Mayumi Shinjoh is a character in Ultraman Tiga. She is Tetsuo Shinjoh's younger sister.
Personality
At the beginning of the series, Mayumi, like other girls her age, had a lively, cheerful, and optimistic personality, and often communicated with the members of GUTS and the medical staff in a friendly manner, showing her gentle side when helping to treat many extraterrestrial and human patients.
However, after her fiancé, Takuma Aoki died in the Gazort disaster, her personality gradually became gloomy and depressed. As she slowly emerged from the shadow, she turned her past thoughts into a strong force, which led to her mature character in the future.
History
Pre-Ultraman Tiga
Mayumi and his elder brother Shinjoh were born in Okinawa. In the past, Mayumi had experienced the crisis of drowning. This incident pushes Shinjoh to overcome his fear of swimming and saves Mayumi. This incident also laid the foundation for Shinjoh's drive to protect the one he loves.
In her third year of high school, Mayumi became enamored with the television drama "White Angel: A Nurse's Love Story" and immediately after graduation, she headed to Tokyo to study nursing. At that time, she hoped to don a pink nurse uniform and immerse herself in romantic fantasies with patients rather than facing life-or-death situations. During her nursing internship, her first patient appeared before her—a young man named Takuma Aoki who had suffered a complex fracture in his left leg due to a motorcycle accident. Taking advantage of Takuma's immobility, she diligently cared for him, and successfully captured his heart.
However, Takuma, who was deeply passionate about motorcycles, often traveled the world, making it difficult for Mayumi to fulfill her desire to go on dates with her boyfriend. Nevertheless, Mayumi cherished a photo of them together wearing matching motorcycle gear and helmets in a heart-shaped frame, gazing at it frequently.[1]
With the assistance of her older brother, Mayumi later joined TPC as an adult and pursued a career as a nurse. The Girl Who Waits for a Monster
Ultraman Tiga
Medical Center, Mayumi often handles treatment for both TPC members and GUTS members, while also assisting in treating injured aliens. She also provides any intelligence she gathers to the GUTS team as clues.
With Takuma still in America, one day Mayumi asks her brother to accompany her to the amusement park because he has too much free time on his day off. They encounter a boy being bullied by two other boys, while the boy's sister pleads for them to stop. Shinjoh intervenes, and the bullies leave.
The bullied boy, Haruki, suffers from acrophobia and seems embarrassed in front of his sister, Akiko. Shinjoh assigns Mayumi to look after Akiko, but they fail to notice that the amusement park has been sealed off by an invisible barrier. While Mayumi and Akiko are on the Ferris wheel, Gagi's attention shifts to them, and he is about to attack them. Shinjoh successfully distracts Gagi, ensuring the safety of both Mayumi and Akiko. After the incident, the children taken by Gagi are safely rescued. The bullies apologize to Haruki, and amidst the watching crowd, they shake hands and make amends.The Closed Amusement Park
One day, upon receiving news that Shinjoh and Daigo Madoka had accidentally crashed from the sky onto Kuraino Island, Mayumi worriedly went to check on her brother's injuries and ended up in tears. Shinjo comforted Mayumi, assuring her that he wouldn't die before seeing her in a wedding dress. However, upon hearing this, Mayumi feigned tears and responded, "Maybe I'm about to die", before cheerfully informing him of Takuma's impending return from the United States to participate in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Since Takuma was scheduled to return to Japan on Gorigan Air Flight 206 that evening, Mayumi drove to Tokyo International Airport to welcome him. In order to see Takuma earlier, she bypassed police checks by driving through the area where a monster sighting was suspected: the "Microwave Reception Facility".
However, Takuma's plane was attacked by Gazort II in the sky. Mayumi also encountered Gazort II's attack on her way to the airport. After her car was destroyed, GUTS rushed to the scene to rescue her. At a critical moment, Takuma unexpectedly appeared and helped GUTS members divert Gazort II's attention, giving them enough time to rescue Mayumi and escape from the monster. After Ultraman Tiga successfully defeated Gazort II, Takuma reunited with Mayumi. However, Takuma appeared in the form of a soul, accepting his own death. Before disappearing into the light, he promised Mayumi that he would love her forever.
