#ultraman zōffy

[ask-cloverfield]

In the English Dub of the 1966 Ultraman instead of Ultraman being mortally wounded by Zetton his color timer is damaged and he puts himself in a coma to prevent overexerting himself

Zōffy also doesn’t initially refuse to save Hayata instead just telling Ultraman they will return to M78 so Ultraman can have surgery

And instead of “Have you grown so fond humans, Ultraman?” He says

“I know, I saw it on the Galla screen”

[miragethecat]

why is he british

i’m making my sister and her bf watch shin ultraman. they are entranced

[stone-555]

ultraman zoffy s.h. figuarts. hell yeah! i’m happy to have him in my collection.

figures used:

Ultraman Zoffy S.H. Figuarts (2023 Rerelease)

Shin Ultraman Zōffy S.H. Figuarts

itemLabel x Monster Café Cyclops Ouioui

Ultra Monster 500 Zetton

Ultra Hero 500 Zoffy

Shin Ultraman Zōffy Soft Vinyl Figure

Ultraman Ace Finger Puppet (from the M78 store)

[tsunflowers]

did anyone else think "oh fuck it's the woods from shin ultraman watch out for zōffy"

[kamenriderliveblog]

I finally saw Shin Ultraman and now I no longer fear spoilers!!!

I will have more substantial thoughts later but here are some short rapid fire remarks (spoilers):

The original Ultraman was just so good at both making me have hope for the future and making me want to be more kind to others, and Shin Ultraman is no different

Hello Type A, I love your goofy face so much

Lipiah is so light??? Only 2,900 tons, wow

I'm sorry but it's still really funny to see Lipiah spin around lengthwise

It's also funny to me that Shin Ultraman acknowledges that Hayata was a very underdeveloped character by having Lipiah be the main personality the entire time instead of Kaminaga actively sharing his body with Lipiah

I am a little sad that we didn't get a scene with Kaminaga and Lipiah talking to each other

Kinda wish there had been a little less CGI and more miniatures/suit acting but what can you do

The fight scenes in the air were awesome though

I can't believe we're referencing that one episode of '66 that had Akiko become huge

K-kyubey mug????

LIPIAH PLEASE YOU'RE MAKING HIROKO VERY UNCOMFORTABLE

The last scene with Zetton is a real nail-biter

Zōffy said the line!!!

Hayata didn't remember his time as Ultraman at the end of the '66 series, so I'm guessing the same is true for Kaminaga and he's about to be VERY confused

Lipiah 😭😭😭😭😭

There was no "shuwatch" to be heard. Hmph.

They also didn't manage to sneak in Ultraman no Uta. Booooo

When Shin Ultraseven

It's a good movie! Go and watch it if you haven't already

[somereaderinblue]

Funfact: M87 (like the song) actually is only a place in Shin Ultraman (Lipiah and Zōffy are from there) while in the main continuity it's M78 where most of our Ultras are from (of course not counting those from the rest of the planets like Orb, Fuma, Titas, Leo etc) and so despite Zoffy (not to be confused with Zōffy from Shin Ultraman) having a beam named M87 Beam, he is still actually from M78 just like with the rest of the original six Ultra Brothers

HUH, just googled to double check & you're right. Thanks for the clarification anon!

[chacerider]

in honor of spooky scary skeleton night, the true night terror:

zōffy

[yoilog]

Hanakotoba - Fantasi dan Romansa, juga Persahabatan

Heyo, A丸 telah muncul! Di sini untuk membawakan pos dengan topik film dari salah satu franchise tokusatsu legendaris di Jepang: Shin Ultraman!

Digarap oleh Shinji Higuchi (Gamera) dan Hideaki Anno (Evangelion), film ini menjawab pertanyaan, "Gimana jadinya kalo Ultraman diproduksi di tahun 2020-an?". Penggambaran baru dari series aslinya yang tayang di tahun 1966, film ini memiliki garis besar cerita yang sama, dengan sentuhan-sentuhan yang membuatnya lebih relatable dengan zaman sekarang.

(Spoiler alert!)

Salah satu perbedaan dari Shin Ultraman ini sama series aslinya, sang tokoh utama Ultraman sekarang punya nama, yaitu Lipiah (リピアー).

"Tapi A丸, apa hubungannya sama hanakotoba?"

pertama-tama,

Hanakotoba Itu Apa, Sih?

Hanakotoba (花言葉) itu sendiri artinya "bahasa bunga". Ini maksudnya untuk menyampaikan perasaan tanpa menggunakan kata-kata ke orang lain. Setiap bunga punya makna tersendiri.

Nah, ada beberapa orang yang menemukan kemiripan antara nama Lipiah dan Lippia (ヒメイワダレソウ / リッピア) , nama salah satu genus bunga. Nama Lippia sendiri diambil dari Augustus Lippi (1678-1705), seorang botanis. Dalam hanakotoba, bunga Lippia memiliki makna ketulusan, setia, ikatan, "pikirkan aku", dan lainnya yang menggambarkan persahabatan dan cinta. Makna ketulusan dan setianya (誠実, seijitsu) muncul dari bunga-bunga putih kecilnya yang tetap mekar meski terbakar mentari di musim panas.

