wavenovel Chapter 89 The Final Daily Gathering, A Whistle from the Stars
Chapter 89 The Final Daily Gathering, A Whistle from the Stars
Night was falling in Jinghai City.
Although countless viewers are still immersed in the despair brought by the pollen of the Cigella plant and the philosophical reflection of Daigo's words, "Try to live out your short life," time waits for no one, and the reminder for the weekly drama update arrives as scheduled.
Gu Nan's Weibo post had been flooded with comments from fans half an hour earlier.
"Director Gu, please, please don't make today's episode so angsty!"
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
Even the donkeys in the production team don't get this much rest!
"Judging from the trailer title 'Urgent! Sea City,' it feels like it's going to be another monster rampage in the city? I hope it's a bit more exciting and not too heavy."
"Hey upstairs, this is Ultraman Tiga! Which episode has ever been simple? I have a feeling this episode will be another kind of profound one."
It was exactly 8 p.m.
As the stirring melody of the opening theme song "Miracle Again" faded, the title of this episode slowly appeared on the screen—"Urgent! Kamakura" (original world name: Urgent! Kamakura).
The art style of this episode is completely different from the oppressive and gloomy post-apocalyptic tone of the previous episode.
It all started one night when a meteorite fell near Haicheng.
The Astronomical Science Center detected the meteorite impact immediately, but the Victory Team did not come out to investigate.
However, the scene then changed.
At this moment, what appears on the screen is a retro green tram, slowly traveling along the shimmering coastline.
The sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze seemed to be blowing through the screen onto the viewers' faces.
The camerawork is extremely gentle, as if it were filming an artistic travel promotional video.
Wow, so beautiful!
[Is this the "Cloud Electric" sightseeing tram in the Binhai New Area? Director Gu, this is a great location!] (This is fictional, since the original situation is difficult to adapt to the domestic context.)
[The art style has suddenly changed; this episode seems like it'll be quite lighthearted?]
[I'd be grateful if Daigo wasn't abused.]
The plot unfolds slowly.
There were no terrifying monsters appearing; instead, there was a heartwarming opening.
The plot quickly introduces the central character of this episode—a photographer named Zhang Xingye.
In the morning, as the Enoden train slowly approached, photographer Zhang Xingye had already found the right angle and started snapping photos.
The Enoden is a coastal tourist tram that runs between two cities, passing through a stunning coastline.
Zhang Xingye was an extremely decadent middle-aged man with a scraggly beard and a bottle of liquor always in his hand.
He was once an internationally renowned photography master, focusing on photographing the scenery along the "Cloud Electric" tram route, but now he is destitute.
He comes to the beach every day to photograph the scenery.
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, a horn sounded.
Zhang Xingye subconsciously looked up, only to see an unbelievable scene!
Two huge eyes suddenly appeared on the sea surface, staring at him from mid-air!
What's going on? It's a monster!
Zhang Xingye was a little stunned when he saw this scene. He was thinking of filming it when he found that the camera suddenly ran out of power.
After he turned around to change the spare battery, he was about to press the shutter button when both eyes disappeared.
He immediately realized that a monster was lurking on the seabed, so he reported the monster's appearance to the GUTS team.
On the other side, the Victory Team.
Lina then remembered that the meteorite fall report from yesterday had not yet been processed, so Megumi arranged for them to begin an investigation centered on the location where witnesses saw the monster.
Subsequently, the Victory Team met with Zhang Xingye.
After a thorough search by the GUTS team, Munakata and the others concluded that perhaps the photographer Hoshino had misjudged the monster, as they were unable to find any trace of it no matter how hard they searched.
Hoshino immediately became angry at the comments made by the Victory Team.
He insisted that he had seen the monster. He stated that as a professional photographer, he must have professional skills, and he believed that his eyes would not lie; if he saw it, he saw it!
As for why the Victory Team couldn't find it, that's because of the Victory Team.
However, Hoshino ultimately failed to capture any evidence of the monster, so everyone could only conclude that he had misjudged it.
"You still don't believe me! I will definitely find the monster and film it!"
Anxious, Hoshino said he was determined to film the monster in the coming days and find evidence to prove that he hadn't misjudged it.
To be honest, the Victory team has done a very responsible job. At least they responded to every report and investigated thoroughly.
[It's a classic trope; nobody believes it until the crucial moment.]
[Mr. Hoshino! Are you awake?!]
Soon after, the local residents learned about Hoshino's monster-hunting adventures. The fact that a middle-aged bachelor was so obsessed with monsters made the people around him start to laugh at him.
