Ultraman Zearth

Zearth (pronounced "Zay-ahs") is a "distant relative" of the Ultra-family from a planet in Galaxy Z95. Zearth's mission is to "clean up" the Earth and the universe. Unfortunately, Zearth is still in training ... in fact, according to one source, he "is actually a dropout from [the] Ultra backup warrior team!" The first appearance of Zearth, in fact, proves this; he cannot seem to aim his energy attacks correctly, and he has a major phobia over getting dirty (believe it or not). His baptism by fire is to combat an invasion from the star Benzene. The first indication of this invasion is the disappearance of several items containing gold, including a golden statue of the original Ultraman.

Like his predecessors, Zearth spends most of his time in a human identity, that of Katsuto Asahi, a trainee at the MYDO gas station. (Katsuto is actually a human form created by Zearth, much as Dan Moroboshe was a form created by Ultraseven.) The gas station, however, is a hidden "front" for the Mysterious Yonder Defense Organization, the "science patrol" of Zearth's time. Their responsibility, like many others before them, is to defend the planet against alien invasion and monsters native to Earth. Like Zearth, though, MYDO tends to be something of a joke. They tend to demolish their vehicles every time they go out, and nearly kill themselves as well.

Katsuto changes to Ultraman Zearth using an electric toothbrush. In his Ultraman form, he has three main attacks: the Speshusshura Laser Beam (fired much like Ultraman's Specium beam), the Zearth Kick, and the Zearth Chop. According to the afore-mentioned source, Zearth is also in training to use several other attacks, including the Zearth Scan, the Super Zearth Scan, the Ultra-stretch, the Ultra-rewind, and the Ultra-blender; none of these is shown in the first movie.

The "official" Ultraman Zearth Home Page (English version at http://www.mydo.com/mydo/ index_E.html) has lots of extra information about this movie, including details on the computer generated flying scenes.

The first Ultraman Zearth movie, made to commemorate Ultraman's 30th anniversary, was shocking, if you expect to see serious action. It's a comedy, made as a comedy. Even the name MYDO, I'm told, comes from the phrase "Maido arigatou gozaimasu," used by Japanese gas station attendants as a way of saying, "thank you for patronizing us every time." Keeping that in mind, the movie is quite entertaining.

In the previous version of this FAQ, I came down a little hard on the movie. Here, with a rebuttal, is Matt Thorn, who provided a significant amount of information for this FAQ:

I was disappointed that you seemed to not appreciate Zeas/Zearth. If it seemed like a joke, it's because it *is* a joke. The whole thing is a parody, just made for fun. Here are some examples.

* The name MYDO comes from the word "maido," which literally means "every time." "Maido" is an abbreviation of "Maido arigatou gozaimasu" ("Thank you [for patronizing us] every time"), and is shouted by enthusiastic gas station attendants as customers drive off.

* The "Chief" of MYDO and the little MYDO member with an effeminate manner who always teases Asahi are the famous and wildly popular comedy pair, Tunnels. On their own TV shows, they have done various parodies of TV hero series.

* Whereas most of the Ultra Clan is from "Hikari no kuni" (the "Land of Light"), Zearth is from "Pikari no kuni" (the "Land of Flash"). This is supposed to sound silly.

* The name of MYDO's gaudy aircraft is "Sky Fish."

* "Benzen" (the evil but style-conscious alien) is the Japanese pronunciation of "Benzene," and "Kottenpoppe" is just nonsense.

* The man (apparently a retiree) who is left stranded in his fishing boat in the middle of an empty lake is Shohji Kobayashi, who played the Commander in Ultraman. And of course it's Susumu Kurobe, who played Hayata in Ultraman, who here plays the security guard who pulls a device from from his jacket and dramatically holds it aloft, as if to transform, only to lower it and reveal it to be a flashlight.

