Recaps

Ultraman Zero was overwhelmed by Super Grand King and the other enemies until Limings revealed a new power drawn from the six Ultra Brothers. Zero transformed into Universe Miracle Form and defeated Black King Joe, then turned to face Red-Eyed Tyrant.

• Super Grand King joined Red-Eyed Tyrant and Black King Joe, and their combined attacks forced Zero to hold them back with Limit Break Defense.
• As Zero and Shinji neared exhaustion, Limings paused time and told them to use the Riser with the six Ultra Brothers' capsules.
• Shinji activated the capsules, and Zero transformed into Universe Miracle Form as his barrier shattered and the enemies' attacks exploded around him.
• Zero struck Red-Eyed Tyrant with a flaming kick, drove Super Grand King back, and broke off its horn with Super Shooting Beam.
• Zero used Z Ray, Triple Head Blade Crash, and Double Emerium Break to disable Black King Joe, then faced Red-Eyed Tyrant.

Zero fought Super Grand King and the red-eyed Tyrant, using an explosive attack that destroyed Tyrant but failed to defeat Super Grand King. He then combined his power with the Ultra Brothers and obliterated Super Grand King with the Clustered Cosmo Miracle Ray.

• Zero attacked Super Grand King with the Vertical Guillotine and Spark Blade, but the red-eyed Tyrant caught him with its chain and tried to strike him with its sickle.
• Zero escaped Tyrant and fired a Double Cluster Beam, but Tyrant absorbed the beam through the opening in its abdomen.
• Zero drew energy from the six Ultra Brothers and hit Tyrant with the Super Ultra Dynamite, destroying Tyrant and devastating the coastline, while Super Grand King survived.
• Zero merged completely with the six Ultra Brothers and fired the Clustered Cosmo Miracle Ray, piercing and destroying Super Grand King.

UN forces accidentally revived the Mechanical Pedan Aliens inside King Joe while investigating its mainframe, and Shinji and Zero destroyed the awakened machines. The forces salvaged King Joe as four metal blocks, which interested NERV.

• UN forces sent unmanned tanks into King Joe and discovered lifeless Mechanical Pedan Aliens inside it.
• An unmanned tank activated King Joe's mainframe, waking the Mechanical Pedan Aliens, who destroyed the tanks and drove off the drones.
• Shinji used Space Martial Arts to defeat one Mechanical Pedan Alien, then Zero took over and destroyed the others with Ultra abilities.
• The Shield Soldier's special forces found the broken aliens after Zero left for the Zero Guard's battlefield.
• UN forces separated King Joe into four metal blocks and airlifted them away, while NERV showed interest in the salvage.

NERV examined the defeated Black King Joe and recovered Pedan Alien weapons while Shinji and Zero checked on their injured comrades. After returning home exhausted, Zero decided to contact Z about what had happened on his end.

• Ritsuko examined the Black King Joe wreckage and realized its technology far surpassed anything NERV could build.
• Misato and Kaji inspected the recovered Mechanical Pedan Aliens and Laser Guns, while Gendo Ikari regretted that the Dragon-Type Mechanical Monster had not been recovered.
• Yui Ikari told Zero that Glenfire and Mirror Knight were receiving treatment and the Jean Brothers had been rescued by the Alternate-Dimensional Device.
• Zero and Shinji found Jean-bot unconscious and Jean-nine badly damaged, but Jean-nine refused to be taken to Esmeralda and urged Zero to recover.
• Shinji visited the wounded Mirror Knight and Glenfire, then returned home and collapsed from exhaustion.
• Zero asked to borrow Shinji's body so he could contact Z.

Shinji and Zero visited Z’s Riser space and learned that Z and Haruki had defeated Greeza with a new fusion form and a mysterious sword. The sword, Belial Dusk, appeared with Belial’s head on its hilt, leaving Zero demanding an explanation.

• Shinji and Zero met Haruki and Z, who showed them Z’s nearly full medal case and the medals Geed had given him.
• Zero recognized Belial’s medal among Haruki’s medals, and Z teased Zero about using his old rival’s power.
• Haruki explained that combining the Zero, Geed, and Belial medals had created Infinite Zero and Atrocious Belial forms.
• Z told Zero that he and Haruki had defeated Greeza without X’s help, using a sword.
• Belial Dusk flew into Haruki’s hand, and Zero shielded Shinji before demanding to know why Belial’s head was on the sword.

Zero, Z, Haruki, Shinji, and Limings discussed how Bullton’s destruction created Greeza and how the Universe Needle became the Belial Dusk. Haruki also advised Shinji on coping with harm he had caused, leaving Shinji with an answer to his guilt.

