ebonymovies Chapter 198 An Absurd Dream, The Rise of the Tokusatsu Empire!
Chapter 198 An Absurd Dream, The Rise of the Tokusatsu Empire!
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The live stream chat was flooded with comments like a waterfall.
Old Tang skillfully pressed the F5 key, and the screen instantly changed.
After the familiar, rousing opening theme ended, the bold white title of this episode slowly appeared in the center of the screen—Episode 42: "The Empty Dream of Bubbles".
"A Bubble Dream? That name sounds rather poetic, doesn't it?"
Old Tang stroked his chin, his expression wary.
The main feature begins.
The story begins with a low, somber narration explaining the background.
With the development of the new era, TPC's military technology tree is getting higher and higher.
Based on Chung Dao's research data, the space base on Mars has successfully developed a new type of super weapon called the "Specium Cannon".
Captain Hibiko decides to send Shin Asuka and Kawa Mai to Mars to bring back the samples.
However, the plot, which should have been serious and solemn, suddenly took a turn and the style became extremely bizarre.
The Super GUTS command center, which was originally full of high-tech features, has been transformed into a classroom filled with tables and chairs!
The team members' tone and actions became extremely exaggerated and affected, as if they were performing some kind of extremely low-quality stage play.
Even more outrageous, a Reicuran alien who called himself "General Zoka" suddenly hacked into the screen and arrogantly threatened everyone.
[666! It's invincible Specium matter! The Ultramen are saved!]
[Holy crap? A Raichuran alien?! Isn't that an old acquaintance from Ultraman Tiga?!]
Why did the art style suddenly become so abstract? What the heck is that classroom?
[Why is Asuka wearing a school uniform? Hahaha!]
[This line sounds so forced; what happened to the actor?]
In the scene, Asuka, unable to bear the enemy's arrogance, immediately gets up to go out and fight, but is firmly held down by Captain Hibiko.
The captain told him with a righteous air that his mission was to retrieve the cannon from Mars, and that the fighting was to be left to others.
"This is for our future!"
The captain roared.
"good!!!"
The crowd shouted in unison, their enthusiasm inexplicably ignited.
Old Tang stared blankly at the screen, "Wait, what's going on here? This plot has such a strong nonsensical feel to it!"
Although the plot is extremely abstract, the special effects scenes that follow are anything but vague, directly showcasing an extremely luxurious level of industrial production!
The hangar doors slowly opened, and fighter jets of all types poured out as if they were free.
The precise and highly realistic hangar lifting camera shots, along with the propulsion effects during ejection, maximize the visual impact.
There was even a Victory Fire Dragon belonging to the European branch!
However, this massive mobilization was against an enemy that looked like a bunch of crude spaceships.
Under the cover of the crowd's firepower, Asuka and Mai successfully took off in a rocket.
Just then, General Zoka sent another congratulatory telegram, claiming that he had detonated a comet bomb in the asteroid belt, and countless meteorite fragments were turning into a storm and hurtling towards Earth and Mars.
Asuka immediately launched into a righteous speech, declaring her intention to save the solar system.
Before they could finish speaking, Vice Captain Koda abruptly turned off his communicator to prevent them from ruining the atmosphere!
[Hahaha! Koda: You talk too much!]
[Asuka: I haven't finished my lines yet!]
This is definitely an official self-deprecating comment!
The perspective shifts to the Mars base.
As soon as Asuka and Mai landed, they ran into two old acquaintances—Nanbara, the staff officer, and Horii, a former member of the GUTS team!
【Ahhh! Horii is back!】
[The staff officer from Nanyuan is here too! It brings back so many memories!]
Faced with a barrage of meteorite fragments flying from the sky, the Mars base's air defense firepower was severely inadequate.
Mai cleverly suggested disassembling the Specium cannon and taking it with her.
Seeing that he was at a loss, Dr. Horii finally pulled out his secret weapon, which he had been developing for many years—the Giant Mountain Super Powerhouse!
A massive, retro-styled, and somewhat bulky Iron Man mech makes its grand entrance!
Old Tang spat out a mouthful of cola: "Pfft—! Giant Mountain Super Powerhouse?! Isn't that the name Vice-Captain Munakata gave Ultraman Tiga back then?! Horii, you actually built a robot named that?!"
[What the hell! This name is just awful!]
Horii: I just think this name sounds awesome!
Due to a design flaw, the cockpit was extremely cramped.
The petite Mai Kawa was forced to become the sole designated driver.
