ↑ Ultraman Max's 15th Anniversary Testimony
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omfM5_C9SMw&t=952s