Everyone felt that Hoshino had misjudged the situation, but his professional nature prevented him from admitting his mistake, which led to the current awkward situation.
When Hoshino finally witnessed the monster for the second time, he quickly pressed the shutter button.
Unfortunately, a truck happened to pass by and blocked Hoshino's filming.
The monsters that had appeared later turned into two warning signs, leaving Hoshino completely bewildered.
So he dialed the Victory Team's number again...
"Maybe it's just a prank by someone..."
Upon arriving at the location, the Victory Team discovered that it was this man who had filed the report again, leading Shinjo to speculate.
"Who would go through all that trouble to pull a prank? This is a big deal; the monster might have already landed from the sea!"
Hoshino was very vigilant.
He simply couldn't believe that anyone would deceive a middle-aged man like himself under such circumstances.
What's the point?
But the Victory Team's detectors found nothing.
Horii could only approach and ask.
"Then tell me, where could such a huge monster hide?"
"Then what did I see?"
"It's just your imagination, it must be another one of your illusions."
Horii expressed his doubts.
After all, even with his superior technical skills, he couldn't find any relevant clues in the vicinity.
Hoshino instantly bristled. He shoved Horii aside, his face flushed, and roared, "You think I'm mistaken? I'm a professional photographer! Let me tell you, the 'Cloud Electric' train I photographed is world-famous! The scenery here is etched into my memory; my eyes don't lie!"
Horii, standing nearby, tried to explain scientifically: "But we also used dozens of the latest ultra-high-performance sensors and conducted a thorough search..."
"Machines don't make mistakes! There really are monsters!"
Like a stubborn child, Zhang Xingye interrupted Horii, "I will definitely find the monster and film it for you all!"
As people watched this crazy, eccentric uncle, comments flooded the screen.
[A typical man who strives for excellence throughout his life.]
But those two eyes definitely belong to a monster, right?
[We viewers, with our omniscient perspective, obviously know it's true, but the show can't really prove it.]
However, this monster's ability to hide is truly impressive.
However, as the plot unfolds, Gu Nan's signature "peeling the onion" narrative begins to take effect.
Because Zhang Xingye is obsessed with finding monsters, his son Zhang Zhengren is ridiculed by other children at school.
Daigo and Rena escorted Hoshino home and met his son.
This family is not harmonious.
The room was filled with empty wine bottles, the furnishings were in disarray, and the atmosphere between the father and son was colder than that between strangers.
Here, Daigo displayed his extraordinary affability and chatted with Zhang Xingye.
Subsequently, the audience finally glimpsed the scars behind the father and son.
Hoshino, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a wine glass in hand, stared dazedly at his deceased wife's photo on the wall, rambling on to Daigo.
"Masato looks just like his mother... I started drinking after Masato's mother passed away. At that time, I had just started out and was buried in work all day, so I didn't notice his mother's illness."
He took a big gulp of wine, his voice choked with emotion: "Masato blames me, he thinks... I'm the one who killed his mother."
Daigo gently comforted him, "That's not true. In fact, Masato deeply respects you..."
"impossible!"
Zhang Xingye waved his hand with a wry smile, as if he were running away or punishing himself.
Zhang Xingye, the father, believes that his child resents him now because he was too busy with work and neglected his mother's illness.
Actually, Uncle Hoshino is very similar to Rena's father; he is so focused on his career that he neglects his family.
After his wife passed away from illness, the relationship between the father and son deteriorated significantly.
However, Lina could tell from the fight that Zhang Zhengren respected his father very much. If they spent more time together, she believed that their relationship could be repaired.
Zhang Xingye was unaware that his child no longer resented him. On the contrary, he hoped that his father could find another wife to take care of the family and feel the warmth of home again.
However, neither the stubborn father nor the son was willing to speak up or admit defeat, which led to the misunderstanding between them remaining unresolved for a long time.
However, Uncle Hoshino listened to Rena's words, and when he saw that his son had not returned home for a long time, he went out to look for him.
As a result, they bumped into him at the shrine, where he was praying to the gods.
"God, please persuade my dad to stop drinking. I hate it when he drinks..."
"Hurry and help my dad find the monster! He hasn't been filming the Enoden lately. I loved watching him film the Enoden..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingye was about to step forward.
However, Zhang Zhengren didn't want to see his father at all. When he saw Zhang Xingye coming to find him, he ran away immediately.
Gu Nan handled this dialogue scene with extreme subtlety.
There were no heart-wrenching arguments, only endless silence and misunderstandings.
The atmosphere of the comments section started to change.
It turns out to be a sad story...
[Still a family drama.]
