Chapter 233: A Shocking Opening!
"Huff—huff—ULTRAMAN!!"
"TIGA!! My superhero!!"
"Hey, hey, listen up! Gaia is way stronger than all of them! His SV form totally outclasses Tiga's shining mode!"
"I prefer Leo! Hoo-hoo-haha—!"
. . .
Inside the movie theater, surrounded by the noisy chatter of excited children, Li Ri'ang rubbed his temples in pain.
Honestly, he was already regretting his decision.
In his eagerness to see the movie as soon as possible, he had agreed to his cousin's request to take her son to the screening.
To ensure Super 8 Brothers gained a foothold in the Chinese market as quickly as possible, Shinji had gone through numerous efforts to secure a few advance screenings in China on the day of its global premiere.
Advance screenings were a special kind of limited release. While the number of available showings was restricted, they allowed films to be screened before their official release date.
In fact, some special films had only been able to screen in mainland China through these advance screenings—for example, the famous banned film The Dark Knight.
That movie had never been granted a full theatrical release in China, but it was still screened multiple times under the guise of film festival events. Every single time, tickets were impossible to get.
To be honest, if he wasn't personally unaccustomed to Nolan's filmmaking style, Shinji had actually been tempted to test whether The Dark Knight could somehow pass China's film approval process.
After all, back when it was initially rejected, online rumors suggested that the biggest issue was the inclusion of a certain "genius photographer," "role model," and "true master of unique shooting techniques"—Edison Chen.
At the time, it just so happened that the Edison sex photo scandal was at its peak, and the entire internet was buzzing about it. The situation had such a negative impact that, even though Edison Chen's screen time in The Dark Knight was shorter than the Joker's hanging scene at the end, it still sparked massive controversy.
If the chance ever arose, Shinji really wanted to see if a modified version of The Dark Knight—one that removed a few sensitive elements while keeping the core story intact—could finally be formally introduced into the Chinese market.
After all, the digital streaming rights for The Dark Knight had never been restricted in China. That meant, in theory, the movie still met the basic import standards.
As a time traveler, it was his duty to uncover these obscure historical details.
That said, there was no denying that China's film censorship system sometimes felt like pure mysticism.
Fortunately, Shinji had ensured that Super 8 Brothers was completely safe from start to finish.
The film had proper morals, was family-friendly, and featured exciting action sequences.
Of course, no matter how harmless a movie was, it would never be allowed to have a nationwide advance screening a whole month before its official release.
The only reason Shinji managed to secure this one-month-early preview was due to his persuasive tactics.
His pitch was that by exposing domestic filmmakers to the latest global film technology in advance, China's film industry would be better prepared to engage in discussions at the upcoming June film festival.
Additionally, by allowing the first batch of viewers to watch the movie early, there would be a month-long buildup of anticipation—ensuring that Super 8 Brothers reached peak hype by the time it officially premiered.
The authorities weren't entirely convinced by Shinji's reasoning.
But given that both he and Type-Moon Films had always played by the rules since entering the Chinese market, they reluctantly approved his request—despite it technically bending the regulations a little.
As a regular otaku, Li Ri'ang had no idea about the power struggles happening behind the scenes.
All he knew was that, apart from film industry professionals and entertainment media, the only way for an average person to attend the advance screening was through a lottery system.
And of course—he hadn't won a ticket.
After all, there was only one IMAX theater in the entire city, and it only had one screening for this event.
There were so many people signing up—not getting picked was the norm.
So then... How did Li Ri'ang, who wasn't selected, still manage to attend the screening?
'This brat luck is off the charts.'
Li Ri'ang shot a glance at his little nephew, who was chatting and bragging with other kids nearby.
This little rascal loved Ultraman.
The moment he heard from his classmates that an Ultraman movie was coming out, he pestered his mother endlessly to take him to see it.
Eventually, his exasperated mom—Li Ri'ang's cousin—gave in and signed up for the lottery in the children's group.
And, of course—she won a parent-child ticket package.
(Shinji had specially set aside a batch of tickets for kids to help promote the film among younger audiences.)
"Even though I should be grateful to this little brat—if my cousin hadn't gotten caught up with work at the last minute, I wouldn't have been able to see the movie early. But… damn, it's so noisy."
All the parent-child ticket holders were seated together.
And let's be real—kids who love Ultraman aren't the type to sit quietly.
It had only been a few minutes, and the entire section already felt like a chaotic festival.
'It's impossible to enjoy the movie like this.' Li Ri'ang sighed helplessly.
'I should've just waited for the official release and taken a day off work to see it. That way, I'd actually get some peace and quiet.'
"Uncle!"
His nephew suddenly came running over, clutching a bootleg Ultraman toy.
'Where did this kid even get that thing?'
"I want juice!" The boy stretched out his hand, expecting a drink.
'Not only is he noisy, but I also have to take care of him… I'm never getting a break.'
Li Ri'ang rolled his eyes, then reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of plain water.
"There's no juice. Just drink water. Juice isn't good for you."
"Tch—stingy uncle."
Despite complaining, the kid wasn't actually spoiled. He grabbed the bottle, twisted off the cap, and gulped down half of it in one go.
"Hup!"
Still holding the half-empty bottle, the boy plopped down into the seat beside Li Ri'ang.
"Finally done running around?" Li Ri'ang teased, leaning back in his chair.
"The movie's about to start!" His nephew swung his legs excitedly, eyes fixed on the giant screen. "This movie screen is huge! It's even bigger than my house!"
This era was completely different from the future, where 3D movies were everywhere and special format screens were as common as dirt.
