Gamu Takayama

is the main protagonist of Ultraman Gaia. He is a genius 20-year old university student who gained the red light of the Earth and the ability to transform into Ultraman Gaia.
==Personality==
Gamu has a gentle, cheerful, and proactive personality. Besides feeling angry towards Radical Destruction Bringer for disturbing peace and harming people, he also has a sense of justice that makes him brave enough to stand up for what is right. At times, he also displays a focused and emotional demeanor.
As a member of Alchemy Stars, Gamu possesses a calm and clear mind for thinking. He also shows a curiosity and motivation for exploring science, which leads to him speaking candidly with his family and friends. However, due to his rich experiences, he is not intimidated by becoming a member of XIG or encountering strangers in various situations, and can make contact with a frank attitude. Although he sometimes reveals his vulnerability, he generally maintains a positive and optimistic attitude, quickly picking himself up and gaining the trust of others through his continuous achievements.
In addition, Gamu possesses a considerable level of knowledge and demonstrates his research and development skills in creating various high-tech tools. Apart from developing the anti-gravity device for the Aerial Base and XIG Fighters, he also created the tool Esplender, which allows him to transform into Gaia, as well as devices such as the artificial intelligence PAL and the time-space transportation device "XIG Adventure" to assist XIG.
In the series, he often displays strong intuitive motivations and regards Ultraman as the "light" generated by the resonance of the protection coming from the gathering of Earth and humanity.
==History==
===Pre-Ultraman Gaia===
Gamu is one of the child prodigies born in the 1980s. At the age of 17, he received a Ph.D. in quantum physics and also became a member of Alchemy Stars. Also, because of his exceptional intelligence, he was ostracized by his peers in the past. 
After coming of age, Gamu enrolled in the Quantum Physics Laboratory of Jonan University.
===Ultraman Gaia===
====Encounter with Gaia and recruitment into XIG====
When the KHST begins its first wave of attacks on Earth, XIG is too new to be effective. Time stops and he falls through another light tunnel, where he encounters Gaia again. Because Gamu is so passionately concerned with the fate of Earth and humanity, Gaia's light becomes a part of him, and he is thus able to transform into the Ultraman when necessary. The first monster, C.O.V., is destroyed. Gamu joins XIG as a technical advisor, and later creates the Esplender to store the light that is the essence of Gaia.
====Rivalry of Fujimiya====
With the appearance of Hiroya Fujimiya, a former member of Alchemy Star, his duty as an Ultraman becomes tougher as Fujimiya/Agul would always interfere him as he always think protecting the Earth only suits him. However, Gamu never gives up defend the Earth even tried to befriend Fujimiya multiple times. However, Gamu also tries to stop Fujimiya whenever he decides to eliminate humanity.
====Tiga, Dyna, and Ultraman Gaia Novel: The Adventure in Hyperspace====
TBA 
====Banishment from XIG and gaining a new power====
While XIG investigates Fujimiya, they also suspects Gamu for working with him as he later was banished from the team. When seeing Fujimiya killing Gomenos and for Gamu completely distrust him, they decide to engage in a battle against each other, drawing the attention of XIG. The battle completely cause their energies to sent to the wormhole where Zorlim feeds on it. When the monster appears, Gamu reveals that Crisis (Fujimiya's predicting machine) proven to be mysteriously defected, leaving Fujimiya yells out of anger for believing in the machine's lies and gave up on his duty as Ultraman and gave the essence of Agul's light to Gamu's Esplender before he was vanished from Zoruim's fireball. Gamu transforms into Gaia and found himself upgraded while using this newfound ability to destroy Zoruim and other monster afterwards. Commander Ishimuro rehires Gamu after he was proven innocent. What becomes evident to Gamu is that monsters like Tigris, Mizunoeno Dragon, Syazac, and Izac, are creatures of the Earth like humans are, and perhaps it is not so fair to eradicate them when their only instinct is to survive. As for creatures sent by the Radical Destruction Bringer, they are not inherently evil. When they are sent to Earth their first instinct is simply to survive in an alien environment. Thus, Gamu/Gaia questions his morals and human motives.
