| Manga |
Rena Sayama is a character in the ULTRAMAN manga series. She is a popular idol and the adopted daughter of police officer Yosuke Endo. Initially unaware of her hidden past, Rena became more involved with the antics of aliens on Earth and eventually learned that she may not be a normal human. Upon learning her origin as was the power embedded in her, Rena was given a customized Ultraman Suit by Bemular for her self-defense; but instead, she chose to use her newfound ability to fight alongside Ultramen, eventually earned herself the title of "Ultrawoman" .
History[]
ULTRAMAN[]
Infant Marie and her parents
Born as Marie to an alien couple who had helped Ultraman sometime ago before they immigrated to Earth, her father found a job at a police station in Gifu Prefecture. He became rookie officer Yosuke Endo's senior.
The couple and the rookie officer remained in a good relationship, until one day, they revealed their true nature to Endo. During the conversation, they explained that they were being hunted by a human anti-alien organization, with the group having many operatives holding crucial offices in the government, police force, and many other positions. The two decided to acquire a new visa and leave this place; but as a backup solution to protect their daughter, the wife used a Mimicry System to hide the truth of pregnancy, and they planned to hand the now infant Marie to Endo before their new ID would arrive. Not confident about a guardian role, Endo advised to send her to the orphanage where he was raised, and the couple agreed.
Unfortunately, they never managed to make it; eight days later when they finally received their new ID, as Endo rushed back from work, he shockingly found the two were murdered. Saddened and angered by the two innocent friends' loss, the young officer decided to raise their now orphaned girl as his daughter, under the name "Rena Yosuke."
First encounter with Ultraman
Ten years later when she was around Shinjiro Hayata's age, Rena underwent the alias "Rena Sayama" as part of her career as a young idol. She became a fan of Shinjiro's after his numerous crime-fighting exploits wearing his Ultraman Suit. While her agent just denounced him as a cosplayer, Rena was quick to defend him as the real thing. While on their way to an appointment, the two were stuck in a strange traffic jam caused by Shinjiro's battle with another alien. The pair landed nearby with Shinjiro landing on the hood of their car. While the alien belittled Shinjiro and destroyed his confidence, Rena and her agent snuck out of the car. Hearing her hero being trash-talked, Rena called out Ultraman and gave him back his confidence. Unfortunately, this angered the petty alien who fired plasma bombs at her. Fortunately, Shinjiro was able to stop the attacks with his Spacium Blades.
After the battle, she went to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries when she ran into her dad Yosuke Endo, who was relived she was alright. Unknown to either of them, the four-eyed alien watched them drooling from outside.
Later, she appeared on TV talking with a news anchorman about the recent alien battle and whether the Earth was being targeted again by aliens. Rena was a staunch supporter of Shinjiro declaring that he was 'Ultraman' not a pretender.
During one of her concerts, a mysterious man appeared on stage behind her, claiming that he would kill her. The man then revealed himself as Adad, and he said that he would also kill the audience when he was finished. Shinjiro and Moroboshi appeared in their Ultraman Suits, shocking Rena with the appearance of a second Ultraman. The crowd initially assumed that this was part of the show and acted indifferently until Adad sent bombs floating above their heads and gave the Ultramen an ultimatum; save either Rena or the crowd. Rena attempted to get things under control by standing up to them, condemning everyone involved for ruining the concert for her and the audience. Things only got worse when Bemular appeared and blew the ceiling off, causing it to fall. The people then demanded for Rena to be handed over in exchange for their lives.
Having heard enough, Adad attempted to kill Rena only for his true target, Alien Igaru, who also happened to be Rena's biggest fan and the one behind a recent string of murders, to appear and defend her by transforming into his true form. Adad revealed that the bombs he set up were actually projectors, who revealed his true circumstances before he killed the Igaru in cold blood, and then revealed his human accomplices among the crowd, leading to their arrest by Yosuke Endo and his partner Kurata. After everything was over, Rena's concerts were cancelled to take care of her mental health.
