The Last Hero

The Last Hero
Ultraman Z, episode 19
Information
Airdate	October 31, 2020
Directed by	Takanori Tsujimoto
Written by	Toshizo Nemoto
Continuity
Previous	Rechallenge from the Year 2020
Next	Bonds of Masters and Disciples

The Last Hero is the nineteeth episode of Ultraman Z.

Synopsis

The sky has shattered like glass! From the alternate dimension on the other side, a Terrible-Monster, Baraba appeared! As Ultraman Z and the others struggle in the face of Baraba's persistent attacks, Ultraman Ace rushes to the scene to help!

What is the surprising relationship between Z and Ace?

Plot

A heat signature is detected by STORAGE directly over Tokyo. Soon afterwards, the source of the heat signature is made clear; Bemstar, descending covered in flames caused by his re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, has arrived! The giant monster lands in an oil refinery and sets his sights on the fuel there, consuming an oil storage tank with his gorge, but is soon confronted by King Joe STORAGE Custom and Windom, and the three giants begin to fight. Bemstar manages to knock King Joe down with a volley of shots of his Bemstar Beam, then use his gorge to trap Windom's arm, forcing Haruki to transform into Ultraman Z. However, as the host gazes upon the medals used to transform into Z's Beta Smash form, he notices Ace's medal is flashing. Unsure of what to do next, Haruki hesitates on starting the transformation into Z.

Bemstar notices something happening to the sky, and soon Yoko does as well after getting King Joe back to its feet. The sky has cracked, and pieces fall away, revealing a red background! As everyone at STORAGE's HQ also sees the strange phenomenon, Bemstar is overcome by fear, and releases Windom's arm. As the monster flies off to safety, Haruki gets another look at Ace's medal, which continues to glow brightly.

Back at the HQ, Yuka theorises that the crack in the sky is a portal to another dimension, and notes that it's not fully opened. Whatever scared Bemstar off will surely emerge from the portal when it is complete. With STORAGE on standby to counter this new threat, King Joe and Windom are deployed to the streets of Tokyo, much to the fascination of the citizens, who observe the giant machines up close. Haruki is contacted by Z, who explains that he is sure the crack in the sky is Yapool's doing. There, he informs Haruki of Yapool's first attempt at conquering the universe with his Terrible-Monsters, and how this plan was foiled by Ultraman Ace, the fifth Ultra Warrior of the Ultra Brothers, and that Z owes Ace a personal debt for something. When Haruki asks why Ace's medal is flashing, Z explains that it's possible the Medal had detected a Terrible-Monster approaching Earth. Z hasn't fought a Terrible-Monster before, but he is sure that with his strength and Haruki's combined, they cannot lose.

Haruki leaves the inner space just as energy levels from the portal begin to spike, and the portal is fully opened. Deployed from the portal in a massive explosion, the Hitman Terrible-Monster, Baraba, has arrived! Without a second thought, the monster immediately goes on the offensive, firing a jet of flame at a highway overpass in front of him and triggering an explosion that destroys countless vehicles. King Joe and Windom confront Baraba, but Haruki is caught off-guard when the monster turns towards him, and begins repeating Ace's name! Shoving King Joe out of the way, Baraba throws Windom to the ground, and begins whaling on the machine with his Mace and Hook Claw, exclaiming "I've found you, Ace! Die... Die!". Haruki deduces that Baraba seems to think Windom is Ace, and has specifically come to Earth to fight him.

King Joe attempts to get Baraba off Windom by firing its Pedanium Guided Missiles at the Terrible-Monster, but Baraba opens a portal to lose the projectiles, then launches a blast of energy from the portal to knock King Joe back to the ground, the same energy that had been released by the larger portal just before Baraba appeared. With Yoko unconscious inside the fallen King Joe and Windom critically damaged, Haruki transforms into Z's Delta Rise Claw, blasting Baraba off his feet with a shot of Beliarok's eye beam. After stating that he will defeat Baraba in Ace's stead, Z takes up a fighting stance, but Baraba knocks Beliarok out of Z's hand by firing his sword at the sentient weapon, lodging it in a building. Before Z can reach Beliarok, he finds his arm tangled in Baraba's grappling hook and chain, and is pulled away from Beliarok's position, putting him in range of Baraba for a wicked ram that sends him plummeting to the ground.

