Mysterious Thief Himala

Mysterious Thief Himala
Ultraman Dyna, episode 12
Information
Airdate	November 22, 1997
Directed by	Masaki Harada
Written by	Ai Ota
Special Effects Directed by	Masaki Harada
Viewer Ratings	6.9%
Continuity
Previous	Phantom Planet
Next	Monster Factory

Mysterious Thief Himala is the twelfth episode of Ultraman Dyna.

Synopsis

Super GUTS receives a mysterious letter saying "the towns are mine", and three cities disappear! This is the work of the notorious space thief, Himala, drawn to the beauty of the cities bathed in the sunset. While chasing Himala, Asuka and the team find themselves trapped in another dimension. Will they manage to escape?!

Plot

One Autumn evening, in a certain quiet town, the sun begins to set as another peaceful day passes. In the shadows, however, Himala had arrived on Earth. Standing upon a hill, Himala admires the beauty of the town. Back at Grandome, Nakajima had accidentally set off the printer when he slipped and crashed into it. Strangely, a long strip of paper was printed that bore the words "The towns are mine" and was signed "Himala".

Himala brandished a red card of sorts, before tossing it into the evening sky. The card stretches and covers a chunk of the town; and with a pop, removes the entire sector. Asuka and Kariya - who were on patrol in the town to investigate the so-called "Himala" - had barely escaped the suction zone. Proceeding this, Himala cast two more cards and subsequently caused the vanishing of two more towns.

Asuka and Kariya continue their investigation into the night. The two spot a suspicious alien and Asuka rushes to confront it. Himala reveals that he has only come to Earth because he wanted to steal something which he deemed as beautiful - a town in sunset. The two officers pursue Himala for a brief moment before the alien fires a red beam at their Zellet. When the two open their eyes, they find themselves in the vanished sector of the town. Asuka and Kariya aimlessly wander the stolen city.

Meanwhile Super GUTS had begun an investigation and had deduced that the towns had been teleported somewhere. However, the location of where they had been teleported was still a mystery. Ryo searches from the skies in Gamma, Kohda and Nakajima head out in the Bopper, while Himala prepares his escape. Inside the town, Asuka fires Zellet's laser continuously in an attempt to break the fake sky. Fortunately, the laser had managed to penetrate into the outer world and was detected by Mai. Kohda and Nakajima head to the location Zellet was detected, where they find Himala. Nakajima managed to steal the box the alien thief had stored the towns. An enraged Himala then grows to giant size. At that moment, a small light emerged from the box and entered Himala's body.

In this "Himala World" Ultraman Dyna would do battle with Himala. A brief scuffle later and Dyna managed to knock Himala into his spacecraft that was about to take off. The towns emerged from the prison box and were finally returned - one sunset later.

Cast

• Shin Asuka : Takeshi Tsuruno
• Gousuke Hibiki : Ryo Kinomoto
• Toshiyuki Kohda : Toshikazu Fukawa
• Ryo Yumimura : Risa Saito
• Kouhei Kariya : Takao Kase
• Tsutomu Nakajima : Joe Onodera
• Mai Midorikawa : Mariya Yamada

Guest Actors

• Old Gentleman : Fuyuki Murakami
• Old Woman : Tokiko Mita
• Boys :
  • Takumi Kanazawa
  • Daiki Ueda
• Worker : Susumu Asaka

Voice Actors

• Himala : Takeshi Aono
• Narrator : Yuji Machi

Suit Actors

• Ultraman Dyna : Kazuhiko Shimizu
• Himala : Kohji Mimura

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman Dyna
  • Flash Type

Kaiju

• Himala

Home Media

• Ultraman Dyna Volume 3 features episodes 9-12.

Trivia

• This episode is regarded as one of the most representative works of the series' first cour, despite having no direct connection to the Neo Frontier era. Additionally, a newly recorded version of the background music was specifically produced for this episode.
• According to screenwriter Ai Ota, Himala's design was inspired by The Fiend with Twenty Faces. Director Masaki Harada aimed to create an antagonist with a phantom thief aesthetic—one capable of conversing with others while exuding an ambiguous moral alignment.
• According to director Masaki Harada's 2000 interview:
  • This episode marks his debut as a special effects director. His filming approach was to focus on the visual aspects rather than action scenes or scale models. As a result, he requested the art design team to create a retro rocket inspired by Jules Verne's style and opted for a ignition-based firing effect for the rocket's thrusters. He intentionally made the flames appear distorted, giving it a cheap, old-fashioned feel.
  • In terms of set design, various antiques and peculiar collectibles appeared, such as a phonograph and a tanuki figurine. Harada told the art team, "Just take whatever is in the warehouse and use it for decoration!" As a result, the team found all sorts of unusual items. Harada jokingly said, "Feel free to experiment." However, the art director, Yuji Terai, ended up presenting a collection of designs that were quite perplexing.