• Zero and the Belial Dusk nearly fought until Z and Haruki explained that the sword was their ally.
• Z recounted how he and Haruki rescued Geed from Greeza and defeated it with Delta Rise Claw and the Belial Dusk, while Zero kept Jugglus Juggler’s involvement secret.
• Zero summoned Limings, who explained Bullton’s role as a universe cleaner and Greeza as a growing hole that the Universe Needle could mend.
• Shinji asked Haruki how he would respond to hurting innocent people, and Haruki said he did his best to protect others and never forgot those he could not save.

After bidding farewell to Limings and Z, Zero urged Mirror and Guren to return to Esmeralda for treatment, overcome their objections, and took them there with the damaged Jean Brothers. The group departed Earth through a portal, leaving Shinji and Kaji behind.

• Shinji thanked Limings for developing the technology behind Zero and Z's Risers and Capsules, and Limings returned to the Land of Light after urging them to stay safe.
• Zero and Z said goodbye to Haruki and Shinji, and Shinji later slept until the afternoon.
• Mirror and Guren woke in a NERV hospital room, where Kaji reassured them and promised that the Jean Brothers would be repaired.
• Zero asked Mirror and Guren to return to Esmeralda for treatment, and they agreed after he tearfully pleaded with them not to get hurt again.
• Zero released the Jean Brothers' heads, then led Mirror and Guren through a portal to Planet Esmeralda.

Zero and Shinji visited Esmeralda, where they reunited with Princess Emerana and Lem while the Jean Brothers underwent repairs. They left to return to Shinji’s world, but Emerana sensed something was wrong with Zero’s body.

• Zero and Shinji arrived on Esmeralda, and Mirror and Guren took the injured Jean Brothers for repairs.
• Princess Emerana welcomed Zero and met Shinji, then revealed that she had married and congratulated Zero on his new companion.
• Emerana asked about Ray, and Zero said he had not heard from him since Planet Bit.
• Lem arrived, and Shinji mistook him for Riku Asakura because they looked identical; Zero and the princess explained who Lem was.
• Lem told Zero that his brother Arashi was well, though he had been talking in his sleep about nature and the world.
• Zero and Shinji declined Emerana and Lem’s invitation to stay, then flew away in the Ultimate Armor as Emerana worried about Zero’s body.

While NERV investigated the sudden disappearance of the Second Branch, Yui Ikari asked Ritsuko about her research into light and humanity. Ritsuko revealed that a restriction inside Shinji's body had been lifted after he fused with Zero.

• In class, Shinji and Asuka learned Kensuke had skipped school to photograph a warship, and Toji was told to deliver handouts to Rei after school.
• NERV confirmed that the Second Branch in the Hans Nation had vanished in a blast, along with Unit-04 and its S² Engine.
• Ritsuko presented possible explanations for the disaster, and Yui Ikari asked her to show the satellite recording to Zero for analysis.
• Gendo Ikari said the Eagle Nation planned to send Unit-03 to NERV, prompting Misato to protest that they were shifting the danger onto them.
• Yui Ikari asked Ritsuko about her research into light, and Ritsuko explained that Adam, Lilith, and Ultramen shared related light data, while tests found no such components in humans.
• Ritsuko said she had paused that research to study Shinji and found that a restriction within his body had been lifted.

Yui, Ritsuko, and Gendo investigated Shinji’s enhanced abilities after his fusion with Zero, while NERV selected Toji as Unit-03’s pilot. As Zero reflected on his time in this world, Shinji and Asuka comforted each other and fell asleep together.

• Yui, Ritsuko, and Gendo discussed whether Shinji’s abilities had been unlocked by merging with Zero and wondered who had limited humanity.
• Asuka took Shinji to deliver handouts to Rei’s new home, then told him and Zero that Hikari had feelings for Toji.
• Misato announced that Toji Suzuhara had been chosen to pilot Unit-03, and Yui explained that EVA-capable children had been gathered at the school.
• Kaji brought Shinji and Asuka to tend the watermelon patch and remembered Mirror and the others, while Zero promised they would wait for their return.
• Zero reflected on his time in the world and the people he had helped before Asuka held Shinji, acknowledged his exhaustion, and kissed him; they fell asleep together.

Hayato and SEELE discussed their plans for Unit-03, Unit 8, and Adam’s vessel, while Shinji and his classmates learned about the new EVA pilot and Toji was summoned by Ritsuko. The chapter left Toji alone after a difficult day, struggling with his basketball shots and the disappearance of his teacher.

