Zangill

Zangill (ザンギル, Zangiru)^[1][2][3][4] is an alien ronin who first appeared in the seventeenth episode of Ultraman Blazar.

Subtitle: Space Samurai (宇宙侍, Uchū Samurai)^[1][3][4]

Conception

Etymology

Zangill's name is possibly a combination of 斬 (Zan, root form) and 斬る (Kiru, verb form), which both mean "to cut (someone) down with a sword".

Design

Zangill was designed by Takanori Tsujimoto, who also directed the episode.^[5]

In a behind-the-scenes interview on the YouTube channel of Mitsuru Karahashi’s wife, Miki Mizuno, Tsujimoto discussed the production meetings where the introduction of many new kaiju in Ultraman Blazar was considered. Although Tsujimoto personally preferred using existing kaiju, he acknowledged that the episode he directed could also feature new kaiju. With ample time available, Tsujimoto took the initiative to design a new monster, which ultimately led to the creation of Zangill, a concept that was approved.^[6]

Tsujimoto explained that Zangill was designed with the image of a Japanese sword, featuring sharp, angular details and a body inspired by tsukamaki, the traditional art of wrapping silk braids around a sword’s hilt to create distinctive patterns. Furthermore, the choice to create a simple, streamlined facial design stemmed from his realization that previous monster designs had become overly intricate, making them harder to recognize. The design was ultimately simplified by incorporating the image of a knife. The title "Space Samurai" was chosen for its appealing phonetic quality in Japanese.

History

Ultraman Blazar

Long ago, Zangill was a reckless swordsman who wandered the universe in search of mighty foes. But one day, he encountered a master swordsman and was slain. Humbled, Zangill was entrusted with the mission of bringing salvation to the souls of 108 kaiju as a form of redemption, now as a wandering spirit himself. To that end, he would hop between planets, eventually finding himself on Earth.

In Japan, Zangill had used the powers of a manifestation crystal to grant the souls of defeated kaiju a visible form before slaying them. To solve this mystery, Gento Hiruma tries to get ahead of Zangill by showing up at the former site of Novaio Corporation, where Leviera had once been defeated. However, Zangill had wished to meet Gento for himself, and after liberating Leviera's soul, the two chat at a restaurant, where Zangill explained his circumstances and revealed that he had encountered the last kaiju soul to fulfill his mission. However, that kaiju had absorbed the powers of his crystal, granting it a corporeal form, and thus Zangill required Gento's assistance.

Soon after, the vengeful spirit, which was none other than Nijikagachi, landed in Sakaime City. Gento transformed into Ultraman Blazar to face the kaiju, but was almost blasted away if not for the timely intervention of Zangill. Channeling his supernatural powers into Blazar's Tilsonite Sword, the two tag-team and seemingly defeat the kaiju. But due to its supernatural nature, Nijikagachi's spirit manages to possess Zangill, and the swordsman unwillingly turns on his ally. The fight comes to a momentary standstill, and the two then make a final lunge at each other. Blazar seemingly deals a fatal blow, but he instead manages to exorcise Nijikagachi's spirit from Zangill, and the two slay the vengeful spirit with a decisive blow.

Later, Gento meets Zangill at the same restaurant and asks him about his future plans. Zangill reveals to Gento that he, too, is a wandering spirit, and with his mission complete, the crystal can no longer sustain his physical form. The swordsman expresses his gratitude having fought alongside esteemed comrades, but Gento comments that his coffee has not yet arrived. Zangill smiles, and with that one lingering regret, he departs for the afterlife. ^{The Wandering Zangill}

Zangill's crystal was later taken by Gento and placed on the desk at the SKaRD CP for safekeeping.^{The Towering Terror}

Trivia

• Actor: Mitsuru Karahashi^[7], J. Michael Tatum (English dub)
• Suit actor: Satoru Okabe
  • According to Tsujimoto, Karahashi was highly engaged in his portrayal of Zangill and contributed numerous scene suggestions to the director, some of which included parodies from his past works. However, due to filming considerations, some of these proposals were politely declined.
  • The samurai terminology used in the series was crafted by Karahashi himself, who consulted with crew members familiar with samurai culture during filming to ensure authenticity.
  • Karahashi had hoped to incorporate a running gag from Ultraman episode 34 "Present from the Sky", in which Shin Hayata accidentally grabs a spoon while attempting to transform. However, Tsujimoto had already used this gag twice in Ultraman R/B and Ultraman Taiga, leading him to worry about potential criticism from viewers. As a result, he struggled with how to decline Karahashi's suggestion.
• Zangill takes his mannerisms from the samurai of Japan, and he loves coffee, considering it a cultural trait Earth should take pride in.
• The Telemaga article notes that the purpose of the luminous organ on Zangill's chest is unknown.^[3]
• In the Dharmic religions (e.g., Buddhism), one must overcome the 108 temptations to achieve Nirvana. This symbolism is present throughout mythology and spirituality across Asia, including Japan, and thus is likely the inspiration for Zangill's mission, which was to vanquish 108 wandering kaiju souls for him to achieve salvation.
• Zangill was originally intended to make a cameo appearance in Ultraman Blazar The Movie: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown. According to the film’s audio commentary, director Kiyotaka Taguchi explained: “In the original script, the opening scene, where Gento is washing dishes in his apartment, was supposed to take place on the rooftop. He would be hanging sheets to dry, with Zangill appearing behind one of them. However, this idea was dropped due to a lack of suitable filming locations.” On the planned filming day, they considered shooting on the balcony of the apartment used as Gento’s home, but this was canceled because of excessive noise from passing trains.

