Emiko Sato

"She showed me what it means to be human."

―Hayao, recounting Emiko.

Emiko Sato
Data
Type	Ally
Gender	Female
Family	Professor Sato (husband) Ken Sato (son)
First Appearance	Ultraman: Rising
Portrayed by	Tamlyn Tomita (English dub) Ayumi Tsunematsu (Japanese dub)

Emiko Sato is a supporting character in Ultraman: Rising. She is Ken Sato's mother.

History

Pre-Ultraman: Rising

Twenty years ago, Emiko Sato was a scientist dedicated to monster research. She founded the KDF, specializing in studying and combating monsters. In addition to collaborating with Dr. Onda, she secretly knew her husband's true identity as Ultraman. In her family life, Emiko and her family lived in an apartment in Tokyo's Odaiba. She had a passion for baseball, particularly supporting the Hanshin Tigers, hoping her son Kenji would become a talented baseball player in the future.

One evening, the attack of Gigantron ultimately changed the fate of this family. Due to frequent monster attacks in Japan, Hayao and Emiko decided to separate. As a result, she moved with her son to Los Angeles.

After reaching adulthood, Ken continued to live with Emiko. She sent Hayao, who lived in Japan, Ken's championship trophies and videotapes of all his matches. Upon learning that Hayao was injured and unable to fulfill his duties as Ultraman anymore, Emiko hoped that Ken would step up and take on this responsibility to protect Japan. Despite the implication that Ken would have to assume the role of Ultraman, she wished Ken well in adapting to his new life in Tokyo and attempted to mend the strained relationships that had fractured their family.

However, one day, Emiko disappeared in an accident, leaving no trace and causing Ken immense grief. He sought help from Mina to track his mother's last known GPS location, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Hayao in Japan also tirelessly searched for Emiko's whereabouts, ultimately without success.

Ultraman: Rising

Emiko does not physically appear in the film; she only appears in flashback sequences and archival footage of the characters. Her youthful image has been replicated in the virtual reality database of the Ultrabase owned by Ken. Hayao named the kaiju baby "Emi" in her honor.

She left Ken a voicemail, hoping he would give his father a chance. "Whether you believe it or not, he loves you with all his heart. I hope you can better understand us, understand that we were just trying to prepare you for all the challenges ahead." She hoped that Ken would pass on those memories and lessons because in the end, it was all done out of love. This message was played during Ken's interview with Ami Wakita.

After the closing scene, Ken received a message from Emiko at midnight. However, Emiko was not on Earth but from "Nebula M78." She asked Ken to help her return to Earth.

Gallery

Ultraman: Rising

Concept Art

Concept art by Keiko Murayama

Concept art by Sunmin Inn

Miscellaneous

Trivia

• Emiko's voice recording is believed to have become the voice model for Mina.
• In Shannon Tindle's responses to questions during the AMA, it was confirmed that Emiko is the founder of KDF. The purpose of establishing the organization is to study and understand kaiju.