Kengo Manaka

## Portrayal

**Kengo Manaka** (マナカ ケンゴ, *Manaka Kengo*) is the protagonist of *Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga*. He worked peacefully as a botanist at the Botanical Research Center on the Mars colony. He encountered Ultraman Trigger's statue and inherited the power of light. Kengo headed to Earth to become the newest recruit of the expert team GUTS-Select.

He is in fact the reincarnation of Ultraman Trigger's light, reawakened after thirty million years.

## Personality

With a sociable, kind, and hard-working personality, he has a fiery sense of justice that compels him to fight to protect humanity's smiling faces.

## History

### Early Life

Kengo Manaka was a miracle child born from Ultraman Trigger's will of light, thirty million years after the Giant of Light crashed down to Mars. His mother Reina Manaka discovered him in the Ultra-Ancient ruins, formed from the Trigger's impact, and raised him on the Mars colony. Kengo later worked as a botanist under the Sizuma Foundation. He successfully grew a flower plant he named R'lyeh (ルルイエ, *Ruruie*) that was able to take root on Martian soil but it could not bloom.

### Becoming Ultraman Trigger

Kengo had a nightmare of a mysterious woman who told him that he was light before becoming engulfed in darkness, with a Giant of Darkness who loomed over and fired a beam at him.

Being unsuccessful at having plants take root with the high concentration of heavy metals in the Martian soil, Kengo followed the his mother Reina Manaka and Chairman Mitsukuni Shizuma into the ruins to gather a sample of ancient soil. Suddenly the Ultra-Ancient sword and Kengo began to glow, followed by the appearance of Golba outside the dome. As rubble was about to crush Kengo, an unknown power defected the stone and protected him, that was witnessed by his mother and the chairman.

At the shelter, Kengo is met with Yuzare again before the chairman interrupted, asking Kengo what sort of future he dreamt of. Golba resurfaces, Kengo is given GUTS-Select equipment by the chairman and made his way to the ruins. Upon arriving, a portal opened beneath him and sent him to the lowest level of the ruins where he discovered Ultraman Trigger's statue. He is chosen by the light and merges with the statue, becoming Ultraman Trigger to stand up to Carmeara. He fought against both Golba and Carmeara, destroying the dark monster with the Zeperion Beam while Carmeara retreated. After the battle, Kengo returned the gear back to Mitsukuni but is instead offered to move to Earth and become a member of GUTS-Select.[*Connection of Light*]

Kengo arrived on Earth with Chairman Shizuma. Chairman Shizuma recommended Kengo to keep his identity as Ultraman Trigger a secret to avoid unwanted dangers. He was introduced to the members of GUTS-Select aboard the Nursedessei. Akito Hijiri seemed to scowl at Kengo. Kengo mistook Yuna Shizuma for Yuzare, who was nearly identical to the latter. He was deployed to evacuate civilians during Gymaira's attack, and went off by himself to transform in Ultraman to defeat the monster. After a seeming victory, Darrgon, the second Giant of Darkness, appeared and dueled Trigger. Trigger was overpowered by Darrgon's brute strength and vanished. Akito confronted Kengo for losing the fight and took Kengo's GUTS Sparklence. Akito revealed it was the only one he had created that was convertible and claimed the Giant of Light should've been him instead of Kengo. Kengo apologized for unknowingly hurting Akito personally, but still wished to pursue the future he dreamt of creating. Darrgon reemerged that night and fired off fiery shockwaves that destroyed many buildings. Akito gave Kengo the Ultraman Trigger Power Type Key that he'd completed which allowed Kengo to access Power Type and fought Darrgon for a second time.[*Leap to the Future*]

As Kengo escorted Akito and Yuna to school, they were attacked by Hudram who kidnapped Yuna. Kengo and Akito arrived at a warehouse to rescue Yuna, but they mistook Ignis for Hudram. As Yuna was about to take the shot for Ignis, Yuzare awakened from her body and deflected the bullet. She warned them to protect the Eternity Core from being taken by the Giants of Darkness before she faded back into Yuna's body. Ultraman Trigger was challenged by Hudram after Gazort was defeated. Kengo witnessed another memory of the three Giants of Darkness fully assembled while fighting. After the battle, Kengo asked Akito and the Chairman about Yuzare's connection to Yuna.[*The Ultra-Ancient Light and Darkness*]

