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Science Guard Party
The Science Guard members from left to right: Hikari, Mutsumi, captain Akiyama, Tobe and Marume. Pig and Monki are in front of Mutsumi.
A group of elite staffs in the Earth Self-Defense Army, all of them handpicked by Akiyama to form a team capable of fighting against monster attacks in the 21st century. Akiyama was transferred to the USA branch of monster observation, and his position as a leader was taken over by Daisuke Gondo.During the Heller Empire's invasion, the Science Guard Party decided to take full involvement in the U40 Ultras by giving into their cooperation to destroy Heller's army and liberate their home planet altogether.
As a whole
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Be it captain Akiyama, captain Gondo or Tobe as an interim captain, all three of them participate in the frontlines of fighting monsters while still being capable leaders.
- Badass Crew: Invoked. Akiyama hires all team members for being the ace in their respective fields, amassing them into a team capable of fighting against monster attacks.
- Cool Car: The Shooter ASS is a six-wheeled car with butterfly doors.
- Cool Plane:
- The Super Mardock is a massive aircraft developed by Tobe for the Earth Self-Defense Army's use, but Akiyama demanded it for his team's use since they are specifically a group of elite soldiers tasked in fighting monsters. Although capable of fighting monsters, its usually the team's mobile base if they were in need of fighting in areas outside Japan.
- Smaller jets are usually Bardy and Beatamy to go against enemies without dragging the entire Super Mardock into combat.
- Cool Starship: The Science Guard Party received the U40 battleship Ultria from Amia, replacing their destroyed Super Mardock from episode 38 and so on.
- Drill Tank: The Passerger and its successor, Passerger 2.
- Fire-Forged Friends: At the start of the series, the team members were simply doing their jobs to defend mankind from monster attacks, but as the story goes on, they get to know each other a lot more and slowly form into a team of True Companions.
- Meaningful Name: In Japanese, their name is pronounced as Kagaku Keibitai, a portmanteau of Kagaku Tokusotai (SSSP in Ultraman) and Urutora Keibitai (Ultra Garrison from Ultraseven).
- Mythology Gag:
- As seen above, their names are combinations of Japanese pronunciations of SSSP and Ultra Garrison.
- The team itself wears a pair of uniforms colored light blue/grey, like the ones seen in Ultra Garrison.
- As in the case of Return of Ultraman, the old captain was Put on a Bus and a new one took his place. Both original team members also had trouble adjusting to him, but they eventually get along well in later episodes.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When Heller unleashed an all out invasion army towards Earth, the Science Guard Party decided to go to Jupiter to destroy the Heller army's base, but the Self-Defense Army disagreed with them. Lead by Gondo, the team decided to refuse their orders anyway and helped the U40 Ultras to bring their fight to Heller.
Choichiro Hikari
Choichiro Hikari
Voiced by: Kei Tomiyama (Japanese); Gary Morgan and Steve Kramer (English)
- Back from the Dead: Hikari and Joneus were temporarily died by the hands of Bedorun in episode 19. Elek has to fetch them to Planet U40 to revive the two in the next episode.
- Chick Magnet: He has a lot of Ship Tease moments going on with Mutsumi, but he also garner a lot of attention from female characters. Best exampled with the bartender-like worker Yuriko Nojima, Joneus' little sister Amia and an alien princess in episode 24.
- The Chosen One: Joneus said that he specifically choses Hikari as his host. The reason is that he had long been on Earth's Solar System, witnessing Hikari's exploits in his space station after selflessly killing a space insect munching through the wires. This act of bravery was witnessed by Joneus alone, coupled with Hikari putting the safety of the station above his own importance (he was low on oxygen at that time) and keeping this as a secret to himself instead of being a Glory Hound about it.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite his declining oxygen rate, Hikari chooses to save an entire space station from a munching space insect over his own oxygen reserves. He survived, but the event was why Joneus had his eyes on the young man in the first place.
- Dub Name Change: Scotty Harrison in the English dub.
- Everybody Knew Already: Unlike the previous Ultra hosts, Hikari's constant absence whenever Joneus appears arose suspicion among his teammates. Marume was the first person to over get so close to expose Hikari early on in the series. In the last four final episodes, the entire team manages to catch on over what's actually happening and wasn't entirely surprised when Hikari's relation to Joneus was exposed.
- The Hero: As the protagonist of the series and shares it with Joneus.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: After being healed in Planet U40 and helped thwarting the Badel army, Hikari was returned to Earth with his memories at Joneus' home planet being erased. This was done completely to ensure that U40's existence remains a secret to mankind. It doesn't last long due to Amia's presence on Earth, as well as the Heller Army's invasion forces Hikari and the Science Guard Party to give a full participation in assisting the U40's La Résistance team.
