dognovel Chapter 184 A Regression of the Times? The Irony of the Star of Peace!
Chapter 184 A Regression of the Times? The Irony of the Star of Peace!
As the rousing opening theme of "Ultraman Dyna" faded, the episode title slowly appeared on the black screen—
Episode 33: The Star of Peace
"Peace Star?" Old Tang stroked his chin. "Judging from the name, it sounds like a healing slice-of-life episode?"
The main feature begins.
Against the azure sky, Shin Asuka is piloting a brand-new fighter jet with the classic Super GUTS color scheme, conducting combat tests.
The machine maneuvered through the air, easily hitting virtual targets with extremely high precision.
These test footage are currently being broadcast to the public as video material at a press conference.
Gong Liang, as the spokesperson, proudly introduced the newly developed TPC fighter jet, the Alpha Spellio.
"As a medium-sized, high-speed fighter, it achieved an astonishing top speed of Mach 11! It's a complete upgrade of the Alpha!"
However, the harmonious atmosphere of the press conference was soon broken by a discordant voice.
In the audience, a reporter named Yu Xu (original author Yu Xumei), who had a stubble and looked somewhat dejected, stood up and rudely interrupted Gong Liang's explanation.
"Today's TPC is only pursuing power."
Yu Xu's words were extremely sharp: "Rather than constantly enhancing combat capabilities, shouldn't the primary issue be a re-examination of the development mechanism? Have you forgotten the original intention of peace?"
This provocative questioning displeased Asuka and Miyako on stage.
The usually composed Captain Hibiki took the microphone. He didn't lose his temper, but solemnly stated, "Our goal is absolutely not war. However, when humanity faces challenges from the unknown, necessary weaponry is indispensable. Just as you have the honor of being a journalist, I also hold a belief in my work, which is... to believe in the future of humanity and justice!"
Wow, this reporter dares to directly confront TPC?
[What he said actually makes sense. Think about the Prometheus battleships from before; TPC was indeed expanding its army like crazy.]
To be honest, it's normal for this reporter to have such concerns, since the original intention of TPC has indeed changed. However, if we use these concerns to demand that we wear down our wings and then face endless aggressors with a seemingly peaceful facade, isn't that undoubtedly a passive compromise?
In this new era, how can we protect Earth without force? Sphia doesn't reason with you!
The captain is right! Justice needs strength to defend it!
As the captain finished speaking, the scene shifted outdoors. The press conference was being broadcast on a large screen in the square. In the crowd, a rebellious girl in a red dress, holding a small tabby cat, suddenly looked up when she heard the name "Gon-suke Kibi".
Immediately following, Yu Xu's voice narrated a low saxophone melody.
Looking at the news photos of TPC's frantic expansion of its military and the establishment of arsenals, he lamented that although humanity had overcome the darkness that led to its extinction, was this new era of frantic pursuit of force really not a regression?
The scene shifts, and it's dawn.
Yu Xu was awakened in his rented room by a kitten kneading its paws. What horrified him even more was that the girl in red, Yuan Xiang, was sitting in the room.
"Who are you anyway?!"
Yu Xu was full of questions.
"My name is Sonoka. There's something I need your help investigating." The girl said calmly.
Inside the ramen shop, Sonoka, while inhaling the ramen rapidly, recounted the whole incident to Yu Xu.
She and her friends were originally a group of delinquent teenagers who loved rollerblading and enjoyed dressing up in strange costumes and causing a ruckus in the streets late at night.
The rebelliousness of adolescence leads them to use delinquency as a disguise to oppose the world.
But recently, strange things have started to happen.
Apart from her and team leader Ah Xiang, the other companions suddenly changed their personalities overnight!
They took off their outlandish clothes and stopped going out to play. Instead, they became down-to-earth, studious students who only wanted to study!
Even Ah-Xiang, who persisted to the very end, suddenly became indifferent one night, saying that he would no longer play that meaningless game.
