Ultraman Omega finale

Episode 25, the series finale of Ultraman Omega aired this Friday. From the very first episode I was hooked, and the series continued to maintain a high quality until the surprisingly emotional end.

Sorato (Omega) regained all his memories, learning that he was one of many Space Gazers, who's job is to watch a planet and not interfere with any wars between the species (in Earth's case, humans and kaiju). A space Gazer's job is to observe, study and take notes, to learn from a planet's successes and mistakes, in the hopes of finding the right formula to achieve universal peace. Having returned to his previous role as simply a watcher, Kosei, Ayumu and Sayuki were forced to rely on themselves and their team to defeat the powerful kaiju Zomera. As he continued to watch the battle, Sorato/Omega found himself wrestling with the inactive role he was meant to do and his memories of the friendships he had forged with the others, as well as the examples of human kindness he had observed during his time with amnesia. He realized that all the years of the Space Gazers monitoring with inactivity have lead to no progress in their mission for universal peace, and decided that working with the humans was a better way of gaining knowledge. Transforming once more into Omega, he prepared himself for one last climactic battle.

This series did a fantastic job with how it told its story and developed the characters, making small story beats into integral ingredients for the wider story. The relationships of the four leads was the glue that held everything together, with the friendship between Kosei and Sorato/Omega being the heart of the show. By slowly building up how strong their bond had become, and how they gave each other purpose, you felt real emotion when the truth of Omega's identity placed a wedge between them. The scene in the second to last episode where Kosei thanked Sorato for the brief memories they shared while fighting back tears was heart wrenching. When they finally rejoined forces in the final battle, the stirring climax felt earned. The pain showed by Ayumu and Sayuki over the fate of Kosei and Sorato was also quite emotional. The big reveal at the end did a fantastic job of paying tribute to the original show's mythos, while bringing this series back full circle to the very first Ultraman. After 60 years, Tsuburaya shows that they can still tell great stories and finds ways to keep things fresh, while continuing to pay tribute to what has made the long running franchise so beloved. Ultraman Omega was another triumph.