• Hayato told SEELE that NERV had chosen Unit-03’s pilot and said he would handle Dragon Country’s nearly completed Unit 8 himself.
• Hayato and Chairman Ghir examined the boy in Adam’s vessel, which was nearly ready to replace the planned sacrifice.
• Kensuke told Shinji and Asuka that Director Hideaki An*o had named the three Ultras Zoffy, Ultraman, and Ultraman Jack.
• Ritsuko summoned Toji to the Principal’s Office, and Asuka and Shinji suspected the meeting concerned Unit-03.
• Kensuke asked Shinji to help him become an EVA pilot, but Shinji warned him that piloting was dangerous.
• Toji stayed at school until dusk, cleaned up, and missed several basketball shots while lamenting his teacher’s disappearance.

Misato and Ritsuko waited for Unit-03 to arrive while Shinji reassured Toji about becoming its pilot. That evening, Shinji, Asuka, Kaji, and Zero watched Kamen Rider Black Sun, which frightened Shinji and Asuka but puzzled Zero.

• Unit-03 briefly lit its eyes as the transport plane carried it through a lightning-filled storm.
• Misato told Shinji that he could pilot Unit-01 and provide security during Unit-03's activation test.
• Rei asked Shinji to talk to Toji, and Shinji reassured Toji that his friends would support and protect him.
• Misato and Ritsuko waited for the delayed arrival of Unit-03, while Akagi teased Misato about the wait.
• Zero wondered whether director Hideaki An* came from his universe, and Asuka suggested he might belong to another universe.
• Kaji gave Zero Kamen Rider Black Sun discs, and Shinji and Asuka stopped watching after two frightening episodes.

Unit-03’s activation test at Matsushiro turned catastrophic when the Thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, took over the EVA. Shinji protected the facility staff with Unit-01 and began fighting the corrupted unit, determined to rescue Toji, who was trapped inside.

• Gendo Ikari and Yui Ikari discussed the shortage of time and technology for upgrading the EVAs, and Yui scolded Gendo for predicting Unit-03’s failure while Shinji was on security duty.
• Shinji arrived at the Matsushiro testing facility in Unit-01, where Zero sensed an ominous energy fluctuation as the activation test began.
• Bardiel possessed Unit-03 during the test, and the resulting explosion destroyed the facility.
• Shinji used the Ultra Barrier to shield Misato and the others, then blocked Unit-03’s surprise attack as it revealed itself as the Thirteenth Angel, Bardiel.
• Shinji drove Unit-03 back with a kick and vowed to rescue Toji, who was still inside the corrupted EVA.

Shinji and Zero fought the Angel-corrupted Unit-03 while trying to rescue Toji from its Entry Plug. Zero used Luna Miracle Zero to destroy the Angel’s core and stop Unit-03, leaving Toji safe and the EVA mostly intact.

• Shinji and Zero discovered that Toji was alive inside Unit-03, but the Angel’s flesh blocked the Entry Plug from ejecting.
• Unit-03 attacked with missiles, a Specium Ray, and extra arms, while Shinji fought it until Unit-00 and Unit-02 arrived to help.
• Shinji used Ultraman’s Capture Ring to restrain Unit-03, then cut away the flesh covering the Entry Plug and freed Toji.
• Unit-03 grew four more arms, broke free, and pinned Unit-01, while the Angel began corrupting Shinji’s EVA.
• Zero transformed into Luna Miracle Zero, entered Unit-03 as blue particles, and shattered the Angel’s core.
• Unit-03 stopped moving, Toji was carried out with minor injuries, and Zero left the EVA mostly intact.

After Ultraman Zero defeated Unit-03, Shinji learned Toji was safe and stayed with Asuka until he woke. At NERV, Gendo ordered Unit-03 modified with King Joe armor to support Zero and Shinji.

• Zero explained that he had spared Unit-03 to add another fighter and test a technique, while Misato and the test personnel survived the battle.
• Shinji learned Toji had only minor injuries, and Gendo ordered preparations to modify Unit-03 using King Joe.
• Shinji and Asuka waited at the medical center until Toji woke, then Asuka told him how Shinji and Zero had saved him.
• Shinji and Asuka left the hospital together, and Zero explained that his technique only worked on certain weaker or fragile enemies.
• Ritsuko and the technicians began repairing Unit-03 and fitting it with King Joe armor as Gendo, Fuyutsuki, and Yui watched.

Toji and Hikari Horaki confessed their feelings to each other while Shinji, Asuka, and Zero celebrated their new relationship. At SEELE, Kaworu Nagisa was awakened and told about humanity’s planned evolution and the Light Lifeform opposing it; after hearing another universe’s visitor’s account, he resolved to make sure Shinji Ikari found happiness.

