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Kazuo Kizaki (木崎 カズオ, Kizaki Kazuo) is a guest character who appeared in Ultraman Arc. He is an amateur radio operator (HAM) and a middle school classmate of Yuma Hize.[4]

History[]

Ultraman Arc[]

Kazuo Kizaki 01

Kazuo's first appearance.

Eight years ago, during his middle school years, Kazuo and Yuma Hize were classmates. Although Yuma treated Kazuo with a friendly attitude, Kazuo, who was naturally introverted, did not open up to him, thus maintaining a certain distance in his relationships with others.

As an adult, Kazuo kept his distance from people, living alone in a cluttered studio apartment. A passionate HAM radio operator, he frequently engaged in conversations through amateur radio, using his callsign "Juliett Panther 1514" to broadcast messages from his room's radio setup. However, a year ago, Kazuo received a strange signal.

One day, while Kazuo was speaking into his microphone, he received a radio transmission. Although the other party spoke in a complex alien language, Kazuo realized he had received a signal from outer space. The person on the other end introduced themselves as Fio. From that point on, the two communicated daily through radio transmissions and became close friends. Through his conversations with Fio, Kazuo gradually opened up and even taught her how to learn Japanese idioms.

However, there was a kaiju in the universe named Noiseler. Sensing the radio waves from Kazuo and Fio's communications, it followed the signal to Earth's orbit in order to feed on the radio waves. Noiseler's presence was soon detected by GDF's satellite. At the same time, SKIP noticed that Hoshimoto City had been detecting an unidentified radio signal for the past few days. Upon discovering that the signal's source was Kazuo's home, SKIP member Yuma went to the location, where he reunited with Kazuo.

Kazuo felt uneasy and distant toward Yuma’s arrival and investigation, and their conversation ended in an awkward atmosphere. After Yuma left, Kazuo resumed communication with Fio, telling her that she was the first friend he had ever made. While discussing Fio's home planet, Kazuo cheerfully expressed his desire to one day visit her and meet in person. However, Fio responded with dismay, saying that it might not be possible.

SKIP later discovered that the frequency of the signals from Kazuo's home matched the bio-readings of Noiseler detected by the GDF satellite, indicating that Noiseler had likely been attracted to Earth by the radio waves from Kazuo's communication. That night, Noiseler landed in Hoshimoto City and began advancing toward Kazuo's apartment. The GDF launched an immediate attack on Noiseler, but it retaliated by shooting red beams from its eyes, destroying the incoming attacks and letting out a massive roar. In an instant, the surroundings fell into silence.

Kazuo Kizaki 09

Kazuo attempts to restore communication with Feo.

As Noiseler consumed the endless sound waves, Kazuo’s communication with Fio was cut off. Even though Yuma tried to stop Kazuo and urged him to leave the area, a panicked Kazuo refused to move.

Sensing the danger and determined to prevent Noiseler from interfering with the final communication, Yuma decided to transform into Ultraman Arc to engage in battle. Although Arc tried to block Noiseler's path, the kaiju emitted a piercing high-frequency sound wave, making it impossible for Arc to get close. SKIP analyzed the situation and hypothesized that Noiseler fed on sound waves and radio waves, which are forms of vibrational energy. This prompted Arc to use this knowledge to distract Noiseler, leading to an aerial battle. In the end, Arc used his Arc Exus Slash to attract Noiseler and then hurled it into the far reaches of space, guiding the kaiju away from Earth.

Kazuo Kizaki 12

Kazuo and Fio's farewell.

After Noiseler’s departure, Kazuo’s communication with Fio miraculously resumed. However, Fio revealed that her planet’s energy was on the verge of being completely exhausted. Tears streamed down Kazuo’s face as he desperately tried to keep their conversation going. In her final message, Fio said, “I’m glad the one who picked up my signal was you. Goodbye, you’re the last friend I made in my life.” With those words, the radio transmission abruptly cut off. Overwhelmed with helplessness and despair, Kazuo broke down in tears, unable to accept Fio’s departure.

The next night, Kazuo stepped out of his apartment to meet Yuma. As they gazed at the city's nightscape and the starry sky, Kazuo confessed that, even while looking at the stars, he had no idea where Fio’s planet was or if it even existed. Yet, despite this, he still felt immense sadness. Yuma comforted him, saying that Fio meant a lot to him, and that distance didn’t matter. Kazuo thanked Yuma and vowed to start facing a new life from the next day forward.

According to Shu Ishido's diary, Kazuo, with the assistance of Yuma, later went to the GDF's Space Science Bureau to report the reasons behind the rare communication and provide testimony regarding the existence of "Feo." It is said that, following this incident, Kazuo and Yuma appeared to have re-established their connection. Reflecting on it now, this seems significant.[5]

Gallery[]

Ultraman Arc[]

Miscellaneous[]

Trivia[]

IC-905 and IC-9700
  • In this episode, Icom Incorporated, a radio equipment company, provided prop support. The walkie-talkies used in the episode were actually the company's amateur radio transceivers, the "IC-905" and "IC-9700." During filming, employees from ICOM who hold radio licenses were on-site to guide the communication operation procedures.[6][7][8]
    • As part of their prop assistance, the company also helped with the room setup, including the installation of amateur radio equipment such as antenna dishes, and offered advice on staging the amateur radio communication scenes.
  • According to the episode’s director Hiroaki Yuasa, Kazuo Kizaki’s call sign "JP1514" is fictional. Typically, call signs are formatted with both letters and numbers, like JA1ABC. However, even if the sequence was randomly chosen, it could unintentionally match an actual call sign, which is why the latter half was deliberately made up of only numbers.[9]
    • In this call sign, JP represents Japan, and 1 stands for the Kanto region. The number 514 corresponds to the broadcast date of Ultraman 80 episode 7, "Operation Silent Tokyo," on May 14, 1980. [10]
    • Kazuo uses “Juliet, Panther” to pronounce JP, which is a type of phonetic code designed to accurately transmit letters and numbers to prevent miscommunication. In actual practice, P is typically pronounced as "Papa," but Yuasa made a deliberate change in this instance, aiming to blend reality with fiction to achieve a subtle balance.[11]
  • In the clues revealed in the subsequent episodes, it is uncovered that the reason Kazuo and Fio were able to successfully establish radio communication with each other across light-years is due to the influence of "Onyx" energy from Earth on time and space.

References[]

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