Aki Sakata is a main character that appears in Return of Ultraman. She is the sibling of Ken Sakata and Jiro Sakata, and also the beloved of Hideki Go.
History[]
Return of Ultraman[]
Aki is the eldest daughter of the Sakata siblings who run the Sakata Automobile Repair Workshop. She is described as a woman of beautiful appearance, kind-hearted nature, and reliability. During her free time, she works at a clothing store near her home. Ever since Go started working at the Automobile Repair Workshop, the two became attracted to each other and eventually became a couple, a relationship acknowledged by everyone around them.
The passing of Go brought immense grief to Aki.
As the series began, strange phenomena started occurring worldwide. Severe weather and earthquakes triggered the awakening of monsters. In Japan, two giant creatures, Zazahn and Takkong, emerged from the ocean and engaged in fierce battles in Tokyo Bay, causing massive destruction. Aki's younger brother, Jiro, hastily notified the people at the repair shop to evacuate. However, Go tragically lost his life while trying to save a boy and a dog on the way. Aki was deeply saddened by this turn of events. She placed her own cross necklace on him, expressing her grief for him. Upon their return to the repair shop, the three siblings decided to burn Go's beloved car, "Meteor No.1", as a way to mourn his loss. All Monsters Attack
Upon receiving the news of Go's resurrection, she was greatly surprised. However, she also felt saddened by the fact that Go joining MAT significantly reduced the time they could spend together. Despite this, she ultimately bravely accepted this reality. In the subsequent series of events, she occasionally went on dates with Go and often accompanied him and her family on outings to the countryside or tourist attractions. However, due to Go's busy schedule with MAT missions, she sometimes felt lonely and even frustrated at times.
One day, Aki and her friends went shopping in the underground mall in Shinjuku when they suddenly encountered a mysterious earthquake, causing the collapse of the mall. Aki and others were trapped underground. In this dire situation, Aki was injured by falling debris. Go rushed to the scene upon hearing the cries for help from Aki's friends, but the piled rubble made it difficult for him to approach.
Meanwhile, MAT's investigation revealed that the object causing the collapse of the underground mall was a Twin Tail egg, and Gudon was heading towards Tokyo to devour Twin Tail. MAT planned to use an MN bomb to destroy Twin Tail's egg, but five people, including Aki, were trapped in the underground passage. Go suggested rescuing Aki and others before using the MN bomb, but Commander Kishida immediately ordered the operation to proceed.
Go took off the MAT member's badge and left the command room to rescue Aki and the others on site. Captain Katsuichiro Kato also decided to disregard orders, determined to rescue those trapped. However, the Twin Tail egg hatched. Go transformed into Ultraman Jack to engage in battle, but he was defeated by the attacks of Twin Tail and Gudon.Two Giant Monsters Attack Tokyo
Aki was seriously injured after being caught in the collapse of an underground shopping mall.
Gudon and Twin Tail continued their battle, moving along the coastline. While Aki and the others were successfully rescued and taken to the hospital, Aki remained in a coma due to her severe injuries, causing Go to be reluctant to return to MAT. When Jack ultimately defeated the two monsters, Aki also managed to pull through her treatment and regained consciousness.Battle! Monsters vs. MAT
Aki and Go's relationship grew even closer.
During the Terochilus incident, Aki, being friends with Yukiko, one of the victims of the cruise ship explosion, assisted Go in gathering relevant information about the event. However, witnessing Go's display of concern for Yukiko and his belief in the slanderous accusations made by Yokokawa, the prime suspect in the attack, led her into a misunderstanding. This resulted in a brief discord between her and Go.Yet, once the misunderstanding was cleared up, she and Go quickly reconciled, and their relationship became even closer.Monster Bird Terochilus - Tokyo's Big Aerial Bombing
One day, Go arranged a movie date with Aki during his day off. Aki decided to wear the lipstick that Go had given her, a souvenir from Greece brought back by Takeshi Minami. While they were enjoying the film, Go received a notification from MAT. Another murder involving human vaporization had occurred, requiring his immediate attention. Go believed that this series of events was related to the meteorite he had witnessed during patrols recently. He noticed at the scene of the second victim a type of shovel-shaped worm he had never seen before, as well as an item identical to Aki's lipstick.
