With the return of the storm, the screen once again showed the title: "The Stone Legend." The scene flashed to a mine where several workers were running for their lives, shouting, "Gakuma is coming! Run! Run, Gakuma is here!"
But after just a few steps, a bright light flashed, and the running workers suddenly stopped, turning from humans into stone statues. In the depths of the mine, a glimpse of a horned monster could be seen.
Soon, Daniel learned from the workers about the so-called Gakuma. It was a rock-eating monster originally living on this island. However, because humans were over-mining the rocks for development and profit, the food sources for Gakuma were dwindling. The workers speculated that Gakuma's anger towards humans arose because its food supply was being depleted, and the rocks it had stored were also being taken away by humans.
"Humans versus nature," Daniel murmured to himself as he watched this scene. He didn't expect a tokusatsu series to explore such a profound theme: the relationship between humans and nature. Human progress indeed relies on exploiting the living spaces of other life forms on Earth. Forests have been turned into cities, and countless species have gone extinct due to human activities. There was even an incident where a country slaughtered its native wildlife during a forest fire, all in the name of water conservation. These events reflect the worsening relationship between humans and nature.
Tiga Ultraman certainly included many narratives with hidden meanings. For example, in episode 6, Gazoto discusses how human development encroached on the habitat of the Lightning Man. In episode 12, the deep-sea monster Reiloss was affected by underground nuclear tests, showing the dangers of modern science to surrounding life forms. Through these narratives, "Tiga Ultraman" integrates real-world issues into its episodes, prompting reflection and planting seeds of awareness in children watching the series.
Ultraman uses simple storylines and straightforward visuals to convey messages that even young children can understand. It's far from being the mindless content some claim it to be.
"Yes, tokusatsu should have some deeper meaning," Daniel thought, appreciating Ren's work on "Tiga Ultraman."
With this mindset, Daniel continued watching. The workers started arguing about the appearance of Gakuma—some said it had one horn, others said it had two. This reminded Daniel of the shadow in the cave, which indeed had one horn. Daniel assumed those claiming two horns were simply mistaken.
Meanwhile, the Victory Team analyzed some data about Ultraman Tiga. When Tiga turned red, his strength was maximized, but his speed decreased. When he turned purple, his strength decreased, but his speed increased. Ultraman could switch forms depending on his opponent.
Later, Daigo met with Yuli again, asking about the ancient civilization. Why did it perish despite having so many giants?
"Ultramen do not interfere with human choices. This is because they are all light, but you are different. You are both light and human," Yuli said.
"What does this mean?" Daniel wondered. He felt this statement was significant and would play a crucial role in future episodes.
Could this mean that Ultramen are considered saviors to humans? Their mission is to defeat monsters, making them akin to gods. After all, to humans, gods might just be powerful unknown beings. Being both light and human might explore the relationship between divinity and humanity. Gods respond to their followers' wishes but do not interfere with their choices. Humans, however, make their own judgments to save their peers.
Daniel's head started to hurt from thinking too much, so he decided to wait for the answers to unfold in future episodes.
The story continued. After the appearance of the monsters, TPC's newly developed weapon was installed on Victory Feiyan II, which engaged in battle with Gakuma on the island.
One shot! Just one shot! Gakuma, capable of petrifying everything, was killed instantly.
This showcased human technology's power, prompting Daniel to exclaim, "Cool!"
"This is different from other tokusatsu," he thought. In most similar shows, human technology is often depicted as weak against monsters. But this series highlighted human capability.
However, the story didn't end there. Besides the single-horned Gakuma, there were also two-horned Gakumas, as some workers had described.
But what chance did Gakuma have against the light of Ultraman? Despite some danger, Ultraman Tiga cut off the two-horned Gakuma's horns and easily defeated it.
If it were the first episode, Daniel would have felt satisfaction seeing the monster defeated. But after the second episode, he felt a sense of sorrow.
If what the workers said was true, this conflict was humanity's fault. Over-mining had made survival difficult for Gakuma, leading them to seek revenge. Unlike Melba and Golza, Gakuma didn't rampage through cities; it only turned intruders into stone, defending its territory.
