Editor's note: This article is from the WeChat public account "Houlang Research Institute" (ID: youth36kr), authors: Mu Ye, Huang Xin, 36Kr is published with permission.
Cover art
I heard that every adult has a child living in his body, and he will be awakened whenever he encounters the right scene. Every year on Children's Day, these elderly people and children will begin to "return to their old age" and find the innocence of that year.
Since last year, "Ultraman" has once again exploded on the Internet.
"Do you believe in the Light?" It has become a well-deserved Internet hot word, and Ultraman-related Weibo topics (#There is really ultraman in the world#, #Why adults are willing to believe in Ultraman#) have also frequently appeared on hot searches, and the B station alone is a "Diga Ultraman" played more than 50 million times, and the opening bullet screen brush is "all up".
Screenshot of Ultraman video
What makes us curious is why this close-up work, which has always been considered to be a teenager's orientation, is still loved by many "big children" after the 80s and 90s. What exactly made them like this alien from M78 so much?
On the occasion of Children's Day, 36Kr collected the stories of a number of "big children" who like Ultraman: some people are ostensibly the up master of Station B, but in fact they are Diga's "human body", bravely transforming into guardians of their beloved; some people regard Ultraman as a father and let Ultraman help him hold a parent-teacher conference; some people have been saved by Ultraman, and since then there has been no Ultraman in sight...
<h2>@Ultraman fights little monsters every day</h2>
Female 22 years old short video blogger
Interestingly, the first person who pulled me into the pit Ultraman was actually my parents. When I was very young, my parents took me to see Dinosaur Express (a very old Japanese close-up film) at home, and then Ultraman became popular, and they would rent various Ultraman discs for me to see. Other girls' childhoods may be Barbie and dolls, but the key words of my childhood must be inseparable - Ultraman drama.
I remember that there was a time when they were busy at work and didn't have time to accompany me, so I was at home alone to watch the rented Ultraman. When I was a child, I didn't find anything wrong, and when I grew up, I learned that the plot of the Leo series was more adult-oriented, and even had some bloody pictures. As a girl in elementary school, I watched such an "unaudited and graded" special drama every day, and my young mind was "impacted" a lot, and even once scared and cried by the "disc creatures" inside.
"Disc creatures", my childhood nightmare
But even if you are scared to cry, you still can't help but "cover" your eyes and read it.
Perhaps because I was so impressed as a child, my love for Ultraman continues to this day. I also started from college to do some Ultraman strips and set secrets, at first it was all because of my own little interest, I did not expect to develop to now have more than a million fans to pay attention.
However, until now, in the video comment area I posted, there are often voices of doubt: Why do girls like Ultraman? When I start the live broadcast, there will be people who use an impolite tone to discuss whether I am a girl or not.
Yes, most people's impression of Ultraman may stay in "children only see" and "boys only see". But I would like to say that the "like" thing itself should not be restricted by any age or gender, like is like: when I was a child, I would be happy to receive an Ultraman bag on Children's Day, and now I will be happy to watch Ultraman perform live, and it is no different.
<h2>@Bell Bell Purr </h2>
Male 29 years old B station up master
At the beginning of this year, my girlfriend and I, who have been in love for 3 years, decided to get married and get a license. At that time, I thought, on this special day of receiving a certificate, how can I leave a little different memory?
As a "mystery" for 15 years, after falling in love, I also successfully brought my wife into the pit. If she can "transform" into Ultraman when she takes the oath, she should be pleasantly surprised!
This decision seems a bit naïve, but in fact, from my personal point of view, the step of obtaining a marriage license marks the transformation from lover to husband and wife, and my heart is somewhat bottomless. If I can enter marriage as "Ultraman", it will definitely bring me more strength to face my future responsibilities as a husband.
