Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 38: Stage name Zhen Xialong, sparring request, but I am not good at fighting
After deciding on the matter of Jingtian Jinglong, Gu Ming and the others discussed the content of the third episode in detail. It was not until the evening that they left the bar.

……

The filming sequence for Ultraman was as follows: the tapes were sent to TBS for review before every Wednesday and then broadcast on Saturday.

Therefore, each week ends on Tuesday, marking the end of an episode. By the following Tuesday, we'd spend about a day preparing for various things, like suits and buildings. Then, we'd spend two days filming the human scenes and one day filming the Ultraman scenes. Finally, the editing would be completed by Wednesday and sent to TBS for review.

The three days between review and broadcast can be used for various preparations and the filming of the human parts without the suits, which can be regarded as reserving time for the production of the next episode.

Today is Thursday. The tape of the second episode has been sent to TBS, and we are now filming the human part of the third episode.

After receiving the call, Seto Mikio rushed to Wangu early in the morning.

Although Wangu is just a small workshop-style family-owned company, the name of Wangu still really shocked Seto Mikio.

"Wang Gu... isn't that it!"

Seto Mikio couldn't help scratching his face.

Isn’t that the company that produces Ultraman?
This is really shocking. I didn't expect that he would be invited to make a cameo appearance in Ultraman.

Thinking about the people he had met before, including Gu Ming, Seto Mikio suddenly felt a surge of emotion.

It turns out that those are Ultraman's staff.

Although Wangu is not big, it would still be confusing if you came here rashly. Seto Mikio was just stretching his head to look around when he saw a familiar figure.

"Ah, that..."

Seto Mikio was about to call for help, but after thinking it over, he covered his eyes again.

He doesn't even know Gu Ming's name yet.

It seems impolite to call someone like that.

However, Gu Ming was still attracted by Seto Mikio's calling voice, and when he saw Seto Mikio, Gu Ming walked over.

Gu Ming has no scenes today. He just came here to observe the human part of the plot and check out the progress of the filming.

"You are Seto Mikio, right?" Gu Ming greeted him. "I didn't expect you to come so early."

Seto Mikio instantly revealed his signature silly grin: "Well, I thought it would be rude to be late. I didn't expect that this place would be the famous Wangu. I was really surprised."

Gu Ming smiled.

"But you're indeed a little early. That scene hasn't started yet. Come with me first."

Seto Mikio followed Gu Ming closely.

Looking at Gu Ming's back, Seto Mikio seemed to be lost in thought.

This clearly looks like a sign of exercise.

Seto Mikio asked, "Come to think of it, I don't know your name yet."

Gu Ming said casually, "You don't have to be so reserved. I'm not an employee of Wangu. Like you, I'm just an actor. I'm Gugu Ming, and I'm currently working as a suit actor in Ultraman."

Seto Mikio smiled embarrassedly again.

But then, he reacted belatedly.

"Suit actor? Wait... So, according to the credits, the one playing Ultraman is Furuya-kun?"

In an instant, a feeling of belonging to a warrior emerged in Seto Mikio's heart.

Seeing how skilled Gu Gu is in the suit, he must be a martial artist! So, let's have a sparring match!

Seto Mikio originally wanted to say this, but as the filming was about to begin, he suppressed the thought for the time being.

Gu Ming took Seto Mikio all the way to Wangu's locker room.

Jingtian Jinglong's costume had been prepared long ago, and now was the perfect time for him to change into it.

It's really unfortunate for my family, this suit was borrowed from Toho...

As Mantani's in-laws, Toho provided all the help they could except not giving Mantani Eiji 46 million yen to buy equipment.

Soon, Seto Mikio changed into an ancient samurai uniform and brought a sword.

The knife was real, even sharpened, and could really be used to cut people. These days, it's easier to find a real knife than a prop knife.

Gu Ming looked at Seto Mikio in front of him. The outfit was quite suitable for him, but the silly smile on his face was a bit out of place.