Mai cried out, "Open the door and let me out!" while flipping through the instruction manual in the cockpit.
In the end, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and pilot the robot into space, firing the meteorites with the Specium Cannon at full power.
Just as Mai was about to be unable to withstand a super-sized meteorite, a thick beam of red light shot out from behind, shearing off most of the meteorite.
A pirate-themed spaceship slowly sailed in.
Inside the cockpit, former vice-captain Zongfang was wearing an eye patch and an extremely cool space pirate outfit, and was playing the trombone with great passion!
Standing next to him was New Town, who was also dressed as a pirate helmsman!
[Holy crap!!! Commander?! New City?!]
What the heck is this design?! A space pirate?!
Kids, this episode was amazing!
[How did you become a pirate, Commander?! Hahaha! I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts from laughing!]
This episode was absolutely a free-spirited one for everyone!
No, it feels like the entire crew got food poisoning from eating mushrooms!
Space was in complete chaos.
In an attempt to stop the colossal meteorite, the pirate version of Munakata shouts, "We must sacrifice ourselves for the new era," and prepares to crash his warship into the meteorite.
At the critical moment, Asuka finally arrived in his fighter jet.
After a bizarre close-up shot of Asuka being attacked by aliens, Asuka transforms into Ultraman Dyna.
Dyna instantly destroyed all the White Maru spaceships upon his appearance, and then held off the giant meteorite that was heading towards Mars.
Mai arrives in her Mega Mighty Powerhouse to help, but Asuka frantically gestures for her to leave.
He even blurted out, "Hey! I told you to get out of the way!"
Mai was completely stunned!
That sound just now...
[666, the answer is Ultraman's will!]
[Haha, Mai must be totally confused too. She heard the sound of a bird even though she was wearing a vacuum and couldn't make a sound.]
Why choose the brute form? Why not just create a black hole and suck it in with the miracle form?
[I just wanted to protect you, but this abrupt ending is so heartbreaking]
Just as the stalemate was at its peak, a rock suddenly broke off from the meteorite and smashed into Dyna's head with a loud "bang"!
The powerful, red, strong-type Dyna was knocked unconscious on the spot by a rock and comically floated in space!
A single stone solo kills the strong Dyna!
"Dyna! Wake up!" Mai cried out in despair.
"what!"
The screen suddenly flashed.
Shin Asuka jumped up from the table in a panic, covered in sweat.
It turns out that everything, from the classroom to the pirates, from the robot to being knocked unconscious by a rock, was just a bizarre dream he had while slacking off at work and dozing off!
Mai woke up rubbing her eyes, and the two of them looked out the window at the rocket taking off normally amidst the roar, realizing that there was no crisis at all.
Standing behind them, Captain Hibiki, with a dark expression, let out a deafening roar.
The scene freezes and ends in a joyful, comedic atmosphere.
……
"grass--"
Old Tang laughed so hard in front of the computer that tears streamed down his face, and it took him a full half minute to sit up straight.
"Is this some kind of dream ending?! You old bastard, Gu, you're unbeatable!"
Old Tang pointed at the screen and began his post-match analysis.
"Don't be fooled by the absurdity of this episode's plot; it doesn't even make any sense in terms of logic. It's actually a 'love letter' from director Gu Nan!"
"First of all, the vehicle of 'dream' is too perfect. Because it's a dream, Asuka is obsessed with flying airplanes, Mai is forced to pilot mecha, and Vice-Captain Munakata can fulfill his wild fantasy of being a space pirate! This is actually the most authentic reflection of the characters' subconscious!"
The chat room comments echoed this sentiment:
Indeed, dreams contain anything; this explanation is flawless.
[The veteran team members all made cameo appearances and even did cosplay! The Easter eggs are just too plentiful!]
[Those countless mecha fighters and miniature models in the sky were truly awe-inspiring!]
Old Tang tapped the table and continued, "And did you guys notice? The sheer number of TPC technological creations featured in this episode is outrageous! From ground-based anti-aircraft guns and all sorts of new and old fighter jets, to mobile fortresses, space stations, and even that hilarious giant mountain super-powerful beast. Director Gu Nan, through this dream, is giving us a comprehensive view of the mechanical industry landscape of the new era!"
"This not only wraps a love for mechanics and science fiction in the most absurd scenes, but also connects the emotional bonds between the two eras of Tiga and Dyna. Whether it's a dream or not, that courage to fight for the future of humanity will never change! This is definitely the strongest and most romantic Easter egg compilation in the history of tokusatsu!"
