aircannonsinc On the eve of Chapter 218's premiere, the red and blue light is about to descend!
On the eve of Chapter 218's premiere, the red and blue light is about to descend!
On the first day of Gaia's broadcast, at the Bilibili headquarters building.
The atmosphere on the floor where the technical department was located was so tense it felt like a world war was about to break out.
"Quickly! Get all the backup servers up and running! Conduct full load tests on lines two and three immediately!"
The technical director stood in front of the big screen, clutching a crumpled paper cup, and yelled at the top of his lungs.
An uncle stood to the side, staring intently at the traffic data graph on the screen, which was showing an explosive increase in traffic.
With less than 20 minutes until the premiere of "Ultraman Gaia", the number of online viewers on the Bilibili platform has already exceeded the usual peak evening time.
Even though Ultraman, now a "national IP," is no longer limited to Bilibili, as the birthplace of the domestic Ultraman series, it still faces severe challenges from countless netizens.
Not to mention the many fans who accessed the internet from overseas via VPNs.
A young programmer next to me, sweating profusely, typed furiously on his keyboard and shouted without turning his head, "Boss! The traffic is skyrocketing!"
The operations team has already given all the top screen recommendations to "Gaia" and has also enabled simultaneous streaming across multiple platforms.
But the pressure on our end is still incredibly high! The number of people waiting to log in to Lao Tang's livestream has already exceeded ten million!
"I don't care what method you come up with! Even if it means borrowing servers from other departments, we absolutely cannot let the network crash!"
The supervisor slammed the paper cup into the trash can, gritting his teeth as he said, "Have you all forgotten what happened last month with the finale of 'Dyna'?!"
"If anything goes wrong during the premiere of 'Gaia' today, our entire team will be fired!"
"Understood! The cloud expansion plan has been initiated!"
Not only Bilibili, but the entire internet and video platforms in Xia Country are now on high alert for the upcoming tokusatsu storm.
Since the film "Dyna" ended in such a tragic yet romantic way, sparking a nationwide craze for aerospace studies, the names "Chasing Light Pictures" and "Gu Nan" have become undisputed legends in the domestic entertainment industry.
After all, they started from almost nothing and created a category called "Tokusatsu" in the country.
At this moment, when people mention tokusatsu, the first thing that comes to mind is not Tsuburaya Productions and Godzilla, but Director Gu from Xia Country and Ultraman Tiga!
At the headquarters of Tencent Video, several senior executives were also in a conference room monitoring real-time data.
"Our previous collaboration with Gu Nan on the 'King of Glory' crossover skin broke the monthly revenue record. This time, the exclusive online broadcasting rights for 'Gaia' are worth any amount of money."
"I can't believe it," one executive remarked.
"Yeah, Gu Nan doesn't play by the rules. When others become famous, they first make big movies to rake in money, but he goes straight to a new TV series without any hesitation, and the investment is said to have doubled. With that kind of boldness, he deserves to make money."
At this time, online forums were already buzzing with discussions about "Gaia," and five of the top ten trending topics were related to the new series.
On the famous [Tokusatsu Culture Exchange Forum], a post titled [Gaia Premieres Tonight! Are You All Ready to Watch?] has been pushed to the top of the homepage.
[Post #1 by: Faded Flash Sword]
Published just now
Brothers! We've finally made it to today! Ever since I saw that poster with the words "Sky, Earth, Ocean," these past two weeks have felt like an eternity! I heard it's a dual Ultraman setup this time, and the plot is going to be really hardcore. What are you all looking forward to the premiere?
[2nd Floor: Pure Love Warrior Arrives Uninvited]
Anticipation? I'm both excited and terrified! I've experienced Gu Laozei's scripts firsthand; he's really ruthless! I just hope this Ultraman series will have a good ending, and not leave me with such a bittersweet feeling like Asuka!
[5th Floor: The All-Night Cultivation Party]
What I'm most curious about this time is the defense force 'XIG'. The behind-the-scenes footage Gu Nan released before showed so many details about that aerial base! This militarized management style feels even more formal than Super GUTS; it's realistic. I'm really looking forward to it!
[12th Floor: Onlookers]
To be honest, I'm a little worried about the casting this time. Did you guys even look at the cast list? The actors playing Koga Yume and Fuji Hiroya are an amateur and an idol, respectively. With such a big IP, isn't Gu Nan being a bit too confident by casting two relatively unknown people to carry the torch? And with two Ultraman characters, if the plot isn't handled well, the main characters' personalities could easily collapse.
