2021/07/20
Comment from the designer:
I kept the point of “he is evil, but still an Ultraman” in mind while conceptualizing the design.
Although Belial is an entity of symbolized evil, I also thought that it is very important that he can be understood at first glance that he used to be an Ultraman. Thus, the simple silhouette maintains the form which is a distinctive feature of Ultraman while, simultaneously, the hunched-forward posture and the muscular upper-body that are the distinctive features of a villain were emphasized.
While I retained the simplicity of the sculpted details on the surface of the body, I added textures to the skin to make him look bit hard and thick, like a skin of a shark, as his teeth become visible when the mouth opens up; and also, its large claws reminded me of carnivores. I intended for the red areas to look soft while the black areas look hard, in order to have a certain accent to the overall appearance of the bodily form other than its colors alone.
As for the face, I kept him simplified form, which is a distinctive feature of Ultraman, and only designed the teeth to look a bit more organic and sharp. I wanted his unique claws to be able to articulate well, so I added joints in each of the fingers. I have applied organic lines to the form of these joints, which resemble bones and crustaceans. I designed the head to retain its original form as much as possible without much readjusting, but I exaggerated the design of the hands to make him look more evil.
In creating the design, I tried to interpret the characteristics of Ultraman from various different aspects for deeper understanding. Is it a giant lifeform? Is it an intelligent being wearing a suit? What animal does it remind people of? etc… Without being able to construct a sure image within myself, the redesign will not be convincing.
In the past, I was given several opportunities to sculpt Kaiju (monsters) from the Ultraman series, where its designs were conceptualized from the perspective of “what it would look like if it existed in real-life?” But if I was to redesign Ultraman Belial in the same way, the aspect of Ultraman which is “a god-like being which is beyond human understanding” will be deinished, and the aspect of evil-looking creature will become too strong; which would lead from the design too far from the concept that “he is evil, but still an Ultraman.”
Thus, I decided to approach the design and sculpt based on the image I had in mind on the original Ultraman Belial, but to make it look more attractive as an action figure. I wasn’t able to obtain a clear comprehension of Ultraman’s characteristics after all, but I have convinced myself now that such an unfathomable being could be the true nature of Ultraman.
Over a decade has passed since Ultraman Belial was born. In the story, Belial laterfuses with many Kaiju, and it changes into a more menacing appearance. This figure is based on the originating design of Ultraman Belial, and I have tried my best to create something which makes the fans of such Ultraman Belial happy.
Ryu Oyama