Entertainment to the death, make a tokusatsu film that will crush the entire internet.

#Top celebrities join large-scale sci-fi tokusatsu drama#

This trending topic suddenly appeared at the top of Weibo's search rankings, which seemed rather abrupt.

The staff at the Land of Light animation studio, who were busy working on "Kamen Rider Kuuga," also noticed it.

"Director Yang."

During a break in filming, assistant director Guo Fan couldn't help but lean close to Yang Qian and ask in a low voice.

"Do we have a secret about which big star we invited to make a cameo appearance in 'Kuuga'? It's all over the internet."

Yang Qian had just recovered from directing a fight scene when she heard this. She took the phone from Guo Fan, quickly browsed a few trending topics and press releases, and understood what was going on.

"no."

He shook his head, his tone certain.

"The Land of Light doesn't have the budget to hire a top star with a daily salary of one million. This should be another company's project."

"Too."

Guo Fan breathed a sigh of relief, then chuckled.

He knows Yang Qian too well. In Director Yang's eyes, actors are always just tools to serve the plot and the characters.

He despises celebrity status and online traffic data the most.

He would rather invest the money he would spend on hiring celebrities into making better costumes, more realistic miniature models, or simply give the entire crew a bonus.

In fact, Hiroshi Nagano, Kami Yoshikami, Rei Takagi, and others under the studio became famous because of "Ultraman Tiga".

However, within the Land of Light, they still receive a monthly salary, with performance bonuses only available during project periods.

"Let's focus on our filming."

Yang Qian handed the phone back and turned her gaze back to the Kuuga suit actor who was adjusting his pose on set.

"What others do is none of our business."

He even harbored a faint sense of anticipation.

In the vast ocean of tokusatsu dramas, it would be too lonely for the Land of Light Animation Studio to be the only ship sailing on it.

He sincerely hopes that more outstanding creators will join in to create a richer and more colorful world of culture and entertainment for children.

However, the logic of capital often runs counter to the original intentions of creators.

The success of "Ultraman Tiga" has jolted the Chinese entertainment industry's capital players awake.

What they once considered a children's game of tokusatsu (special effects) was actually an untapped goldmine of traffic.

Millions of paid views, sold-out glow sticks, a huge and highly loyal fan base...

All of this was stimulating their nerves.

"Quick! Approve the project immediately! We want to make a special effects film too!"

"It's just wearing a suit and fighting monsters, right? How hard can it be? We have money, top celebrities, and distribution channels!"

"Our goal isn't just to match 'Ultraman Tiga,' it's to surpass it! We're aiming for an investment of over 300 million! The spectacle has to be the most dazzling! We need the most celebrities! We need to be the hottest trending topic!"

Several well-established film and television companies quickly joined forces and hastily put together a project called "Guardians of the Galaxy".

The company claimed to have invested 300 million yuan and cast two top-tier male and female stars with tens of millions of fans as the lead actors.

The supporting cast is also filled with popular members from various idol groups.

The press releases were overwhelming, and the trending topics kept popping up one after another. The momentum was enormous, clearly indicating that they wanted to forcefully take the tokusatsu label away from Yang Qian.

In terms of publicity and promotion, they went to great lengths to exaggerate their abilities.

They hired a special effects team that had returned from Hollywood.

Custom-made hero suits blend futuristic technology with Eastern aesthetics; the script was co-written by several popular online novel authors, including [Tang Jia San Shao] and [Jiang Bei].

From project initiation to final product, it took less than two months, an astonishingly high efficiency.

On the day of its premiere, the entire network was paved with marketing efforts, leveraging the immense fan appeal and financial power of top-tier celebrities.

The first episode of "Guardians of the Galaxy" did indeed reach an astonishing number of views, instantly topping the charts on various platforms.

Fans went wild, and the bullet comments and comment sections were flooded with unanimous controlled comments.

"My brother's acting is phenomenal!"

"The epitome of beauty!"

"This is a true sci-fi blockbuster; some shoddy costume dramas should take note!"

……

Some curious passersby and Ultraman Tiga fans were also attracted by the spectacle and clicked on the video.

Then they saw it.

The special effects are exaggerated, claiming to have cost hundreds of millions, but they are full of cheap plastic textures. The lighting effects are glaring and lack depth, and the explosion scenes look like texture errors in a cheap game.

The leather suit is cheap, looks impressive from afar but feels very plasticky up close. It's shiny and greasy, with rough stitching, and the joints are stiff when you move it, making it look like a cheap toy.

The plot is idiotic, the hero's transformation reason is childish, the villain's motives are inexplicable, the dialogue is full of awkward and tired jokes and pretentious nonsense, and the protagonist team's daily banter is completely illogical.

