mesbooks Chapter 111 Seven OV Departs! Solar-Powered Operation!
Chapter 111 Seven OV Departs! Solar-Powered Operation!
At 8 PM on Friday, Bilibili's servers once again faced their "critical moment".
Since the end of "Ultraman Tiga", the entire tokusatsu industry and even the entire online audience have been in a huge gap period.
The days of eagerly anticipating Daigo's transformation every week are suddenly gone, leaving a sense of emptiness.
But tonight, that emptiness was filled with a more fervent emotion.
Gu Nan didn't keep his fans waiting for long.
Before the hype surrounding "Ultraman Tiga" had completely died down, he immediately dropped a bombshell – "Ultraman Seven: Project Origin".
Moreover, the scale of this event was ridiculously large.
The comment section of the official account of Light Chaser Animation crashed the moment it posted an update.
"Ultraman Seven: Project Origin, a 16-episode series, premieres today! Two episodes will air in the first week!"
This wasn't the most exciting part for domestic fans; what truly thrilled them was Gu Nan's subsequent instructions:
This broadcast will employ a regionally differentiated strategy.
[Xia Kingdom Mainland China: Exclusive limited-time free broadcast on Bilibili, with members getting early access + Tsuburaya's old version of Seven in high definition.]
[Overseas regions (including Japan): Sales will be conducted via physical Blu-ray discs and limited-edition USB drives; streaming services will not be available for the time being.]
This USB drive and CD require online verification, and the verification process is updated weekly, so it won't be ahead of Xia Guo's lead.
This announcement immediately boosted the sense of superiority among Chinese netizens.
"Holy crap! That old bastard Gu actually acted like a human being this time!"
"Hahaha, that's hilarious! We used to be begging for overseas resources and even had to eat raw meat, and now foreigners have to line up to buy DVDs?"
"That's real vision! Director Gu has never forgotten his roots!"
"Honestly, this move is so captivating. I was already thinking of criticizing him for the tragic ending of Ultraman Tiga, but now? Gu Nan is my godfather!"
"Although it's only 16 episodes, I heard each episode is over 40 minutes long? Added together, isn't this practically a movie?"
Amidst a barrage of comments praising Gu Nan's awesomeness, countless hands simultaneously clicked the red play button.
Old Tang had a bad cold today, so he didn't go live.
Episode 1, "Solar Energy Warfare".
First, there is a classic, very Showa-era piece of blue, yellow and white mixed paint, played upside down and slowly rotating.
Then, the words "Ultraman Seven" appeared!
[Front row seats!]
Wow! What an old-fashioned art style!
【Ye Qing is back! 】
Is this opening background music as authentic as it used to be?
It's worth mentioning that this opening animation will also be available in two versions, one in Chinese and one in Japanese, to be used in different regions.
The series itself will also use different dubbing styles.
After all, Seven OV is not Ultraman Tiga; it cannot be published as a completely original work and can be adapted for local audiences.
Therefore, Gu Nan could only set the story in a fictional neon-lit world.
Instead of the familiar opening theme song, the scene unfolds in a quiet yet eerie night sky.
"That night, Ultraman Seven, severely injured in the attack, fell to the ground due to Earth's gravity..."
As the narration shifts, everyone sees a red giant with its lights off, falling towards Earth!
Beneath the deep starry sky, a shooting star streaked across the heavens, carrying an ominous red light. It did not burn out, but instead crashed heavily into a corner of the earth.
The camera zooms in.
In the attic of an ordinary house, a little boy named "Tuan" is observing the starry sky with a telescope.
"Mom! A huge shooting star fell!" the little boy shouted excitedly.
The audience was stunned for a moment.
[A group? This little boy is also called a group?]
Is this a tribute? Or is there some foreshadowing?
【Dan Moroboshi...Dan...what a name.】
A woman went up to the attic and draped a coat over the boy.
"Don't catch a cold!"
At this moment, many viewers recognized her!
It's Annu!
However, this former beauty has lost her charm, and the wrinkles on her face tell the story of the passage of time...
The opening scene has come to an end, and then, accompanied by a powerful background music, the title of this episode appears!
Solar-Powered Warfare!
Music begins:
"Seven! Seven! Seven!"
"Seven! Seven! Seven!"
"His home planet is a distant planet..."
……
The song ends, the story continues.
[30 years after Seven left Earth].
These three simple words instantly struck a chord with all viewers who had watched "Old Tang's Live Science Popularization" a few days ago.
Gu Nan is serious.
He directly shifted the timeline to 30 years after the end of the Tsuburaya Productions version of the "Ultraman Seven" TV series!
Immediately afterwards, a helicopter bearing the insignia of the Earth Defense Force landed at the foot of Mount Fuji.
