Ultraman Omega Episode 22 "The Star Gazer": Not "Who to save," but "Why you decided to save them"

I watched Ultraman Omega Episode 22 "The Star Gazer".

I previously defined "Omega" as a work that attempts to depict "justice chosen by oneself, not a chosen mission", rather than just a buddy drama between an Earthling and an Ultraman, and I wrote an analysis predicting that the amnesiac Sorato Ookida/Omega might be a being sent to destroy the Earth.

However, the truth revealed in Episode 22 betrayed my prediction.

Sorato Ookida/Omega was not a being sent to destroy the Earth, but he was a member of the Space Observation Team (Nagiru Eglata), an alien in the position of merely "watching over" the survival competition between humanity and monsters—the "Moment of Awakening" that inevitably visits all planets where life exists.

Well, it would be a stretch for a children's show to have the protagonist be a "destroyer," and this development was quite convincing when considering the historical context of Ultraman.

But more than that, I felt that this episode
threw a very dangerous curveball that re-questions the very significance of the existence of Ultraman
.

■ The cold-hearted position of the Space Observation Team

The Space Observation Team exists to observe the proper development and destruction of civilizations.
They eliminate invaders who are irregularities for that planet, but
they do not intervene in the civilization itself.

This setting reminds me of the Constant Point Observers from "Ultraseven" and
the Civilization Monitors from "Ultraman Max".
However, the Space Observation Team in "Omega" carries a more cold-hearted and inescapable ethics than those.

This is because they are
beings who continue to choose "not to save" while understanding that they cannot
.

■ Genesian Adel—The perspective of the side that was not saved

The Genesians were a civilization that once faced the "Moment of Awakening," but
brought about the mutual destruction of humanity and monsters due to the runaway of their own scientific power.
The survivors built a fortress planet and targeted Earth as a new place to migrate to.

To stop that invasion, Omega destroyed the Genesians' fortress planet, and
as a result, the Genesians were wiped out.

Adel, who appeared in Episode 22, is a survivor of those Genesians, and
at the same time, he is the person who saved Omega when he crashed on Earth.

Here, "Omega" presents an extremely cruel composition.

Adel saved Sorato. However, Omega did not save the Genesians.

There must have been ordinary citizens and moderates among the Genesians who were not involved in the invasion. Adel can be said to be a symbol of that "side that was not saved."

Even though he is in a position where it would be natural to hate Omega, he does not let his anger explode. He just quietly advises, "Remember your mission as an observer.".

I felt that it was even a twisted kindness, not wanting to make Sorato carry the same regret.

And as if to speak for his "resentment," Taganular appeared from underground; this sequence reminds me of the scene in "The Return of Ultraman" Episode 33, "The Monster User and the Boy," where the seal is broken and Muruchi goes on a rampage after the good alien Alien Metron is killed by humans.

"It's as if Mr. Kanayama's anger has possessed him..."

■ The Collapse of the Illusion of Being a "Friend to Humanity"

Here, one of the series' greatest questions is thrust upon us.

Why does Ultraman save humans?
Why did he not reach out to the aliens who lost their home just the same?

At this point, "Omega" has not provided a clear answer to this question.
And that is likely a deliberate choice.

If a clear answer were given,
Ultraman would risk becoming either
a god (a capricious arbiter), or
a hypocrite (an arbitrary executor of justice).

What is important is that Sorato himself has realized this contradiction.

Sorato has come to love the people of Earth.
However, Omega is an entity that is fundamentally forbidden from intervening.

This conflict may signify that the existence of Ultraman has finally reached the stage of
“consciously accepting” the contradictions it has carried for so long.
What kind of answer will Omega give to this question?

■ From "One Who Saves" to "One Who Chooses"

What "Ultraman Omega" is depicting is
not the question of "who to save,"
but the question of "why you decided to save them."

In this episode, the Genesians are wiped out, and as we head toward the final chapter,
the clear "enemy to be defeated" has disappeared from the story.

However, judging by the lineup of monster soft vinyl figures announced by Bandai, the final episode will depict a decisive battle against a final-boss-like monster,
and the adventures of Omega/Sorato will likely reach some form of conclusion.

However, what should be depicted beyond that is
Sorato's decision regarding the very system of the Space Observation Teamand,
what kind of ending the [Moment of Awakening] will reachis what I believe is the point.

What kind of choice will Sorato make in the midst of all this?

Will the cry I once dreamed of,
“I was born as Omega, but I want to live as Sorato!”
be developed in a different form?

In the past, in“Ultra Seven,”the series depicted the “bystander position” where Seven did not stop Captain Kiriyama, a human, from massacring the Nonmalt.
The shock of that episode still remains strong in my heart.

Also, in the Ultraman series 45th anniversary work“Ultraman Saga,”when Ultraman Zero was asked by Alien Bat,
“Why do you side with humans?” he answered like this.

“There’s no reason! I’ve been doing it that way for a long time!
That’s all there is to it!”

In that line, I felt the
“pride and dignity of the people involved in Ultraman”and
I couldn't help but burst into tears.

I believe "Ultraman Omega" is not a story that presents a “correct answer,”
but a story that depicts the “figure of someone who continues to struggle correctly.”

That very stance is what
the Ultra series, on the verge of its 60th anniversary, has chosen to adopt,
showing us the most sincere "way of being an Ultraman"—
I believe that, and I want to see the remaining episodes through to the end.