chsdbacks Chapter 203 The Gale Returns! A Choice Between Gentleness and Power!
Chapter 203 The Gale Returns! A Choice Between Gentleness and Power!
Time flies.
When episode 48 was mentioned, Gu Nan couldn't help but recall the set two weeks ago.
In this episode, there is a very special scene—inside the monster Morgadon!
In traditional web dramas, when such scenes occur, the most likely solution is to simply use a green screen and add some CG in post-production to get by.
Even in the original world, Tsuburaya Productions only used the oldest special effects filming method, tearing off a large piece of red plastic sheeting to wrap the actors and cameras, and putting a few plastic pieces on top of that, claiming them to be the monster's organs.
But Gu Nan rejected the proposal outright.
"The audience's eyes are discerning; the plastic look of the CG simply cannot support the oppressive feeling of defusing a bomb inside a monster's belly."
In pursuit of the most realistic texture, Gu Nan generously instructed the props team to spend a fortune using a large amount of silicone, latex, and high-density sponge to construct a real "monster esophagus" set that was over ten meters long in the studio!
Furthermore, in order to simulate the viscous texture inside a monster, the props team had to pour more than a dozen buckets of specially made artificial slime into the set every day.
During the days of filming, the actors who played Captain Hayate and Musashi all had to crawl through this soft tunnel that smelled strange and was full of slime.
After filming one scene, both of them were soaked to the bone, and the soles of their shoes were covered in stringy, sticky substance.
But it is precisely this extremely hardcore real-life shooting that makes the final image full of a chilling claustrophobia and a sense of physical texture.
Besides that, the biggest highlight of this episode is the return of familiar faces.
"Speaking of which, when tonight's episode airs and a certain handsome guy returns, the comments section is probably going to explode again."
……
Friday night, 7:50 p.m.
The exciting and passionate opening theme song of "Ultraman Dyna" started playing right on time.
After a brief black screen.
Episode 48: The Planet-Destroying Bomb
"Planet-destroying bomb? Holy crap, this name alone doesn't sound like a typical episode! They're going to blow up Earth right off the bat?"
Old Tang stroked his chin and leaned back tactically.
The main feature begins.
A family of three is having a picnic on a lawn.
Suddenly, after a violent tremor on the other side of the mountain, a huge figure burst out of the ground!
Monster Mogadon!
A monster that looks just like a mole!
The scene flashes to a somewhat comical everyday workplace scene.
A man named Musashi (I'll use his original name, I won't change it) was busy running around in the office.
He was a typical nice guy, helping his colleagues pour tea, running errands for urgent documents, and even paying for his seniors' money, but he was bullied all the time.
Even so, he was still cheerful, simply because it was his daughter's birthday and he wanted to leave work early to buy her a gift.
However, the tragedy of office workers is that accidents always come before they can leave work.
An emergency news report suddenly broke on television: an emergency has occurred in the Tama Hills region; a giant monster has emerged from the ground!
That's the monster Mogadon!
Super GUTS quickly mobilized, piloting their fighter jets to launch a fierce attack on the monster.
However, when Musashi saw the monster on TV, his eyes widened in terror.
Without saying a word, he dropped his work and rushed to the scene as fast as he could.
Amidst the smoke and fire, Musashi, ignoring all attempts to stop him, frantically shouted at the fighter jets in the sky, "No! Don't attack it! Don't stop me, let me through!"
Just as Super Victory Team was preparing to unleash their deadly firepower.
"Chadavian, you can't escape."
A cold, deep male voice suddenly rang out behind Musashi.
Musashi froze and turned his head.
A man in a trench coat with sharp, eagle-like eyes appeared in front of the camera.
The moment the man's face appeared clearly on the screen, Old Tang dropped his Coke on the table with a "thud".
Holy crap!!!!
Old Tang jumped up from his chair, his eyes wide open.
After a brief pause of 0.1 seconds, the live stream chat exploded with an unprecedented frenzy!
【Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah! 】
[It's Captain Hayate!!!]
[Holy crap! The strongest TPC member from Ultraman Tiga is back!!!]
【Ye Qing is back! 】
[I feel he's not as good as Daniel Wu on screen~~]
That cool, aloof gaze is so handsome!
In the scene, Captain Hayate coldly stares at Musashi, who hurriedly explains, "Wait, there's a bomb! There's a bomb inside that monster's body!"
This sudden intelligence left everyone stunned.
Captain Hayate immediately pulled out his communicator and contacted the Super GUTS team: "Hello, this is Hayate. Captain Hayate of the TPC Space Exploration Team. Please investigate the situation inside the monster."
After a thorough scan, Chung Dao came to a chilling conclusion.
"It's a bomb! And a bomb with incredible power! If it explodes, the Tama region... no, the entire Earth will explode!"
Captain Hibiki's expression changed drastically, and he immediately ordered a halt to the attack, instead using hypnotic bullets to subdue the monster.