The man who stepped off the plane was an elderly man with gray hair and a slightly overweight build, but whose eyes were still sharp.
When that name appeared at the bottom of the screen, the number of comments instantly increased.
[Ultraman Guard - Captain Furuhashi].
[Holy crap! It's Guqiao! That hothead Guqiao from back then is now a team captain?!]
Is this makeup technique?
[Alas, time waits for no one; this veteran actor has aged thirty years.]
[That sense of vicissitude...the feeling comes through immediately.]
Wait a minute?! The person behind the old bridge!
[Good heavens! It's you! A member of the New City team!]
That's right, the Ultra Guard member following behind Gu Qiao is none other than Xin Cheng... oops, I mean He Zhi from Xia Country!
As the plot unfolds, Captain Furuhashi enters the meeting room, which is an emergency meeting about "Earth's environmental protection".
Unlike the hopeful yet fraught atmosphere of Ultraman Tiga, the atmosphere here is oppressive and suffocating.
On the big screen, a PhD student is giving a speech.
"Earth has been invaded by many aliens so far... but the most serious problem at present is global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels."
The doctor's voice was calm and cruel, and coupled with the highly realistic disaster simulation on the screen, it sent a chill down the spines of the viewers.
It feels like watching a serious science fiction disaster movie.
"Carbon, nitrogen, sulfur... decompose after combustion, are released into the atmosphere, combine with oxygen, and produce carbon dioxide."
"Carbon dioxide absorbs and synthesizes some of the ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun that are reflected back from the Earth's surface... It's like the Earth is covered with a blanket."
"As temperatures rise, sea levels will rise by 10 to 20 meters. In that case, many countries, including the Netherlands, will sink into the sea, and Tokyo will also be in danger."
This extremely hardcore science-related dialogue elevates the entire show's sophistication by more than one level.
The comments section was filled with "I don't understand but it sounds impressive".
Good grief, am I watching Ultraman or taking an online class?
This theory... is so classic, it feels like stepping back into the early 20th century...
Is Gu Laozei trying to use a tokusatsu film to promote environmental protection?
Oh no, it's time for geography class... I'm going to fall asleep...
Immediately afterwards, a dramatic conflict erupted in the plot.
The doctor showcased his prized "super solar system," claiming it was an absolutely clean and free energy source. However, during the demonstration, the system suddenly went out of control and exploded violently.
The charm of tokusatsu (special effects) was fully displayed at this moment.
Unlike the superficial effects of CG special effects, the explosions here use real-world explosion models.
The texture of the flames, the collapse of buildings, and the flying debris create a powerful sense of realism that impacts the retinas of every viewer.
[This explosion! This is true manly romance!]
[The budget is burning!]
[It looks painful; this miniature model is incredibly realistic.]
Light Chaser Animation Studios is really rich! They were already so extravagant during the Tiga era, I can't even imagine how many models Seven could destroy!
In the chaos, Captain Guqiao risked his life to rescue the doctor.
The doctor temporarily stayed at the home of a relative—the home of the little boy "Tuan" from the beginning.
The plot moves very quickly, without any unnecessary dragging.
A mysterious woman infiltrated this place, attempting to delete some data belonging to the Ultra Guard.
However, they were interrupted by the Ultra Guard who arrived at the scene.
Late at night, a little boy named "Tuan" was searching for the shooting star that had just fallen in the forest when he unexpectedly encountered a strange figure.
It was a woman wearing a silver bodysuit, and in the moonlight, a huge, monstrous phantom appeared behind her—Erek!
"Monster! There's a monster!"
The boy ran away in terror.
Meanwhile, the members of the Ultra Guard who arrived to investigate found nothing.
Here, Gu Nan arranged an extremely relatable yet chilling interlude.
The next day, when members of the Ultra Guard came to the boy's house to investigate, they toured the house, which was powered entirely by "solar energy".
The floor-mounted air conditioning, kitchen, and even the bathroom are all powered by solar energy.
"It's so warm, just like being on the beach."
The team members remarked with emotion.
The little boy proudly introduced, "Not only that, it can also heat bath water!"
As he spoke, he pushed open the bathroom door.
"Ah!" A scream rang out.
In the bathroom, the older sister, who was taking a shower, was in a panic.
This was originally a lighthearted comedic segment, and the comments section was flooded with "LSP" and "Don't look at this indecent thing".
But then, the plot took a sharp turn for the worse.
Captain Guqiao discovered a startling fact through video analysis at the base.
The mysterious woman who appeared at the explosion site ran at a speed far exceeding human limits.
"Not human... but aliens."
The ancient bridge's sound was deep and resonant, accompanied by the somber, low murmur of the orchestral music in the background.
A sense of tension arises from the feeling that "those who are not of our kind must have different hearts."