[18th Floor: Gu Laozei's Little Blackie]
Upstairs, you're just worrying unnecessarily. When they filmed Ultraman Tiga, wasn't the actor for Daigo also a newcomer? And what happened? He became a legend! Gu Nan has a sharp eye for talent. The fact that he dared to choose these two means they're absolutely perfect for the roles. Right now, I just want to see Ultramen fight each other; that scene is sure to be thrilling!
[25th Floor: Salty Fish Who Doesn't Want to Go to Work]
Never mind all that! Just max out the special effects! I heard that to achieve a realistic sea of clouds and a sense of urban destruction, Light Chaser Animation used a massive number of miniature models, high-speed cameras, and even a small amount of explosives. Tonight, I absolutely have to examine every detail with a magnifying glass!
As time went on, discussions on various social media platforms became increasingly heated, with countless fans, passersby, and even peers eagerly anticipating the outcome.
7:30 PM.
On the Shark Live platform, the live stream of Lao Tang, a well-known tokusatsu commentator, lit up on time.
As soon as the video started rolling, the number of viewers in the live stream instantly surpassed 50 million, with a dense barrage of comments completely obscuring the screen.
"Good evening, guys!"
Old Tang sat in his gaming chair, waving at the microphone with a radiant smile.
"Only half an hour left until the global premiere of 'Ultraman Gaia'!"
Old Tang rubbed his hands together excitedly, his voice booming, "To be honest, I was so excited this afternoon I didn't even eat! But after today, we'll be in the mood to pop champagne again, hahaha!"
[Lao Tang is still alive! I haven't seen you for the past few days.]
Kids, let's make a prediction: will Gaia surpass the first two installments?
[It feels uncertain. The starting and ending points of the first two parts were almost the ceiling. Can Gu Nan really break through his own limits?]
[Old Tang, do you have any predictions for tonight's episode? Will both Ultraman characters appear in the first episode?]
Seeing the questions in the live chat, Lao Tang cleared his throat, his eyes turned serious, and he began his usual pre-match analysis.
"I wouldn't presume to make a prediction, but I've watched those extremely short trailers released by Light Chaser Animation dozens of times over the past two days, and I have indeed figured out some things."
Old Tang fiddled with the computer for a bit, bringing up the promotional poster for "Gaia" and several character stills.
"First of all, everyone should pay attention to the character settings of these two male leads."
Old Tang used his mouse to circle the photos of Takagi Yume and Fuji Hiroya in the Reuters photos.
"This guy, who looks a bit like a science and engineering student, appears rather weak and unassuming, like a college student. According to official information, he's a genius scientist. Meanwhile, this cold-faced man in black, dressed entirely in black, has eyes so ruthless they seem ready to kill. Don't you all think these two have completely opposite personalities?"
Old Tang tapped the table, emphasizing his words: "In previous tokusatsu dramas, the protagonists were mostly hot-blooded and impulsive types, like Asuka. But this time, Gu Nan has brought 'scientists' directly to the forefront! What do scientists represent? They represent rationality! They represent the understanding and exploration of the world!"
"The poster says one represents the earth, and the other represents the ocean. I'll make a bold guess! They each represent a part of the Earth, and it's likely not simply about who's stronger at fighting monsters, but rather a philosophical conflict between the perspectives of 'Earth' and 'humanity'!"
The viewers in the live stream were immediately intrigued by Lao Tang's analysis.
Why don't you just say these two Ultramen were best buddies from the start?!
[Exactly, red and blue have always been a classic color pairing.]
[Philosophical opposition? It doesn't need to be this profound.]
Stop making so many guesses, you'll feel great when you're proven wrong!
"Hey! We need to make a few more predictions, that'll make the show more interesting."
Old Tang laughed at the screen, "However, how this kind of plot with two main characters is actually portrayed depends on the old thief's scriptwriting skills."
"Secondly!"
Old Tang abruptly changed the subject, displaying a concept image of the XIG air base. "Take a close look at the configuration of this defense force! This is absolutely the most hardcore and militarized defense force in the history of tokusatsu!"
"Commander Shi Shi, Captain Di Cheng, and Staff Officer Ye Qian. This is a full-fledged regular army unit! That line 'XIG mobilize' in the trailer, that overwhelming sense of pressure from all directions—land, sea, and air—it gave me goosebumps. Old Gu really poured a lot of money into this, trying to create an extremely realistic near-future sci-fi world!"
Just as Lao Tang and his friends were having a heated discussion, the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen quietly jumped to 7:59.