In 2006, IMAX screenings were still a novelty worldwide—let alone in China, where the film industry had yet to fully take off.
So, at this special screening, the kids were here for Ultraman, but film critics and industry professionals were more interested in the cutting-edge technology.
Even a hardcore tokusatsu fan like Li Ri'ang—who had already seen IMAX test footage before—still found the massive screen awe-inspiring.
"Yeah, it's really huge. But because it's so big, you'll be able to see your favorite Ultraman even more clearly."
"That's the best part!"
His nephew gnawed on his fingers, eyes sparkling. "Tiga is so cool!"
Hearing this, Li Ri'ang shook his head slightly.
He was a die-hard Showa-era fan.
To him, the Heisei-era Ultraman series were just "meh."
He wasn't one of those toxic internet trolls who mocked Tiga as a "chameleon" (because of his form changes), but he was annoyed by people who only associated Ultraman with Tiga.
'There are so many amazing Showa-era Ultraman series… Why do these casuals keep fixating on the Heisei Big Three?'
'So this is the power of a fresh release, huh?'
Tiga had only been officially introduced to China in the past two years, and it was still in constant reruns, riding a wave of peak popularity.
This made Li Ri'ang feel a little bitter about his own childhood heroes.
"If only I could go back and experience the excitement of chasing after those flying heroes again..."
Hearing his uncle's melancholic monologue, the kid gave him a disgusted look.
"Uncle, you sound so childish. No wonder my mom says you're a failure of an adult and tells me not to be like you."
"You little brat! That's none of your business! And there's no way your mom actually said that!"
Annoyed, Li Ri'ang reached over and messed up his nephew's hair.
But behind his playful gesture, there was a hidden sense of resignation toward real life.
Useless at everything, bad at everything—after struggling in society for a few years, Li Ri'ang had ended up as nothing more than an ordinary company employee.
Every day, he was either getting scolded by his boss or being driven to the brink of collapse by unreasonable customer demands.
The overwhelming pressure and the sheer aimlessness of his life left him at a loss for what to do.
"Uncle, quit messing around! The movie's starting!"
Hearing his nephew's words, Li Ri'ang finally realized that the theater's lights had already dimmed.
"Oh. Since the movie's starting, sit still and behave! Don't disturb others."
Even though he had zero expectations that his words would be followed, he still felt the need to say them.
Luckily, the IMAX theater was big enough, and the sound system was loud enough that as long as the kids weren't screaming hysterically, their noise wouldn't really affect anyone else.
Unlike standard cinemas, where the movie begins immediately after the lights go out, IMAX screenings had a signature countdown sequence before the film started.
A moment often jokingly referred to by film buffs as "the best IMAX 3D scene in the entire movie."
Of course, that was an exaggeration—but not entirely wrong.
The countdown animation was IMAX's trademark, so of course, they put in the effort to make it flawless.
And since this opening had remained unchanged for decades, it had to be top-tier.
At this moment, the audience wasn't overanalyzing things.
They were too blown away by the slogan on screen:
"Don't just watch the movie. Be part of it."
Even after the actual movie started, many people still hadn't snapped out of their awe.
Not that it mattered—tonight, they'd be shocked so many times that they'd eventually get used to it.
On-screen, the sunset cast a warm glow as three children dashed home, butterfly nets slung over their shoulders.
These three were: Daigo Madoka, Shin Asuka, and Gamu Takayama.
Bursting through the door, the trio immediately turned on the TV and huddled together to watch Ultraman.
"This is the first episode of Ultraman!"
A wave of surprised exclamations came from the parents in the audience.
They had only come to accompany their kids, never expecting to see a piece of their own childhood on the big screen.
Unlike the original Super 8 movie, Shinji had made some adjustments to the TV sequence of Ultraman.
Specifically, he removed the narration, which in the original outright revealed that Hayata was Ultraman.
(This was one of Tsuburaya Productions' many inconsistencies—they were never lacking in sincerity, but their attention to detail was often questionable.)
Shinji didn't make major changes to this opening scene—aside from cutting out several unnecessary shots of Yokohama Port, he mainly fixed small errors.
The story that followed remained largely the same:
After watching Ultraman, Daigo and his friends encountered a mysterious girl in red shoes and made a promise with her.
But when the screen transitioned into a montage of classic Ultraman moments, Shinji made one key modification.
Instead of immediately jumping to Daigo and his friends as adults, the film shifted to the world of Ultraman Mebius.
A stormy night.
Amidst the darkness, Ultraman Mebius was locked in battle against the giant fish monster, Muruchi, at a coastal port.
A blinding bolt of lightning tore across the sky, momentarily illuminating the two towering figures.
They clashed furiously, their fight causing the ocean waves to rage, sending massive waves crashing onto the docks.
A colossal crane at the port was swept away, plunging into the sea.
BOOM!
After executing a flashy grappling technique, Mebius threw Muruchi with such force that a docked cruise ship was instantly capsized by the impact.
The audience sat frozen in their seats, as if someone had cast a paralysis spell on them.
One by one, their mouths dropped open in utter disbelief.
The scale and intensity of the port battle were so unreal that it left everyone in the theater completely stunned.
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PS1: The Giant-fish Monster, Muruchi
Muruchi originally debuted in The Monster User and the Boy, one of the three most controversial episodes of the Showa-era Ultraman series.
Despite being divisive, this episode was exceptionally well-crafted, offering a deep exploration of human nature—both its kindness and cruelty.
If you're into tokusatsu, this is a must-watch.
Just… be prepared for emotional devastation. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
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