But this is not the climax yet.
The real climax occurred at the 17th Branch Ammunition Depot.
Captain Guqiao received an urgent notification and rushed to the ammunition depot.
As the heavy metal doors slowly opened and the dim lights illuminated the scene inside, all the viewers in front of the screen held their breath.
There was a person lying there.
Or rather, a giant.
He didn't appear in a dazzling display like Ultraman Tiga; instead, he lay quietly among the cold ammunition boxes, like a corpse.
His entire body was crimson, but at this moment, his red body was covered with charred wounds.
His prized headdress was dull and lifeless, and his chest armor was badly damaged.
He remained curled up like that, as if he had used up his last bit of strength.
Ultraman Seven.
At this moment, there was no cheering, only deathly silence.
Next came Captain Guqiao's monologue, which could be described as legendary.
The camera gave a close-up of the ancient bridge, and the old actor's eyes trembled with tears.
These tears don't just belong to the ancient bridge; they also reflect the lingering emotions in the heart of the old actor who has been away from Seven for nearly 60 years.
"Lying in the ammunition depot is Ultraman Seven, who once protected the Earth from the invaders with his life."
The background music started playing; it was an extremely tragic cello piece.
"Since then, how many battles has he gone through...?"
"Seven's body was covered in wounds."
Gu Qiao reached out, wanting to touch the enormous body, but dared not, as if afraid of disturbing his old friend's slumber.
"This guy... loves Earth even more than humans do."
"Flying from one end of the universe to the other..."
"Always striving to protect the peace of the Earth..."
"That big idiot..."
Upon hearing this, the comments section completely erupted.
[Arriving full of hope, only to find your old friend's fate unknown... that feeling must be terrible!]
This is true bonds! Bonds that span thirty years!
[You old bastard Gu, are you trying to get yourself killed?! Why are you starting with this much torture?!]
So, who exactly is this person who could beat Seven like this?
The use of light and shadow in this scene is masterful. Samuel is clearly enormous, yet in this moment he appears so fragile, so lonely.
But this is just the beginning.
The conspiracy of the Pitt aliens, that is, the mysterious woman, has finally come to light.
It turns out they were using the monster Eleking to release high temperatures and carbon dioxide, accelerating Earth's greenhouse effect in an attempt to transform the planet into an environment suitable for their survival. And those so-called "super solar power facilities" were precisely the tools they used to power Eleking!
Satire.
Extreme irony.
The clean energy that humanity is so proud of has become an accomplice in its own destruction.
Eleking has arrived.
But this Eleking is completely different from the monsters that audiences are familiar with, which look like they're wearing suits.
Through Gu Nan's lens, the beige monster has clear biological textures on its body, and its constantly rotating crescent-shaped antennae flicker with unsettling electric light.
It wreaked havoc in the forest, spewing not only light from the holes in its two fingers, but also visible high-temperature gases.
Trees withered, rivers dried up.
"This sense of oppression...is far stronger than the monsters in Ultraman Tiga."
"I don't think this is for kids. The monster looks too real; it's a bit scary."
Just when humanity was helpless and the Earth Defense Force was suffering repeated defeats.
That red figure lying in the ammunition depot became the last hope!
However, he had no energy.
On this Earth, enveloped by an atmosphere and polluted by sunlight, he cannot obtain enough energy to awaken.
"Use a super solar power system!"
The severely injured doctor proposed a crazy plan: "To directly transfer the energy from the solar energy conversion system to Seven!"
This is gambling.
It's like gambling humanity's last hope on the awakening of an alien.
Unfortunately, human technology has not yet reached that level.
The Pitt aliens learned that Ultraseven was still alive from the doctor.
So they quickly turned their attention to Ultraseven.
Seven is in a coma due to lack of energy.
This is undoubtedly a golden opportunity for the Pitt aliens.
So they summoned King Elek again, intending to destroy the solar energy conversion system there in one fell swoop.
All personnel at the research institute began an emergency evacuation.
Meanwhile, the Pitt aliens' spaceship flew towards the place where Ultraman Seven was being housed.
The Pitt aliens wanted to use solar energy to completely destroy Ultraseven.
The two then began operating the conversion device.
However, at this moment, the little boy "Tuan," who had been captured earlier, broke free of his restraints and began to fight with the Pitt aliens over the conversion device.
At that moment, a beam of power from the sun struck Seven directly!
However, the excessive energy caused the warehouse here to explode!
Seeing the giant buried under the rubble, Guqiao was heartbroken, believing Seven to be dead.
But, at that very moment!
The background music has changed.
It was no longer the somber cello, but the stirring brass music full of Showa-era flavor!
That's a variation of "Ultraman Seven's Song"!
A hand reaches out from the ruins!
It turns out that it was the power from the universe that awakened Seven!
