I Found An Old Friend From Outer Space!

It Happened One Evening ….

“It was like any other evening, the sun had just set an hour ago. There was a cool breeze about and people were heading home exhausted from a day’s hard work. The aroma of fried tempura from a nearby restaurant was in the air and all around the city centre was the clamor of foot steps buzzing about like millions of ants in a hive. In an instant, a mysterious radioactive fog settled over Tokyo. An even more mysterious Alien (aka Zarab Seijin) arrives to help clean it up!”

Of course, Zarab Seijin had other sinister plans. Aired originally in 13 November, 1966, this 18th Episode of the Original Ultraman Series titled “Yusei Kara Kita Kyodai” (The Brother From Another Planet) had me riveted to my seat. It was so mysterious how the fog appeared and how people reacted to the sightings of a strange looking Alien climbing on walls.

Zarab Seijin is (in my humble opinion) one of the best designed Ultra-Aliens to date. He appeared to be wearing some kind of mask which left me wondering if he could breathe in our atmosphere. He was so iconic that he even made a re-appearance in the Ultraman Mebius movie last year. Zarab had a simple design but it had lots of personality and is timeless. Here are his vital statistics:

Height: 1.8 to 50 meters
Weight: 90kg to 37,000 tons

Fewture Artwork’s Zarab Seijin
Launched in a convention on 28th October 2007 (last week), Zarab Seijin is the latest in the line-up of Ultra-kaijus offered by Fewture Artwork (Japan). This item is limited to only 150 pcs worldwide and features a more sinister-looking Zarab compared to those released previously by Bandai, Bullmark or Bearmodel.

It measures a little more than 8 inches in height and has metallic green highlights on solid orange vinyl. The item’s most noticeable feature is its menacing claws on both the hands and feet. This sets it apart from all the earlier releases by other toy manufacturers.

In The End…It’s All About The Memories
Many years ago, after watching the episode featuring Zarab Seijin, I begged my Grandmother to buy me a Zarab Seijin toy. At that time, re-runs were shown in the late afternoon and I was living with my grandparents.

After a prolonged session of pestering, she agreed. We headed down to the provision store just opposite her flat. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was shining very brightly. The ground felt hot after a day under the sun and I could hear the laughter of school children playing in a near-by field. We walked pass a school just when the bell rang and could hear students greeting their teacher. A cool breeze was blowing pass the trees and the aroma of housewives cooking dinner for their families filled the air.

We reached the provision store (yes, bullmark toys were sold in provision stores long ago). What I saw amazed me. Although the shop had all the items provision stores of that time typically stocked, there were also so many Bullmark toys hanging on the ceiling. The header cards of the toys were attached to numerous hooks hanging on a few bamboo sticks criss-crossing the ceiling above. I had finally discovered my paradise! After searching the space above me frantically for about 5 minutes, I pointed to a bullmark Zarab Seijin sandwiched between two Kaijus. The store owner took a stick with hooks attached on the top end (often used to hang bamboo sticks to dry laundry) and used it to slowly bring down the toy. I finally had my Zarab Seijin. I was the happiest kid in the world at that point.

When I received the Fewture Artwork Zarab Seijin last week, all these memories came rushing back. Though I no longer live with my grandparents, I could still clearly remember everything that happened on that day so long ago. Though the years may pass, beautiful memories remain. It felt like I was meeting an old friend for the first time after having not seen him for ages. I was a kid again.

Is this not the real reason why we collect toys in the first place? As adults we like to rationalize our decision by talking about the quality of the plastic, the fantastic paint jobs, the rarity of the item and the tons of money we are going to make when we sell it. But all those are just silly excuses, aren't they?

We buy toys because we cling onto memories of childhood. A time of innocence. A time of limitless possibilities. A time when the world was new and monsters were hiding in the mountains or barrowing underground. A time when aliens like Zarab Seijin were plotting to enslave mankind. It was also comforting to know that a hero like Ultraman would show up just in time to save the day.

In the mad rush to grow up, many of us have left our dreams behind. A small part of who we are dies everyday. But our memories remind us of who we really were at the beginning of our lives. Every time we collect a toy, we reconnect to our past. We reconnect with our dreams. We take back a bit of what we lost along the way. After all, what is life but a collection of memories?