"This is absolutely an alien conspiracy!" Sonoka declared confidently.
Yu Xu found it amusing after hearing this.
In his view as an adult, isn't it a great thing that a delinquent teenager has come to his senses and started to study hard?
[Haha, are you some kind of alien trying to quit internet addiction?]
[Alien: I came to Earth to capture those who study!]
[Actually, this kind of drastic change in personality overnight is quite strange.]
Yu Xu felt that Yuan Xiang was just escaping reality, and the two had a big argument, after which Yuan Xiang slammed the door and left.
Based on a reporter's intuition, Yu Xu still went to investigate A Xiang.
When he saw Ah Xiang's family having a happy meal, he thought of his wife and daughter whom he had long neglected.
He believed that restoring peace to a family, even if the process was unreasonable, was a good thing.
But the next day, he received a call from Sonoka.
The girl went alone to the D7 warehouse in the Wangan area, a place that her companions had all visited before their transformation.
At the same time, Shin Asuka, who had just completed fighter jet testing, also detected abnormal radio waves near the D7 warehouse and rushed over.
Inside the warehouse, Yu Xu found Yuan Xiang.
The girl calmly confessed that everything she did was to cause trouble for her father. She was certain that her father would come looking for her.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the warehouse door was pushed open.
An unexpected man walked in.
Captain Hibiki!
"I'm sorry, Dad... I'll be a good boy and won't argue with you anymore..."
Sonoka threw herself into Kibi Kosuke's arms, crying her eyes out.
Upon seeing this, Old Tang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Holy crap! The captain actually has a daughter this old?! And a delinquent at that?!"
The live stream chat exploded instantly:
[Shocking! The daughter of the Super GUTS captain is actually a psychopath!]
[The captain, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, can't even handle family relationships?]
Every family has its own problems!
Kibi Takesuke solemnly apologized to Yu Xu.
Yu Xu expressed his understanding and stepped forward to return the kitten Stella to Yuan Xiang.
Just then, a chilling twist occurred!
"Don't bring it over, it's disgustingly dirty!"
Just moments ago, Yuanxiang was crying pitifully, but suddenly she slapped the kitten away, her eyes becoming extremely unfamiliar.
"What's wrong with you?...Wait! You're not Sonoka!"
Yu Xu was greatly surprised.
Even though Sonoka was a bit of a tomboy, she was still very fond of animals.
It's impossible for someone's temperament to change drastically, and even their love for life to change completely.
Yuanxiang did not answer, but kept repeating "Who am I?" before falling straight down.
Immediately afterwards, Shin Asuka rushed into the warehouse.
Suddenly, an extremely sharp and piercing sound wave erupted in the warehouse, and everyone instantly covered their ears in pain and fainted.
When everyone awoke again, the warehouse had changed drastically.
Inside the vast space, several screens displayed TPC news.
An ugly alien with bluish-gray skin and an unusually large head—the Narcissian—arrogantly appeared before them.
Faced with Asuka's questioning, the Narcissians revealed their chilling peace plan.
It is precisely this that has drained away the fighting instincts, rebellious mentality, and other negative energy of those young people.
It gathers all this negative energy to cultivate an invincible biological weapon—Menofa!
The bird angrily denounced their aggressive intentions, but the Narcissians retorted vehemently, "This is self-defense! Long ago, our planet cleansed itself of its inner negative energy, establishing a peaceful planet free from conflict. But in doing so, we lost the power to fight. We fear that you humans, creatures driven by a fighting instinct, will invade the universe, so we must eliminate you beforehand!"
[Good heavens, what kind of logic is this! I'm afraid you'll attack me, so I'll build a nuclear bomb and blow you up first?]
[Is erasing negative energy the same as peace? What's the difference between that and robots?]
This is the terrifying aspect of absolute rationality!
After hearing these absurd remarks, Kibi Gosuke was completely enraged.
This not only violated the bottom line of humanity, but also damaged his daughter's mind!