So I bought Diga Ultraman's props in advance, colluded with her girlfriend to hide that she took them to the scene, and in the oath-taking session after successfully obtaining the certificate, I secretly ran out to complete the "transformation" under the pretext of going to the toilet. Although I have told my girlfriend a lot about my feelings for Ultraman before, I am still very worried in my heart: I don't know if she can understand my behavior?
When I opened the door and walked up to her in the form of Diga, I said in a trembling voice, "Can I turn into light to protect you?" At that moment, I watched her go from shock to redness in the corners of her eyes, to falling into my arms and crying, and I finally knew that she was also very happy and moved.
She fully understood what this figure in front of her, Ultraman, meant to me, and what it meant for me to transform into Diga at this time. It turns out that the things I have always liked are also recognized by the people I love, and this feeling is wonderful.
Our Otter edition of the marriage license
On the high-speed train home, I couldn't help but ask her, "Would you like to marry Hikari?" She looked at me and nodded. I said, "But where there is light there is darkness, aren't you afraid?"
My wife told me, "I'm willing to stand in the darkness and wait for the light to come."
At sunset, Ultraman is on his way home
<h2>@Ice cream is not too sweet</h2>
25-year-old male content operation
When I watched "Jack Ultraman" in elementary school, the scene that impressed me the most was: when Hideki Became Jack Ultraman and was ready to fly away from the earth, his younger brother Jiro made five guarantees to him, and these five guarantees also became the classic Five Oaths of Otter:
First: don't go to school hungry;
Second: when the weather is good, dry the quilt;
Third: pay attention to the traffic when crossing the road;
Fourth: don't rely on the strength of others;
Fifth: Don't play barefoot on the ground.
In elementary school, every recess, we would play ultraman to fight monsters, someone played Ultraman to put light, and someone played the monster and was knocked to the ground.
So, I proposed to take these five points as a task, to be completed every day, only those who completed are eligible to play Ultraman, and those who do not complete will not only be deprived of the right to transform into Ultraman, but also invite others to eat popsicles.
At that time, I was still very short, and the clothes rail downstairs was taller than my father, who was one meter and eight meters tall, but in order to directly complete the two tasks of "drying the quilt" and "not relying on others", I strictly refused my mother's help and insisted on drying the quilt myself. Every time I came across a quilt, I would carry a large quilt that did not match my body shape, drag a stool downstairs, and ask my mother to testify for me.
After most of the semester passed, I was the only one left to persevere to the end, of course, I always had the qualification to play Ultraman. Although later, we stopped playing the game of Playing Ultraman, these five points became a habit that I have always adhered to to this day.
Only after growing up did I slowly understand that in Ultraman's story, because of the existence of monsters, many children have become orphans, and these seemingly simple truths have not been taught to them. More importantly, behind these five simple and simple vows there is a richer meaning, its core spirit is independence, self-improvement, self-reliance, not only for children, adults are also easy to accept and practice.
It was this seemingly "childish" thing that accompanied me throughout my childhood, planted like a seed in my heart, and slowly grew into a towering tree.
<h2>@Endgame</h2>
28 years old male Police auxiliary officer
Unlike most people who like Ultraman, I have a special affection for Ultraman because I grew up with Ultraman like a father.
When I was very young, my parents divorced, and I lived with my mother and grandmother, and I probably never saw my father once a year.
On my first birthday in the first grade of elementary school, my grandmother took an Ultraman toy and said to me, "This is your father's birthday gift to you, he said that he hopes you can be a little hero like Ultraman, and your father is also fighting monsters like Ultraman, and seeing it later is equivalent to seeing your father."
As a child, I didn't know much about the complicated feelings involved, only that it was given to me by my father. As long as there is it, Dad is around, and he has to take Ultraman with him every day when he eats, sleeps, and goes to school.
Later, the school held a parent-teacher conference and asked all the parents of my classmates to be present, and I didn't know what to do, it was probably the first time in my life that I felt the negative emotions and effects brought by my parents' divorce.
I suddenly thought of the Ultraman toy that my father gave me, and my grandmother said that seeing Ultraman is equivalent to seeing my father, so is Ultraman also able to go to a parent-teacher conference instead of my father?
