There's a question that's been bothering me for a long time: What exactly is a man's romance?
Is it a huge mech like "Gang Damu"? Beautiful girl animation with a fresh drawing style? Or the leather jacket in the feature film?
Well, in fact, the three are not in conflict, after all, beautiful girls can also open mechs in close-up works.
I have to say that Round Valley is a dead pinch of men's habits, and every work and role it has under it can meet different audience groups, which is also the reason why Round Valley Company has endured for a long time.
As an IP that has been born for 55 years, Round Valley's "Ultraman" series also covers audiences of different eras and regions.
For the post-70s and post-80s, showa ultraman is an eternal classic; for the post-90s, Heisei Sanjie may be the god of the latecomers; for the post-00s, the various gorgeous designs of the new generation have an irresistible charm.
European and American audiences will like "Grey Ultraman" and "Parvat Ultraman"; Malaysian audiences will relish "Libut Ultraman"; Chinese audiences... forehead... Most people have a soft spot for Digimon Ultraman?
It is undeniable that although "Diga Ultraman" is not a work specially produced for Chinese audiences, as the most widely broadcast and well-known close-up work in China, it has an immeasurable thrust for the promotion of the "Ultraman" series in China, and also allows Round Valley to see the commercial potential of the Chinese market.
Today, under the planning and publicity of Round Valley and the domestic copyright owner Xinchuanghua, the "Ultraman" series still has high popularity in China. But if so, why hasn't there been an Ultraman work curated for China?
It seems to be "yes"!
Of course, I'm not referring to this...
Instead, at the beginning of the new millennium, "Millennium Ultraman" was co-produced with Thailand, and its story took place in china in the near future.
The participation and production of "Millennium Ultraman" are enough to be described as a "high-level".
How advanced, you ask? As the first human body of Chinese nationality in ultraman history, he is no less than Nagano Hiroshi in "Diga" in terms of appearance, popularity, and acting skills.
This person is "Haonan Brother" Zheng Yijian! The reason why he will take on this role is also because he has been a fan of the "Ultraman" series since he was a child, and after becoming an actor, he has always hoped that he can play the Ultraman human body.
Now that the opportunity to realize your dreams is in front of you, how can you miss it? Just such a heavyweight actor joining is enough to see the weight of this work.
In fact, judging from some publicly available information and fragments, "Millennium Ultraman" is indeed a real close-up work. At the time of the lack of domestic science fiction works, this work was highly noticed by domestic close-up fans at the beginning of the trailer.
As a huge meteorite disguised as a monster fell into the waters of Japan, the Earth's axis was deflected, causing a huge tsunami, causing the Pacific Rim to be annihilated by seawater, the Earth's meteorology changed dramatically, and more than one-third of the land was desertified in the next 15 years.
15 years later, the surviving humans, guided by the mysterious organization "S", formed the Defense Force BASE and began investigating the falling meteorites. However, just as humanity was preparing to revive the city, various monsters appeared on earth that threatened the surviving human race.
Fortunately, Millennium Ultraman, who fell with the meteorite, possessed a young man named "Ming" and began to fight for the protection of mankind...
After Ming transforms into Millennium Ultraman to save mankind, he is invited to join the defense team "BASE", where Ming meets the same captain who is possessed by Ultraman, that is, the character played by Zheng Yijian.
As the Defense Force investigates, it is discovered that the monsters that appear on Earth are all by the hands of the mysterious organization "S" (BASE was established by them to induce humans), in order to eliminate existing humans and promote human evolution in unknown ways; and the reason why Ming was recruited into the Defense Force is also to put him under house arrest and prevent him from hindering the plan of human purging.
Doesn't it sound a bit like the conspiracy smell of some glasses reflective uncle?
As for the Dark Ultraman, it is ultraman who was once defeated by the millennium, and after being resurrected, although he is good in nature, he is eroded by mysterious creatures, often destroying things around him because he is out of control.
But with the help of millennials and elites, they eventually overcame control and began to fight for humanity.
In the end, thanks to the efforts of the three Ultramans and human beings, the monsters that threatened humans were also repelled one by one, and the surviving humans escaped the fate of being eliminated.
Although such a plot inevitably makes people play on the set of "EVA", "Millennium Ultraman" presented in the form of a close-up may bring the audience a new spectacle experience.
"Millennium Ultraman" was originally scheduled to be broadcast in theatrical and TV versions, but before the official "release", Millennium Ultraman took the lead in the stage play, and worked with several Showa Ultraman to deal with classic monsters such as Jetton and Dada Starman.
Also on stage is the last of the three Olympics, --- Dark Ultraman, who officially met with Thai audiences in the 4D stage play that began in 2005.
