Riku Asakura

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 is the main protagonist of Ultraman Geed and is the human form of the titular character.
==Conception==
===Etymology===
*Asakura (朝倉): Is a proper noun with no meaning, however it can be broken down.
**Asa (朝): Is Kanji for morning.
**Kura (倉): Is Kanji for Warehouse.
*Riku (陸): Is Kanji for Land.
It is also known that his name is a reference to the late science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, best known for his most famous works, Childhood's End and 2001: A Space Odyssey. In-universe, Riku's name was given to him by Sui Asakura as he and his late wife hoped that their adopted son would be able to stand on his own legs, no matter the hardships he endured.
==Personality==
In spite of being created to further Kei and Belial's goals, Riku's good upbringing; growing up as a normal human and having positive influences like Moa and her family, resulted in him becoming a genuinely selfless and kind person at heart. He even chose to reject all sense of debt to Belial or Kei after Kei revealed how he staged Riku's life. He also took his call as an Ultraman seriously, for the sake of protecting people, having been inspired by his favorite tokusatsu hero Don Shine and thrilled by the fact that he has the power to fight monsters on even footing to save people.
An aspect of his character that separates him from his creators is his compassion and determination to be his own person. He offered the homeless Alien Pegassa Pega shelter in his house when he was the only one who could hear his cries and felt sorry for what Kei and Belial had become and tried to reason with them to no avail. He also strived to prove himself as the hero through his actions after learning his heritage and controlling his own fate, which allow him to overcome both his nemeses.
==History==
===Pre-Ultraman Geed===
Riku is a life form created by Kei Fukuide out of Ultraman Belial's genetic sample. In the form of a baby, he was left at an observatory above their base of operations. After being discovered by the observatory crew, he was named by local administrator Sui Asakura before handing him to the Aizaki family after his wife died, seeing that he alone cannot raise the boy. Riku would subsequently be taken to be cared by the Aizaki family's daughter, Moa as they bonded together towards their liking for Don Shine and growing inspiration to become a hero. As time passes, he eventually moves on to an apartment above his workplace, Galaxy Market and named it as . Apart from that, he also sheltered Pega, a homeless Alien Pegassa.
===Ultraman Geed===
On one normal day, Riku, Pega and Haruo survived the attack made by Skull Gomora but left homeless after that. With neither of his friends offered shelter to him, he decided to rest at the local observatory until he was sent down to the underground base by RE.M. and presenting him a set of Riser and Capsules. Knowing of his true nature, Riku took this opportunity to transform into Ultraman Geed for the first time and made his first kill on the same monster that attacked his previous home. His joy however short-lived when discovering his true nature as the son of Crisis Impact's instigator Ultraman Belial. http://m-78.jp/news/n-4686/ This shaken his will until Eri's possession of Little Star caused her to be targeted by Dada and Skull Gomora again relinquished his will to fight. His encounter with a mysterious girl Laiha Toba, giving her refuge in his new home in exchange for info. Ever since that day, the two cooperated to save nearby Little Star hosts and fighting against monster attacks while at the same time harvesting Ultra Capsules. Riku would also meet Leito Igaguri, the host of his father's nemesis Ultraman Zero who also forms a bond against monster threats.
After learning the true nature of Kei Fukuide as Belial's cohort, Riku's curiosity lead him to discover that his purpose of birth: to collect Ultra Capsules for his father. His defeat by Kei and the theft of all but one Capsules left him helpless until he met Sui Asakura, the man who named and looked after him with his Little Star. Not content on leaving Sui (even if he is diagnosed with an incurable disease), the man who named him, Riku gained the Father of Ultra's Capsule and used it with Zero to access Ultraman Geed Magnificent, preparing a counterattack against Kei/Pedanium Zetton while making clear that he would follow his own path. After the battle, Riku regained his Ultra Capsules and regularly visiting Sui until he's cured.
Riku finally meets his father during the middle of the battle against Godo Wynn. Riku was kidnapped by Belial through Chimeraberus, where Belial slowly corrupts him through psychological methods. However, thanks to Laiha and King's interference, Riku escapes from Chimeraberus and brought the battle to Earth before seemingly killing his father for good after receiving the King's Capsule from Laiha and allowing him to transform into Royal Mega Master. Afterwards, Riku celebrated the victory with his friends and explaining the etymology behind Geed's name.
Even with the presumed death of Belial, Riku continues to receive assistance from Zero as his battles weren't over as Geed after Kei claimed to have inherited the legacy of Belial.