Rena started to become more interested in the Ultramen who appeared at the concert and decided to visit the Giant of Light Memorial museum at the SSSP base, where she encountered Shinjiro. They talked a few times and got somewhat close before she revealed that she was going to New York for an undetermined duration. As that happened, she spotted a few window cleaners about to fall off a swing stage at which point Shinjiro said he was going to call Ultraman as he had his number. He ran off, used his Mimicry System to disguise himself, and managed to rescue the workers, but Rena noticed that Shinjiro left without his phone, giving her some suspicion over his identity. Later, as Shinjiro sent her off, Rena returned his phone to him. However as Shinjiro walks away, Rena has a glimpse of Ultraman's afterimage from the boy's silhouette, which she quickly dismissed.
Danger still followed in New York as the Star of Darkness attacked by unleashing a nerve agent that would affect everyone in the area, causing the humans in the area to abandon their morals as they thought they were going to die. Some of them decided to attempt to attack Rena but stopped when the Star of Darkness announced that everything they previously said was a lie and this was all part of a plan to expose the ugly side of humans. They then attacked for real using their Golden Fortress, toppling a few buildings, one of which fell on Rena. Somehow, she and the surrounding people were unscathed. Publicly, she announced that Ultraman saved her at the time, but she knew that was not true.
Rena's wrist glowing
It was soon decided that Rena's trip to America would come to an end, and she was picked up at the airport by Endo. Unbeknown to her, while waiting, Bemular revealed to her father that he was aware that this girl was no Earthling. She then went to visit Shinjiro again and told him that she might have superpowers, which was how she survived the incident. At the time, Shinjiro saw the back of her hand light up, which gave some credence to her otherwise unexpected explanation.
Visited by Bemular
After she left, Rena was met by Bemular, who confirmed to her that she was not a normal human, and stated she would be targeted should her true power awaken. Shocked by this revelation, she immediately rushed back home to tell her father about this truth, much to the equally shocked Endo.
Activated her Ultraman Suit for the first time
After the Valky incident, Bemular handed a watch-like device to Endo and told him to give it to Rena for her self-defense. When it was academically triggered by Rena, she surprisingly discovered it was a female-typed Ultraman Suit and started to make different poses in front of the mirror, much to the awkwardness of Bemular, who was watching her outside the window.
Marie's first act of heroism
Afterward, Rena demanded her origin from her adoptive father, and with no other choice, Endo reluctantly unfolded everything to her. Devastated by the overwhelming truth, the disoriented girl ran away from her home and came across a rampaging Black King, where she used her ability to rescue a cornered mother and her son from the alien and was approached by Ultramen of SSSP, Seiji granted her the title of "Ultrawoman."
Later, Bemular, who had been looking for her at Endo's request arrived at the scene. While reasoning with her, their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the Zetton Core's warriors. During the battle, Bemular was severely injured by their bulky leader Alien Temperor, who crushed the former's skull. Later, Rena turned herself to the SSSP, Endo arrived just in time and picked her home, with Ide promising he would not slip a word to the rest of the SSSP.
Reconciled with her father
Later, Rena is introduced to a man named Shiro Maki, a former member of the xenophobic organization that took her birth parents' lives, by his father to explain everything. After the conversation, Maki guaranteed Rena he had "avenged her parents" by poisoning the police chief who ordered their assassination, this made the alien girl burst into tears in guilt, as she discovered that she always has the murderous impulse to do so. After all the incidents, the two finally reconciled with each other.
During her second visit to SSSP HQ with her father and Maki, after meeting Bemular under emergency treatment, she expressed her desire to join SSSP, when a shocked Ide sought Endo's disapproval, the adoptive father responded with a bitter smile, saying instead of letting her run around to play hero, joining the SSSP would be the rational option. In response, Dan came up with another plan: he deliberately introduced Rena to his superior, Edo, for her interview, whose appearance quickly scared the girl away.