The crisis has been temporarily averted, but a bigger mystery has surfaced.
Inside the TPC interrogation room.
Captain Hayate coldly exposed Musashi's true colors: "The Chadavians are among the top three most vicious aliens in the galaxy. You created the Endamushita X bomb and repeatedly destroyed planets for experiments. I've been tracking you all year, and today, I've finally found the last one."
Faced with the accusations, Musashi looked aggrieved and retorted loudly, "Who's vicious! We were just conducting scientific experiments on a planet devoid of life!"
"Then why plant bombs on our planet? There's life on Earth!"
"Our boss said the Earth is destroyed! That's why I..."
As Musashi recounts his story, an extremely absurd yet tragic truth unfolds.
It turns out he was tricked by his boss into thinking Earth was a dead planet.
After he planted the bomb, he encountered the real Earthling, Musashi. The real Musashi died unexpectedly after accidentally triggering the spaceship's safety mechanism.
"Besides not being able to return in a spaceship, what I feel most saddened about is that I took away the most precious lives on this planet."
To atone for his mistake, the kind alien transformed into Musashi and took care of his wife Hisako and daughter. As they spent time together day after day, he genuinely fell in love with the planet and his family.
Goodness, this boss is a complete novice!
[It's probably due to an information gap; the Chadavians received the information shortly after the dinosaurs went extinct.]
[Gatarine: 666, am I not life?]
A kind-hearted worker was ripped off by an unscrupulous boss.
This part is so heartbreaking. The protagonist lives in place of the dead, but ends up developing feelings for them.
Old Tang sighed, "Brothers, this Chadavian is a pitiful fellow. He was tricked into doing dirty work, and now he has to take the blame."
To defuse the bomb, Musashi volunteered to enter the monster's body to disarm it. Although Captain Hayate didn't trust him, he decided to go along to supervise.
Just as the two were preparing to take action.
Many people gathered outside the police cordon.
Those were colleagues from the company whom Musashi had helped.
"Go for it, Musashi! We're waiting for you to come back!"
Seeing everyone cheering him on, Musashi felt a warmth in his heart.
Hayate watched this scene without saying anything, simply waiting for Musashi to say goodbye to the others...
Meanwhile, at the forward command post in the distance.
Musashi's wife, Hisako, arrived at the scene with their daughter.
Faced with the obstruction of the Super GUTS team, Hisako looked at her husband, who was about to die, her eyes slightly red, but she calmly uttered a sentence that shocked the entire audience:
"Actually, that person... just wanted to be an ordinary person for once."
It turns out that the wife already knew her husband was an alien in disguise! But she felt his kindness and love, chose to be tolerant, and didn't expose him.
[The wife already knew!]
She saw through his intentions but didn't say anything; she knew he truly loved this family.
[This...this...a minotaur?!]
[Shin Musashi: Kids, I have no objection~~]
[It wasn't exactly turning into Musashi. Didn't that flashback explain that he transferred his life and consciousness into Musashi's body, while his own body (corpse) slowly disappeared?]
So it's like possession, taking over someone else's family...
Ah, this is really awkward.
The operation begins.
Captain Gale and Musashi, carrying a ladder, climbed directly into Moggardon's mouth while the monster was fast asleep with its mouth open.
Gu Nan's extremely hardcore physical set design exuded a terrifying sense of oppression at this moment.
The fleshy red passage, the constantly writhing esophageal walls, and the viscous liquid that was everywhere were clearly conveyed to the audience through the camera lens.
Countless people watched with wide smiles on their faces.
"Wow, this is so morbidly tasteless! The set design is so realistic, it's almost nauseating. But the quality is absolutely amazing!"
……
The two glided along until they finally found the pulsating Endamusita X bomb deep in the monster's throat.
However, a crisis broke out!
Because the bomb's position had become loose, the monster Mogadon woke up prematurely! It struggled painfully, its body churning violently as if a storm was brewing inside.
"Seal the monster with an electromagnetic net!"
Koda shouted.
Just as the monster was about to break free of the electromagnetic net, Shin Asuka decisively drew his Flash Sword.
In a dazzling light, Ultraman Dyna appeared, pinning Mogadon to the ground and buying time for the two inside him.
Inside the monster, the bomb disposal operation has reached its most critical stage.
Only one red line and one green line remain.
Cut the wrong piece, and the Earth will be destroyed instantly.
Musashi was covered in sweat and his hands were trembling: "My boss once told me that in an emergency, you can just cut the green line."
Captain Gale sneered, his sharp insight revealing the blind spot: "What if your superior lies to you? Did he order you to self-detonate the bomb?"
These words struck Musashi like a bolt of lightning.
Yeah! That bastard boss who made him destroy other planets has been using him all along!
"Thank goodness Hisako reminded me..."
Musashi's gaze gradually hardened as he recalled the smiling faces of his wife and daughter, and all the little things he had experienced on Earth.