Kengo witnessed an dream where the three Giants of Darkness brought destruction to the Ultra-Ancient civilization. As they slowly approached him, Kengo looked down to see that he had assumed a strange appearance before he woke up in a panic in the command room. Kengo, Akito, and Yuna were sent on security duty at a site where ruins of the Ultra-Ancient civilization were discovered. Kengo recognized the shape of the tower as the same one from his dream. He learned from Yuna that ruins like it have been found and documented all over Earth. Kengo began to connect the pieces together having asked Akito about the Ultra-Ancient civilization and Ultraman Trigger, but he was still unsure what his recent dream meant and why he had dreams of Trigger's memories and of Yuzare even before obtaining the light.

### Trigger Dark's Revival

As the mysteries behind the Ultra-Ancient civilization began to unfold, Kengo bore witness to many more visions and memories from Ultra-Ancient times. With Yuna Shizuma slowly awakening the powers of her ancestor, the final portion of the stone tablet was unveiled and revealed the existence of the fourth Giant of Darkness, who turned out to be Trigger himself.

Carmeara casted a dark curse on Trigger, which led to Kengo being sent back through time. Kengo was able link himself to Trigger Dark with the Ancient Sparklence as the Eternity Core's power was about to be obtained. Trigger's vessel in the present suddenly rose up from the ground and was transformed by the darkness into Trigger Dark, causing destruction as he reawakened.[*The Encounter of Light and Darkness*]

### Power of Eternity

Trigger rejected Kengo's plea to lend him the power to protect and attacked him. They fought one another as Kengo attempted to convince him, but Kengo's wish to build a hopeful future was strong enough to overpower Trigger Dark. Kengo held out his hand to Trigger, and Trigger finally showed his smile to Kengo. When Trigger took the form of Kengo, Kengo realized that he was Trigger's reincarnation all along. As he stood before the Eternity Core, transformed into Ultraman Trigger Multi Type. Three Ultraman Trigger exited the Eternity Core's gate and fought against his former companions. Power and Sky Type were defeated and absorbed into the ruins, but Yuzare called upon the Eternity Core and sacrificed herself to grant Ultraman Trigger power and seal the Giants of Darkness. Ultraman Trigger was veiled in a golden aura and threw them deep into space as he also became petrified.

Through the present day Trigger Dark, Kengo heard the calls of Akito and Yuna for him to return. He was sent back through the portal and returned to the present, separating from the past Ultraman Trigger as his statue fell to Mars. Kengo reunited with them in the present and transformed to fight Trigger Dark. Ultraman Trigger received the fragment of the Eternity Core from Yuzare, who reawakened from Yuna, which Kengo used to awaken as Glitter Trigger Eternity. He forced the three Giants of Darkness to retreated and defeated Trigger Dark, but the power was too energy intense for even him to control.

### The Golden Threat

Remembering what Yuzare said about Trigger being the light and something else, Kengo vowed that it is his destiny to fight the darkness as the incarnation of light.

## Equipment

* **GUTS Sparklence** (ガッツスパークレンス, *Gattsu Supāku Rensu*): Transformation item and sidearm.
* **GUTS Hyper Keys** (ガッツハイパーキー, *Gattsu Haipā Kī*): Transformation trinkets.
* **GUTS Buckle** (ガッツバックル, *Gattsu Bakkuru*): Utility belts for storing the GUTS Sparklence and Hyper Keys.
* **Ancient Sparklence** (エンシェントスパークレンス, *Enshento Supākurensu*).

## Behind the Scenes

### Portrayal

Kengo is portrayed by Raiga Terasaka (寺坂頼我, *Terasaka Raiga*) who previously portrays Wasshoidah Red in Boymen Neon Genesis Matsuri Warrior Wasshoidah

## Notes

* Kengo's occupation as a botanist is a callback to Daigo Madoka's occupation after moving to Mars.
* Kengo's Glitter Trigger Eternity transformation reuses Daigo Madoka's usual transformation pose, where he poses his arms in a cross then raises the Sparklence.
* Kengo's existence stems as a result of a bootstrap paradox: His future self travelling into the past, and interacting with Trigger Dark from thirty million years ago, led Trigger to turn to the light. The light within Trigger would be reincarnated in the present as Kengo himself, who would become Ultraman Trigger and eventually travel back in time to meet Trigger of the past.