====Return of an old ally====
Sometime during Σ-Zuigul arrival, Gamu encounters a suicidal Fujimiya who tries to drown himself before Gamu saves him. Soon the destroyed fiend reformed. Gamu went to transform but, it was covered in metal. Surprisingly it was from those two blue balls he was hit with and it made him stick out his arms before he gets trapped in a crucifix like case and it goes into the robot's chest, entering a wormhole. Hiroya Fujimiya watches, feeling hopeless that he couldn't help Gamu as he had given his Agul powers before to Gamu, which was even not enough to defeat Σ-Zuigul before he is knocked unconscious by the attacks.
He soon has a dream about the people he meet including Gamu, some children, the KBC news reporter and his dead fiance Inamori.
Now knowing the mistakes he made, his will to redeem himself awakens the Blue Light of the Seas, which granted him with the stronger and more agile form of Ultraman Agul Version 2 from the ocean. Agul and Σ-Zuigul go to fight but, seeing Gamu he uses the Agul Saber to free him and breaks of one of his "wings". With the advantage he launches the Photon Screw at him, deflecting the missiles he launched and blowing the robot to pieces.
After Agul's light was restored, Fujimiya starts to supports Gamu for further assistance.
====Final Battle Against Zog====
Following the invasion of Dobishi army, Gamu and Fujimiya lose their light to the Angel of Destruction, Zog. In the process, the two Ultras' identities are accidentally broadcast to the entire world after they are forced back into human form, prompting several deranged people to start witch hunts for them. With the help of his friends, Gamu manages to evade these people and with the KCB crew's assistance, who apologized for revealing his identity, Gamu made it to the Crisis computer to regain worldwide communications through the photon network. With the help of the Earth monsters and Alchemy Stars, Gamu and Fujimiya receive the light of the Earth sent to them, and transform for the final time to purge the Dobishi. Zog appears, and after a brutal battle, both Ultramen defeat her and save the Earth.
Afterwards, Gamu decides to continue his life as a normal student at his college while hoping for the XIG and the Earth monsters to replace him as the protector of the Earth.
===Ultraman Gaia: Gaia Again===
Some time after Zog's invasion, Gamu has become popular among the students probably due to his former alias as Ultraman Gaia. While working on his computer, his friends introduce him to a girl who idolize Gamu much to his embarrassment. At the classroom, Gamu was caught by his teacher due to secretly talking to PAL before the XIG's Peace Carry interrupts and orders Gamu to assist them with his friends bid him a goodbye.
Along with Team Marlin, he was dispatched to track the S.O.S. signal which came from undersea. When they reaches the source of the signal, they were amazed by the light-emitting seahorses, which believed to be the Undersea Civilians. However, when they witness Gakuzom emerge out of the sea and make his way to the city, the seahorses replenish Gaia's light once again enabling him to transform into Ultraman Gaia and appeared in the city, ready to battle and help Ultraman Agul. As the fight raged between the stronger Ultraman and Gakuzom, the aquatic creature summoned all of his legion to come to him. The body of Gakuzom began to morph and change, the creature gaining claws and new armor while attacking Gaia. His most powerful attack was simply absorbed into its chest and converted into the strange energy it manipulated in its claws. The beam sent Ultraman Gaia flying backward, but Ultraman Agul would soon find enough energy to help attack the beast once more. With both heroes weakened, it didn't take long for Gakuzom to overpower them, blasting them both back with its energy blasts. The monster looked grim for the heroes, but the undersea civilians the waves emerged, re-energize the Ultras with their energy. The two giants both fired their weapons. The two attacks entered the energy converter and overloaded it. Within a few seconds, what remained of the mighty monster was raining around the battlefield. Afterwards, Gamu bids farewell to Fujimiya as they went on their separate ways. 
===Ultraman Orb THE ORIGIN SAGA===
Gamu returns in this series, along with Hiroya Fujimiya. He first appears at the lab where Shouhei and his team have the Tree of Life's seed that started growing and notes that the tree is growing at in a mutated manner before saving both Shouhei and his partner with his anti-gravity Repulsor Lift. Shouhei asks if he's the warrior of light sent by Amate which he denies and says that instead of Amate it was the Earth who called him to protect the tree. Gamu then wonders if the warrior of light is the ball of light flying to them, which turns into Gai.
Gamu introduces himself as Gaia and reached out to shake Gai's hand only for the 'alien' to grasp his hand for a while before they start talking business.
Gamu transformed into Gaia with Gai into Orb Origin the First when Shouhei is caught by a Bezelb, albeit a small one. He is the hit out of the sky by a larger Bezelb before Gaia kills it with a Photon Edge. Gamu continued to help Gai against the Bezelbs, and advised him about his relation with Jugglus Juggler, who he compared to his own friend Fujimiya.
