In "The New Ultraman", Anno Hideaki innovated his original image for the previous monsters and cosmic people, among which the biggest innovation is the Zarabian, because many people were surprised to say, why is the Zarabian a piece of paper man?

New Ultraman : Why Zarabu Star is a paper man, what exactly do you want to express in Anno Hideaki ?

" New Ultraman ", for the previous monsters and cosmic people, Hideaki Anno innovated his original image, among which the biggest innovation is the Zarabian, because many people were surprised to say, why is the Zarabian a piece of paper man? Could it be that in the original setting, the Zarabian is just a paper man? Or was it because the shooting technology at that time did not meet the requirements, so it was not obvious?

In response to this issue, there is actually a very intuitive picture, that is, the paintings seen when the Zarabians talked with Ultraman humans. We can find that the Zarabians have only half of their bodies, giving people the feeling that they are a creature from the two-dimensional world. In this regard, many fans also said that this may be the manifestation of Anno Hideaki's hope of 3D transformation of two-dimensional creatures. However, this statement is actually not accurate, because although Anno Hideaki made innovations, he still respects the original work very much for some settings in Ultraman. Even his character design and ability, including combat scenes, are restored one-to-one. Therefore, the purpose of designing Zarab is to restore a truly sinister, cunning, mysterious, and elusive alien.

The original Zarab Star

Zarab Star was designed by "Yuk Narita". It is a cosmic man from the eighth galaxy and has nothing to do with the paper man at all. The first appearance in "The First Ultraman" episode 18 of "Brothers from the Planets", which was broadcast on November 13, 1966. It can be said that from the title of the film, you can know that this is an alien with a hidden scheming, because the name Zarab is pronounced in reverse, which means brother in English. In other words, Zarab is the antonym of brothers. Therefore, in this episode, the Zarab people unexpectedly directed and acted a good show to gain the trust of the earthlings. Then they gradually alienated the relationship between humans and Ultraman, trying to make humans break their arms and reap the benefits of the fisherman.

The image designed for the character

can be said to be two faces in front of others and behind others, and has many supernatural abilities, such as hypnosis, changes, etc. It can be said that whether it is his words and deeds, or his ability setting, they are all for the words "lie and confusion". In this way, we are very clear that Hideaki Anno's "New Ultraman" obviously grasps the essence of the original setting, and further develops, designs Zarab into the appearance of the movie. One detail can illustrate this issue, that is, when Zarab negotiated with the leaders of the earth, we can find that he was very short, as if he was weak and sincere, but when he talked to Ultraman, it was not like this, and he immediately became tall, which shows that in Zarab's heart, he knew very well who should take it seriously and deal with it carefully.

For film and television works, the image of a character must be linked to the image, which is also the reason why some actors are professional villains, because they conform to the basic understanding of the image of bad people in the hearts of the people. In this regard, science fiction works are the same. The image design must be consistent with the character's behavior and personality to make people more convincing. Therefore, Hideaki Anno's Zarabu is designed more like a guy who wanders in various worlds without a specific image and is unpredictable. Therefore, the design of a paper man appeared, because the paper man can be changed at any time, or even rubbed and unfolded. In this regard, Hideaki Anno's innovation can be said to have added icing on the cake.

animal protection color

So is Zarabu really a paper man? The answer is naturally no, because Hideaki Anno also gave the answer. In the battle with Ultraman, we can find that Zarab's ability to change is completely different from the so-called transformation. For example, he became Ultraman, which seemed perfect, but in fact he started to be disordered after being punched by Ultraman. Finally, he was attacked by Speshum's light and was completely unable to maintain his transformation posture. He returned to the prototype. It is undoubtedly telling us that the transformation ability of the Zarab people is more like an illusion created by using optical camouflage technology. It is like some animals look like a leaf, but it is not the same as a leaf.

After he fell to the ground, the building behind him did not hit him, because at this time, his back was open and he seemed to have no physical appearance. It should have fallen into it, but in fact, none of the dropped buildings were smashed into it, as if there was an invisible wall blocking the falling thing. We can infer that Zarabu actually has a physical body, and the invisible part is completely hidden. It can be said that Zarabu's posture is his protective color, which facilitates him to move and hide himself, and can also suggest the insidious and cunning characteristics of this character.

And this design is not only used on Zarab, we can look at Ultraman. In the colorful lights at night, when Ultraman travels through it, his body is like an reflector , making people unable to see what it was originally. Just imagine, if you are also on the scene, a huge object flies over your head Go, but you were blinded by the strong light and could not see anything. It played a good protective role for Ultraman. What's more, in the beginning of the film, humans wanted to track the flying Ultraman, but Ultraman disappeared in broad daylight and could not see it with the naked eye. It can be further proved that Ultraman's skin reflects sunlight and hides its own characteristics. It can be said that applying the concept of animal protection color to Ultraman's design is a smart and reasonable approach.

Finally, I wonder if you like Ano Hideaki’s design philosophy? Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion. If you like it, I hope you can have three consecutive one click. Thank you for your encouragement and support.