That evening, on her way home, Aki encountered a peculiar-looking shovel-shaped worm. She shooed it away and continued on her way. However, Jiro secretly brought the shovel-shaped worm home. In the middle of the night, the shovel-shaped worm emitted a laser that dissolved the net and attempted to attack Aki. Ken discovered this shovel-shaped worm and contacted MAT. After Nokogilin was defeated by Jack, Aki set out once again with Go to watch a movie.Mystery Homicide Beetle Incident
As Christmas Eve drew nearer, while Go and Ken were busy improving MAT machinery at the repair shop, Aki complained that Go hadn't been paying much attention to her lately. However, when Go told her about his plans to take her skiing in the Zao Mountains over the New Year holiday, Aki felt especially delighted. Just then, the strap of the watch on Go's wrist broke. Aki comforted Go, telling him not to worry, and promised to find him a brand new watch that would fit him perfectly.
Just then, Alien Nackle was conducting an investigation into Jack. However, when he discovered Jack's unexpectedly formidable strength, he realized that relying solely on his prepared bodyguard monster, Black King, wouldn't be enough to defeat Jack. Thus, he began searching for Jack's "weakness". Upon discovering that Go's emotional support came from the Sakata family, Alien Nackle initiated devious actions.
On her way home, Aki was kidnapped by Alien Nackle.
After purchasing the watch as a gift for Go, Aki was humming a tune on her way home when she was suddenly pushed into a stopped car and kidnapped. Ken heard Aki's cries for help and tried to rush over to stop it, but the car immediately sped off, fatally hitting Ken. Witnessing her brother's tragic death on the spot, Aki collapsed in despair. Subsequently, Aki was pushed out of the car by Alien Nackle, her body dragged by the vehicle for a distance, resulting in severe injuries.
Aki's death.
Upon receiving the news, Go hurried to the hospital only to find that Jian had already passed away, while Aki lay on the bed in critical condition. When he inquired about who had harmed her, Aki, struggling, uttered "Alien" and attempted to hand over her wristwatch to Go. Eventually, under the gaze of Go and Jiro, Aki breathed her last. Her death left Go devastated, plunging him into an indescribable sorrow.Ultraman Dies at Sunset
Following these events, she and Ken briefly appeared in Go's memories. Go successfully defeated Alien Nackle, bringing about justice for them as well.When the Ultra Star Shines
Counterparts[]
Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers[]
Go and Aki with their daughter Megu.
In this film, Aki is an ordinary woman living in Yokohama. She is the wife of another Go, and they both run an Automobile Repair Workshop while raising their daughter named Megu.
When monsters begin to attack Yokohama, Aki is out shopping in Motomachi. On her way to escape, she sees an elderly person with mobility issues and stops to help. However, at that moment, a building collapses, resulting in her being injured. Although she is promptly taken to the hospital for treatment, she falls into a coma, with her physical condition being a cause for concern.
Despite being in a coma, Aki remains concerned about Go's safety leading up to the final battle. As the eight Ultras ultimately join forces to save the world, she finally wakes up from her coma.
Several years later, at the commissioning ceremony of the Nippon Maru space vessel, she and Go boarded MAT Arrow 1, embarking on a journey to explore the M78 Nebula in space with other friends.Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers
Gallery[]
Return of Ultraman[]
Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers[]
Miscellaneous[]
Trivia[]
- Due to Rumi Sakakibara's busy schedule at the time, as well as her appointment as the lead actress in the NTV drama series Kininaru Yomesan after the end of episode 27, her role in Return of Ultraman had to be interrupted during the mid-term. This resulted in Aki's planned appearances in episodes 30, 33, and 35 ultimately being cut.
- In the initial draft for episode 37, there was no mention of the deaths of the Sakata siblings. This plot point was officially confirmed and added to the script on November 1st.
- In a panel discussion in 1987, Ken Kumagai, the assistant producer of the series, mentioned the significance of Aki's death: "We attempted to portray the place of human death to children. After all, the death of humans, especially those close to us, is a sad event. We also hoped to portray Ultraman's anger. Although making a beautiful twist was possible, the production team at the time also intentionally created dramatic plot developments to increase overall tension".
- In episode 5 of Ultraman X, When the Aegis Shines, another Alien Nackle named Bandero also made the same scene where he accidentally kidnapped Rui Takada in Xio Aramis while actually aiming for the Spark Dolls. However the tides were reversed where Rui recaptured the Spark Dolls and run over Bandero with Aramis. This was purposely made by Koichi Sakamoto, the director of the series, whom wanted to enact his "revenge" on the first Nackle for killing Aki.