Riku later learns more about Kei's Sturm Organ after taking back the ownership of the Nebula House. Failing to save Arie from Kei and securing the Kaiju Capsules of Dark Lugiel and Alien Empera, Riku arrived at Okinawa alone to settle his scores with Kei. Defeating his foe, Riku gazed upon the revival of Belial after the dark Ultra revealed himself under the possession of Arie. Riku would face off against his father once again, who had assumed his Atrocious form. Riku was overpowered until Father of Ultra's arrival allow him to rest for a while. Later on, with great determination, Riku destroyed his father for good after seeing Belial's memories and knowing his father's pain.
===Ultraman Geed The Movie: Connect the Wishes!===
Riku first appears fighting Galactron MK2 as Geed but was easily outmatched by the robot, who escaped. Riku and his friends went to Okinawa in search of the Red Steel, after being informed about the threat of Gillvalis by Jugglus Juggler, and bumping into Leito. He and the gang later met Airu Higa, a tour guide who told of the legends of the Red Steel, the gang retreat from the reappearance of Galactron MK2 while learning that Airu is an alien. Visiting an alien town to get more information, the gang fought against the aliens when Gai Kurenai arrived to help them. Thanking Gai for the advice that Ultramen are not perfect, Riku and Gai later simultaneously transformed into their Ultra Forms and fought against Galactron MK2 with Zero returning later on to help them. Riku as Geed was weakened after being sent into cyberspace by an unexpected attack only for Orb to rescue him out with Gomora Armor, as Orb Trinity and immediately after that, Geed was about to be shot by Galactron MK2, but Zero and Orb got in the way of the attack for him and they both seemingly died. Geed entered a berserk state and destroyed the robot with a point blank Wrecking Burst after Zero and Orb disappeared. Riku was depressed and refused to transform to fight the Galactron Army, thinking that he is not worthy to be an Ultraman after seeing Zero and Orb die for him. However, the young boy was able to overcome the odds through his friends and allies encouragement, the return of Zero and Orb and Airu's final words. With his determination, Riku unlocks the Giga Finalizer and transforms into Ultimate Final. After destroying the last of the Galactrons, Riku (Geed) alongside Zero and Orb arrived at Cyber Planet Kushia, and fought against Gillvalis in its Perfect Form. The Ultras finally ended Gillvalis' reign with Geed delivering the final blow. After the battle was over, Zero and Ultimate Force Zero bid farewell to the young boy, entrusting him with the future of the Earth.
===Ultraman R/B The Movie: Select! The Crystal of Bond===
As a result of Ultraman Tregear's actions, Riku was pulled into R/B's Universe with Pega, who was separated from him. This led to his meeting with the Minato Family, while searching for Pega, who was stuck inside Bemstar and Gan Q. Riku and the Minato brothers Katsumi and Isami worked together to defeat the monsters and rescue Pega. Later, Riku and Pega joined the family for dinner later where he talked about his arrival with Pega and shared his backstory to Asahi. Just after finding out a way to returning home, Riku went searching for Katsumi after he disappeared. When Snake Darkness begin wreaking havoc on Ayaka City, Riku battled it with Isami and Asahi but were easily defeated. 
After Katsumi returned from Planet Hostar 21, Riku joined forces with the brothers and Asahi against Snake Darkness but was overpowered when Ultraman Tregear appeared backing up his minion, and reverted back from Geed after protecting Yukio Toi’s mother. With no intentions of giving up, Riku transformed into Ultimate Final once more and joined Ultraman Gruebe and eventually fought their opponents on even terms. Finally, Riku defeated Tregear via the Wrecking Nova. Afterwards, Riku and Pega bid farewell to the Minatos and headed back home via a portal, taking some gifts with them. 
===Ultraman Taiga The Movie: New Generation Climax===
After sealing Grimdo, the New Generation Heroes lost their ability to transform, and went to Taiga's Earth to protect Hiroyuki Kudo. Katsumi, Isami and Riku set up a shop called as a front in order to blend in, and made a contract with EGIS so that they could stay close to Hiroyuki and protect him. When a gang of aliens appeared, intending to steal the Ultramen's Bracelets from Hiroyuki and escape before Grimdo arrived, Riku defended him from a Alien Groza sniper. Grimdo soon landed on Earth, and fought against Ultraman Rosso, Ultraman Blu and Ultraman Taiga. However, they were no match for the beast and were about to be defeated until Ultraman Taro arrived to rescue his son. Soon, Taro fell for Tregear's trap and was possessed by Grimdo after executing the Ultra Dynamite on it. Now under the monster's control, Taro assaulted the three Ultras and forced them to revert. 
