This past Friday, we ended our week-long Ultraman Day celebration with Ultraman Connection Watch Party: Ultraman Blazar Ft. SKaRD! Sean Nichols, aka Ultraman Max’s own Team DASH member Sean White, hosted the live screening of Ultraman Blazar episodes #1 and #2. Sean was joined by all five of the SKaRD defense force cast members; Tomoyo Warabino (Gento Hiruma), Himena Tsukimiya (Emi Aobe), Hayate Kajihara (Yasunobu Bando), Konomi Naito (Anri Minami), and Yuki Ito (Teruaki Nagura). This was the cast’s first time watching an episode all together and we were lucky enough to be a part of the fun!
Sean Nichols guided the night with questions for each cast member, all of whom were so charming the chat could barely keep up with enough heart emojis. Even though they weren’t in character, we all couldn’t help but feel that their natural chemistry as a group is a great sign for what’s to come with the SKaRD team on screen.
Tomoya Warabino spoke of his appreciation for the amount of foreign-language comments on the Blazar episode streams and the recent adoption of Ultraman in the west. Himena Tsukimiya built on that sentiment, admitting she had been nervous about how the story would translate but she is elated with the fan response. Konomi Naito credited the translation as well, specifically praising the inclusion of multi-language subtitles, a sentiment shared by many fans as well.
Of course, it was Hayate Kajihara who stole the show, practicing his English with a few “I Love You’s” to the crowd, who all subsequently lost their minds with excitement. If he wasn’t already, Yasunobu Bando is definitely going to be a popular character from now on!
We got to see the actors’ live reactions to episode one, followed by a panel in which each cast member shared their favorite scenes. Yuki Ito shares his favorite scene, the mobile team running down the stairs, strategizing against the threat. He says he loves it because it exemplifies teamwork. Himena Tsukimiya, on the other hand, elicited some LOLs in the live-chat for choosing her own scene but who could blame her? Emi Aobe rocks.
After episode 2 the team shared their favorite audio moments. Konomi Naito acknowledged the opening theme song being that episode two was the song’s first premier. Tomoyo Warabino’s favorite audio moment was when the Blazar Stone heated up and burned Gento, alerting him that it was time to transform into Blazar. The “Ah-tch!” sound of Gento pulling his hand away signified that he is affected by Blazar and he truly does have this connection. This is the first time, in Warabino’s eyes, that Gento realizes he is being beckoned by Blazar. It is the start of the internal journey.
We also got some new intel on the Kaiju to come in Ultraman Blazar episode 3. Taganular is a never-before-seen Kaiju and from what we hear he has a very unique fighting style. Many people in the chat shared excitement to see Taganular in action, as well as Earth Garon who will be showing up as well.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Ultraman Connection Live show without featuring a Kaiju. Earth Garon joined the panel in the flesh to show off his epic design and show his own appreciation for his loyal fans. Of course his stay was cut short by Warabino who used his Blazar Stone to summon Blazar, the yowling man, himself!
The team reminisced on ad-libs, acting decisions, character choices, and even answered some fan comments in the live-chat. Ultimately the event platformed the authentic dynamic of the team, gave the audience a chance to get to know who we’re about to be getting to know, and hyped everyone up to continue unfolding the mysteries of Ultraman Blazar.
If you missed the party yourself, don’t worry — Ultraman Connection Watch Party: Ultraman Blazar Ft. SKaRD will soon be available in the Ultraman Connection Exclusive Videos section. In addition, special versions of the Ultraman Blazar dub, featuring English translations of screen lettering, will be posted in that section every week! But you can only check it out if you become a member (which is free)! And for more news and stories on Blazar as it continues to excite and astound, stay close to Ultraman Connection!