• Toji confessed his feelings to Hikari Horaki, and Hikari told him she had liked him for some time.
• Hikari left Toji’s room bashfully, and Asuka congratulated the couple as Shinji and Zero joined in the celebration.
• SEELE and Hayato Noda activated Adam’s vessel, and the silver-haired boy emerged as Kaworu Nagisa.
• SEELE’s monoliths explained their hopes for humanity’s evolution and warned Kaworu that the Light Lifeform had sided with NERV.
• A blank monolith from another universe urged Kaworu to choose against humanity, but Kaworu resolved to make Shinji Ikari happy.

Shinji tested his growing superhuman abilities and found the kitten he had once rescued in the ruins, where he and Zero met Kaworu Nagisa, an Angel who was also human. Kaworu secretly told Zero about the world's repeated cycles and SEELE's plans, then agreed to help Shinji care for the kitten.

• Shinji leaped from a rooftop across Tokyo-3 and landed in the ruins where he had fought EX Black King, while Zero worried that their growing fusion might make separation impossible.
• Shinji reunited with a malnourished orange kitten, fed him dried fish, and agreed with Zero to build him a shelter and name him Tensei-kun.
• Shinji and Zero followed piano music through the ruins and met Kaworu Nagisa, who revealed that he could see Zero and that he was both human and an Angel.
• Kaworu asked whether Shinji was human or an Ultraman, and Shinji answered that he was both before inviting Kaworu to be his friend.
• Kaworu privately told Zero that the world had repeated cycles in which Shinji suffered through the Human Instrumentality Project, and revealed that SEELE planned to use him as Unit-03's pilot against Shinji.
• Kaworu praised how Shinji and the others had found happiness in this changed world, agreed to reconsider his view of humanity, and offered to help build the kitten's shelter.

Two submarines investigated the radiation-saturated wreck of a cruise ship in the South China Sea and encountered a giant creature that evolved during their attack. The creature destroyed the Eagle Nation submarine, swallowed its reactor, and turned toward the Dragon Country submarine.

• Dragon Country and Eagle Nation submarines found the cruise ship torn apart, with radiation levels too high to measure and a massive bite mark in the wreckage.
• An unidentified creature rose from the seabed, destroyed the unmanned submersible, and charged the Dragon Country submarine.
• The Eagle Nation submarine and Dragon Country drones attacked the creature with torpedoes, missiles, and depth charges, but it survived and evolved.
• The evolved creature seized the Eagle Nation submarine, dissolved its hull with a white beam, and swallowed its nuclear reactor.
• The creature turned its hungry gaze toward the Dragon Country submarine.

NERV reviewed the emergence of a radiation-emitting monster that evolved into a powerful third form and devastated a combined fleet, killing more than a hundred thousand people. Zero identified the monster as Gomess, and the chapter ended with him preparing to report the threat to the Land of Light as NERV readied a plan to stop it at GD City.

• Ritsuko explained that the monster evolved after submarine attacks, absorbed nuclear reactor and N2 Bomb energy, and developed a radioactive heat ray and Atomic Breath.
• The monster destroyed Unit 8 and nearly annihilated the combined Dragon Country, Eagle Nation, and Self-Defense Forces fleet, leaving more than a hundred thousand casualties.
• Zero recognized the monster's silhouette as Gomess and vowed that it would not harm humanity again.
• Yui Ikari and Ritsuko outlined a plan to intercept Gomess at GD City with an energy grid and experimental weapons, while ruling out EVA deployment and further nuclear attacks.
• Zero opened his bracelet's virtual screen to report Gomess to the Land of Light.

Zero identified the mutated Gomess as a likely result of nuclear pollution, while Shinji and humanity prepared to stop it. After Gomess devastated the coastal defenses, Zero fought it but discovered its rapid regeneration and overwhelming Atomic Breath made it a far greater threat than expected.

• Zero told Shinji that nuclear pollution may have mutated Gomess, and Shinji accepted that humans might bear responsibility while insisting they still had to stop it.
• Gomess reached the coast, broke through the energy pylons, and destroyed the human forces with its Atomic Breath.
• Shinji transformed into Zero and attacked Gomess, breaking its horn, but the monster rapidly regenerated it.
• Zero blinded Gomess with an Emerium Slash and cut a deep wound into its chest with the Plasma Spark Slash, but its tissue began healing again.
• Gomess countered Zero's twin beams with increasingly powerful Atomic Breath, and Zero realized the monster was an oversized nuclear bomb.

Zero struggled to stop Gomess from reaching GD City, but its radiation and regenerative powers thwarted his attacks. After Zero absorbed Gomess's Atomic Breath and vanished in a cloud of light, Gomess entered the city, unleashed flames, and then temporarily ceased activity.