So, when all the children had their parents holding hands and walking into the classroom, I stood proudly in front of all the students, teachers and parents with ultraman toys in my hands, even though they all gave a surprised look, but I still looked firm and calm, because my "father" also came, he is Ultraman.
Although my childhood lacked the company of my parents, Ultraman's existence largely compensated for this deficiency, although he could not directly give me love and warmth, but it did become an invisibly "father", so that I had sustenance for my father's feelings.
<h2>@Aze Ultraman</h2>
Male 27 years old Video creator
Friends around me know that I am a senior "mystery" and have been starting my own business since college. Of course, it is also engaged in entrepreneurship related to Ultraman.
I really started to like Ultraman since my junior year of junior high school, and although I watched it when I was a child, I still felt a little naïve when I grew up. Until I once happened to see the Ultraman theatrical version of "Armageddon!" Super Ultra Eight Brothers", which completely refreshed my understanding of Ultraman.
The show takes Ultraman's core values: dreams and hopes, and elevates them to a height that has never been reached before. This made me realize that Ultraman is not just a children's film, it has a new-age plot and a spiritual core that conforms to adult values.
When I was in college, I met an obsessive Ultraman school brother in the next bedroom, and he could talk to me about Ultraman all day, such as various character settings, unpopular stories, interesting memes and classic clips. It was also at that time that I had the idea to do Ultraman video commentary. The chat content with my brother also provided direction and inspiration for many of my later video creations.
I still thank him very much, and he made me understand the power of love: when a person says something he likes, there will really be light in his eyes; it turns out that insisting on doing what he likes really changes a person.
Aze in his new studio
Being able to integrate what you love with your work may be the envy of many people, but in fact, this road is by no means smooth. Later, for various reasons, I suffered a business failure and lost an account that had already achieved nearly 2 million followers.
This period of time can be said to be the trough of my life, during which I only did one thing - I re-brushed all the episodes of ultraman series.
After watching my favorite Complete Leo Ultraman collection, I decided to start over, doing Ultraman video commentary from scratch. To paraphrase a classic line from Leori: "Men always have to fight alone, always challenge themselves." I believe that as long as I am in the company of love, light will naturally give me the strength to move forward.
<h2>@Guiman Flashregardo understands</h2>
26-year-old male Comic Con, exhibition planner
Everyone in the company knew that I was a die-hard Ultraman loyalist, and the workstation was full of Ultraman's handiwork, and every colleague who passed by had to sigh. Not only the company, but also a lot of Ultraman elements in my home and car, and people around me only know that I like Ultraman, but they don't know that there is a deeper reason for this.
When I was a kid, my grandmother took me out on the street to buy groceries, and I was sitting in the back seat of my bike with Altman's toy in my hand, and somehow, when I was crossing a road, I suddenly fell off the back seat, and Severn was thrown to the side. My grandmother had no idea I had fallen, and even though I was crying and crying with all my might, she still didn't hear me.
I struggled to get up, dodged in the traffic, completely unaware of the dangerous situation I was about to face, and only wanted to quickly find Severn, who was a few meters away, and it was precisely this idea that saved my life.
Just two seconds after I got up and ran towardSevern, a van sped past where I had fallen, and later everyone in the family said that "Severn" had saved me while my life was hanging in the balance.
Since then, I've used Ultraman as my amulet. From Otter's father, Otter's mother, Zoffy, the first generation to Taiga, Zeta, even the unpopular Zaas, but everyone who appears in the Land of Light, I buy it.
I can't remember when I would put Ultraman's handiwork anywhere: desk at home, bedside tables, next to the TV... Ultraman can be seen even in the kitchen and toilet. On the one hand, it is because I like it, and on the other hand, if I don't have Ultraman in my line of sight, I always feel uneasy.
