As we do every week, we’re taking a closer look at the latest entry of Shu Ishido’s diary, from Ultraman Arc. This week, a difficult situation kept Shu from taking the spotlight, but he’s still got plenty of thoughts for his own private writings.
Entry 7
The diary entry starts off interestingly by actually disarming some of the mystery of the episode’s ending, confirming that the newborn Homger burrowed underground rather than simply disappearing.
Shu echoes the attitude of SKIP in the ending of the episode — In the immediate aftermath of the Homger incident, the chief thought on everyone’s mind is “How do we prepare for this creature’s return?” Shu goes so far as to wonder — Will Arc be there?
Once again, Shu’s deep admiration for Arc seems to stray into real fanboy territory. He is the one behind the Luna Armor name, same as Solis Armor and all of Arc’s moves, and his description of it is positively floral, even describing the final moments of Homger and Arc’s battle as “almost like seeing a mother embracing her child.” Shu truly is Arc’s strongest soldier…
Shu’s names for Arc’s weapons and armor are being used as their official titles, thanks to ArcFAM. They’re just happy they don’t have to come up with names themselves…
The most important part of this entry — Shu’s coffee corner! Shu remarks on how he’s finally made headway on getting the rest of SKIP into coffee thanks to the heatwave, but was thwarted by the alarm. He’s not going to pressure anyone, because that’s not his way — and yet, to be so close to showing the glory of coffee to the others…
A final note, and this is a bit reflective of discussion on Homger in general — Homger was, undeniably, a threat, and faced with an existential, city-destroying incident, perhaps the GDF should have acted immediately.
And yet, that’s not really Ultraman’s way, is it? Look back at Ultraman Cosmos, the hero of kindness. If there was truly no chance to resolve the situation peacefully, he would do what needed to be done. However, if there was a chance to save lives, even Kaiju lives, why not take it? This wasn’t a situation like Nezutron or Shagong, where monsters were actively hostile and attempting to destroy human society. Homger didn’t actually attack anyone, only consuming a gas leak after emerging from the ground, and battling Arc once he appeared to threaten it. It was honestly a very peaceful Kaiju, and that Arc is increasingly willing to spare or even save Kaiju that don’t actively threaten humanity is a great thing to see.