Seeing this, the Narcissians decisively pressed the button, continuing to frantically absorb everyone's negative energy. Instantly, everyone donned masks of pain.
At the critical moment, a loud "boom" rang out as a beam cannon precisely shattered the control panel.
Xing Xingtian and the Super Victory Team members arrived just in time!
However, the Narcissians let out a chilling, maniacal laugh.
"Too late! The biological weapon is already complete!"
It leaped and merged directly into the huge purple chunk of flesh in the center of the warehouse.
"Oh my god! This immense power of anger and hatred! It's wonderful!"
Looking at this disgusting monster, Yu Xu gritted his teeth, picked up a sharp steel pipe from the ground, and hurled it at it with all his might!
"Pfft!"
The steel pipe pierced the purple flesh with precision. Although it did not cause any real damage, this seemingly insignificant blow became the key to the subsequent reversal!
The purple chunk of meat expanded instantly, directly blasting the roof off the warehouse.
Amidst the violent shaking, a massive pillar collapsed with a deafening roar, hurtling straight towards the unconscious Yuanxiang!
"Yuanxiang!"
Without any hesitation, Kibi Gosuke lunged forward and shielded his daughter with his body.
"Bang!"
The heavy pillar slammed into Kibi Gosuke's back.
The tough father groaned, enduring the excruciating pain, and entrusted his daughter to Yu Xu: "Take her away quickly! Team members, go stop the monster!"
Amidst the billowing dust, a colossal and terrifying beast—Menofa—roared down upon the city.
"Dyna—!"
With a roar, Shin Asuka raised his Flash Sword, and in the dazzling light, Ultraman Dyna made a powerful entrance!
After settling Yuanxiang in, Yu Xu picked up the camera hanging around her neck and pointed the lens at the battlefield.
For the ensuing battle scenes, Gu Nan employed an extremely novel freeze-frame technique.
With the "click" of the shutter, the moment of Dyna's fierce battle with Menofa was presented on the screen one by one in the form of photographs, and the documentary feel and impact were eye-catching!
Menofa's defensive capabilities are extremely terrifying.
Dyna unleashed a sudden Solgent Beam, only to have it deflected by the monster. Dyna screamed as he was sent flying backward, the red light on his chest flashing wildly.
"It's no use! This body is a collection of countless negative energies; it won't be harmed in any way!"
The arrogant laughter of the Narcissians echoed through the sky.
On the ground, Yu Xu's pupils suddenly contracted as she looked through the camera's telephoto lens.
He saw it! On the indestructible monster's hide, the steel pipe he had thrown earlier was still firmly stuck there, with traces of green fluid seeping out from around it.
That's its only weakness that can be breached!
Yu Xu immediately took out his communicator and, risking violation of regulations, forcibly switched into TPC's tactical channel.
"Can anyone hear me?! There's a steel pipe stuck in the monster's body. Just aim there and you can take it down!"
Upon hearing Yu Xu's voice through the communicator, the injured Kibi Kosuke immediately ordered, "Koda! Aim at that spot!"
Sensing the danger, the Narcissian immediately began psychological warfare: "Kibi Gon-suke! If you defeat me, the negative energy drained from your daughter will return! She'll become that rebellious, anti-you delinquent girl again! Even so, will you still attack?!"
Kibi Kosuke merely sneered, his eyes revealing no hesitation, but rather the deepest love of a father.
"Yuanxiang...it's okay if you don't forgive me, it's okay if you hate me! If that anger, that rebellion, is the real you...then I will accept everything about you!"
"Koda! Fire!!!"
[Tears welling up!! This is what a real father is like!]
A person without negative emotions is incomplete! True love is accepting even flaws!
[The captain is so cool! Fire!]
In the sky, the Alphas Perio roared deafeningly as a high-energy laser precisely struck the location of the steel pipe!
"Boom!"
The monster's wound ripped open instantly, and it howled in agony.
Upon seeing this, Dyna immediately crossed his arms over his forehead.