- Meaningful Name: His family name is Hikari (Japanese for light), alluding to the fact that he is bonded to Joneus. If that wasn't obvious enough, Ultras are usually the embodiment of light.
- Sharing a Body: Hikari is symbiotically attached to Joneus, who requires a human partner to operate on Earth while maintaining his cover. Unlike Hayata, Go, Hokuto or Kotaro, Hikari never ended up in a life threatening situation for Joneus to interfere.
- Transformation Trinket: The Beam Flasher transform Hikari into Joneus by placing it onto his forehead, later on Joneus' body materializes over him. Starting from episode 21, he starts to shout "Ultra Change!" by copying said phrase from the rest of the U40 Ultras.
Tetsuo Akiyama
Captain Tetsuo Akiyama
Voiced by: Kinya Morikawa (Japanese); Tom Wyner (English)
- The Chooser of the One: He handpicked his team members based on their talents in respective fields.
- Dub Name Change: Captain Adams in the English dub.
- Expy: To Captain Kato from Return of Ultraman. Like Akiyama, Kato was the initial leader of MAT and has a parental-like presence to his team members. He was also Put on a Bus somewhere in the middle of the series and was replaced by another captain.
- A Father to His Men: He rarely spends his time with his younger team members, but gives a rather parental presence to the team. At the end of episode 2, he was absent in Mutsumi's birthday party, but delivers a birthday cake instead before returning home.
- The Leader: The first one in the Science Guard Party to be exact.
- Put on a Bus: He was promoted and transferred into the American branch at the end of episode 26. The team manages to give their final respect to him in mid flight.
Daisuke Gondo
Captain Daisuke Gondo
Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese); Sam Reily (English)
- Big Brother Mentor: His boisterous, youthful and hot blooded approach makes him fits well with the similarly young members in the Science Guard Party, while still having the authority and intelligence of a captain.
- Coat Cape: He hangs a coat over his own uniform.
- Expy: To Ryu Ibuki in Return of Ultraman. Both are substitute to the previous captain and had a rocky start with the members of their teams in their debut episode, but later on proves to be competent leaders and accepted by their team members very well.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: He puts the team members in a vigorous training in his debut episode.
- Dub Name Change: General Steel in the English dub.
- Hidden Depths: He is the first person to suspect Gamiba's presence in the Maroi Island in episode 33 when deducing that the island never had any record of earthquakes. This seems to indicate Gondo as someone with ecological knowledge.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While he's often very harsh about it, he's correct in constantly reminding the crew that humanity should not depend entirely on Ultraman alone to defend the planet from threats.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's very stern, demanding and a little short-tempered, but is very proud of his crew beneath it all.
- The Leader: He replaces Akiyama as one, starting in episode 28.
- Not So Above It All: Boisterous and a Cool Big Bro presence aside, even Gondo can spare a moment of being deathly afraid of supernatural entities.
- Sunglasses at Night: Usually seen wearing one in missions, even if it happens during the night.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: He was initially mistaken to be a common member by the scientist Henry Nishiki. Instead of correcting the senile professor, Gondo seems to enjoy going along with the charade, much to his team members' amusement.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is afraid of supernatural entities (such as Yuki Onna), although he hides it well from his team members. Fortunately for him, the Yuki Onna in question is an alien with similar lookalike who was reaching for Joneus' help.
Kei Marume
Kei Marume
Voiced by: Shingo Kanemoto (Japanese); Joe Perry (English)
- Acrofatic: Despite his overweight appearance, Marume is still an energetic and trained soldier on his own right.
- The Big Guy: Pun aside, he's more capable of using heavy artillery to destroy monsters in one shot. In fact aside from Joneus, he killed quite a few monsters with his own hands.
- Expy: Taking in both the roles of Arashi and Furuhashi into a single character. In that, they are all comic relief characters, sharpshooters and handlers of long range artillery.
- Dub Name Change: Lieutenant Marconi in the English dub.
- Fat Best Friend: To the Science Guard Party.
- Friend to All Children: As seen in episode 3 when teaching a young boy named Takashi the responsibility of a pet owner. Even moreso in episode 22 when he builds a device to send a young monster back to its original dimension after getting lost in the human world.
- Genre Savvy: He is well aware of Hikari's constant absence in monster attacks and sometimes came close to put two and two together that he and Joneus are the same person, something that is absent in past live action Ultra Series instalments.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He is envious of Hikari getting a lot of attention by other girls, even his own friend (a guy) when they planned to visit his village.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his occasional self-centered moments, Marume is still a good person at heart. In episode 2, he outright teaches a young boy who nursed a monster about the actual responsibility of owning a pet. When he saw a fake Joneus (mistaken for the real one) fighting Gilos in episode 41, he spare a minute to thank him for his work.