I'm not a very superstitious person, but Ultraman seems to be really guarding me. Maybe each of us has an angel who guards ourselves, but we haven't discovered that it can be Ultraman, or it can be our dearest person, or something else, but the important thing is that you deserve it to be guarded.
As Zofi in "Monbius" says to Captain Forced Water, "Until the day comes when you humans and we stand hand in hand, we will be your shields – to guard you."
<h2>@-LiAnGyuu</h2>
In order to celebrate the successful conclusion of my brother's defense, I prepared a bouquet of "Ultraman flowers" for him, and hid with my friends at the entrance of the ladder to wait for him.
<h2>@Genuine Qinxue Ta_ke</h2>
Ultraman is very friendly, I am not in good health and can't donate blood, my father went to Shanghai to donate blood to help me bring a chapter back. (From May 22 to 30, if you participate in unpaid blood donation at a designated blood donation point in Shanghai, you can light up the Otter seal on your blood donation card.) ）
<h2>@Ha Lumos</h2>
There's something special to poke me at today:
A little friend said to his mother: Mother has monsters
Mom said: Where there are monsters, there are no babies
The big brother next to the passerby said: Don't be afraid that I am Ultraman
<h2>@ afraid of the black afraid of cold afraid of ghosts</h2>
Received this picture on the light rail today (AirDrop), how many Ultramans hahahaha?
<h2>@Fried noodles bread seeds</h2>
There is an episode in Max that is very deep: the Metatrons who have been lurking on Earth for more than forty years plan to leave Earth because he discovers that although humans have convenient tools such as mobile phones and networks, the distance between people is getting farther and farther.
Humanity is already the appearance of the success of his conspiracy to invade the earth forty years ago, leaving human beings alone, human beings will naturally become extinct, and they will succeed without using force, so they decided to leave the earth.
People's social relations are based on trust, and people must protect this trust in order to maintain their social relations. These are really worth pondering...
<h2>@Uncle Time</h2>
Digha tells us that everyone can be their own Ultraman, as long as you maintain a kind, brave, and never-give-up heart. Why adults believe in Ultraman, believe in light, why do you say that Ultraman is faith, I liked Ultraman when I was a child because for me Ultraman represents justice and goodness, protecting the earth and protecting human beings, and what I like more when I grow up is Ultraman's fearless spirit.
<h2>@Awesome Lollipop</h2>
In the past, on the way to the high school shuttle bus, I would listen to Ultraman's theme song and bgm with headphones, and the music app was full of Ultraman's song list, and my girlfriend said that day, Why are you ultraman in your song list? I told her that because Ultraman has accompanied me through many difficulties and setbacks, these music will make me transform into Ultraman and bravely fight against difficulties.
Some time ago, there was a popular paragraph on the Internet: "Never tell a boy: There is no Ultraman in this world." But in fact, the people who will argue with you about "whether there is an Ultraman in the world" must be those "dead children", who will tell you different Ultraman stories, telling you what their killer skills are, how powerful they are, and how many monsters they have defeated.
And adults will not discuss such a "childish" topic with you, because there is no Ultraman in this world, of course, there is no Mickey Mouse, no Digimon, no Harry Potter...
But why are there so many people who have dubbed Disneyland the title of "the happiest place in the world"; waiting to become the new batch of children who have been selected; complaining about how the acceptance letters from Hogwarts have not yet arrived? Is your own owl lost?
Because in everyone's heart, there is such a "dead child": almost stubbornly unwilling to grow up, always persistently believing that Popeye's spinach, Naruto's spiral pills, and Ultraman's light will always solve all problems in the end. Only in this way, when we face so much helplessness and exhaustion in the adult world, we can at least briefly withdraw and be the carefree self of our childhood.
Is there an Ultraman in this world? Of course there is, right in the hearts of people who believe in Ultraman.
Today is Children's Day, we would like to wish every big child who does not want to grow up and has light in their hearts, can always maintain this innocence, can always adhere to such a love, I wish you a happy June 1st!