Hello and welcome, Ultraman Connection readers! This week, we’re continuing our look into the history of the Ultraman franchise, highlighting many of its heroes along with the Ultraman New Generation Stars series currently airing. Previously, we examined the various homeworlds of other Ultras, notably the planets U40 and O50 and the impact they have had on Ultraman Titas and Ultraman Fuma of the Tri-Squad. This week, we’re returning to the Land of Light in M78. The Ultra Hero featured this week may not take center stage as often as the New Generation Heroes, but he has had one of the largest impacts within M78 and even within the larger universe in many other ways.
Usually as a result of disaster striking.
All joking aside, Ultraman Hikari’s own story is a fascinating one, and since his debut in Ultraman Mebius, he’s grown to become a fan-favorite character. In this article, we’ll take a look at his scientific achievements that have contributed to the fight for justice and peace in the universe, even when he’s not fighting personally in those battles.
Although Hikari is recognized as an Ultraman and a hero alongside the other more famous Ultra Brothers, that title is one he earned much later in life. He earned the “star marks” which signify a high ranking honor in the Land of Light – as we see with Zoffy – for his work in the Space Science division, rather than his skill in fighting. Even though he didn’t debut until 2006, Hikari’s inventions already made a huge impact on the Land of Light, and he earned his distinction for perfecting a device which allowed their technology to even bring people back from the dead.
As you’d imagine, this comes in very handy throughout the classic Ultraman series. Many of the Ultra Brothers would be deader than a parrot in a Monty Python sketch without his invention! This is even true of the original Ultraman. Remember when Zoffy shows up in the final episode coincidentally with “extra lives” for both Ultraman and Shin Hayata? Thanks to Hikari, they would both live on to continue their fight.
Unfortunately, this would also begin a tragic pattern of Hikari’s scientific discoveries being targeted for theft and used for evil throughout the history of the Land of Light.
All too often, stories in Ultraman shows illustrate the dangers of scientific progress being subverted and used for evil means. It’s saddening to see that even technology from the Land of Light can be abused and in this way, even when it was created with the best of intentions. In Hikari’s case, he was distraught enough to leave the planet entirely, and sought to study life in a different part of the universe, on the Planet Arb.
To see how that story ends, you’ll have to watch Ultraman Mebius.
Hikari resumes his scientific work when he returns to the Land of Light after those events. Interestingly though, his study seems to have taken a different approach. Rather than trying to resurrect lives, many of Hikari’s inventions in the New Generation era provide powerful new forms and upgrades to other Ultra heroes. In Ultra Fight Victory, he delivers the Knight Timbre to Ultraman Victory, allowing him to transform into a new form, Ultraman Victory Knight, and defeat Yapool and his resurrected Terrible-Monsters once again.
Other threats besides yet another resurgence of Yapool would continue to threaten the Land of Light. To counter a yet-again resurrected Ultraman Belial (I’m starting to see a pattern here), Hikari invented the “Ultra Capsules” which contained the powers and abilities of many different Ultra heroes, and a “Riser” device allowing anyone to use them on their own.
Such a powerful new technology surely would’ve allowed the Land of Light to face down Belial and end his reign of terror for good… so of course it gets stolen again.
Believe it or not, through a twist of fate, things strangely work out for the best this time. Without Belial’s attempts to use that technology to gain even more power for himself, Riku Asakura would’ve never been born, or had the chance to become Ultraman Geed. Nowadays, he seems to be the sole user of the Capsules and the Riser, appropriately re-named the Geed Riser. Hikari seems to be proud of how his inventions are being used in this case at least.
Later on, Hikari spearheads a very similar project, this time with making Ultra Medals instead of capsules. And just like before… it gets stolen again.
Instead of giving rise to a new Ultra Hero entirely, the battle to recover the Ultra Medals becomes Ultraman Z’s trial by fire. Fresh out of his training in the Academy, and eager to prove himself to Ultraman Zero, he threw himself into that battle, biting off way more than he can chew in the process. Fortunately, as we’ve seen, with the help from his partner Haruki and the rest of the STORAGE defense team on that version of Earth, the medals once again were successfully recovered to serve their original idealistic purpose.
I mentioned that Ultraman Hikari has been a fan favorite among the many heroes of the Ultraman franchise, and there are many reasons for that. Aside from his gorgeous blue body design and scientific prowess, Hikari’s story stands out as unique amongst the other Ultra heroes. All of these heroes earn their titles by overcoming adversity, facing down the most hopeless challenges and finding ways to hold tight to hope anyways, using those bonds of courage and friendship to achieve impossible things.
Even when he’s not fighting personally, Hikari’s journey from his absolute lowest moments of despair, to become recognized as a hero alongside the other Ultra Brothers from the Land of Light, is remarkably inspiring in the same way. Despite these numerous setbacks, Hikari still uses his science to help others in whatever ways he can. He might be a scientist, but he cares deeply about the goals of his scientific research, and that idealistic, sentimental side is what truly makes him a hero.
Don’t believe me when I call him “sentimental”? Before we end this article, consider one more detail, which might be considered his greatest failure.
Yes, even more than the glaring lack of security in his lab.
For a time, there was another Ultra who also worked under Hikari’s direction in the Space Science division. This Ultra invented the technology that would later give rise to the Taiga Spark, which allowed the lights of different Ultra heroes to connect together, and summon that power of light when needed. Sounds an awful lot like the inventions Hikari has made in the New Generation era, right? Except that Hikari did not invent the Taiga Spark.
No, that was Tregear’s credit, before he fell into darkness.
After all this time, I think Hikari’s work is still inspired by his former protégé, in the memory of what amazing creations he could have invented, if only he had followed a different path.