Nevertheless, Mayumi couldn't bid farewell to Takuma. She couldn't accept the truth of Takuma's death. After Takuma disappeared before her eyes, grief-stricken Mayumi picked up a memento she had given Takuma—a necklace with their photos on it—from the ground. She tightly held onto the necklace and burst into tears once again in her brother's arms. The Phantom Dash
After the incident, Mayumi was deeply affected and began to question TPC's increasing militarization, realizing the cruelty of combat. For some time after Takuma's death, she hadn't seen her brother. When they reunited before Operation Clitters Annihilation, she expressed, "It would be great if there were no more monsters in the world. Then..." While Shinjoh responded that powerful entities like TPC and GUTS were necessary for maintaining peace, Mayumi argued whether the current world situation could truly be considered peaceful. With her brother and other members no longer participating in combat, perhaps the gods would stop sending monsters as well. The long-lost siblings seemed to end their conversation awkwardly. Feeling disappointed by the unexpected response, she seemed somewhat angry.
After the Jobarieh disaster, Mayumi clashed with Jun Yazumi, who believed that GUTS and TPC should become stronger and that sacrifices were acceptable to maintain peace. Mayumi presented a different perspective from Yazumi's pro-war stance and asked him, "Do you have someone you care about? Because if you die... you won't be able to see them again..." She added angrily, "Let's talk about peace when it comes. Anyway, you're just echoing someone else's words like a child. If everyone were to lay down their weapons, perhaps monsters wouldn't appear anymore," suggesting that laying down weapons meant letting go of hostility and that some entities might not need to be fought.
However, after witnessing the harsh reality of the front lines, she began to reconsider the meaning of humanity's pursuit of power. After reevaluating her thoughts, she reconciled with Yazumi.One Vanishing Moment
In the following period, Mayumi went with Daigo to attend a concert by the recently popular idol singer Maya Cruz, who had become a social phenomenon. On the stage of Maya's first anniversary debut concert, Mayumi listened as an audience member to Maya's new song "Blue Night's Memory".Blue Night's Memory
Before Gatanothor's resurrection and the world's destruction, she and Yuuji Tango successfully persuaded Keigo Masaki to return to save Tiga and had a brief exchange with the superpower human Makio Kirino. To the Shining Ones
Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey
After learning that Captain Megumi Iruma and the TPC investigation team lost contact on R'lyeh, in order not to worry about Daigo and Rena Yanase, who were about to get married, she and Yazumi meet them both and travel together. After Daigo was attacked by the Giants of Darkness, she then assisted and provided treatment.
A year later, she and the other members bid farewell to Daigo and Rena, who were heading to Mars. Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey
Ultraman Dyna
Ten years later, as the TPC organization expanded, she was promoted to the position of Medical Officer in the TPC Medical Bureau and frequently assisted as medical personnel for Super GUTS.
However, Mayumi still couldn't come to terms with the death of her former lover, Takuma. One day, Mayumi stood by the racetrack, watching the speeding motorcycles. Suddenly, she saw the rider, whose face resembled that of the late Takuma. However, it wasn't him. This left Mayumi feeling disheartened. But suddenly, a monster appeared from the sky, telling Mayumi, "Tragedy will strike again." Then, Mayumi woke up in the medical room. It turned out that everything that just happened was just a dream.
On the other hand, Super GUTS discovered that an unidentified object had destroyed a power plant in China and was heading towards Japan. Shin Asuka went on patrol and encountered the monster, which had a female face. After escaping and returning, Asuka doubted whether he had seen an illusion. He visited the TPC Medical Center and underwent examination by Mayumi. During their conversation, Mayumi told Asuka that according to Chinese legends, there was a monster called the "Kokakucho" that foretold of impending disaster, and mentioned that she had also seen the Kokakucho in her dreams.