After the defeat of Psyqueen, Gamu wished Gai good luck and returned to his own Earth.
==Counterparts==
===Great Decisive Battle! The Super 8 Ultra Brothers===
In an alternate universe, Gamu was childhood friends with Daigo and Asuka, all three being fans of Ultraman. Gamu grew up to be a genius, but feeling pressured by the expectations placed on him ran away and became a tour guide at a museum.
After Daigo's talk about an alternate universe where they were Ultras, Gamu had a dream of his alternate self, being Ultraman Gaia.
Later, as Daigo fought the monsters attacking the city as Ultraman Tiga, Asuka and Gamu transformed into Ultraman Dyna and Gaia respectively to help him. With the help of the four Ultra Brothers and the revived Mebius, they managed to save their world. 
==Transformation==
Esplender: Gamu's personally constructed transformation device. To transform, Gamu thrusts the Esplender forward and usually shouts "GAIA!". Before the device's construction, Gamu would use a photoelectron tube with the Gaia force to transform.
GamuFirstHenshin.gif|Gamu using the photoelectron tube
Gamu new henshin.png|Gamu using the Esplender
GaiaV2Rise.gif|Gaia (V2) rises
==Powers and Weapons==
*Intelligence: Gamu is one of the first members of the Alchemy Stars, a group of young geniuses who created all the technology used by XIG. He is also the analyst of XIG. His scientific findings and designs are often the difference between victory and defeat against aliens and monsters. His well known creations in the series are XIG Fighter EX and his personal AI PAL. In episode 3, His Name is Gaia, it was revealed that Gamu received his PhD in Quantum Physics at the age of 17.
*Flight Training: Gamu is a decent pilot and is well-trained in the use of XIG aircraft.
*Transformation: Using the Esplender, a device of his creation, Gamu can summon the Gaia force to transform into Ultraman Gaia.
*Ultra Senses: The only Ultra Power that Gamu has shown. Gamu can see the true form of a monster/enemy when it's disguised. Shown in episode 37 when he discovered Queen Mezard is disguised as Kyoko Inamori.
==Other Media==
===Ultraman Retsuden===
Gamu served as the navigator for episodes 80-83, discussing parallel worlds.https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192026/http://blog.m-78.jp/2013/01/15/ティガ、ダイナ＆ガイア%E3%80%80「我夢だ！%E3%80%80イマ我夢/ He later appeared in episodes 95-96 with Fujimiya.https://web.archive.org/web/20160310185541/http://blog.m-78.jp/2013/04/17/ガイア＆アグル！イマ我夢とイマ藤宮がついに競/  
==Merchandise==
*XIG Fighter EX (Popynica Plus Series, 2000)
**Release Date: August 2000
**Price: 1,540 yen
**JAN/ISBN: 4902425761404
**Materials: PVC, ABS
**Accessories: Gamu Takayama figurine, XIG Emblem Badge
:The Popynica Plus Series XIG Fighter EX comes with a figurine of Gamu Takayama.
==Trivia==
*Like Daigo Madoka, Shin Asuka and later Hiroya Fujimiya, Gamu literally transformed into his Ultra persona. Unlike Daigo, his Ultra counterpart was also a separate entity. This situation was not seen again until the Dunamists of Ultraman Nexus.
*Unlike other Ultra Hosts, Gamu built his own transformation device, the only other known Ultra Host to do this is Fujimiya.
*Before the usage of the Esplender, Gamu first stored Gaia's essence in a photoelectron tube while raising it to the air to transform, mirroring Shin Hayata's transformation of Ultraman via the Beta Capsule.
*Gamu is the first human to inherit more than one Ultra's powers (Gaia's light and the Agul Force).
*While cleaning out his closet in 2020, Takeshi Yoshioka found production plans for the series. The production plans revealed that Gamu was initially supposed to be called .https://twitter.com/takeshiyoshioka/status/1251298675671699456
==References==
id:Gamu Takayama
Category:Ultraman Gaia
Category:Ultraman Gaia Characters
Category:Human Characters
Category:Human Hosts
Category:XIG
Category:XIG Members
Category:Male Characters
Category:Heroes
Category:Ultra Hosts
Category:Protagonists
Category:Scientists
Category:Alchemy Stars