As a trio of excited citizens attempt to snap a photograph of the battle happening right in front of them, Z and Baraba continue duking it out, though Z is unable to get to his feet and has to knock Baraba down with his Delta Cross Shot before he can do so. Z attempts to fire his Zestium Beam, but Baraba pulls the same tactic he had done with King Joe, taking the energy in through a portal, then firing a beam through the aperture. With Z temporarily knocked down against a building, a missile shot from Baraba's face hobbles the hero, causing his Color Timer to blink and reverting Z back to his original form. As Z was unable to maintain his Delta Rise Claw form, Beliarok vanished.

Yoko awakened to see Baraba attempt to execute Z, firing his sword high into the air, and then commanding it to come straight down at his chest. In the nick of time, a purple energy blade knocked the sword off the mark. Instructing Z not to give up, Ace was here at last, having used his Circular Guillotine to move the weapon out of the way! The energy from Haruki's Ace Medal had helped guide Ace to Earth, and just in time. As Ace explains that normal monsters lower their guard briefly when in pain, he follows by stating that Terrible-Monsters don't have this limitation, allowing them to fight for much longer. Ace battles Baraba with every extent of his abilities, before getting in range to use his Metalium Beam to briefly daze Baraba after getting into a beam lock with the Terrible-Monster's Eye Beams.

Ace summons his Ace Blade, then insists Z fight on. With some renewed energy, Z agrees, and Haruki does as well. As Z takes on his Beta Smash form, he brings his own weapon to the battle, the Z Lance Arrow. With Baraba now confronted by two Ultras at close range, the Terrible-Monster fights the two heroes in a melee, blocking the Ace Blade and Z Lance Arrow quite effectively. When a strike by Baraba's mace shatters the Ace Blade, Ace goes on the offensive, charging Baraba and grappling with him. Z discards the Lance Arrow and goes in for a hand-to-hand fight as well, assaulting Baraba with flying kicks and heavy punches.

Ace and Z then take to the air. While Baraba uses his sword in combination with his Eye Beams, the two Ultras counter with hit-and-run uses of the Arrow Beam, Timer Shot and Beta Laser. Z is eventually knocked to the ground by a barrage of missiles, but manages to get to his feet again, remarking on Baraba's resilience. Ace tells Z to focus his energy on the Ultra Holes in his crest, then blocks Baraba's energy with the Ultra Neo Barrier. While blocking the beam, Ace then addresses Yapool directly, recounting a time when the alien mastermind once said that the victors of a fight "must live on bearing the malice of those who have fallen." Ace counters this statement by replying that "the Ultras will fight on until the day this universe is at peace!" With Ace now having stalled Baraba's energy for long enough for Z to transfer the energy he needs, Ace uses his Stop Ring to trap Baraba, then commands Z to use a new ability, the Space Z!

Ace then summons his Space Q Technique, and sends it to Z's crest. With energy pulsing through his body, Z hurls the Space Z at Baraba, simultaneously bisecting him and causing his eyes to burst out of their sockets. In his dying breath, Baraba exclaims that though Yapool may die, his Terrible-Monsters shall live on. The two bisected halves of Baraba fall to the ground and explode, leaving the Terrible-Monster's sword behind.

As the two Ultras look at the setting sun, Ace asks Z if he remembers why Ace gave him the name Z, much to Haruki's surprise; Ace is Z's godfather! On Earth, Z can mean "the last". Ace, proud of how strong Z has become, recounts that he had given Z's name to him with the hope that the young warrior will rid the universe of conflict and bring about peace, effectively becoming "The Last Hero". As the two Ultras depart, Yuka gets a closer look at Baraba's sword from STORAGE HQ, where she excitedly deduces that it has the power to breach dimensions and gain access to other ones.

Haruki's Ultra Navi

• Haruki's Ultra-navi! 'Kay! Today we're showing this!
• Z Riser: Ace.
• Z: One of the legendary Ultra Brothers! He's an Ultra-amazing brother who gave me the name, "Z"!
• Haruki: He sure used a lot of different beams, didn't he, Mr. Z?
• Z: Yeah. He's called the Master of Beam Attacks!

Ultraman Z and Ultraman Zero Voice Drama

Brother

After attending Ultraman 80's Class, Z has a discussion with Zero about the Ultra Brothers' titles.