"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."
The live stream screen showed an official countdown.
ten.
Nine.
Eight.
……
Old Tang abruptly stopped his analysis. He took a deep breath, gripped the armrests of his gaming chair tightly, stared intently at the screen, and his voice trembled slightly: "Brothers...it's here! Everyone stand up! Prepare to face the new storm!"
three.
two.
One.
The premiere has officially begun!
The screen suddenly plunged into a deep darkness.
There was no lengthy opening or drawn-out plot development.
A deep, resonant "hum" sound, like a pulse from the deepest part of the earth, instantly pierced the eardrums of all the audience members.
Immediately afterwards, a magnificent, stirring orchestral symphony, even carrying a sense of overwhelming power, exploded out!
This is the theme song for Ultraman Gaia!
In the original world, Toshihiko Sahashi abandoned the overly straightforward "hero's march" pattern in traditional tokusatsu soundtracks and adopted a compositional approach that mainly used a full orchestral arrangement, supplemented by electronic synthesizers.
Unlike the sacred sense of mystery and hope in "Ultraman Tiga", and also completely different from the passionate and forward-moving rock style of "Dyna", it is different from the sacred sense of mystery and hope in "Ultraman Tiga".
As soon as the music of "Gaia" starts, it gives people a sense of immense weight and boundlessness, as if they are standing on the vast earth looking up at the raging storm!
The intense drumbeats pounded like a heartbeat, and the roar of the brass instruments intertwined, instantly elevating the audience's emotions to their peak in the very first second!
[Holy crap!!! This song! This intro! It's giving me the creeps!!!]
[This is so exciting! This symphony is amazing!]
[Gu Laozei's soundtracks never disappoint! This piece gave me goosebumps!]
Accompanied by powerful music, two extremely bright lights, one red and one blue, suddenly lit up on the pitch-black screen!
These two beams of light, like two intertwined dragons, swirled and collided wildly in the endless void, each clash sparking dazzling flames.
Then, the camera zoomed out abruptly, revealing a stunningly beautiful, azure Earth in the center of the screen. The red and blue beams of light then plunged into the atmosphere like shooting stars.
The footage flashed by at an extremely rapid pace:
In the dark ocean, where waves surged and towering giants rose, a faint, icy blue light shone through.
On the crimson earth, which was split open into abyss and shook the earth, a blazing and dazzling red beam of light erupted.
Immediately afterwards, the enormous and breathtaking XIG air base floated above the white sea of clouds, like an inviolable steel fortress;
In the command room, Commander Shi Shi had a cold face and sharp eyes like a hawk; Captain Di Cheng had a grim expression and was fully armed; Li Muzi (Atsuko Sasaki) and Georgie Leland were typing rapidly on the keyboard at the control panel.
There are also close-up shots of characters from several major teams!
Team Lightning! Team Falcons! Team Cool Dragons! Team Storm! Team Seagulls! ...
[This base! So many details!]
The details are absolutely terrifying! Look at the light and shadow on the sea of clouds, it's so realistic!
[I wonder if this commander will be like Munakata and Captain Hibiki? He looks so manly!]
Wow! This time the equipment feels like there's way more than with Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna!
[Wow! Are there that many defense personnel?!]
Finally, the image freezes on two young figures back to back.
Gao Womeng, dressed in casual clothes, gazed at the sky with clear and firm eyes;
Fujihiro, dressed in black, stared coldly and intently into the abyss.
Behind them, two enormous phantom images of giants of light slowly emerged, one as red as fire and the other as blue as the sea.
The interplay of red and blue, the collision of earth and sea!
"So cool...the quality...the imposing presence..."
Old Tang sat in the chair, mouth slightly open, completely stunned.
The short, one-and-a-half-minute theme song, relying solely on its extremely powerful symphony and explosive visual editing, forcefully imprinted the "sense of crisis at the end of the century" and the "sense of the power of nature" into the minds of all viewers.
The last accented note of the music faded away.
The lingering sound resonated deeply, deeply moving the listener.
[I haven't had enough! I could watch this opening sequence a hundred times!]
What's the name of this song?! Release it as a single already! I want to set it as my ringtone!
[Hurry, hurry, hurry! The main feature is about to start! I can't wait!]
Amidst the anticipation of countless people.
The music gradually fades out, and the scene changes from dark to light.
On the black screen, accompanied by a crisp metallic clanging sound, the title of the first episode slowly and clearly appeared:
Episode 1: "Catch the Light!"