Biography |
"Why is it wrong for me to fight for my vengeance!?"
- ―Gen/Leo questioning Dan about the use of vengeance in fight.
"When you rely on weapons, you'll become vulnerable. In the end you can only rely on yourself."
- ―Gen/Leo's words to crew GUYS Japan after fought against Mirai/Mebius.
Gen Otori[1] (in recent media, the Hiragana for Otori is read as おゝとり) is the human form of Ultraman Leo, the pseudonym he took on Earth after escaping the destruction of his planet, Planet L77. Formerly a prince of his destroyed home, he became a gym teacher under his disguise. He was later invited to MAC after the those who were responsible for the destruction of L77, Alien Magma I and the Giras Brothers, had attacked Earth. The only other known survivors of L77 were his brother Astra and their pet, Ron.
History[]
Ultraman Leo[]
The protagonist and the seventh MAC team member. After his homeworld on Planet L77 was destroyed by Alien Magma, he moved to Planet Earth, following the invaders. After the battle with Alien Magma and Giras Brothers, he was invited to the team MAC. When Magma and the Giras Brothers appeared again, Gen as Leo tried to fight on his own however this time he was no match for the brothers when they formed their Energy Barrier, blocking all of Ultraman Leo's efforts at stopping them. The situation worsened when Alien Magma once again came to attempt to destroy the hero, until Dan Moroboshi used his Ultra Willpower to disable Magma and the two Giras', allowing Leo to sever the two kaiju's horns, causing both master and beasts to retreat for now.
Dan realized that Gen had fought while being driven by his own desire to avenge his people from L77. He trained Gen into focusing on how to control his anger and told the young man that in order to defeat the Giras Brothers' Giras Spin attack, he must counter it with his own spin. After his training was completed, Gen joined his MAC comrades to stop Alien Magma and his bodyguard monsters. The training that Gen had received paid off as Leo managed to decapitate these monsters but still, Alien Magma quickly escaped the scene.
While living on Earth as Gen, he made his living as a coach in the Jonan Sports Center[1] and his girlfriend, Momoko Yamaguchi was the member of the sport center. He also befriended two orphans that Momoko had taken care of, Toru Uemuda and Kaoru Uemuda whose father had been killed by Alien Tsuruk. Whenever Gen as Leo found himself unable to defeat an alien or monster threat, he would trained himself harder even by pushing his own limits. While in his training, his friends (including Dan) were shown to be supportive for him, providing Gen the training that he needed. Gen has done mistakes such as letting Alien Vibe fraud him for two murders, letting Jun Shirato's girlfriend killed by Alien Karly and killing Alien Guiro as Ultraman Leo.
After the MAC Station and Jonan Sports Center were destroyed, he lived in Toru's friend's Mei's house. Both Gen and Toru later became a duo team that went on investigating cases which strongly related to Black Directive's saucer monsters. While unemployed, he spent his free time training local youths to defend themselves, a trait that saved him in his last battle as the children took on Black Directive themselves. After defeating Black End, the last of the saucer monsters from the Black Star and the death of Black Directive, he bids farewell to the Miyamas, the children and Toru and decided to travel, taking off to unknown places. He has gone to the Land of Light to live in his Ultra form along with Astra and possibly Ron too.
Ultraman Mebius[]
"What kind of expression is that? Those eyes... What are those tears?! Do you think you can protect the Earth by crying?"
- ―Gen after seeing Mirai crying
Years later Gen returned to his beloved planet Earth during the time of Mebius' stay on the planet. Gen watched from afar and the young Ultra and Crew GUYS J were defeated by the Alien Reflect. Disappointed with his performance, Gen sent out a telepathic call to Mirai leading him and his friends to the island where he fought the Giras Brothers 30 years ago. There he berated the Ultra for his failure and also challenged him. Mirai's friends tired of the old man insulting him, demanded his identity and how it was he knew Mirai was an Ultra. It was then that Gen transformed into his true form challenging Mebius to battle. Mirai also transformed and the two Ultras battled, early on it was clear that Leo had greater fighting abilities and declared to Mebius that "if he wasn't serious he would die!" Mebius and Leo continued their battle which Leo ended with his Leo Kick, soundly defeating Mebius. Back in their human forms, Ryu and George pulled their blasters out on Gen demanding an explanation for his actions. Gen calmly told them essentially that their reliance on weapons made them unreliable as they should learn to rely on themselves first before expecting others to rely on them surprising them enough to make them lower their weapons. Gen turned to Mirai and explained his reasons, Earth was the closest thing to a home for him, berating the Ultra for failing his duty, Gen told Mebius that he could never afford to lose to any opponent. He declared that although Taro had accepted him as Earth's present Guardian, he could not for he could not trust him with his home. When his friends spoke out for him, Gen declared that they did not truly understand the consequences of them losing, declaring their ongoing struggle as a battle that always had to be won. Leo left Mirai with a training Gi and told him to prove he could protect the Earth by defeating the Alien Reflect.