After finishing his review of the Dyna series, Old Tang took a sip of water, and his expression suddenly became somewhat serious and sentimental.
"Tsk tsk tsk, after watching this episode, we've realized that Light Chaser Animation really has money to burn!"
Suddenly, a sense of curiosity arose in Old Tang's heart.
"Brothers, we're always shouting 'Believe in the Light,' and 'Gu Nan is awesome.' But do you know just how terrifyingly powerful Gu Nan and Light Chaser Animation have become?"
Old Tang skillfully typed a URL into the browser.
The page redirects, and a new front-page in-depth report from Jinghai Business Weekly, a top domestic financial media outlet, appears on the screen.
The headline of this report is extremely eye-catching, even carrying a touch of exhilarating power—
From a makeshift operation to a multi-billion dollar tokusatsu empire: The "miracle of light" of young entrepreneur Gu Nan!
"Come on, brothers, today Lao Tang will show you just how much commercial value these tokusatsu dramas we've been following have generated!"
Old Tang zoomed in on the webpage and began reading the professional financial analysis report line by line.
The article states: "In less than two years, Light Chaser Animation has completely overturned the traditional monetization model of film and television in China. Gu Nan did not limit his focus to selling the broadcasting rights of a single TV series, but instead created an impeccable business loop around the core IP of Ultraman."
Old Tang scrolled the mouse, pointing to the rows of astonishing data listed above.
"Six hundred and sixty-six! Look here! First, the derivative toy market. The deep strategic cooperation between Light Chaser Animation and Bandai has created an industry legend. The DX series transformation devices centered around 'Tiga' and 'Dyna,' soft vinyl monsters, and the True Bone SHF series targeting the high-end collectible market have achieved a staggering 1.5 billion Chinese Yuan in sales across all channels in just the past quarter!"
The live stream chat exploded with a dense barrage of exclamation marks.
[Holy crap?! 1.5 billion in three months?! And all from selling plastic toys?!]
[Sorry, I contributed 1,000 yuan to this 1.5 billion...]
[The sewing machines at Bandai's OEM factory must be practically smoking from all the pounding!]
No wonder Gu Yonghao was so willing to spend so much money on his dramas; it turns out the merchandise is so lucrative!
Old Tang continued reading: "Secondly, there's the cross-industry gaming industry. The buy-to-play fighting game 'Ultraman Fighting Evolution,' developed by Light Chaser Animation, directly boosted the second wave of sales for the game on major console platforms thanks to its hardcore action design and its advanced operational strategy of updating free DLC in sync with the TV series. Global cumulative sales have exceeded eight million copies! Of course, the main sales region is still Asia."
"However, this operational logic of treating players as friends rather than exploiting them completely crushes those inferior game developers in China who rely on gacha mechanics to force players to spend money. The net profit from the game sector alone is enough to support Light Chaser Animation Studios in making ten more feature-length movies!"
"Not only that!"
Old Tang's voice grew increasingly excited, "The last part of the report analyzes Light Chaser Animation's most popular offline immersive entertainment business right now. That is, the stage plays and themed exhibitions that everyone was scrambling to buy tickets for."
"Upon the announcement of the national tour plan for the first official stage play, 'The Giants Resurrected from the Ancient Times,' 100,000 tickets for the first batch of ten cities sold out within two minutes. The official themed exhibition accompanying the stage play further boosted cultural and tourism consumption in the host cities. Chasing Light Films is becoming a vast and vibrant tokusatsu (special effects) entertainment empire!"
Old Tang stared at the screen, letting out a long sigh, his voice filled with admiration: "Brothers, how old is Gu Nan this year? He single-handedly revived the glory of tokusatsu from ruins, elevating it to a level that even foreigners can only dream of. He proved that as long as the content is excellent enough, toys aren't just plastic, but totems carrying faith and miracles!"
The viewers in the live broadcast room were also deeply impressed by this professional financial report.
[Wow, the director of the web series I'm watching has become a multi-millionaire?!]
With that kind of business acumen, he deserves to make money!
[The truly impressive thing is earning money honestly through high-quality content, without exploiting fans!]
[Gu Nan: I'm coming clean, I'm actually a successful capitalist (doge)]
[Holy crap! Why didn't you say so sooner!]
[At this rate, Light Chaser Animation should be able to apply for an IPO and ring the bell! Gu Yonghao is now a true business tycoon!]
[Kids, is there still a chance for me to join their graduation project group? [laughing and crying emoji]]
……