Cast

• Haruki Natsukawa : Kohshu Hirano
• Yoko Nakashima : Rima Matsuda
• Yuka Ohta : Hikari Kuroki
• Shota Hebikura : Takaya Aoyagi

Voice Actors

• Ultraman Z : Tasuku Hatanaka
• AI Voice : Katsumi Fukuhara
• Beliarok : Yuki Ono
• Ultraman Ace : Keiji Takamine
• Baraba : Holly Kaneko

Suit Actors

• Ultraman Z: Hideyoshi Iwata
• Ultraman Ace: Shinnosuke Ishikawa
• Windom: Yuto Nagachi
• King Joe STORAGE Custom: Satoru Okabe
• Baraba: Kenji Kajikawa
• Bemstar: Hiroyuki Arai

Appearances

Ultras

• Ultraman Z
  • Original
  • Beta Smash
  • Delta Rise Claw
• Ultraman Ace

Kaiju

• Bemstar
• Windom
• King Joe STORAGE Custom
• Baraba

Trivia

• This episode marks Keiji Takamine's return as Ultraman Ace after his appearance in Ultraman Saga in 2012, eight years later. At that time, Takamine had just undergone oral surgery and was uncertain about participating, but ultimately decided to do so with encouragement and support from his wife.
  • In this episode, the reason Ultraman Ace repeatedly shouts his attack names, according to director Takanori Tsujimoto, is not only to serve the story of teaching Ultraman Z how to fight but also to capture Keiji Takamine's passionate voice on film for future generations.

• Although Tsujimoto was chosen to direct the Ultra Brothers guest appearance episode, the specific Ultraman to appear was not decided during the planning phase. As a devoted fan of Ultraman Ace, Tsujimoto was concerned that Ace's appearance might be delayed due to the popularity of the Ultra Brothers. Therefore, he saw it as a rare opportunity and, after discussing it with Director Kiyotaka Taguchi, ultimately decided to feature Ultraman Ace.
• After the plot for the episode was established to include "a guest appearance by Ultraman Ace and the appearance of a Terrible-Monster," the specific terrible-monster had not yet been determined. Initial candidates included Chameleking. Later, during the production phase, LSS, responsible for costume design, suggested, "We have people who can create Baraba," leading to the decision to use Baraba. Additionally, the new Baraba design closely resembles the 1972 concept art.
• The cracking effect on Bemstar's abdomen is based on props from the Ultraman Mebius filming period.
• In the battle scenes of this episode, background music composed by Toru Fuyuki for Ultraman Ace was played, and a physical flying puppet was used for Ultraman Ace's final takeoff scene.
• According to the surveillance camera that recorded Bemstar, the episode's setting took place in August 4, 2020. In real life, it was three days after the series' seventh episode.
• Directors of the series including Kiyotaka Taguchi, Masayoshi Takesue, and Tomonobu Koshi have a cameo role as the bystanders attempting to get a photo of the fight between Ultraman Z and Baraba.
• The pun involving "Baraba" and "Barabara" was an impromptu joke created on the set.

• According to an interview with the episode's writer, Toshizo Nemoto:
  • Regarding the content, Tsujimoto wanted to reduce the narrative elements and focus more on showcasing Ultraman Ace’s actions. At the time, Nemoto had some rough notes on the general flow, but specific details were yet to be finalized. Since this was for Ultraman Z, Nemoto didn’t want Ace's appearance to feel too abrupt. Once Baraba was chosen, Nemoto decided to have Baraba sense Ace's presence, as it has the alias "Hitman Terrible-Monster," and thus would come to seek and eliminate its target.
  • Regarding Yapool, since it would be difficult to have it appear alone, the concept of its residual consciousness transforming into a Terrible-Monster was created. Additionally, Tsujimoto suggested having the character "speak," so Nemoto wrote that Yapool’s consciousness and rationality would deteriorate, yet it would continue to repeatedly utter lines expressing its murderous intentions.
  • For Ultraman Ace’s appearance, the initial idea was for him to "emerge from the light." Everything else, however, was interpreted by Tsujimoto, including the decision to have Ace say his name. The line, "Terrible-Monster do not feel pain or fear," was written by Nemoto. This line was intended to highlight Ace’s combat style while also reinforcing the concept of the Terrible-Monster.
• According to an interview with Takanori Tsujimoto:
  • At the time, the only available Terrible-Monster costume was Aribunta, so the production team initially discussed the possibility of creating a new Giron Man to appear alongside this monster. However, when Tsujimoto heard that someone in the studio was considering creating Baraba, the team ultimately decided to feature Baraba as the Terrible-Monster for this episode.

• • When depicting the scene of Ace and Z conversing at sunset, Tsujimoto strongly insisted on scheduling the shoot during the sunset, even though the filming schedule was tight. When Z leaves, the empty space in the shot inspired him, and he suddenly thought of using Z’s trajectory to depict Ace’s flight. He decided to design the scene with Ace flying across from the front and disappearing.