Taiga and Hiroyuki were troubled by Taro's possession, though Riku showed up to cheer them up and told them about how his own father was Belial, as wellas the struggle he faced to defeat him. Hiroyuki restored Riku's Geed Riser by giving him back the Geed-let. After confronting Kirisaki, the New Generation Heroes transformed to fight against Tregear, Taro, and a monster army revived from their Rings. They power-up to their strongest forms in response to Grimdo granting the monsters some of its power, and manage to defeat their opponents. Afterwards, Tregear offered himself to Grimdo, who had been released from Taro's body. This caused Grimdo to swallow him and grow to giant size, and regain its full power. The New Generation Heroes consecutively use their finishers against Grimdo, but to no effect. Just was they were about to be blasted by Grimdo, Taro protected the New Generation Heroes with a barrier and told them to pour their energy into Taiga's Ultra Horns. Upon doing so, Hiroyuki received the New Generation Eye and transformed into Ultraman Reiga, and defeated Grimdo.
With the battle over, the New Generation Heroes gave some parting words to Hiroyuki before leaving for their home worlds. 
===Ultraman Z===
When Gillvalis revived due to a Devil Splinter and attacked , Geed went to deal with the robot but was knocked down before he could change into Ultimate Final, with the Riser being broken in the process. Pega appears and hands Riku the Z Riser and Ultra Medals he received from Ultraman Hikari, allowing Riku to transform into Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising and pursue Gillvalis to Earth. In his new form, Geed managed to defeat Gillvalis, who had attacked Sevenger and Windom during a STORAGE training drill. The core still survived and flew off, but Geed lost track of it. While wandering about, Riku was approached by Jugglus Juggler acting as Shota Hebikura, captain of STORAGE. Later on, Gillvalis was lured to a factory area and transformed once more, but was imperfect due to the damage to its core. Just when STORAGE was about to attack it, Riku appeared and tried to damage it with a metal bar, prompting it to transform. Riku and Haruki Natsukawa transformed into Ultraman Geed and Ultraman Z, working with STORAGE to finally finish off Gillvalis. After the battle, Riku briefed Haruki of the situation and stayed on Earth to continue investigating the Devil Splinters. 
Later on, Shinya Kaburagi/Celebro took control of the Valis Raiders through Gillvalis' remains and had Riku abducted to extract the Belial Factor from him, which he used to successfully create the Belial Medal. Unexpectedly, Juggler came to Riku's rescue and freed him from his restraints, and told the boy not to tell the others about him. Celebro then used the Belial Medal to transform into the Belial Fusion Monsters Skull Gomora, Thunder Killer and Pedanium Zetton. Z and Geed attempted to fight them off, but were being overwhelmed by their power until Ultraman Zero reappeared, helping them win the battle against Celebro. After the battle, Pega had arrived in the Nebula House to pick Riku up. Because of other cases of monsters rampaging due to the Devil Splinters, Zero and Riku left the Earth in Haruki and Z's care while they flew off into space. 
==Profile==
:;Stats
*Age: 19 (Geed), 20 (R/B)
*Birthplace: N/a, discovered as a baby in the vicinity of the observatory in Hoshiyama.
:;Transformation
:;Powers and Weapons
*: His transformation device, which Riku uses to become his true form, Ultraman Geed.
**: Through the Loading Knuckle, Riku is capable of maintaining his contact with RE.M..
*: Riku possesses the Ultra Capsules, where he obtained from other Little Stars Hosts and using them to transform into Ultraman Geed.
*: A device which Riku stores his Ultra Capsules in.
*Shaplay Brooch: A badge that were used by Alien Shaplay to disguise themselves. RE.M. manufactured a similar one for Riku to use and pose as Leito Igaguri for a day.
*: Riku can summon the Geed Claw to aid him when he is fighting as Ultraman Geed.
*: Riku uses the King Sword to assume his Royal Megamaster form and using it in combat. Riku can use it in conjunction with his Geed Riser as well.
*Ultraman DNA: Possessing the Belial Factor in his body (as well as a human in disguise), Riku demonstrated multiple inhuman abilities that all disguised Ultra Warriors shared:
**Superhuman Leap: Riku is capable of performing a very high jump.
**Endurance: Despite being thrown from a two-storey building, Riku was shown unharmed and this gave him enough time to escape from Skull Gomora's rampaging spree.
**Acute Hearing: As mentioned in Pega's past, Riku is able to detect his cry for help whereas normal humans are incapable of doing so.
*: In Ultraman Geed The Movie, Riku is shown to have this item. Riku can uses this item to transform into his Ultimate Form, Ultimate Final.
*: His alternate transformation device, which Riku uses in conjunction with his personal Ultra Access Card and Ultra Medals to become Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising. It is the same model as Haruki Natsukawa's Z Riser and like him, Riku can summon the Hero's Gate when transforming into Geed.
*https://m-78.jp/news/post-5573:In the intial news release, it was written as The card which bears Riku's name and image, which he sets into the Z Riser as a means of authorization.
*: The Ultra Medals are used in conjunction with the Z Riser to transform him into Ultraman Geed Galaxy Rising.
