Welcome back to Super Hero Synopses, where your own fears and others’ expectations can both be challenges to overcome. This week we’re covering both episode seven and eight of Ultraman R/B, where we continue to deal with the fallout from episode six and build to the first confrontation between the brothers and Makato Aizen.

Ultraman R/B, Episode 07
“Hero Disqualification”

Isami (Blu) wakes from a nightmare in which the previous episode played out differently and Koma was killed. He was roused by Grigio, the monster they defeated in the first episode. The rest of the family are being interviewed on TV to promote their store. Isami tries to call Katsumi (Rosso), who asks him to go on ahead until he can sneak away. Isami agrees only to discover that he is unable to transform. The TV crew are interrupted by reports of the monster attack, giving Katsumi an opportunity to transform. He attacks Grigio only to discover that his brother isn’t there. The brothers argue, causing Grigio to slap Katsumi and leave in disgust before transforming back into Makoto Aizen.

The brothers continue to bicker, with Isami insisting his Gyro must be broken while Katsumi believes his brother has been distracted since Koma was injured. He attempts to get his brother to open up only to be brushed off. They go home and Isami goes straight to bed. Asahi and their father believe the brothers have fallen out due to the hand mark remaining on Katsumi’s face from his earlier slap. Katsumi goes to see Koma in the hospital and discovers Aizen is already visiting with her. Both of them express concern that Katsumi came without his brother.

Isami recalls a time as a young child where he tried to climb a ladder after his brother, but was unable due to his fear. Katsumi finds him and Isami admits that he is afraid to fight in case he accidentally kills someone. Aizen watches on and summons Grigio again. Katsumi transforms and fights while Isami runs to evacuate Koma from the nearby hospital. Just as they emerge Grigio’s tail hits the building and drops rubble on top of them. Isami is unable to reach Koma to help her, and laments that he can’t do anything without his brother.

She reminds him how the childhood incident he recalled earlier ended: Katsumi had fallen from the top of the ladder and Isami had caught him. As Katsumi shields them from Grigio with his own body, Isami transforms. He devises a strategy to use their powers to restrain Grigio, allowing them to destroy it. While they say goodbye to Koma, Aizen recruits one last member for an experiment that connects a number of people to a device and on to the Orb crystal.

Ultraman R/B, Episode 08
“The World Is Waiting For Me”

Asahi is meeting two of her friends to celebrate one of their birthdays when a monster, Aribunta, attacks. The brothers quickly appear to fight it and the girls cheer them on. Isami is distracted by posing for the girls but they try a strategy they thought up to use their powers to quickly destroy Aribunta. Afterwards the girls try to get a photo with the Ultramen, and despite Katsumi’s misgivings they oblige. This angers Makoto Aizen, who is watching from his skyscraper and believes the brothers are not acting in a manner expected of Ultramen. He returns to his experiment, which unsuccessfully attempts to use the subjects’ brain waves to unlock the Orb crystal and create the Orb Ring Neo. He tries again even though he risks hurting the subjects.

While Ushio unveils his latest dubious t-shirt design, Isami is watching an interview the girls did after “meeting” the Ultramen. Katsumi again reminds him they should be cautious about protecting their identities. Ushio immediately gets an order form Aizentech for 10000 of his new t-shirts, and sends the brothers to deliver them. They arrive in a remote area where Aizen is waiting for them while preparing tea. Aizen gives the brothers detailed reports indicating where he believes they are not performing well as Ultramen, revealing that he knows the brothers are Rosso and Blu. He also admits that he is an alien named Cereza who possessed Makoto Aizen’s body 15 years ago and created an empire in order to obtain the power of an Ultraman, only for the brothers’ mother to steal the R/B Gyros from him.

Aizen holds up his AZ Gyro and inserts the Orb crystal. It summons the Orb Ring Neo, which Aizen then uses to become Ultraman Orb Dark (Noir Black Schwartz). He uses his Orb Dark Calibur to blast rocks at the brothers. He then recounts some of their previous adventures in which he believes the brothers failed to act as “true” Ultramen. Realising that it was Aizen’s fault that Koma was injured, the brothers transform and attack Aizen. He easily avoids or blocks their attacks while continuing to berate them and easily manhandling them. He delivers attack after attack on the brothers, eventually forcing them back to human form and stands laughing over their unconscious bodies.

Judging by his complaints in episode eight, Makoto Aizen seems to be channeling the sentiments of a subset of old-school Ultraman fans when discussing the modern shows online. Should we read too much into those opinions coming from a villain who must be defeated? Perhaps we’re safer steering away from such meta arguments, and instead wonder whether Orb can be saved from alien clutches? Please come and tell us what you think of the show so far on our Facebook page or in our forum.

 

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