Heartwarming / Ultraman Z

Birds of a Feather. You'll get along great with Z.

Series

Episode 1: I Ask That You Chant my Name!

• Despite what's coming after that, Haruki dedicated his life to save a little dog while almost jeopardizing the mission in handling Gomess.
  • After the opening, Haruki gets chewed on by the director for his reckless decisions. The director leaves, but not without remarking that the STORAGE members were able to make it out safely at the very least. Hebikura takes it up to eleven by entrusting the job of piloting Sevenger to Haruki without any ill intent.
• With mere seconds from being sucked into Bullton, Zero made his last move by giving his Z Riser to Ultraman Z, his Fanboy who's proclamation of apprenticeship is one sided. Although it looks like a case of desperation, Zero was able to put his trust into his so-called student.
• Once the fight against Genegarg ended, Yoko checks on Haruki if he was able to made it out of Sevenger just fine.

Episode 2: A Warrior's Principle

• Continuing from the previous episode, Hebikura checks on Haruki again, knowing how the young pilot had a near death experience from fighting Genegarg.
• Despite Haruki's failure to stop Neronga, no one pins the blame on him since the monster was understandable unpredictable for anyone to counter.
• Hebikura giving Haruki a training, the point being to not rely on his vision. This comes in handy in subsequent fights.

Episode 3: Live Coverage! The Monster Transport Operation

• Just like episode 1, Hebikura once again entrusting Haruki with the job to pilot Sevenger and escorting Gomora, despite his previous experience ended up having Gigass crashing a nearby observatory.
• Seeing director Kuriyama praising Haruki at the end of the episode is one major Pet the Dog moment for him, after spending the rest of the ordeal lacking faith in the young man's piloting when escorting Gomora.

Episode 4: Robot- 2 Activation Plan

• While the STORAGE members went home, Yuka burn the midnight oil in trying to find a way with charging Windom after a massive revamp that went under everyone's noses. To her surprise, Bako-san was also there to accompany her. Yuka also thought up of the plan to reduce Windom's arsenal, but Bako drops the idea, seeing how it goes against Yuka's dreams.

Episode 5: First Juggling

• Haruki's dedication to save others, this time he even goes against the orders by using Sevenger unauthorized to melt Windom and remove her safely.
• Juggler actually saves Haruki from Peguila's ice ray. Just goes to show that he really is a good guy now.

Episode 6: The Man Returns!

• Following the previous episode establishing that Hebikura is Juggler, Gillvalis' episode puts his character in a new perspective. Juggler's old self would have been heartless enough to left the entire STORAGE to the genocidal AI and save his own skin, but instead, his first order is to have all personals evacuate the area.

Episode 7: His Majesty's Medal

• Juggler himself helping Riku twice; first by covering his relation to Geed from the STORAGE members and second, saving him from the Valis Raiders. Granted that he was only there to catch the mastermind (and failed), but Riku trust him enough to keep his rank in STORAGE a secret.
• Zero's grand return in all of his glory. His first words are addressing Z and his student to rise again if he actually wants to live up by that title. At the end of the episode, Zero fully trusts Z into defending Haruki's Earth instead of staying behind and helping him catching the perpetrator of the Ultra Medals' theft.
• Riku volunteers himself to stay in Haruki's Earth in assisting Z, but Haruki reassured his senior of his wellbeing and encouraged him to pursue the Devil Splinters scattering in outer space.

Episode 8: The Mystic Power

• Juggler once again shows his good heart by giving Z and Haruki the medals needed to make Gamma Future

Episode 10: Here Comes the Space Pirate!

• Juggler saving Yuka, even goes as far claiming STORAGE is his territory. Despite everything, he cares for his crew.

Episode 11: What Must Be Defended

• We learn Haruki's father has passed on when he was a child in this episode, no thanks to the returning Geistron and he spends the day of his death hanging out with his mother. It's pretty nice that Juggler happily gives him the day off.
• There's two Red King's that appear in this episode. Both rise up and attack, leaving Z and the new King Joe STORAGE Custom to deal with them. Haruki kills the male, and then joins Yoko to fight the female, but then he learns something... they were just defending an egg. Knowing that he's just killed a father to be, Haruki has a My God, What Have I Done? moment, and then, just when Yoko is about to kill the female, he defends it with a barrier. The mother and her child then move elsewhere to live more peacefully.
• Earlier in the episode, he also saves a little boy from being killed by the first Red King.

Episode 12: The Cry of Life

• Haruki goes through an epiphany, realizing that various of the monsters weren't deserving of death for the destruction they brought and that their deaths were a tragedy.
• Haruki refuses to kill Grigio Raiden after watching it desperately trying to cry and fight for its life. Too bad Yoko isn't as merciful and kills the monster.

Episode 13: I'll Feast on Medals!

• This episode shows us that even though her actions with the fight against Grigio left Haruki heartbroken, the two of them are still friends. Yoko even leaves him an instant Yakisoba at the end of the show, proving that she still has her heart for him.
• This episode reveals that Juggler stole the notes of Celebro's Ultra Medal producing recipe in episode 8. He scraps the paper nonetheless and throw them away, a far cry from how Juggler would do back in Ultraman Orb.
• Haruki telling Kanegon stories of how he got together with Z is really sweet and is almost like a dad telling his child about stories he had with his best friend.
• Kanegon can sense the Medals want to go back to Haruki, and both plan to get him out of his stomach... by diarrhea, but still.
• Z finally realizes the stress Haruki must be going through, and while he still has no answers how to deal with it, he promises his human companion that they will find the answer together.