*: A device which Riku stores his Ultra Medals in.
IMG 1092.jpeg|Geed Riser
Loadingknuckle.png|Loading Knuckle
Screenshot 20170930-080739.jpg|Ultra Capsules
Ultracapsuleholder.png|Ultra Capsule Holder
IMG 1182.jpg|Shaplay Brooch
IMG 1180.jpg|Geed Claw
IMG 1344.jpeg|King Sword
File:Riku Asakura 2018.jpg|Giga Finalizer
RikuwieldstheZRiser.png|Z Riser
Hero'sGate(Riku).png|Hero's Gate
UltraAccessCardRiku.png|Ultra Access Card (Riku)
UltraMedalsRiku.png|Ultra Medals
ZHolder(Riku).png|Z Holder
==Collectibles in Possession==
===Ultra Capsules===
Riku obtains the Ultra Capsules from the Little Stars as Ultraman Geed and uses them to help him in his cause in fighting monsters.
*Ultraman: Obtained from RE.M.
*Ultraman Belial: Obtained from RE.M.
*Ultraman Leo: Obtained from Eri Hara.
*Ultraseven: Obtained from Toru Honda.
*Ultraman Hikari: Obtained from Tree-Tip.
*Ultraman Cosmos: Obtained from Moko.
*Ultraman Zero: Obtained from Mayu Igaguri.
*Father of Ultra: Obtained from Sui Asakura.
*Ultraman King: Obtained from Laiha Toba.
*Ultra 6 Brothers
*Ultraman Jack: Obtained from Toko Sakura.
*Ultraman Ace: Obtained from Fujio Maga.
*Ultraman Taro: Obtained from Tetsuro Matsumoto.
*Zoffy: Obtained from Gubila.
*Evolution Capsule: Obtained simultaneously with Giga Finalizer.
===Ultra Medals===
*Ultraman Ginga: Received from Pega, who obtained it from Ultraman Hikari. Given to Haruki after his Riser was repaired.
*Ultraman X: Received from Pega, who obtained it from Ultraman Hikari. Given to Haruki after his Riser was repaired.
*Ultraman Orb: Received from Pega, who obtained it from Ultraman Hikari. Given to Haruki after his Riser was repaired.
==Other Media==
===Ultraman Chronicle D===
TBA 
==Merchandise==
*Ultraman Geed Deformed Pattern Acrylic Charm (2020)
**Release Date(s): March 2021 (Premium Bandai)
**Price: 550 yen for each piece
**Materials: Acrylic, metal (chain)
:Released as part of the Geed-themed Deformed Pattern Acrylic Charm series, Riku (which is drawn in an Anime-fied style) is one of the items to be produced as a hanging acrylic keychain.
:Riku (and the rest of the characters) is available as a made-for-order item (where the customers can choose one during purchase) for Premium Bandai in March 2021.
==Trivia==
*In an interview with the cast of Ultraman Geed, Tatsuomi Hamada mentioned that the Aizaki family cared for Riku as they were groundskeepers of the observatory and were also among the few people to discover an infant Riku at the doorstep.https://hobby.dengeki.com/news/409621/
*His nickname was originally going to be named as "Sui" (from Riku's adopted father's name).
*Riku's actor, Tatsuomi Hamada, previously portrayed Nao in Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial. In a promotional video of Ultraman Geed, Tatsuomi also mentioned his previous role, now viewing Belial as a father to his character while facing his destiny.
**In Ultraman Geed The Movie, Jean-Bot notices the similarities between Riku and Nao, in terms of physical appearance, and asks him to do the "Jean Fight!" pose.
*His pre-transformation phrase, " Here we go!", is a pun on the English words, "You go! I go! Here we go!". The latter is even used as the translation provided by Crunchyroll, and for Tsuburaya's Ultra Heroes Expo 2017 posters.
*At the age of 19, Riku is currently the second youngest Human Form in the history of the Ultraman Series. This was preceded by Mirai Hibino in Ultraman Mebius, whose age in human form is claimed to be 18 years old.
**If both Human Hosts and Forms are put together, Riku clocks in at the fifth youngest (Including Musashi Haruno, who was 19 in his series), with the aforementioned Mirai being the fourth, Ren being the third, Amui being the second, and finally Yuuto Tamaki being the youngest.
**In an inversion case to Mirai, Riku is three years older compared to his actor Tatsuomi by the time of the first filming (crank-in).
==Note==
==References==
id:Riku Asakura
Category:Ultraman Geed
Category:Male Characters
Category:Human Forms
Category:Ultraman Geed Characters
Category:Non-Human Characters
Category:Ultra Hosts
Category:Ultraman R/B
Category:Protagonists
Category:Ultraman Z
Category:Ultraman Z Characters