Later on, Gen watched as Mirai trained in seclusion, he had obviously understood what Leo was trying to impart to him and waited anxiously for Mirai's training to pay off. When the time came for Mirai's rematch, Gen watched from the sidelines as Mebius first used his spin kick. However when he saw the Alien Reflect was using Mirai's friends as hostages, he could not hold back, he transformed and saved the young Ultra, while Mirai freed his friends. The two then proceeded to trounce the evil alien, defeating him with their respective kick attacks. Afterwards Gen gave his goodbyes, giving Mirai his approval, as he continued to protect Earth, afterwards Gen left to his mission which was far away from the Earth. The Man Without a Home
Later during the Alien Empera's invasion of Earth, Leo and Astra used their Double Flasher to remove the rock covering the sun, along with the Ultra Brothers who used their signature beams. Words from the Heart -Final Trilogy III-
Ultraman Saga[]
Gen appeared in the Ultraman Saga movie with Dan, Seiji, Hayata and Hideki, each serving as the mouth piece for their Ultra counterpart. They met in the land of light when Seven/Dan noticed that Zero had just moved to another universe. While they questioned why he would do that they also noted that something was going around different universes and taking monsters, even some from the Monster Graveyard. They noted that it was a powerful source of minus energy and that unfortunately they could only monitor a few of the countless alternate Space-Time zones.
In a deleted scene, Leo and the other Ultra Brothers would fly to the alternate Earth to assist Ultraman Saga against Alien Bat's monster weapons. Leo would face off against Tyrant for the first time and defeat him with the Leo Kick. Ultraman Saga
Transformation[]
Leo Ring: Named and modeled after the actual Leo Constellation. The Leo Ring is a gold ring in the shape of a Lion's head with a red jewel in the center that is worn on Gen's left hand. Gen makes a karate stance and shouts "Leo" as the red jewel emanates light from Leo's ring, bringing forth the transformation.
Gen also has another transformation procedure where he jumps into the air, outstretches his arms and shouts "Leo". His ring flashes, initiating his transformation.
Powers and Weapons[]
- Superhuman Strength: Gen is strong enough that his punches and kicks can fell trees in one strike.
- Superhuman Agility: Gen can jump much higher than a normal human being, he can also survive falls that would kill a human.
- Superhuman Endurance/Durability: Gen has shown the ability to survive injuries and blows from superhuman foes. His training to defeat his foes have often been extreme.
- Ultra Senses: Gen can perceive things beyond human sight, similar to Dan Moroboshi. Like him, this is signified by a flash of light in his eyes.
- Leo Ring: Gen can use this device to transform into Ultraman Leo.
Other Media[]
Princess Comet: Kumiko Ohba[]
Merchandise[]
Medicom Toy[]
- Gen Otori (Real Action Heroes, 2009)
- RAH Number: 433
- Release Date: June 2009
- Price: 13,440 yen
- Materials: ABS, PVC (doll), Fabric (clothes)
- Accessories: MAC Helmet, Leo Ring, MAC Ceaver, MAC Gun, MAC Knife.
- Released as part of the Real Action Hero Series, Gen Otori is a 300mm tall action doll complete with fabric clothes, and he utilizes the RAH301 Kai Doll body. He also comes with a removable MAC helmet, Leo Ring, MAC Ceaver, MAC Gun, and MAC Knife.
Trivia[]
- Initially, there were 3,000 applicants for the protagonist role in Ultraman Leo, but a suitable candidate was not found. Director Tadashi Mafune ultimately chose Ryu Manatsu, a friend who worked as a singer in a club in Yokohama, and arranged for him to immediately audition at TBS. Manatsu's experience in Shaolin Kung Fu became a decisive factor that enabled him to pass the audition smoothly and become the actor for Gen.[2]
- Gen Otori is the second instance of an Ultra taking a human form instead of a human host, which also grants him abilities when untransfomed. The first instance is Dan Moroboshi.
- Gen is the first and only Ultras' human forms/hosts to make martial arts stance for the transformation process while others just need to raise their hand(s) with their transformation devices.
References[]