* Desperate to confirm that she really did see the Sky Fish morph out of the billboard, the anonymous housewife, played by Hiroko Sakurai (Akiko Fuji of Ultraman), gathers a bunch of housewives, all armed with cameras. Unfortunately, just as the Sky Fish is about to appear, a coin drops, and the greedy houswives instinctively look down and miss the appearance.

* You might notice that the pose for Zearth's Speshusshura Beam is the reverse, left to right, of that for Ultraman's Specium Beam. Apparently this this is because Zearth practiced it in a mirror... (And the name "Speshusshura" is supposed to sound silly.)

* Asahi, who is always mumbling "swatch, swatch," discovers by accident that he can get a free soda from the vending machine by doing the Speshusshura pose and saying "swatch." While his comrades are out being pounded by Kottenpoppe, Asahi spends hours extracting free sodas before finally stopping and asking himself, "What the hell am I doing?"

* Zearth/Asahi is neurotically fastidious. He can't bear to be soiled in the least. His comrades constantly tease him about this, and the girl (who's name has slipped my mind) tells him, in effect, that a real man doesn't mind a little dirt. Benzen discovers this weakness and paralyzes Asahi by covering is face with black ooze. Unable to transform because, he believes, the stuborn filth is preventing him, Asahi remembers the girl's words and, in one final toothbrushing frenzy, successfully transforms.

* The Commander's interaction with the computer is also hilarious, with plenty of e-mail-style ASCII faces. When he realizes that the use of the Speshusshura Beam will result in the destruction of the Earth, and the computer informs him that Zearth has just left to battle Kottenpoppe, the commander's face twists and he says, "Yabai," which translates roughly as, "Holy [$#!+]" (minus the obscene tone).

I watched the movie again, and I have to say to Matt, "you're right." I did appreciate the comedy once I accepted the fact that it was supposed to be in there.

Jim Cirronella, founder of Club Daikaiju, informs me that Zearth is a brand of gasoline, and Benzen is a form of pollution caused by combustion engines. Kottenpoppe is the sound a specific sound-effects machine makes.

Zearth's story continues in his second movie, subtitled "The Battle Between Light And Shadow." The movie opens with Zearth being trashed by a dark Ultraman, Ultraman Shadow. In frustration, Katsuto quits Mydo and joins a martial arts school, where he is assigned to kick a ball tied high in a tree. Meanwhile, Shadow, controlled by a female Benzene, captures humans for enslavement. Katsuto must find his confidence and conquer Shadow (who turns out to be a robot). Zearth conquers Shadow using a new power, the Super Spesheshurra Beam, fired by rotating his crossed hands X-style.

One other significant detail of the Ultraman Zearth movie is in several famous guest stars. Virtually all of the original Ultraman cast appears in the movie. The actress who originally played Fuji plays a housewife who constantly tries to prove there's something more to the MYDO gas station than just a gas station, but fails to get anyone else to see the SkyFish coming out of the MYDO sign. "Arashi" appears as a reporter, weilding a microphone with the original star-and-arrow symbol of the Science Patrol. (This is something of an inside joke, as the actor, Sandayu Dokumamushi, hosts a radio talk show in Japan.) "Ito" (or "Ide" from the original Japanese) is now a photographer who witness another gold-stealing incident. And "Captain Muramatsu" is now an elderly fisherman who gets to walk home after the Benzene and his pet monster steals the water from the lake. "Hayata" is now a guard in the Japanese equivalent to Fort Knox (yes, he hefts his flashlight much like a Beta Capsule). The second Zearth movie again features these fine actors (except for Capt. Mura, who passed on between movies ... he's shown in a photo in Ito's room), plus at least two from Ultraseven: Ann ("Donna" in TNT's version) as a passer-by rooting for Zearth in his final showdown with Ultraman Shadow, and Dan as the new captain of Mydo. According to Chan Heng Yip, the reporter in the final sequence is the actor who played Ultraman Jack's human host, Hideki Goh. There may be other past Ultra-actors in the crowd, but these are the only ones I've been able to verify as of this writing.