After the broadcast of 'Ultraman Tiga', while it didn't receive many negative reviews, the praise it did get was clearly lower than what Jing Yu's previous works had achieved.
Seeing this, many of his industry peers perked up.
Could it be that the infamous old thief had finally hit a creative slump?
Honestly, a few media outlets even took the opportunity to float headlines suggesting Jing Yu was beginning to decline.
But then, after episode two of 'Ultraman Tiga' aired, things suddenly became… unpredictable.
Because episode two's ratings skyrocketed—far beyond episode one. The premiere hadn't even broken 10%.
In fact, since the initial feedback was lukewarm, many had predicted the second episode's ratings might drop to around 8%. Not a flop, but still a disappointment. After all, 'Tiga's' straightforward and childish plot didn't seem irreplaceable for adult audiences. While the Big Six TV stations weren't exactly airing masterpieces either, they weren't airing duds. If 'Tiga' lacked a strong standout factor, it was bound to get edged out in ratings.
But reality was…
Episode two's ratings soared nearly a full point, landing at 10.89%.
Even so, online buzz remained relatively quiet. Long-time Jing Yu fans kept watching and didn't think it was bad, but they clearly felt it lacked the complexity of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.
But once episode two aired, the tone of online commentary completely shifted.
"I'm doomed. My son's been acting weird ever since we watched two episodes of 'Tiga' together. When I tried to change the channel after episode two ended, he threw a tantrum. Said he had to watch the ending song."
"No joke—these past few days, the kids in our neighborhood downstairs have stopped playing hide and seek. Now it's all 'transform into Tiga and defeat the monster' roleplay."
"I'm an elementary school teacher. Lately, my class has been OBSESSED with 'Tiga's theme song. I passed by during music class, and the entire hallway echoed with 'Miracle Reappearance'. Normally, those kids barely even hum during music class, but now, the moment the music teacher taught them 'Tiga's' theme song, they were all bursting with energy."
"My son begged me to buy 'Tiga' on Qingyun Video. Just these two episodes? He's rewatched them four times in three days."
"It's insane. Among old thief fans, 'Tiga' only has average heat. But in the elementary school crowd? You haven't seen it—hundreds of kids in chat groups talking about it non-stop, all day."
"Today, my daughter asked me, 'Where is Tiga fighting?' She wanted to donate her allowance to help him. I told her Tiga isn't real—just a show. Then she asked, 'If Tiga isn't real, then where did the monsters go? Wouldn't Great Zhou have already been destroyed?' …I was speechless."
"Something's off. 'Ultraman Tiga'—is it really this popular with little kids? Even among middle schoolers, it's hot. The old thief said this was a kids' show. Was he telling the truth?"
"But I don't get it. Ugly monsters? Weird rubber suits? The fight scenes aren't even that great—far less exciting than flying martial arts dramas. Kids like this stuff? If I were still a kid, I'm sure I wouldn't have liked 'Tiga'."
"Not necessarily. I used to love candied hawthorns as a kid—now they're too sweet. I was into RC cars, but now, when I see my son playing with them, I think they're childish. People's mentalities shift with age. Maybe if 'Tiga' had aired when we were kids, we'd have loved it without question—and that love might've lasted into adulthood. You never know."
"I don't get it either. But hey—if it exists, maybe there's a reason. That said, I still don't think 'Tiga' can stay hot for long. It's supposed to run for 26 episodes, across two seasons. Let's wait and see how the ratings hold."
After episode two aired, Jing Yu's fans realized something strange—while they themselves weren't particularly into the show, the kids in their households were completely obsessed.
Naturally, this got the attention of media outlets in Great Zhou's entertainment industry. But historically, the industry had always overlooked children's programming. There was no anime sector here, after all. Most content was created to suit adult sensibilities.
Children were just expected to tag along. Sure, some people made preschool content, but the earnings were usually unimpressive.
So even though 'Tiga' was gaining traction among kids, the media didn't take it too seriously.
But Jing Yu? As the man who introduced 'Tiga' to this world, he knew exactly who the target audience was.
Even before the show aired, he had already partnered with Great Zhou's major merchandise manufacturers to begin product development.
In truth, what would sell well had already been answered by the market in his previous life.
'Tiga's' Compound SHF figurines, the SparkLences, Hero statues, the Victory Falcon fighter jet from the Victory Squad, and popular monsters like Golza, Kyrieloid, and the twin monsters Gakuma Alpha and Beta—all had strong sales records.
Not only that, but they were split into multiple versions depending on story arcs and transformations.
Unlike companies in this world—who wait for a show to air before testing the waters with merchandising—Jing Yu didn't need to guess.
Before the premiere, all of these items had already been designed and nearly finalized under his direction.
So after the second week's episodes aired and the fanbase had time to grow, on July 12th, the official websites of BlueStar Film & TV, Qingyun Video, and Yunteng TV all simultaneously launched sales for models of the six monsters shown in episodes one and two:
Ancient Dragon Melba
Ancient Monster Golza
Rock Monsters Gakuma α and β
Kyrieloid
Ligatron
Of course, 'Tiga' featured five different forms: Compound, Power, Sky, Glitter, and the rarely seen Dark form.