The Pitt aliens never expected this!
This is like trying to drown a fish!
In the light, Seven slowly stood up.
He doesn't have fancy starting moves or unnecessary special effects.
He simply stood up silently, clenched his fists, and flew straight to the battlefield!
"Jooo!"
A deep, wild war cry resounded through the sky.
The red giant burst forth from the sky and kicked away the rampaging Eleking.
[Here it comes! The red beast!]
[This fight scene! Holy crap! Every punch feels real!]
[Wow, a flying kick right from the start! Do they really not treat the monster suit actors like human beings? (laughing and crying)]
[I heard the suit actors were personally trained by veterans from Tsuburaya Productions, and their fight scenes are absolutely amazing! This is the true king of fighting!]
Unlike Tiga's elegance, Seven's battles are brutal.
There was no light colliding with the waves, only the most primal hand-to-hand combat.
Over-the-shoulder throw, hand chop, knee strike.
Each strike was accompanied by a dull thud.
He even picked up Eleking’s thick, long tail, spun him around 360 degrees, and then threw him out hard!
boom!!!
Eleking crashed to the ground, making many viewers hold their breath for the suit actor.
However, just as Seven was about to press his advantage, Eleking began to spew out poisonous gas!
Seven was immediately rendered delirious by the sudden spray.
Now it's time for Eleking to strike back!
Eleking slapped Seven twice across the face, then used its strong tail to firmly bind Ultra Seven!
This is also a tribute to their first battle back then.
Back then, Eleking also used this move to keep Seven firmly in check.
Seven struggled to hold on despite being entangled by Eleking's tail and subjected to electric shocks.
However, humans haven't been idle either!
Under Dr. Nanjo's command, the defense forces adjusted their angle.
After the conversion device absorbed the heat released by Eleking, Ultraseven quickly broke free from its tail and began to launch a counterattack!
Seven pulled the ice axe from his head, its blade flashing coldly in the sunlight.
"Whoosh—!"
Eleking's tail was neatly cut off.
Another Emerium Ray was fired!
The monster's enormous body crashed to the ground.
In short.
neat.
This is Seven.
Subsequently, Seven flew into the Pitt aliens' spaceship and rescued Annu's kidnapped child.
A beam of light sent the Pitt aliens back to their home planet.
However, Gu Nan did not end the episode in the joy of victory.
As Seven flew into space, leaving behind a dashing silhouette.
On the ground, Captain Gu Qiao and his team members looked up at the sky.
The little boy, "Tuan," innocently said, "If we humans used solar energy like Ultraman Seven, wouldn't the Earth become more beautiful?"
The doctor sighed, looking at the ravaged land: "Perhaps we humans should also figure out a way to coexist peacefully with nature..."
"If humanity could draw its energy from the sun like Ultraman Seven, then Earth would be even more beautiful!"
The image freezes on the ruins under the setting sun.
As the end credits roll, the cast and crew list scrolls across a black background with white text.
End of episode one.
……
Just ten minutes later, Bilibili exploded.
Discussions about "Ultraman Seven: Project Origin" have also appeared extensively on various forums, Weibo, and Tieba.
This time, the focus of the discussion is no longer on "whether the suit is cool" or "whether the special effects are good".
It's the plot.
A well-known film and television blogger posted a long article expressing his feelings:
"I thought Gu Nan would encounter a creative block after filming 'Ultraman Tiga,' since the heights of 'Ultraman Tiga' are so difficult to surpass. But here, it seems that's not the case. Gu Nan uses 'Seven' to tell us that tokusatsu is not just a fairy tale for children; it can be a vehicle for adults to think!"
"Did everyone notice? The central conflict in this episode is solar energy."
"This is practically a reflection of the real world! The development of clean energy, the threat of the greenhouse effect, the competition between major powers... Although the show is set within the Earth Defense Force, these topics would be considered hardcore themes even in serious science fiction."
The comments section below was also abuzz with discussion:
"The Pitt aliens are using humanity's need for energy to destroy humanity. Even though humanity has decided to progress, they still choose to use pollution to wipe us out. It's somewhat ironic."
"And did you guys notice? In the first episode, Seven didn't have a human form at all. The story was told entirely from a human perspective, and Seven didn't say a single word... like a silent guardian, cleaning up after humanity."
"Seriously, an alien loves humans that much..."
"That music! That background music! It gave me goosebumps. The weighty feel of classical symphony completely brought out the atmosphere of this drama."
Of course, there are also dissenting voices.
"Isn't this show too dark? The filters used in many parts of the plot are eerie."
"Indeed, it's a sudden change in style. Tiga's transformation was Daigo's light, while Seven's was a direct physical exorcism. I got a chill down my spine when he was cutting down monsters with that sword."