That's how men were back then—so concerned with saving face they suffered for it; they clearly loved their children but didn't know how to express it.
This is probably the epitome of the "Xia Kingdom-style father," even though this is a drama set in a parallel universe.
……
Just when the conflict between father and son seemed to be about to be resolved, the monster finally appeared.
The monster appeared next to Masato, who had run away from home, and the two of them ended up spending the night at the shrine by accident.
"Buzz—"
Just then, the Enoden early morning bus sounded its siren, waking up the monster and Masato.
After staring at each other for a moment, Masato was so frightened that he screamed repeatedly.
However, he bravely picked up the bamboo pole next to him and went to attack.
This angered the monster, which then chased after him.
Then, the father and son met by chance at a corner, and Sherlock from the Victory Team also followed.
Daigo's shot revealed the monster's true form: a snail-like creature with rainbow patterns on its shell.
Rainbow Monster, Dharambang!
It turns out that it was awakened by hearing the tram horn.
That sounded a lot like its mother's voice.
However, although this monster looks adorable, it can melt a wooden house with just a breath.
Daigo quickly ran back to the car and operated the propeller cannon to fire.
One shot was very effective; the monster vanished without a trace.
However, it became harder to find it after that...
At this point, Uncle Hoshino had already grasped the relationship between the monster and the train siren.
He told the train conductor to quickly press the alarm bell to summon the monster, and he could also take a picture while he was at it.
Sure enough, as soon as the alarm went off, the monster came chasing after them.
"Sizzle sizzle—"
In just a few minutes, a giant monster tens of meters tall stood beside the tram tracks by the sea.
The alarm blared throughout Haicheng in an instant!
"This is the monster I saw!"
Hoshino, camera in hand, rushed out regardless of the danger, shouting, "I didn't see wrong! I'm not crazy!"
The Victory Team's fighter jets roared in.
Laser beams rained down, their light reflecting off the monster's carapace.
At this moment, the barrage of comments suddenly became dense, covering half of the screen.
Holy crap! This monster can even become intangible? This is insidious!
[This monster doesn't look like a bad guy? It's just calling for its mother?]
[Victory Team, don't attack! It doesn't seem aggressive!]
[Oh no, this episode isn't going to be a tragedy, is it?]
[Uncle Hoshino, don't rush into this! Are you willing to risk your life just to prove yourself?]
With the firing of a white ray, the Sherlock car that Daigo was riding in was completely corroded.
Therefore, Daigo immediately transformed into Ultraman Tiga and began a battle with Gary.
Meanwhile, at the GUTS base, based on the current information, Horii seems to have already guessed the ins and outs of the monster's appearance.
It turns out that the little monster mistakenly thought the sound of the Enoden siren was its mother calling, which led it to Earth by mistake in search of its mother.
Little did he know that his mother was waiting for him in the universe.
The monster did not retaliate.
It just moved clumsily beside the tracks, its massive body crashing into telephone poles and emitting a wailing sound that sounded like crying.
"Tiga, this monster mistook the Enoden siren for his mother's voice!"
Inside the Flying Swallow II, Munakata's voice, broadcast over the loudspeaker, stopped Ultraman Tiga from attacking Gary.
"So monsters have mothers too, Tiga! Please send him back to space!"
Zhang Zhengren also shouted.
Lina then instructed the Enoden driver to press the alarm, and the little monster quickly calmed down after hearing the alarm.
The train conductor generously offered up a carriage, allowing Ultraman Tiga to be used as bait.
Ultraman Tiga used a traction beam to lift the tram up.
Guided by the Enoden tram, the little snail follows Ultraman Tiga to space to find its mother.
At that moment, a strange fluctuation came from space.
It was a magnificent aurora, accompanied by an ethereal and distant cry.
The monster's mother has arrived!
Hearing the sound, the monster raised its head, its tentacles waving excitedly.
Tiga nodded, as if he understood their conversation.
It circled once in the air, as if thanking Ultraman Tiga and the planet.
Then, it flew into its mother's embrace, and the two beams of light intertwined, transforming into a shooting star that disappeared into the vast sea of stars.
The battle is over.
Or rather, this wasn't a battle at all, but a navigational journey across interstellar space.
[Little snail: ...So, I got beaten up for nothing?]
No, no, no, I'll at least give you a section of the train carriage!
[Speaking of which... you can't transmit sound from outer space, right?]
Monsters don't live in outer space forever; they might land on planets with atmospheric structures.
……
seaside.
"dad!"
Masato cried and threw himself into his arms.
At this moment, all misunderstandings and barriers vanish in the face of the test of life and death.