A burst of red light! The robust version of Dyna is now available!
"Drink!"
Dyna brought his arms together and raised them, like a red drill, and began an extremely violent high-speed spinning charge in mid-air with himself as the axis!
With the destructive power of a tornado and an unstoppable momentum, it pierced Menofa's torn wound!
"Pfft—BOOM!!!"
Under the terrifying strangulation of the drill tactic, Menofa's massive body was pierced through on the spot!
With a deafening explosion, the monster, built from negative energy, was completely annihilated.
Countless points of light fell from the sky; these were the stolen negative energy that returned to the bodies of those young men and women.
The battle is over.
In the sunny park, Yu Xu encountered Yuan Xiang again.
The girl still had a bit of a spirited vibe, but her eyes were no longer empty; instead, they were full of energy and vitality.
"Thank you so much, sir!"
Yuanxiang waved and rode away on her roller skates, smiling.
Although she was still rebellious, at least on this sun-drenched land, she had a real soul moving towards the future.
At the end of this episode, the scene returns to that familiar bar.
The camera pans across the bar walls to the accompaniment of melodious saxophone music.
The place was covered with photos.
There is a photo of Megumi and Munakata drinking together in casual clothes.
There's that unforgettable photo of reporter Ye Tian and vampire Xue Na from the previous film, "Ultraman Tiga".
Finally, the camera focused on a photo of Yu Xu and Ye Tian with their arms around each other.
It turns out they were fellow disciples.
The 33rd episode concluded with the ending theme song.
……
Old Tang typed rapidly on the keyboard and began his hardcore analysis.
"This episode didn't have as many world-destroying special effects, but its core script is so profound it's chilling!"
"Let's first talk about the logic of that alien. It erased all negative energy and established a so-called Star of Peace. But without negative emotions like anger, sadness, and rebellion, can a person still be called 'human'?"
"Through this episode, Gu Laozei tells us that adolescent rebellion, those seemingly bad behaviors, are actually a way for children to protect their vulnerable hearts when facing the world. Captain Hibiki's line, 'I will accept everything about you,' is the most resounding slap in the face to this false peace!"
Old Tang banged on the table, his voice impassioned: "Look at the subplot of this episode. TPC is frantically expanding its military, and reporter Yu Xu questions whether this is a regression. But in the end, it is these weapons, along with Dyna, that protect humanity. Power itself is not wrong; what is wrong is whether the person wielding that power possesses complete humanity!"
"Also, the design of the final monster, and the wound from being pierced by the steel pipe, can ultimately become the key to breaking the deadlock."
Old Tang continued his analysis:
"Therefore, I believe that the design of Menofa's cause of death also contains a metaphor!"
"He suffered trauma during his growth, but it wasn't healed after he matured. This might be suggesting that childhood trauma can never truly heal, and could even become a lifelong weakness. Gu Nan could have simply let Dyna kill Menofa in another form, but he didn't. Instead, he used this to create the final ending!"
The live stream chat was filled with agreement:
[Without negative emotions, aren't we just like zombies?]
The captain's last words brought me to tears; they were so full of fatherly love.
There's one part of this episode I didn't understand: why did Sonoka hate the cat after being stripped of her inner negativity? Shouldn't she have become kinder?
The stray cat symbolizes her rebellious and lonely self. Having had her negative energy drained, she has abandoned her rebellion and embraced a family, so naturally she won't accept the cat.
Children also have their own values and aesthetics, but parents, in their pursuit of raising so-called "well-behaved" children, often ignore their children's true feelings.
If a person's upbringing is without trauma, can they still be called a human being?
Trauma is inevitable, but trauma varies in severity, and some traumas are incurable.
This is the depth that tokusatsu (special effects) should have—not just the thrill of fighting monsters, but also reflections on society!
Online discussions about "Peace Star" spread rapidly. This episode, with its profound ideological core and perfect emotional release, once again pushed the reputation of "Ultraman Dyna" to a new peak.