| Biography |
Leito Igaguri is a salaryman and a supporting character from Ultraman Geed. He is the third human host of Ultraman Zero.
Etymology
- Leito: Comes from the kanji Rei , meaning nothingness (can be interpreted as zero in certain contexts).
- Igaguri: Following the formula of some of Geed's other character using the names of sci-fi characters/writers, Igaguri comes from sci-fi writer Greg Egan.
Personality
In contrast to Ultraman Zero, Leito is a bumbling, modest and meek family man who often finds himself facing misfortunes for that reason, but is able to muster enough confidence to stand up for himself and/or his loved ones and friends. His encounter with Ultraman Zero who chose him as his host, coupled with his time as both as an Ultraman and mentor figure for Riku (a role he shared with Zero himself), allowed him to improve as a person. While he was excited by the prospect of becoming a hero, Zero's sacrifice soon humbled him, and thus he become much more confident and serious than he used to be.
History
Ultraman Geed
A 30-year old salaryman that lives with his wife and daughter, Leito lost his life in a traffic accident while trying to save a child. Zero saved him and now lives on with the Ultra merged with him. After being introduced to Riku Asakura and his friends, Leito begins to take light of the duty as an Ultraman until an experience of switching their lives changed his mind. While making amends for their previous behavior, Leito stated to Riku that his devotion to his family is what motivates him to keep on living despite the hardships he faced.
When Kei Fukuide threatened the safety of his fans and Geed at the hands of Galactron, Leito was forced to watch as Zero sacrificed his life. This act shook his will to the core before his devotion to protect his family allowed Zero to be revived. During that same battle, he met Ultraman Hikari, who provided Leito with the Ultra Capsules and Riser that allows Zero to gain access to his new form, Zero Beyond. With his secret exposed to AIB, Leito/Zero would frequently be asked for help by the organization itself, considering their mixed reception with Geed.
After the defeat of Belial as Chimeraberus, Leito/Zero would continue be asked by the AIB to aid Riku and his friends against Kei, whom claims himself to inherit Belial's legacy. Later, when Riku decided to venture to Okinawa himself to settle his scores with Kei, Leito was tasked to search the purpose and reason for Kei going to Okinawa while Zena and Laiha went to Okinawa to find Riku as well. When Belial returns as Belial Atrocious, Leito was present in the discussion with Moa, Zena, Laiha and Riku and devising a plan to trap Belial Atrocious in an outside dimension with Zegan. Before the battle with Belial Atrocious, Leito would spent his moments with his family as it was his daughter's birthday and celebrating the birthday as a family together. After Leito was contacting by the AIB to commence the plan, he bid farewell to Lumina and Mayu and transforming to Zero to fight Belial. Leito was later hospitalized for being critical injured after Zero delivers the neutralization enzyme towards the dark Ultra at the cost of his life. After peace returned, Leito separated from Zero. Leito and his family will bid farewell to Zero whom left Earth with the repaired Ultimate Aegis.
Ultraman Geed The Movie: Connect The Wishes!
Leito was sent to Okinawa on a business trip, where his friends spot him at an outdoor performance, and he is introduced to Jugglus Juggler. He joins them after being informed about the threat of Gilbaris and Galactron MK2, who he heard about in the news. Together, they went in search of the red steel. Meeting Airu Higa and being told of the legends, the gang retreated when Galactron MK2 reappeared while learning that Airu is an alien. Visiting an alien city, the gang fought against the aliens when Gai Kurenai arrived. While getting more information from Alien Jaki Arlon, Zena instructed Leito to pay him for the information because Moa's purse is somehow missing. Leito reluctantly paid the alien three times but Laiha had enough and demanded the alien to reveal everything by putting her sword's tip at him when the alien kept asking for payment after speaking each sentence. When Riku was depressed and refused to transform to fight against the Galactron Army after the previous battle, Leito and his allies persuaded Riku to believe in himself while defending the young boy from the Baris Raiders and Zero returned from his previous defeat, merging with Leito once more. Leito transforms into Zero Beyond and faces off the Galactrons and Gilbaris. After the threat of Gilbaris ended, Leito was separated from Zero once more.
Transformation
Leito dons the Ultra Zero Eye NEO as his arms spread outwards and Zero's body forms via incoming ribbons of light. The scene later skips to Zero's own rise, with his right hand depicted in his pre-battle stance.
"Ginga, Orb! Victory, X! I don't have limits!"
- ―Activation announcement for Beyond
With the Riser in Zero Mode, Leito scans the New Generation Capsules Alpha and Beta before dragging the Riser to his face. This process is called as Neo Fusion Rise , allowing him to transform into Ultraman Zero Beyond. He no longer needs to combine the 4 Capsules into the New Generation Capsules after their first merger.
"I don't have limits!"
- ―Alternate activation announcement for Beyond
If the transformation is done in real time, projections of the four Ultras (Ginga, Orb, Victory, and X) will appear above Zero. Then the projections will merge, one at a time, with Zero. A bright white light will encase Zero's body and reveal him as Zero Beyond.
Powers and Weapons
- Ultra Zero Eye NEO: The upgraded version of Ultra Zero Eye, it allows Leito to transform into Zero.
- Superhuman Feats: Under possession of Ultraman Zero, Leito is capable of performing superhuman abilities such as downrock or using a normal pen as if it was a Zero Slugger.
- Riser: Additional transformation device; by combining it with the Ultra Zero Eye NEO, it allows Zero to gain his new form, Ultraman Zero Beyond. By itself, Leito briefly used it to combine a set of four New Generation Capsules into two.
- Ultra Capsules: Provided by Hikari, Leito is in possession of Ultra Capsules that represent Zero's successors. All these were combined into two different capsules.
Capsules in possession
All the following Ultra Capsules were given to Leito by Ultraman Hikari.
- New Generation Capsule Alpha
- New Generation Capsule Beta
Trivia
- Leito's actor, Yuta Ozawa mentions that as a child, he always wanted to become Father of Ultra, yet his character transforms into Ultraman Zero, a character that is also used as the basis for Ultraman Geed's Magnificent form along with Father of Ultra.
- The way how Ultraman Zero assimilates Leito pays homage to Ultraman Jack's assimilation with Hideki Goh. Coincidentally, both Ultras were previously used as the basis for Ultraman Orb's Hurricane Slash form.
- Leito is so far the only host of Ultraman Zero who never wears the Ultra Zero Bracelet or its successor, Ultimate Bracelet.
- Leito shares several features from previous hosts of Zero:
- Run: His occasional possession by Zero alluded to how Run was comatose and Zero learns himself in control of the body.
- Nozomu Taiga: Both are unwilling human hosts and for once forced into a transformation by Zero himself. As a result of their merging, they possess superhuman capabilities for a moment.
- Leito's transformation process into Zero is similar to Ultraseven's as the head of the Ultra appears first then followed by the formation of the Protector and Ultra Armor spreading outward on the human host/form.
- Aside from being a supportive character, Leito serves as a foil to Riku in several ways, such as:
- He forms a symbiosis with an Ultraman instead of a human disguise or at least, a being granted the power of an Ultraman.
- As Leito has passed the legal age of an adult (above 20 in Japan), he works as a salaryman. Riku on the other hand is 19 years old and is a part time worker.
- Leito is a man who only wishes for an ordinary life whereas Riku is an aspiring hero and would take any jobs that require him working to save a person's life.
Template:Human Host