• Zero tried to purify Gomess with Full Moon Wave, but Gomess rejected it and explained that it regarded its transformation as evolution.
• Zero attacked Gomess with duplicates, lances, beams, and Dyna's Nature Control, but Gomess resisted and its explosion sent a powerful shock wave toward GD City.
• Gomess absorbed Zero's Radiant Judgment and overpowered him in Strong Corona Form, leaving Zero pinned beneath rocks with his timer flashing.
• Zero returned to the fight to keep Gomess from reaching the city, but Gomess pierced him with radiation beams as Shinji refused to give up.
• Zero's body dissipated after absorbing Gomess's Atomic Breath, while Gomess entered GD City's urban area, set it ablaze, and then stopped moving.

After Gomess badly wounded Shinji and Zero, Zero told Kaworu Nagisa that humanity would have to handle the monster while he recovered. As NERV prepared countermeasures, an unexpected visitor who knew Kozo Fuyutsuki arrived at the base.

• NERV learned that Shinji had been found and brought him to the hospital with severe burns and other injuries.
• Kaworu Nagisa reached the badly wounded, exhausted Zero, who said he had absorbed Gomess's radioactive energy and warned that detonating the monster could cause a blast and radiation equivalent to several thousand atomic bombs.
• Zero urged Kaworu Nagisa to trust humanity's ingenuity and asked him to pass on the warning, then lost consciousness as his energy ran out.
• Kaworu Nagisa relayed Zero's message to Gendo Ikari, Yui Ikari, and Fuyutsuki, who agreed that humanity had to act while the scientists developed countermeasures.
• Fuyutsuki recognized the voice of an unexpected visitor asking for him and told the guards to let him in.

Professor Serizawa arrived at NERV and explained his theory that Gomess was a mutated Ullro that had broken through a hidden limit, then offered to help destroy it with the Oxygen Destroyer. Hayato watched Gomess in GD City, while a blue figure raced toward the EVA world hoping Zero was safe.

• Fuyutsuki and Gendo Ikari welcomed Professor Serizawa, who ignored Gendo and claimed to know Gomess better than anyone.
• Serizawa explained that a nuclear test in the 1960s had mutated an Ullro, and that Gomess was the only one to survive a mysterious growth limit.
• Fuyutsuki and Gendo connected Gomess's limit to Lilith and the shackles Zero had mentioned, while Serizawa warned Gomess might evolve further.
• Serizawa offered to help NERV dispose of Gomess and revealed that he had originally proposed the Oxygen Destroyer project.
• Hayato watched Gomess from a skyscraper in GD City and said humans seemed to have found a way to defeat it.
• A blue figure flew toward the EVA world, pleading for Zero to be safe.

Professor Serizawa explained how the Oxygen Destroyer could kill Gomess and why it would be most effective underwater, while Fuyutsuki discovered Serizawa was hiding part of the recording. In his hospital room, Zero heard Limings call to him just as he was about to send an Ultra Sign for help.

• Serizawa showed Ritsuko, Gendo Ikari, and Fuyutsuki footage of his Oxygen Depleter experiment, which dissolved fish in a tank down to their bones.
• Serizawa described the Oxygen Destroyer as a two-stage weapon designed to break through Gomess's defenses with an N2 Bomb and then kill it by depleting oxygen.
• Serizawa explained that an underwater battle would amplify the weapon's destructive force and make oxygen deprivation more persistent.
• Gendo Ikari and Ritsuko left to arrange the plan, while Fuyutsuki stayed and confronted Serizawa about withholding part of the recording.
• Serizawa replayed footage of his past self regretting what he had created and admitted he did not want the weapon entirely in humanity's hands.
• Zero prepared to send an Ultra Sign for help, but stopped when Limings called out to him.

Limings arrived on Earth to treat Zero and Shinji after Zero was badly injured fighting Gomess, and learned that the monster had been created by humanity’s mistake. After healing them and scolding Zero for his recklessness, Limings agreed to see for himself whether humans would take responsibility and make things right.

• Limings entered Zero’s mental space, learned how badly he was hurt, and went to NERV to treat him and Shinji.
• Ritsuko escorted Limings to Shinji’s hospital room and explained Gomess’s origins and Zero’s battle.
• Limings used a healing ray from the Silver Cross Army captain to heal Shinji and Zero.
• Limings reprimanded Zero for fighting while injured and for involving the child Shinji in danger.
• Limings asked why Ultra Warriors cared so deeply about humanity, and Zero urged him to observe humans and trust them to correct their mistake.
• Limings agreed to see how humanity would respond, while Zero said he would be watching.