Ultraman Blazar ep 24 & 25: Blazing and Encompassing Blazar

January 31, 2024Episode Review,  Mecha Discussion,  ,  
The last boss is here, and the final battle approaches SKaRD and Blazar. But the actual story headed in a way we didn’t expect. A lot of satisfying pay-off yet there are some underwhelming moments. But above all, the way they dealt with the final threat is one of the most unique we’ve ever seen in the franchise. Blazar definitely excels in terms of storytelling.

Earth Garon and SKaRD was ordered to go to space to combat the Kaiju. Well if you think about it, it is very clear about the difference in power and that the mission is no less than a suicide mission for SKaRD members. Gento knew that this might be a one-way trip, but he still ordered the team to go. Surprisingly Emi was left behind – definitely because of her undercover spy thing that Gento left her in charge of the intelligent gathering. We see everyone trying to relax in the brief time off they got before the sortie. And Gento’s definitely the most heartwarming and heartbreaking. He went home, had a meal with his family, then headed off to battle. His wife surely knows that he’s going on a dangerous mission on the Earth Garon, but she held back her sentiment as to not distract him. We saw this type of sacrifice before but it’s mostly between comrades, parents and child, etc….but rarely between a married couple.

Earth Garon launch sequence is very impressive, mostly because of the mechanics and operators, etc,… that create the perfect atmosphere for a heroic take-off. I love the English stuff in Ultraman lately as they’ve gotten quite good. They figured since it’s a worldwide audience, might as well hire actual english-speaking VAs.

The fight between Valaron and Earth Garon went about just what we expected. While A-kun put up a respectable resistance, the difference in power was just too great. The massive explosion from Valaron’s bomb is enough to blow Earth Garon away and knocked everyone’s unconscious. Of course, this calls for “that” again. and Gento transform into Blazar to fight the monster. Blazar had slightly better results, but in the end, a final boss will not go down that easy. Just when we thought Blazar could finally wound him, a surprise turn that landed him a hot water and we got the V99’s Counterattack Axis Shock moment. This whole sequence looks very cool when Blazar try his best to push the moon back into orbit. Well the whole fight was kinda rushed because they have to fit it in 1 episode, but it is enough to show the fearsome power of Valaron.

Meanwhile on Earth, Emi got arrested because she almost dig up the secret of ex-director Dobashi. It’s crazy how those men-in-black managed to track down Emi quite easily and that she went along with them without putting up much of fight as well. Episode 24 ended as the GGF and Blazar was beaten to a pulp and Valaron made its way to Earth – while our Ultraman floated away in the cold, deep space…

On to ep 25 – the finale. Earth Garon managed to make it back to Earth, but also Valaron. And not just them, but a whole space fleet of Kaiju entered Earth orbit through wormhole warping. Chief Retsu made the MVP comeback play by busting Emi out of confinement and revealed the whole truth about the incident years ago. Turns out a spaceship approached Earth many years ago, and the GGF fired upon it fearing an alien invasion. As it turns out, it wasn’t a hostile fleet at all, but just the space Kaiju on their way to find refugee amongst the stars. From the description, they may be heading to the “land of light” that we know, which is quite interesting considering they aren’t Ultras at all.

Chief Retsu and Emi also proposed a most peculiar plan to resolve the issue. With the overpowering might of the V99 fleet and Valaron, it is obvious that an all-out war will result in devastation on both sides. So Emi proposed a truce with the V99 fleet – now here’s where the plot armor kicks in. It turns out that A-kun has the ability to communicate with the V99 since he had alien technology incorporated inside him. It’s a last minute detail that have been overlooked until now, which is a bit out of nowhere. And that also means a unique “final battle” in Ultraman history. The V99 fleet actually accepted the message and leave, but they still leave a hostile Valaron on Earth for us to deal with(?). It is unclear if they can “control” the Kaijus they sent to Earth, but if they can’t, that’s quite…inconvenient. Either way, the moment the V99 fleet warped away, Blazar and Earth Garon go all-out guns-blazing at it, which is pretty funny since they were taking all the Ls just moments before.
This last episode really emphasizes “cooperation” and “trust”. The SKaRD teams trust each other with all their hearts. Gento’s former comrades all trust him as well. Chief Retsu and Emi managed to convinced the GGF Commander, and successfully gained international confidence as well. A unique way to represent the “bond” between Gento and Blazar – by showing how both of them has growth. Blazar uttering the phrase “Ore ga Iku” is a bone-chilling and badass moment. He might not fully understand our language, but seeing Gento saying that before plunging himself into danger has definitely clued Blazar in to the true meaning of that phrase. And finally, the most surprising moment is how Blazar unlocked his Kousen – a bright slight born from Gento’s love towards his son and wife. It’s quite out of nowhere, but hey, it’s cool as hell.

And at the end of the day, everyone got to go home back to their friends, family and happiness. One of the things I didn’t like much is that Yu Dobashi practically get off scott-free with no responsibility and his actions weren’t questioned. A very peculiar and unique Ultra series that solve the over-arching storyline with hope, understanding and pacifism, which is extremely rare. The excellent character writing of the show also helps us relate to the cast – as well as watching Blazar “grow up” like a newborn human – slowly comprehending human emotion. The contrast between Blazar’s original wild nature and his behavior in the finale paint a great story of growth.
AARON

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