As a close-up work, the shooting and production of Millennium is also a matter of course using a large number of miniature models and realistic special effects.
From the behind-the-scenes footage circulating on the Internet, it can be seen that whether it is the model of the house that will eventually be destroyed in the fight scene, or the ugly alien holster, it is the prop team members who spend countless days and nights and painstaking efforts to make it.
At the same time, there will also be some scenes of explosion in the plot.
This shooting method has appeared in "Zeta" and "Triga" and has been blown up by close-up fans. But you have to know that "Millennium" was a work from 20 years ago, and at the time, it was a groundbreaking shot.
Since a lot of costs have been invested, it is necessary to achieve a corresponding return, before the official release of the film, "Millennium" related toys and peripherals have been sold in the Chinese and Thai markets to warm up the film.
Nowadays, many netizens have said that they have purchased related products, and it is in this way that they recognize this mixed-race close-up film and look forward to its release.
In addition to derivative products, the trailer as the main appetizer has already pulled many viewers into this big pit, and around 2000, when the Internet was not yet popular, "Millennium Ultraman" has been widely circulated among close-up fans through the form of commodities and trailers.
The series of works of "Millennium Ultraman" can be said to be a collection of all science fiction elements, aliens, spaceships, unknown viruses (stage drama plot), and mysterious powers.
The support of investors has also made these vague concepts a reality. So that today, more than a decade later, domestic close-up fans are still shocked and regretful about these settings and clips.
Yes, there are regrets.
This mixed-race blockbuster with avant-garde setting and sophisticated production was not legally authorized by Round Valley, and ultimately failed to show itself in full form to the audience.
In the 1970s, when Marutani was on the verge of bankruptcy and all the company's leaders were at a loss, Eiji Marutani's old friend and student --- Simbot came from Thailand to lend a helping hand to Marutani. He introduced clients to the purchase of Round Valley's works, directly invested in Round Valley, and cooperated with Round Valley to shoot the Thai close-up film "Jambo A" and "Hanuman and the Seven Ultramans".
However, through some ingenious tricks, Simpot cheated the overseas copyrights of nine works such as "Ultra Q", "Ace Ultraman", and "Seven Ultraman" from the then president Round Valley Gao, indefinitely.
However, this was not communicated to the subsequent heir, namely Kazuo Marutani, the son of Marutani Gao. Unbeknownst to him, Kazuo Marutani plotted the "Heisei Sanjie" to save Marutani, who was once again in crisis, but just when Marutani's career was going well, Simbot sued Marutani in court for infringing overseas copyrights.
Then, Round Valley began more than two decades of overseas copyright disputes, and due to The insidious and cunning methods of Simpot, Round Valley itself was also plunged into a series of crises. In the early stages of the copyright dispute, Thai courts ruled that Simbot held overseas copyrights.
It is also in this context that Simpot, who holds the "overseas copyright", cooperated with Chinese companies to shoot this "Millennium Ultraman".
But even with such a black background, the information revealed in the trailer also confirms the enthusiasm and painstaking efforts of the production staff. Therefore, even if netizens know that the existence of "Millennium Ultraman" is not legal, they also imagine that this film can be released one day and not let the efforts of behind-the-scenes workers be wasted.
Unfortunately, such expectations are difficult to achieve one day, and through unremitting efforts, Round Valley finally regained the overseas copyright of the "Ultraman" series, and immediately asked the producer to delete all related film sources.
After learning the overall framework, the camera fans lamented the work and its staff. If the copyright is legal, "Millennium Ultraman" will be the cornerstone of Chinese special films, and may also become a classic memory of a generation like "Diga".
Unfortunately, there is no if, and "Millennium Ultraman" is still based on infringement after all.
Regardless of its success or failure, whatever its benefits, Round Valley, the origin of Ultraman, has almost no benefit, so why not harm the interests and enthusiasm of Round Valley workers?
Since its birth 55 years ago, the "Ultraman" series of works has been promoting positive concepts such as justice, kindness, and responsibility, teaching the audience many truths about how to behave in the world: learn to respect and not infringe on the rights and interests of others for their own interests. Therefore, for many people, they are no longer just a fictional work.
It is we who have been instilled in these ideas that we have both regret and rejection of Millennium Ultraman.
Of course, regret is a thing of the past, but what really matters is the present and the future.
Although an unknown masterpiece such as "Millennium Ultraman" can no longer be seen again, we might as well look to the future and expect that Round Valley will create an "exclusive" Ultraman for Chinese audiences who still believe in the light.
However, the "stitching monster" such as "The Legend of the Otter Heroes" is still counted.