Ultraman Mebius Side Story: Ghost Reverse

Lore & Background

In the Land of Light, the Ultra Brothers receive an interrupted Ultra Sign from Hikari, originating from the Monster Graveyard. With Zoffy's approval, Ace and Taro investigate, while Mebius is notified to join them. Mebius is intercepted by Glozam and a revived Inpelaizer, while Ace and Taro encounter the revived Heavenly Kings—Deathrem, Mefilas, and Mebius Killer—who plan to retrieve the Giga Battle Nizer from the Valley of Flames. The device can manipulate 100 monsters at once, but the extreme heat prevents entry. Mebius is chosen because his Burning Brave mode can endure the heat. A mysterious robot warrior, Mechazam, saves Mebius and later joins him under the pretense of seeking greater power.

Reader's Guide

The story continues with Mechazam and Mebius defeating the guardian EX Zetton, though Mechazam is deactivated after saving Mebius. Hikari's betrayal is revealed as a ruse to disable the magnetic field and rescue Ace and Taro. Mefilas inserts Empera's essence into the Giga Battle Nizer, reactivating Mechazam as the revival apparatus Ghost Reverse. Mebius, in Burning Brave mode, uses the Burning Mebium Dynamite to destroy Mechazam, who willingly dies while himself. The Giga Battle Nizer survives the explosion and is salvaged by a mysterious figure in a post-credits scene. This work served as the final acting role for Seizō Katō and Daisuke Gōri in the Ultra Series.

Did You Know?

• The series was released in two parts: The Dark Graveyard on November 25, 2009, and The Emperor's Resurrection on December 22, 2009.
• It serves as a prologue to the 2009 film Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy due to the involvement of the Giga Battle Nizer.
• This was the final acting role for Seizō Katō and Daisuke Gōri in the Ultra Series.
• The special effects incorporated both chroma key and wire fu techniques.

Culmination of the Mebius Side Story Trilogy

The Mebius franchise expanded beyond its main television run through a trilogy of supplementary narratives, and Ghost Reverse stands as the definitive conclusion to that arc. The first installment, Hikari Saga, launched in 2006 as a three-part production on FLET's internet television platform before receiving a DVD release the following year, centering on Ultraman Hikari's journey from his past through his Space Garrison membership. The second entry, Armored Darkness, arrived in 2008 in two parts on DVD and was set in the period following the main series' final episode. Ghost Reverse, released in 2009, completed the trilogy with its own two-part DVD structure. Together, these three side stories demonstrate how Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting extended the narrative world of a show that had originally premiered on the Tokyo Broadcasting System on April 8, 2006, giving the franchise a layered storytelling format that reached audiences well beyond the weekly broadcast schedule.

Narrative Bridge to the Ultra Galaxy Film

Ghost Reverse occupies a unique position in the Mebius franchise by functioning explicitly as a prologue to the 2009 theatrical production Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy. Rather than existing as a standalone narrative, this two-part DVD release was designed to set up the events and context that would unfold in the larger Ultra Series film. This prologue role places Ghost Reverse in a distinct category among the three Mebius side stories: Hikari Saga operated during the main series' run and focused on a supporting Ultra warrior's backstory, while Armored Darkness was set after the final episode. Ghost Reverse, by contrast, looks forward, bridging the television narrative into the cinematic one. The main series itself, the 15th entry (21st overall) in the Ultra Series and its 40th anniversary production, had premiered on April 8, 2006, and by 2009 the franchise was expanding its storytelling into theatrical releases, with Ghost Reverse serving as the connective tissue between the weekly broadcast world and the big-screen spectacle.

Production Format and International Distribution

Ghost Reverse was produced as a two-part narrative and distributed exclusively on DVD, a format that distinguished it from the first side story, Hikari Saga, which had initially launched through FLET's internet television service before its 2007 DVD release. The second side story, Armored Darkness, also followed the two-part DVD model in 2008, establishing a pattern that Ghost Reverse continued in 2009. The main Ultraman Mebius series, produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, had originally aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System, with the production making a notable scheduling shift from the Saturday morning slots used by its predecessors Ultraman Nexus and Ultraman Max to Saturday evenings at 05:30. The franchise's international reach grew steadily: the main series aired in Korea in April 2012, Crunchyroll made the entire series available across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in October 2014, and Toku began television broadcast in the United States in March 2018. Ghost Reverse's DVD-only release positioned it as a collector's item within this broader distribution ecosystem.

The Möbius Legacy and Ultra Series Heritage

The name "Mebius" is the Japanese approximation of Möbius, and the Möbius strip serves as a recurring visual motif throughout the series, symbolizing an endless loop that connects past and future. This theme of continuity is deeply embedded in the Ultra Series, of which Ultraman Mebius is the 15th entry (21st overall) and the 40th anniversary production. The main series is set 40 years after the original Ultraman of 1966 and draws references spanning from Ultra Q (1966) through to Ultraman 80 (1980), weaving together decades of the franchise's history. The story opens with the rookie Ultraman Mebius being sent to Earth by the Father of Ultra, granted the Mebius Brace and charged with living up to the legacy of the name "Ultraman." He creates his human form, Hiroto Ban, in honor of a young man who sacrificed himself to save a transport ship's crew from the Ultra Zone, and joins GUYS under the alias Mirai Hibino. Ghost Reverse, as the final side story, inherits this rich tapestry of legacy and continuity that defines the entire Ultra Series.