Even within just the Compound form, 'Tiga' had 22 special moves.
Jing Yu also released figurines showing Tiga in mid-animation while unleashing the Zepellion Beam.
Yunteng TV went all in—airing shopping programs during prime time, hosted by two attractive presenters demonstrating the merchandise.
From an outsider's perspective? Jing Yu's timing looked way too fast.
The show had barely aired two episodes. Online reviews weren't terrible, but they weren't glowing either.
On Yindou Net's 100,000-person review system, 'Tiga' scored only 9.1—relatively low for a Jing Yu production. And now he was already pushing merch this hard? Who was going to buy it?
Many of his peers laughed it off:
"No way this sells. Jing Yu's too overconfident. Thinks 'Tiga' will blow up like 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'. But now that the buzz isn't that high, he's probably panicking—afraid the inventory won't move, so he's rushing to sell before it flops."
"Still, the ratings are pretty solid, no? Not worse than 'Evangelion'."
"Ratings alone mean nothing. With his popularity, anything he shoots will pull 8%+ in the first few episodes. But to sustain that? The show has to be good. 'Tiga' might be popular with kids, but his fanbase is made up of adults. He misread his audience."
"Something feels off. I feel like we're missing something."
"A friend at BlueStar told me Jing Yu doesn't seem bothered by the criticism at all. In fact, he looks thrilled. It's like he's completely satisfied with 'Tiga's' performance. I don't get it."
"Wait, are you all saying 'Tiga' isn't good? I thought it was great! I've already ordered the merch—it should arrive within a week."
"Same. I'm over 40, worked on more than a dozen productions myself, and 'Tiga' got me fired up. I bought everything from that Yunteng TV shopping segment. You guys don't get why kids like this show—but I totally relate. My six-year-old's favorite toys? I like them too. I think 'Tiga' is gonna explode."
"Explode? It already has! Episode two cracked 10%! We're just comparing it to 'Evangelion' and 'Fate/stay night'. But on its own? 'Tiga' is basically guaranteed to be the highest-rated drama this fall."
"I'm not even talking ratings. I mean impact. 'Tiga' is going to explode in the fanbase. Maybe even rival 'Evangelion' and 'Fate'."
"Bro… you're dreaming. 'Tiga' can't touch 'Evangelion' or 'Fate'. The production value's great, sure, but there's zero depth. It's just a popcorn monster-fight show."
"Have y'all been living under a rock? Saying the merch won't sell? Check Qingyun Video and BlueStar's sites—they're already sold out. Yunteng TV's shopping division? Swamped. Their phones are ringing off the hook."
Low-age viewers don't often speak online—but that doesn't mean they can't consume.
In Jing Yu's previous world, evil corporations had already mapped out consumer power rankings:
Women > Children > Elderly > Dogs > Men
This chart reflected each group's willingness to spend on non-essential, emotional-value goods—items that had no practical use in food, housing, or travel.
In short, merch like figurines and collectibles.
People who love them call them a spiritual anchor. People who don't? Think spending hundreds or thousands on plastic is madness—better spent on massages, meals, or vacations.
So why do kids outrank men, the supposed breadwinners?
Because men's earnings often get spent by the household, not by themselves.
Many of Jing Yu's fans, while lukewarm on 'Tiga', still couldn't resist the demands of their children.
Once the kids saw the shopping ads on Yunteng TV or found out from Qingyun Video and BlueStar Media that the merch was live, they got aggressive—begging their parents with every trick in the book.
And within two days of launch?
All initial inventory was sold out.
BlueStar Media and Qingyun TV just marked items as "sold out" on their product pages.
Yunteng TV's shopping division, though? Chaos.
Even after they stopped airing the ads, 80% of incoming calls were still about 'Tiga' merch—crippling their ability to sell anything else.
The entire industry was stunned.
This was ridiculous.
These weren't cheap toys either—most were priced between dozens and hundreds of yuan. Across the three platforms, initial inventory exceeded 100,000 units. That's millions in sales—gone in two days?
What kind of robbery speed was this?
The show only had two episodes, and this is what happened?
How high would sales go once all 26 episodes had aired?
Were kids always this powerful as consumers?
Even people inside Jing Yu's own company were stunned.
Since 'Tiga' launched, the feedback had been tepid, and everyone had been nervous.
Ratings looked good, but if word of mouth was weak, things could still crash later. After all, 'Tiga' was a two-season long-form drama.
Early hype meant little.
But the merch sales? Absolutely bonkers.
Compared to reviews or buzz, the number of people willing to spend money spoke volumes about a show's actual stickiness.
And 'Tiga's' merch sales proved one thing:
Its fan engagement was far higher than it appeared.
Even employees had assumed that the massive inventory placed across the three platforms would take months to sell as the show's popularity slowly grew.
But two days?
That was dizzying.
And with that, 'Ultraman Tiga' episode three was set to air in mid-July.