- Meaningful Name: Marume, having the word "Maru" as a Japanese fat for being fat.
- Shipper on Deck: Seeing a depressed Mutsumi in episode 24 (actually an alien princess borrowing her likeness), Marume remarks that going on a date with Hikari would cheer her up. This is a far cry for someone who locked Hikari into his changing room just to go on a mission with Mutsumi in episode 2.
- Spell My Name With An S: Japanese example; the Kanji of his first name, Kei/敬, is also read as "Takashi". His last name is the only one to be mentioned in the series, but supplementary materials such as a Karuta card pronounced it as "Kei".
- Those Two Guys: With Tobe, making a Fat and Skinny duo.
- The Unchosen One: He wasn't really one of Akiyama's chosen candidates for the Science Guard Party, begging said captain for membership. While Akiyama reluctantly allow him to get in, Marume proves himself a lot of times that he is as competent as other team members by being the top marksman of the team.
Hiroaki Tobe
Hiroaki Tobe
Voiced by: Masanari Nihei (Japanese); Joe Perry (English)
A mechanic in the Self-Defense Army and the creator of the Super Mardock. He was recruited by Captain Akiyama because of his experience in creating the aircraft and someimes performing modificiations to Super Mardock in order to counter any of the appearing monsters. In episode 27, he temporarily took leadership of the team after Akiyama was Put on a Bus in the previous episode while awaiting for Gondo's appearance in the next episode.- Dub Name Change: Lieutenant Glenn in the English dub.
- Captain Ersatz: Is simply an anime version of Mitsuhiro Ide, down to having the same actor/voice actor.
- Expy: A comedy relief gadget expert voiced by Masanari Nihei? Sounds a lot like Ide...
- Gadgeteer Genius: He designs the Super Mardock, hence his recruitment into the team. He also actively conducting experiments and is the team's weapon developer.
- The Leader: Becomes a stand-in captain in-between Akiyama's departure and Gondo's arrival.
- Meaningful Name: Tobe means fly, as in he is the creator of the Super Mardock.
- Those Two Guys: With Marume, making a Fat And Skinny Duo.
Mutsumi Hoshikawa
Mutsumi Hoshikawa
Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto (Japanese); Barbara Goodson (English)
- Action Girl: Part of the reason for her active involvement in the team is to prove her worth to her male members.
- Birthday Episode: Episode 2 dedicated this to her.
- Expy: Perhaps to Anne of Ultraseven due to being The Smurfette Principle of the team while still being an active Action Girl. They also have backgrounds as a medical officer in the team.
- Damsel in Distress: She was kidnapped by a giant bird in episode 16, forcing Joneus to appear and save her.
- Dub Name Change: Lieutenant Anne Johnson in the English dub.
- Dude Magnet: She's the center of Marume, Tobe and Hikari's attention in episode 2. Although Hikari had less involvement in courting her, the two had a lot of Ship Tease moments in the series.
- First-Name Basis: On the receiving end, she's the only team member to be addressed by first name instead of last name.
- Ms. Fanservice: She holds the dubious honor as the first Ultra Series heroine with fanservice scene. Mainly episode 39 for an almost naked shower bath scene and episode 41 into a full blown bikini.
- Ship Tease: There isn't much to be explored about her relationship with Hikari, but a lot of people consider them to be a couple. Marume, who initially infatuated to her at one point is a Shipper on Deck for the two.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female in the Science Guard Party member.
Pig
Pig/Computer Robot 78
Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japanese); Barbara Goodson (English)
One the many robots to be created for the Earth Self-Defense Army's services. Pig was assigned to help the Science Guard Party in their tasks.- Captain Ersatz: Pig is basically a Pigmon if its entirely a robot and a supporter of a Badass Crew.
- Do-Anything Robot: Pig mainly works as an analyzer to the Science Guard Party, but is also capable of filling up for a pilot, detecting presence of monsters, having a storage compartment for a stomach and even talking to monsters. At one point, his stomach was modified to become a stove for a pot roast.
- Driven to Suicide: In episode 7, a series of misunderstandings put him into a suicidal thought and try to pilot a malfunctioning Bardy to kill himself. Fortunately, said misunderstandings were cleared off after that and he uses said jet to attack a monster.
- Dub Name Change: PDQ in the English dub.
- Robot Buddy: One of the many robots created by the defense army to support them in their works.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: He was updated with this ability in episode 12 and uses it to talk to a trio of sibling monsters. It was never used again after that.
- Why Am I Ticking?: In episode 45, a bomb was unknowingly planted into his storage compartment by an android spy of the Heller Army. Joneus managed to remove it on time before it detonated.