Protecting Dan and Seiji
Nevertheless, she would be reunited with them during the mission against an aggressive alien possessing thunderous power. While Dan and Seiji were unable to approach the target, Rena descended into the battlefield again and used her barrier power to aid the Ultramen. Before their showdown with the alien, the latter was slain by Valky from the back, who teleported with Alien Nackle. Soon, Shinjiro and Alien Temperor also joined the battle, with the former's suit severely damaged, the boy finally revealed his face to Rena, who is under her own Ultraman Suit without Shinjiro's awareness. Shockingly, the former idol's suspension was finally confirmed: Shinjiro is indeed Ultraman.
This would be the first time when the young boy, whose Ultraman Factor-related power was growing, awakened his Type-C Suit and overwhelmed Alien Temperor with tremendous power. With the first victory against the alien secret society achieved, the girl promptly threw herself into her long-time hero's arm and addressed him by his true name. After all the ups and downs, the two blushingly revealed themselves to each other, much to the joy of Valky and the annoyance of Dan.
After officially joining SSSP as she wished, Rena and Shinjiro, who have finally opened themselves, started to plan for their future on the roof of SSSP HQ. Their conversations were soon interrupted by the arrival of Damned, the leader of the Zetton Core and older brother to Edo, when Dan and Shin rushed to the roof in their Ultraman Suits, the Alien Zetton has already teleported away.
Rena participates in her first mission as an official member of SSSP after realizing the return of Ace Killer, while everyone is setting up traps for the assassin, Rena is sent to protect Yuko, who was the former's intended target.
Profile[]
Rena possesses the Marie Suit , the most advanced suit manufactured by Yapool under Bemular's request, and it incorporates functions to protect her. Its operating time is dramatically longer than that of its predecessors.
The flexible suit surface is made of rare fiber material and boasts a robustness that is hard to imagine from its appearance. The control vanes on both ears can amplify Rena's ability to generate a force field over a wide area. In addition to the rear armor, the back of the skirt-like armor is equipped with simple thrusters similar to those of the Ace Suit.
Unlike other suits, however, it has almost no built-in weapons, as it is completely specialized for defense.
Stats[]
- Height: 155 cm
- Weight: 45 kg
- Age: 19 years
Powers and Weapons[]
Own Powers[]
- Barrier: Due to her alien ability, Rena can generate a barrier to protect herself from even the entire weight of a collapsing building, though she was not aware of how it happened. The back of her hand shines with light when her abilities surface.
Marie Suit[]
- Enhanced Barrier: Amplified by her suit, Rena can now manipulate her barriers in various ranges, from wide-scaled protection to offense variants.
- Thruster: The skirt armor on the lower part of the suit serves as thrusters that allow her to levitate.
Merchandise[]
Hobby Max[]
- Rena Sayama (2020)
- Release Date: October 15, 2020
- Price: 14,080 yen
- JAN/ISBN: 4573451878154
- Materials: PVC, ABS
- Manufactured by Hobby Max, this Rena Sayama is a 1/7-scaled PVC figure that features the character in her general idol attire. Aside from the display stand, Rena also comes with her microphone + stand accessory.
Ques Q[]
- Rena Sayama (SSSP Style Idol Look) (2022)
- Release Date: December 2022
- Price: 15,800 yen
- JAN/ISBN: 4560393842602
- Materials: PVC, ABS
- Ques Q's take of a 1/7-scaled Rena features her in an SSSP-style idol attire, with a Beta Capsule held on her right hand.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Rena made her first technical appearance back when Shinjiro first fought Bemular on a billboard which was advertising her third and latest single UltLove .
- Despite being entitled as "Ultrawoman," she insisted on referring to herself as "Ultragirl" .
- Rena's species differs between the original manga and the NETFLIX anime adaptation. In the manga, she is an alien whose her parents were murdered by anti-alien assassins. Mr. Endo rescued her and raised her as human to protect her identity. In the NETFLIX adaptation she is is Mr. Endo's half-human biological daughter, with her late mother being an alien he fell in love with. After her mother was badly wounded in the crossfire of Ultraman's final battle with Zetton, Shin Hayata gave her mother a blood transfusion so she could live long enough to deliver her daughter.