The acting was a disaster. The top stars had blank expressions or wide eyes throughout, and their lip movements didn't match the words. They relied entirely on post-production dubbing and fan filters to keep up.

What's even more baffling is the pricing.

Capital may have misunderstood the secret to Ultraman Tiga's success, believing that low prices are the only truth.

They priced Guardians of the Galaxy at 2 yuan per episode and deliberately emphasized in their promotions that "for only 2 yuan, you can enjoy a top-notch sci-fi feast."

It was as if this was a great blessing to the audience.

"Where is 2 yuan per episode expensive?"

"It's very difficult to produce domestically made tokusatsu (special effects) films, okay?"

"Don't talk nonsense with your eyes wide open; this price has been the same for so many years!"

Fans rushed to defend the pricing, touting it as affordable and accessible to everyone.

Completely disregarding the fact that the series has 50 episodes and the full set costs 100 yuan.

It's more than ten times the length of the entire Ultraman Tiga series.

The market and audience reactions are the most authentic.

"What a terrible imitation! What kind of garbage is this?"

"The special effects aren't as good as the CG effects in the browser games I've played!"

"Was the leather case bought by weight from a secondhand market? The loose threads weren't even trimmed!"

"The plot insults our intelligence, and the acting only makes it worse!"

"Two yuan a episode? Who gave you the audacity to compete with Ah Guang's 0.25 yuan? Fish Leong?"

……

The ratings for Guardians of the Galaxy have plummeted.

The rating, which started at 8.9 from fans, plummeted to 3.2 overnight and continues to decline.

After a false surge in viewership on the first day, the number of views plummeted by half on the second day, and the data on the third day was even more appalling.

This farce, touted as a sci-fi blockbuster, flopped immediately upon its premiere, becoming the biggest joke in the industry.

Yang Qian, on the other side of the storm, didn't even need to respond.

He is currently busy filming "Kamen Rider Kuuga" and managing the daily operations of the Land of Light Animation Studio.

When the editor, Da Mi, told him about the disastrous failure of "Guardians of the Galaxy" as if it were a funny story, Yang Qian simply replied with three words.

"understood."

Shortly after, in an interview with mainstream media about the development of the children's entertainment industry.

The reporter inevitably mentioned some recent failed examples of imitation works.

Yang Qian did not kick him while he was down, nor did she even directly mention the name of "Guardians of the Galaxy".

He simply said it calmly.

"When we film tokusatsu dramas, our original intention has never been to pursue the coolest fight scenes or the most complex settings. Suits, special effects, and models are just tools and means."

"What we really want to do is to use these stories to tell children what courage, responsibility, hope, and light are."

"We are not simply making a TV series; we are weaving a dream about heroes and dreams for children, and for all those who still have a pure heart."

"Conscience and skill are both indispensable."

"Without respect and love for children, even the best technology is just a cold accumulation; and without solid technical support, even the best intentions cannot be effectively conveyed."

These words were reported verbatim by the media and instantly went viral online.

The difference in strategic vision is immediately apparent.

Yang Qian didn't even name names, but in the gentlest way, she nailed the short-sightedness and shoddy production of Chinese entertainment capital to the pillar of shame.

This is a perfect slap in the face.

Ironically, just as "Guardians of the Galaxy" was completely losing its reputation and investors were considering cutting their losses and pulling the film from theaters, fans in the Chinese entertainment industry staged one last farce.

Fans of various celebrities attacked each other, accusing each other of "lagging behind in acting skills," "lacking in looks," and "not matching their status"...

The fans of each side fought fiercely online, exhausting their last bit of goodwill with the general public.

Occasionally, a few people, out of curiosity, actually spent money to watch a few episodes of Warriors, and afterwards they came back and lamented on social media.

"I was wrong! I shouldn't have been curious! Two dollars a episode, it's like paying to suffer, like being force-fed a mouthful of shit!"

Comment area:

"Brother, I salute you, you're a true man!"

"So people actually pay to watch garbage dumps..."

"I feel sorry for your eyes and wallet, go watch 'Ultraman Ultraman' to cleanse your eyes!"

A large-scale science fiction tokusatsu drama meticulously planned by domestic entertainment capital, intending to replicate or even surpass "Ultraman Tiga", ultimately ended in a complete farce.

"CUT!"

Yang Qian stood up, faced all the crew members, and gave them a relaxed smile.

"Kamen Rider Kuuga, full filming schedule."

Filming wrapped!

"Wuhu~!"

"Yay!"

Next, it's time for everyone to appreciate the charm of the knight.