Dalam film Shin Ultraman, Ultraman menyamar menjadi seorang anggota dari unit khusus untuk membasmi kaiju SSSP bernama Shinji Kaminaga, yang tewas akibat benturan dari pendaratan Ultraman di bumi saat berusaha mengevakuasi seorang anak kecil. Untuk menyelamatkannya, Ultraman mengikat 'jiwa' nya dengan Kaminaga, dan mengambil alih tempatnya. Selama menyamar menjadi manusia, Ia yang awalnya penasaran dengan alasan Kaminaga yang rela mengorbankan nyawanya untuk orang lain, perlahan mulai jatuh cinta pada umat manusia dan ingin memahami mereka lebih jauh. Ia bertekad untuk tetap melindungi manusia dari ancaman kaiju dan alien apapun yang terjadi, meskipun identitasnya ketahuan dan dianggap sebagai ancaman oleh pemerintah Jepang karena ulah alien-alien yang berusaha menguasai bumi. Sampai pada akhirnya, setelah Ia mengalahkan senjata pemusnah massal bernama Zetton yang diaktifkan oleh rekannya Zōffy dari Planet Cahaya, Ia rela mengorbankan nyawanya untuk menghidupkan kembali Kaminaga.

"Menjadi manusia berarti menerima kematian."

Wah, ternyata penokohan Lipiah cocok sama hanakotoba Lippia 🤔 menariknya lagi, di beberapa tempat Lippia dianggap sebagai spesies invasif, tapi Lippia sebagai tanaman groundcover membantu melindungi tanah dari erosi dan kekeringan. Sama seperti Lipiah, sesosok alien yang melindungi bumi dan umat manusia dari ancaman. Kebetulan yang menarik! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)

(…eh, kebetulan??)

Yup. Kebetulan!

Menurut Tomoya Nishino selaku produser dari film Shin Ultraman, awalnya Ultraman diberi nama yang mempunyai arti, tapi tim produksi ingin Ultraman punya nama yang asal katanya ga eksis di bumi. Jadilah nama Lipiah yang kita kenal sekarang ini, yang secara kebetulan mirip dengan nama Lippia. What a happy coincidence!

Oke, sekian dulu bahasan dari saya. Mungkin di lain waktu saya akan coba bahas tentang tokoh lain dari film ini 👀

A丸, out!

[ask-cloverfield]

Shin Ultraman English Dub if it were good

[kyonkyonson]

And while he's not planning to destroy us like Zōffy, or cause all-out war like Zarab, he still condescends to us, treats us like fools or children. Ultraman is the only alien in the film who respects us as sentient beings and recognizes our potential. Almost like that's a theme or something...

Something I find deeply fun about Shin Ultraman is the main antagonist’s motive

The film’s main antagonist is Mr. Mefilas an extraterrestrial who has been on earth since before the events of the film seeding the beginnings of his plan

Releasing various bio-weapons on Humanity to destroy vital elements of their infrastructure, luring Ultraman to earth to act as their guardian and instilling in them a feeling of helplessness

Manipulating public opinion perpetually all for one simple goal

To ensure humanity will pay as much as possible for the device he is selling

He is literally just a snake oil salesman

I love it so much

[chacerider]

☆シン・ゲッダン☆ 

(i polled twitter and they chose zōffy, blame them 😂)

[ask-cloverfield]

So I kind of became of obsessed with the final antagonist of Shin Ultraman wall of text under read more or if we are being generous lets call it a character study and I am obsessed with villains who are horrified by the idea of killing their rival

Zōffy is the final antagonist of Shin Ultraman. I was very curious to see how he was adapted because his final speech with Ultraman in the original series is one of my favorite moments in the franchise and I am delighted to see that Zōffy lives up to the original.

I believe he serves as an enjoyable example of an angelic villain in service of a Greater Good, whereas Ultraman is of course horrified by what they have declared lesser.

Shin Ultraman is of course the story of an alien who was captivated by Humanity and ignored a code of non-interference to land on their planet and protect them from threats too large for them.

However When he lands* he inadvertently kills a human. After this he takes his form, his memories and proceeds to try and live this man’s life to gain an understanding of the man he killed*. In doing this he violated his planet’s code to “Merge” with a planet’s indigenous species.

He is captivated by humanity in part due to their fragility.

Ultraman Lipiah is an alien from the Star of Light*. Specifically he is an Emissary* tasked with monitoring the indigenous life-forms of his sector. It is also implied they serve as something of a deterrent from anyone wishing to exploit less developed planets. His actions throughout the film continuously violate their Star’s code, and this causes the Star of Light to replace him with Zōffy.

Zōffy is there to serve as the planet’s adjudicator, the events of the film have given Zōffy a simple conclusion about humans, namely that they should be killed before they become too much of a threat. Especially as the interstellar community is aware of their capacity to become bioweapons.

