Meet Kazuki Komon. He’s just like you. A mostly decent guy, who often finds himself in trouble due to his naturally helpful personality. You could find someone just like him anywhere if you looked.
And by the end of Ultraman Nexus, Kazuki Komon will become Ultraman.
There’s a lot to be said about Komon’s character growth over Nexus’s 37-episode run, but what matters most is what doesn’t change — that fundamental belief in other people that defines Komon’s path through the nightmarish events that ensue over the course of the show. There are many morals and themes that Nexus promotes, but we’d like to talk today about perseverance.
When Nexus begins, Komon is our protagonist, but is notably not the host of Ultraman Nexus — that honor, at this time, belongs to a famous photographer, Jun Himeya, who had held the power of a Deunamist — the name for a host of Nexus — for a while already. Komon is, unfortunately, remarkably powerless in what is perhaps the cruelest Earth in the entire Ultraman Series.
Though he is a member of the Night Raider, the clandestine combat unit made to combat the Space Beasts menacing humanity in secret, Komon, unlike so many hosts, did not choose the life that he is living. He was recruited, black-bagged, and dragged into a world of secrets and subterfuge. He’s as far away from the ideals of the Ultraman Series as one can be.
And yet, he remains simply… good. A good man in a dark place, living up to the ideas that any Ultra would be proud of.
Eventually, Himeya’s time as Nexus comes to a brutal end — a seemingly mutual one, no less, against Dark Mephisto, the dark giant that had pulled so many strings and ruined so many lives. With Himeya lost, the light of Nexus moves on, Komon ready to take his place as a hero — but the light does not choose him.
Instead, the next Deunamist is a young, genetically-engineered superhuman, Ren Senju. Ren is, despite all his enhancements, a failure by the standards of his creators — one whose life is rapidly approaching its end. Seeking to find meaning in his final days, Ren accepts the power of Ultraman, and becomes the new Nexus. Seemingly by fate — or more likely, by Komon’s caring nature and friendly disposition — he and Ren would become close friends, with Komon supporting the new Ultraman as he embraced his role and tested his limits.
It is Ren, alongside Komon, that learns about the Unknown Hand — the mysterious force pulling the strings and commanding the various dark giants. Ren would continue the fight, but with his own life ebbing away, his time as Ultraman would not be long. His final battle would be against the chimeric Space Beast, Ezmael, and it would nearly take his life entirely. The light would leave him soon after, and head to its next host — but this was the Unknown Hand’s true plot.
When the Light finds its next host, Nagi Saijo, a member of the Night Raider, the Unknown Hand makes its move, revealing itself to have been Mitsuhiko Ishibori, another member of the Night Raider, the whole time. Ishibori tells Nagi a terrible truth — everything, every tragedy that the Night Raider and Deunamists have experienced, has been orchestrated by him. The deaths and resurrections of the people who became dark giants. The murder of Nagi’s parents. The creation of Lethe, the system that had kept humanity in darkness, hiding their memories of the Space Beasts. All were part of his plan.
Nagi attempted to become Ultraman to stop him, but this too was Ishibori’s final masterstroke — as she transformed, motivated by hatred, Ishibori was able to strip the power from her and convert it into his own power, merging with Lethe to become his original and true form — the most powerful dark giant, Dark Zagi.
Unrestrained and fully resurrected, Zagi began his rampage, eager to destroy the Earth he had used and manipulated for so long. As his Space Beast minions began to descend, the people of Earth began to despair, crying out for Ultraman to save them…
And finally, Kazuki Komon answered the call.
After supporting Nexus in his various forms for so long, the Light finally chooses Komon, and he becomes Nexus to battle Zagi. Perhaps due to his many bonds, Komon’s Nexus grows rapidly, incorporating the Junis form Himeya had used, and the Junis Blue Ren had fought with… before bringing them all together to achieve one final evolution — Nexus’s true and original form.
Ultraman Noa.
Noa, the celestial warrior Zagi had been modeled after.
Noa, the closest thing to a true divinity we have met in the Ultraman Series.
It is only through Kazuki Komon’s dogged kindness, something the Unknown Hand could not have anticipated, that Noa returns — and he whoops Zagi. The battle can barely even be called one-sided. The nightmare that held humanity in darkness for so long folds easily against the true power of the Bond — of Nexus.
Komon is a truly beloved character in the Ultraman Series, with several fans describing him as their favorite host of all time — and he only fights a single battle. The path that takes him to that battle is one that is only possible through his kindness, and perseverance — qualities that any Ultra would find admirable.
We left a lot out of this piece, because Ultraman Nexus should be watched and enjoyed (and we’d be here all day if we did go through everything.) If you want to know how it really happened, pick up the Ultraman Nexus DVD set from Mill Creek Entertainment — and for more discussions about beloved series like Nexus, stick close to Ultraman Connection!
