[Gold Ninja Drive]

So I've started to get into Ultraman quite a bit recently. I watched a bit of Ginga a few years ago and kind of fell of for a while (though I plan to finish Ginga and S eventually), and recently have gone through X and Orb. I then wanted to watch a bit of Geed so I could be caught up on the more recent stuff, but I figured that I should go through Zero and Belial's stories first, so I watched Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends The Movie (The Third Esq). Now I'm pretty used to how Toei handles massive crossover movies *cough*Super Hero Taisen*cough*, so I was pleasantly surprised at how this one was handled. The story was amazing, the characters were fairly dynamic, and I was still able to enjoy the appearance of the other Ultras despite knowing only cursory information about most of them. But there was one scene that, while at the time I thought was pretty cool on its own, I now think is amazing after having thought about it for a while. And that is the bit near the end where Zero and UltraSeven reunite.

(Incoming wall of text btw, and I think I'm going to spoiler tag it since I'll be talking about major parts of the movie)

So it starts with Zero, now back on the Ultra's home planet, seeing a crowd walk by that includes a couple carrying their baby, and he starts to go into deep though about what just happened. Now, I know it's kind of obvious, but something to realize here is that he never knew UltraSeven was his father. Thing is, though is that Ultras usually live for thousands/tens of thousands of years (i can't remember the exact number off the top of my head) before they reach the size that Zero is for most of the movie, including when he tried to take the Plasma Spark. That means that for all of those (tens of) thousands of years he never knew who his father was. As well, he most likely hated Seven up until recently due to Seven's involvement with said Plasma Spark incident. The guy stopped him from achieving his ambition for more power and in doing so got him arrested and I'm pretty sure exiled from the Land of Light [citation needed]. Now though, he realizes that not only is Seven his father, but he's also still been taking care of him this whole time, protecting him from the Spark and sending Leo to train him in his exile. And then, when the Land of Light is frozen over, the rebellion is failing, and Seven can't even fight anymore, he sends a message out to Zero. Out of all the people in the universe he could have called at that moment, he calls out for his own estranged son. Even during the battle I think he realizes this, culminating in the creation of his signature phrase:


After the battle though, with everything winding down, it seems like he's starting to realize just how horrible he has treated his own father, even if he didn't know it. Seven soon arrives and interrupts this train of thought, though. He compliments Zero, saying that he's proud of him, and Zero reaches out, seemingly wanting to embrace him but awkwardly holding out his hand for a handshake. Seven then just up and pulls Zero towards him, the two sharing a long overdue moment of love. Father and son are finally reunited.


The best part about this scene to me though was that aside from one or two lines, most of this little moment was done entirely through body language. They couldn't even use facial expressions, just their physical movements, and they pulled it off perfectly. Heck, most of what I said during this rambling was pure speculation based on what happened in the movie and a few bits I randomly remembered from the Ultra Wiki. They could have just explained or showed this process in the movie but they didn't. They just let the suit actors get it across with their performance, and if that's not how you do a reunion scene, then I... guess I'm just an overthinking idiot.

Tl;DR I think they did really well with the filming of that scene and I'm glad that I'm finally getting into Ultraman.