- You Are Number 6: His real name is Computer Robot 78.
Monki
Monki
Click here to see Monki-Dostony.
Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba
The team's main pet.- A Dog Named "Dog": Monki is almost literally a monkey.
- Fusion Dance: An accidental one happened in episode 43 when Monki merged with Dostony 1 into Monki-Dostony.
- Team Pet: Its not everyday that a Badass Crew has a monkey for a pet.
Uruk
Uruk
Voiced by: Yukari Nozawa
A series of support robots in the Ultria battleship. One of them was activated by Pig and since then supported the Science Guard Party in their fight against Heller's forces.- Ambiguous Gender: While robots are naturally genderless by default, considering how Pig (another robot) is addressed as a male, then Uruk's is unknown.
- Last of Its Kind: Uruk was the only one of its unit to be activated despite the rest of them were visible in the Ultria ship itself. Considering that Ultria was destroyed upon entry in Planet U40, Uruk may be the only one to ever made it out, unless the Defense Army had thought of extracting Uruk's robot companions from Ultria beforehand.
- Robot Buddy: It was originally one of the many supporting robots in the Ultria. Only one unit was activated by Pig and since then it serve the Science Guard Party.
- Robot Maid: Ambiguous Gender aside, Uruk's role in Ultria is to serve as a assistants of sorts in the ship instead of real development in the battlefield like Pig did. Unlike the rest of the deactivated kin, Uruk was allowed to serve its purpose with the Science Guard even outside the ship.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Uruk simply disappeared mid way into the final episode despite surviving the whole battle against Heller Empire.
Earth Self-Defense Army
Chief Sakurada
Chief Sakurada
Voiced by: Ryusuke Shiomi
The chief of Earth Self-Defense Army in the Far East branch, he recruited Captain Akiyama as the first leader of Science Guard.- Big Good: He is the leading chain of command in the Japanese branch of the Earth Self-Defense Army.
- Only One Name: He's only known for one name in the production notes and in-universe. Sakurada may be his family name, given the Japanese' tradition of calling someone other than their family in Last-Name Basis.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: When the rest of the Self-Defense Army berated Gondo for leading the Science Guard Party away from Earth to fight Heller in space, Sakurada was the only person to smile while other executives were protesting. Its implied that like Gondo, he knows it well that the Heller army would continue attacking the Earth as long as their base on Saturn remained intact.
Aide Miyai
Aide Miyai
Voiced by: Toshiya Ueda (26, 28, 38), Toshiro Ishii (19), Minoru Midorikawa (45)
Chief Sakurada's assistant.- Only One Name: Like Sakurada, he is only addressed by a single name. Given that Japanese traditionally addresses others with last names on duty, Miyai is likely his family name.
- Satellite Character: Is only seen around the chief for most of the time and barely had little character.
Professor Henry Nishiki
Professor Henry Nishiki
Voiced by: Kazuo Kumakura
A senile professor from the Africa Branch of the Earth Self-Defense Army. He is known for being rude, snobbish and tends to misname others, but has multiple times assisted the Science Guard Party on occasion. After being rescued by Joneus, he becomes the Ultra's fanboy at times.- Accidental Misnaming: He tends to get other people's names wrong, to the irritation of Marume and Tobe.
- But Not Too Foreign: He is of a Japanese lineage, but was born in London.
- Fanboy: He becomes a fan of Joneus after seeing the giant Ultra for the first time.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his senile and tendency to misname others, his heart is still there.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Episode 32 has him mistaken Gondo as a new member instead of a new captain. While Gondo does keep on the charade, at the end of the episode, he was implied to have pretend his fault just to observe the new captain's behavior.
- Parental Substitute: He gained custody of the Toughgilaco children after Joneus shrank them and killed their parents.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Because of Hikari's absence in Ultria when fighting as Joneus in episode 44, Nishiki managed to put two and two together, but decided to keep it a secret.
Yuriko Nojima
Yuriko Nojima
Voiced by: Mari Okamoto
A female waitress and bartender in the Earth Self Defense Army's coffee shop, who previously failed in an entry exam for the enlistment of Science Guard. She only appeared in episodes 12, 13 and 18, but the last one is her major involvement to the plot.- Blatant Lies: She lied to her father in her letters that she successfully went on missions as a member of the Science Guard Party, despite her failing their entrance exam.
- Can't Catch Up: She wants to be enlisted into Akiyama's Science Guard, but failed in the entrance exam. Her father didn't know about this until the end of episode 18.
- A Day in the Limelight: Her last appearance in episode 18 served as one to her involvement and background.
- Ship Tease: Given on the lies she written on her letter to her father about being enlisted into the Science Guard, she is implied to harbor a crush for Hikari.