Ultraman Arc

After Zangill passed away, his spirit somehow ended up in the shadow land where the Infernal Dark Shogun Beast Hellnarak resided and ruled over. Zangill refused to give in to the Dark Shogun's influence, preventing himself from becoming one of Hellnarak's minions. When Hellnarak decided to invade the world of the living, Zangill opposed the wicked monster and fought against the ghost kaiju that it summoned and controlled through the eggs it spawned. He followed Hellnarak through the dimensional rift leading to another world, determined to stop the Dark Shoguns plans. However, rejecting Hellnarak's dark energy also meant that Zangill could not last much longer in the physical world and his condition began to deteriorate rapidly.

In his human form, Zangill appeared in the Sorajima campsite in Hoshimoto City, where he observed SKIP members Yuma Hize and Shu Ishido investigating the area. When a Mogusion hatched from one of Hellnarak's eggs, Zangill used the special frequency of his sword to drive away the ghost and save the two SKIP members. Zangill then reappeared to help Ultraman Arc in his battle against Mogusion, who could now materialise at will. By clanging his sword once more, he imbued the Arc Eye Sword with the ability to cut through the incorporeal, which allowed Arc to defeat Mogusion. ^{The Light of Fear}

The next day, Zangill appeared in front of Yuma and Shu again to warn them of Hellnarak's impending attack, before he sensed an incoming omen through the dimensional tear. He tried to take his leave, but his weakened state prevented him from doing so. Fainting as he tried to jump away, he was brought to SKIP's office where he explained the situation to the team, who recorded the sound emitted by his sword in hopes of using it against the ghost kaiju. He also confessed that Yuma had a similar aura to a friend of his from another world and almost revealed his identity to the rest of the team, but was stopped in time. Zangill also had the opportunity to have some of Shu's coffee, which he greatly enjoyed.

Calling Yuma to the rooftop to speak with him privately and attempted to teach him how to "slice from the heart" to defeat the ghost kaiju that Hellnarak was commanding while reminding him of his duty as an Ultraman to protect the peace and harmony of the planet. Later on, Hellnarak summoned Gedos and many Taganulars; Zangill chose to deal with the latter while Ultraman Arc fought against Gedos. However, Zangill's remaining time in this world was short and during the battle, he could not keep up with the hordes of insect kaiju. He retreated from the battlefield while Arc took over, using his Galaxy Armor and the Demon Slicing Meteor Sword he learned from Zangill to cut through the waves of Taganular. The rest of the swarm was finished off using his Arc Galaxer's Galaxer Diffusion Arrow.

After the battle was over, Zangill met with Yuma and Shu one last time, entrusting his sword techniques and the mission of defeating Hellnarak to Yuma. He had a final cup of coffee from Shu before disappearing once again, satisfied with how his life ended as he had made a friend from another world and a successor to his Meteor Sword. ^{Demon Slicing Meteor Sword}

Trivia

• Voice actor: Mitsuru Karahashi, J. Michael Tatum (English dub)
• Suit actor: Satoru Okabe

Data

Stats

• Height: 2.2 ~ 54 m
• Weight: 77 kg ~ 54,000 t
• Origin: Space

Powers and Weapons

• Manifestation Crystal (顕現石, Kengen Seki)^[8]: A crystal that glows with otherworldly power and can temporarily grant a visible form to the wandering souls of defeated kaiju. However, if a kaiju absorbs its power, it instead becomes a vengeful spirit that exists in the corridor between life and death. It also sustains Zangill's own physical form.
• Demon Slicing Meteor Sword (斬鬼流星剣, Zanki Ryūsei-ken): Zangill can shapeshift his right arm into a long blade, which was strong enough to deflect Nijikagachi's rainbow beam.
  • Energy Slash: Zangill unleashes a yellow crescent-shaped energy slash from his blade, which liberates the spirits of defeated kaiju.
  • Flame Slash: When possessed by Nijikagachi's vengeful spirit, Zangill's slashes were imbued with flames.
  • Supernatural Power: When struck against another surface, Zangill's sword emits a sound that allows it to corporealise ghostly monsters. He can imbue this property onto the weapons of others (i.e. Blazar's Tilsonite Sword or Arc's Arc Eye Sword).
• Charge Attack: Zangill flies headfirst into the enemy and bores through them with his blade-like head.
• Human Disguise: Zangill can take on a human disguise to carry out his mission discreetly. However, the disguise is meaningless to an Ultra host, who immediately see his true form.

Merchandise

Ultra Monster Series (2016)

• Zangill (2023)
  • Release Date: 2023
  • Price: 700 yen
  • JAN/ISBN: 4570118001320
  • Materials: PVC

Ultra Monster Series (2016) Zangill is a small soft vinyl figure with 3 points of articulation at its arms and waist.

Gallery

Ultraman Blazar

Ultraman Arc

Miscellaneous

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} https://m-78.jp/character/blazar-17/
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} https://m-78.jp/character/blazar-16-2/
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/blazar/sNCKn
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} https://tsuburaya-prod.com/encyclopedia/zangill
5. ↑ https://x.com/TakaTsujimo/status/1723578055585837537/
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I7Tihcufu4
7. ↑ https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/547251
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/ultraman_series/status/1723502800855044227
9. ↑ https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/kaijubiyori/6HmjC
10. ↑ https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/arc/6yjZK
11. ↑ https://cocreco.kodansha.co.jp/telemaga/news/feature/arc/GV2Qk