pjbooks Chapter 23 Ryosuke Sanada
Chapter 23 Ryosuke Sanada
Chasing Light Studio, in the western suburbs of Jinghai.
Filming for episode 11, "Requiem," is in full swing.
This episode marks the first time since the premiere of Ultraman Tiga that it has truly delved into the themes of "human evil" and "scientific ethics."
Casting became the biggest challenge.
Ryosuke Sanada, this character is too complex.
He was handsome, outstanding, and gentle, but inside lived a soul that was gradually collapsing due to excessive pride and obsession.
"Brother Nan, what do you think of this?"
After a preliminary selection, Chen Bo brought in a boy.
This boy is named Lu Ming. He is a top student in the acting department of Jinghai Drama Academy and is known for portraying characters with inner conflicts.
Gu Nan didn't directly ask about any personal feelings, but instead handed over a page of the script.
"Try this. It's Ryosuke Sanada's monologue when he faces his reflection in the mirror for the first time after receiving an Ebron cell transplant."
Lu Ming took it and remained silent for a moment.
When he looked up again, his gentle demeanor suddenly became tense.
He turned to the side of the hypothetical mirror, his fingers slightly curled, as if touching invisible glass. His voice was soft, yet carried a distinct crack:
"Is this... the price of evolution?"
Then, a slow smile appeared on his lips, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Instead, it made the pain and struggle deep in his pupils even more piercing.
That wasn't just simple madness, but the trembling of a proud person witnessing their own gradual alienation, the tearing apart of reason and desire.
The performance came to an abrupt end.
The room was silent for a few seconds.
"very good,"
Gu Nan lowered his arms, "That conscious sense of self-destruction, you captured it perfectly. How did you find that state?"
Although he trusted Chen Bo's judgment, Gu Nan was also curious about how such a somewhat eccentric actor would portray his character.
Lu Ming relaxed and smiled, a hint of candid teasing in his smile: "Director Gu, to be honest, back in college, I was also a 'perennial runner-up' for a few years. In every professional assessment, there was always someone who consistently outperformed me. Back then, I was young and had a stubborn streak; it would be a lie to say I didn't mind, I was even a bit obsessive about it."
He spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he were telling someone else's funny story.
"Later, during a rehearsal, I insisted on portraying his 'effortless' feeling, but ended up making a mess of things. My teacher pointed out that I wasn't acting out the character, but rather my own resentment."
"It was then that I began to understand—art, after all, is not an arena. The right path is to strip away the shadows of others and find the unique pain and persistence that belong to the character. Looking back now, that competitive spirit of mine was quite naive, but it was also... a lesson learned."
Gu Nan nodded.
An actor's past experiences, rather than being consumed by emotions, can be transformed into nourishment for understanding a character, which is a sign of professionalism.
Lu Ming's words precisely demonstrate that he knows how to refine and abstract personal experiences and then inject them into the skeleton of fictional characters.
"The depth and nuance in your eyes are excellent."
Gu Nan affirmed, "In particular, that contradiction of 'knowing one's own evil, yet being unable to extricate oneself' is the core of Sanada Ryosuke's tragedy."
"It's you."
Gu Nan made the decision.
An actor doesn't need to be trapped in a certain shadow forever; they just need to know how to use understanding to bear the weight of another soul.
In Lu Ming's performance, the self-awareness and self-destruction of "knowing it is destruction but being unable to stop" has been accurately and restrainedly portrayed.
……
Friday, 8 PM.
With the popularity of "Ultraman Tiga" soaring, episode 11, "Requiem," was released on time.
By this time, the Bilibili bullet comments had long lost their initial meme-filled atmosphere. Viewers had become accustomed to Gu Nan's narrative style—a cruel fairy tale about the adult world wrapped in the guise of Ultraman.
The story begins at the seaside.
Horii, who has always been the "comedic relief" and "scientific commentator," encountered his former college classmate, Ryosuke Sanada.
Ryosuke is a perfect person.
He is the chief researcher at the Space Development Center. He is handsome, has a great physique, and is also an athlete.
Wow, look at that face! Is this episode an idol drama?
[Horie, that fat guy, actually has such a handsome classmate? The contrast is too stark!]
However, the scene shifts.
In the gym, Ryosuke is undergoing training that pushes the limits of human endurance.
He was lifting a barbell weighing several hundred kilograms, his face contorted in pain and agony. A strange, electric current flickered faintly across his chest.
"I have to win... I must be number one..."
His whispers echoed through the empty gym, sending chills down the spines of the audience.
As the plot unfolds, a crisis emerges.
Due to the anomalies at the power center, the GUTS team began their investigation. And all the clues pointed to the perfect Sanada Ryosuke.
"Ebloon cells".
Horii looked at the data report, his face pale. "Those are cosmic cells that haven't undergone clinical trials yet. Although they can grant people tremendous power, the side effect is... they devour the host's mind and require a constant supply of electricity to sustain life."
"Ryosuke... he transplanted this into himself?"
At this moment, Horii was no longer the fat guy who only knew how to make jokes.
Chen Bo delivered an award-winning performance here, his eyes filled with shock, heartache, and a deep sense of powerlessness.
Sanada Ryosuke roared in anger:
"I must be number one, I must always be number one! That's why I had an Abloon cell transplant!"
Horii was heartbroken.
"Please, please stop pretending like this, Ryosuke!"
"No! If I'm not number one, no one, no one ever will love me!"
At that moment, Sayaka ran over to comfort her.
"No! Ryosuke! You're wrong!"
"Like Horii, his legs are so short, he's so fat, and he always tells silly jokes... But even with all these flaws, everyone still loves him!"