And now we get to the actual discussion of the character.  When he arrives he doesn’t open by telling Ultraman his decision to eradicate the stellar system. 

He arrives and sees Ultraman sitting over the body of the man he killed at the start of the film. It is instantly clear to him that Ultraman has done the taboo.

“You took this man’s life, Lipiah. No, I’ll call you by the name you’ve been given on this planet, Ultraman”

And yet he says this in a sympathetic tone before allowing him to explain what happened. For a character meant to serve as the film’s final ideological villain he opens his conversation by trying to show Ultraman every courtesy he can.

He refers to Ultraman committing their culture’s greatest taboo as merely a mistake in a gentle tone before trying to argue that humans will be exploited as bioweapons if they don’t act soon. As he activates the Orbital Suppression System Zetton he tries to comfort Ultraman in a truly morbid fashion.

“The Star of Light has documented nearly 13 billion intelligent life forms. The loss of one will have no impact on the Universe”

I am genuinely captivated by his continued attempts to downplay the “consequences” of Ultraman’s actions. Ultraman of course responds that, “for the inhabitants of this planet One is all there is.” and begins to walk away.

However as he does Zōffy calls out to him in a desperate voice, “Is the intelligent life on this planet worth dying over?” as Shinji continues walking unperturbed he calls out in a slightly more frantic tone “Ultraman!”

The more I watch this scene the more I am convinced that Zōffy is of course trying to get Ultraman to escape Zetton’s blast radius. The destruction of this stellar system is to him tragic but a necessary evil, but the death of a comrade? 

Ultraman goes to attack Zetton and ends up brutalized and as he falls from the sky Zōffy appears to him and says in a heartbroken tone of voice, “Resistance is futile… Stand aside and await humanity’s purge, Ultraman.” 

Ultraman of course does not stand aside and with the help of humanity rises* and defeats Zetton, albeit left mortally wounded and unable to form his physical body and is left adrift in a pocket dimension. 

However, much like in the original series, Zōffy finds his wounded comrade. He gently tells him to open his eyes and states with much relief that it is a miracle he was able to find him. Zōffy listens to Ultraman deliriously talk about various virtues of humanity and Zōffy quickly agrees and states Ultraman was right and they deserve protection. 

However something about this struck me. Zōffy’s tone of voice doesn’t really seem to line up with someone who has changed their ways. However it certainly sounds like the voice of someone talking to someone who is going to die and wanting to convince them of a point so that he can get him to agree to come with him and get medical attention.

I cannot exaggerate the desperation in his voice in this scene. He speeds through that revocation of his view of humanity so he can state that he is taking Ultraman home and they can leave the humans in peace. The sheer relief in his voice when he says “Come. Let’s return to the Planet of Light, Ultraman.”

However Ultraman states that within him there is a human and to allow him to live he must remain on Earth. Zoffy hastily adds “You now understand him so well that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for him. He must understand you as well. He will forgive you.”

Ultraman then states that he fused with Shinji so he can understand humans, but he realized they are too complex to simply understand and soon he desired to be human. However humanity is running out of time and in ensuring Zetton’s death other species will fear them and continue to try and exploit them so he must stay on Earth to protect them.

So Zōffy attempts to appeal to his sense of duty. He reminds him that he must face justice in the Star of Light. Of course Ultraman makes the only choice he can. He asks Zōffy to transfer his life to Shinji Kaminaga to resurrect him at the cost of his life, adding that to be human is to accept death, that the man’s friends would also wish this and he wants to grant them this.

Zōffy proceeds to ask in a heartbroken tone, “Have you grown so fond of humans, Ultraman?” and proceeds to grant his wish. As he explains what he is doing he sounds choked up*. 

Zōffy claimed that humanity’s advancement and their nature to transform into a bioweapon was why he was to kill them. Yet when they are the deciding factor in Zetton’s defeat, a weapon feared across the galaxy he claims no no now they are worthy of protection. I question that Zōffy was truly convinced by this.

I instead propose that the loss of one Giant of Light would have no impact on the universe, but for Zōffy one was all there was.

                                                                    *Whether or not Shinji Kaminaga’s death was caused specifically by Lipiah landing is not explicit. All that is clear is that he was behind the landing spot and sometime between Ultraman landing and killing Neronga he was hit by debris and died. For simplicity’s sake I am referring to this as the landing. The film for its part only says his “impact” killed him

*The film refers to the identity theft as merging, but everything points to Shinji being dead and for simplicity's sake I will also refer to it as merging

*Alternatively translated as “Planet of Light”

*Something left ambiguous is the scope of this task. While he specifies that he is monitoring Earth’s indiginous species the effects of his decisions affect the solar system which could imply that an Emissary is to monitor not just a planet, but the entire “Stellar System”

*Listen. I need to make this joke you don’t understand

*I feel it pertinent to note a change in Zōffy’s body language. Before Ultraman is mortally wounded he is inhumanly still, doesn’t even move when flying he keeps the same pose perpetually. Until he talks to the near dead Ultraman when he suddeny can’t stop fidgeting and uncomfortably shifting.