"Seto Mikio, right? Seto-kun, even though Kageda Iryuu is just a guest character, he's still a samurai after all, so you should be a little more serious."

Seto Mikio immediately said yes and stood at attention on the spot.

When he wasn't smiling, Seto Mikio looked different, more imposing. He truly looked like an ancient samurai.

The more Gu Ming looked, the more familiar the person in front of him seemed.

"Seto Mikio..." Gu Ming pondered: "Is this your real name? You don't have a stage name or something?"

"Stage name?" Seto Mikio couldn't help but grin again. "How can there be such a thing? However, I did think of a stage name before, called 'Manatsu Ryu'. I thought that if I could become a real actor in the future, I could use it."

When Gu Ming heard the Japanese expression for the first time, he didn't react until Seto Mikio roughly described the writing method, and then Gu Ming suddenly came to his senses.

Manatsu Ryu, isn't it pronounced as Manatsu Dragon?

Tani Ming looked carefully at Seto Mikio in front of him, and now the case was solved.

No wonder it looks familiar.

It turns out that because he is not famous yet, he did not use a stage name, but his real name!

Gu Ming naturally didn't know.

Seto Mikio's actual stage name is Manatsu Ryugo. Manatsu Ryu is the abbreviation of this stage name. His last name is Manatsu and his given name is Ryu.

Manatsu Ryu comes from Li Xiaolong's movie, Enter the Dragon, which was translated as "Burning Dragon" when it was released in Japan.

Before using Manatsu Ryugo as his stage name, Seto Mikio had some acting experience, but most of them were just supporting roles.

It was not until he was chosen to play the leading role of Ultraman Leo because of his skills in Goju Kōfu that he became famous. He then adopted Manatsu Ryu as his stage name.

When Gu Ming was about to explore further, Wan Gujie's voice came from outside.

"How's it going? Is this side ready? It's almost time to start filming."

Gu Ming nodded and urged Zhen Xialong in front of him.

"It's time to film Jingtian Jinglong's scenes. Cheer up and act like a samurai."

Manatsu Ryuu instantly stood at attention.

We must cheer up!

Zhen Xialong, who transformed into a young soldier, followed Wan Gujie.

Gu Ming deliberately went to the human set and stopped to watch for a while.

Although it is called a role, there is actually not much plot. When Hayata Susumu and others went to find the transparent monster Neilonga, Jingtian Jinglong appeared in the form of a ghost and warned Hayata Susumu and the Arashi team members about the danger of Neilonga.

Afterwards, several photos were taken, which will directly serve as memories and appear in the series in the form of flashbacks.

Although there were only a few seconds of footage in total, there were still two or three minor NGs, so much so that Manatsu Ryu kept apologizing everywhere and felt very guilty.

Film is very expensive!
A real actor would feel ashamed of frequent NGs.

After much stumbling and struggling, the filming was finally completed. When Manatsu Ryu walked down, he wiped the sweat off his forehead slightly.

"It's really exciting. This is the first time I've gotten a speaking role like this!"

"It's already pretty good." Gu Ming said, "Look at me, I'm still a character without any lines."

"But even though Ultraman doesn't have many lines, he's still very popular." Manatsu Ryu said this, grinning again. "Well, Furuya-kun, I actually have a humble request. I've studied Goju Kendo for a few years, so I'm considered a martial artist."

Manatsu Ryuu was a little nervous, but he finally spoke up, "I wonder if Furuya-kun could spar with me as a warrior?"

Gu Ming was stunned. This is not good.

He immediately declined: "I'm not a martial artist, I just have some basic skills and I like watching action movies. I'm not good at fighting!"

When Gu Ming first arrived, he was threatened by the Yakuza and only took some action to drive away a few of them.

But if he really wanted to fight, forget it. Gu Ming never thought of him as a martial artist, he was just an ordinary action actor!
(End of this chapter)