Trivia / Ultraman Leo

• Acting for Two: Tatsumi Nikamoto, Leo's suit actor, also played Ultraseven, more prominently in Episode 1, where he rescues himself.
• Actor Allusion: Takeshi sure likes to throw boomerangs.
• Actor Leaves, Character Dies:
  • The MAC members and Kaori Okano (Momoko), Miima Tominaga (Kaoru) and Yukio Ito (Takeshi).
  • Kohji Moritsugu was appearing in a few movies at the time, so his departure is understandable.
• The Cast Showoff: Ryu Manatsu (Gen) sings the first theme song, does the awesome martial arts/gymnastics demonstration in the very first scene, as well as sings a song in which Gen yearns for his home planet. Miina Tominaga, who would later on have a singing career as well as a VA career, sang a few times in the show as well.
  • According to the Ultra Wiki, Ryu Manatsu did nearly all his own stunts, except in Episode 3 (some of the fights vs human-sized Tsuruk) and Episode 8 (possibly somebody else did the Parkour?).
• Casting Gag: Susumu Kurobe and Hiroko Sakurai appear together in Episode 30 as a bike shop owner and the human form of Rolan respectively.
  • Yuriko Hishimi played the "mother" of an alien boy who conveniently ran into Dan in the previous episode.
• Creator Backlash: Kohji Moritsugu has said that he disliked the way Dan treated Gen, although he's added that he understands Dan's intention to strengthen Gen. He was also not fond of the infamous jeep training scene and tried to get the director to stop after a few takes because he feared he might accidentally hurt Ryu Manatsu.
• Hey, It's That Sound!:
  • From the original Ultraman: Black Garon uses Gomora's roar, Ashuran uses Red King's, and Alien Flip's is recycled from Baltan.
  • In Black End's introductory appearance, the monster makes Anguirus sounds, but when he battles Leo, his roar is changed to that of the Toho King Kong.
  • The Gillas Brothers borrowed their sound from Gyango.
• Killed by Request:
  • The reasoning behind Kaoru's sudden and untimely death in episode 40 was caused by Miina Tominaga's parents wanting her to withdraw from the show due to her grades slipping in school.
  • In the same episode, which aired on Jan 10 1975, MAC member Matsuki Haruko (Tomoko Ai) and Gen's friend Takeshi (Yukio Ito) were killed off. Their actors, once their schedule was freed, would appear in Terror of Mechagodzilla (released in April) and Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (first aired in March), respectively.
  • Also, the budget (meager as it seemed to be) was cut due to the Oil Crisis.
• No Stunt Double: Nearly all of Gen's stunt scenes were done by Ryu Manatsu himself, with a few exceptions in Episode 3 and Episode 8. This actually became a case of Enforced Method Acting when filming the infamous jeep training scene in Episode 6, where all of Gen's fearful reactions towards the jeep running at him at full speed are the actual reactions of the actor himself.
• Prop Recycling
  • Alien Babalou was created from the Alien Magma suit.
  • Rolan's costume is a feathered mix of the Alien Wolf and Northsatan suits.
• Recycled Soundtrack: A few selections from Return of Ultraman, Mirror Man, and Ultraseven are used alongside plenty of original music.
• Wag the Director: Alien Magma's reappearance in Episode 30 was a suggestion from the show's child actors.
• What Could Have Been: When Tsuburaya Productions cast Kohji Moritsugu as captain of MAC, his character was meant to be a new character named Tetsutaro Kawakami. However, Kohji Moritsugu was concerned viewers would confuse Kawakami with Dan, so the character was changed, which probably explains the complete change of character.
• You Look Familiar: Kaoru Sugita played a supporting role in Episode 31 before she reappeared in Episode 40, playing Azumi Miyama, Nurse Miyama's youngest daughter.
  • In a case of You Sound Familiar, Tetsuro Sagawa (Captain Ryu from Ultraman Ace) once again narrates an Ultra Series.

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