Hoshino hugged his son tightly, tears streaming down his face: "I'm sorry, Masato... Dad was wrong. Dad will never drink again."
"Uh-huh!"
The man wept uncontrollably.
The camera zooms out, and the moonlight shines on the father and son, as well as on the "Cloud Electric" tram that is still quietly parked by the sea.
At this moment, the barrage of comments, which was originally dense with complaints and tension, became sparse, but filled with warmth.
Is this Ultraman Tiga's gentleness...?
[Ultraman's divinity doesn't need fighting and killing.]
The little monster found its mother, and Masato found his father.
[This episode didn't have any big scenes, but why did it make me want to cry so much?]
[Those who said this episode was filler, come out and take your punishment!]
And at the end of the series, there is a finishing touch.
Daigo and Rena were walking back.
Looking at the end of the starry sky, Daigo sighed, "Everyone has their own home, and so do monsters."
However, Lina seemed to have thought of something.
"Daigo, I find it strange, why do you never see Ultraman Tiga?"
"It's probably because I'm unlucky..."
Daigo was just about to make an excuse.
At this moment, Zhang Xingye suddenly interrupted the two and raised his camera:
"Hey you two, I'm going to take a picture."
This episode ends with cheerful music playing...
This episode, "Urgent! Haicheng," while lacking the grand philosophical themes and earth-shattering battles of "Life Forever," is like a bowl of warm chicken soup, soothing the wounded hearts of viewers from the previous episode.
If the previous episode explored the survival of human civilization, then this episode returns to the most basic and sincere emotion—family affection.
……
"call……"
Old Tang let out a long sigh, staring at the scrolling cast and crew list on the screen, remaining silent for a long time.
As a hardcore content creator in the tokusatsu (special effects) category, he thought that after reviewing the previous episode as a "masterpiece," this episode would definitely be boring.
But he was wrong.
To be honest, he's used to it.
Every time, Ultraman Tiga manages to slap himself in the face.
Although he hasn't made any promises yet this time.
"Gu Nan, that kid, still knows all about rhythm."
Old Tang muttered to himself.
Just after delivering a heavy blow to the audience, he immediately followed up with a gentle head pat.
Honestly, Lao Tang finds it hard to believe that these amazing episodes were produced by the same work.
This episode may seem mundane, but it actually enriches the character of Ultraman Tiga.
He opened the document and typed the title for the new video:
In-depth analysis of episode 46 of Ultraman Tiga: On the humanistic care for "non-hostile" monsters in tokusatsu dramas.
He wrote in the document:
"If there is one kind of emotion in this world that can never be erased, it is perhaps the love between the closest of families. In the Ultraman Tiga episode, the snail mother showed us through her actions that family ties can never be severed."
"Little Snail Dharambang got separated from his mother because of the siren of 'Cloud Lightning' and ended up on Earth. His mother, far away in outer space, realized the problem but didn't choose to search for her child by disturbing Earth; instead, she called out to him in the gentlest way..."
"This episode, set in the later part of Ultraman Tiga's storyline, doesn't delve into grand themes like high technology and space exploration, nor does it feature any particularly spectacular or dazzling scenes. Instead, it focuses on the small, emotional moments between humans, which unexpectedly evokes a sense of warmth and uniqueness."
"Especially the storyline of Hoshino and his son. The screenwriter used the story of a monster searching for its mother to reflect the estrangement and reconciliation between human fathers and sons."
"The father believes that his child resents him for causing the mother's death, while the child actually hopes that the father can get out of the shadow. Gu Nan has a firm grasp on this 'Chinese' kind of implicit emotion."
"And then there's Tiga's approach. He didn't blindly attack just because the opponent was a monster; instead, he chose to guide and protect it. This shows that Tiga is not only humanity's guardian angel, but also the embodiment of great love and the maintainer of cosmic order. His light shines not only on humanity, but also on all peace-loving life."
Old Tang couldn't help but laugh as he wrote this.
"Who remembers that this was originally a graduation project? It's qualified to be a textbook."
At this time, the online ratings also confirmed Lao Tang's idea.
Although this episode didn't generate as much buzz as the previous one, the overall rating for "Ultraman Tiga" steadily rose, remaining firmly at its phenomenal 9.9.
Many parents, in particular, gave this episode extremely high praise.
"I thought Ultraman was just about fighting and killing, but I didn't expect this episode to be so touching."
"I watched it with my son. After it was over, he suddenly hugged me and said, 'Dad, you've worked hard.' Really, thank you, Director Gu."
"This is the kind of tokusatsu show that's suitable for children! It teaches children about love and tolerance."