At the same time, Super GUTS team member Mai Midorikawa, a motorcycle racer, is Haruchika Aoki's number one fan. He paid him a special visit. Upon learning that Haruchika is actually Takuma's younger brother, the two arrived at the site known as Takuma's "Memorial Place" where the Microwave Power Transmission System was located. Abnormal plasma clusters appeared in the sky over Tokyo, and Kokakucho emerged.
Asuka and Mayumi, riding in the Bopper, Super GUTS's specialized vehicle, discovered Kokakucho nearby. Asuka instructed Mayumi to take cover while he launched an attack using the Bopper's anti-plasma bullets. However, Kokakucho, after being hit, landed on the ground and absorbed the energy from the superconductive ring stored underground at the microwave power transmission system site, rendering Super GUTS's anti-plasma bullets ineffective. Kokakucho then launched an attack on Asuka. Mayumi brought Mai and Haruchika, who were nearby, to safety. Despite Mayumi's advice, Haruchika took the initiative to ride his motorcycle to distract Kokakucho. Unfortunately, he got caught in the explosion and disappeared. Mayumi felt uneasy, as the scene unfolded just as she had foreseen in her dream.
Ultraman Dyna appeared and confronted Kokakucho, but struggled in the battle after being struck by the enemy's lightning attacks. At that moment, a person wearing a black helmet and rider suit appeared. Encouraged by this individual, Dyna reversed the tide of the battle and defeated Kokakucho.
The man brought the unconscious Haruchika to Mayumi and the others. Mayumi recognized the man—it was Takuma's spirit. Mayumi, who had already come to terms with her past feelings, believed that her precognitive dreams were not malevolent prophecies from Kokakucho, but rather messages from Takuma, urging her to prevent this tragedy from happening.
In the end, Takuma's spirit departed from the presence of Mayumi, Haruchika, and Mai once again. Mayumi returned to the racetrack, carrying her feelings for Takuma, and moved forward into a new chapter of her life.Bird of the Phantom Dream
In the following period, Mayumi assisted Kariya in investigating the clues related to a mysterious man protected by TPC, who had connections with the playwright Hiroya Narumi. She learned that Narumi aimed to bring about a human extinction event in the real world similar to that depicted in the "Monster Drama", utilizing his creation, Bundar. Mayumi noticed an anomaly on the cover of the "Monster Drama" script. By placing a piece of silver foil on the cover, the distorted image became meaningful. The cover depicted Dyna. This revelation freed Dyna from bondage and allowed him to defeat Bundar.Monster Drama
During the incident involving The Tree of Jagira, she conducted a health examination on Noriko Jinbo with her assistant, Sayaka.The Tree of Jagira
Ultraman Dyna: The Return of Hanejiro
In the final scene of the direct-to-video special, Mayumi made a guest appearance. She stood alongside the Super GUTS team beside the hospital bed, witnessing Asuka's awakening, and witnessing the moment when the team reunited with Hanejiro.Ultraman Dyna: The Return of Hanejiro
Counterparts
Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
In this film, Mayumi is an announcer at TV Yokohama. She discusses with Jun Manjome about recent unusual events in Yokohama.Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
Gallery
Ultraman Tiga
Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey
Ultraman Dyna
Ultraman Dyna: The Return of Hanejiro
Superior 8 Ultra Brothers
Trivia
- The opportunity for Ishibashi to portray Mayumi Shinjoh arose from her role as Tsukiyo Yamasaki in the 1993 series Punishment Sailor Sisters. Kazuo Tsuburaya, the president of Tsuburaya Productions, admired this role greatly. When planning for Ultraman Tiga began, Ishibashi received a contact from Tsuburaya Productions, stating, "Ultraman will be revived next time, and we hope you can participate."[2]
- Initially, Mayumi was intended to be a regular cast member, but this would have conflicted with Ishibashi's other work commitments. Therefore, it was proposed that she appear in a non-regular capacity with intervals between appearances. Since filming began from episode 9 onwards, Ishibashi had to wait for some time before joining the production.[2]
- In the English dub, she is known as Marnie.
References