Episode 14: Four Dimensional Capriccio

• STORAGE's party with King Joe's success. It just shows that everyone in the team are True Companions.
• Bullton's powers actually sends Haruki back to the past... and he encounters his father. Still not sure what to think about how he can protect humans and monsters alike, he asks his father for wisdom.
  Haruki's Father: You can't protect everyone you'd like to. Even if you reach out to help them, there's a limit to your reach. So... for those within reach... and the justice I believe in... I protect those I believe in with all my might. I believe that's my duty.
• Haruki then shakes his father's hand, and his dad barely finds out that the stranger in front of him is actually his son before Haruki is sent back to the present.

Episode 15: A Warrior's Duty

• Haruki's determination to save Geed from Greeza, it even gets to the point where Z even shares this sentiment and together, the two forces the Belial Atrocious Medal in together.
  Z: Lets do it together.
  Both of them: CHESTO!!!!!!
• The Beliarok is not willing to fight with Z at first, but when the young Ultra tries to force it to against it's will, Haruki stops him, instead insisting it's best they get to know each other as fighting partners, as it is a pretty intelligent sword and not just, well, a regular sword with Belial's head on it.

Episode 17: Beliarok

• For the brief time they're together, the Beliarok and Juggler form an actually pretty nice bond.
• Haruki and Z is able to get Beliarok back to them. For the time at least.

Episode 18: Redo In the Year 2020

• At the end of the episode Juggler can't help but comment how impressed he is how ordinary citizens and the police were able to stop the first invasion attempt back in Ultra Q. It tings with plenty of The Real Heroes trope.

Episode 19: The Last Hero

• Z and Aces relationship. Ace is a great mentor to the young Ultraman and guides him through the fight with Baraba. It gets even sweeter in the end. Near the beginning, Z says he actually has a debt to ow Ace, but he doesn't state exactly what that is. At the end of the episode though, Ace says "Do you remember why I named you Z?". Yep, that's right: Ace is Z's Godfather!

Episode 20: To Care and What Lies Beyond

• Ruki's care for M1 is quite a heartwarming sight. When M1 goes on a rampage, she desperately tries to have STORAGE spare his life instead of killing him.
• STORAGE successfully saving M1, considering how guilty Haruki had felt about killing Kaiju, it is quite nice to see him finally be able to spare one.

Episode 21: D4

• The fact that despite their job being to take care of Kaiju, all members of STORAGE refuse to use the D4 after witnessing its destructive power. Even Juggler is completely opposed to using it and outright defies Director Kuriyama's orders, which unfortunately lead to STORAGE being disbanded.

Episode 22: Individual Tommorrow's

• Everyone seems actually pretty happy in this episode. Haruki and Yoko are hinted to be dating (though both of them try to deny this), Yuka and Bako are part of STORAGE's new Sevenger themed exhibit, and Juggler is, well, being Juggler and sneaks back into the facility.
• Bako decides to full on pass the torch to two new STORAGE mecha mechanics, telling them to take good care of the robots for him.
• With the main four taking new jobs, except Yoko who's been hired to pilot the upcoming Ultroid Zero, Haruki feels like his main dream has been stripped from him. Juggler, however, says it hasn't, and that Haruki can prove the things that stripped him of his dream wrong.

Episode 23: Prelude to a Nightmare

• Haruki and Yoko go on another break together. These two totally don't have some deep romantic feelings at all.
• Guessra and Takkong actually escape the fight with Z and Ultroid Zero alive. Three other monsters though, don't share that fate..

Episode 24: The Game to Extinction

• Celebro nearly kills Haruki, but Juggler saves him at the last possible minute. It really goes to show he's not a bad guy anymore.
• Bako seems to realize Haruki is Ultraman, and lets him go into battle. Even before that, he helps clear Haruki's mind with a car drive.
• Possibly the biggest in the episode is the mother Red King doing everything she could to protect the egg. While she is absorbed she bought enough time for Haruki and Ultraman Z to come to rescue the egg. Haruki even takes several hits while carrying the egg to safety.
• The end of episode 24 almost seemed what it looks like to be the Darkest Hour for the mankind as Ultraman Z was defeated and another transformation would kill both him and Haruki. Haruki awakened inside a basement and discovers Juggler, still seeing his former captain as a Broken Pedestal after all the crap he pulled in the early episode. However, former STORAGE members gather behind him and Juggler gives Haruki his former uniform, telling the young boy to suit up and prepare to reclaim STORAGE's base.
  • Lets remember that at the beginning of the episode, Juggler almost got Ultroid Zero and willing to leave Haruki behind, but abandoned it for the young boy's life. Haruki was supposedly defeated at Fukuma City, his hometown and there's implication that Juggler spirited him back to Tokyo to regroup with STORAGE members.

Episode 25: Warrior's Shining Beyond

• Haruki's last arm wrestle with Yoko is this mixed with Tear Jerker. Especially if you include the fact they might get married in the future!
• Seeing Shinya finally get revenge on Celebro is really nice. He and Yuka finally kill the alien parasite off screen via disection.
• Beliarok seems to perform a Heroic Sacrifice earlier in the episode. But when Haruki and Z leave to take on other monsters across the universe, he comes back! Turns out he's pretty much immortal. He sticks with the two young warriors since he thinks he can cut more things if he sticks with them.