"They just want to survive. What's their crime?" Daniel sighed, appreciating Ren's work. Just for the second episode alone, he believed this tokusatsu series was worth following.
-----
The next morning, at the ratings analysis meeting for "Ultraman Tiga," everyone at South River TV was thrilled with the results and felt lucky to have secured this series.
The premiere had an average viewership rating of 0.86, with a peak of 1.03. They were very satisfied with this outcome, seeing a clear upward trend in viewership. They expected that, as word of mouth spread, the ratings would continue to rise.
South River TV had been struggling with overall low ratings, and this show ranked second in their lineup, right after a long-running variety show. The variety show had an established audience, while "Ultraman Tiga" was a new series, premiering on a lower-ranked channel.
Their decision to pick Ren's work proved to be correct. However, they soon realized that this success might lead to increased competition for Ren's future works. They weren't sure if they would have the strength to secure his next project.
Still, they decided to set this worry aside for now. They could always find other talented manga creators if needed. This confidence stemmed from their successful gamble on Ren.
Andrew, the director, was especially excited. This was the best rating he had received in recent years as a tokusatsu director. This success felt like a personal victory for him, reigniting his passion for the genre.
Jada, too, felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. Although she had faith in Ren's work, the financial strain of acquiring and producing tokusatsu was considerable. Daily reports on equipment damage and other expenses often gave her headaches. If not for the steady revenue from their manga and game departments, sustaining the production might have been impossible.
But now, with these ratings, she felt confident again. She could now think about selling merchandise and licensing for additional revenue. Perhaps even opening a toy factory in the future—though funding for that idea was still an issue.
Jada had learned that the more money one makes, the more there is to spend. But for now, she could focus on capitalizing on their current success.
---
Meanwhile, online searches for "Ultraman Tiga" brought up numerous news articles.
- "Shocking! 'Ultraman Tiga' Debut Scores 9.5 on Douzhir! A New Masterpiece?"
- "Learn from Ren! Meaningful Works Like This Are What We Need!"
- "'Ultraman Tiga' Premieres with Impressive Ratings!"
- "Former Screenwriter Licks Cat's Rear—All Because of This?"
Discussion about "Ultraman Tiga" was rampant online, especially in tokusatsu forums.
"In my opinion, Gakuma is really pitiful. All they wanted was to survive, but humans killed them."
"It's true, even now, for the sake of modern development and money, humans have driven countless species to extinction. Even protected animals are poached."
"Let's not dwell on it. It's too depressing. But Ren's 'Ultraman Tiga' is a profound tokusatsu series."
"Yes, I initially thought this would just be another show about fighting monsters to protect humans."
"Same here! I'm looking forward to more episodes. We need more works with such deep meanings."
"But didn't someone say Ultraman would flop? Didn't he bet he'd lick his cat's rear if it didn't?"
Hundreds of users tagged Zach on social media. He had bet that "Ultraman Tiga" would fail, promising to lick his cat if it succeeded. Now, eager users were mocking him.
No one actually expected him to follow through, as such an act seemed too extreme. But Zach, instead of feeling embarrassed, was elated. The controversy had boosted his popularity.
In today's world, any attention is good attention. As long as people are talking about you, you're winning.
An experienced entertainer, Zach knew how to leverage this moment. He continuously used alternate accounts to hype himself on social media, keeping the audience engaged.
Still, he couldn't back down too quickly. He felt there was more to gain from "Ultraman Tiga."
So, he posted another mocking comment on his social media.
"This is success? It's only been one day! Maybe Ren's popularity caused the spike. Once the initial hype dies, people will realize the show isn't that great and stop watching."
"All of you don't understand anything! This show? Please!"
This comment ignited further backlash, with users bombarding his post with criticisms. Zach, however, was unfazed. He smiled smugly, picked up his phone, and made a call. "Yes, this wave of attention is massive. This is the perfect time for a product endorsement. Whether the fans love or hate me, they're all potential customers."
----------
For 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/angelictranslating