"No! You don't understand!"
"This is how I've been raised: I must always be number one! How could you two possibly understand me!"
Horii: Oh, I'm still here.
Ryosuke's line, "If I'm not number one, no one will love me," is truly suffocating.
[His childhood learning environment was too oppressive. If he didn't get first place, he was likely to be beaten and scolded. This is probably why he developed such an extreme personality.]
……
A monster appeared.
That's what Ryosuke became when the power outage caused his Ebron cells to go berserk—Ebron.
It was ugly in appearance, its body covered with muscle patterns resembling cables, howling in pain as it frantically destroyed the power plant and greedily sucked up electricity.
[That monster... is it Ryosuke?]
[My God, such a handsome person has turned into such an ugly monster.]
Is this the price to pay?
Ultraman Tiga makes his appearance.
But this battle was destined to be tragic.
Tiga did not rush to attack.
Daigo seemed to sense the sorrowful soul within the monster as well.
Ebolon attacked Tiga frantically, each strike carrying a powerful electric current.
It doesn't need tactics; it's just venting, venting a pain that can never be filled.
At that moment, Horii rushed out from the ground.
He held the gun, but he couldn't pull the trigger.
"Ryosuke! Stop!"
On this stormy night, Horii roared at the enormous monster:
"Why do we have to strive for first place?"
"Even if you're not number one, even if you're just an ordinary person, does that mean you don't deserve to be loved?"
"We're friends!"
These lines, like a thunderclap, shattered the defenses of countless viewers in front of the screen.
In this era of extreme competition, who hasn't been told "You have to be number one," "You have to be better than others," or "You have to be successful"?
Ryosuke is that child who was held hostage by "excellence".
On the screen, the monster's movements froze.
It looked down at its tiny human friend.
A single, enormous tear rolled down the cheeks of those eyes that had been filled with rage.
However, the side effects of Ebloon cells are already irreversible.
Excessive electricity absorption brought Ryosuke's body to the brink of collapse.
"just!"
Ultraman Tiga noticed something amiss.
Instead of using the Zepelion Ray, he switched to the Power Type and carefully controlled the monster, trying to prevent it from self-destructing.
But it was all too late.
The light dissipated.
The monster disappeared, leaving only Ryosuke, who had reverted to human form and was on the verge of death, on the beach.
He lay in Horii's arms, gazing at the starry sky.
"Horii..."
Ryosuke's voice was weak, "That thing (the Ebloon cell)... is mocking me... saying that I turned myself into a monster for this pointless pride..."
"But... I just want everyone... to look at me..."
His hand fell limply to his side.
The waves crashed on the beach, carrying away this life that had burned out in pursuit of "perfection".
Horii could only sigh.
"Everyone has a dark corner in their heart, but you have opened your dark corner."
Horii slowly walked to Sanada Ryosuke's body.
"Rest in peace, and never compete with others again."
The end credits song began to play.
Listening to "Brave Love, TIGA" right now, there's an indescribable sense of melancholy.
……
The Bilibili comment section has once again become a scene of massive emotional breakdown.
There wasn't much discussion about combat prowess; everyone's attention was focused on the tragic character of "Ryosuke."
User [Dongda Test-Taker]:
"I cried. Isn't Ryosuke just like us? From a young age, we were taught by our parents to 'study as hard as you can,' even if it doesn't kill you. We would get 99 points on a test and still be asked why we lost that one point. We desperately wanted to be 'number one' in other people's eyes, but in the end, we lost ourselves."
User [Psychological Counselor Lao Zhang]:
"This episode was so profound. The Ebloon cells are actually a metaphor for 'desire' and 'anxiety.' They can give you temporary power and make you look glamorous in front of others, but the price is that you overdraw your life and soul. Ryosuke didn't die from the monster; he died from the social curse called 'you have to be excellent.'"
User [Scientific Boundaries]:
"Besides social issues, this episode also explored scientific ethics very well. Ryosuke's forced use of Ebloon cells, an untested technology, for his own selfish desires, is a double-edged sword of science. Technology without ethical constraints will only create monsters."
……
Chasing Light Studio, in the western suburbs of Jinghai.
"Brother Nan, the data is still rising."
Chen Bo wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Even though he acted in it himself, and even though he knew the plot by heart, he still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when watching the finished product.
"Moreover, many viewers felt sorry for Horii. They said that this episode really made Horii's character stand out."
"Horie is a genius, but his most valuable quality is his 'emotional intelligence' and 'empathy,' which are even higher than his IQ."
Gu Nan looked at the screen and slowly said, "Ryosuke is his mirror. One chose to embrace friends, and the other chose to embrace power."
He walked to the whiteboard and picked up a pen.
At the end of episode 11, "Requiem," he drew a heavy arrow pointing to the distant future.
"Ebloon cells".
Gu Nan wrote these five words down beside him, his eyes becoming deep.
"This isn't a one-time setting."
In the original Ultraman Ultraman Tiga, the Ebloon Cell was a crucial foreshadowing element that ran throughout the later episodes. It not only caused tragedy in this episode, but it also spawned other monsters later on (such as Metamorga).
Gu Nan paused for a moment.
He recalled episode 47 of the original series, "Farewell to the Darkness".
That was Ryosuke's salvation.
In this parallel world, Gu Nan decides to bury that Easter egg even deeper and more touching.
"Ryosuke's soul has not disappeared."
Gu Nan murmured to himself, "One day, when the Ebloon cells wreak havoc again, when Horii faces another crisis, that lost friend will return from the darkness and make one last right choice."
"That will be a reconciliation that transcends life and death."