"Although I'm easily trusting and have a cowardly personality... I will never be deceived again for Hisako and my daughter!"
Musashi roared, refusing to believe his superior's lies, and decisively cut the red thread with a pair of scissors!
"drop--"
The bomb's countdown has stopped completely!
"It's a success!"
The live stream chat instantly erupted in cheers.
[Wow, Musashi is awesome! The resolve of a working person!]
Screw your boss! I quit!
It seems even aliens can't escape the PUA tactics of their bosses making empty promises.
No matter where in the universe your boss is, they're all bad news!
[Unfounded speculation: So, is bomb disposal in the entire universe all about ribbon-cutting?]
The crisis was over, but Mogaton was still going berserk. It knocked Dyna to the ground and prepared to burrow underground to escape.
Just then, Musashi and Captain Hayate, inside the monster's belly, started doing something incredibly flashy. Their antics inside caused the monster to let out a huge sneeze!
"Achoo—!"
Amidst a cloud of slime, the two were blasted out of the monster's mouth, only to be caught by Dyna.
We can't follow the original story here, since the original story features two Saiyans landing unharmed after falling directly from the mouth of a monster over fifty meters high, which is somewhat illogical...
Musashi quickly shouted to Dyna, "Dyna! The monster doesn't mean any harm! It's just uncomfortable because a bomb is stuck in its throat! Please help it!"
Dyna understood immediately. Facing this originally docile Earth monster, Dyna did not use his ultimate beam, but instead used an extremely gentle soothing tactic to calm Mogadon down, and then safely transported it to the no-man's land.
The last rays of the setting sun shone on the devastated streets.
The Musashi family was finally reunited.
But Musashi knew that his identity had been exposed, and according to TPC rules, he had to be taken away by Captain Hayate to complete the task.
He knelt down and gently patted his daughter's head with some reluctance: "I'm sorry, Daddy has to go to a very far place."
"Where is Daddy going? When will he be back?" the daughter asked innocently.
His wife, Hisako, stood by him, tears welling in her eyes, yet she still looked at him with an understanding gaze.
Musashi stood up, preparing to walk towards Captain Hayate, who had been standing not far away smoking.
However, this cold-blooded space detective simply flicked the cigarette butt away from his hand and didn't even glance at Musashi.
Captain Gale, with his back to them, spoke in a tone that was both extremely arrogant and full of human warmth:
"Oh dear, the Chadavians escaped again."
With that, he tugged at the collar of his trench coat and strode towards the setting sun, leaving behind only a dashing silhouette.
Musashi stood there, stunned, then tears welled up in his eyes. He turned and hugged his wife and daughter tightly.
Accompanied by an extremely heartwarming and healing ending theme, this episode came to a perfect end with a happy reunion.
……
"call--"
Old Tang let out a long sigh in front of the computer, rubbed his slightly sore eyes, and wore a smile of immense satisfaction.
"Guys, this episode was absolutely amazing! What is tough guys with a soft heart? This is it!"
Old Tang sat up straight and began his extremely hardcore post-match analysis.
"This 48th episode, on the surface, is a thrilling bomb disposal story, but its core message lies entirely in the two words 'inclusivity' and 'choice'!"
Old Tang typed rapidly on the keyboard, bringing up several key screenshots from the episode he had just watched.
"First, let's talk about the wife, Hisako. She actually knew all along that her husband was an alien! The real Musashi was dead, which was an extremely unfortunate thing. But this alien gave his whole heart to atone for his sins. Hisako saw through it but didn't say anything; she accepted this kind soul with the greatest tolerance of humanity!"
The live stream chat was flooded with comments:
Indeed, the wife's love is truly great.
[Hmm...that's truly amazing, even aliens could accept it...]
Even aliens can be good or bad; Musashi was a good father.
[A stepfather with superpowers, a kind heart, and who looks exactly like his biological father]
Old Tang banged on the table, his voice becoming even more impassioned: "The second point, which is also the biggest emotional boost to this episode—Captain Gale!"
"Does everyone remember Captain Hayate's initial character design? A ruthless, decisive space exploration captain! At first, he absolutely didn't trust Musashi. But outside, he saw the kind-hearted Musashi who was loved by everyone; inside the monster, he saw Musashi's resolve to disobey his superiors and cut the red thread to protect his family!"
Old Tang's eyes brightened considerably: "At that moment, Captain Gale understood that this Chadavian before him possessed a heart purer than many humans! So in the end, he chose to let go!"
"‘The Chadavians escaped again,’ that line was absolutely awesome! Beyond law and reason, there's always humanity. Captain Hayate showed us what true harmony between gentleness and strength really is!"
Old Tang gave a thumbs-up to the camera: "With this episode, Gu Laozei (a nickname for a character in the anime/manga series) tells us that identity and race are never the standards for measuring good and evil. As long as there is love in your heart, even an alien can be the best father! This is the truly sophisticated romance of 'Ultraman Dyna'!"